Any of you guys just rock a Marshall 2203/ 2204?

[severinsteel]

Do any of you guys find that a boosted Marshall 2203 or 2204 circuit just works for you? I have a 2204 JMP and I swear, I could record an entire album with that single channel and a boost pedal of some kind. I'm currently using a Barber Super Sport OD as my 'high gain' channel. I'm running through the High Input and have the gain at around 3:00. I need to do a video of this setup.

I'm actually more comfortable with using this as opposed to a channel switcher. I'm forced to use my guitar volume and I can get different shades of drive.

 

[cardinal]

I use either a 2204 or a Recto (that just sits in vintage mode). I don't bother with any channel switching, just the volume knob or boost on or off. I've played some modded Marshalls, but a 2204 plus a pedal suits me just fine.

 

[UDTBUDS]

Single channel Marshalls are on about every rock recording for the last 45 years.

Most modern high gain amps are a Marshall type derivative.

 

[Badronald]

I did for years. 2203 circuit and a Plexi.

Got tired of it and have modern amps now. However, I still just use one channel and control gain with my volume knob.

As much as I told myself that pedals sound good for higher gain, they don't compare to a good tube amplifier. As I found myself moving away from mid gain Plexi tones, I also had to move away from those types of amps.

I still love that stuff, but I played them for 25 years and knew it was time to move on.

 

[Badronald]

Most modern high gain amps are a Marshall type derivative.

No, not at all.

 

[UDTBUDS]

Most modern high gain amps are a Marshall type derivative.

No, not at all.

Depends who you ask.

 

[Badronald]

Most modern high gain amps are a Marshall type derivative.

No, not at all.

Depends who you ask.

No, not at all.

 

[UDTBUDS]

InB4 the Cameron/Bugera/Blades contribution.

Predict 11 pages about cathode follower/gain stages.

 

[Chubtone]

It totally works for me. I have owned tons of other amps but just keep going back to the same rig I used when I was 17.

 

[UDTBUDS]

I have the same amp & cabs from the 70's but ive had "upgrades" from this ......

To this ...

 

[Racerxrated]

Its a great tone. Just a jubilee now but I missed out on an 82 2203 on Craigslist for 800.....damn. I do boost my Jube and its my favorite tone. But a single channel 800 and a late 80s 2205/10 are very nice.

 

[XSSIVE]

I have a bone stock (other than EL34 conversion) '79 JMP 2204 that I've had since I started playing guitar (handed down to me from my older brother) and I've tried a bunch of things into the front end to get a tone out of it I truly love. While I've come close with some things and have certainly gotten some cool tones from it that I really like as soon as I plug into my EVH 50w I hear the tone in my head and realize how hard I have to work just to get 3/4 of the way there with the stock JMP. I think I just like a more modern tone which means way too much gain, saturation and compression for a JMP to dish out.

I've always tried boosting the front end with the pre-amp high up on the JMP, I'm now thinking I need to try setting it up with way less gain and using an actual distortion pedal (not OD) like a Bogner Burnley into it instead of just hammering it to death with things like a PQ3, Nova Drive, modded screamers and SD-1s etc etc long list.

 

[marshallmel]

I have a JCM 800 2x12 combo that's been my main gigging amp for a while. It's in a live in case and stays in the band trailer. Bonehead simple rig and it sounds stupendous with an SD-1 in front.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I thought you had gone googo for gaga over the Friedman stuff? Sometimes nothing beats a classic though! I mainly play a very very lightly tweaked 2204 and a stock if 800. I boost with Koko boost or straight up with an sd1 or ge7. Sometimes I stack Koko with sd1 for more sustain. These modern Amps are much easier to play when you saturate but I feel an amp that makes you work has the benefit of increasing your skills. Maybe this is why so many 80s guitarists have more of their own style than the guys today do. I find stock marshals cut and stay tight. There is also way less fizziness to my ear. This is the sound that is on countless albums for a reason. Any other amp I have is variant of a higher gain Marshall ( Randall stuff).

 

[guitarded_1]

Yup. Played multi channel amps for years. Now I play a 1980 2204 through a greenback loaded 4x12. It sounds killer and does everything I need it to do.

 

[guitarplayer]

My old JMP

 

[RockyStar]

I did back in the day for many years. Throw a tube screamer on and a volume pedal and it was off to the races. Great sound! I prefer many other things now but that sound is undeniable for me still to this day! Great stuff!!

 

[DG335]

I could most definitely survive on only my 2204S. Guitar >> cable >> amp. I don't even need the boost pedal. Mine has a boost switch built in. The single channel master volume 2203/2204 is greatest amp in history.

 

[Bato]

I owned a 2204 and sold it a few years ago. The biggest mistake in my live.

 

[Deanmachine]

Yeah I had a 79 Jmp boosted with a keely boss mod it was killer should have never sold that amp..