Getting the most out of my Marshall 6100 LM

[geetarmikey]

Hi, guys, I've already been jamming/gigging with this amp for a few months and I must say I absolutely love it, but it's got so many features I don't know if I'm using it to its full potential?!

What settings on the full/half power and pentode/triode modes would you recommend? I'm just using it on full/pentode mode at the moment.

What can I do with the MIDI as well in terms of adding pedals/external processers etc...?


I have found though - adding my BB Preamp on the clean channel set on low gain basically gives it a low-gain channel inbetween the clean and crunch modes and a bit more saturation on the lead channel when i want.

Anything else you guys can think of?

Thanks!

 

[blackba]

I would look into getting it modded to be able to footswitch the 3 modes on channel 2.

What power tubes are you running?

 

[geetarmikey]

That'd be pretty handy, but I'm a bit hesitant to mod my amp, don't wanna mess with it in that way, just use what it already has to its full potential.

I'm running 5881's which have recently been replaced and biased with a new set.

Thanks!

 

[blackba]

That'd be pretty handy, but I'm a bit hesitant to mod my amp, don't wanna mess with it in that way, just use what it already has to its full potential.

I'm running 5881's which have recently been replaced and biased with a new set.

Thanks!

So changing them to EL34's is probably out then.

Before I bought my 6101 LE, I did a bunch of research on the 6100 series and found that in general EL34's were preferred to 5881s. non-LM modded units were preferred to LM moded units. Most failures were with the combos and the midi unit was prone to failure.

As for midi switching, I know there are devices that will do what you want, but I am not familiar enough with them to recommend one. I think what you are wanting to do would be cool.

 

[Mudder]

That'd be pretty handy, but I'm a bit hesitant to mod my amp, don't wanna mess with it in that way, just use what it already has to its full potential.

I'm running 5881's which have recently been replaced and biased with a new set.

Thanks!

So changing them to EL34's is probably out then.

Before I bought my 6101 LE, I did a bunch of research on the 6100 series and found that in general EL34's were preferred to 5881s. non-LM modded units were preferred to LM moded units. Most failures were with the combos and the midi unit was prone to failure.

As for midi switching, I know there are devices that will do what you want, but I am not familiar enough with them to recommend one. I think what you are wanting to do would be cool.

The tube difference was common with several Marshalls of that time frame. I think it's more to do with what folks expect a Marshall to sound like (el34) than the 6l6 sounding bad.

 

[geetarmikey]

The thing was, when I bought it the guy said it had been modded for el-34's and while it sounded decent there was a tiny bit of weird background distortion on the channels and i couldn't get as much gain out of it as I thought I should be getting.

Took it to a tech to get looked over and he said the el-34's had probably just been put in there with no modding done which was probably what was causing the crossover distortion and weak clean sound! He changed them out for new 5881's, biased it and generally checked it over and it sounds just amazing, so I'm definitely a fan of 5881's now!

 

[skoora]

I played one (EL34 model) for a few years in the late 90's in a band context. Was a great plug and play heavy amp. The only thing I would change if i had one now would be to convert the fixed low end boost to a variable pot/depth control. I was trying to find a balance between having it engaged and running the bass low and it was hard to get the low end in the right spot for the situation I was in. I always ran mine full/pentode because it's a Marshall! It has a great master volume why they even bothered with that stuff is a mystery. The clean channel doesn't break up like Plexi when you dime the amp so low power options weren't needed. The Midi is useful if running a midi effect unit. One controller for FX and channel switching. If only Marshall had gone all the way with the Midi and let you change the channel modes too.

 

[Mudder]

The thing was, when I bought it the guy said it had been modded for el-34's and while it sounded decent there was a tiny bit of weird background distortion on the channels and i couldn't get as much gain out of it as I thought I should be getting.

Took it to a tech to get looked over and he said the el-34's had probably just been put in there with no modding done which was probably what was causing the crossover distortion and weak clean sound! He changed them out for new 5881's, biased it and generally checked it over and it sounds just amazing, so I'm definitely a fan of 5881's now!

So, modding an amp for el34 isn't just taking out 6l6 and putting in el34?

 

[geetarmikey]

Apparently not! The tech even rang up Marshall for advice, so I was a bit surprised to find some el-34's had just been plonked in there as the guy who sold it to me seemed like a real amp junkie and knew what he was talking about. Oh well, we live and learn!