Harsh Marshall tone, need help

[LP Freak]

I would start with the speakers myself. I'm pretty sure the 75's weren't around when your amp was designed/built. Those are for the newer and higher gain marshalls in my opinion. I've always loved the Greenbacks with older Marshall based amps. I have the Scumback M75/J75 (65 watters) mix with my Plexi and they sound great. But there are other speakers out there that are cheaper.

But as good as Scumbacks? Im about to buy four M75's for my cab, but then of course I have to rip of the Marshall emblem

I'd never tell a guy not to buy Scumbacks. They definately work for me.

 

[Buckeyedog]

I would start with the speakers myself. I'm pretty sure the 75's weren't around when your amp was designed/built. Those are for the newer and higher gain marshalls in my opinion. I've always loved the Greenbacks with older Marshall based amps. I have the Scumback M75/J75 (65 watters) mix with my Plexi and they sound great. But there are other speakers out there that are cheaper.

But as good as Scumbacks? Im about to buy four M75's for my cab, but then of course I have to rip of the Marshall emblem

Certainly not in my opinion!!! But some guys want that "flavor" without spending the coin. To me, it's worth it for sure. Are you getting the 25 or 65 watters?? I really like the 65 watters myself.

 

[evilrocker]

I would start with the speakers myself. I'm pretty sure the 75's weren't around when your amp was designed/built. Those are for the newer and higher gain marshalls in my opinion. I've always loved the Greenbacks with older Marshall based amps. I have the Scumback M75/J75 (65 watters) mix with my Plexi and they sound great. But there are other speakers out there that are cheaper.

But as good as Scumbacks? Im about to buy four M75's for my cab, but then of course I have to rip of the Marshall emblem

Certainly not in my opinion!!! But some guys want that "flavor" without spending the coin. To me, it's worth it for sure. Are you getting the 25 or 65 watters?? I really like the 65 watters myself.

Im getting the 65 watters so I can crank my 100w jmp without frying the speakers

 

[Buckeyedog]

I would start with the speakers myself. I'm pretty sure the 75's weren't around when your amp was designed/built. Those are for the newer and higher gain marshalls in my opinion. I've always loved the Greenbacks with older Marshall based amps. I have the Scumback M75/J75 (65 watters) mix with my Plexi and they sound great. But there are other speakers out there that are cheaper.

But as good as Scumbacks? Im about to buy four M75's for my cab, but then of course I have to rip of the Marshall emblem

Certainly not in my opinion!!! But some guys want that "flavor" without spending the coin. To me, it's worth it for sure. Are you getting the 25 or 65 watters?? I really like the 65 watters myself.

Im getting the 65 watters so I can crank my 100w jmp without frying the speakers

Good call!!

 

[evilrocker]

One more thought, as I get a better sound running the amp higher volume.
Is it the speakers sounding better when they get to work more or is it
that the amp is working harder that makes it sound better? Or is it both?

 

[LP Freak]

Both

 

[joolzriff]

deffo the speakers.... a GT75 loaded cab was my problem for years.. i wound up with greenbacks..no difference in china or uk...i have both .i think the wear on them is what people crave...
funny thing is..later on in life i came across a bottom cab loaded w/ gt75s realy cheap and i took it home and played my jubilee through it (an amp i dint own back in the day) and it sounded fuckin brilliant..
its matching and tweaking.... a pickup change helps but its a SMALL percentage in change to the final tone in comparison to a speaker change...also try asking the guy at LAVA cable if theres a speaker cable that could help w/ taming top end.. they do that in hifi and wouldnt see why it couldn't help in guitar.

 

[evilrocker]

Anyone got advice on scumback m55 and m75, the 55 has creamier highs according to scumback website.
So they will sound darker... eh?

 

[evilrocker]

I also got my eyes on a Mesa Boogie 4 x12, any noticeable difference on slant and straight?

 

[Laars]

Oh really Thanks. That was just a quick test, I also had two Gik screen panels around the front of the cab.
Maybe the annoying spike was a little less now when cranked. But I still think the top end is a bit sizzly and
I want more chunk in the sound. Where to begin? Mod the amp or replacing the speakers?

Try looking at different pre amp tubes first...... The chinese made pre amp tubes are less harsh in the high end then the Russian made ones(mesa uses the Russian ones). Especially over the Russian R1s and R2s.

I've been using 5751s in my Voodoo V-Rock and Mesa Stiletto. Cuts back on the high end and has less output gain. Your V1 input tube will make the biggest difference. Cheaper then modding the amp.

Groove tubes site has a good breakdown of the different pre amp tubes and how they sound. http://www.groovetubes.com/preamplist.html

Different power tubes can change the bottom end and give you more chunk.

 

[thenine]

I am using 2 5751's in a Splawn I have as well. You do lose a little gain with these tubes but they sound very good IMO.

 

[Greazygeo]

Made a quick recording today with my Jmp -> 1960 -> 57 and md421 -> Ensemble -> Pro tools

Gain almost max
Volume past 4
treble 2
mids 5
bass 4
presence 1.5

I still here that 3khz annoying tone. Or is it just me?

Sounds kinda dark to me....but i hear the harshness you are hearing....get rid of the JJ tubes. Put some Ruby EL34B's in there.

Are the 75's pretty new?

 

[evilrocker]

Nope they are not new, maybe from late 90's. But maybe a whole new cab would
change a lot, found a used Mesa.

 

[evilrocker]

I thought I'd just let you know the result when I tried different solutions.

1. Changing pickup wasnt the solution, I bought a Duncan Custom and still harsh.
2. Tried V30's wasnt either the solution.
3. Cranked the amp to above 5 on the master volume... now there's the solution.

So my JMP has to be played loud to not sound harsh, well, then I need to buy another amp that can play
nice tones on lower volume. Any suggestions? Mini Recto? Dark terror?

 

[LP Freak]

Refer to my first post......inherent Marshall tones.

 

[evilrocker]

yep I know, just wanted to include those results for people reading this in the future. But I wanted that SD custom anyway,
didnt buy it because of a post! At reherseal yesterday I hade great sound, LP Trad Goldtop SD Custom in to tube screamer and my JMP cranked
but i didnt hear what the drummer was doing

 

[LP Freak]

Yep, that's an age old recipe that always works.

 

[Meathead]

Cranked the amp to above 5 on the master volume... now there's the solution.

So my JMP has to be played loud to not sound harsh, well, then I need to buy another amp that can play
nice tones on lower volume. Any suggestions? Mini Recto? Dark terror?

That's the reason I won't own an old Marshall again.
A cranked, early 70's, non-master volume Marshall is my favorite tone in the world, but it's way too loud for anything I'd ever need now.

 

[Greazygeo]

I thought I'd just let you know the result when I tried different solutions.

1. Changing pickup wasnt the solution, I bought a Duncan Custom and still harsh.
2. Tried V30's wasnt either the solution.
3. Cranked the amp to above 5 on the master volume... now there's the solution.

So my JMP has to be played loud to not sound harsh, well, then I need to buy another amp that can play
nice tones on lower volume. Any suggestions? Mini Recto? Dark terror?

Change the cap on your gain/ Channel I Vol control to 100pf instead of the stock value.

and whatever you do don't listen to my suggestion of getting rid of the JJ power tubes.

 

[TrueTone500]

Go with the Alnico Gold drivers. Big money, but worth every penny.