HELP my JCM 2000 DSL sounds terrible

[lastcowgirl93]

Hey Guys,

I've had it with my 2005 Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100W through my 1960A Cabinet (4x12" celestion G12t-75s). For some reason it sounds terrible and I have no idea why. I play heavy rock so my gains quite high but it seems to have this what I can only describe as sonic turbulence which makes it sound very shrill and harsh in the high end. It's been like it ever since I bought it a few years ago and it makes me cringe whenever I'm playing live hearing it come back through the monitors, its a small set of frequencies which always seems to be right on 2.7khz. The amp before I bought it had a full re-valve and service from a reputable music shop. I've messed about with all the settings on the amp, I've changed channels, backed off the gain, none of which seem to eliminate the problem (although the cleans are pretty sweet). Its the first valve head I've ever owned so I have very little knowledge on what else is out there and what my options are, is this just what amps sound like? - I've been recording with a friends Laney LC30 II and although that isn't ideal its a huge improvement.

In an attempt to solve the problem I've forked out for an attenuator, full new set of quality valves (with re-bias), and it sounds more or less exactly the same. I'm using the correct speaker jacks to hook up the head to the cab, my guitars are quality PRS's, and I've even tried backing off the gain and adding a clean boost as well as clipping the C12 cap (C12 mod apparently makes the amp less brittle in the high end) but still nothing seems to help. I mean, its not earth-shatteringly bad, its just not how you'd expect an expensive valve head to sound.

I'm so tired of throwing money at my rig Please Help. Any low cost ballsy amps out there that don't sound like their possessed in the high end?

 

[peckhart]

Are you able to try it through a different cab with different speakers? I've always found GT75s scooped and harsh. It could be a factor.

 

[midnightlaundry]

Midrange is what cuts in a mix in a band. Nothing wrong with the amp.

Get a Fender.

 

[napalmdeath]

Are you boosting green crunch? That's where it sounds best. Lead channel is harsh, IMO.

 

[Buckeyedog]

I'd try it with another cab/speakers. Never have cared for those 75s. Some of the older 75s that have been played for years sound ok, but newish one's.........not so much. Set up the green channel with some medium crunch and hit it with an OD of some sort. Maxon, Spark boost, etc. Good luck. That can be frustrating.

 

[Rick Lee]

I'll take it off your hands, if you're selling cheap.

 

[JerryP]

The DSL has 3 different caps labeled C12 and the early version had a different numbering for the parts so there's a possible 4 different C12's in the amp. Which one did you clip?
What are your settings?

 

[fusedbrain]

The easiest thing to try first is a couple of different speaker cabs. See if you can haul the amp down to the local shop and try a V30 loaded cab, and maybe a greenback cab, to get a feel for what the speakers are adding to your tone. Might be as simple as a speaker cab swap. You'd need a search warrant to find anyone that actually likes the G12T-75's, unless they're the vented ones from the early 80's. I'm mystified as to why Marshall continues to use them in their cabs.
The JCM2000's are decent amps, but I agree with others that the best tone is the green channel on the crunch setting and boosted. Jerry at FJA could likely mod it to get it sounding great, but depending on where you are located for shipping etc, you might be better off just selling the amp and trying something else if other speaker cabs don't do it for ya.
Used Peavey 5150 / 6505's can be had cheap and are great amps. The 5153 50 watt is another amp that's decent and sells for not a lot of $$ used, just to name a couple. Unfortunately, they'll all probably still sound like ass through that T75 cab.
Good luck with the tone search!

 

[D-Rock]

Flip it. Stop throwing money down that hole.
There's a whole wide world of wonderful amps out there.

 

[Bloodrock]

If you're using the Ultra channel you have to keep the treble and presence on 3 or less, or the amp can be really bright.