Is a JCM 900 worth modding??

[Lord Toneking]

All this talk of modding Marshalls but never really a mention of a 900 I thought the 900's were considered to be the "shitty" ones

Anyways, the reason I'm asking is that a friend has one and he hates it once he heard my Splawn. Being that theyre only worth $500 bucks or so maybe he could get a Friedman or Fortin mod?

yes? no?...maybe??

 

[droptrd]

I couldnt hurt.

But seriously, ive owned a couple 900s and I dont think they are as bad as theyre made out to be. I got some good tones out of mine. Id love to hear what someone could do with a 900. Could be the next ultra value bargin buy

 

[Lord Toneking]

I couldnt hurt.

But seriously, ive owned a couple 900s and I dont think they are as bad as theyre made out to be. I got some good tones out of mine. Id love to hear what someone could do with a 900. Could be the next ultra value bargin buy

Yes, that's what I was thinking

 

[thegame]

With a sledgehammer, yes

 

[droptrd]

Isnt the NATAS built on a 900 platform?

 

[Ancient Alien]

The 900 is simply an 800 with an overdrive/distortion circuit built in the signal chain.
If you remove that section and do regular mods, you should be able to get good tones.
I would ask Mr Fortin or Mr Friedman what they say

 

[glassjaw7]

900's don't suck despite what everyone says. Every time I jam on my buddy's amps, I always go for the Mark IV and the 900. The 800 rarely gets turned on because the 900 can do 90% of what the 800 can do and much more.

 

[thegame]

Isnt the NATAS built on a 900 platform?

No, the Natas is based on a Marshall Mode 4 circuit with an Intel chip equipped Metalzone built in.

 

[thegame]

The 900 is simply an 800 with an overdrive/distortion circuit built in the signal chain.
If you remove that section and do regular mods, you should be able to get good tones.
I would ask Mr Fortin or Mr Friedman what they say

The 900 series transformers are not as good as the old ones.

 

[glassjaw7]

Isnt the NATAS built on a 900 platform?

No, the Natas is based on a Marshall Mode 4 circuit with an Intel chip equipped Metalzone built in.

 

[droptrd]

Isnt the NATAS built on a 900 platform?

No, the Natas is based on a Marshall Mode 4 circuit with an Intel chip equipped Metalzone built in.

I heard you can get it with a "Grunge" circuit built in

 

[dstroud]

yeah, I found some pretty easy mods for the Dual Reverb online and was able to get some decent tones out of it. I remember changing the voicing a bit for some more bottom and got some more gain out of it. Also had EL34's.

 

[gtrwun]

I was watching one of my bands old shows from the early 90's last night, and my main rhythm amp was a 900 thru a TV cab with 25's in it, and I thought the tone was great. 900's do get a lot of flack, but I was happy enough at the time to keep it for several years. I didnt use it as a lead amp, but for crunchy hard rock rythym playin, I thought it was great stock. Matter of fact, Id like to buy one again I think to add to the herd....

 

[AndyK]

Heavy Metal Joe once told me that the clean channel of the Dual Reverb was based on an early Plexi design, which is why it sounds so much better than the gain channel (which has added diodes and op-amps to get the gain).

I would think a modder could remove the diodes and op-amps and get the gain channel to sound more like a JCM800 2203/2204 maybe?

I'd be curious to hear what Dave Friedman could do to the Dual Reverb. Good clean, and Friedman BE or HBE gain would be nice!

 

[glpg80]

i could do some serious mods to a 900 and make it one awsome contender, same thing with the kerry king marshall, they are also well made and awsome contenders

 

[Mudder]

I think Juggernaut had a modded 900 that was crushing.

I had an SLX about 10 years ago and it was fine once you got the volume up.

 

[glpg80]

I think Juggernaut had a modded 900 that was crushing.

I had an SLX about 10 years ago and it was fine once you got the volume up.

yeah i remember that video. i cant remember who did the work though? i want to say golub did it for some reason

 

[FUZZboat]

just get rid of marshall pcb and put in a metroamp 800 or Plexi board


you can always upgrade to a MM OT (and maybe add a choke) later

 

[Mudder]

I think Juggernaut had a modded 900 that was crushing.

I had an SLX about 10 years ago and it was fine once you got the volume up.

yeah i remember that video. i cant remember who did the work though? i want to say golub did it for some reason

I think Gutierrez did the mods, but not positive.

 

[Jordon]

I dont understand the bashing the 900's get. I used to have a 50-watt Dual Reverb and that thing sound get some really big, balls tones for low-tuned hard rock.