JCM 800 1986 model bass head??

[Racerxrated]

Anyone try one of these? I realize they are very clean and without gain, so I'll have to buy an actual distortion pedal instead of just a boost. Its an early 80s model so vertical inputs. It has a slope and mid sweep knob I think...el34s. 600 bucks so I don't think I can pass it up..thoughts?

 

[webrthomson]

They are basically super leads with some component changes - you can mod them back to that spec pretty easily (the guy in Tool has one modded like that), so I'd say definitely get it!

Great platform for general mods too as the power section is the same as a 2203.

 

[Racerxrated]

The eq in this is a bit different than a vintage super bass, it has a mid sweep and slope controls so more like a parametric eq. But yeah for 600 its a no brainer....

 

[mixn4him]

That may actually be a Bass Guitar head not just a "Bass" spec guitar heads. They never had slope controls on the Guitar amps...

 

[Racerxrated]

Yup, it is a true bass head. So not an easy change to superlead or 2204 spec. But, it has Drakes and EL34s so I'm gonna grab a distortion pedal and hope I can get some saturation out of it. Vertical inputs so 81-83. Sounds like some guys use them for doom stuff, which isn't my thing. I'm hoping to get some modernish tones out of it, with all the low end available. One clip one YouTube sounded pretty nice, dude was playing Hendrix on it and it sounded decent. We'll see...I'll have it next week.

 

[halebox]

They are supposedly very different for the superlead circuit so strictly clean. Even bad for modding I hear

 

[Racerxrated]

They are supposedly very different for the superlead circuit so strictly clean. Even bad for modding I hear

Yup. No plans to mod, just ordered a Boss Adaptive Distortion and hoping that will work. Plus I have a few other pedals like most around here. God knows this thing should have enough low end!

 

[webrthomson]

Damn - that's a reading fail on my part I thought you were talking about a 1986 (year) super bass (i.e. 1992 circuit) not a 1986 circuit

 

[AndyK]

Beauty about those bass amps (aside from the warm rich tones) - you can use a simple old TS or SD-1 with them! Normally these pedals suck the low end away - but with the super bass, you WANT less low end. Another way, use an EQ pedal and lower the bass. Tightens up the amp and makes it more like an SLP!

PS--put a LARMAR on there STAT!

 

[blackie13]

edit

 

[Racerxrated]

Yeah this is a true Bass head, so a different circuit than the previous super bass amps of the 70s. It has a parametric mid selector, select the frequency then boost up or down. And a slope knob to reduce the boomy aspect of the bass. No presence though. The one clip I heard on YouTube the guy was playing Little Wing. Sounded nice, then he kicked on an Ultimate Drive (I have one) and got a dirty bluesy thing going. Sounded nice...I'm hoping with a true distortion pedal I can get all I need from one pedal. I'll report back when I get it...I have a new phone so I'll try yet again to make some kind of clip.....