JCM800 sweet spot 7' 4'

[Kapo_Polenton]

Been a while since I bust out my 2204 build and tonight I had it on the attenuator just to put it through the paces and compare it to the Bugera 1960. It sounds pretty good everything on 10 where the tone controls are concerned but preamp dimed? Horrible. Almost like when you bridge a plexi and crank everything but almost worse. It's a hot mess. Now that said, everything at 6 and Master at 7 and preamp at 4? Now THAT's the goods. Is it just my build or does it sound good on yours too? Nice vintage gain with a humbucker and just a push from an OD you have lead tones. So simple, so good. Of course though, you need an attenuator as master at 7 is going to rattle some floor boards loose. But on a budget, I bet you could get some passable VH tones with all tone controls set to 10 and Master 7, preamp 4 and effects to taste. It completely changes what pedals you think work best with your amp too.

 

[frontline205]

I had an old JMP that I would dime the gain with. Loved that sound with an MXR wylde OD. But I played a heavy style of music. What didn’t you like about turning up the preamp

 

[SpiderWars]

Do you have the stock bright cap on the Gain control? It's been a while and I'm sure I didn't have the Master at 7 but it seems Gain on 4 would have too much bright cap and not full enough.

 

[scottosan]

^^^^ this^^^^. Bright caps lessen the effects of the gain. Then +/- 20% natural tolerance variance of the pots. Because of that alone 2 amps are never the same. Alway adjust with your ears, not where you think the controls should be. many people feel their controls need to be between 4-6.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Not a stock bright cap value, I have 500pf on this one but I also have a .68 uf bypass over v2 for a bit more cut. Besides that it is stock but of course values will drift or be slightly different and that can be the difference as scottosan said. I have a classictone transformer in this guy and I have always felt it is aggressive sounding compared to my 82 JCM800. NFR is 47k which might also be the reason why it can be mushier than the 100k that is usually there. I find the preamp cranked at high volumes fills out the sound more than it adds gain. Meaning the amp isn't any easier to play or harder to play, just more full/flubby.

 

[sivad]

Well Ace use to say put everything around 5 on his old Marshalls. He sounded pretty cool.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I tried it again last night and def. keeping the preamp low works best for me. Master I can take almost full pin and it still cuts and is plenty of gain. The preamp is almost acting like an EQ to tighten the whole amp. I can see where it might be a bit too much bite for some though.

 

[Nolly]

Sounds like you've got the amp very dialled in for that kind of setting. As you say, the preamp gain pot set that low is acting as a strong treble-peaker to give you a tight low end, you've got the extra cathode bypass cap to make up some more saturation, and you're driving the PI hard for more gain post-tone stack which will smooth things out more and give you more mids too. Bet it sounds great!