Lets talk Marshalls

  • Thread starter Thread starter cragginshred
  • Start date Start date
Fiesta Red said:
Doesn't seem like the reissues for the 1987x or JCM 800 are anywhere under 2K
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Unfortunately yes. That's why IMO finding a vintage version for 2500 is what I'd look for....they do show up at that price from what I've seen.
 
cragginshred77 said:
Running the SC20 low sounded like a$$ and was only useable at ear bleeding volumes and honestly sounded like a generic gain tone.
For the 2203x to be similar just bigger is a concern. Zero interest in an attenuator
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Had opposite experience with the sc20. Used it at low volumes lots, sounded fine.
Fiesta Red said:
Doesn't seem like the reissues for the 1987x or JCM 800 are anywhere under 2K
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There's an used 1987x local for $1600.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/msg/d/arlington-marshall-1987x/7644060284.html
 
I have to say this , I have JCM 2000 TSL 100 . People rag on it but if you treat like a Mesa Rectifier with boost and gate I get really good tones. But ya boost it to fix the sag low end and I love it
 
cragginshred77 said:
Running the SC20 low sounded like a$$ and was only useable at ear bleeding volumes and honestly sounded like a generic gain tone.
For the 2203x to be similar just bigger is a concern. Zero interest in an attenuator
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I realize it isnt quite the same, but I built an 18 watt TMB, with MV and attenuation is the only way to go. That master volume is fairly useless.
Actually should find a different way to run MV, its just like a Fender Hot Rod, 0-1 volume and its screaming. And its not a good sounding scream...
 
dcburn said:
I realize it isnt quite the same, but I built an 18 watt TMB, with MV and attenuation is the only way to go. That master volume is fairly useless.
Actually should find a different way to run MV, its just like a Fender Hot Rod, 0-1 volume and its screaming. And its not a good sounding scream...
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The 18 Watters have to be loud, imo. One of my best tones with a band was a cranked Retro King 18. Hated it at home. You're right, the mv on it wasn't useful for low volumes. Rather, I saw it as a power section dirt/headroom knob.
 
Racerxrated said:
Unfortunately yes. That's why IMO finding a vintage version for 2500 is what I'd look for....they do show up at that price from what I've seen.
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Jeremy sourced me a very, very clean 79 JMP for his Moab+ mods for 2300$, which is very reasonable IMO

at least in my area, both late 70s JMP 2203s and early jcm800 2203s are always around 3 grand, all day every day though.

Honestly even for 2500-3k, I would prefer to get a vintage one and send it to a competent tech, because the reissues are so close in price anyways.

I havent seen a 1987x or 2203x reissue for less than two grand in a very, very long while now

Racerxrated said:
That's a great deal; best one I've seen in a while. Definitely worth a drive if it's not too inconvenient.
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Absolutely, those amps are fantastic, and that's a good deal+worth a drive.
 
Techdeth said:
I have to say this , I have JCM 2000 TSL 100 . People rag on it but if you treat like a Mesa Rectifier with boost and gate I get really good tones. But ya boost it to fix the sag low end and I love it
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I (no surprise) have one of these too. Mine is an early one '99 with the nasty floating bias, crappy footswitch cable I had to cut down, and all of the other crap people hate these amps for. I was playing it this past weekend for nostalgia reasons (it was my first tube amp) and the top of it was scalding hot, who knows what is going on up there, it's the only amp I've ever had that went through power tubes like it does.

But the reason why I still have it after all this time is it sounds damn, damn good. Seriously underrated. The secret is to keep the gain below 7, or even 5. The bright cap is a big part of that tone and the higher the gain, the less noticeable it is, and the further away it gets from the more classic Marshall sounds. It's not a copy of a plexi, or a replacement for a 2203, but it's just a really solid amp with nice features. If you need more gain from it, boost it - don't turn the knob all the way up. Same thing as the JVM really, it has more gain than necessary and gets flubby/muddy turned up too high. Even with the gain at 5 or 6, you're basically at stock 2203 gain levels anyway. I also kind of like the "deep" switches, they don't seem to add mudd and just shake the room a little more.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
I (no surprise) have one of these too. Mine is an early one '99 with the nasty floating bias, crappy footswitch cable I had to cut down, and all of the other crap people hate these amps for. I was playing it this past weekend for nostalgia reasons (it was my first tube amp) and the top of it was scalding hot, who knows what is going on up there, it's the only amp I've ever had that went through power tubes like it does.

But the reason why I still have it after all this time is it sounds damn, damn good. Seriously underrated. The secret is to keep the gain below 7, or even 5. The bright cap is a big part of that tone and the higher the gain, the less noticeable it is, and the further away it gets from the more classic Marshall sounds. It's not a copy of a plexi, or a replacement for a 2203, but it's just a really solid amp with nice features. If you need more gain from it, boost it - don't turn the knob all the way up. Same thing as the JVM really, it has more gain than necessary and gets flubby/muddy turned up too high. Even with the gain at 5 or 6, you're basically at stock 2203 gain levels anyway. I also kind of like the "deep" switches, they don't seem to add mudd and just shake the room a little more.
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I have a friend who bought one new way back...he had nothing but problems with his. Eventually the dealer bought it back, and he got a used 6100 head instead...which he loves and has used for 20 yrs. Those can have their share of issues also..but he's had good luck so far.
 
Racerxrated said:
I have a friend who bought one new way back...he had nothing but problems with his. Eventually the dealer bought it back, and he got a used 6100 head instead...which he loves and has used for 20 yrs. Those can have their share of issues also..but he's had good luck so far.
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I had a jcm2000 DSL which was my first real tube amp, and it didn't have the bias drift or anything, and worked fine for years

But my buddy got the TSL, and it literally caught on fire. Twice. The thing was at our local tech more than it was at his house.

I don't think the TSLs sound terrible though. As rad said, if you run the gain low and boost them (like you would a recto) they sound quite good...they just don't really sound like a "classic" marshall.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
I (no surprise) have one of these too. Mine is an early one '99 with the nasty floating bias, crappy footswitch cable I had to cut down, and all of the other crap people hate these amps for. I was playing it this past weekend for nostalgia reasons (it was my first tube amp) and the top of it was scalding hot, who knows what is going on up there, it's the only amp I've ever had that went through power tubes like it does.

But the reason why I still have it after all this time is it sounds damn, damn good. Seriously underrated. The secret is to keep the gain below 7, or even 5. The bright cap is a big part of that tone and the higher the gain, the less noticeable it is, and the further away it gets from the more classic Marshall sounds. It's not a copy of a plexi, or a replacement for a 2203, but it's just a really solid amp with nice features. If you need more gain from it, boost it - don't turn the knob all the way up. Same thing as the JVM really, it has more gain than necessary and gets flubby/muddy turned up too high. Even with the gain at 5 or 6, you're basically at stock 2203 gain levels anyway. I also kind of like the "deep" switches, they don't seem to add mudd and just shake the room a little more.
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There are replacement pcb’s available to fix that issue. The early ones had the bias circuit wrong and one pair would go way out of range, red plate etc….they were $200-250 last I looked.
 
Greazygeo said:
There are replacement pcb’s available to fix that issue. The early ones had the bias circuit wrong and one pair would go way out of range, red plate etc….they were $200-250 last I looked.
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I was just getting ready to type the words red plating.
 
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