marshallmel
Well-known member
I'll be honest and tell everyone that I never gave the split channel JCM 800's a thought. I was always a 2204/2203 or a 1987/1959 guy. About a year ago, a friend of mine wanted to trade me a 4212 for my Mesa Studio 22+ combo. Having very little money tied up in the Mesa, and after playing the Marshall, I decided to go for it. I knew the Marshall needed some work but I decided it would be fun to tinker with. Ended up changing some pots and threw in a fresh set of 6550's as well as two G12H-65 70th Anniversary Celestions, as it had a reconed (very poorly I might add) G12T-75 and a V-30. Bought a 2x12 roadcase off a different friend and VOILA...new rig. Throw it in the band trailer and forget about it.
Over the course of the year (about 30 shows) I've grown very fond of this amp and have gotten many compliments on tone, and many questions about my rig. I'm not exactly sure if this amp is special or if they all sound decent. Might be the speakers that I loaded it with, perhaps? Who knows?
So...last week I take a trip to GC and what do I see? A 1984 JCM 800, 4210 model. I plug into it and start to play. The thing sounds fantastic as well. I buy it and I've been playing it every day since. Just like the 4212 I own, this one has 6550's and also a replacement speaker (English made V-30). Both take pedals like a champ and have a pretty good effects loop. I run them both the same way.....on the OD side with the gain at slightly past half way, use the vol knob on the guitar to clean up, OD pedal of choice for more gain. Makes me wonder if I didn't give the other split channel 800's that I played a fair chance. Maybe tubes and speakers in this particular amp have a huge effect on tone?
I'd like to hear some other thoughts and experiences you guys might have had with the 2205, 2210, 4210, 4212, etc....
Over the course of the year (about 30 shows) I've grown very fond of this amp and have gotten many compliments on tone, and many questions about my rig. I'm not exactly sure if this amp is special or if they all sound decent. Might be the speakers that I loaded it with, perhaps? Who knows?
So...last week I take a trip to GC and what do I see? A 1984 JCM 800, 4210 model. I plug into it and start to play. The thing sounds fantastic as well. I buy it and I've been playing it every day since. Just like the 4212 I own, this one has 6550's and also a replacement speaker (English made V-30). Both take pedals like a champ and have a pretty good effects loop. I run them both the same way.....on the OD side with the gain at slightly past half way, use the vol knob on the guitar to clean up, OD pedal of choice for more gain. Makes me wonder if I didn't give the other split channel 800's that I played a fair chance. Maybe tubes and speakers in this particular amp have a huge effect on tone?
I'd like to hear some other thoughts and experiences you guys might have had with the 2205, 2210, 4210, 4212, etc....
sounds absolutely fantastic 
