Marshall JCM 800 or 1959slp

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sarthakbhogal

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Hi, i was looking for a marshall and finally settled on these two but cant decide on one. They both sound amazing. Please advise which one is better whoever has any experience with them. I would be using a power attenuator with the 1959slp. I play gnr, acdc, aerosmith, deep purple, dream theater, clapton, jimi hendrix and joe satriani. I know i have interest in varied genres of rock but please do help.


Guitar rig:
Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro(LH)
Boss DD-3
Boss DS-1
Ibanez TS808
Dunlop GCB95
 
Which 800, a 2203/2204 ? If so then u would be happy with either one as long as the plexi has either a master volume added or an attenuator in use. You may need a clean boost and or a compressor for leads or a touch more gain on tap. I would pick the 1959slp so long as you are prepared to use an attenuator as they are just too loud otherwise. Both sound pretty similiar and are great amps for the stuff you mentioned.
 
A JCM 800 2203, that was what i was looking at.
But, would the 1959slp require a distortion pedal to play more heavy stuff?

Thanks for your reply.
 
The slp can get cleaner than the 800 for you. I've had both and ultimately the plexi is "my amp". The 800 is cool and I would be happy with one, but I just prefer the slp.

I run it with the bright volume about 1 o'clock, so that I can ride the line between clean and crunch, and use a koko boost to get a little more aggressive.

Both amps like a good pedal in front of them. The 800 will much easier do metal, though.
 
I am not looking to do much metal, but would the slp be able to cover guns and roses and deep purple with a TS808 in front of it?
 
sarthakbhogal":3kgtzudt said:
I am not looking to do much metal, but would the slp be able to cover guns and roses and deep purple with a TS808 in front of it?
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Sure.
 
Go with the 1959 and attenuator. Hands down a better solution for the kind of music you reference. Much of that was recorded and is still performed with Marshal Superleads.

Part of the sound is the power section of the amp breaking up. At sane volume levels, the JCM800 is all preamp overdrive. So is a MV-modded Superlead. I'm all about power tube breakup - or more accurately, whole-amp breakup.

Now, if you were to run the 800 thru an attenuator and crank up the volume enough to get the power tubes cookin', that's very cool, too. Nobody seems to do that. I've done it with great results.
 
BC Audio":1brmnklh said:
Now, if you were to run the 800 thru an attenuator and crank up the volume enough to get the power tubes cookin', that's very cool, too. Nobody seems to do that. I've done it with great results.
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That was the way I liked to run it...after I had bought an attenuator. :lol: :LOL: I liked the master up around 7 or 8 with the preamp pulled down to taste. Kind of filled it out.

However, once I had bought the attenuator and realized it worked pretty well, I figured I might as well try a SLP. So I did and that was that.
 
I think youll be happier with an 800. You wont need the attenuator and truthfully , I think the 800 just sounds better than an attenuated SLP. If youre a pedal guy though , there isnt a better pedal amp out there than a Plexi. I have both (800 and a SL actually) and the Superlead is not usable without pedals. It is just flat out too loud. The 800 sounds good at any level
 
:rock: i guess i might be going for a 1959slp with an attenuator. I checked at my neighborhood store and loved it. Specially with a distrotion pedal in front of it. It is loud though but i like loud :rock:
 
Norton666":1rpgqnz1 said:
I think youll be happier with an 800. You wont need the attenuator and truthfully , I think the 800 just sounds better than an attenuated SLP. If youre a pedal guy though , there isnt a better pedal amp out there than a Plexi. I have both (800 and a SL actually) and the Superlead is not usable without pedals. It is just flat out too loud. The 800 sounds good at any level
Click to expand...

And, remember with the 800, if you want to use it as a pedal platform you can use the low input. The 800 will easily cover any of that stuff. You can get great tone at a reasonable level.
 
get a ptp slp clone have it modded then u got the best of both worlds..atleast thats what i did :) low gain input classic rock heaven jtm45/plexi tones then it has a high gain input that gets pretty dang nasty w/ a ts808. A local amp builder did my mods for me so Im not 100 % sure what all he did too it but it sounds freakn great .. best part I only have 1350 in it
 
Out of all the styles you mentioned, everything except DT was essentially recorded on Plexi's to begin with. Assuming you're willing to pony up for a decent attenuator, I think the 1959's just a more fun amp to play. You can definitely get it into the higher gain range too with a pedal like the Suhr Riot, Carl Martin Plexitone or one of the many Wampler distrotions.
 
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