Marshall Vinatge Modern Vs. Jcm 900 Sl-X

[PentatonicPunk]

Any input on these two? I've been considering one or the other given a good price. Im starting to flip some gear around and although a Fortin Bones is in the future, I can't sway too far from my Marshall roots. Both amps try to do the modified thing only in stock form. I guess Marshall got tired of independant mod shops and tried it on their own. I think the VM sounds a bit better but the SL-X obviously has more gain on tap. Thanks for the input

 

[PentatonicPunk]

Just lookin for anyone who owns one or both of these amps to chime in with some input. Need some outside opnions.

 

[JTyson]

I dont own both, but have played both, I think the VM sounds better. the SLX is too squishy when the gain is really pushed, the VM stays tighter, and has a bit more depth to it IMO My 900 is a different model ( dual reverb) I also think the VM will give you more options with very little effort, if that matters

 

[Hollywood]

I have ran both and I was dissappointed in the SL-X bigtime. I got one and had it gone through all new tubes etc.. I thought it was pathetic. It was mostly good for bluesy stuff at best and if and only if you were playing a large venue then you could afford to crank it enough to see a decent benefit. but all in all I DID NOT LIKE IT. But to each his own.

 

[mrp5150]

I owned a Modded JCM 900 SL-X and it was one of the worst sounding amps I've ever heard. No experience with the VM, but I'd imagine it has to sound better.

 

[Hollywood]

I owned a Modded JCM 900 SL-X and it was one of the worst sounding amps I've ever heard. No experience with the VM, but I'd imagine it has to sound better.

I agree with that. I had mine modded after I tried it and it still sounded crummy. Like it was reaching or trying too hard.

 

[PentatonicPunk]

I heard some you tube clips of the Sl-X and wasnt really impressed. The VM sounded way better and sounded amazing when boosted. Anyone have one of these as their main rig?

 

[Hollywood]

Yngzaklynch has some clips on youtube on the Vintage modern . Some of the best sounding stuff I ever heard as far as the Vintage modern goes. I don't think he has that amp anymore but go give those a listen. Best I remember he boosted it with a keeley modded sd-1 pedal.

 

[jasonP]

I would say that the VM is a little tighter and seems to have a little more gain. Little more modern and aggressive sounding. I have an SL-X and only played a VM a couple times. Personally like the tone of the SL-X as it is more 80's style tone. I'm going to add a choke to mine in place of the resistor as I found a that to be a great improvement to the feel and tightness of the attack of the amp.

Did you guys that hated the SL-X have the EL-34 one or 5881's? IMO I thought the SL-X was a great sounding amp. I must have some tin ears.

 

[Hollywood]

I would say that the VM is a little tighter and seems to have a little more gain. Little more modern and aggressive sounding. I have an SL-X and only played a VM a couple times. Personally like the tone of the SL-X as it is more 80's style tone. I'm going to add a choke to mine in place of the resistor as I found a that to be a great improvement to the feel and tightness of the attack of the amp.

Did you guys that hated the SL-X have the EL-34 one or 5881's? IMO I thought the SL-X was a great sounding amp. I must have some tin ears.

I had the el-34's but I did play one before I bought mine that had some 5881's in it and it was awesome. But like I said the one I had never bonded with my ears even after I had it modded. I guess it is like any other piece of produced gear, ya get some better than others.

 

[Jordon]

50 Watt 900 DR's with EL34s or KT77's are very nice. I used one for 2 years playing heavy rock (Sevendust, Nonpoint style stuff) and didn't have to boost it. Haven't played on the Vm yet though.

 

[JTyson]

I owned a Modded JCM 900 SL-X and it was one of the worst sounding amps I've ever heard. No experience with the VM, but I'd imagine it has to sound better.

I agree with that. I had mine modded after I tried it and it still sounded crummy. Like it was reaching or trying too hard.

thats strange, I have one done by Todd Langner, and it sounds great, but its a diff 900 than the SLX

 

[LedZep77]

I heard some you tube clips of the Sl-X and wasnt really impressed. The VM sounded way better and sounded amazing when boosted. Anyone have one of these as their main rig?

I love my VM, but I don't use it for gigging due to the volume difference of the low and high dynamic ranges. I use both clean and crunch tones when playing live. I pondered picking up an amp selector to use the VM with my Pro Reverb into a single VM cab, but decided not to go that route yet. For now it's my DSL and an Ultra Plus for backup. As was mentioned above, boosting the VM is a treat. On-board reverb isn't too bad. All-in-all it's a very cool amp

 

[Anonymous]

The SLX is a KILLER amp, if you have good tubes and it's properly biased. The thing is, it's not a bedroom amp. The more you crank it, the better it sounds.

 

[Hollywood]

I will agree with Japetus about it not being a bedroom amp. I think I jus tgot one of the bad ones so to speak. I have played a few that were cool yet the one I lay'd the money out for sucked. But I sold it for exactly what I wanted for it and made money on it so my experience with the SL-X closed on a good note.

 

[jdzialak]

The SLX is a KILLER amp, if you have good tubes and it's properly biased. The thing is, it's not a bedroom amp. The more you crank it, the better it sounds.

I just grabbed a 50w SL-X for dirt cheap. It's a cool sounding stock Marshall. It nailed the Wicked Sensation tone the first time I plugged in. IMO
it reminded me a bit of a hotter 2210, or whatever those 2 ch 800's with loop and reverb are.
It's maybe a hair squishy but it works for me. Dual Masters is a cool feature, too.


Joe

 

[yngzaklynch]

I do still own my VM2466. I kicks ass with a OD pedal. The loop is picky but other than that.. i love it.

 

[Enjolras56]

Vintage Modern 2466 owner here for going on four years. It's my main gigging amp.
I love it. I pretty much only use the High Dynamic Range (HDR) usually pushed with a Creation Audio Labs Mk 4.23 or Holy Fire.
It was a challenge for me to find a solution to boost for solo volumes, but a dual volume attenuator was my solution.
Once you learn to dial in your preamp volumes (Detail and Body) great tones are to be had.

 

[mniel8195]

the 900 pre slx are good but their still 900's not my favorite amps, and with the fact its hard to find a magic 800 i would go with the vm.

 

[Michi]

I used to have the 2266, and our other guitarist used to have the 2466.

I'm sure both of us would still have their amps, if we didn't find boosting solos so difficult (well, it's not THAT difficult to execute). In hindsight and with the things I've learned since I'm heavily contemplating on buying a 2266 again, as a back up if nothing else. Absolutely love the sound of those amps!