Modern JCM800's, are they any good?

[Jon BCN]

Lately, I've seen some videos of some JCM800's that really blown me away. The one with Lee Malia and the That Pedal Show guys and also some of the videos of this guy:

But seems that all those amazing Marshall sounds are from Marshalls of the 80's.

Are nowadays JCM800's not as good?

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

PCB mounted pots but besides that, the circuit is what it is and they are probably more consistently built now than they were back then in terms of circuit values so yeah, they are going to sound just fine when you turn them up. It is a classic circuit that is meant for boosting. The prices for the "vintage" ones are stupid now so I'd just buy new or go to a builder and get one. Got my 2204 / 82 combo for 900$ . You will never see those days again.

 

[RaceU4her]

for the $3k they are going for new they better be good

 

[Racerxrated]

IMO the vintage iron sounds better to my ears. The only reissues I’ve liked were modded; not a fair comparison. It’s like when I owned a 2555x and an original 87 2555 at the same time...the reissue sounds spot on UNTIL you push the volume up...that’s when the original left the reissue behind. I would even go so far to mention that there was a transformer change in the later 80s that made them sound thinner; along with the filtering change by 85. So if I were looking for one I’d bide my time for an 84 or earlier. JMP 2203/4 also had some lower voltage transformers in the late 70s so they may be less aggressive than an early 800, with more sag. But they still sound great. I’d look at any from 77-84..the 76 2204 didn’t have a cascaded preamp but can be modded fairly easily.

 

[Bad.Seed]

I've owned 2 reissues and preferred them to all the vintage ones I've owned.

Consistency is key in this though. The 2 reissues I owned were 7 years apart and sounded damn near Identical. I A/B'd them because I owned them at the same time.

Every vintage 2203 I've owned has sounded vastly different, but they're had 35-45 years to age, plus all the small circuit changes, possible mods, repairs, etc that have happened in that time. They're a total crap shoot.

 

[Racerxrated]

I've owned 2 reissues and preferred them to all the vintage ones I've owned.

Consistency is key in this though. The 2 reissues I owned were 7 years apart and sounded damn near Identical. I A/B'd them because I owned them at the same time.

Every vintage 2203 I've owned has sounded vastly different, but they're had 35-45 years to age, plus all the small circuit changes, possible mods, repairs, etc that have happened in that time. They're a total crap shoot.

Yep they do vary. But unlike others, out of the 20 or so JMP/JCMs none have been even average sounding. They’ve all sounded good to amazing. The 3 2203x stock amps were kinda sterile or flat sounding to me, even boosted + loud. But the Cameron 2203x I had was amazing, with original transformers. So whatever he changed certainly worked in that amp.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I think if you want bang for buck, get a Ceriatone or Granger. You'll be getting a PTP so you can make minor mods as needed.

 

[Jon BCN]

for the $3k they are going for new they better be good

Here in Europe they cost half of that.

I guess I could buy one new and have it modded by Dave Friedman down the line.

 

[Bad.Seed]

I've owned 2 reissues and preferred them to all the vintage ones I've owned.

Consistency is key in this though. The 2 reissues I owned were 7 years apart and sounded damn near Identical. I A/B'd them because I owned them at the same time.

Every vintage 2203 I've owned has sounded vastly different, but they're had 35-45 years to age, plus all the small circuit changes, possible mods, repairs, etc that have happened in that time. They're a total crap shoot.

Yep they do vary. But unlike others, out of the 20 or so JMP/JCMs none have been even average sounding. They’ve all sounded good to amazing. The 3 2203x stock amps were kinda sterile or flat sounding to me, even boosted + loud. But the Cameron 2203x I had was amazing, with original transformers. So whatever he changed certainly worked in that amp.

One Man's sterile is another man's tight

Truthfully, all the older ones I've owned have definitely needed work. Everyone one of them had a saggy/flubby load end, which 'I'm sure can be attributed to old/failing caps and components. Truthfully, I just flipped them, collected the cash and moved on.

 

[nigelpkay]

Not an exact comparison but I was in a room with a 2203X and an 80’s 2204 through the same guitar and cab, and the 2204 had more oomph in the balls department, yet was also a little more loose sounding. Something about that old iron.

 

[Samhain]

"JZM-800" ....... he got alot more going on there than amp & guitar.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

I've owned 2 reissues and preferred them to all the vintage ones I've owned.

Consistency is key in this though. The 2 reissues I owned were 7 years apart and sounded damn near Identical. I A/B'd them because I owned them at the same time.

Every vintage 2203 I've owned has sounded vastly different, but they're had 35-45 years to age, plus all the small circuit changes, possible mods, repairs, etc that have happened in that time. They're a total crap shoot.

I had a '77 2203 that I could never jive with. Maybe the speakers I had were not a good match, but through V30's and K100's, it just sounded ice picky in the highs, and flubby in the lows. No meat to the tone at all. I did have it recapped, retubed, everything.

I had a '84 (horiz input) 2204 for a while that I then sold to my bandmate to be his main head. That amp sounded great but didn't tighten up very well, even with a boost.

I've played/heard others that absolutely slayed, but my firsthand experience with 2203/2204's has not been great. Both of these amps made me miss my VTM-60, which is the best "Marshall" I've owned.

 

[Racerxrated]

I've owned 2 reissues and preferred them to all the vintage ones I've owned.

Consistency is key in this though. The 2 reissues I owned were 7 years apart and sounded damn near Identical. I A/B'd them because I owned them at the same time.

Every vintage 2203 I've owned has sounded vastly different, but they're had 35-45 years to age, plus all the small circuit changes, possible mods, repairs, etc that have happened in that time. They're a total crap shoot.

Yep they do vary. But unlike others, out of the 20 or so JMP/JCMs none have been even average sounding. They’ve all sounded good to amazing. The 3 2203x stock amps were kinda sterile or flat sounding to me, even boosted + loud. But the Cameron 2203x I had was amazing, with original transformers. So whatever he changed certainly worked in that amp.

One Man's sterile is another man's tight

Truthfully, all the older ones I've owned have definitely needed work. Everyone one of them had a saggy/flubby load end, which 'I'm sure can be attributed to old/failing caps and components. Truthfully, I just flipped them, collected the cash and moved on.

The older ones definitely have to have the can caps replaced IF it sounds loose and flubby, with no balls so to speak. My 83 2203 had bulging and leaking caps; after changing them its a monster that will give a 100w Wizard a run for its money.

 

[Bad.Seed]

Not an exact comparison but I was in a room with a 2203X and an 80’s 2204 through the same guitar and cab, and the 2204 had more oomph in the balls department, yet was also a little more loose sounding. Something about that old iron.

More than likely it was old caps and not old iron making that difference.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

That reminds me, I think my 82' could use a cap swap, still originals and it doesn't seem to cut as much as it once did..

 

[Jon BCN]

What about the Friedman Jake E Lee?

The second channel it’s based on a JCM800 with two modes: one like a stock and the other like a hot rodded 800.

I haven’t heard a clip that wowed me yet, but the fact that it can be played at bedroom volume and sound good it’s a plus.

 

[Racerxrated]

What about the Friedman Jake E Lee?

The second channel it’s based on a JCM800 with two modes: one like a stock and the other like a hot rodded 800.

I haven’t heard a clip that wowed me yet, but the fact that it can be played at bedroom volume and sound good it’s a plus.

THAT amp is the Friedman that I'd go for; seems to be a very basic raw/open modded Marshall tone. Killer. If you are able to spend that much on an amp I'd think you could easily grab a super nice condition 77-84 2203, or a used Wizard MC along with the Jake amp and be good. Any one of those 3 amps will get you want you want...the Marshall needing a boost pedal of course. Those vintage JMP/JCMs sound better than any reissue in my experience.

 

[Jon BCN]

What about the Friedman Jake E Lee?

The second channel it’s based on a JCM800 with two modes: one like a stock and the other like a hot rodded 800.

I haven’t heard a clip that wowed me yet, but the fact that it can be played at bedroom volume and sound good it’s a plus.

THAT amp is the Friedman that I'd go for; seems to be a very basic raw/open modded Marshall tone. Killer. If you are able to spend that much on an amp I'd think you could easily grab a super nice condition 77-84 2203, or a used Wizard MC along with the Jake amp and be good. Any one of those 3 amps will get you want you want...the Marshall needing a boost pedal of course. Those vintage JMP/JCMs sound better than any reissue in my experience.

I love how Wizard amps sound in the videos I've seen, but they are almost 5K and also, unlike Friedmans, they don't sound as good at bedroom levels.

So is almost 5K + Two Notes Captor X + Good speakers to have a Wizard at home. Easily 6000 euros for all. That's just too much.

The Friedman JEL100 is allegedly based on the 800 DNA, but of all the videos I've seen, it’s sounds more like a hot rodded plexi to my ears. It’s dry, tight and a more on the thin side.

My ideal tone is early Metallica, and I don’t know how the Jake E Lee would be for that.

 

[CornNutz]

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... -tube-head
$3k for the reissue, Jesus

If anyone is willing to spend 3k on that reissue, send the check to me, and i'll build you a quality amp.

 

[Jon BCN]

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JCM800--marshall-jcm800-2203x-100-watt-tube-head
$3k for the reissue, Jesus

If anyone is willing to spend 3k on that reissue, send the check to me, and i'll build you a quality amp.

Maybe I call Dave and order him a 50watt Pink Taco with EL34, the simple clean and some other switches like the Sat and the C45.