Modern Marshall JCM 800?

T

timeghost

Member
Hey everyone,

I’ve been looking around for a bit more modern JCM 800, but not overly high gain like a 5150. I want something that still retains the character, but has a bit more gain a tightness. Any suggestions?
 
The fit st thing that comes to my mind is to just have a Monomyth modded JCM800. I have one and it’s the tightest amp I’ve ever tried so far (with the right modes engaged). A Cameron modded JCM800 would also be great if one comes up, but they’re rare. 2 best options I know of by far for what you’re describing. Others may recommend Splawn’s, Gower or others. I’ve played those and countless others and imo a good Monomyth or Cameron modded Marshall smokes those. Some of those modded amps do come out better than others though

If those are out of budget or hard to find, maybe a used Engl Artist Edition or Peters amp could also work. Those are also nice amps. The Artist Edition is like a more open, Marshall-y Engl, but definitely still has some Engl character in there
 
Good options listed so far. My recommendations (in order of personal preference)

Splawn Quick Rod
Bogner Helios Eclipse
Friedman Runt 50
Ceriatone Yeti/Chupacabra.

Those are off the shelf variants. The Splawn, for me, is everything I wanted an 800 to be. Big, tight articulate palm mutes and more gain than you could need, although it's all usable because the amp never muds up.

For mods, I have a Monomyth modded 2204 clone that sounds great. There's also the Tower and Fortin modded options, as well as David Hopkins for mods. Ceriatone also has a lot to choose from as they have been pumping out a lot of designs lately. You have a lot of options.
 
Hopkins Pandora Modded JCM800 is the way to go. If you want early EVH to Wylde to even heavier, this amp does it in spades. I have one with the Pandora mod, V mod and voltage drop switch. I run mine on the low input and with a boost in front and this is the liveliest, heaviest, chewiest, most articulate amp I own. My Friedman BE100 DLX sounds neutered compared to the Hopkins JCM800.
 
A bit more modern JCM 800 with more gain and tightness = JCM 900 SLX

Will cost significantly less than any of the other options, other than maybe the Ceriatone, but still sounds great.
 
Sounds like you want a Ceriatone molecular by your description. All it is just a JCM800 with more tone shaping and clipping. It's not overly gained up.

I've owned Splawn Friedman and monomyth. If I was looking for a high gain 800 monomyth would be my choice hands down. But the description you gave of what you are looking for sounds like the molecular
 
timeghost said:
Hey everyone,

I’ve been looking around for a bit more modern JCM 800, but not overly high gain like a 5150. I want something that still retains the character, but has a bit more gain a tightness. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Runt 50.

I guess most missed the "not overly high gain" part...

The Runt 50 would be perfect.
 
Any clone or reissue JCM800 is what you want... PLUS a pedal. Why complicate things? When you want that legendary base crunch, that is the circuit you want. The others mentioned are all killer amps but look under the hood and there are enough changes in the circuit for it NOT to be an 800. (Besides the 800 KK,) The ceriatone molecular sounds great to my ear and is the one I would get but it isn't 800 and I don't hear that raw dry 800 crunch from it. I hear more turned down saturation. Nothing wrong with that, BUT more often than not people looking for what you are looking for circle back to the original. Just get an 800 clone from Ceriatone or a builder. It is like people searching for the "plexi" tone, getting an actual Plexi NMV style amp is what allows them to see God, not a MV amp pretending to be a big boy.

OR, if Cameron ever releases his diode clipping Hotmod, then you can get that tight gain all day long from an 800.
 
Splawn QR for sure - and even the newer fully loaded Nitro can cop great modded JCM tones. The ‘old’ voicing is definitely more reminiscent of the traditional JCM800 sound. And pushing the mids back in with the mid switch really gets you there when you roll the resonance and gain back.

New voicing, mids cut, resonance and gain up, and you can get very modern, scooped, thumpin’ tones.

The Drop B+ option on the 100 watt nitros really sells the difference between the more traditional and more modern sounds.
 
Racerxrated said:
Find yourself a KK JCM 800. KT 88s, built in boost and a great noise gate. Apart from a nice modded JCM (Monomyth comes to mind) the KK would be the stock Marshall I'd look for.
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Good to know! I'll have to find one and check it out. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
Any clone or reissue JCM800 is what you want... PLUS a pedal. Why complicate things? When you want that legendary base crunch, that is the circuit you want. The others mentioned are all killer amps but look under the hood and there are enough changes in the circuit for it NOT to be an 800. (Besides the 800 KK,) The ceriatone molecular sounds great to my ear and is the one I would get but it isn't 800 and I don't hear that raw dry 800 crunch from it. I hear more turned down saturation. Nothing wrong with that, BUT more often than not people looking for what you are looking for circle back to the original. Just get an 800 clone from Ceriatone or a builder. It is like people searching for the "plexi" tone, getting an actual Plexi NMV style amp is what allows them to see God, not a MV amp pretending to be a big boy.

OR, if Cameron ever releases his diode clipping Hotmod, then you can get that tight gain all day long from an 800.
Click to expand...
That's what I am doing now. I have a reissue from 2014. I was also looking at Friedmans, so I think I'll check those out too. Thanks!
 
ClintN667 said:
Sounds like you want a Ceriatone molecular by your description. All it is just a JCM800 with more tone shaping and clipping. It's not overly gained up.

I've owned Splawn Friedman and monomyth. If I was looking for a high gain 800 monomyth would be my choice hands down. But the description you gave of what you are looking for sounds like the molecular
Click to expand...
I'm really interested in Ceriatone, just don't know where I can try one out.
 
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