School me on the JVM410 and JVM205 heads

[jabps]

Funny you mention that because his video was one I did watch. He was not a fan of the JVM410 and that did give me second thoughts on the amp.

Anyway, I'm just gonna go with the 410 this year. Not sure when, but sometime in 2026 and will report back when I receive it. Too many people said the OD1 is the best channel, so the 205 is always going to make me wonder if I missed out.

It didn't sound good on Kyle's video. Maybe the amp was jacked, maybe Kyle was jacked that day lol. No clue.

Really, the best starting point for that amp in my opinion is put your Bass, Mids and Treb at noon, work your Res and Pres and then tailor the EQ controls. All of mine are pretty much at noon still. Bedroom levels I crank the gain up but live and in the studio, backed off a whole lot. Set your Masters and then use the channel Volume for your control. And no, cranking the Master will not make the power amp section work harder like it does with some amps.

There is a mod for the 205/210 that can make it sound like OD1, one of the amp guys here probably knows more about that than me. See below. There's also a Boss GE-7 Trick you can use as well but I cannot find that for anything now. Years ago there use to be a whole chat site dedicated to the JVM, was a ton of cool info there and I thought I had a screen cap of the settings.

Ultimately the 410 is alot of amp and having both OD1 and OD2 is totally worth it. My recommendation if you do buy a 410 and start modding, buy it stock and take it step by step. I've owned 4 of them. My first stock that I still have, another that was modded with choke, NFB, Plexi which was sold. The Satch model, sold. And another stock 410 I got from the same friend who sold me the modded one and in turn eventually sold back the modded one lol. I currently have two stock 410's which I much prefer. Again, I'm on OD1 Orange most of the time but it's fun having the extra high gain options.

Flipside, it's still an amp and like all amps it'll either work for you or it won't.

Here's a link to the OD2 to OD1 mode...Here.

 

[angelspade]

It didn't sound good on Kyle's video. Maybe the amp was jacked, maybe Kyle was jacked that day lol. No clue.

Really, the best starting point for that amp in my opinion is put your Bass, Mids and Treb at noon, work your Res and Pres and then tailor the EQ controls. All of mine are pretty much at noon still. Bedroom levels I crank the gain up but live and in the studio, backed off a whole lot. Set your Masters and then use the channel Volume for your control. And no, cranking the Master will not make the power amp section work harder like it does with some amps.

There is a mod for the 205/210 that can make it sound like OD1, one of the amp guys here probably knows more about that than me. See below. There's also a Boss GE-7 Trick you can use as well but I cannot find that for anything now. Years ago there use to be a whole chat site dedicated to the JVM, was a ton of cool info there and I thought I had a screen cap of the settings.

Ultimately the 410 is alot of amp and having both OD1 and OD2 is totally worth it. My recommendation if you do buy a 410 and start modding, buy it stock and take it step by step. I've owned 4 of them. My first stock that I still have, another that was modded with choke, NFB, Plexi which was sold. The Satch model, sold. And another stock 410 I got from the same friend who sold me the modded one and in turn eventually sold back the modded one lol. I currently have two stock 410's which I much prefer. Again, I'm on OD1 Orange most of the time but it's fun having the extra high gain options.

Flipside, it's still an amp and like all amps it'll either work for you or it won't.

Here's a link to the OD2 to OD1 mode...Here.

I have talked to a few different players in LA as well as a couple techs that perform mods and the general consensus is that outside of a choke and upgraded transformers...Most seem to prefer the JVM410H in it's stock form. And I have yet to have anyone tell me that the Satch version sounds like anything other than a JVM suffering from Low testosterone. I'm leaving the one I have stock. That said, if somebody like Ground Zero (@RedPlated) ever starts modding the JVM specifically for modern metal (slightly tighter and more aggressive voicing), I would likely acquire another one and have it modded for that application.

 

[jabps]

I have talked to a few different players in LA as well as a couple techs that perform mods and the general consensus is that outside of a choke and upgraded transformers...Most seem to prefer the JVM410H in it's stock form. And I have yet to have anyone tell me that the Satch version sounds like anything other than a JVM suffering from Low testosterone. I'm leaving the one I have stock. That said, if somebody like Ground Zero (@RedPlated) ever starts modding the JVM specifically for modern metal (slightly tighter and more aggressive voicing), I would likely acquire another one and have it modded for that application.

Same. Was very disappointed in the Satch, I thought next step for the JVM, plus I really loved the JSX but nope. Not even close. Still, like the upgrades with the loop and Noise Gates which I think needs to be standard on any high gain amp. The modded JVM, first step was the choke, I couldn't tell any difference, then my buddy modded the rest of it. Was a waste of time for me.

Agree on Ground Zero, I'd give it go although when I think about it, not sure what I would have done lol. Mod the Crunch for sure but I ain't messing with OD1 Orange unless it could make it even better and not sure how he'd do that.

 

[BABMusic]

I found a store in town that has a 410 in stock, but it's b-stock. They can't let me play it in the store, but they can ship it.

Also, off topic, but what the hell is this?

https://www.sweetwater.com/used/listings/250565-used-friedman-sold

 

[angelspade]

Agree on Ground Zero, I'd give it go although when I think about it, not sure what I would have done lol. Mod the Crunch for sure but I ain't messing with OD1 Orange unless it could make it even better and not sure how he'd do that.

Generally the JVM could use a factory update that aligns with the features that you mentioned, we can probably all agree with that. In terms of a Ground Zero mod; the one thing that the JVM does not excel at (in my opinion) is a true "modern" metal rhythm sound. Ground Zero seems to have a way of retaining the the stock character of the Marshall (and Mesa) models that are modded, while making the amp present at tighter and more pissed off. I think this would be a great fit for the JVM.

 

[BABMusic]

Haven't yet played it, but I think if the reverb really isn't that good, they should have just replaced the 4 reverb knobs with 4 resonance knobs for each individual channel. How much more useful would that have been?

 

[angelspade]

Haven't yet played it, but I think if the reverb really isn't that good, they should have just replaced the 4 reverb knobs with 4 resonance knobs for each individual channel. How much more useful would that have been?

I personally find the reverb to be completely usable (when set at noon or below).

 

[killertone]

I have had mine since the RT buy in back in 2007. I still love that amp.

I have used it in brutal death metal bands as well as a old-school classic metal band and it nailed both no prob.

I have said it for YEARS on forums and FB groups etc….it won’t win you any cool guy forum/internet cred but it will destroy most amps in its price range with ease.

I see 410Hs going for $1200 all the time. Just sang one and give it a go.

 

[skoora]

It sucks you in with it’s no pedals required high gain but after a while you hear it missing a richness or certain growl the older ones had. Especially on the classic, hard rock tones. To me the later Megadeth albums are a great example of why I don’t care for it. Sure they’re tight, plug and play chug machines but really lack a feeling of size and character that I like.
That being said if you were doing a rock gig and it was your backline, it would be absolutely fine and probably do a great job. I wouldn’t have a problem using one live. Just would never want to record with one.
I think they also improve a lot through greenbacks. I almost bought a used 210H after demoing a 5150 cab with one (was looking at the cab) as they were a great sounding pair.

 

[killertone]

Here is a raw mic'd up double tracked clip. Un-boosted then boosted.

 

[angelspade]

Here is a raw mic'd up double tracked clip. Un-boosted then boosted.

Sounds killer brother!!!!

 

[killertone]

Sounds killer brother!!!!

Thanks man. I love that amp. I should play on it more!

 

[Smash]

Tons of gigging metal guys use those amps..i think there is better stuff out there. But in that price range, they are hard to beat.

That clip sounded mean as fuck, @killertone

 

[BABMusic]

It sucks you in with it’s no pedals required high gain but after a while you hear it missing a richness or certain growl the older ones had. Especially on the classic, hard rock tones. To me the later Megadeth albums are a great example of why I don’t care for it. Sure they’re tight, plug and play chug machines but really lack a feeling of size and character that I like.
That being said if you were doing a rock gig and it was your backline, it would be absolutely fine and probably do a great job. I wouldn’t have a problem using one live. Just would never want to record with one.
I think they also improve a lot through greenbacks. I almost bought a used 210H after demoing a 5150 cab with one (was looking at the cab) as they were a great sounding pair.

Yeah, this seems to be the tradeoff from what most people say.

Speaking of greenbacks, I kind of miss my greenbacks I just removed from my cab. V30s sound great with both my amps, but sometimes I miss that softness when strumming 3-note chords that the greenbacks provided. There's just something very nice about gbs, but they don't work with every amp or setting. I always felt like for very technical playing that gbs drag just a little bit, which I don't like.

 

[fek]

I am Greenback guy in the room. Listening to phone recordings with my rig, the V30's recorded better. Have not tried the EVH speakers with phone recordings though. This thread has me seriously looking at the JVM410. A couple are for sale locally for $1,200'ish are getting harder to pass up.

 

[angelspade]

I am Greenback guy in the room. Listening to phone recordings with my rig, the V30's recorded better. Have not tried the EVH speakers with phone recordings though. This thread has me seriously looking at the JVM410. A couple are for sale locally for $1,200'ish are getting harder to pass up.

DO IT

 

[jasonP]

Same. Was very disappointed in the Satch, I thought next step for the JVM, plus I really loved the JSX but nope. Not even close. Still, like the upgrades with the loop and Noise Gates which I think needs to be standard on any high gain amp. The modded JVM, first step was the choke, I couldn't tell any difference, then my buddy modded the rest of it. Was a waste of time for me.

Agree on Ground Zero, I'd give it go although when I think about it, not sure what I would have done lol. Mod the Crunch for sure but I ain't messing with OD1 Orange unless it could make it even better and not sure how he'd do that.

I would agree with you, the only thing I would change is the crunch channel to and tighten it up a little bit. The OD1 orange is really good and wouldn't change that channel at all.

I would be fun to try new like MM transformers and install a choke to get the plate voltages up where it was pre MAV manufacturing but I'm not sure if would really be able to tell a difference and I don't know if I would want to change the tone or feel of the amp from where it is. It's really freaking good on the OD1/OD2 channels IMO.

 

[angelspade]

One thing that's interesting is that I hear many comment that they wish that the OD2 channel was voiced more similarly to OD1. I agree that OD1 is fantastic, really nails that higher-gain, tighter, mid-forward "modded Marshall" vibe. That said, what I dig is that OD2 is that it's voiced so differently than OD1. This variance really adds to overall versatility of the amp. The mids sit lower in the frequency spectrum, making this channel present as slightly thicker and darker. Combined with the extended and more aggressive top-end, OD2 presents as bit less traditionally "Marshally" and more modern. I also understand the complaints about this channel being "over-gained" but at low volumes (where I play 80% of the time), OD2 with the gain at noon - one o'clock feels perfect to me.

 

[killertone]

One thing that's interesting is that I hear many comment that they wish that the OD2 channel was voiced more similarly to OD1. I agree that OD1 is fantastic, really nails that higher-gain, tighter, mid-forward "modded Marshall" vibe. That said, what I dig is that OD2 is that it's voiced so differently than OD1. This variance really adds to overall versatility of the amp. The mids sit lower in the frequency spectrum, making this channel present as slightly thicker and darker. Combined with the slightly extended and more aggressive top-end, OD2 presents as slightly less "Marshally" and more modern. I also understand the complaints about this channel being "over-gained" but at low volumes (where I play 80% of the time), OD2 with the gain at noon - one o'clock feels perfect to me.

This 100%. I love having the 2 different OD channels. I live on OD2 for modern/death metal and love OD1 for soloing. The amp is so versatile it’s insane.

 

[BABMusic]

I personally find the reverb to be completely usable (when set at noon or below).

I never really used the spring reverb in my DSL if I'm being honest. I liked having it though just because I thought it was cool.

I talked with my gear advisor at Sweetwater, and he spoke very highly of the JVM. But, he did say that it wouldn't really sound its best without an attenuator. That said, I'm definitely not buying attenuator, as my Mark IV for example sounds fantastic without one at low volumes. I'm damn sure the Marshall can sound good at lower volumes.

Anyway, I'm in the process of trying to sell my BE50. It's a tough market right now for sellers, and don't want to lose too much money on it. Can't really justify 3 amps (Mark IV, BE50, JVM410), so the BE50 makes the most sense to sell. Mark IV sounds too good to sell. I'll post an update later this winter or early Spring after I receive my amp and play through it for a few weeks.