School me on the JVM410 and JVM205 heads

[angelspade]

Are the transformers on the 410 noisy? I can hear it at idle, even when the volume is off. It doesn't bother me but I was just curious if it was normal.

I would love to get the 205 but my problem is.. I love every channel and every mode of this amp. Which channels/modes is the 210/205 missing?

the OD1 channel is "missing" from the 210H

 

[angelspade]

Thanks. It's been an unusually frustrating day with my gear. First, the new Marshall has something burst and now my Strat's tone knob no longer works after I swapped a humbucker. Maybe I just need a new tone knob and will pick one up tomorrow if they have it.

I think I might urge you to give the 410H a second chance when properly biased up. I bought one several years ago and never really gave it a proper chance and really should have. That said, if you prefer the Friedman and feel that it covers your needs for Marshallesque tones...Maybe just stick with that.

 

[jchrisf]

Anyone with a 410H notice power transformer hum? I looked at mine and the top couple of plates seem to be bent. I'm not sure if this is the issue or they all hum? I love this amp but would you all send it back for another?

 

[BABMusic]

I think I might urge you to give the 410H a second chance when properly biased up. I bought one several years ago and never really gave it a proper chance and really should have. That said, if you prefer the Friedman and feel that it covers your needs for Marshallesque tones...Maybe just stick with that.

I might. I think they don't have any b-stock inventory available right now, but they most likely will again. Or if they have a deal on a new one, I might try it again. I was strongly considering the Friedman Jose for a long time, but may hold off for a while. I don't expect they'll get cheaper or anything, but I think it might not have enough gain for ideal preferences. I know that with the Jose, you need higher output pickups to get enough gain. With the JVM, you can use any pickups you want and there's more than enough gain.

 

[angelspade]

I might. I think they don't have any b-stock inventory available right now, but they most likely will again. Or if they have a deal on a new one, I might try it again. I was strongly considering the Friedman Jose for a long time, but may hold off for a while. I don't expect they'll get cheaper or anything, but I think it might not have enough gain for ideal preferences. I know that with the Jose, you need higher output pickups to get enough gain. With the JVM, you can use any pickups you want and there's more than enough gain.

That Friedman Jose is a wicked sounding head. Have yet to hear anyone make it sound bad. But I understand your point...I would definitely miss the over the top gain and versatility of my JVM410.

 

[BABMusic]

@jchrisf I'm afraid I don't know much about transformers, but I do know that it's not unusual for them to bend a bit when shipping. Whether or not it hurts the amp, I don't know.

 

[jchrisf]

@jchrisf I'm afraid I don't know much about transformers, but I do know that it's not unusual for them to bend a bit when shipping. Whether or not it hurts the amp, I don't know.

I'm sending it back to MF today and they are going to send me another one when they get this one. Hopefully the new one won't have any issues. I love this amp.

 

[jabps]

Anyone with a 410H notice power transformer hum? I looked at mine and the top couple of plates seem to be bent. I'm not sure if this is the issue or they all hum? I love this amp but would you all send it back for another?
View attachment 433527

Never any hum from any of the one's I've owned. Sorry.

 

[jabps]

I may have a gotten a "good one" when I acquired my JVM410H...But mine is not noisy at all. In terms of tone, your statement is incorrect. With the 210H you are missing the channel that most prefer (OD1 Orange mode). That said, it's still a great amp with a lot of total options.

Neither have any of mine been noisy. At least no more noisy that any high gain amp. I've never used a Noise Gate. Still think they need to update them and add the Noise Gate though. Just to many players use them and should be IMO standard feature on any high gain amp.

If I wanted super quiet on stage I just used my Boss Tuner as a mute.

 

[jchrisf]

Never any hum from any of the one's I've owned. Sorry.

Mine went back today.. They are sending me a replacement. Let's hope this one sounds great and has no issues. I'm hoping it's not the new Vietnamese transformers? Are these still made in the UK?

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

I thought Vietnamese trannys would love you long time?

 

[BABMusic]

They did start using those Vietnamese transformers in their 800 modified series. I don't think mine had them that I sent back because I never heard any hum. I bet mine had been sitting for a long time because of that part that blew inside.

 

[angelspade]

Mine went back today.. They are sending me a replacement. Let's hope this one sounds great and has no issues. I'm hoping it's not the new Vietnamese transformers? Are these still made in the UK?

Don't know...But I have a friend who bought one new from Sweetwater about 3 months ago...And it's quiet and sounds great to my ears

 

[jchrisf]

Don't know...But I have a friend who bought one new from Sweetwater about 3 months ago...And it's quiet and sounds great to my ears

Good to know.. I'm hoping the next one will be perfect. I'm missing it already.

 

[jchrisf]

I was under the impression that when you save a preset to the midi footswitch it saves the tone settings? Or does that default to where the knobs are when you switch over?

 

[jasonP]

I checked the bias on my amp and it was 56mA on both sides so I biased it up to 70ish mA on both sides and really improved the tone and dynamics, I was impressed. I also changed the C229 cap on the crunch channel from .01uf to .0022uf and really helped the loose and flubby bass response from the crunch channel and the amp balances better across all the channels now. I was able to get it from the back side of the control board and remove it so didn't have to remove the control board or anything, it was pretty simple and worth while IMO as that was the only thing I would change about the amp. After 6 months still really enjoying this beast.

 

[jabps]

I was under the impression that when you save a preset to the midi footswitch it saves the tone settings? Or does that default to where the knobs are when you switch over?

It saves the channel, mode, master on/off and loop off/on. Knobs are not digitized so no.

 

[jabps]

I checked the bias on my amp and it was 56mA on both sides so I biased it up to 70ish mA on both sides and really improved the tone and dynamics, I was impressed. I also changed the C229 cap on the crunch channel from .01uf to .0022uf and really helped the loose and flubby bass response from the crunch channel and the amp balances better across all the channels now. I was able to get it from the back side of the control board and remove it so didn't have to remove the control board or anything, it was pretty simple and worth while IMO as that was the only thing I would change about the amp. After 6 months still really enjoying this beast.

Crunch stock is just unusable to me so changing that cap sounds like a plan. And yes 70ish is the sweet spot, at least for me as I tend to lean a tad cold on bias with certain amps. For me the JVM got a little cluttered for my tastes once I went higher than.

 

[angelspade]

amp balances better across all the channels now.

Interesting...What does this mean?...Just curious

 

[jasonP]

Interesting...What does this mean?...Just curious

After the mod the crunch channel isn’t overly bassy as before so it balances with the other channels better than before. It’s like all the channels blend better now and you aren’t trying to run the bass super low on the crunch channel to try and get rid to the flub.