Silver Jub and Smallbox

[skoora]

Had an interesting experience getting to play a Silver Jub reissue and a Friedman Smallbox the other day. You can definitely hear how the Smallbox is a very refined, Marshall based circuit. Very well balanced low to top end. Mids, Treble and Presence all at noon sounded pretty spot on for A440 rock with a Strat. The Silver Jub though was more untamed, raw. Even had a little more gain on tap. But the bass (more available than the Smallbox) on it's highest setting gets a little wooly on low palm mutes and the top end and mids take a little more dialing in as it has a much stronger EQ sweep than the Smallbox. Also the gain above 2-3 O'clock on the lead channel gets too loose. But the Jub had more top end available which I like as with humbuckers the smallbox can start needing the mids and treble set pretty high to get old school, high gain sounds. The extra bass in the Jub sounded killer when going for classic rock and non-metal hard rock tones. Very punchy and big. The EQ responds just like the originals I've had in the past.

All in all the Smallbox may be a little too polite compared to the Jub but it's an obvious example of a guy who has heard a lot of Marshall's and fashioned a very balanced little rock machine. But I think I would pick the Jub. It just had a gnarly aggression to it that I think would record better for what I like, where I think the Smallbox once through a mic might be needing help to achieve nastiness. The store had a speaker switching setup so got to try them through 3 cabs at the flick of a switch. Very cool.

 

[Racerxrated]

Nice. Jubes take boosts very well, and with an eq pedal or TS type they tighten up nicely. Great amp.

 

[zoom club]

Is the small box basically a Jose mode?

I mean, I am to lazy to study the scheme, but I know where the jube clips.

Personally, I like the original 2204 circuit with a ts in front and a low impedance pup.

 

[John 14:6]

I have owned an original Jubilee head and now own a Smallbox. The Jubilee was a great amp, but the Smallbox is the best amp I have ever owned or played through. If you get a chance to spend some more time with the Smallbox try turning the presence knob up if you want raw and angry. I have owned plenty of great Marshall amps over the years and the Smallbox can sound every bit as raw and mean as the best Marshalls. The knobs on the Smallbox actually do stuff and playing with them some get you all kinds of awesome tones.

 

[Rdodson]

Is the small box basically a Jose mode?

I mean, I am to lazy to study the scheme, but I know where the jube clips.

Personally, I like the original 2204 circuit with a ts in front and a low impedance pup.

Cascaded but no zener. Cathode follower I believe.

 

[mniel8195]

My smallbox is worlds apart from my old jcm800 50 watt head. I like the clips on the new jub but the friedman stuff always has a magic feel and tone that's hard to describe.

 

[Rick Lee]

Subscribed. Been shopping hard for the right deal on a Smallbox, but these comparisons to the Silver Jub have me thinking. I haven't played through either, but the YT videos have me GASing badly for one or the other. I bought four Marshalls last month, so I need to take it easy. But GAS is not easily cured.

 

[skoora]

I have owned an original Jubilee head and now own a Smallbox. The Jubilee was a great amp, but the Smallbox is the best amp I have ever owned or played through. If you get a chance to spend some more time with the Smallbox try turning the presence knob up if you want raw and angry. I have owned plenty of great Marshall amps over the years and the Smallbox can sound every bit as raw and mean as the best Marshalls. The knobs on the Smallbox actually do stuff and playing with them some get you all kinds of awesome tones.

I definitely tried getting the presence up but the Jubilee just naturally had more nastiness. Some amps just have it. The small box just got a lot brighter. The small box sounded great but the Jub just put that classic Marshall grin on me.

 

[Racerxrated]

I've had a chance to play a BE, Smallbox and a JJ. All are very smooth/refined/compressed compared to a good Marshall/SLO/2C+ etc IMO. Cool amps and are easy to play because of that compression, but I like the raw organic nature of the others I mentioned. I'd imagine a Phil X or Dirty Shirley would be more to my taste.

 

[SavageRiffer]

You'll get a lot more for your money with the 2555x. Indeed the Smallbox is outstanding, but the Friedman name is a big part of its value. In terms of features, well the Smallbox is minimal. You still need a pedal with either amp. The Silver Jubilee needs a pedal, and when you use one, it's unstoppable. Between the two, neither is better in tone than the other. Friedman is great but it's not *better* tone. The Marshall sounds every bit as good. The 2555x has a 1/2 power mode an awesome bias feature which allows you to use a variety of tubes.

The lead tone of the Silver Jubilee is out of this world. If I had any reserve in my praise for the Jubilee, it would be that I find it kind of a balancing act with my pedal board to be able to get a great lead tone and a great rhythm tone at the click of a switch. What sounds good for rhythm doesn't necessarily sound good for lead tone, so it's kind of hard to find the right balance if you play gainier styles in my opinion. The Smallbox is pretty bright so it sounds great for rhythm or lead, but it's not going to have the same magical lead tone as the Jub. Don't get me wrong because the Smallbox is sublime, but I am of the opinion that the Jub's specialty is the lead tone.

I can't say that I understand what you mean by "polite" and "more raw" because I think they both have those qualities. The Jub can be very dark and smooth. Like the Soldano SLO, to get the full experience, you really need to feed the Jub some volume. The Smallbox is like that on the plexi channel, but I thought the gain channel sounded pretty damned great without even drowning out the TV.

You might want to consider comparing the Astoria 2-channel against the Smallbox as it's a bit less unique than the Jub. They're more comparable in price, both as bright, both have that plexi magic on channel 1, and both are superior to regular production quality. I'm saying this with less than 15 minutes of experience with the Astoria. That's how good I thought it was. Unfortunately, somebody with enough money walked in and recognized what he saw, and walked out with it within minutes.

 

[John 14:6]

I have owned an original Jubilee head and now own a Smallbox. The Jubilee was a great amp, but the Smallbox is the best amp I have ever owned or played through. If you get a chance to spend some more time with the Smallbox try turning the presence knob up if you want raw and angry. I have owned plenty of great Marshall amps over the years and the Smallbox can sound every bit as raw and mean as the best Marshalls. The knobs on the Smallbox actually do stuff and playing with them some get you all kinds of awesome tones.

I definitely tried getting the presence up but the Jubilee just naturally had more nastiness. Some amps just have it. The small box just got a lot brighter. The small box sounded great but the Jub just put that classic Marshall grin on me.

Not my experience with the Smallbox at all. Turning the thing up just makes things better. I have owned Marshall amps from non-master volume to the JVM. I had an original 50 watt Jubilee head back when they came out too. I have had other boutique ultimate Marshall amps also, but I have never had an amp that sounded or felt as good as the Friedman Smallbox. It makes my effects pedals and overdrives sound better than ever as well. The loop is awesome and the amp is still fun to play just cracked on. At band volume it is incredible. No one amp is going to do the trick for everyone, but it works perfectly for what I want and need out of an amp.

 

[skoora]

The lead tone of the Silver Jubilee is out of this world. If I had any reserve in my praise for the Jubilee, it would be that I find it kind of a balancing act with my pedal board to be able to get a great lead tone and a great rhythm tone at the click of a switch. What sounds good for rhythm doesn't necessarily sound good for lead tone, so it's kind of hard to find the right balance if you play gainier styles in my opinion

I do wish you could have the rhythm clip disengage when switching to lead. It gets a little too compressed for me if the clip stays on.

What model Astoria did you try?

 

[zewango]

Lot of similar comments. Loved the Small Box I had. Bought a Jubilee and when you get the volume and gain around 1pm(when the volume cranks) hit the front end with an OD pedal, the amp is smoking.
Made me also sell my Small Box. Both great amps. $$$ wise Jubilee great deal

 

[311boogieman]

Does either amp have clipping diodes in preamp? Just curious. I have no idea. I had heard at one time that the Silver Jube did.

 

[zoom club]

Does either amp have clipping diodes in preamp? Just curious. I have no idea. I had heard at one time that the Silver Jube did.

As Mr Dodson informed me in the fifth post, the sb has no zener.

Of course the jube does.

 

[V2a]

the Jube has two different solid-state clipping circuits in the pre.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Interesting review. Thanks. At the end of the day play whatever gear does it for you. Me... I've found nothing more pleasing than my orange Suhr into my Smalbox cranked up, except maybe my Ecstasy. Depends on the tone I'm going for. Would like ve to hear clips.

 

[Racerxrated]

the Jube has two different solid-state clipping circuits in the pre.

The Jubilee was Marshalls answer to all the modded JMPs/JCMs back in the 80s. So it has LED clipping I believe which was unique then. But they definitely need a boost to get you into metal and beyond. I think they have a great tone for the buck ratio at 1800 new. Some people turn their nose up at pedals/diodes in front of an amp, I don't find much difference in a pedal in front of a Marshall or a 5 stage modded Marshall...I have an Aldrich Sovtek and its all tube, when I play my 800 and a boost at volume I can't tell which has the pedal and which is all tube. I doubt any of you could either with all that gain added on. It either sounds good or it doesn't. Diode clipping at high gain vs all pretube high gain? I've played both kinds....no easy way to tell by ear anyway.

 

[braintheory]

the Jube has two different solid-state clipping circuits in the pre.

The Jubilee was Marshalls answer to all the modded JMPs/JCMs back in the 80s. So it has LED clipping I believe which was unique then. But they definitely need a boost to get you into metal and beyond. I think they have a great tone for the buck ratio at 1800 new. Some people turn their nose up at pedals/diodes in front of an amp, I don't find much difference in a pedal in front of a Marshall or a 5 stage modded Marshall...I have an Aldrich Sovtek and its all tube, when I play my 800 and a boost at volume I can't tell which has the pedal and which is all tube. I doubt any of you could either with all that gain added on. It either sounds good or it doesn't. Diode clipping at high gain vs all pretube high gain? I've played both kinds....no easy way to tell by ear anyway.

How do you like the Aldrich Sovtek compared to your other Cameron modded Marshalls you had before?

 

[Racerxrated]

I honestly think it might be the best Aldrich I've had. I've had 3 others, and a 2203x that had a modern mod that was really good. But this Sovtek has a girth that is pretty special. And its about the size of a Kemper lol...I'd forgotten how good these Cameron's are.