The Marshall mods versus stock/boosted

[thiswaythatway]

Still to this day I believe the best Marshall's I've heard live are stock LOUD one's with Boss OD-1 or SD-1 or a Tube Screamer. With the right speakers/cab, guitar, amp, it just kills. We all complained that back in the 80's that the pros never revealed their secrets......maybe most of them didn't have any. I've played some stock JCM800's with a pedal and they sound just fucking awesome.

I guess for me a modded amp would be the only way I could play one in my house. There's no way I could play a loud stock JCM800 at home, probably why I'm using Mesa combo's now. When I had Marshall's back in the very late 80's early 90's I never used them at home, only for band practice and shows. Some of the modded Marshall's out there do sound good at TV levels.

Oh well, here's a JMP with a Boss OD-1. And believe it or not the speakers were 75 watters, from what I remember him telling me.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth]

Agree on all points........Loud JCM800 + SD-1 + broken in G12T-75's =

 

[nevusofota]

Agree on all points........Loud JCM800 + SD-1 + broken in G12T-75's =

word

 

[duodecim]

A valid point, but the sad truth is that few of us ever really get to crank a 100-watt Marshall, even in practice spaces or live in small clubs. So I wouldn't use the word "versus" as in opposition, but more like trying to find a practical compromise so we get to play more, at more times of the day, in more places and still sound acceptable.

I think we all agree a cranked tube amp is the holy grail.

 

[guitarmike]

Even if I could blast away at gigs I really do not want to own more than 2 or 3 amps. I currently have 2 and both sound good at whisper levels through a 4x12 and at concert level. My live rig is my "bedroom" rig.

 

[Devilinside]

Fuck yeah!!

 

[nevusofota]

I also think that a JCM800 50watter doesn't sound half bad at bedroom levels with a modded SD-1 to add gain. It doesn't take the place of the lost power amp gain but still sounds pretty good to my ears.

 

[petejt]

I always thought that the majority of the Marshall mods were just the integration of SD-1/DS-1/Tubescreamer based overdrive circuits into the amp.

 

[Ourworldisgrey]

I always thought that the majority of the Marshall mods were just the integration of SD-1/DS-1/Tubescreamer based overdrive circuits into the amp.

That and adding some mystery to the amp. Having an amp modded by some guy in garage just sounds cooler than using a pedal anyone can buy in any guitar store.

 

[glip22]

I always thought that the majority of the Marshall mods were just the integration of SD-1/DS-1/Tubescreamer based overdrive circuits into the amp.

Modding an amp usually means reworking the preamp. Allot more than incorporating a transistor pedal. Cathode bypass caps, plate load resistors, slope resistor, and many more gain,voicing, and grounding changes.

 

[Bob Savage]

Great video. I have the tribute album with Jake's studio version of Satch Boogie. Good stuff.

 

[headlessdeadguy]

I always thought that the majority of the Marshall mods were just the integration of SD-1/DS-1/Tubescreamer based overdrive circuits into the amp.

That and adding some mystery to the amp. Having an amp modded by some guy in garage just sounds cooler than using a pedal anyone can buy in any guitar store.

 

[Beyond Black]

Totally agree. I've got a '79 JMP 50 watt. Slammin' the front with a Maxon OD-9 as a clean boost and a Boss 7 band graphic for a little bit of tone shaping. Running it through either a Splawn 4x12 with Greenbacks or a Marshall 1960B with an X of Scumback X75's and M75's. Sheer tonal bliss I tell you. It doesn't get any better. Is is so fucking warm and has such a nasty grind to it. It's also master volume so it sounds great at lower volumes. I've also got a Fortin Cali modded Super Lead (that I'll take to my grave) that is capable of getting much tighter and more modern and brutal, but the boosted JMP still has a little something that the Cali doesn't. Everybody should have one.

 

[guitarman967]

That dude just rips....
I love my 800's. My 81' sounds great at low volumes especially with a pedal in front.

 

[stephen sawall]

I have always preferred the stock amps to modified.....

Besides the pedals mentioned I also like the Rat & MXR Distortion +. Seems like everyone was using a Rat for a bit there back in the day.....

 

[splawner]

One of the best amps i had was a 79 JMP boosted with an SD-1 in front...Nothing like it

 

[joepete77]

While I agree that everyone should have at least one stock Marshall , nothing comes close pedal wise to my modded Marshall's over the years. While on recordings a stock Marshall with a pedal will sound similiar to many of the mods, in person it's not only the tone but the feel and touch sensitivity that makes the modded route worth the extra dough for me. It seems that the rig just works together better having the gain available from the amp itself. Also I like being able to have a simple setup without depending on pedals as much.

 

[glip22]

One of the best amps i had was a 79 JMP boosted with an SD-1 in front...Nothing like it

Yeah. The one Art should have kept

 

[paulyc]

I used an older JMP MV with an SD-1 back in the day and loved it...except for the hiss, extra cord, battery or wall wart, and if you ever forgot or lost the SD-1 you were facked 'cuz the amp didn't have enough gain on it's own. Add in an eq for tone shaping and you just complicate the rig by a factor of 2 and have MORE noise...now you need a noise gate...another cord, battery, etc...or you put a loop in the amp and gate it there...now your amp is modded anyway, might as well put in another 12AX7 gain stage...it's a snowball effect, but it solves alot of issues...at least for me.

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I'm on the lightly tweaked 800/plexi train + OD. I find the more tubes involved, the fizzier the tone can sound and less raw and organic it can sound. Not in all cases mind you, but in a lot of them. I prefer the tightening effect of the OD. That clip sounded great... broken in G12T-75's sound great to my ears.