Well --- I played my JCM 800 . Enough said LOL !

  • Thread starter Thread starter Panhead5
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Racerxrated said:
For me, it started with a Lee Jackson 2204 from 1985. Modded Marshall after modded Marshall…then Jubilees + a boost, then 2203/4 boosted. All are killer. Every time I tried a NMV JMP they didn’t sound as good as a 2203 with a boost…but they all had a master mod. Years go by and I have a great 83 2203, healthy with GE 6550s. Decided I would search out a pre pcb NMV Marshall just to have. Stock no mods. Found a 1972 SuperTrem for 2200 shipped from England. Great condition. Got it, fired it up and got that crunch. Nice. But then I started experimenting with boosts and found 2 cheaper pedals that for whatever reason sounded incredible with it….and one spot on each volume that turns it into the best sound I’ve ever heard for hard rock/old school metal. Not even my old Wiz MC100, or any of my C+ I owned can touch it. Just a sonic steamroller.
Desert island amp for me.
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Which pedals ?
 
rottingcorpse said:
I'm anxiously awaiting that amps arrival myself.
Can't wait to see/hear what you have to say/post about it.
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I definitely will let everyone know . I can’t believe how shitty fed ex has been . They say indefinite delay with no other reasons even when I call . But yes I will be posting !
 
Panhead5 said:
Which pedals ?
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Funny thing is, they are some of the cheapest I own. First in the chain (after the Decimator) is a Boss OD1X, then a 30$ Ultimate Drive (Chinese OCD clone) that I bought way back in 07. Both have everything at noon. After the UD is an 80s SD1, off, which acts as a buffer….if I remove it the tone isn’t the same. I’ve tried Airis, Thorpy, VFE, Wizard(Leopard), Suhr, Maxon, Dino pedals which sound nice but not as good as the first two.
 
I run two boards. A front of the amp board with my favorite ODs and a MXR EVH phase 90. And a board for my effects loop. When I use my 1983 JCM800 2204 I go back and forth between my VFE Dragon , Carl Martin PlexiRanger and my Boss SD-1 with C6 mod. I too have a decent collection of amps and honestly out of all of them a boosted JCM800 is the tone I just can't imagine not having.
 
Funny all this marshall talk was shot down in flames 20 years ago on this very forum. It was all cameron :yes: and if you disagreed as i did you were an outcast :hys:
 
no point making a new thread but the jcm800 talk here made me want to fire up my JMP and try out the bogner wessex I picked up a while ago. I like the articulation it has over a tubescreamer or SD-1.



got a couple of 4 holers which are cool but I don’t really like them with boosts. non-MV get too bloated for the heavy stuff. Only exception for me is the Marshall 2150 can get pretty aggressive with a boost, but it has a PPIMV so you can keep it under control a bit.

Funnily enough I can’t leave the SD-1 on my board as the bleed when it’s (supposed to be) off drives me mad. Guessing that’s what you’re liking adding to your tone as much as the buffering
 
easstudios said:
no point making a new thread but the jcm800 talk here made me want to fire up my JMP and try out the bogner wessex I picked up a while ago. I like the articulation it has over a tubescreamer or SD-1.



got a couple of 4 holers which are cool but I don’t really like them with boosts. non-MV get too bloated for the heavy stuff. Only exception for me is the Marshall 2150 can get pretty aggressive with a boost, but it has a PPIMV so you can keep it under control a bit.

Funnily enough I can’t leave the SD-1 on my board as the bleed when it’s (supposed to be) off drives me mad. Guessing that’s what you’re liking adding to your tone as much as the buffering
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Nah, you just gotta keep experimenting with different combinations of or different pedals altogether. No master needed. No bloat in my 72 boosted, at all. Granted, each of my pedals made the amp act very different but bloated isn’t a term that fits. Either way, my 72 blows the doors off any 2203/4 I’ve owned, at this point over 25. Great amps in their own right but I was shocked at how flat and boring they sounded when compared to the boosted 72. Maybe mine is some kind of aberration? But, back in the 70s/80s all the major players used these stock NMV Marshalls goosed with something…now I get it.
 
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How do u control the volume with no MV? I have one and have used it as a clean pedal platform but jumpered inputs and my volumes are barely at 2 which is clean. Distortion pedals sound great into it but it is a clean tone.amp is insanely loud BTW.
 
thenine said:
How do u control the volume with no MV? I have one and have used it as a clean pedal platform but jumpered inputs and my volumes are barely at 2 which is clean. Distortion pedals sound great into it but it is a clean tone.amp is insanely loud BTW.
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Once you're deaf volume isn't a problem anymore.
 
Racerxrated said:
The only thing better than a 2203/4 with a boost, is a NMV Marshall (stock, no MV mod) and a boost or two. It'll make the 2203/4 sound small. But there's no denying a good Marshall and a pedal. Tried and true.
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An added master volume doesn't kill their tone IMO.
 
Panhead5 said:
I 've had a JCM800 forever but rarely played it for some reason as I have a few other Marshall incarnations that preoccupy me . As I started reading threads on the forum and some of the classifieds I decided to fire that baby up yesterday for some 6 knob glory with an Archer I had laying around. After about 15 seconds I decided I wasn't sure why I needed anything else .

That is all !
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Glad you found something you like. 15 seconds is about enough time for me to turn one off. 😄
Those 800’s I never got along with. Have a 78 2203 I picked up, changed up alot of grounding etc. its better, my plexis are still my preference with Marshalls. Even back in the day when I modded them into 2203’s with some tweaks they were better for me.
 
anomaly said:
An added master volume doesn't kill their tone IMO.
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The examples that I owned, absolutely killed the tone and made it sound flat.
But, I have no idea what master was added, or when it was done so maybe the versions used today sound better?
 
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