FS: 1975 Marshall JMP 50 2204 Watt MKII Master Volume Head

King Guitar

Banned
New member
1975 Marshall JMP 50 Watt Model 2204 MKII Master Volume Head, All original and just serviced by Dave Friedman. Great condition and sounds like every 1970's and 1980's rock album. Put a OD in front of this and your playing Crazy Train.

$1700 shipped

First year of the Master Volume Marshall. Early model with old style power and stand by toggles. (They went to rocker switches mid 1975).

Organic enough for vintage rock and blues, and molten enough for metal, the JMP 2203 is the clear bridge from the classic rock amps of the late-’60s and early-’70s to the school of heavy-metal-approved amplifiers that would proliferate in the quest for more gain.

At its heart, and in terms of its aesthetics and power, the JMP 2203 — which eventually became the JCM 800 — is very much in the same spirit as a 50 watt Marshall Plexi with two EL34s in its power section. But there are very distinct differences with the JMP 2203.

First, instead of two channels and four inputs, there is only one channel with two non-blendable High and Low “Sensitivity” inputs. The Low input provides fat, lower gain sounds, bypassing one gain stage in the preamp, and a popular choice as a “pedal platform” for Marshall enthusiasts. Conversely, the High Sensitivity input will make humbuckers roar with tons of raunchy gain.

But the biggest difference is the JMP 2203’s master volume and “Pre-Amp” volume controls. By adding this cascaded gain stage in the preamp, and not relying solely on the power tubes for grinding tones, Marshall introduced thick saturation that was somewhat controllable thanks to the amp’s master volume.

A favorite of Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde, as well as a diverse range of players from Jeff Beck and Andy Summers, to Tom Morello and the Pixies’ Joey Santiago.













 
I always thought 76 was the first yr of the 2203/4? Interesting...Did someone fix the preamp in this one? These early ones had puny gain(2204s) since the preamp wasn't truly the cascading type until 77...the 2203s were always cascading. I've always avoided the 76 2204s for this reason.
Anyway that's a mint looking specimen!
 
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