Sell JCM 800, get SF Deluxe Reverb....(update)?

[BadAssBill]

I've had my JCM 800 for about 7 or 8 years. It is literally one of the tones in my head....just beyond what I could expect from an amp. The problem lies in that I'm in an R&B/Blues/Southern Rock band and don't have a ton of use for that type amp. The even bigger challange is that 50 watts is so loud for 95% of the places I play, that the amp has literally sat for 3 years. I've come close to selling it before, but every time I play it I pack it back up in the closet.

With the music I'm playing, the fact that it sits in the closet...I'm thinking of selling it and using that money for a silverface DR. A buddy pointed out that my amp collection would then have similiar type sounds with a Goodsell, SFDR and HRD.

I feel comfortable that I would be selling a "vintage" JCM to get a SFDR, and while I don't want to regret it I don't want a piece of equipment just sitting there to play twice a year.

Thoughts????

 

[NortheastHick]

I have the same amp with the 6550's even. I will never sell it, however; jcm800's seem to be getting a lot of money these days despite the lousy economy. If you could hold out till this economy turns around though, obviously you will get a lot more. I wouldn't feel bad selling it as long as you are getting something equally cool like an older black/silverface fender. OIW.....


Its a crapshoot...

 

[The P-Man]

I've had my JCM 800 for about 7 or 8 years. It is literally one of the tones in my head....just beyond what I could expect from an amp. The problem lies in that I'm in an R&B/Blues/Southern Rock band and don't have a ton of use for that type amp. The even bigger challange is that 50 watts is so loud for 95% of the places I play, that the amp has literally sat for 3 years. I've come close to selling it before, but every time I play it I pack it back up in the closet.

With the music I'm playing, the fact that it sits in the closet...I'm thinking of selling it and using that money for a silverface DR. A buddy pointed out that my amp collection would then have similiar type sounds with a Goodsell, SFDR and HRD.

I feel comfortable that I would be selling a "vintage" JCM to get a SFDR, and while I don't want to regret it I don't want a piece of equipment just sitting there to play twice a year.

Thoughts????

I have the same issue with my JCM800 (although I don't think it sounds bad with the master set quite low). I can't speak of he alternatives but I think if you like the 800 as much as you seem to, you will regret selling it. Is there any way you could just wait a bit longer and save the money you'd make on selling the Marshall?

 

[Franktone]

If you sell the Marshall, it won't be long before you will be looking for another.
Consider saving for an Aracom, and then you will always be using the Marshall in quieter situations.

 

[van5073]

This may or may not work for you, but I have recently rediscovered my 2204
using the low input. Surprisingly, I get a real nice thick clean sound and just use pedals for od/dist tones, in my case an HBE Powerscreamer. Played my first gig with this setup and had people coming up to me all night saying how good it sounded.

 

[kelvinator60]

Yes, a silverface Deluxe Reverb is a beautiful thing. Desert island amp for sure.

 

[Totally Bored]

Find a way to get the SFDR without selling the Marshall.

Feel the same about my JCM800 2205. Have not gigged her since 1994 but every time I play her I'm amazed. She's not hurting anyone hanging out in my Mojo Room.


FWIW, my 73 DR has been my #1 gigging amp since 1994. Don't kid your self, SFDR's can be frekkin loud. I never get mine past 4 and it's usually on 3-ish

 

[blackba]

Since the JCM800 is one of the tones in your head, I would keep it. Its hard to find an amp, that just has that sound that you want. I felt that way about the distortion on my Marshall 2553, it just nailed what I wanted to hear. It too sounds better turned up, so I am looking at an Aracom attenuator. I have heard there is some variation with the JCM800's, so if you got a particularly good one, I would sure hang on to it.

As far as your current band. Bands come and go. I have generally gotten burned buying gear for a band. Before long something happens and the band breaks up. You are then left with gear that you bought just to use in the band. Its happened to me a half dozen times now.

 

[Alvis]

What kind of JCM 800?

 

[riffmeister]

Find a way to get the SFDR without selling the Marshall.

I agree.

There could not be two more different sounding amps. You will have uses for both amps, I'd guess. Right tool for the right job kind of thing....

 

[bbutler123]

Instead of thinking about the JCM800, (which I wouldn't sell), let's think about the other amp. For live work, first realize that the audience probably can't hear a difference between a 1967 Deluxe Reverb with Bling-bling carburetors and $300 Fender solid state Frontman. You only think they can. And as for you, while the DR might sound better, MIGHT, maybe you could buy a $400 Bugera 22 or something inexpensive and maybe you couldn't tell much difference onstage either.

Then you could go home and have an 800.

 

[rob2001]

I think it depends on the motivation to sell. If you're tight on $$$ and need to sell to fund another I'd say sell. Tone is more important than the attachment. There will always be another.

What I would do is determine the amp/rig you want to buy and see if you need to sell it. If it's in good/great shape it's money in the bank. Safer than a real bank these days!! And you just never know when you will feel an uncontrollable urge to fire it up and burn!

Also, if you love the amps sound, is there anything you might do cab/speaker wise to make it usable with your band? Try a 2x12, attenuators? I mean southern rock and Marshalls go pretty good together and they are more versatile than given credit for.

 

[el34power]

What kind of JCM 800?

This may or may not work for you, but I have recently rediscovered my 2204
using the low input. Surprisingly, I get a real nice thick clean sound and just use pedals for od/dist tones, in my case an HBE Powerscreamer. Played my first gig with this setup and had people coming up to me all night saying how good it sounded.

If you sell the Marshall, it won't be long before you will be looking for another.
Consider saving for an Aracom, and then you will always be using the Marshall in quieter situations.

Yes yes and yes. If it's a 2203, 04. Even more. I sold an 81 2204 and regreted it for 12 years until I found an 84 2203. Due to a lack of headroom in the High input for a multi lead guitarist band. i use the low input with either an MI audio Tube zone, Crunch box, OCD or other with a clean boost for solos, with great succes. And when i want to go back to the high input, well there it is. You should look into a good OD for that low input. or even with the pre and master both at noon with some vintage type cones, you can get pretty bluesy... I do!

 

[Mike Fleming]

Naturally this being the gear page, the answer you are going to get is "both".

I had a '79 2204 for years, main amp, I played it all the time and loved it. It is the ultimate rock amp.

But I also sold it and went fender/dr z. A few years ago I was playing more and more country and less and less rock, and the 2204, as awesome as it is at what it does, wasn't right for those sounds. I miss it in some ways I guess, but not really, because I'd never be using it. It would be sitting like yours is. And if i need to rock on some occasion i can crank the z and use pedals, it won't be the same but it is rare enough that it will work fine.

The issue of the market does make this choice a little harder. I bought my 2204 for 250, sold it for 700 five years ago, and now they go for like 1200. But I'm still sure I did the right thing, especially because i needed the money to fund new amp purchases, and I'm really happy with those amps.

However if I were you, I'd be checking out some SFDR's first, before selling the marshall. I'd make sure it was the sound I was looking for, and make sure I found the one I wanted. Because like your friend says, it might be a tone you have covered already with other amps. But it might very well be a new tone for you and the perfect tone too, but i'd just try to play a few first and make sure.

 

[shark_bite]

So why not just use the HRDx or the Goodsell and hang onto the JCM? Maybe I'm missing something here but as much as I love a good SFDR, it seems like you've got your bases pretty well covered already. Why get rid of an amp you like?

 

[67blackcherry]

You like the Marshall but haven't been using it. Want to pick up a SFDR.

I'd say keep the Marshall if you can, but if not, sell it and get the Deluxe. That amp will more than handle anything thrown at it. I gigged for years with my hard rock original band, and my BFDR was killer. Turn that puppy up to 6 or 7 and......

 

[scelerat]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. I had a great Marshall -- combined with my Tele, I had found "my" sound -- but was playing in a country band. Sold the Marshall and bought a Deluxe Reverb Reissue. The DRRI sounds fantastic, but I have huge regrets on selling the Marshall, and if I could do that period of my life over, I would have found a way to make the Marshall work in context.

I know that no Marshall will ever get the sparkly grind that a Deluxe can. However, you can EQ the amp, get an EQ pedal, compressor, change pickups or guitars and get a lot of clean snap from a 50w Marshall. Maybe an attenuator and an open-back 1x12 cab with Fender-y speakers?

If you love the amp, I say find a way to make it work. The audience almost never cares.

 

[JohnSykes]

Dont sell it, man.

 

[hawkeyeinexile]

i've got a JCM800-style 50w amp. put 5881s in it and rebiased - perfick for all kinds of uses...

e.g., Master @ 1/4 and Gain @ 1/2, bump up the mids & it has great bluesy potential

 

[Alvis]

The problem lies in that I'm in an R&B/Blues/Southern Rock band and don't have a ton of use for that type amp.

That would seem ,to me , no problem for that amp (Im assuming it's a single channel 800) Do you think it's too aggressive an amp for what you're doing ?

Some simple tube / speaker tweaks could easily take care o' that

Keep the marshall and hunt for an Ampeg Gemini (the better deluxe reverb....... shhhhhh)