What's your favorite vintage Marshall?

[RockinRob]

i need to find one. Preferably a 50 watt JMP from mid 70s. I am 48 and have wanted one of these my whole life, and could just never find one that wasn't gutted or damaged.


I do see a 1976 2100 on Craigslist, but not familiar with that model. Anyone got the skinny on that one?

 

[stratovarius]

I think the 2100 is the 50 watt lead/bass combo, right? I would go for it.

 

[Sean French]

It's a 50 watt lead and bass. Is it a combo or head?
They are rare.
Go check it out. If you dig it , buy it.

BTW , my favorite Marshall is the JMP 2204 pictured in my avatar.

 

[Rogue]

http://www.drtube.com/library/schematics/69-marshall-schemas#JMP-2100

"This amp was in production from 1973 up to 1976. It is pretty rare as it was only available through mailorder. This is a two channel amp, one channel is that of an 1987 Lead amp and the other channel is that of an 1986 Bass amp. The 1964 is the head version of this 2100 combo."

Sounds pretty interesting.

 

[BADHAK]

Get a late 70's jmp 2203
Will get close to a Plexi sound but way more usable volume.
My 79 and 80 jmp 2203's sound great for blues,country,classic rock,hard rock and add a boost for classic metal. In fact,with the right pedal in front i prefer the 2203 to the expensive high gain boutiques ive tried/owned. Way more punchy and organic,with lots of chime without being harsh.
SG straight in,all 6 knobs at midday is instant ACDC.

 

[loudboy]

My first good amp was a '73 50W JMP, into a '68 1982A Lead/Bass cab.

Still haunts me...

 

[ufguy73]

Get a late 70's jmp 2203
Will get close to a Plexi sound but way more usable volume.
My 79 and 80 jmp 2203's sound great for blues,country,classic rock,hard rock and add a boost for classic metal. In fact,with the right pedal in front i prefer the 2203 to the expensive high gain boutiques ive tried/owned. Way more punchy and organic,with lots of chime without being harsh.
SG straight in,all 6 knobs at midday is instant ACDC.

what effective OD pedals do you run in front that dont lose too much bottom?

 

[stratpaulguy86]

i need to find one. Preferably a 50 watt JMP from mid 70s. I am 48 and have wanted one of these my whole life, and could just never find one that wasn't gutted or damaged.


I do see a 1976 2100 on Craigslist, but not familiar with that model. Anyone got the skinny on that one?

Hey Rob, I got to meet you at the Tampa Ampfest...I was the guy with the Welagen. I might have something right up your alley. I might be willing to part with my 100w '69 Superlead clone w/PPIMV to tame the volume if needed. Made from a George Metropolous kit when he was selling those.

 

[BADHAK]

what effective OD pedals do you run in front that dont lose too much bottom?

My favorite is the Ibanez TS808HW. .....volume up,gain down, tone off.
Tim works good too
Barber DD

The Ibanez is the best cause it does roll of bass,but when you hear the results....massive punch these amps have more than make up for the roll off.

 

[zenas]

I'd sure check it out non master volume Marshall combos seem to be pretty rare. And if you don't like the combo you can stick the chassis into a head.
Actually putting a 74 1987 into a combo as soon as I get done building the cab.

 

[illini]

My favorite is the Ibanez TS808HW. .....volume up,gain down, tone off.
Tim works good too
Barber DD

The Ibanez is the best cause it does roll of bass,but when you hear the results....massive punch these amps have more than make up for the roll off.

Add a Rat pedal to the list and I run the same OD options with my 82 Marshall 2204. The Tubescreamer works very well with this circuit.

 

[mscaggs]

I have to say my 1969 super lead has to be my fav. Yes it's loud, too loud really but dang it's amazing. I had a 70 50 watt but it was pretty bright even with the cap clipped. No PCB for me, but then again I'm spoiled lol

 

[Echoplexi]

After owning many of the various vintage marshall circuits I think my favorite overall is a jmp 2204.

I've had a lead and bass 50 like the op mentioned. It was a good amp but I owned it before I knew what I was doing as far as dialing in nmv marshalls so I don't think I got the most out of it

 

[DeaconBlues]

I'd love to have an older hand wired non-PCB Plexi, but I'm happy with my 1987x.

I'd go for a 1964 head, if I stumbled across one.

 

[JB6464]

68 Plexi 12,000 series with greenbacks .

 

[Tonekat]

I love all my Marshalls, each with it's individual sound. My Silver Jubilee, my 2204, my 72 SuperLead and my 70 SuperTremolo.

 

[ufguy73]

My favorite is the Ibanez TS808HW. .....volume up,gain down, tone off.
Tim works good too
Barber DD

The Ibanez is the best cause it does roll of bass,but when you hear the results....massive punch these amps have more than make up for the roll off.

Add a Rat pedal to the list and I run the same OD options with my 82 Marshall 2204. The Tubescreamer works very well with this circuit.

thanks guys - where are you typicall running your amp volumes when using these types of pedals? i assume not dimed but maybe just starting to break up?

 

[Rumble5]

My favorite is my '76 JMP 1987 Lead. It's essentially a plexi with a bit more aggressiveness. I had a PPIMV installed so that I can get the classic Marshall grind at reasonable levels, and I jump the two channels. The lead/bass sounds interesting. If you've always wanted a vintage Marshall then go for it if the price is right.

 

[illini]

thanks guys - where are you typicall running your amp volumes when using these types of pedals? i assume not dimed but maybe just starting to break up?

With the Les Paul (which is what I use the most often), I don't generally have the gain above noon. And many times I run it lower than that in the 10:00 zone. I have been using it without an attenuator for a few years now, and leaving the volume no higher than 3. Just a touch of gain from one of the pedals is usually enough for my rock needs. For leads I will stack another pedal into the chain. Usually an RC Booster or the Timmy.

I like the flexibility running the amp with the gain lower gives me. I do use delay occasionally, and running the amp cleaner sounds better.

 

[BADHAK]

thanks guys - where are you typicall running your amp volumes when using these types of pedals? i assume not dimed but maybe just starting to break up?

With SG ( 490 498 ) I run the amp pre at 6,vol at 3 on the 1980 2203, and 4 on the 79 2203(for whatever reason the amps are about equal volumes at these settings )
This is about ACDC Highway to Hell gain with the gtr vol on 7.
Hit the TS for solos, or turn down gtr vol a tad for hard rock/80's metal rhythm.
Into a quad of Greenies. ......heaven.
With this setup its at reasonably loud classic rock coverband volumes.....very usable for most real world applications.
For my corporate cover band i use a 2x12 with inefficient reissue 12-65s. ...everything else is the same.