Which Marshall???

[ryanc]

I've never owned a Marshall amp before but have been considering picking one up since I've been gravitating towards bluesy rock type music. I've been mainly playing different Fryette amps for the last few years. As I've been doing my research and starting to look into different models, I have found that there are ALOT of different Marshall amps and I have no idea which would be the best fit for me!

So, I'm looking for the best sounding tube combo that doesn't have to be cranked to sound great (probably a 1x12), so maybe something lower wattage? I would start out using it as my home practice amp, but if I ended up liking it better than my Sig X, I would like to mic it up and use it for gigging. We mostly play medium gain bluesy rock/southern rock type music, with some occasional mainstream, higher gain hard rock type music.

Need some flexibility. No '1 trick ponies'. At least 2 channels that can be dirty, a quality fx loop (for my G Major 2) and something that can clean up well when rolling back my guitar volume for all those sweet 'in between' tones.

Tone description: warm, fat/thick, organic, non-compressed, dynamic and articulate, tight, mean/pissed off growl, in your face cutting mids, all at relatively 'lower' volume levels (our gigs are in smaller venues). Looking for that orgasmic, warm, pushed tube growl. Thanks guys!!!

 

[Robbgnarly]

Used Marshall JCM2000 DSL401
Used Splawn Street Rod
Used VHT Pitbull 60

 

[Kelly]

DSL, although I prefer heads and cabs.

 

[ryanc]

I normally have always preferred a head and 4x12 cab, but have lately been considering downsizing and simplifying to a 1x12 combo (as long as it had enough flexibility) that I could mic up, and hopefully be able to crank it up more than my normal head/4x12 cab setup to get into that sweet pushed tube tone.

 

[Promit]

Honestly the JVM is the only Marshall that is likely to compete with the SigX at all, based on what you said. A DSL is fine, but it is nothing special.

 

[ryanc]

Ya maybe I'll end up deciding that my Sig is the best fit. I've spent very little time ever with a Marshall, and haven't really ever owned one that I can remember. Thought they might be worth looking into for the kind of music and tones I was after. Hopefully there will be some people that have played some Fryette amps as well that can chime in!

 

[Serenity]

Jubilee, if you can find one. Remember Marshall's sound best when cranked, but the Jub is ok at home levels.

 

[halcyon]

The new SL5 or the DSL40, perhaps?

 

[forum_crawler]

Nothing will match the flexibility of a JVM.
Midi switching will integrate really well with your effects, you can store low gain settings to work with your volume control...

Look into the JS model for the most versatile JVM experience.

----

Another option that is rather good would be a Traynor YCS50. They have hotrodded Marshall all over them.

 

[tamader74]

I have owned a lot of Marshalls in my day, and I've always preferred the smaller combo.s,...like the JTM-30, etc.,...Well my Grandson recently needed some $$$, and some help with a new(er) to him acoustic.

I wound up with his 2000 series AVS100, W/some decent digital effects (he lost the pedal, of course). I had sold all my SS amp.'s, I would get one and a beginner would always need something to start out with, and Poof, I would let it go.

Well, I needed a 'Good' sounding SS amp. as the closest amp. Tech to me is 160 miles round trip, and with these having the 'tubed' pre-amp., I decided NOT to sell it, but keep it for myself after checking out the sound/tone,...I was pretty amazed really, it really was the cat' s Butt with my Strat. Plus and it's Gold Lace Sensors.

I know this input was NOT the intent of this Thread, I'm just sayin'...these aren't half bad in an emergency situation. I really can't count off the top of my head all the amp.'s I have at this moment,...and have a new (to me) Ceriatone 18 watt Clone head coming my way,...But I really think as I said this is one to keep ahold of for now. Tom

 

[V-man]

If one were to take your requirements at face value, there are three sensible amps that nail versatility, have channel switching, and sound good at low volumes:

The 6100 30th anniversary was Marshall's first Whiz-bang amp. It has great med-low gain tone and is the first Marshall made that sounded good at low volumes. The amp would be on the upper end of affordable or the low end of pricey. The ONLY drawback to these amps is they are a royal PITA to fix if something goes wrong due to their complex design.

The DSL is a cheap and versatile amps though the earlier combos were known for overheating issues (so do your homework there).

The JVM has versatility (far beyond what you are looking for) but these are likely to be the most pricey of the bunch.


Otherwise, you may want to re-evaluate some of those priorities, because it seems you are looking for the "grail tone" and you already own a versatile amp. All the amps suggested above offer excellent tone and the features you want, but they are not the grail tones that made Marshall famous.

If you can overlook the channel switching issue, then you should look at the 2554 and 2558 1x12 and 2x12 Silver Jubilee Combos. These have FX loops and channel switching, but the lead channel doesn't work independently... the lead boosts the clean channel where it's set.



If you can overlook the FX loop, the 4010 and 4104 50W JCM 800 1x12 and 2x12 combos are worth looking at. These are the classic hard rock/metal amps of the 80s. they also have 50W channel switching amps with FX loop but they are a different circuit design from the other 800s (4210 & 4212 models).

If you can deal without channel switching, FX loop, and can put out some volume (or attenuate) a 50W JMP or JTM 30 (which would actually be much more manageable volumewise

 

[ryanc]

If one were to take your requirements at face value, there are three sensible amps that nail versatility, have channel switching, and sound good at low volumes:

The 6100 30th anniversary was Marshall's first Whiz-bang amp. It has great med-low gain tone and is the first Marshall made that sounded good at low volumes. The amp would be on the upper end of affordable or the low end of pricey. The ONLY drawback to these amps is they are a royal PITA to fix if something goes wrong due to their complex design.

The DSL is a cheap and versatile amps though the earlier combos were known for overheating issues (so do your homework there).

The JVM has versatility (far beyond what you are looking for) but these are likely to be the most pricey of the bunch.


Otherwise, you may want to re-evaluate some of those priorities, because it seems you are looking for the "grail tone" and you already own a versatile amp. All the amps suggested above offer excellent tone and the features you want, but they are not the grail tones that made Marshall famous.

If you can overlook the channel switching issue, then you should look at the 2554 and 2558 1x12 and 2x12 Silver Jubilee Combos. These have FX loops and channel switching, but the lead channel doesn't work independently... the lead boosts the clean channel where it's set.



If you can overlook the FX loop, the 4010 and 4104 50W JCM 800 1x12 and 2x12 combos are worth looking at. These are the classic hard rock/metal amps of the 80s. they also have 50W channel switching amps with FX loop but they are a different circuit design from the other 800s (4210 & 4212 models).

If you can deal without channel switching, FX loop, and can put out some volume (or attenuate) a 50W JMP or JTM 30 (which would actually be much more manageable volumewise

Thanks for all the great info! I don't need all the flexibility of the JVM, though it looks like a great amp to try out, and the midi capability would be great so I could run everything with my FC1010 midi pedal. I mainly need a warm channel/tone for my lower/medium gain bluesy tones, and a higher gain channel for my modern hard rock tones. I suppose I could try something without an fx loop, though I'm used to running my G Major when gigging. Not too worried about price. I want the Marshall with the warmest tube snarl without having to be totally cranked (want to be able to use it gigging at smaller venues without having to drown out the stage volume when getting into the amp's sweet spot volume-wise, and then mic it for even sound mix to the crowd).

 

[Kelly]

Honestly the JVM is the only Marshall that is likely to compete with the SigX at all, based on what you said. A DSL is fine, but it is nothing special.

Jeff Beck, Joe Bonammassa, and countless others tour with the DSL. I can't think of one major label act touring with JVMs. Nothing wrong with the DSL if you're going for modern Marshall tones.

 

[fogboundturtle]

Believe it or not what you need is a Marshall JMD1. I sold my DSL100 after I acquired mine. not only does it does very well plexy tone, JMC800 and JVM sounds but its more dynamic than any amps I have ever played. On top of that, you have XLR output to record while in standby mode. You have some effect that you can ignore or not. You have an effect passive loop.

If you don't believe me, go and read on the Marshall forum how this amp is actually better than the real thing : http://www.marshallforum.com/marshall-amps/64923-offical-jmd-series-thread.html

 

[Robbgnarly]

Believe it or not what you need is a Marshall JMD1. I sold my DSL100 after I acquired mine. not only does it does very well plexy tone, JMC800 and JVM sounds but its more dynamic than any amps I have ever played. On top of that, you have XLR output to record while in standby mode. You have some effect that you can ignore or not. You have an effect passive loop.

If you don't believe me, go and read on the Marshall forum how this amp is actually better than the real thing : http://www.marshallforum.com/marshall-amps/64923-offical-jmd-series-thread.html

Cool story bro

 

[Schafrocks]

Cool story bro

I used one at a benefit. It sounded excellent. Have you ever tried one? Oh, and I'm a tried and true JCM800 man too. But I thought the one I played sounded good, especially with the little time I had to spend with it.

 

[ryanc]

So the DSL's and the JVM's? All the tweakability on the JVM looks cool, but I could get by with less of that in trade for the 'best' sounding amp (which I know is subjective). If the general consensus is that the DSL's sound 'better' than the JVM's, but just have less knobs and gadgets, I'd then lean towards the DSL (or whatever amp you guys suggest as the 'best' sounding). If the best sounding amp just happens to have all the extra bells and whistles, well that's fine then too!

 

[fogboundturtle]

I used one at a benefit. It sounded excellent. Have you ever tried one? Oh, and I'm a tried and true JCM800 man too. But I thought the one I played sounded good, especially with the little time I had to spend with it.

It has tube in it . Two EL34 and an tube rectifier. It does sound amazing. The JCM800 2203 preamp is one of my favorite. It takes pedals just like a regular tried and true tube amp.

 

[Robbgnarly]

The JMD did not have a tube rectifier. It had either 2 EL34 or 4 EL34's

 

[fogboundturtle]

The JMD did not have a tube rectifier. It had either 2 EL34 or 4 EL34's

Its phase inverter. sorry for the confusion.