Alternative to the JVM410

WiresDreamDisasters

Ahhh okay... I get it....

On the clean/crunch channel, it seems you get Clean green, Clean orange, Crunch red....
Then on the overdrive channel, you get OD1 green, orange, and red.

MatthewShreddery

 the WiresDreamDisasters said:

Ahhh okay... I get it....

On the clean/crunch channel, it seems you get Clean green, Clean orange, Crunch red....
Then on the overdrive channel, you get OD1 green, orange, and red.

That sounds like all the best bits of the 410 that caught my ears on the Rabea video he recently put up

monquixote

A quick bit of googling suggests the channels on the 2 channel model are different.

Different eq etc.

MatthewShreddery

My gut tells me that the 4 channel is the way to go. Head or combo... Hmmm.... 

lysander

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Ahhh okay... I get it....

On the clean/crunch channel, it seems you get Clean green, Clean orange, Crunch red....
Then on the overdrive channel, you get OD1 green, orange, and red.

No that’s not correct, the OD on the 205 is OD2 which is the ‘wrong’ one, hence a common mod is to turn it into OD1, which only involves changing a couple of resistors and capacitors.

PolarityMan

grumble grumble switching lag....

WiresDreamDisasters

lysander said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Ahhh okay... I get it....

On the clean/crunch channel, it seems you get Clean green, Clean orange, Crunch red....
Then on the overdrive channel, you get OD1 green, orange, and red.

No that’s not correct, the OD on the 205 is OD2 which is the ‘wrong’ one, hence a common mod is to turn it into OD1, which only involves changing a couple of resistors and capacitors.

Oh, well that sucks. I don't like OD2 as much as OD1.

TTBZ

As an alternative wasn't the Victory Kraken based on Rabeas original setup of JVM + 5150 or did I just imagine that? 

WiresDreamDisasters

The Kraken should be called the Cacken. Coz it's cack.

TTBZ

WiresDreamDisasters said:

The Kraken should be called the Cacken. Coz it's cack.

Oh I haven't spent a great deal of time on a Kraken but thought the one I briefly tried sounded good! But I like 5150s too.

WiresDreamDisasters

Yeah I love 5150's too. But the Cacken didn't sound anything like a 5150 to me. It sounded like a Marshall with all of the bollocks removed.

MatthewShreddery

So for me, because I'm not all that interested in the od2 channel but really like the clean and OD1, it'll have to be either the 410H or the 410c 

TTBZ

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Yeah I love 5150's too. But the Cacken didn't sound anything like a 5150 to me. It sounded like a Marshall with all of the bollocks removed.

Must have taken inspiration from Friedman

Thinking about it the current model DSL100HR might be a good lower cost/simplified alternative to a JVM. 2 channels and shared EQ but it works pretty well across both channels, has a similar modern Marshall sound. Vintage red mode is good for an 800 ish sound and OD1 (Ultra Green mode) is great for heavier stuff. With the 6 way JVM footswitch you can switch between all 4 modes, toggle masters and either FX loop or reverb on/off I think.

rockmonster

EVH 5150 100iii no contest. I’ve had a couple of JVM 410’s and a couple of HJS’s They are unfortunately nowhere near as good as the common or garden 6L6 100. I really wanted to like them. My opinion for what it’s worth is Marshall have tried really hard to please everyone with the 410 range by having all the mode switching bollocks. The latent switching on the 410h (it does exist don’t listen to all the 410 fanboys) is a joke - the HJS doesn’t suffer from this problem but the clean channel on the HJS is awful! 

This is of course my opinion but the EVH clean is big and warm or crunchy depending how you set it, the crunch channel is proper ballsy and the red channel, provided you tame the gain will never let you down either. But don’t expect it to shine at bedroom volume- yes it’s happy to play at just a whisper but it comes alive at gig volume.

3 channels with independent volumes and eq. You don’t need master volumes or different modes it sounds great without pissing about with it. Hook it up to greenbacks or Creamback M’s The EVH 4x12 is perfect! Set the volumes for a gig and forget! Add a couple of drive pedals in front for flavouring, Klon types work really well so does the tone freak naked  a boost in the loop for a little extra delay and reverb in the loop too if you like (loop is very good and switchable) job done! 

I love Marshalls and I really wanted to like the JVM 410 but I don’t. I actually prefer the DSL100HR (latest model) which is a keeper! In fact with the 6way footswitch the DSL is a great sounding and very versatile Marshall. It actually replaced my Custom Audio PT100!
Again only my opinion! Just saying

MatthewShreddery

Anyone any thoughts on the above?
@ICBM ;
@monquixote ;
@WiresDreamDisasters ;

Et al

WiresDreamDisasters

MatthewShreddery said:

Anyone any thoughts on the above?
@ICBM ;
@monquixote ;
@WiresDreamDisasters ;

Et al

Well...

I think the 5153 amps are great. But I only really have experience with the 50-watter. It's the only 50-watter I've ever played that felt like a 100-watter. Same big balls energy - trouser flap, punchy lows.. whatever you wanna say.

I think the volume jump between green and blue modes on the original amps is one of the most frustrating design decisions in the history of amp design. They tout them as 3 channel amps, but they're basically unusable as 3 channels. You have to pick green and red, or blue and red. That's your lot. Obviously the 100watters don't have this problem, and nor do the follow up designs with the cascaded knob stacks for gain and volume on the first channels.

They're very metal sounding though, and are nowhere near as flexible as the JVM. There isn't really any "de-metalling" the red channel. It is what it is. Big, bright, brash, and in your face. If you want silky leads from it, forget it.

I really like the DSL. I didn't know the new ones could be used with a 6-button footswitch. That piques my interest. Still has channel switching latency from what I've just read though!

RE: JVM clean. It's fantastic. That's one area where I think I completely disagree with rockmonster.

WiresDreamDisasters

TTBZ said:

With the 6 way JVM footswitch you can switch between all 4 modes, toggle masters and either FX loop or reverb on/off I think.

Yeah I just read about this. Pretty cool!

MatthewShreddery

Cheers everyone - this is really really interesting and helpful

MatthewShreddery

Seriously considering the dsl100h as well. Do they have a similar amount of gain (OD1, not od2)?
Any reliability issues I should consider, especially when looking at used examples

lysander

The DSL100HR is great, though I wasn’t a huge fan of the cleans