If you were to buy one Marshall amp.. what would it be.. and why?

GavRichList

ElectricXII said:

Echoing the positive comments about JTM45s, this is my favourite Marshall, a 1962 Bluesbreaker - basically a 2x12 JTM45 with added tremelo.

Perfect, weight aside. My old one can now been seen in the background on TPS. 

Gassage

timmypix said:

As someone with an SV20H and an SC20H - is there anything that will do Plexi and JCM 800 sounds convincingly in one box, or are the circuits too different? I found the Victory Sheriff too dark; the plexi side was more JTM than 1959, and it didn't have the cut of a JCM. How do the JVMs fare on that front?

Yes. 30th Anniversary. (6100 head or 6101 combo). Make sure you get the EL34 version not the 5881.

But as techs will tell you, horrible to service. And run warm enough to heat your house. Cheap as chips if you shop around. The combo is actually believed to be the heaviest structure ever created by mankind and apparently considerably heavier than the Palace of Bucharest itself.

The JMP-1 Rack preamp will absolutely nail 800 tones but the preamp is largely s/s/ so not very reactive with vol on guitar or pedal.

the_jaffa

I'd love a Bluesbreaker in the style of the Fender Tonemasters. Proper cabinet, proper looks but digital sound reproduction and way way lighter than the real one.

ElectricXII

GavRichList said:

ElectricXII said:

Echoing the positive comments about JTM45s, this is my favourite Marshall, a 1962 Bluesbreaker - basically a 2x12 JTM45 with added tremelo.

Perfect, weight aside. My old one can now been seen in the background on TPS. 

I'll admit it's a bit unwieldy, but much less so than a 4x12.

Lestratcaster

JCM800 for me. Tried and trusted for all great rock tones.

randella

ICBM said:

1976 2203. Best-sounding Marshall I’ve ever played.

Funnily enough, that would be mine - with the added bonus (for me at least) that it'd be a birth year amp. Finding an unmolested one is... tricky. 

Anyway I got that 30th Anniversary which will do just peachy for now. 

randella

Lestratcaster said:

JCM800 for me. Tried and trusted for all great rock tones.

And that would be second, vertical input 2203. Basically the same amp (although I'll be corrected on that one).

Reissue is fine, Vietnamese transformers and all

rze99

fretmeister said:

With the caveat that I don't want to carry a full sized head anymore, let alone a 4x12...

I'd get either the mini Plexi or 800 and the vertical 2x12 to go with it. I'd also get a Fryette PS-2A so I could run them properly in the house. Even in 5W mode they are both mentally loud in the average lounge, but they do need turning up to sound good.

My favourite amp is a good JCM800 type, but there is also something magical about a plexi at 10. 

Re With the caveat that I don't want to carry a full sized head anymore, let alone a 4x12...

See my pic, I had my 4X12 cab split in two for maximum flexibility in all respects including lugging around! But yeah even the head by itself is not a trivial item to lug.

For a long time I played in an Alt Rock trio and used to put on 2x12 on my side angled in to me and the other  on the other side of the drummer better positioned for drummer and bassist. Great stage spread!

by the mid 90s I evolved this into splitting the signal and going into two amps, also positioning them across the stage. This was back in the days when you could still play at volume...

Now I just use one 2x12 sometimes when playing out, but I still use both 2x12s in my home studio... fab. 

Neilybob

Jonathangus said:

This one:

This one sounds amazing!

Neilybob

Silver Jubilee with matching matching cab all because of / 

LightB4sound

My marshall JMP1 preamp with the EL34 50/50 power amp into 1936 2 x 12s. Although best sound I've ever had, it is heavier than the sun. 

So probably a DSL 20c these days.

bazxkr

Mine would have to be a 50 odd year old Major. The sweetest tone ever heard a strat blitz through one. Doubt I'd recreate it as the fingers couldn't create that magic but would at least keep my neighbours awake

PAL

1974X Hand wired just pure Marshall sound.

Secret_Sam

GavRichList said:

JTM45 or a Bluesbreaker. They converted me from a life of Fender > Marshall. If asked I used to say that I hated Marshall amps… now my JTM45 is my go to and the one I’ll never be without. No frills, just sounds glorious. 

I like your chair as well.

randella

^^^ Eames? I'd like one myself!

Stuckfast

I have an old PA20 head which, although it's EL84 based, pretty much nails the one sound I'd really want from a Marshall, at about the right volume level. 

Modulus_Amps

Two for me

JMP 4 Hole 50w Lead Spec 1987, late sixties. Loud and the sound of most classic rock. The bonus on this amp is with a couple mini toggle switches can be made closer to the black flag Marshall amp which is great for blues rock and nice cleans too.

JMP 2203 Brighter and more aggressive, not as much gain as some think it should have, but boosted is the sound of 80 hard rock/metal. I really like this circuit with 6550 for a harder break up sound.

Lestratcaster

randella said:

Lestratcaster said:

JCM800 for me. Tried and trusted for all great rock tones.

And that would be second, vertical input 2203. Basically the same amp (although I'll be corrected on that one).

Reissue is fine, Vietnamese transformers and all

Actually I'll add a 2nd, some form of Marshall Plexi or SE Lead with the famous 'Dookie' mod (adding an extra gain stage). Glorious with open chords.

randella

Lestratcaster said:

randella said:

Lestratcaster said:

JCM800 for me. Tried and trusted for all great rock tones.

And that would be second, vertical input 2203. Basically the same amp (although I'll be corrected on that one).

Reissue is fine, Vietnamese transformers and all

Actually I'll add a 2nd, some form of Marshall Plexi or SE Lead with the famous 'Dookie' mod (adding an extra gain stage). Glorious with open chords.

I'd be interested to know about that circuit. The 2203 was basically two-thirds of a Plexi with a master volume and an extra gain stage (the 'cold clipper') added to generate the distortion that happened in the phase inverter of a cranked 1959 and would have been lost by attenuating the signal with the master just before the PI.

Any links for the curious? Genuinely interested in this stuff.

randella

In fact, you've got me thinking - whilst we're talking about modified Marshalls and extra gain stages I'd quite like a shot at SIR #39. I'd settle for SIR #36 if we're being snooty