Best way to add reverb to a Marshall JTM45?

Keiko

No effects loop on these. According to the internet they sound crap with a reverb pedal?  

ecc83

Might be room to fit a tank? I did it to a Bstar 100W head.

Dave.

thecolourbox

Play it in a really massive church?

Alex2678

The reverb is in your mind man

Modulus_Amps

If you are not distorting the power amp of the JTM45 then just run it in front of the amp and ignore the internet. Certainly try it first.

If you are driving the power section you could fit an effects loop, like a Metro Zero Loss loop, headfirst loop, Mojotone loop etc. Run reverb in the effects. It is still before the power amp but before after the little bit of gain in the pre-amp.

If you want reverb after all the power amp drive then investigate the Fryette Power Station and use the loop on that.

Personally I find when driving the snot out of an amp at volume that reverb is not that important and may even be undesirable.

ElectricXII

I've got a Bluesbreaker, and occasionally run a Hall of Fame Mini into the front end. It's fine. 

GavRichList

They certainly don’t sound crap with pedal reverbs! I gig my JTM45 and use reverb a lot; my Meris Mercury7 sounds massive through it. 

As above, the internet is full of shit. Except this specific bit, obviously. 

Keiko

OK thanks, I'll give one a try then. If I'm trying to approximate a Joe Bonamassa kind of blues rock tone, what else will I need in the way of pedals? A tube screamer?

GavRichList

Keiko said:

OK thanks, I'll give one a try then. If I'm trying to approximate a Joe Bonamassa kind of blues rock tone, what else will I need in the way of pedals? A tube screamer?

…a rethink? 

Not my area of noise-making I’m afraid;
someone else will have to help here! 

strtdv

Keiko said:

OK thanks, I'll give one a try then. If I'm trying to approximate a Joe Bonamassa kind of blues rock tone, what else will I need in the way of pedals? A tube screamer?

My favourite overdrives into a Marshall are a Tubescreamer (though I prefer versions that have dedicated bass and treble controls rather than a tone knob), a Fulltone OCD, and an EMMA stinkbug, but I tend to like bite and articulation rather than smooth sounds.

For smoother tones the Tubescreamer is what you'll want, and probably a Klon clone of some sort.

Boromedic

A Boss SD1 is sometimes a better choice and cheaper than a Tubescreamer, both work well though.

Modulus_Amps

Keiko said:

OK thanks, I'll give one a try then. If I'm trying to approximate a Joe Bonamassa kind of blues rock tone, what else will I need in the way of pedals? A tube screamer?

Are you able to crank the amp? Joe plays loud and uses the full dynamic range of the amps. When doing this the type of drive you use becomes less important as it works mostly as a boost. 

If you are playing the amp at lower levels you will probably need a couple pedals stacked to get the dynamic range.
A tube screamer into a clean amp is not the JB sound IMO.

ICBM

Boromedic said:

A Boss SD1 is sometimes a better choice and cheaper than a Tubescreamer, both work well though.

I would say the Tube Screamer is better for blues/classic rock and the SD-1 for hard rock and metal - there’s not a huge difference, but the SD-1 into a Marshall really seems to bring out the upper mids and harmonics in a unique way, whereas the TS is smoother and fuller.

The Guv’nor MkI is fantastic for adding a ‘dirty channel’ to a JTM45, with the amp set only just on the point of breakup so the pedal dirt blends naturally with the amp. You can then put a Tube Screamer in front of the Guv’nor as well - that’s the Gary Moore Still Got The Blues setup if I remember correctly.

If I wanted to add reverb to that I would put it after the Guv’nor but still in front of the amp.

randella

Beaten to it re. the Mk. I Guv'nor. Since they were reissued you can get them at a sensible price too.

The old (pre reissue) ones are subject to internet cork sniffing depending on where they were made. All that does is inflate the price of the ones made in Bletchley and drop the price of the Korean ones. They're otherwise identical.

Don't confuse with the Guv'nor II which comes in a more compact case, and is really a preamp Marshall-in-a-box to be used into a clean amp. Still very good, but the Mk. I is a much better use case for classic rock and blues I would say, especially with an amp as tasty as that.

Have you thought about any kind of attenuator or reactive load at all?

ICBM

randella said:

Don't confuse with the Guv'nor II which comes in a more compact case, and is really a preamp Marshall-in-a-box to be used into a clean amp. Still very good, but the Mk. I is a much better use case for classic rock and blues I would say, especially with an amp as tasty as that.

Exactly that. The GV-2 has a complete extra IC section controlled by the Deep knob, which is effectively a 4x12” emulator - the first part of the circuit with the other five controls is very similar to the MkI. This makes it better as a Marshall in a box for going into a clean non-Marshall amp, but not as good into a slightly dirty Marshall.

It would in theory be possible to mod the MkII to bypass the Deep section entirely, or make it switchable, but I haven’t checked how difficult it might be - there are mods you can find on the net which claim to make the 2 sound like the 1, but they’re just voicing changes and won’t produce the same result.

goldtop

Wet/dry setup.

InactiveX

I have a Boss RV-5 at the end of my FX chain going into the front of my Bluesbreaker (JTM45 combo version).

And a Mk1 Guv'nor.

HandwrittenHero

Possibly controversial, but rather than reverb with a NMV Marshall - analog delay into the front. Sit it after any OD or boost and set it a bit faster than slapback. Less is more with how much you blend in. It’s just to take the edge off if things seem a bit sterile.

Beexter

This sounds alright to me...

Nerine

I’ve found getting Joes sound easier with MV Marshall’s like 800’s and Jubilees. 

57Deluxe

This link was mentioned recently on the forum and an interesting thought process to getting two pseudo channels on a Plexi/JTM - maybe have the reverb in one of the 'channels'?