One for all you Marshall aficionados...

babysnake

So I have never owned a Marshall. For years I used a Fender HRD with pedals, then in 2008 I switched to a VoxAC15H1TV which is still here. I really love it, it sounds like a good Vox, and if I hit the front end hard with my CMAT Signa Drive goosed by a Juansolo Klone and maybe a touch of Fuzz Face it will grind. Until now I have been quite satisfied with this when something of a Marshall flavour was required, but I have a new live project coming up that demands I plug in to the real thing. The tones I need the amp to cover are along the lines of Hendrix/Trower/Page/Moore. I need it to work equally well with single coils and humbuckers and I would prefer it to have a master volume. I have a budget of around £600 for a head/combo. So far candidates include:

50w MkIII Dual Master Volume
50w JMP Mk2 2x12 combo and early JCM 800 equivalents
6100 Anniversary
50w DSL Head
Vintage Modern

Thoughts?

martinw

babysnake said:

50w JMP Mk2 2x12 combo and early JCM 800 equivalents

This.

Easily the best sound, and reliable too.

pintspiller

You would expect the Vintage Modern to full-fill the criteria, but i concur with @martinw in use of JMP/800. One of the classic Marshall tones. Quite do-able around your budget too.

babysnake

@martinw My heart and instinct is telling me to hold out for a JMP 2104....

pintspiller

Separate head and cab will be lighter than a combo though. Combos can have open-backs, which I'm not fond of either.

ICBM

martinw said:

babysnake said:

50w JMP Mk2 2x12 combo and early JCM 800 equivalents

This.

Easily the best sound, and reliable too.

That.

pintspiller said:

You would expect the Vintage Modern to full-fill the criteria

You would think so, but in practice it had far too many compromises in design and build quality.

Second choice would be the JCM900 MV MkIII, out of the ones listed. (*Not* the Dual Reverb model.) If you keep the gain low it does a passable older-Marshall sound, although it's not perfect.

The 6100 can sound good but is very complicated and has reliability issues, and the DSL is just best avoided really.

A possibly surprising late addition would be the JVM 50W model, that sounds quite good and seems quite reliable.

babysnake

so any of you got some experience with the JMP 50w 2104? Ironically, it was the first amp I ever played...Incredibly, my friend was given a black vintage Gibson Les Paul Custom and the JMP by his uncle! I was 14 at the time and knew how to play Hong Kong Garden, which I duly did, all afternoon!!

ICBM

babysnake said:

so any of you got some experience with the JMP 50w 2104?

Yes. It's the biggest bargain of the lot because it's the same as a JMP 50W MV head and a 2x12" cabinet, but in the same box, and sells for less than the head alone does.


There is a slight reason for this in that it's also extremely heavy and awkward to carry…

The earlier models also have a tendency to blow the original 25W speakers, so it's not uncommon to find replacements fitted, often not the right ones. The last ones came stock with G12-65s and don't blow those.

Drew_TNBD

Just get a TSL60. Sounds like all the other Marshalls anyway.

babysnake

So other than Drew, I think that we are all in agreement that given my limited funds the 2104 is the way to go. It has the classic edgy/fat Marshall roar that I want and is doable on my budget. Other than poor choices of replacement speakers, is there anything else to look out for with these?

ICBM

Drew_fx said:

Just get a TSL60. Sounds like all the other Marshalls anyway.

I know you're joking .

Seriously, just no. That's the worst modern valve amp they've made - completely gutless, thin and buzzy even by the standards of what they do now.

babysnake said:

So other than Drew, I think that we are all in agreement that given my limited funds the 2104 is the way to go. It has the classic edgy/fat Marshall roar that I want and is doable on my budget. Other than poor choices of replacement speakers, is there anything else to look out for with these?

Mostly just the usual issues with a forty-year-old amp (yes, the mid-1970s is that long ago now… ) -

Servicing needed (mostly filter caps - including the bias caps which are often overlooked).
Bad servicing having been done (poor workmanship, recycled components - fairly common on well-used ones).
Any mods/de-mods.
And on Marshalls of this age, the voltage and impedance selectors. These were never reliable to begin with, and should always be replaced or hardwired for safety and reliability.
Likewise if it has the earlier round Bulgin mains connector - replace with a TAD 'kettle lead' IEC one.

In the worst case you would need to budget about £150 to £200 to have all of this sorted out, if it needs it - but you can still pick up tatty examples for around £400, so even that doesn't make it a non-starter.

Alnico

THIS JCM800 1 x 12 Combo would get my money if i was doing what you are.

babysnake

Alnico said:

THIS JCM800 1 x 12 Combo would get my money if i was doing what you are.

I need at least a 2x12 for this project. But that seems a pretty sweet deal for somebody....

John_P

That amp plus another 150 to get a headshell made would give you a decent priced head with the option to use it as a combo.  

Or or add a 1x12 cab to match and have something easier to carry for small gigs and rehearsals with the extra cab when you need it. 

CHrisP86

Sorry to sneak in to the thread...

What's the best Marshall valve combo option for less than £400?

english_bob

babysnake said:

so any of you got some experience with the JMP 50w 2104? 

Fucking marvellous.

I used one last year on a studio session (it was the studio's go-to amp, and you could hear why) and bloody loved it. The sound I got was clean and cutting with single notes, but crunched beautifully with chords. I didn't check which speakers it had, as it had been dismantled to use as a head in the control room with the cab safely behind several soundproof doors. I could still hear it. Such a great sound though. 

FWIW, we did a second session at the producer's home studio with his 100W JMP head and it didn't sound the same at all.

CHrisP86 said:

Sorry to sneak in to the thread...

What's the best Marshall valve combo option for less than £400?

Jet City?

ICBM

CHrisP86 said:

What's the best Marshall valve combo option for less than £400?

A really tatty 2104.

RiftAmps

+1 on a 2104

Cirrus

There's a 50w JMP Mk2 master lead combo at my rehearsal space, the singer's uncle wanted us to have and use it rather than it being sat in the shed going mouldy. Great sounding amp, with G12-65s (though I just blew one of them in a different amp last week). The thing that amazed me was how good the low input sounds for clean stuff - plug into that, turn the preamp up to max and bring up the master volume until the power section *just* starts to get a bit hairy when you play hard. In terms of sheer good sound, versatility, punch etc that's the best pedal platform I've ever used - IMO nicer than an AC30! Plug a Rat and an SD-1 into that and you've won.

The high input is less versatile but great fun. With the gain up at 7 or more (sounded a bit too bright lower) it just OWNS anything from AC/DC through to RATM, Tool, great lively and punchy overdrive. And it doesn't need to be loud to sound good, though it does sound better and better until you hit the sweet spot around 5 on the master volume. The only limitation for me is that it being a single channel amp with no solo boost or effects loop, I couldn't do a whole set with that one sound.

english_bob

Cirrus said:

There's a 50w JMP Mk2 master lead combo at my rehearsal space, the singer's uncle wanted us to have and use it rather than it being sat in the shed going mouldy. Great sounding amp, with G12-65s (though I just blew one of them in a different amp last week). The thing that amazed me was how good the low input sounds for clean stuff - plug into that, turn the preamp up to max and bring up the master volume until the power section *just* starts to get a bit hairy when you play hard. In terms of sheer good sound, versatility, punch etc that's the best pedal platform I've ever used - IMO nicer than an AC30! Plug a Rat and an SD-1 into that and you've won.

The high input is less versatile but great fun. With the gain up at 7 or more (sounded a bit too bright lower) it just OWNS anything from AC/DC through to RATM, Tool, great lively and punchy overdrive. And it doesn't need to be loud to sound good, though it does sound better and better until you hit the sweet spot around 5 on the master volume. The only limitation for me is that it being a single channel amp with no solo boost or effects loop, I couldn't do a whole set with that one sound.

Yep, same model I used, and your experience sounds very similar- pretty sure the way I had it set up was how you described, using the low input. Absolutely brilliant sound.

If someone were to offer me a free one I'd have his arm off.

Alterlifeson

I own a 50 watt DSL (old one) and think it sounds great. I picked it up used for about £280, hasn't let me down once. The classic gain channel on crunch mode is wear it comes alive, although the clean side really impressed me for a Marshall too.