I guess this is more of a "what the hell am I thinking" thread as opposed to "what should I do?" thread but I'll keep writing anyway.
12 years ago I bought a JMP 2203 79 head and cab. All original and as you can imagine it sounded and looked the nuts. Fast forward about a year of ownership (I was 21 at the time this happened) and financial issues forced the sale. A friend was quick to snap it up and hey, I made a profit too.
Now, over the years (because I live in Northern Ireland which has no real decent music shops) I have owned a plethora of amps and I have revisited the JMP era once. It's was last year actually but again, I ended up selling to buy my "dream amp" ; the Lonestar. I'm a huge Timmons fan but this amp goes waaaaay past his tone. It's an amazing amp and stupidly versatile. The on board options are all about the tone, nothing else matters with this amp.
Now, out of the blue the friend who I sold the amp to tells me he's moving the old JMP on and gave me first refusal. If... and only IF I sold the Mesa I could afford the Marshall. I've often thought about the JMP, it holds a special place in my heart for some reason. But here's the thing... after getting the odd bite on the Mesa I noticed I recoiled. A strange feeling came over me and I asked myself "why are you selling it??"
And that's it? Why am I selling up? They're both different in every way possible and I have often thought over the last 11/12 years about getting the Marshall back but now that the opportunity is here I can't seem to bring myself to sell the Mesa. I actually sold my guitar to fund my new business so I can't play it just but the tones are amazing. It does everything I need it to.
Once again i seem to be hovering over the self destruct button. Ideally, id have both. But I sunk a lot of money into materials for the business that it's got to be one or the other. Very conflicted just now...
Comments
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
How much is the Marshall? If it's under the market rate then it will probably be a good investment even in the longer term - it's a classic vintage amp. The Mesa is likely to do less well - high-powered complex channel switching amps aren't all that popular even now and are unlikely to be so in the future.
If it was me I would keep the Lonestar - even though I love 2203s, they're just not flexible enough for *all* the things I want an amp to do… bearing in mind that if you know what you're doing you can dial in the Mesa to sound surprisingly similar.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I'm very fond of those Marshalls too, but if it was me, for the music I play, I'd keep the Mesa (with the caveat that I've never actually played one- it's 2203 in real life vs Mesa "on paper").
Unless you could easily add an effects loop to the 2203. @ICBM?
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The head AND 4 x 12 is £850 and about 8 miles away from me. I borrowed a friends guitst and played the Mesa again this morning. I spent longer on the clean channel than the drive channel. Had that been the Marshall I'd have simply rolled the volume off on the guitar.
Its a tough one. I know I want the Marshall but something is holding me back. Maybe I should just man up and do my best to sell the Mesa...
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Details ya see.
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
I have an 83 JCM800 2204 and a Lonestar and they are both awesome amps, the Lonestar is a LOT more versatile
fir free.
AND you get a shag out of it.
No brainer.
Remember how you felt with that strat and the lonestar first time you plugged in......
And being currently guitarless doesn't help. It'll be very difficult to watch the JMP slip away but I suppose that's all sentimental, right?
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
You can always simply get a LS later
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars