Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

[cris_hendrix]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

Before you do any actual modifications to the circuit try a little bit of tube rolling. JC's ship with tubes that are meh. If it were my amp I would put a couple EH or JJ 6L6GCs in there along with a mix of JJ ECC803S (V1, V2, and V5, my FAVORITE tube for Marshall-based circuits) and ECC83MG (V3 and V4, which both have cathode follower sections). Get an extra ECC83MG so you could try that in V1, too.You could also check out the Jet City Amelia, which seems to be a little less gainy than the JCA50H from what I hear.

wow! LOOKS AWESOME! but our jetcity dealer is not bringing anything new these days

[GilmourD]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

wow! LOOKS AWESOME! but our jetcity dealer is not bringing anything new these days

From what I understand Doug at Jet City is pretty responsive to customers. If you e-mail him ([email protected]) he might be able to tell you how to get one easily.

[cris_hendrix]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

From what I understand Doug at Jet City is pretty responsive to customers. If you e-mail him ([email protected]) he might be able to tell you how to get one easily.

well, finally i went for the jca50h...it's a beast...much much better than the peavey to my ears...now, has a ton of gain (too much) so i will mod it with time, otherwise sounds almost perfect. I had the impression it sounded worse in the store (the man had a warehouse veteran 30) and comparing to my celestion v-type, the warehouse sounded like...eh...blown? i don't know. But i think i've found a keeper. thanks forum!

[newking70]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

Laney AOR series.

[Wattage]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

Windsor does a good job on a tight budget for sure. Get a good set of PT's in it and have it properly biased and stay away from it's matching 4x12.

[Ascension]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

I guess is the closer/best choice i have. There is a "jcm800 mod" for it, i will check it out. Thanks!
Any other opinions? is there any love for the Jetcity over the Blackstar for what i need?

There is with me. I find the Jet City gain to be more controllable and usable. The Blackstar can sound good at higher gain but does not clean up well with a volume roll off or do lower gain settings well like the Jet City will. The Blackstar to me feels more like a good SS amp that a real tube amp.

[Jeff_H]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

I know you've already decided, but a DSL40C combo is a good alternative. It's a 2 EL 34 amp with the same control layout as the DSL 50. It's 40 watts with a switch down to 20 watts. I wanted a DSL 50 as a more affordable alternative to another JCM 800. I'd still love to own another 800, but I don't gig and I really don't have room for a head and a cab.

The 40C sounds really good with a creamback speaker and some tube changes.

[evan47]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

Laney AOR series.

Yes, I have owned both and the Laney was the real beast at lower volume levels. The Marshall was very nice though not as evil as the Laney could be.

[dystrust]

Re: Help with tone: jcm 800 on a budget??

The Blackstar to me feels more like a good SS amp that a real tube amp.

+1