what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

[paultelestrat]

jcm800 and jcm 900 amp heads,what the difference?

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

that is a very vauge questions...which models are you looking at?

[shredaholic]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

from what I've heard they're supposed to sound very different

[paultelestrat]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

to the gut who invented fire: how many different models are there? how do they differ? i'm interested in buying a marshall head.i was told to look at early 80's JCM 800's, but i'm seeing some 900's on ebay also.don't know much about them either.

[paultelestrat]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

sorry ,thats guy,not gut.

[PFDarkside]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

I'm sure someone will chime in here with detailed info and model numbers, but the first JCM800's were basically the same as the previous generation JMP amps. Somewhere along the way they added diode clipping in the preamp stages. (and changed the model number) I think the JCM900 series went though a few changes also.

Right now 800s are en vouge and are fetching higher and higher prices, the 900s are still the black sheep and you can find them cheaper. Quite a few early/mid 90's bands used the 900s, you can hear them on Green Day, Offspring and Rancid CDs for sure.

Go to some music stores and try out the different amps sitting in the used corner. Keep in mind that the first series of 800s was not extremely high gain, a lot of people hit it with an OD/Dist/Boost box before the input. Another thing is that those early 800s can be modded quite nicely and that's definately an option to consider.

[Mephis]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

Listen to some early 90's hard rock, then listen to some 80's hard rock.

That's the difference.

I think of it this way.

800=80's hard rock
900=90's alternative
2000=21 century **** music

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

JCM 800
-1959
-1986
-1987
-1992
-2203
-2204
-2205
-2210

JCM 900
-2100
-2100SLX
-4101
-2500
-2500SLX

To be honest I don't think that there are gonna be any 900's that will be close to an 800...

[paultelestrat]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

thanks for the input,FIRE,i'm looking to get a hard rock/metal kinda sound,mostly rythym.any of those 800's you listed i should stay away from?or are they "all good"?

[paultelestrat]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

thanks MEMPHIS and PFD.(i need all the help i can get)

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

thanks for the input,FIRE,i'm looking to get a hard rock/metal kinda sound,mostly rythym.any of those 800's you listed i should stay away from?or are they "all good"?

well the 2203/2204 seems to be a Standard hard rock, lots of guys use them with a mild overdrive to boost the frontend to get a bigger more distorted sound and I have it on very good repots that the 2205/2210 is also a killer amp for crunch...people tell me that the cleans leave something to be desired but the crunch is great...

[joelap]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

Are you willing to mod your amp? The early single channel JCM800's (2203/2204) are easy mods. a common mod is taking the 12AX7 from the low gain input, and adding it as a third 12AX7 on the high gain input. Effectively, that'll give you more gain on the high gain channel (you'll have a harder time getting cleans out of it though), and the low gain channel will not be functional. Many people have that done as a common mod (I know for a fact that Mike Mushok of Staind has his JCM 800 single channel amp modded that way). There's also dvds that will give you mods by a famous amp modder by the name of Lee Jackson. Search for his name on ebay. ALSO: google "The Ultimate JCM 800". That page has a bunch of easy to perform mods that improve the tone of a single channel jcm 800... and best of all, you decide when "enough is enough".

If modding isn't your thing, you can grab a single channel jcm 800 (2203 or 2204), vintage or reissue, and get an overdrive to put in front of it. Zakk Wylde does this. And best of all, theres countless overdrives for you to try out, with or without tubes, boutique and production models. The possibilities are endless.

OR: you could get a dual channel JCM 800 (2205/2210), but those are getting more expensive and the cleans arent that great. Not to mention, the earlier dual channel jcm800's arent that great sounding. one thing to remember is that marshall and fender tweaked their amps from year to year without changing model numbers, so early and late editions of the same amps may sound different. As is the case with 2210's/2205's. HOWEVER 1989 2210;s/2205's are considereed as good as it gets by Jeff Seal, who is an amp modder and tech here on the forums.

OR: JCM 900's dont stack up as well technically as JCM 800's but if its your sound, go for it. I dont know much about JCM 900's only that Dave Navarro used one for Janes Addiction... that seems to be the tone those things put out. Not my box of juice, and you dont see too many metal guys using them (as far as I know, which isnt very far)''

OR: save yourself some money and look into other brands. A JCM 800 can run you between 700-1000 bucks. Theres a thread about a Laney Pro Tube amp which has a very marshall tone... check out the video that TwilightOdyssey posted, and believe me, that guy knows metal! Another amp to consider is a Sovtek Mig 50 or Mig 100. JCM 800 tone without the price. For the Sovtek, you will need an overdrive pedal to get metal tones... I'm not sure about the laney.

hope this helped!

[joelap]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention: if you get a vintage JCM 800 (not a new reissue), PLEASE do not do any mods to it that arent reversable. Some day those amps are going to be worth a pretty penny in their original form... they kind of already are. Thats what makes "the ultimate jcm 800" so great: all the mods can be undone and the amp can go back to its original form without anyone ever knowing you changed a thing.

[paultelestrat]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

thanks again to fire,and to joelap.one thing for sure by your description of the the "900" sound ,THAT is not for me.you have supplied a lot of info.i saw a couple of 800's on ebay between $350-450, is something wrong with them?(too cheap?)not exactly sure what models?if i got a vintage one , i'd probably leave it alone,and use a pedal?

[joelap]

Re: what's the difference between JCM800 and aJCM900?

thanks again to fire,and to joelap.one thing for sure by your description of the the "900" sound ,THAT is not for me.you have supplied a lot of info.i saw a couple of 800's on ebay between $350-450, is something wrong with them?(too cheap?)not exactly sure what models?if i got a vintage one , i'd probably leave it alone,and use a pedal?

Well, the key to remember on ebay is that the price you see is the current price... most people bid within minutes of the auction's end. To see the current going rate, click on advanced search, and click the check box "search for completed listings" or something along those lines. Those will show you (in green) the prices an item sold for, or if it's in red that the item wasnt sold (no one bid, or it didnt meet the reserve price).