Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

[Gamera]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

A friend of mine has an early 90's Valvestate 100-watt head & 4x12. It's currently setup in my basement and he still uses it regularly. Never been a fan personally. Even before I understood the difference between solid state and tube I knew there was something about that amp that wasn't quite right. Too shrill and twangy. Not a lot of bottom end and the gain never really cut it. It works for him though.

 

[JamesChin]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

didn't expect this thread

I have a VS100R combo that I still love, despite having a Diezel VH4, VHT UL, and a bunch of Mesa's.

I turn the contour knob down and get a great heavy Marshall thud that gets a lot of compliments and surprised-impressed looks from friends - that amp is a champ and worth every penny. It even looks very dignified.

On a side note, it's the same amp used on the first In Flames record and the first White Zombie record (when the guitarists were poor)

 

[Levantin]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

Today I played an 8100 (I think) head through a 1960b and it sounded decent. Much better than what Marshall has been putting out for years.

 

[benji657]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

Yeah! This is what we need - a nostalgic, older-is-better movement to convince the masses that old solid-state Marshalls are the true path to tonal Nirvana. Their eBay prices will explode, and I will finally be able, cheaply and quietly, to replace my beloved 4010 and JMP 2203.

calm down, please.
i never implied it was a bogner.
please go enjoy your JMP

 

[B2D]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

I used to have oen of the 2nd gen VS265R combos. GORGEOUS stereo chorus sound came out of that thing. I used to have a VS100R head too for a short time. I kinda miss 'em actually.

 

[Metalblaze]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

A studio I used to go for rehearsals had one of them as a combo and another one as a stack. Really very nice amps. That contour knob was very useful indeed. Shame they don't put it in the new models (...I think).

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD Marshall valvestates?

Re: Anyone remember the OLD Marshall valvestates?

I had a 8080. The Clean channel was very sterile sounding,But I was able to get many useful tones on the OD channel. It was a great backup amp for me.IMO they got a bum rap. If you consider it was a price point amp.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

Try a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop... killer metal tone..

 

[J Moose]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

On a side note, it's the same amp used on the first In Flames record and the first White Zombie record (when the guitarists were poor)

Which White Zombie album are you talking about? The VERY first one, 'Physco Head Blowout' was made in '86 or '87... WAY before Valvestates

La Sexorcisto was recorded with some kind of Marshall, but all those dirt tones... they were a RAT pedal. Part of the album was recorded at the studio I worked at about 10 years ago... we had 2" reels and notes in the basement tape vault.

Anywhoo...

Back in the day I had a 2x12 valvestate chorus combo... not the "big" one, but the dual 50 watt or 60 watt... Man was that thing ever a piece of krap! After the third or fourth repair the store gave me a full-on store credit and I ended up with a Fender ultra chorus or ultimate chorus... whatever it was.

But that Valvestate... yeah... I dunno. Cleans were never that great and the dirt channel was thin, but it had a LOT of gain, was true stereo and it was a "Marshall" that a 15 year old could afford...

The big consistent problem was that one speaker would stop working unless the chorus was active, so I used the "chorus" as my solo boost! Had random noise issues and at one point the whole thing gave up, lights but no sound.

So the old ones sound "better" then new solid state Marshalls? Holy hell...

That SUCKS.

 

[JamesChin]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

The old ones sound way better - and they use a tube preamp, which I'm not sure they do anymore since the AVT's started coming out. The character and range of useable tones in the original Valvestates are actually pretty amazing considering the price range. The cleans are bubbly and the heavy gain sounds have a very Marshall burn

I actually used the VS100R I have in a little Van Halen Medley I put together on my page, check it out.

As for White Zombie, it was the one with Thunder Kiss '65 - a pretty popular song at the time. I remember reading a couple magazine articles where he talked about how he had just joined the band and brought in an Ibanez Iceman and a Marshall 8100 and ended up recording the whole record with that setup.

 

[Majestic]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

Back in the day I had a 2x12 valvestate chorus combo... not the "big" one, but the dual 50 watt or 60 watt... Man was that thing ever a piece of krap! After the third or fourth repair the store gave me a full-on store credit and I ended up with a Fender ultra chorus or ultimate chorus... whatever it was.

But that Valvestate... yeah... I dunno. Cleans were never that great and the dirt channel was thin, but it had a LOT of gain, was true stereo and it was a "Marshall" that a 15 year old could afford...

The big consistent problem was that one speaker would stop working unless the chorus was active, so I used the "chorus" as my solo boost! Had random noise issues and at one point the whole thing gave up, lights but no sound.

I never EVER had any of the problems you're referring to with the 8240. I thought it was a great amp for the price. Maybe I got lucky.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

I never EVER had any of the problems you're referring to with the 8240. I thought it was a great amp for the price. Maybe I got lucky.

Some of the first generation series (8200 series?) had some problems- I couldn't recall what. I played a PRS Signature Series Custom 24 through it, and it sounded phenomenal- like Joe Satriani.

I had the second generation- the VS100. My complaint was that the OD-1 (the classic channel) was unuseable. I loved the boost (OD-2) channel. I just got caught up in the tube amp phase. I got a DSL 410, it was a disappointment, I liked the Valvestate better. Then I found a JCM 800- the tone was harmonically rich, but it needed a pedal to get close to the gain of the Valvestate. And it was alot noisier.

As for a White Zombie, I remember years ago reading they used it since it was the poor man's Mesa Dual Rec- in that the preamp gave it tube tone, but the solid state power amp gave the tightness needed for heavy music. Sure it wasn't a dual rec, but it did have the tightness

 

[J Moose]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

As for a White Zombie, I remember years ago reading they used it since it was the poor man's Mesa Dual Rec- in that the preamp gave it tube tone, but the solid state power amp gave the tightness needed for heavy music. Sure it wasn't a dual rec, but it did have the tightness

You guys are crackin' me up!

La Sexicisto... the record with Thunderkiss was released a few years before Dual Rectos even existed!

When I pulled the reels from that session I remember seeing on the notes, "solid state marshall w/RAT" + microphones & other detailed production notes...

So yeah, maybe it was a Valvestate head... but whatever. The dirt tone on that record is a RAT box.

Back in the day I worked here, a few years after White Zombie & Rollins had come through ~ www.showplacestudios.com

 

[Majestic]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

It's not a controversy. It's simple. La Sexorcisto (March 1992) didn't "hit" until 18 months after it was released. It "hit" in late 1993, after Valvestates had been out for about a year, and the Rectos had just been introduced.

All the guy ever said in that interview was that he USED Valvestate amps along with JCM 800s. He was talking about his live tone, not the recorded tone they used back in early 1992.

That said, I can see why he used them. With that contour knob, you can get a killer "Thunderkiss" tone with a stock Valvestate.

 

[Darth Nihilus]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

I just re-bought an old Valvestate 8100 head on ebay. It came with a knackered midrange control on the dirty channel but I'm currently having it fixed. It was the first head I ever bought 12 years ago and I stupidly sold it a few years ago. I found this one and snatched it.

I found some old recordings of my old band and that head sounded great. It has a very identifiable tone that I love. That's probably why I love Tommy Victor from PRONG's tone so much, he's been using these heads since 93's "Cleansing" album. The late great Chuck Shuldiner from DEATH also used them since the "Individual thought patterns" album.

 

[Darth Nihilus]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

Try a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the effects loop... killer metal tone..

No. Don't use a BBE Sonic Maximizer. It'll suck the mids out. If one needs more tone shaping, use a graphic or parametric EQ instead. That way, you only boost or cut the frequencies you need.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

Well with some good speakers...they can deliver some fun modern tones!
Not as bad as they made up to...lol I like them more than most JCM900's
Hehe but that is just me
Use a simple EQ, most of the time it makes better sense for a guitar.....
Or go beserk and get a parametric
Niels

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

I used to use my old Zoom 3030 as an EQ and to add a bit of phaser to mine. Not a bad sound at all.

 

[Darth Nihilus]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

No joke. These old 8100 Valvestate heads were really good. I don't mind if people speak negatively about them, that'll keep the ebay prices low.

I've actually received more compliments on my tone when I used this head than when I took out my tube rack gear. The 8100's have a very particular tone that is pleasing to the ears and it sits in the mix great since it's not so bass heavy. It cuts like a razor with all those mids, awesome!

 

[jmh151]

Re: Anyone remember the OLD marshall valvestates?

It's not a controversy. It's simple. La Sexorcisto (March 1992) didn't "hit" until 18 months after it was released. It "hit" in late 1993, after Valvestates had been out for about a year, and the Rectos had just been introduced.

That said, I can see why he used them. With that contour knob, you can get a killer "Thunderkiss" tone with a stock Valvestate.

I was just repeating what I read in Guitar Player years ago. They just mentioned how the valvestate were getting popular with the agressive metal and downtuned guitar crowd since the solid state amp/rectifier was tighter for rhythem than an all tube rectifier/power amp section. And this comparison came out long after the album was released, when both Mesa Recs and Valvestates existed.