Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

[DesertRose]

Ok guys, its been a while since I posted cuz I was busy with my Fender Twin and DSL 401.

I thought of going stereo type with afew amps and hooking it through some mixer and through the amps at home.

So I happen to come across this amp"JCM 800, lead series". It sure looks gorgeous and antique, but I happen to read over harmony central and they don't sound too good.

Any last suggestions ? I'll going to look at it this Saturday =)

Thanks guys

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

It sure looks clean for it's age. I'm not positive, but I think 1986 was the year for brown grillcloth. I just sold a SS combo that looked a lot like it, from 86.
That amp sounds good, not incredible, but like most channel switching JCM800's.
It'll make a good stereo mate with a Twin, for a good Fender/Marshall A/B setup.
At least back then, the circuits were pretty simple, and have a very 80's rock sound ala Kiss, Judas Priest, Cult, AC/DC.

 

[kmcguitars]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

Get rid of that G12M-70 speaker !! And I Bet it will sound fine. Seriously... Try some different speakers Like a V-30 or something from the Redcoat line Like a governer or wizzard. I just replaced the G12m-70's in my 2x12 cab with a V-30 and privite jack. It makes a world of differance!!

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

Get rid of that G12M-70 speaker !! And I Bet it will sound fine. Seriously... Try some different speakers Like a V-30 or something from the Redcoat line Like a governer or wizzard. I just replaced the G12m-70's in my 2x12 cab with a V-30 and privite jack. It makes a world of differance!!

I agree, I really dislike those speakers-icy bright and sterile. Don't replace it with a G12T75 either. A V30 will handle that amp's power and sound 10 times better.

That's a nice JCM800 combo otherwise. He should snag it.

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

Alrighty.
Do any of you guys think I should sell off my DSL 401 for the JCM800 ? Or its not worth it, forget about the JCM800 and stick with the DSL401

Thanks

 

[ErikH]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

I'd be all over that one. Quick speaker swap and it'd be rockin'. Try it out before you decide on whether to sell the DSL401 or not.

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

yeah, gonna try it out tomorrow.
Because for the price I'm gonna sell the DSL 401 for is the same amount I'm getting on the JCM800

Speaker swap .. hmm ..
sounds good, how about JBL speakers or something ?

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

The Celestion Vintage 30 is probably your best bet with out spending a lot of money, and Celestions are associated with Marshalls. I don't think a Marshall calls for a "super clean" speaker like an EV or a Ceramic high power JBL, but that just my opinion. Vintage Alnico JBL's have been used with Marshalls (Allman Bros), but they would probably be hard to find and expensive. A 50 watt version of the Weber Blue Dog or the Jenson P12N alnico (50 watts rms) would also be rather nice, but more expensive than a V30.

Among the more tonefull Celestion ceramics only the V30 has the power handling. It's 60 watts RMS. The Green back is 25 watts and the G12H is 30 watts rms.

Eminance makes a 50 watt GB type speaker, that has been well spoken of, as well.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

I hate to be the voice of dissention here, but I'm just not a huge fan of V30s...they are the JB of celestions...nasty high mid/high end spike...the 75s are middy too...but all the mids are accentuated evenly to my ears...the V30s are all high mids and treble....

I prefer the 75s, GB25s, and that H30...

regardless with good tubes thats a great amp...it was my first marshall tube amp.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

Hi Jeff,

I know we all hear things a little different, and I know a lot people hear the T75's as being darker than the V30's, but that's not the way I heard things in my 4x12 when I replaced the T75's with V30's. After, installing V30's I heard more mids and a warmer overall timbre. The 75's were way brighter to my ears. Also in a 4x12, the 75's sounded way scooped in the mids. I still needed to install some homemade "beam blockers" over the center of the cones though to tame some peircing harmonics.

These V30's were from the 90's. I have a 87 V30 that is way brighter in the upper mids than the 90's examples.

 

[marvar]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

I hate to be the voice of dissention here, but I'm just not a huge fan of V30s...they are the JB of celestions...nasty high mid/high end spike...the 75s are middy too...but all the mids are accentuated evenly to my ears...the V30s are all high mids and treble....

I prefer the 75s, GB25s, and that H30...

regardless with good tubes thats a great amp...it was my first marshall tube amp.

I agree, I don't know what the deal is with the V30- IMO they sound terrible in an open back cabnet-but sound great in a closed cab.
My Celestions of choice are the G12H30, which is a very musical sounding speaker to my ears- and I like the Greenback also- I run one of each of these speakers in my combo, and I love the sound- plus- it gives me a choice of speaker tones to mic when onstage.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

I agree that the G12H30 and the 25 watt GB sound warmer than the V30, but the 70 and 75 probably not. The main problem is that's a small cabinet fifty watt combo amp with only one speaker. Perhaps a non Celestion is better choice for that type of small combo?....

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

I think it will be a great amp as well, I have the 50w 2x12 version....and it rocks. It is very decent in it's stock form, but do yourself a favor down the road a bit. Spend a couple hundred dollars when you can save it up, and have it modded by Jeff Seal, Trace @ Voodoo Amps or someone similar. It will turn that amp into a godly tone machine...guaranteed.

Here is a pic of it on top of my 4x12...

Some of the JCM800's are fantastic on their own....just like any tube amps there were great ones and dogs in the series. If you get a great one, good for you, but they can easily be made fantastic with a few minor component changes.

Good luck.

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

The amp just came over today. The kind guy left it at my place and allowed me to test it out.
A few disappointments, but from a 80s amp what can I expect ? For the GAIN channel, both the TREBLE and BASS knobs ain't working. The rest are alright and some tweaking. The reverb is fabulous compared to the DSL401. The CLEAN starts to distort at 6 onwards, which is what I prefer compared to DSL 401 which distorts at 4 onwards.

Here are some pics of it, it uses a CELESTION G12-80 speaker.

Question:
It has 05 x 12AX7 tubes and 02 6L6, what do they DO ??
Thanks

 

[JeffB]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

It has 05 x 12AX7 tubes and 02 6L6, what do they DO ??
Thanks

what do they do? elaborate please?

I can tell ya 6L6s ruin the typical Marshall sound...and the wrong tubes to be in it...originally it prolly came with 6550s, but El34s are the classic Marshall tone.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

Question:
It has 05 x 12AX7 tubes and 02 6L6, what do they DO ??
Thanks

Basically, here is what those tubes do. Remember, a 12AX7 is actually 2 tubes in one, so each side of the tube can be used independently of the other. The channel switching JCM 800's have an extra pre-amp tube, as compared to the non channel switching models, and the MV models. The reason for this is gain. Until recently, the most common mod to get more gain out of a Marshall was to drill the chassis and add an extra pre-amp tube.

V1a is first gain stage for clean channel. V1b is first gain stage for OD.

V2a is second gain stage for clean, V2b is second gain stage for OD.

V3a is third gain stage for OD, V3b is final gain stage for everything and is post effects loop.

V4 is reverb only

V5 is PI...phase inverter.

As for the power tubes, I'd be suprised if they were 6L6...are they 6550's? Either way, get rid of em fast, IMO. The marshall sound comes from EL34's, again, IMO.

As for the tone controls not working, those pots can be replaced fairly easily by a qualified tech.....as long as the PCB board isn't damaged. I'd check that out.

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

**** .. I can't tell if its a 6L6 or 6550s.
There is nothing written on the tube and I have no idea how to take them out either.
*sigh

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

IF I didn't pluck in the footswitch, the OVERDRIVE LED goes on, if I pluck the footswitch in, it goes off.
Is it supposed to be like this ? Because I intend to use a rack on it, so I don't really need the footswitch at all.
Anyone could tell me about this ? Thanks

 

[ErikH]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

IF I didn't pluck in the footswitch, the OVERDRIVE LED goes on, if I pluck the footswitch in, it goes off.
Is it supposed to be like this ? Because I intend to use a rack on it, so I don't really need the footswitch at all.
Anyone could tell me about this ? Thanks

With the footswitch unplugged, the amp defaults to the overdrive channel. That's just how it works. My Marshall head defaults to MV B when it's not plugged in. You have to plug in the footswitch to get to the clean channel.

 

[DesertRose]

Re: Before I commit, any opinions ? Urgent

AH i see !

Thanks.