Bought my newest amp today.

Soujurn

New member
It is a late 90's Marshall RI JTM50 "Bluesbreaker" 2x12 combo.

Paid $995. It is a little worse for wear but the guts are in top shape, sounds really good, with no mods done to it.

I had talked on here about getting a Dr Z MAZ 18 Jr., but when I A/B'd these two amps right next to each other I had to go with the Marshall.
Why?
Well the Dr Z sounds awesome, when I fiddled around enough to find a couple of the sweet spots for it.
The Marshall sounded good with the knobs set all over the place. And the 2 twelves just commanded so much more authority over the room, and the amp was super touch sensitive to my picking dynamics.

So now I am thinking I need to retube it. The original owner kept everything stock and it has the same tubes it shipped with.
I have read that these amps really sound better with either GT or Goldern Dragon KT66's.
But that will have to wait for another day. I'm still having too much fun discovering things about the amp.
One thing I've found out already though. This amp does not like distortion pedals in front of it. Sucks major tone with the ones I've tried so far. Ibanez TS-9 (Early model with the "good" chip in it), and a Vintage RAT, and a few BOSS pedals. It no likey any of them.
It sounds good with my Tone 6 Verbzilla pedal though.
And this amp likes to be played loud. It really comes alive over 3 on the volume. But I have to keep it around 2 for sake of my neighbors and my hearing.

So, if any of you have read this far, and I thank you if you have, and you also have a Bluesbreaker amp, either RI or original. Or just have some comments on them, I'd love to hear it.

Here is a link to view the amp while it is still up on the stores web site.
http://emeraldcityguitars.com/marshall_jtm50_combo.htm
 
Re: Bought my newest amp today.

My old JCM 800 4010 did not like very many OD pedals, either. The best one I found with that amp was a Real Tube 901, with a 12AU7 instead of the factory 12AX7.

The other thing I did with that amp was to clip out the cap on the gain knob--it acts as a brite switch at low volumes. Clipping it out made the amp's tone more consistent throughout the range, and especially at low volume--giving it more fatness. Don't know if the BB has that cap, but it is an interesting mod on a Marshall--and totally reversible.

I've known Jay Boone at ECG for a long time--nice guy.

Bill
 
Re: Bought my newest amp today.

SWEET find! No advice here, just wanted to share a little green envy with ya!

Hope it works out, and keep us informed of your endeavours and their results!

Take Care,
Allen
 
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