Differances between the JCM's

[Indie P Bass]

Honestly... I can't find any major differances in the JCM800's and 900's... of course, I'm comparing a JCM800 combo in GC to my own JCM900 halfstack, and to tell you the truth, exept for certain nuances, the amps were very similar. Could anyone explain to me why the 800 is so much more revered than the 900?

I find them both to posses very fluid gain and chunky bottom end with a smooth hi-range. Which I like, a lot. Am I just not trying all the tonal ranges of the amps to find the differances?

 

[Tom M]

Re: Differances between the JCM's

Which model of each amp do you have?

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Differances between the JCM's

That would very much depend on which model JCM 800 you tried.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Differances between the JCM's

The 900 series has extra added gain stages in the preamp and some actually use diodes to generate more preamp "buzz" distortion...There is a difference...I totally can't stand the 900 series and the 800 series rocks the 80s tone like no other amp during the time the 800s came out...The 900 is very fuzzy and mosquito like in it's tone by comparison....An 800 crunches..A 900 crunches but has this crap riding over notes that drives me crazy....LOL

I'm talking specifically about the master volume 800s and not the 1959 non-master 800 which is basically the early Plexi circuit without master volume...

John

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Differances between the JCM's

Does the JCM 800 have 6550's in it, or EL34's. That makes a big difference IMO. The main differences between the 800's and 900's are they way the gain is stacked and clipped. Also, are you comparing a 2 channel JCM 800 to a 2 channel 900, or a single channel? 900's are generally voiced to be more agressive in the gain than an 800.

Generally, the single channel master volume 800's are the ones that are most sought after.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Differances between the JCM's

Does the JCM 800 have 6550's in it, or EL34's. That makes a big difference IMO. The main differences between the 800's and 900's are they way the gain is stacked and clipped. Also, are you comparing a 2 channel JCM 800 to a 2 channel 900, or a single channel? 900's are generally voiced to be more agressive in the gain than an 800.

Generally, the single channel master volume 800's are the ones that are most sought after.

I remember playing through and seeing the series with either EL34s or 5881...Marshall got away from the 6550 tube(he hated them) after the 800 series..I'm not a fan of the 900 series at all....They always sell for less also...I'm a non-master volume Marshall guy,but I also like the 800,but only if I can dial it up over about 4 on the volume to get some balls and some air moving.. :13:

John

 

[Indie P Bass]

Re: Differances between the JCM's

Well, I'm using a JCM900 4100 Dual Reverb and I tried out a two channel JCM800. It did have a bit more crunch and the 900's more agressive, but, I figured they had a bigger differance than those. Ah, well. They're both nice amps, I just prefer the extra gain of the 900. I do agree that it can be "buzzy," but if you dial it up just right, you loose all that buzz.