First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

J

Jedidew

New member
In the market for my first tube amp. I'm almost 17, been playing for almost 4 years now, and the sound of my Peavey Vypyr just isn't sounding right for me, especially live. I'm not looking for anything expensive, just something that gets a good tube sound. My budget for a head is about 500, give or take. The two amps I've been looking at have been a Jet City JCA50h, and a Marshall ma50h. I'm a HUGE Marshall guy, but their affordable stuff has always disappointed me. This new ma50h has caught my eye, but I've not played it in person and I've heard mixed reviews. I love what I've heard from Jet City though. (other than the cheap tubes, but with a fixed bias they are easy to replace)

So.. opinions on both? It'd be nice to hear from those who have played one or both. And I am of course open to other amplifier suggestions. For those that will want to know, I play mostly classic and hard rock, blues, and a little metal now and then. (Some examples: GNR, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Metallica, SRV, B.B. King, Van Halen.. just to name a few) not looking for a high gain beast, I don't often use a lot of gain. But the option to have gain on tap is nice if I ever need it.

Thanks :)

-Dewey
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

First of all decide what wattage range you need. In tube amps 20-40 watts is incredibly loud. One of my amps is a little Egnater Rebel 30 I've had for several yaers. Incredibly delicious tone when paired with the right speakers (I have a Swamp Thang and a G12k in an oversized Avatar 212 cab). I barely have the volume up to where the sound comes on (vol pot at about 7:00) and it practically breaks windows. Also has effects loop.

If you don't need that much volume a Bugera V22 is a great amp with effects loop, and seriously great tone, more into the vintage and blues and classic rock tones.

I haven't owned a Jet City, but have heard lots of good review about it. You might consider looking at the JCA22H. Lots of Soldano high-gain for hard rock and even metal, but calms down to do cleans, classic rock and blues. And it has an effects loop.

But I can't say enough good things about the Egnater. Great quality, tone, power, and it's small and lightweight (very portable for giging).
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

the jet city will be able to cover all those bases no problem, and if you do a depth mod to the 50H ($5 bucks in parts, and maybe 20 minutes to install it), it'll become even more versatile.

The Jet City high wattage amps (50H/100H/100HDM) sound very much like the Soldano Hot Rod, and that's not an exageration either. The circuits are like 98% the same. They can do marshally tones no problem, though the 50H/100H have quite a bit more lows and low-mids than a marshall normally does. But add the depth mod, and you get extra control over the low end and you can get very accurate marshall tones easily.

I play blues, a little jazz, rock, hard rock, classic metal, thrash, black and death metal with my Jet City.

also yeah, definitely do a full tube replacement (all preamp and power tubes). Preamp tubes first if you're stuck for cash.
 
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Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

Jet City would be right up your alley. Might also want to look into Blackstar Amps the Venue series line. The 40W Combo I have is very versatile and will handle just about any size gig also has an effects loop and a Emulated output for recording or running through a PA.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

I was in your same position some 2 or 3 years ago.
I went with a Blackstar HT-40. They can do all that and more!
They're really great amps, but the Jet City ones.... they're not far behind!
And for ''little less gain'' they could do the trick!

I want a Jet City Amp in the future :)
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

My vote goes to the Blackstar HT-5RH. I still think 20 watts is rediculously loud. Like someone previously said...you will barely turn it up to hear it and then that's it...otherwise it will be too loud. Apparently the difference between 5 watts and 50 watts, to the human ear, is not that perceptible (or something like that...it's physics or something).

The Blackstar is all tube, 2 channels, effects loop, and line out w/speaker emulation for direct recording. Pair that up with Blackstar's cool 4x8 cab and you've got one cool halfstack.

As you're probably aware, the people who started Blackstar used to work for Marshall. So the Blackstar will do nice cleans, nice crunch/od...and plenty of gain on tap if you need it.

I was worried that 5 watts wouldn't be able to keep up with a drummer, but it can.

If you feel you must go louder...then check out the HT-20, which has EL 34s. If that's too expensive, then yeah...go for the Jet City JCA22H. It does sound really good. I just think the Blackstar sounds better...and will sound better at lower volumes. I played the little HT-1 and it was perfect for home jamming. I couldn't believe how loud it was. Loud enough for a drummer...no, but I was able to jam with another guitarist.

Hope that helps. Either way you go (JC or BS), you'll be happy.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

For hard rock and metal, 5W is not nearly enough to keep up with a hard hitting drummer. I use a 1968 Fender Bassman with a Big muff for most of my stuff, and I'm never under 5 on the volume dial. I'd definitely recommend the JCA50H if you plan on playing live. Better to have more than you need and be able to use it when you need it then not have enough when you need it.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

Avoid the MA50 like the plague. Some marshalls need to be cranked to sound their best, the MA50 needs to be cranked before it even sounds passable. If you look up reviews, pay attention to anyone who uses the words "buzzsaw" or "swarm of bees", or "hive of bees" when describing that amp. Yes I have played the amp :)


As a marshall guy, what are your on the DSL40C amp? New ones are a bit outside your budget but perhaps you can find a deal on an open box or demo model. I owned a DSL50 head and it was great. It needed to be turned up to 4 (loud!) before the EL34s would really contribute (so does the MA series) but I was really impressed by everything except the meh reverb and slightly annoying shared EQ between channels, which isn't so bad to work around.
People say the best part of the MA series was the clean channel. Well, the DSL's is a little deeper with more mids, like a traditional marshall, but it's still got plenty of headroom, snap, and sparkle like the MA. the dsl's green crunch and red lead 1 channels cover just about everything else the MA can do, but without the fizz. Anyways the amp has several "mainstream marshall" tones from an honest to goodness marshall, so it might be a good bet.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

As much as I love Egnaters, they just don't seem to be tight enough for my tastes. I love their cleans though. I've heard good things about Bugera sound but not the quality, and I've only had bad experiences with behringer (which is the company that makes them). I had my eyes set on a 20 watt amp for a while, but I haven't had the chance to play a loud rock n roll gig with an amp that small. Some say they work just fine, some say they aren't loud enough. So for a few more months of saving, it can't hurt to grab a 50. I also play guitar for an indoor drumline, and I have to play over not only one drummer, but a LOT of drummers. So volume is important for me.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

I've heard a bunch about blackstar, but I have not had the chance to play an HT model in person. I'd agree with you that 20 is in fact loud, but I also play in an indoor drumline and need a pretty fair amount of volume to cut through in that environment.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

How about a used Vintage Modern?

That will cover pretty much all rock/metal tones, and kill the other two.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

A 40Watt Combo or 50Watt head will be plenty loud to keep up with a drum line. Anything over 50Watts might be over kill for where you would be playing. The difference between 150watts to 100watts to 50watts is only a few Db which most people dont even notice. The big difference with higher wattage is more clean head room and better dynamics but unless your playing a festival or stadium you wont get to use all 150watts or 100watts.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

I'm pretty sure the HT Venue series is NOT all tube. Not that I care, but it is misinformation, and I have an HT-5, which I love. I also have a JCA20H, which I love more. Much more, actually. I would love to have the JCA22H, but after all the work I've done to mine, I find it hard to let it go! Everything CTN has said is right on target, too. For Marshally tones, I prefer the Jet City. I just hear more of an old-school, high-gain Marshall when I play the Jet City. The Blackstar is saturated and modern.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

I'd LOVE to own a vintage modern, but I don't have that kind of money.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

I recommend a Blackstar HT-5/HT-20

I have the HT-5 head and I love this damn thing
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

See, I kind of get that impression from blackstar videos I find. I like an old school vintage marshally sound, even when playing heavy stuff. I'm not big on modern high gain amps. They're good, for what they are, but they don't fit my tastes. I love really tight sounding amp overdrive, and modern high gain amps just often seem too... flubby
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

I've listened to a retubed JCA and a hot rod back to back, and there is little difference. The schematics vary only slightly, and the bias is naturally just a tad cold in JCAs- an easy fix for an electronics geek like me. Other than that and more foreign parts and capacitors and such, they're practically the same.
 
Re: First tube amp. Marshall ma50h or Jet City jca50h?

Sounds like you already know exactly what you want - go for it!
 
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