Improving a Marshall's amp tone

[fenderiarhs]

I just bought a marshall jcm2000 tsl601 combo...i know it's not the best out there but i have had enough of carrying head+cab on gigs. It comes with the ecc83 tubes in the preamp stage and some el34 on the power amp. I was thinking of replacing both.......the preamps ecc83's with 12ax7's (is there going to be an improvement in tone using the 12ax7?????) and the el34 with some better quality el34 tubes.....When going from ecc83 to 12ax7 in the preamp department is there any need of biasing or any other modification?Swaping the power amps el34 needs biasing? Thanks for any responces

 

[ChrisB]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

The ecc83 is the european version of the 12ax7, they are both the same.

You will improve the sound by using better quality tubes and getting the amp re-biased as they are usually biased cold from the factory. You actually may find that a rebias with your current tubes will be enough.

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

Yeah a 12ax7 is the same tube as an ecc83...just different regions of the world.

Really dont like those amps at all myself, but if you're after a better sound get new tubes all round and have it rebiased, good tubes too like JJ's or GT's even for the el34's. Speaker cabs also make a big difference, so make sure you're running it through good speakers. You could replace them if they're just stock speakers with vintage 30s or greenbacks or something else...would make a big difference.

 

[casblah]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

Feel your pain man. Owned one of those amps b-4. The stock speaker is a Marshall Wolverine, I believe. That should be kicked to the curb immediately. And as previously mentioned, do some tube swaps, and see if that works for you. Good luck.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

If the power tubes aren't shot, just leave'em in till you have to change them.
To get it sounding better right away, I'd sell the stock speaker for half the price of a new Celestion Vin 30 or H-30, then buy one of those 2. Change the preamp tubes
to GT 12AX7C's or M's. C's are $14 M's are $23. The C's are what Bogner suggests, and he's right, they sound great in Marshalls and Bogners.

I'm not sure, but I thought most new Marshalls came with Svetlana EL-34's, so double check that. If you replace EL-34's just get Svets or JJ's.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

Like everyone has said, pre-amp tubes and a new speaker are going to be your biggest bang for the buck in improving the tone right away. There are a ton of tubes that will help shape your sound. The nice thing is that most of them are fairly affordable, so you can buy a handful and experiment with what sounds best to you. V1 is going to have the biggest effect on tone...that's the pre-amp tube farthest from the power tubes. Also, make sure you buy a balanced triode for the phase inverter spot...that's the pre-amp tube closest to your power tubes. I'd suggest a JJ there...they are nice and warm.

For the speaker, if you don't want to drop $100 on a Celestion, go to avitar speakers and buy an Eminence speaker. They're about half the price of the Celestion, and they sound just as good to my ears. Plus, they're made in the USA.

 

[texasguitarslinger]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

Well if you set it on fire you could tell everyone it's a smoking hot amp!

 

[fenderiarhs]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

Thank you guys, very very useful info.....i think i 'll start with the preamp tubes and then my second priority will be the speaker.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Improving a Marshall's amp tone

One little trick (some like it, some not): you might change the very first 12AX7 tube to a 7025 tube. It will give a fatter sound. I've tried it once and since that I'm totally into that.