Gr8Scott
Wookieologist
Re: Is there a 20 watt (or less) amp that sounds like a Marshall JCM 800?
EricH - If you listen to the clips of the bumbox lead Dr. Lo is currently looking at (can't find an umlaut key), it sounds very much like a lower wattage/lower gain version of an 18-watt TMB from Trinity Amps and thusly the plexi 50 that sounds "COMPLETELY DIFFERENT" from a JCM-800. While I agree that they do sound a bit different, they are close enough to each other that most folks interchange them and simply want the "marshall sound". His mention of avoiding an attenuator tells us that he wants an all tube amp. All us folks that offered advice to check out the TMB 18 watt marshall weren't so far off afterall. It is very much a small plexi clone, and it was the closest and most widely available item that met his specs (all tube/Marshall/under 20 watts). The closest thing that meets these specs is an 18 watt TMB. They have plenty of gain on tap and they sound ferocious when goosed.
He's found something that has even lower wattage/lower gain than a TMB and it might meet his needs well. I hope it does.
To answer the part about JCM-800/Plexi. I think most guitarists don't know/remember the difference between the sounds of a cranked plexi and a cranked JCM-800 and would be equally pleased with either. While the diehards on this board are knowledgeable enough to spot the difference in sound, I'll bet that most guitarists wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Most would claim that the sound of a plexi is a JCM-800 because that's the best sounding marshall amp they've ever come into contact with personally. So... Good sounding marshall amp = JCM-800 to most guitarists. Until a year ago, I would have assumed the same myself because the Plexi is a mythical beast that I'd never seen or heard in person before. When you hear the Rev playing on old ZZ-top records, he doesn't tell you when he's playing through a plexi. When you compare the normal sound of a plexi to the old van-halen tunes when EVH changed the sound of a normal plexi via a variac, it sounds heavier and more like a cranked/goosed JCM-800. Most guitarists don't know what a plexi really sounds like due to all this confusion and also due to the lack of unmodded plexi's in circulation.
I'm not baggin on anyone. But I do feel the need to explain/defend my thinking on why I suggested what I did. I'm also not bagging on Dr. Lo either. Just giving you all the reasoning behind my suggestion.
If I were Dr. Lo, I'd go with a TMB as long as bearably loud volumes are ok. It's loud enough to gig with, but it won't blow your eardrums out like a 50 watt amp will. Great jam amp. If bedroom volumes are a requirement, maybe the Bumbox is a good idea. Neither sound like a JCM-800, but both are good marshall sounding amps it seems. Depends on how loud and how much gain Dr Lo seeks. Money is also a consideration.
EricH - If you listen to the clips of the bumbox lead Dr. Lo is currently looking at (can't find an umlaut key), it sounds very much like a lower wattage/lower gain version of an 18-watt TMB from Trinity Amps and thusly the plexi 50 that sounds "COMPLETELY DIFFERENT" from a JCM-800. While I agree that they do sound a bit different, they are close enough to each other that most folks interchange them and simply want the "marshall sound". His mention of avoiding an attenuator tells us that he wants an all tube amp. All us folks that offered advice to check out the TMB 18 watt marshall weren't so far off afterall. It is very much a small plexi clone, and it was the closest and most widely available item that met his specs (all tube/Marshall/under 20 watts). The closest thing that meets these specs is an 18 watt TMB. They have plenty of gain on tap and they sound ferocious when goosed.
He's found something that has even lower wattage/lower gain than a TMB and it might meet his needs well. I hope it does.
To answer the part about JCM-800/Plexi. I think most guitarists don't know/remember the difference between the sounds of a cranked plexi and a cranked JCM-800 and would be equally pleased with either. While the diehards on this board are knowledgeable enough to spot the difference in sound, I'll bet that most guitarists wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Most would claim that the sound of a plexi is a JCM-800 because that's the best sounding marshall amp they've ever come into contact with personally. So... Good sounding marshall amp = JCM-800 to most guitarists. Until a year ago, I would have assumed the same myself because the Plexi is a mythical beast that I'd never seen or heard in person before. When you hear the Rev playing on old ZZ-top records, he doesn't tell you when he's playing through a plexi. When you compare the normal sound of a plexi to the old van-halen tunes when EVH changed the sound of a normal plexi via a variac, it sounds heavier and more like a cranked/goosed JCM-800. Most guitarists don't know what a plexi really sounds like due to all this confusion and also due to the lack of unmodded plexi's in circulation.
I'm not baggin on anyone. But I do feel the need to explain/defend my thinking on why I suggested what I did. I'm also not bagging on Dr. Lo either. Just giving you all the reasoning behind my suggestion.
If I were Dr. Lo, I'd go with a TMB as long as bearably loud volumes are ok. It's loud enough to gig with, but it won't blow your eardrums out like a 50 watt amp will. Great jam amp. If bedroom volumes are a requirement, maybe the Bumbox is a good idea. Neither sound like a JCM-800, but both are good marshall sounding amps it seems. Depends on how loud and how much gain Dr Lo seeks. Money is also a consideration.
