JCM 900 Which One?

MikeA

MikeA

New member
I am getting sick of my Mesa Single Rect. and I'm looking to sell it and buy a Marshall JCM 900. I have heard 900's are hit or miss depending on the series. When I started shopping I couldn't believe how many series' there were. So I'm just looking for any info on any one of them; good or bad. -Mike


(Sorry it's been a while since I was here. This should be in the Amp Section)
 
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Re: JCM 900 Which One?

NON! Try a secondhand jcm800....50w 100w 50w2chnl,,ect they`r all great amps.
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

The only JCM 900 I ever liked was the SL-X.

JCM 900's are known for not sounding the greatest, and breaking down quite a bit. You would be better off with a JCM 800 (2203 or 2204). Heck, I think a newer DSL50 is better than the JCM 900's
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

forget marshall,youll be very limited in the tonal options range. buy a boogie stiletto it IS the amp marshall shouldve made!i had a jcm 800 it was coolbut i sold it to buy a stiletto, best thing i ever did.900's are hit or miss for sure i wouldnt waste my time/money on finding one that doesnt suck.not to dis on marshall but the stiletto does ALL the classic marshall tones very easy and charts new territory as well.no i do not work for boogie.ive seen stiletto duece's going for 1000-1200 on ebay.well worth it.http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/stiletto/stilettoDeuce-Trident.htm
i use one channel for rythm and the other for leads,the volume control for each channel is great for playing live,leads boosted a bit and seperate tone/gain too.freaking awesome!
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

I'd love a stiletto, but college tends to limit guitar spending to basically what ever you can sell and buy with that money...which is pretty unattainable with a single rect.
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

You'd be going from one end of the spectrum to the total opposite. Mesa Low and dark to the 900's extreem highs and brightness. I have a friend who plays one in his band and he always has the bass dimed and the trebble at zero, it's still got alot of trebble. I'd also go with a use 800.

What's the problem with the recto?
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

Please read this page all JCM900 naysayers and learn. ;) http://www.erikhansen.net/marshall/

I just saw a MkIII 50 Watt head go for $499 on eBay in great looking condition. An absolute steal. I normally see them up around $700-$800 now. I would've snagged it myself but alas, no $$$. At some point I'd like to have one to match my 100 watter. I'll take my MkIII any day.

My recommendation for 900's, look for a MkIII, an SL-X with EL34's or a Dual Reverbs with EL34's. In that order.
 
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Re: JCM 900 Which One?

Hmmmmm.....I`v played a lot of 800 and 900`s,I don`t have to read about them. many of my rock friends have replaced their 900,2000 amps with a 800 on my recommandation. they are all VERY happy with the 800`s.
IMO the jcm 800 is the last great amp marshall ever did!!!!!
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

Here we go again, all 900's are not created the same! Most of them do infact suck donkey balls but, there are a few jems! The 2100 MKIII is A great amp! The best ones we made between 1990-1992 and are sleepers! I had a Jubilee (actually a Slash signature model Marshall) and I thought the 2100 sounded better and people rave about the Jubilees tone! I still own the 2100 but, I no longer own the Slash if that tells you anything. The Slash/Jubilee were basically a JCM800 on steroids.

In closing, not all 900's are bright and sound like a buzzsaw! A few forum memebers (Jeff H, Gr8scott, Brisk) have played mine and can vouch for its tone!
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

Doesn't Marshall still make these? (vintage series maybe)
Dave Navarro used them and always seemed to have great tone but i'm not sure which one he has.
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

theodie said:
Here we go again, all 900's are not created the same! Most of them do infact suck donkey balls but, there are a few jems! The 2100 MKIII is A great amp! The best ones we made between 1990-1992 and are sleepers! I had a Jubilee (actually a Slash signature model Marshall) and I thought the 2100 sounded better and people rave about the Jubilees tone! I still own the 2100 but, I no longer own the Slash if that tells you anything. The Slash/Jubilee were basically a JCM800 on steroids.

In closing, not all 900's are bright and sound like a buzzsaw! A few forum memebers (Jeff H, Gr8scott, Brisk) have played mine and can vouch for its tone!
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I`m shure your amp sounds great,maby you should offer him your amp!!!!
If not i would recommend a jcm 800.:fing2: :butkick:
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

theodie said:
Here we go again, all 900's are not created the same! Most of them do infact suck donkey balls but, there are a few jems! The 2100 MKIII is A great amp! The best ones we made between 1990-1992 and are sleepers! I had a Jubilee (actually a Slash signature model Marshall) and I thought the 2100 sounded better and people rave about the Jubilees tone! I still own the 2100 but, I no longer own the Slash if that tells you anything. The Slash/Jubilee were basically a JCM800 on steroids.

In closing, not all 900's are bright and sound like a buzzsaw! A few forum memebers (Jeff H, Gr8scott, Brisk) have played mine and can vouch for its tone!
Click to expand...
Some of the ones made just before the end 1993 are also good as they may have had El-34s in them before they changed to the 5881s late that year. The amps me, Erick, and theodie have are the master volume versions. These had 2 switchable volumes and 2 controls for gain. The only difference with the one I have is a extra pre-amp valve, so you may consider the version I have as it will give you some extra gain if you need it. The basic thing is just make sure the amp uses el-34s.
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

ksmith63 said:
Doesn't Marshall still make these? (vintage series maybe)
Dave Navarro used them and always seemed to have great tone but i'm not sure which one he has.
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Nope. The MkIII High Gain Master Volume and SL-X (otherwise known as the MkIV Master Volume) are out of production. Marshall has reissued the 900 but it's the 4100 Dual Reverb with 5881's no less (should've been EL34's IMO).

Anyway, as soon as someone hears JCM900, they immediately think of the Dual Reverbs with the 5881's (IMO they didn't sound as good with the 5881's as they did with EL34's) and dismiss anything else in the 900 series.

My tech looked over my amp last year when it got retubed/biased and the pots cleaned. He gave it high marks and agreed that it's a sleeper.
 
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Re: JCM 900 Which One?

theodie said:
In closing, not all 900's are bright and sound like a buzzsaw! A few forum memebers (Jeff H, Gr8scott, Brisk) have played mine and can vouch for its tone!
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I can vouch as well. A friend of mine who has one of the greatest marshall collections known to man, owns one of slash's old 900's that was custom built for him. This thing hits and hits hard, its brutal to say the least when cranked.

That amp and the JCM 25/50 25th anniversary Jubilees are by far the best sounding marshalls I've ever heard.
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

kaffimann said:
I`m shure your amp sounds great,maby you should offer him your amp!!!!
If not i would recommend a jcm 800.:fing2: :butkick:
Click to expand...

I will not come off of mine!!!! Its a hell of an amp. Try one out sometime, maybe you will learn all 900's are not the same!
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

theodie said:
Slash had a 900?????????? Really????
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A 900 SLX yes. I can't tell you the extent of how much it was used all I know is it was custom built for him as were a few others. This guys got so many rare marshalls I can't even remember the stories behind most of them.
 
Re: JCM 900 Which One?

Well generally I agree..900s are brighter and lack "oomph" compared to 2203/4s. Some are better than others, but most are not to my taste...I've only heard 2 or 3 I like. I ABSOLUTELY HATED my Dual Reverb. Icepick, no low end. Just an awful buzzy mess. Even my POS old Jackson head was more warm & Marshally than that thing ('member those?) What a treat it was when I got my 1987X! :bigok:

However like any Marshall, SPEAKERS ARE KEY. Had I known more about speakers at the time I'd have tried some GBs or something before I ditched the amp. V30s/75s IMO are a poor match for ANY Marshalll (unless you like that nasal spikey grindy thing they have), but doubly so for 900 series and later amps.

Erik's amp sounds really nice....for the sounds he's going for it works freakin' great, but I doubt it would work well for me. It's a bit too EVH/Soldano/Kock Rock toned for my tastes(which is basically what the amps was designed to do anyway). However I haven't heard it with GB/BB/G12H's so it could very well "open up".
 
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