JTM45 still practical ?

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Guys, i know there are many members here that love the allmighty JTM45 . . .


. . . but there is no master volume on that monster.


So, my question is : for how many people here, is the Marshall JTM45 still a practical amp ?
To get that sweet tone, you pretty much have to crank a 30watt KT66 to ten.
(...some would say the best sounding Marshall ever made !)

I do not gig . . . but i do jam with friends every now and again.

These days everyone is jumping on the 'lil low-power'ed amp band wagon.
Is there still a place for the very 1st Marshall model ?

Thanx.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Despite everything you've heard, these amps don't always sound best at 10. In my experience, it's usually around 6-7 in my experience.

I dunno man, I play my 50W Bassman through a gigantic 2x12 around that volume all the time. Just do it!

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Despite everything you've heard, these amps don't always sound best at 10. In my experience, it's usually around 6-7 in my experience.

I dunno man, I play my 50W Bassman through a gigantic 2x12 around that volume all the time. Just do it!

That's pretty much where I set mine, and I put a Blackstar HT-Dual in front to get any increasing level of dirt that I need.

 

[Stratman]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Jump channels and balance for the tone you want.

Mine is more than loud enough between 4 ~ 6 (treble & normal)

I do use GEC KT-66 OEM tubes bias at 38

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I gig good size bars and clubs with a 6 piece band and use a 62 Fender Deluxe...18 ish watts of 6V6 power with a single 12 in an open back cab...I almost never make it past 3 on the volume knob...

I LOVE JTM-45's but IMO..no, they are not practical.

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I gig good size bars and clubs with a 6 piece band and use a 62 Fender Deluxe...18 ish watts of 6V6 power with a single 12 in an open back cab...I almost never make it past 3 on the volume knob...

I LOVE JTM-45's but IMO..no, they are not practical.

Gotta agree. Anything over 25 watts is to much for most club gigs and forces you to use pedals for distortion because you can't turn the amp up enough for it to generate any natural tube overdrive.

When you hit the big time you can crank up your 50 and 100 watters for those big stadium shows...but until then, 20 watts is about right for most bar gigs, IMO.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Guys, i know there are many members here that love the allmighty JTM45 . . .


. . . but there is no master volume on that monster.


So, my question is : for how many people here, is the Marshall JTM45 still a practical amp ?
To get that sweet tone, you pretty much have to crank a 30watt KT66 to ten.
(...some would say the best sounding Marshall ever made !)

I do not gig . . . but i do jam with friends every now and again.

These days everyone is jumping on the 'lil low-power'ed amp band wagon.
Is there still a place for the very 1st Marshall model ?

Thanx.

You need to explore the volume knob on your guitar.
But yeah, things have "changed". In 1964, you could barely carry the singer with the available PA. Now you can mic a 2 watt amp to 20 thousand people.
There will always be a trade-off when you turn a knob, but a happy compromise can usually be found. Amps are tools of the trade. No carpenter has just ONE of anything. Amps are more expensive than hammers, to be sure. But you can buy some great low powered gear these days. Is it this forum that has an Ibanez post.?
Here is another.
best
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1105940

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Gotta agree. Anything over 25 watts is to much for most club gigs and forces you to use pedals for distortion because you can't turn the amp up enough for it to generate any natural tube overdrive.

When you hit the big time you can crank up your 50 and 100 watters for those big stadium shows...but until then, 20 watts is about right for most bar gigs, IMO.

Heck, even with the Deluxe in a club I still have to keep an OD of some kind around most of the time...I don't have to dial in a lot of grit but a little helps with sustain and getting a big nasty chord sound when needed.

I'd love to be able to just set the Deluxe on about 7 and just plug in but no dice...

 

[Gypsyblue]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I've been able to get away with turning my Princeton Reverb up to at least 6. I usually start the evening lower - maybe 4 or 5. By the end of the night it's on at least 6. I did a quiet gig last week where I could only turn it up to 3 and that was tough. I thought I'd only be playing clean rhythm but they surprised me with a solo spot and my tone was so twinkly clean I really had to work for some sustain. I wish I'd brought my TS808.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

The trick to using non master volume amps is simple .... you need to own three amps ... one small, one medium, and one high wattage unit. Then you select the amp for the gig at hand, or maybe take two.

I worked this out as a teenager in the early '70s before there were any master volume amps, and the theory still holds up for me today as i don't use amps with master volume controls. I figured if an amp sounded great with the volume somewhere between 4 and 7, i had a limited useable volume range to get a good sound, and of course that volume could be too much or too little for certain gigs or applications. It was only a small step to realising that i needed a few amps of different sizes so that I would always be able to get a good and useable sound regardless of the venue size, provided i picked the right amp for the job.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I've been able to get away with turning my Princeton Reverb up to at least 6. I usually start the evening lower - maybe 4 or 5. By the end of the night it's on at least 6. I did a quiet gig last week where I could only turn it up to 3 and that was tough. I thought I'd only be playing clean rhythm but they surprised me with a solo spot and my tone was so twinkly clean I really had to work for some sustain. I wish I'd brought my TS808.

That's why I just keep an OD handy...

Bigger places and with a smaller band I can turn up a bit more but most often I gig with a 6 piece band so making room for everything and not killing the folks up front means keeping things peeled back a little.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

The trick to using non master volume amps is simple .... you need to own three amps ... one small, one medium, and one high wattage unit. Then you select the amp for the gig at hand, or maybe take two.

I worked this out as a teenager in the early '70s before there were any master volume amps, and the theory still holds up for me today as i don't use amps with master volume controls. I figured if an amp sounded great with the volume somewhere between 4 and 7, i had a limited useable volume range to get a good sound, and of course that volume could be too much or too little for certain gigs or applications. It was only a small step to realising that i needed a few amps of different sizes so that I would always be able to get a good and useable sound regardless of the venue size, provided i picked the right amp for the job.

A selection of amps is a GREAT thing if you can do it...

I keep several amps on hand (all non master) and use them depending on venue...small places is my Deluxe bigger places is my Deluxe and 2x12 Super together big places or outdoor gigs get the Twin Reverb!

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I like this way of thinking. Keep the tools themselves simple, but know the limitations and have at least one to cover any gig situation.

 

[Wattage]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Hmm I have never had much luck with non-MV amps. I am sure I have never had the right one though.

I gig with a 20wt amp 75% of the time and a 100wt the balance of those shows unless I am sitting in with someone then I use a 15wt combo. All of them are MV amps, though I'd dig having something like a JTM I don't know that I would get much out of it.

 

[everdrone]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I am glad my thunderverb has the attenuator built in... 50 watts is way toooo much, i will not be playing shows for 1000 people any time soon without micing my amp

 

[JBG]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I use the JTM-45 as my main amp. I just turn it up till I think it sounds good. I never compromise on that.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I use the JTM-45 as my main amp. I just turn it up till I think it sounds good. I never compromise on that.

Where do you play and how far is "up till I think it sounds good"?

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

I gig good size bars and clubs with a 6 piece band and use a 62 Fender Deluxe...18 ish watts of 6V6 power with a single 12 in an open back cab...I almost never make it past 3 on the volume knob...

I LOVE JTM-45's but IMO..no, they are not practical.

I have been using my JMP 50 watter into a 2x12 cab and some nice pedals for years and always get great tone...I don't run the volume up too high on the amp...It's doable if a guy knows how to get the tone and things setup right..

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: JTM45 still practical ?

Here is the thing about a JTM-45 in terms of tone and the volume at which you get a tone...

The old Tweed Fenders (of which the JTM-45 is based) unlike a lot of amps can get a nice fat sound w/o being really cranked up...

In the band I play in I use the Deluxe I mentioned earlier and the other guitar player uses a tweed Bassman HOWEVER he plays VERY clean all the time so that amp on 2 is loud enough for him to be heard over me, the keys, harp, bass and drums but it stays dead clean even with a P-90 or Humbucker.

I don't like to play like that....I want some compression and a little grit so I go with a smaller amp.

If I was playing BIG venues or mostly outdoor I'd get a JTM-45 head and a 4x12 cab loaded with 20 watt Greenbacks but in doors and in even medium size clubs that's just WAY too much amp.