Marshall JCM900 Opinions

[chadd]

Re: Marshall JCM900 Opinions

4100/4500 amps are great and get dumped on unfairly. They sound better at higher volumes than they do at bedroom levels, once you open them up a bit, they're fine. I am surprised to hear someone had an early version with 5881s, I only saw EL34s in the early ones around here and thought the later 5881 versions didn't sound the same.

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: Marshall JCM900 Opinions

I played a 900 dual reverb a few times... ice picky and thin in my opinion but I like a pretty meaty sound so to each their own!

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Marshall JCM900 Opinions

 

[ErikH]

Re: Marshall JCM900 Opinions

View attachment 44130

I remember that ad. That's for the MkIII Hi Gain Master Volume. IMHO, that is the best of the 900 series. Very short lived though (a couple years) and replaced with the SL-X.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Marshall JCM900 Opinions

--->>What do you guys think about the JCM900

I used a 2500 SL-X (+1 tube in the gain section and no diode clipper, it had fatter and sweeter sound than a DR) 50W head and gave him hell on the road. I bought it used. It sounded bloody awesome but it was a series of problems in its first year to me. Volume drops, choking sound, crackling, whatsoever. Tube change did not cure that. I was thinking about selling it and it parked a while at a tube amp guru guy for some facelift. He said it was assembled like crap and he re-soldered many of things, changed some worn components (no mod just better quality pots, some caps and the rectifier) and it ended to be an indestructible rock machine so I did not sell it. I loved that amp and I used it for touring until my spine gave in 2 years ago and I started to use feather wheight gear onstage. Now it is a property of Mongi, one of the most talented young guitarists I know around my place and I can say he is quite happy with it.

--->>if you could get a new one for say $1299, would you buy it?

No. After re-wiring my spine and terminating polyarthritis forever, I would try to find an another SL-X 50W amp for $400-$500 and be happy with it. But I don't need it really any more as a stompbox sized preamp and a stompbox sized power amp overperformed it in A/B tests. But that's a different story.

 

[lovesacdc]

Re: Marshall JCM900 Opinions

I had a DR and SLX half stacks. After a while the tone started to bother me on both of them. I couldn't get a sweet tone out of either. The DR was more versatile though.