Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

[Merodack]

I just tried a used 2554 combo (1x12) in the local second hand shop, and I was quite impressed. It seemed more versatile than the JTM30 ; it has no reverb, but then the JTM doesn't have a lot either. The 2554 is theoretically a better amp, right ? Anyway, I'm thinking of doing a trade. The asking price for the 2554 is 600€/$720 or slightly below ; they seem more expensive on ebay, but a lot of people on Harmony Central paid less... so I'm a bit confused. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

A lot of it depends on how new the silver tolex looks, and how many scratches are on the chrome faceplate. If it's clean $800 + If it's worn and torn, $750 or less. Those prices are due to the rarity of an Anniversary amp from 1987. If the gray has just darkened, you can use a sponge with Comet or Murphy's Oil Soap, and make it look new again.

If you buy it, and replace all the tubes, you'll hear a very great Marshall combo! It's even better when you plug it's chassis up to a 4-12 cab. Those amps have a large range of tones from Voxy to Zakk Wylde type gain.

It's a better amp than the JTM 30, in my opinion and most others. The JTM 30's have had a lot of reliability problems, from what I've read from owners. They overheat.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

Yeah..what GJ said.. stay away from the 1990s JTM amps...accident waiting to happen...they sound good, and arguably had the best Marshall clean channel ever (and it would crunch really nice too)...but they have big reliability issues and were scrapped, redesigned , and renamed (600 series)in short order..my JTM60 died not long after I got it. Apparently that is par for the course with them.

Jubillees are not my fave Marshalls by any means (barring the looks), but they def are one of the better sounding Marshalls of the past 20 years.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

Comparing gear prices between countries is difficult. 600 Euros is about £410 (British pounds) I think. That wouldn't be an extortionate price for a 2554 here in England (assuming the amp is in good condition), though I would expect to haggle it down a bit. £350 (510 Euros?) would be great!

The Jubilee series are great amps and, as they were only made in 1987, have to be a good collectable investment.

I'm not sure whether the reliability issues only affected the JTMs sold in America - they would have been different to the UK ones as there is no voltage selector on the back. Anyway, I had a JTM60 as my main amp for five years, gigging with no backup, and had absolutely NO reliability issues with it. It sounded superb too.

However, given the choice between a 2554 and a JTM30 I would definitely go for the Jubilee.

 

[Merodack]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

Thanks for the input. What i'm actually thinking of doing is part-exchanging my JTM30 for the 2554 (I should have made that clearer), not because there's anything I dislike about it (except the reverb) but because the 2554 seems capable of more. I'd have to agree with Simon F on reliability, though ; I bought the JTM in England in 1996 and the only trouble I've ever had with it was following transit to France.

 

[Armotron]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

My friend has an older JTM60(I have no clue what year, a 70's maybe), and hes always telling me how hes getting rid of it because he cant push it for more than an hour without it crapping out and overheating. It has the best clean tones, but just isnt relaible in his case. I have no idea about the others. What reasons are those amps said to be less reliable?

 

[fretburner]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

My friend has an older JTM60(I have no clue what year, a 70's maybe), and hes always telling me how hes getting rid of it because he cant push it for more than an hour without it crapping out and overheating. It has the best clean tones, but just isnt relaible in his case. I have no idea about the others. What reasons are those amps said to be less reliable?

The longest time I played on my JTM60 was more than 3 hours (might be even close to 4). It got pretty hot, but it didn't overheat and sounded even better. The volumes were quite low though -- about 11 o'clock on the clean channel and about 9:30 on the master.

 

[benjaturner]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

My friend has an older JTM60(I have no clue what year, a 70's maybe),

Are you sure about this? I didn't think the JTM range went back that far. I thought production only ran from about '94 - '97.

What reasons are those amps said to be less reliable?

It's very much an over-heating issue. Basically, as a means of cutting costs Marshall solder the valves/tubes directly to the PCB board. This makes production much cheaper as it's much easier to manufacture, but we know how hot vavles get. They simply give off so much heat that the components on the PCB board, and the board itself in a lot of cases, give(s) up!

This isn't a problem on most valve amps because;
*The valves are mounted physically further away from all the delicate stuff.
*The components used are much higher quality and hence, much more resilient.
*Ventilation is much more ergonomic.


Marshall really made a good sounding amp for price they attached to the JTM range. The problem is that to justify that price, shortcuts had to be made. This is where Marshall really screwed up with the JTM stuff. I don't know if they could have made a *better* amp and retained the price, but they certainly could have made a more reliable amp. This just didn't seem to be a factor during the design stages. If it was then I think the JTM could have been another classic.

 

[Armotron]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

Are you sure about this? I didn't think the JTM range went back that far. I thought production only ran from about '94 - '97.

No Im not at all. Thats a number I just pulled out of my head that I either slightly recalled him saying or I just somehow made it up in my memory.
But I know the JTM45 was the first marshall ever, but thats a different amp then those JTM30s and 60s I think?

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Marshall Jubilee 2554 vs JTM30

But I know the JTM45 was the first marshall ever, but thats a different amp then those JTM30s and 60s I think?

That's correct. The original JTMs were produced in the 60s. The JTM30s and JTM60s were only produced in the 90s, and are a completely different thing. This site gives an overview of the various Marshall models thru the years: http://www.drtube.com/marshall.htm