Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

Chickenwings

Chickenwings

Alnico 6/8
Okay so i have a 1x12 jcm 900 mkIII 100w master volume combo...which as most 900 people can tell you is the business for crunchy sounds.
However i have always wanted an 800 lead series cos it has a clean channel and reverb as well. I also have a briefcase full of overdrive pedals....
So....the question is should i shell out the extra bucks and get a 50w 1x12 800 4210 combo, or should i stop dreaming and enjoy the balls out rock sound of the 900....
Oh yeah....(aussie dollars). My 900 combo is immaculate and cost me 700 bucks...the 800 imn looking at has has sozo caps put in recently even tho the amp doesnt look so beautiful....its 1500 bucks.....perhaps i can sell the 900?
Anyway...just put in your 2c worth....
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

The 800 series ch. switchers have two very different designs and it is very difficult to tell the difference externally (S/N will yield year designation) They are not without fault tone wise, but they are worth exploring. Pre 1986 4210's do not sound anything like the later one's, so best just to trust your ears

JS
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

its a 1985. and its 1000ks away. So yeah id like reverb and a clean channel, but one never knows if its better unless i play it.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

i wouldn't; but i haven't played one.
aren't they basically a dual reverb, ie 2 channels, shared eq, diode clipping..?

i've got a 50W HGDR head you can buy if you're interested; i recently bought a night train, and then drunkenly bid on a 200W rack-mount power amp and won it... so now i have to find a pretty serious gig, or flip it heh heh
stupid GAS
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

Dr Ad....nope....the 900 MkIII Master Volume is a different beast to the infamous dual reverb thingy. Its a different amp with a different circuit and a different sound. For a start i has no reverb at all! lol.
The 900 MkIII i have is a great amp (especially compared to the 900 dually head i used to gig with back in the day). Nah i just always wanted an 800 50w lead series...but having not played on for prolly 15 years im not sure if its actually an improvement over what i have.
The 800 is two independent eqs with a shared reveb and clipping only on the lead channel.
Anyway....what does HGDR stand for?
 
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Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

I'd keep the MkIII and get the 800 only if the deal is right. When I use my MkIII, I use a HBE Detox EQ out front to help get my "cleans". I like a little dirt on my clean tone so I'm happy with that setup.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

I had an 800 channel switcher which, as far as I remember, was from the first run of these amps. The clean channel wasn't clean at all and really not very good. I didn't much care for the lead channel either and was glad to see the back of it. The tone was very inconsistent varying enormously from one day to the next, the reverb packed up within a few days and I was generally afraid that it was just going to fall to pieces one day. I had a 900 Dual MV combo on loan for a while and, while I didn't find it particularly inspiring, it did have some good sounds in it and it sounded a hell of a lot better than the 800. I knew a few folks that had the 900s and they were notorious for blowing output transformers. I lost interest in Marshalls after that although recently I've played through a Slash head (not bad) and a DSL re-issue (terrible). I could live with the 900 but I wouldn't touch the 800 with a bargepole.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

let's try this again.

i wouldn't let a mkIII go in order to acquire a 2205-type amp; but i haven't played a 2205/2210-type amp. the mkIII is basically a juiced up 800 with extra features, whereas the 2-channel 800 is an 800 in name only.
isn't the 2205/2210-type amp basically a dual reverb, ie 2 channels, shared eq, diode clipping..?

i have a 50W JCM900 hi-gain dual reverb head you can buy if you're interested.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

I wouldn't do it because your amp is a better sounding amp overall. I'd rather have 1 good tone than 2 mediocre ones. And mediocre is what I thought of most channel switching JCM 800's. I owned a few of them.

I sort of pegged you for someone who'd already have a few 'clean amps.' My first thought would be a Marshall and a Fender A/B setup.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

With so many great channel switchers out there these days, I certainly wouldn't be looking at most Marshalls if I wanted a decent clean channel. I dunno how much they cost in AUS or how easy they are to get there, but if I was in your situation I'd be looking more into amps like the Bogner Shiva. It's got great cleans and roars like a Marshall. I saw one go on Ebay last week for like $1125 (US dollars). Tried to sell mine recently and set the reserve for $1500. Didn't make it. Though it appears that I've got a guy who wants to buy it at that price now.

Anyways... not being a fan boy. Because there have to be other amps out there that fit your criteria that have better cleans than the Marshall and still roar like one.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

Ive never reallly dug the 2210 series of 800's. Actually all 800's to be honest I completely understand why people in the 80's went to such great lengths to mod them.

The 2210 series is pretty lacking to me. The one I had the lead channel bled into the clean channel. And not in a add a little dirt to your cleans sort of way. If you kept the volume low enough that the channel didnt bleed it wasnt loud enough to play with a band.

On the other hand the 900 MKIII's I think are very underrated. The dual MV's is nice. Like someone else said. Would rather have an amp that does 1 thing good than 2 things so so.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

yes mr gearjoneser you have me pegged correctly...i do have a choice of some sexy clean amps cos jazz is my main thing..so the marshall is juts really around for when i want to get a marshall crunch sound.
Astrozombie..yes the 4210 is a 1x12 combo version of the 2210 head.
Richard Parker thank you for your input i think betwen your input and that of gearjoneser i have decided to keep the amp i have.

Dr. Ad....no the 800 4210 does not have shared eq or a dual reverb cicuit like the later 900 duallys but i think you may be right...the MKII 900 is more 800 mv sounding than an 800 channel switcher. And thanks for the offer of the 900 dually but i used to have a 100w dually head back in the day and it was not a patch on the 900 master volume i have now. im definitely not looking for a dual reverb again. What i really wanted to know was whether or not a channel switching 800 is an improvement on my master volume 900....and it seems from most people that the answer is definitely no.
So thanks fellas for your input....ill keep the MKIII and stop wondering if the grass is greener....AND you have all saved me a lot of money too!
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

I'll be the voice of dissent here.
I've had my 4210 for over 15 years. It just plain KICKS BUTT.
I used to gig it a lot but retired it about 11 years ago.

Broke it out again this year. I had it completely serviced (tubes, filter caps etc) and it's roaring like a champ.
I replaced the original speaker with a Celestion CL80. Great chunky, crunchy Marshall tones.
Smaller clubs it's all I use. I plug it into a 4x12 at larger clubs. I get a lot of compliments on my tone.

BTW, it doesn't "officially" have a clean channel. It has a normal channel.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

my 2210 kicked all kinds of ass. stop thinking with your eyes and think with your ears people! the 2210 didnt have diode clipping IIRC. i read a lot on it when I got mine.
 
Re: Marshall MKIII 900 mv vs 800 4210

AZ, have you played any other marshalls? i'm pretty sure it does have the diodes, but i'm not looking it up either heh heh
 
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