NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

[Gone_Shootin]

Picked up a Vintage/Modern 2466 Friday night and I've had a chance to mess around with it since then.

I've wanted one for years, and liked them when I messed around with them in guitar shops, but never had the cash when I had the chance. But it worked out this time. When I tried this one out, it sounded a little off. My ears told me that it was probably full if JJs. So I took the chance and brought it home, opened it up, and yep, it was full if JJs, lol. I like JJ 12AX7s for the phase inverter and buffers, but that's about it. So I grabbed my tube box and saw that I had 3 new production Mullards on hand, so I threw them in V1, V2, and V3 (I suspect that V3 may be a buffer, so I may change that back) and it made a huge improvement. I'd also like to try some Gold Lions in the power section later on as well, but for now, the JJ KT66s work. And actually, they get good reviews and are supposed to be stronger in the mids than others, so eh, I may leave them be.

But all in all, I'm happy with the amp. It can do absolutely beautiful sounding cleans, like it's a big Twin Reverb. And of course all the classic Plexi tones are in there. But what surprised me is that it gets into JCM800 territory when in High Dynamic Range. When I boosted it with my Soul Food, dimed everything but the master and reverb (this amp still sounds good at lower volumes and I left the reverb off), going through a 1960B with V30s, and plugged in one of my JB equipped Dinkys, it sounded like old school Slayer. And even with the boost off, it had that tone, just with a little less gain.

So all in all, I'm happy with it.

And yes, it's purple, it just doesn't look like it in this pic for some reason.

 

[DankStar]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

you have about every marshall tone you'd ever need in those 2.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Nice!
I’m not sure about this particular amp but in the JVM series, V3 is the cathode follower.

 

[ColeJustesen]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Awesome! I was debating on getting a Vintage Modern a while back. I ultimately took a plunge on an SL-X which I happy with. That said, I am still wanting to try the Vintage Modern at some point.

Congrats on the cool amp!

Cole

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Those amps are way underrated.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Does it need to be at ear splitting volumes to sing?

 

[Adieu]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Needs more knobs, dude!

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

I love my JTM45, but the Vintage Modern keeps niggling at me! I'd love one of the 50 watt heads.

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Thanks, everybody!

you have about every marshall tone you'd ever need in those 2.

Yeah. I never could get that JVM to pull off a convincing Plexi tone, or at least to suit my ears. Never cared for the JVM's OD1, either, which is supposed to be based on the 800. So I guess the VM fills in some gaps.

Nice!
I’m not sure about this particular amp but in the JVM series, V3 is the cathode follower.

I'd have to look at the schematics again, bit I want to say that it's a buffer, or at least the B side is an input buffer, either for the regular FX loop or the reverb. With the VM, I have no idea. I suspect that it may also be a buffer, but I haven't had time to go over the schems yet.

Those amps
are way underrated.

Indeed.

Does it need to be at ear splitting volumes to sing?

Nope. That's another thing that surprised me. It seems to be happy anywhere between 10 o'clock and cranked. Granted, there is a slight change in the tone as you turn it up from 10 o'clock, but it's negligible. Also, the VM isn't as loud as the JVM. Both are 100 watt amps. I don't know if it's the difference between KT66s and EL34s or maybe it has something to do with the difference in the required resistor & cap values, or the difference in OTs (I have no idea if they have different OTs or not).

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Thanks, everybody!



Yeah. I never could get that JVM to pull off a convincing Plexi tone, or at least to suit my ears. Never cared for the JVM's OD1, either, which is supposed to be based on the 800. So I guess the VM fills in some gaps.



I'd have to look at the schematics again, bit I want to say that it's a buffer, or at least the B side is an input buffer, either for the regular FX loop or the reverb. With the VM, I have no idea. I suspect that it may also be a buffer, but I haven't had time to go over the schems yet.



Indeed.



Nope. That's another thing that surprised me. It seems to be happy anywhere between 10 o'clock and cranked. Granted, there is a slight change in the tone as you turn it up from 10 o'clock, but it's negligible. Also, the VM isn't as loud as the JVM. Both are 100 watt amps. I don't know if it's the difference between KT66s and EL34s or maybe it has something to do with the difference in the required resistor & cap values, or the difference in OTs (I have no idea if they have different OTs or not).

Iirc, in the JVM V4 is reverb/fx loop.
V3 is definitely the CF. I’ve never heard it referred to as a buffer but I’m no electrical engineer.
I’m just spouting things I’ve learned from when I used to have a JVM. But that was several years ago now, so my recollection could be suspect!! Lol

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

I looked up the VM schematic and these are the preamp tube slots:

V1A: The Detail input amplifier.
V1B: The Body input amp.
V2A The Detail HDR clipper, not used by LDR
V2B: The Body HDR clipper, not used by LDR
V3A: The voltage amplifier same as a plexi
V3B: The cathode follower
V4 The Phase Inverter.

To the OP, congrats. An amp that rewards those who twist knobs on their guitar.

 

[AxlOz]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

VM's are really nice amps, and sit uniquely in the Marshall line up. I could never find a tone that worked for me out of JVM's, though they're really versatile. The VM was very much a blues and rock amp and cleaned up beautifully. I ended up landing on a jcm800. Not as versatile as either of the above, but it hit the right tones for me at the time.
Part of me wants to try a VM again though, they just had something really cool going on.

Another poster above mentioned the SLX - also a unique beast in the Marshall lineup; I owned a 50w SLX head for a few years - actually it was my first real tube amp!
Both the VM and the SLX are WAY under rated Marshalls. Congrats on the new amp, you'll find amazing tones outta that for years!

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

As a long-time Mesa user, I can affirm my love for the Vintage Modern. If I ever find a good deal on one...

Bill

 

[Gone_Shootin]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Thanks again, everybody.

Iirc, in the JVM V4 is reverb/fx loop.
V3 is definitely the CF. I’ve never heard it referred to as a buffer but I’m no electrical engineer.
I’m just spouting things I’ve learned from when I used to have a JVM. But that was several years ago now, so my recollection could be suspect!! Lol

I had to double check, it's been awhile. So I went over to JVMforum.com

Copied from the a thread over there:
V1 (under the metal can), + V2 gain stages, V1A, V2B are used in all modes, the rest is switched in/out depending on the mode.
V3A: tone control buffer.
V3B: channel mixer/ parallel loop send
V4A: FX mix
V4B: Reverb Mix
V5: Phase splitter

I looked up the VM schematic and these are the preamp tube slots:

V1A: The Detail input amplifier.
V1B: The Body input amp.
V2A The Detail HDR clipper, not used by LDR
V2B: The Body HDR clipper, not used by LDR
V3A: The voltage amplifier same as a plexi
V3B: The cathode follower
V4 The Phase Inverter.

To the OP, congrats. An amp that rewards those who twist knobs on their guitar.

Ok, thanks. I'll probably throw a JJ back into V3, then, since those functions won't have that much of an effect on the tone. That way I can save that Mullard for something else.

And thanks, it does respond well to guitar volume changes and touch. I did notice that if I boost it too much on the front end, it'll squeal quite a bit.

 

[Artie]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Nice stack. I don't have a lot of tube experience, but I thought JJ's were supposed to be good tubes. Do I have that wrong?

 

[Nightburst]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Congratulations, it's a great amp!
<--- I have the same one with purple tolex. I find it has an amazing unique tone for playing leads but it does really benefit from using a booster or OD to make it sound more tight. It's a loose sounding amp imo, not sure if thats how it is by nature or if I need to start looking at new power tubes. Mine has all JJ's and they are fine, no need to mess around with it yet.
This amp is so easy to dial in, I really like how there are 2 gain knobs to dial in that perfect crunch.

With that said, does anyone know the tube layout schematic? I can't find much info on which tube is V1, etc.

 

[jeremy]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

its listed in this thread if you scroll up

 

[devastone]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

Nice stack. I don't have a lot of tube experience, but I thought JJ's were supposed to be good tubes. Do I have that wrong?

JJs are fine tubes and usually very reliable, they are just a little darker and lack some of the clarity of other 12AX7s in the first couple of preamp positions. They work well for warming up brighter amps, but some amps can benefit other tube choices, again, especially in the first couple of preamp positions where most of the gain and tone shaping is done.

 

[dystrust]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

JJs are fine tubes and usually very reliable, they are just a little darker and lack some of the clarity of other 12AX7s in the first couple of preamp positions. They work well for warming up brighter amps, but some amps can benefit other tube choices, again, especially in the first couple of preamp positions where most of the gain and tone shaping is done.

+1

JJs have their own "flavor" and I like them in some amps but not others. They make the clean-ish channel in both of my Jubilees sound pretty dull and lifeless, but the gain sounds are decent. Tung-Sols have the best balance of all that I've tried, while Shuguangs have a great sparkle on the clean but are piercingly bright on the lead channel.

In my Jet City 22H the stock Shuguangs sound like a coffee can full of bees on the lead channel, while JJs are full and smooth with just enough bite. longcat and I also like them in her SVT3Pro because they sound good and they're cheap, though tube rolling doesn't seem to affect that amp much if at all.

 

[AxlOz]

Re: NAD: Marshall Vintage/Modern 2466

+1 for the new production Tung Sol 12ax7's in V1 and/or V2 positions.

I've had good experiences with these in a few amps - Marshall, Fender, and Vox. They seem to be nicely balanced tonally and don't sound thin or brittle (if that makes any sense..).