Van Noord
New member
Picked this nasty thing up the other day. Marshall JCM800 2203KK.
The thing is dead mint. Very little use, got it from the original owner who retired from playing seriously shortly after ordering this amp from Marshall.
You guys probably know the specs already.
Single channel JCM800 with Kerry King's Beast button which activates a noise gate and a boosted eq curve with added gain.
I love the feel of the amp. It's aggressive, but not harsh. Great clarity too at all gain levels.
Without the Beast engaged it is pure rock bliss. Throaty Marshall grind. The Beast adds a nice mid boost and high end cut. It gives the amp mega tight and fast tracking. I like setting the pre gain to about 75% and putting the Beast level control around the same. I get a great classic Marshall roar with a modern gain response level.
Again not all Slayer here. For that you would probably max the Beast level and pre gain. It gets really evil and pissed off sounding that way.
I also really like the eq sweep. The midrange dial sounds great particularly, as does the presence.
The gate is pretty phenomenal too, every amp should have one. No choking off notes and no noise slipping through either. Transparent too, unless it's at an extreme setting, which isn't needed.
I love the KT88's so far. They have such a powerful punch. I'm running the amp through a Krank 4x12 with V30's which handles that punch like a champ.
I don't really mind the tribal graphic. In low light it all but disappears. The metal etched graphic on the front panel is kind of cool actually.
The only thing I do not like are the flimsy feeling dials. The newer JVM410's and even the JMD1 have the chassis mounted, stiff, secure feeling dials. I wish this amp did too. Don't know what Marshall was thinking with these.
Maybe I can get my tech to fix that.
Otherwise, I'm very pleased. I haven't owned a Marshall in years, and almost got a JVM, but I don't want or need that many options. This is more my style. Plug in and play. Just straight up rock, with metal at the push of a button. No pedals whatsoever. Simplicity at it's best.
The thing is dead mint. Very little use, got it from the original owner who retired from playing seriously shortly after ordering this amp from Marshall.
You guys probably know the specs already.
Single channel JCM800 with Kerry King's Beast button which activates a noise gate and a boosted eq curve with added gain.
I love the feel of the amp. It's aggressive, but not harsh. Great clarity too at all gain levels.
Without the Beast engaged it is pure rock bliss. Throaty Marshall grind. The Beast adds a nice mid boost and high end cut. It gives the amp mega tight and fast tracking. I like setting the pre gain to about 75% and putting the Beast level control around the same. I get a great classic Marshall roar with a modern gain response level.
Again not all Slayer here. For that you would probably max the Beast level and pre gain. It gets really evil and pissed off sounding that way.
I also really like the eq sweep. The midrange dial sounds great particularly, as does the presence.
The gate is pretty phenomenal too, every amp should have one. No choking off notes and no noise slipping through either. Transparent too, unless it's at an extreme setting, which isn't needed.
I love the KT88's so far. They have such a powerful punch. I'm running the amp through a Krank 4x12 with V30's which handles that punch like a champ.
I don't really mind the tribal graphic. In low light it all but disappears. The metal etched graphic on the front panel is kind of cool actually.
The only thing I do not like are the flimsy feeling dials. The newer JVM410's and even the JMD1 have the chassis mounted, stiff, secure feeling dials. I wish this amp did too. Don't know what Marshall was thinking with these.
Maybe I can get my tech to fix that.
Otherwise, I'm very pleased. I haven't owned a Marshall in years, and almost got a JVM, but I don't want or need that many options. This is more my style. Plug in and play. Just straight up rock, with metal at the push of a button. No pedals whatsoever. Simplicity at it's best.
