Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

[OlinMusic]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

OK OK I will make the MEA CULPA

I made the Recto and 5150 comparison

IT IS A MARSHALL AND SOUNDS LIKE A MARSHALL. Does NOT sounds as much like a JCM800 because Marshall wanted to compete with the tighter, bit brighter, more compressed high gain amps. That being said, it sounds like a hot rod Marshall and YOU CAN back off the gain. It IS less gainy than a Triple REc any day, ut it can compete with a DUAL or 5150.

i think this amp is a little more harmonically rich and toneful than the 5150.

You MUST run Marshall with good cabs - at least a 1960 cab, or a 800, perhaps a Mesa. I have a Mojave that rocks. just don't go cheap and do some beat up Peavey (I own one by the way).

Respect the amp! You will be proud of it!

I will say channel switching would be nice. Can't remember if it had Dual Masters, but that would be nice for lead boosts. 50w MArshalls have a nice classic cream to them, so you might benefit by owning the 50. I personally prefer the open big sound of the 100w models for Rock or Hard Rock.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Wow guys thanks for all the help!!!! The only thing inbetween me and this amo is my cabinet situation combined with $$, I may be abel to get it thogu hstill (If you want to hear the little story I'll glady tell you my cab situation).
Heres what he sent me:

[quote] I'm the original owner. I bought it new in 96. I've gigged with it a LOT. It doesn't show. I used it for 4 or 5 recordings. Some components were changed as maintenance. 2 capacitor and one bridge rectifier.

The basics:

50W head model (2500).

footswitchable master volumes.

Preamp, gain, master volume A, Master Volume B, treble, mid, bass presence controls.

It's the canadian model so it has superflous fuses (never went out) and has a "5881" sticker on it even though it's a EL34 model.

Half power switch, impedence switch (8 or 16 ohms). It has an FX loop, a line out and Direct in jacks in the back.

It's missing a plastic jack nut. It costs 45 cents. You can order them from the antique electronic supply (AES). Or probably from you local marshall dealer.

There was no footswitch when I bought it. I bought an after market one to use with my other amps so it's not included

I still have the manual if you want it and it's NOT missing the brass plate

The tolex is in prefect shape. I think there is only one scratch underneath the amp.

I have electro harmonix tubes EL34 but they are getting old. I also have brand new 5881. The preamp tubes are EH 12ax7 in all positions except in the phase inverted where there is a standard groove tube 12ax7 (not chinese).

I'm from The province of Quebec 2 hours drive east of Montreal.

I'm asking 900$ canadian dollars + shipping.

If you're still interested, tell me. I did a quick "service/complete setup" of the amp yesterday night. The mp3s I have are not demos of the amp itself. They are mp3s of songs I recorded with the amp.

Here they are

http://www.physique.usherb.ca/~sroy/mp3s/batch1b.mp3
http://www.physique.usherb.ca/~sroy/mp3s/batch2a.mp3
The pictures are in the same directory:

http://www.physique.usherb.ca/~sory/mp3s

Batch 1 was recorded about 6 years ago. It was done using a LP copy with SD humbuckers. There a Roland space echo RE-201 in the effect loop with a short slap back. During production, EQ was adjusted on many instruments. I don't remember if the guitar is flat or not so keep that in mind. The guitar settings are the same for every tracks. There's 2 rythm parts on each tracks. Both with the same amp although with different guitars (don't remember what guitar the other player used). Eq is different on each guitars. Both had humbuckers.

Batch 2 was recorded 2 years ago. It was done sans effects with a '92 6120 gretsch (filtertron humbuckers). The EQ is completely FLAT. So that's purely the amp itself. It would sound hotter and a bit brighter with LP instead. The solo is made by me with the same settings as my rythm part but with a vox valve tone with gain set to 0 and volume to max (clean boost with mid emphasis). It's me on both tracks with the same setup.

On both recordings, we used the same mic (don't remember the type and brand. It's NOT a shure SM57 Wink ) On both recordings, we go through a 16 tracks makie console to an 8 track analog 1/2 inch tascam tape recorder. Each time, I used my 1x12 1936 cab to record.

On both recordings I used EL34. Batch 1 was using the stock EL34 that came with the amp and on batch 2, it's the EH I have at home. On recording 1, I was using EH 12ax7 IIRC and on the second one, I did a lot of experiments with 12AT7 and 12AU7 in various positions, mixing tube brands, etc. so I have NO recollection of what was used during the recordings. I do remember that I use the same tubes on all 3 tracks though.

That's about it. PM again if you have more questions.
[\quote]

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

$900 seems to be a BIT much, I want to see if he'll drop it to 800+sip or him pay ship. Also, the mp3s sound pretty friggen sweet!! The pics dont work so hes probably going to send direct links to them.

What he said in comparison to the AVT:



[QUOTE]
And you were wondering about AVT vs JCM900.

Well I must admit I've never tried an AVT although I tried a valvestate and used to have a peavey transtube (first generation).

Let's just say I only own all tube amps now after going through valvestate and transtube amp

Of course the AVT is cheaper and more versatile, but look at it this way. The AVT is like a mountain bike. You can used it on the road, in the trail on the mountains, etc. The SLX is like a ferrari. It only take smooth roads, it's a one kinda track car. But would you race against a ferrari with a mountain bike?

Tube amps are rated (in power) before clipping. That is a 50W marshall is 50W when clean. A tube after breakup still dish out more and more power unlike a solid state amp. That's why only a 400W solid state (or hybrid) amp is able to compete with an all tube 50W amp.

I don't know what kind of music you play? The SLX is a one channel amp (with 2 volumes). It doesn't really do clean. Of course you can set the amp clean and use a distortion or overdrive pedal to get the crunch, but it will be nowhere near as good sounding as using the amp's distortion.
[\QUOTE]


Anything you guys want to add ?? I aksed if the 5881 sticker could come off I know it douns dumb but hwatever, he assured me its EL34's though.

I think thats about it thanks for helping me out guys!! Tell me what you think.

P.S. Since I don't use toooo much gai so I don't think cleaning it up a bit will be a huge problem.

 

[Naps]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

$900 Canidan seem way too high. My buddy bought a 100W JCM 900 for about $350 American, but that was about 8 years ago. Check out ebay and see what they are gong for before you buy it.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

I can pretty much guarantee you this, if he bought it NEW in 1996, it came with 5881's and then it was changed to accept EL34's. Around late-1993 to early-1994 is when they started coming with 5881's. Either that or he actually bought it used. As long as it was done right, that's the important part.

Take the manual of course. Footswitch don't worry about. Single button footswitches are cheap enough. Doesn't have to be a Marshall switch either. It can be anything with one button that will switch the volumes.

He's pretty much asking $770 USD for it. This a little high IMO. Offer $650 USD.

Naps: What model JCM900? There's several different models. I can see a 50 watt Dual Reverb with 5881's that's beat to snot going for $350 easily. A very good condition MkIII or SL-X will catch a lot more.

FWIW, U.S. models had the 5881 sticker too.

 

[Naps]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Naps: What model JCM900? There's several different models. I can see a 50 watt Dual Reverb with 5881's that's beat to snot going for $350 easily. A very good condition MkIII or SL-X will catch a lot more.

100W with EL34's, two channels, pretty clean. Off Ebay about 8 years ago. Not that they are necessiarly good or bad, and I admit I don't/haven't looked at 900's for a while on ebay, but I think they are cheaper because there is not alot of interest in them.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

He said he's the origional owner. So yes, it had EL34's in it and thats all I care about tube wise Can the sticker come off that says 5881??

Yes I am goign to offer a bit less, I need to sort out my cab situation first, I will get another pm form him this morning hopefully and I cna hopefully get some things sorted out.

Unfortunatly I told him to hold on to it for a little longer so I cna get my cab situation worked out because "I really wanted it" I shouldn't have said the quoted part...aw well.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

100W with EL34's, two channels, pretty clean. Off Ebay about 8 years ago. Not that they are necessiarly good or bad, and I admit I don't/haven't looked at 900's for a while on ebay, but I think they are cheaper because there is not alot of interest in them.

Dual Reverb. Yep, 8 years ago they were going for cheap, real cheap. The EL34 models are still great deals but prices have gone up a little bit. Unfortunately, the change to 5881's gave all the 900's a bad rep because the tone just wasn't there. It was missing that mojo. I'd still take one of the early Dual Reverbs with EL34's. Some good tones can be pulled out of them.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

He said he's the origional owner. So yes, it had EL34's in it and thats all I care about tube wise Can the sticker come off that says 5881??

Yes I am goign to offer a bit less, I need to sort out my cab situation first, I will get another pm form him this morning hopefully and I cna hopefully get some things sorted out.

Unfortunatly I told him to hold on to it for a little longer so I cna get my cab situation worked out because "I really wanted it" I shouldn't have said the quoted part...aw well.

Yes, the sticker can be removed as far as I know. If he'll take less, go for it. Had I had extra $$$ to burn a week or so ago, I would've gotten a 50 watt MkIII head off eBay. It went insanely cheap and looked like it was in real good condition. My 2100 could use a little brother.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

I'm going to keep an eye out for more of these Marshalls.... I have seen them sell for as low as $500 Canadian.... but they can have price tags as high as $1100 too depending on the store!

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Yes I saw pictures and its in A1 shape, as soon as I ge tthe cab situation set I'll ask him to bring it down just a touch and see. The 5881 sticker is on the side of the chasis so it isnt even seen which is ok. Also he said If I cant get the cab used then he's willing to sell his 2x12 so there is a backup there...we'll see!! I'll keep ya posted!

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEAT NEEEEWSSSS!!!!

Just got pm today...........3 hours away theres a 1960B cab for $500 , he says has some small tears in the tolex, doesnt know the year but he says its too big to keep lugging around!!!

I don't think this is a coincidence boys!!

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

I am happy for you but DAMN

1960 beat up cabs go for about $350 and up
and SL-X's go for as low as $400 (saw one just the other day)

and this is in LOS ANGELES

For those prices - get a used JCM800 - it will be a collector's item and it will sound SOOOOOO GOOOD, while taking any pedal you throw at it!

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

That $500 is CAN dollars, which is a little over $400 USD.
If he can get the SL-X for a little over $600 USD, he's good. I've been watching the prices of those things.
$400 for an SL-X would be for one that is heavily abused.

 

[Bludave]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

The primary problem that I have with my 900 and I have seen the same issue with many other channel switxching amps is you are sharing the EQ. IMHO this limits your ability to really dial in a great sound out of both channels. When you set the EQ for the clean, it may not sound right for the drive. I just feel that to make a real channel switching amp you MUST have EQ controls for each channel. Thats why I basically use this amp with a Super Reverb. The clean on the super is so much better than the Marshall. but the gain on the Marshall is beautiful..... The best of both worlds.

My Shiva has an EQ on both Channels:clap: :clap:

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

The primary problem that I have with my 900 and I have seen the same issue with many other channel switxching amps is you are sharing the EQ. IMHO this limits your ability to really dial in a great sound out of both channels. When you set the EQ for the clean, it may not sound right for the drive. I just feel that to make a real channel switching amp you MUST have EQ controls for each channel. Thats why I basically use this amp with a Super Reverb. The clean on the super is so much better than the Marshall. but the gain on the Marshall is beautiful..... The best of both worlds.

My Shiva has an EQ on both Channels:clap: :clap:

I agree absolutely 100% on the dot. However...LOL, with those Dual Reverbs (and for the record, the MkIII and SL-X are single channel amps with dual master volumes) the best way to set them up is Channel A on a crunch/light overdrive setting and Channel B for the max drive. You're going about it the right way by using a separate really clean amp for cleans. I'd do the same thing, and may end up doing so myself. But I'll probably just mic up a small combo for the cleans or something.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Awsome thanks guys!! $500 for a cab doesnt seem bad to me...and as I said I maye bring the head down a bit.

CANADIAN DOLLARS by the way, a new 1960 cab is like $950 here so for liek half the price...an AVT50 head is like 600 and a DSL100 is 1700 and JCM800 is 2000 so I don't think its that bad We'll see how the head situation goes! The cab is looking like I'll get it, tw osmall tears doesnt bother me, I've seen pics of the cab (he had pics of his rig) and the front looks perfect so it definatly hasnt been abused.

 

[flipside]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

OK OK I will make the MEA CULPA

I made the Recto and 5150 comparison

IT IS A MARSHALL AND SOUNDS LIKE A MARSHALL. Does NOT sounds as much like a JCM800 because Marshall wanted to compete with the tighter, bit brighter, more compressed high gain amps. That being said, it sounds like a hot rod Marshall and YOU CAN back off the gain. It IS less gainy than a Triple REc any day, ut it can compete with a DUAL or 5150.

I don't mean to be a party pooper here, and i could be out of line, but i couldn't help but question some of the information this dude is exhibiting. Granted i have never played a JCM 900, but (i believe) that its commonly known (i could be wrong) that the JCM 2000 has mroe gain than the 900, and i have played a few 2000's and they had no where near the gain that the 6505 has, and no where near the gain or balls that a Dual Recto has. Don't get me wrong, the Marshalls are definately rock - hard rock amps, but they can't touch the 6505 or the Dual Recto in distortion. In addition the fact that the 6505 and the Dual Recto have 6L6 tubes powering them is another basis that you can't compare these amps, they are extremely different beasts. I am not hating on Marshall by no means, i'm just saying if you want REcto tone get a Recto, you will not get Recto tones with a Marshall, plain enough.

One more thing that bothered me in the post i quoted was the fact that he said that the 900 was LESS gainy than a Triple Recto, but about the same a Dual. That is complete BS. A Dual Recto is the exact same thing as a Triple, minus a few bells and whistles, and the fact that the Triple has an extra set of powertubes making it 150 watts rather than 100. Other than that they are the same amp with the same gain stages.

I'm sorry continue

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

flipside, you have valid points, so long as the JCM900 being used in comparison is the Dual Reverbs. That's the model everybody thinks of when they hear JCM900. Everyone forgets about the MkIII Master Volume and SL-X.

The SL-X has more gain than the MkIII and was brought about to compete with the 5150 (now 6505) and Dual Recto. However, it doesn't have the same amount of gain. It wasn't meant to sound like either one of them, just compete and stay in the race. For a couple of years it came with EL34's but then for the remainder of it's production life, it came with 5881's which are electronic equivalents to 6L6's.

Now, in regards to the JCM2000's, I never spent enough time to get familiar with them so I couldn't tell ya if they have more gain or not.

The beautiful thing about Marshalls though is it's not hard to get those kinds of gain levels from them with a little push of the preamp with an overdrive, distortion or heavy booster pedal.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Well just a little update...

Talking to the 'rents tonight for permission and maybe a little loan (I start my job on may 1st and we have our first gig on the 14th so I wanted my new amp by then). but I think it will be all good beause the way it works out (minus shipping) is for this I can get it about 150$ cheaper than a new cab and an AVT head!!! So it seems pretty sweet to me, I wish I could see the tears in the tolex but meh, I'll take his word for it.

Also, any advice when doing sales like this?