Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

[flipside]

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.

Yeah i suppose with 5881's in them the SL-X would sound more like a 5150. However the SL-X has 4 preamp tubes whereas the 5150 has 5. More preamp tubes doesn't necessarily mean more gain, but the 5150 doesn't have any tube driven effects or anything, so logic would suggest that the extra preamp tube is for an extra stage of gain. People comlpained that the 5150 had bad cleans so they made the 5150 mkII with 6 preamp tubes, and a dedicated EQ for the clean channel.

Since the SL-X and the 2000 each have 4 preamp tubes, i don't see them having huge differences in gain. However, the 2000 does have a deep switch, and tone shift to scoop the mids, in addition they were hoping to appeal to nu-metal players with the 2000, so that, hypothetically speaking, might suggest more gain.

Just something to think about, i'm not trying to push anybody's buttons. Peace

 

[greendy123]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Since the SL-X and the 2000 each have 4 preamp tubes, i don't see them having huge differences in gain. However, the 2000 does have a deep switch, and tone shift to scoop the mids, in addition they were hoping to appeal to nu-metal players with the 2000, so that, hypothetically speaking, might suggest more gain.

Just something to think about, i'm not trying to push anybody's buttons. Peace

Thats one of the things I noticed with the 2000s with distortion up, the tone gives more a nu-metal type of distortion. The sl-x I has a thicker tone even with the distortion up from my experience.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Yeah i suppose with 5881's in them the SL-X would sound more like a 5150. However the SL-X has 4 preamp tubes whereas the 5150 has 5. More preamp tubes doesn't necessarily mean more gain, but the 5150 doesn't have any tube driven effects or anything, so logic would suggest that the extra preamp tube is for an extra stage of gain. People comlpained that the 5150 had bad cleans so they made the 5150 mkII with 6 preamp tubes, and a dedicated EQ for the clean channel.

Since the SL-X and the 2000 each have 4 preamp tubes, i don't see them having huge differences in gain. However, the 2000 does have a deep switch, and tone shift to scoop the mids, in addition they were hoping to appeal to nu-metal players with the 2000, so that, hypothetically speaking, might suggest more gain.

Just something to think about, i'm not trying to push anybody's buttons. Peace

Good info on the 2000 series. I didn't know that about them really. Like I said, I never gave them any time really. One day I need to sit down with a couple somewhere and just fiddle around with stuff.

Always subtract 1 preamp tube for the phase invertor but still, the 5150 has more available preamp gain regardless. I like the first run 5150 more than the 5150II. The additional tube made it very buzzy IMO. You could get some massive crunch from the first run, which I had one of at one point.

After playing that for a few years, I came to realize that I didn't really like the tone of 6L6 amps and that's when I went looking for an EL34 amp instead. I had a Crate Blue Voodoo for a short time, sold it and got the Marshall. Had it ever since.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

.......

After playing that for a few years, I came to realize that I didn't really like the tone of 6L6 amps and that's when I went looking for an EL34 amp instead. I had a Crate Blue Voodoo for a short time, sold it and got the Marshall. Had it ever since.....

The main thing with Marshalls is the power amp. That's why the power tube type and it's interaction with the output transformer, plus the speakers, are so important. This is a fundamental diffrence in practical operation and design philosophy from these other high gain tube amps. With these other amps, the preamp is responsible, almost entirely, for the gain and tone shaping. With Most Marshalls it's the Preamp gain + the power amp gain. That's true to a small extent with most tube amps, but with a Marshall the power amp gain is a much greater % of the total gain. That's why Marshalls are best played loud. They are not really designed to get any amount of distortion at any volume. They are optimized to be operated at gig volume. By not using so much preamp gain and utilizing a classic power amp design to make up the difference, higher gain can be obtained with more warmth, and less buzz. Power tube distortion is usually warmer with less buzz.

Marshall says that the JCM2000's can potentially obtain up to 14 times the total gain of the JCM800 2203/4's though.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Hey guys, just wondering what you thought this head Im looking for should go for in Can$$.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Well, I've seen the 100 watters go for $600 to $850 USD.
That's about $750 to almost $1000 CAN.

Take about $100-$150 for 50 watters.

That range is all pending the condition.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

This thing is in perfect condition from the pics ive seen lol only thing its missing is the 1/4" nut for the input jack which is like 50cents... is it dangerous not to have that? I'm goign to get one anyways but I mean is it a big deal?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

This thing is in perfect condition from the pics ive seen lol only thing its missing is the 1/4" nut for the input jack which is like 50cents... is it dangerous not to have that? I'm goign to get one anyways but I mean is it a big deal?

Since it's on the input, I highly recommend getting that taken care of. The jacks are mounted on a circuit board and those nuts help keep it steady and in place. If you plan on using it before getting the nut for it, be careful when plugging in the cord. You don't want to lift the solder joints (yes, that can happen if one is not careful in this circumstance). Any local tech shop that services Marshalls should have them. My tech had a boatload of 'em and put one on mine for nothing. I was getting it retubed and biased at the same time though. Mine had one missing from the effects loop send jack though.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

Yeah if I get it (find out soon) I'll just go get one from my local dealer for sure.

The cab has a rip in the tolex on the front right (when looking at it) its not too big, maybe a few cm's, any tips on how to protect the exposed wood? I was thinking of painting that section black (its dark now but I was hoping the paint would help protect).

 

[ErikH]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

I wouldn't worry too much about the tolex tears. I've seen heads some 20 years old that barely have any tolex left and the wood is fine. My 2100 head has some tears here and there and it's fine.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

he says one tear is about 6"by2" and the other (back) is approx 2' by 4"!! So I would liek to just get some black paint just to make it less noticable you know?

Well as of now I'm getting it, we just need ot figure out when we are goign to meet (each drive 1 1/2 hours) and that about it! $500 (cab) for a 1960b cab.

 

[flipside]

Re: Tell me about JCM900 50w SLX's

The main thing with Marshalls is the power amp. That's why the power tube type and it's interaction with the output transformer, plus the speakers, are so important. This is a fundamental diffrence in practical operation and design philosophy from these other high gain tube amps. With these other amps, the preamp is responsible, almost entirely, for the gain and tone shaping. With Most Marshalls it's the Preamp gain + the power amp gain. That's true to a small extent with most tube amps, but with a Marshall the power amp gain is a much greater % of the total gain. That's why Marshalls are best played loud. They are not really designed to get any amount of distortion at any volume. They are optimized to be operated at gig volume. By not using so much preamp gain and utilizing a classic power amp design to make up the difference, higher gain can be obtained with more warmth, and less buzz. Power tube distortion is usually warmer with less buzz.

Marshall says that the JCM2000's can potentially obtain up to 14 times the total gain of the JCM800 2203/4's though.

I'm sure that applies for EL34 powered amps in general. I have an Ashdown Fallen Angel (EL34s) which is advertised as a high gain amp with huge but defined bottom end. At low volumes it doesn't really sound like it has a lot of gain on tap. But when you crank the volume to past 7 or 8 the tubes start to saturate and you get a crushing, balls deep distortion that just hits you in the chest. While it is a high gain amp, with the gain cranked, it doesn't have that buzzy high gain sound that is often characterized by 6L6 powered amps like 5150's, Rectos and the lot.