3 whole days with the JCM800!

[Newc]

Took off work Thrusday night and already had off Fri-Sun, so I had 3 whole days to finally put my JCM800 through a little more than when I first got it back in June of last year.

I also got to really tweak the MetalZone and get a sound I like.

Aaaand I spent time with the M13, and I gotta say, unless you want the specific non-distortion effects it offers, and you want to run them simultaneously, go with the M5 or M9 instead. Personally I have no need of a '63 Spring Reverb or Tape-based echo effect. It's nice to have the chorus pedal that was used on the intro to Welcome Home (Sanitarium) but that was never really an issue for me.
However, the possibility of loading it up with just dirt pedals exists, and there's enough variety there to do it.

I find myself drawn more to the Fuzz pedals for vintage Sabbath.


But anyway, I had the Marshall (through my Carvin "British"-loaded 2x12) EQ set for 5s all across, and worked with the pedals from there, but eventually I had to cut the Presence down to 0, and drop the Mid and Treble to about 3. I don't know if it's the open-back cab or the speakers themselves, but the midrange was just overly obnoxious. It reminded me of being in a local redneck bar with all vintage Peavey gear and that Hank Sr midrange spike. Fucking nauseating.

But with the right EQ settings and the MetalZone, I was getting a nice beefy sound without the hearing loss.

I tried to record some things, but everything had an ungodly amount of signal noise, so it took about 3 hours to track that down. I still don't know what it was, but rebooting my PC and interface made it go away.
Once I got that fixed, I was able to record. What's coming out of my monitors sounds a lot like what's coming out of my cab

Unfortunately, I hadn't even touched a guitar in the last 4 months, so I was pretty rusty and the recordings are even worse than the stuff I have posted
By the time I got my chops built back up, it was Sunday, and the music-haters had returned

But, at least I have it all set up, so the next time I get even a day to myself, I can just turn it on and turn it up.

[leftykingv2]

It's not just you bro. I find that the 800's I have are throaty and very mid range sounding as well. I tend to only use them when I can really turn them up loud. That's when the 800 sounds best in my opinion. I just don't think it was made to be played quietly without some sort of pedal board or effects processor in front of it. Just my take on the 800 series and by the way the JCM 800 was the first half stack I ever bought.

[PowerTube]

I sold my 800 because of the hiss and the fact that I was constantly tweaking it. It sounded incredible with a combination of the Metal Zone and GE-7 EQ, but it was a one-trick pony.

However..... now I'm missing that Marshall tone (or more accurately, the Marshall "effect"), so I'm thinking about a used JVM. The JVM seems to offer a nice clean sound also, which I could never get from the 800.

[Frigo89]

Those speakers must have a really funky EQ, when I had an 800 I ran the mids up around 8, presence around noon, treble around 1, and bass around 5 (noon)

Overdrive pedal, wah, and a Chorus pedal, would do all the 80s Metal sounds you could want, aside from the Queensryche cleans

[leftykingv2]

Those speakers must have a really funky EQ, when I had an 800 I ran the mids up around 8, presence around noon, treble around 1, and bass around 5 (noon)

Overdrive pedal, wah, and a Chorus pedal, would do all the 80s Metal sounds you could want, aside from the Queensryche cleans

I always ran my 800's through greenback loaded 1960B's. The greenbacks could have had something to do with them sounding very mid range to me.

[Hellbat]

It's the open back cab. A closed 4x12 would add a big chunk of low end thump to the proceedings.

[leftykingv2]

It's the open back cab. A closed 4x12 would add a big chunk of low end thump to the proceedings.

I missed that Hellbat. Thank you and yes you're absolutely correct. A closed back sealed cab is a lot thicker sounding than an open back.

[leftykingv2]

I sold my 800 because of the hiss and the fact that I was constantly tweaking it. It sounded incredible with a combination of the Metal Zone and GE-7 EQ, but it was a one-trick pony.

However..... now I'm missing that Marshall tone (or more accurately, the Marshall "effect"), so I'm thinking about a used JVM. The JVM seems to offer a nice clean sound also, which I could never get from the 800.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner. The JVM 410H is an awesome unit. I love everything about it. If I played live and couldn't use my Dual Monobloc or JMP-1 the JVM would be my next choice. It's solid all day and all night. All the channels sound great and like you said the clean channel is very very nice IMO. If you buy one you won't regret it. At least I didn't and still don't.

[PowerTube]

Sorry I didn't respond sooner. The JVM 410H is an awesome unit. I love everything about it. If I played live and couldn't use my Dual Monobloc or JMP-1 the JVM would be my next choice. It's solid all day and all night. All the channels sound great and like you said the clean channel is very very nice IMO. If you buy one you won't regret it. At least I didn't and still don't.

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I've been watching a lot of amp demos on YouTube lately because I don't have a chance to try many amps out locally. I've looked at the JVM (different versions), Splawn, EVH, Blackstar, Acoustic, Peavey, and others. As it stands right now, my top choice is a JVM410H and a 1960A cab. I'll get it used through Guitar Center since they have a 30-day return policy if I'm not crazy about it.

[Newc]

I actually like the clean it can get when the gain isn't so high, but then the pedal has to dish out more of the dirt. That's fine for me, though. Honestly I like running it either way - pedal helping or pedal doing it all. I end up with the same tone either way. Whether that's a good thing or bad thing is up for grabs

With the gain up and the EQ on all 5s, I get that Point of Entry/British Steel rhythm. Heading Out To The Highway, Hot Rockin', Grinder. Kick on the SuperOD as a booster and I can do the leads. Turn the Drive up halfway and I can get a bit more saturation without getting fuzzy or grainy.
Not so great for Kill 'Em All, though. For that I need the MetalZone, which gives me the grainy crunch.

And the cab is rated for 200w, so the speakers stay clean even at higher volumes. It was making my eyes rattle whenever I hit a note
No lie, trying to read the EQ settings and hit the low E and my eyes wobbled and I couldn't read the numbers

[PowerTube]

I actually like the clean it can get when the gain isn't so high, but then the pedal has to dish out more of the dirt.

The clean on mine always sounded harsh and "clunky" no matter what I did. I just couldn't get it to sparkle like a Fender or my Vetta.

But I forgot to mention this part: for the first couple of years I mainly used the clean channel, with the Metal Zone and GE-7. It got a great beefy, warm lead and rhythm tone this way. In later years I started using the gain channel but with less gain on the Metal Zone to balance things out. The GE-7 in particular added a ton of hiss.

A friend of mine used to use ONLY the GE-7 on his 800 as an overdrive. He ran it inline between the guitar and amp with the master level maxed out. It added about 20 db to the signal going into the amp and it gave quite a bit of overdrive.

[j2379]

I always had my Marshall's modded for 6L6s, takes some of the mids out and adds a little more bottom end. Usually I would only boost it with a OD pedal and use as much as the amp as possible for tone and gain. Set up the pedal so that you can barely tell when it's on then add gain or output from the pedal. And if your using the pedal for the tone 2 different ways. Set the tone controls as low as possible, so you can use more of the power amp section or dime the EQ to let everything thru and use the pedal to shape the tone. Been a long time since a had a Marshall....almost miss me 50watt MKii

[PowerTube]

Usually I would only boost it with a OD pedal and use as much as the amp as possible for tone and gain.

That's always been my preference, too; use the amp's natural overdrive but use pedals as needed for a little extra "zing" on solos.

[leftykingv2]

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I've been watching a lot of amp demos on YouTube lately because I don't have a chance to try many amps out locally. I've looked at the JVM (different versions), Splawn, EVH, Blackstar, Acoustic, Peavey, and others. As it stands right now, my top choice is a JVM410H and a 1960A cab. I'll get it used through Guitar Center since they have a 30-day return policy if I'm not crazy about it.

Go with the 1960B. The A's don't sound as good in my opinion.

[PowerTube]

Go with the 1960B. The A's don't sound as good in my opinion.

I'm too fickle, I guess. See my post about the Fender Mustang. I might not be getting a Marshall at all.