My 2 rack systems versus?????

[jgcable]

4 of my live rigs...

Eleven 11R Rack
Carvin DCM1000 stereo 1000w power amp
Midi Moose switcher
Constant Velocity pedal for boost or wah
Marshall 1960A in stereo.

Marshall JPM-1
Marshall 4 button footswitch
Rocktron Nova System in the loop and on the floor for effects
Rocktron Velocity 100
Marshall 1960A in stereo

VS....

Carvin V3
4 button Carvin Footswitch
TC Electronics Nova System in loop for effects
Marshall 1960A run in mono


Marshall JCM900 SL-X
1 button Marshall footswitch
TC Electronics Nova System in loop for effects
Marshall 1960A run in mono

Several of my musician friends came over and I demo'd all of these rigs at home volumes up to live volumes.
One thing to mention... the JCM900 rig does not have a clean channel. Even if I roll my volume down on my guitar it still isn't very clean.


Eleven Rack... super versatile, very clean and quiet, does an incredible job mimicking the actual sounds of the 80's metal bands we cover. They all loved how extremely clean and precise every note and chord sounds. Its like studio magic... but live. The only thing we all noticed is that it lacks the raw presence of a turned up tube amp. Still... it sounds just like the record. That was the most common response.

Marshall JMP-1 Sounds just like a Marshall! Great Marshall cleans and really accurate JCM800 type semi-high gain tones. Great crunch. Coupled with the Nova system its very versatile. Its amazing how powerful that little Rocktron Velocity 100 power amp is. Its amazing. Its a great live rig.
You wouldn't wonder why the JMP-1 sells for $600 + used after you played through one. The Nova System is the perfect compliment. My only complaint is I wish OD1 had a little more gain. The group of friends loved it. Its impossible to tell the difference between this solid state powered JMP1 and a the real Marshall its covering.

Carvin V3 To my ears.. its modern sounding. This amp has a unique voice. Its extremely tweakable. I think if I was in a 90's cover band I would use this. It sounds like Seattle Washington to me. Great clean channel. Nobody in the group really liked how it sounded.

Marshall SL-X. Here are the comments.. It roars, it is very raw and aggressive sounding, its got huge balls, this amp would rip your face off. Its really fun to play through it loud. Unfortunately... the louder it is.. the better it sounds. The sweet spot is great if you are playing a large room and you are relying on stage volume mainly. This amp nails the old Judas Priest and Kiss tones. It plays nice with the Nova System. The nicest thing about this rig is the simplicity of it. The SL-X is a single channel amp with dual master volumes. The footswitch switches between the 2 volumes. That's it. Set everything around 12 o'clock, dial up the gains (it has 2 of them) and have at it. The general consensus from everybody listening was they were all a little afraid of this amp. Its a beast. Now that I am the only guitar player in my band I am thinking about using this live because it has so much presence. Play one power chord and everybody turns around. Its an attention getter.

[Nightbat]

Just use the Metaltronix and kill everyone including the band, we know you want to

[neilli]

Cool summary - you should make a video comparing them! I have a nova system and liked it so much that I tracked down a G-system which is even more awesome!

[jgcable]

Cool summary - you should make a video comparing them! I have a nova system and liked it so much that I tracked down a G-system which is even more awesome!

Yep... the Nova is such a robust road worthy floor mounted effects unit. It has the perfect amount of effects too (although if it had a wah it would be even better). I use Boss V-Wah with it. I love that damn wah pedal. Its WAHNDERFUL.

[slayer]

An SL-X is on my radar. The EL34 version. Can`t find a nice one locally. Aren`t they a 2203 with an extra tube gain stage without diode clipping?

[Luca1973]

With all that pieces I would try also as follows:

JMP1 with 11Rack in the loop (mono send from jmp1 - stereo out of the Eleven to L&R returns of the JMP1)
L&R outputs of the Marshall to the Rocktron...or better, into a valve amp.

The 11Rack in the middle of the chain would kill a bit the dynamic like every digital processor, but it could give infinite possibilities to shape/correct/model and reach every sound nuances. It should be a very versatile setup (if you need versatility)

Don't forget that speakers can change drastically the sound.
Has the Marshall its own original G12??

Just out of curiosity...how many bucks they ask on average for a JMP1 in the US??

[jgcable]

An SL-X is on my radar. The EL34 version. Can`t find a nice one locally. Aren`t they a 2203 with an extra tube gain stage without diode clipping?

Basically yes. Model # 2100. Mine is the EL34 version. I agree... pretty rare. Most of them are 5881 and have the sticker on the front. That's when the industry had a shortage of EL34 tubes. I think its very similar to a 2203. It also reacts like a 2203. The louder your turn it up.... the better it sounds. I throw a stock MXR OD-GT pedal in front of it with the gain set on 0, the tone at 12 o'clock and the level at 6 and it pushes the front of the amp just enough to give me the perfect amount of gain for 80's metal. I don't use it that much because I get the almost exact tone out of my Marshall JMP-1.

[jgcable]

With all that pieces I would try also as follows:

JMP1 with 11Rack in the loop (mono send from jmp1 - stereo out of the Eleven to L&R returns of the JMP1)
L&R outputs of the Marshall to the Rocktron...or better, into a valve amp.

The 11Rack in the middle of the chain would kill a bit the dynamic like every digital processor, but it could give infinite possibilities to shape/correct/model and reach every sound nuances. It should be a very versatile setup (if you need versatility)

Don't forget that speakers can change drastically the sound.
Has the Marshall its own original G12??

Just out of curiosity...how many bucks they ask on average for a JMP1 in the US??

My Marshall cabs all have stock Celestion T75's in them. The average price for a JMP-1 in the US is around $600. I had 2 of them and recently sold one. I should have kept it.

[slayer]

I have a JMP years ago with a 9100 I believe Marshall power amp. Had EL34`s. I paid $400 a piece for them and they were like new. Sold them both as I couldn`t get along with a rack system.

JG bro, if you ever sell and/or trade that SL-X, please let me know. Thank you.

[Luca1973]

The average price for a JMP-1 in the US is around $600.

...as I supposed..
I asked it because I've seen several times that in the 2nd hand market some products can vary greatly between the European and the US market.

[jgcable]

After comparing everything live and loud I am the most happy with this rig...

Marshall JPM-1
Marshall 4 button footswitch
Rocktron Nova System in the loop and on the floor for effects
Rocktron Velocity 100
Marshall 1960A in stereo

I have 3 settings programmed in the JMP-1. Channel 1 is Clean 1 volume at 16. Channel 2 is OD1 with the gain set at 20 and bass boost off. Volume at 16. Channel 3 is OD2 with the gain set on 16, volume at 16 and the bass boost on.
I have the Nova in the loop of the JMP. To my ears it sounds the best there
The Velocity power amp has both volumes at 8.
I control the master volume of the entire rig with the master on the JMP-1. Its insanely loud on 3-4.
OD1 pretty much nails anything from Plexi to JCM800 depending on how much gain you have dialed in. OD2 sounds like a DSL100 to my ears.
I flip flow between the 2. I prefer the OD1. It has a ton of presence and when the gain is dimed out it really does remind me of a modded JCM800 2203.

[jgcable]

So I have a gig this Saturday. Its at The Palace Theater in Stamford, CT. Its a big place. Never played there before. We met with the sound company and they were very concerned about stage volume when we told them we are using 1/2 stacks and large bass amps and our drummers set is really loud and he hits his drums like he hates them. They want the stage volume low. They want us to bring 1 x 12 combo's. We don't use 1 x 12 combo's. They said why bring 4 x 12 cabs when only 1 speaker is mic'd. We told them we like the way they sound more and they look better when you are in an 80's arena rock metal band.
Anyway... I was considering bring a traditional tube amp and 4 x 12 cab but none of my high gain tube amps start sounding good until they are turned up a little. That will be entirely too loud for this guy. So... I was thinking I should bring my Eleven rack system because it sounds great at any volume and since its going to be mic'd through a large PA system I can keep the volume down as low as he wants and still get the tone I need. Even my JMP1 rack system needs to be turned up a fair amount before it starts sounding really good. The Eleven Rack system sounds good at almost whisper volume.

[Robotechnology]

I used to have an SL-X and used to think it was my favorite sounding Marshall (now that title belongs to the JVM 2 channel). Very cool head. I've never own d a JMP-1 but I have played through a couple and heard others and liked it too. I really can not get into the V3 though. I personally can not dial in a get or tone out of one and I am pretty good at dialing in tones. I also can't say I've ever seen a band who's tone I liked live using one either. If you pull it off more power to you!

I would probably use the 11 rack for that gig you are describing. I recently got a Boss Katana 100 head and am basically using it for everything now. Would be great for that gig. I use a DV Mark 1x12 with it.

[jgcable]

I ended up going totally different. Sovtek MIG50H Tube Midget head, H&K Warp Factor distortion pedal, TC Electronics Nova system for boost and delay only and a Boss V-Wah. into a Marshall 4 x 12 1960a. I used the low input side of the Sovtek (the clean side) and everything was plugged in through the front. I will say that the stupid Warp Factor black space ship distortion pedal is a pretty darn good sounding pedal for metal. I had great sound all night.

[jgcable]

I used to have an SL-X and used to think it was my favorite sounding Marshall (now that title belongs to the JVM 2 channel). Very cool head. I've never own d a JMP-1 but I have played through a couple and heard others and liked it too. I really can not get into the V3 though. I personally can not dial in a get or tone out of one and I am pretty good at dialing in tones. I also can't say I've ever seen a band who's tone I liked live using one either. If you pull it off more power to you!

I would probably use the 11 rack for that gig you are describing. I recently got a Boss Katana 100 head and am basically using it for everything now. Would be great for that gig. I use a DV Mark 1x12 with it.

If the SL-X had a clean tone I would use it more live. With a basic MXR OD/GT pedal in front with the gain set on 1 the SL-X is perfect for 80's high gain metal. I like the JVM too but it just doesn't have as much punch as the SL-X. The SL-X definitely has that JCM800 2203/4 thing going on.
I agree with the V3 but the weird thing is when I am recording the V3 sounds fantastic. Especially when its blended with a Marshall.