Marshall Jcm 800

[Hetfield]

ok.......i just found a marshall jcm 800 for $599.00

now...the question is ....is this a really high gain amp....for really heavy metal?????

[Hotrod]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

Not without pushing it with something else. Sure the 800 is a great amp, but I don't think it's a "really heavy metal" amp IMO. It's a very tasteful amp and can get some very nice crunchy tones, but you'll want to drive it with something. Everyone's got their own opinion of what exactly "really heavy metal" is though.

[markD]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

I agree with Stu. I recently bought a JCM800, but only because I already have my Rivera system that is "my" sound. My 800 is really cool because it was modded for high gain, but even so the gain is only on par with my current set up (medium-high gain...enough to sustain but not death tone). I wanted a late '70's Marshall for my "classic metal" tone, but found the 800 instead. Every amp does what it does, and my 800 is a 1 trick pony...6 knobs, 1 channel, no FX loop. In fact, it was a rather pointless purchase because my band's music has a lot of clean/dirty switches, and to use the Marshall live would require me to bring my old Twin Reverb for the clean parts. My Rivera's do both in one package. Just about any decent amp head (I wass gonna say tube, but then all the modelling dudes would get bent outta shape) will do a metal sound...it's just a matter of what type of metal.

It's hard to get opinions around here because as soon as you start asking about amps guys jump in about Bogner or Soldano are the only way to go for metal. Almost like the only way to get a metal sound is to have an obscure, super-expensive head. Well, how were all those great tones created before Mike Soldano and Reinhold Bogner graced the world with their products? With Marshall's, Fender, and Boogie's (and racks and pedals, etc.).

I've never tried a Bogner, but I had an SLO in the early '90's and thought it was a buzz box. For me that amp was total shit. I spent A LOT of money finding MY sound. For a while it was Boogie Mark IV's (late '80's - early '90's...I still like them, I wouldn't mind having another one). Then I tried the Soldano (buzz amp of the time). Finally I settled on Rivera M-100 heads and combos. They were what I was looking for. Being a guy that likes classic metal, that amp was perfect. I'm not a shredder...never wanted to devote the practice time...I'd rather write songs than practice scales. Now in my search for MY sound, I also discovered that I hate Celestion speakers. That sucks for me because they are like the standard speaker. I like EVM12L's...but they are discountinued, so when I buy a new cabinet, I have to search e-bay and other used places looking for my speakers.

The point of this long post is that you have to get out and try things. Any serious shop that isn't Sam's Ass of GC should let you test an amp in a decent enviroment, where you can crank it up and actually hear what you're playing. Some small shops (once you establish a positive reputation OR have a high enough credit limit) will let you take a tester amp to try out. Try some amps, buy some amps...sometimes is had to be pay-to-play. Hell, I spent a year gigging with a twin reverb and a metal zone pedal because I couldn't afford to buy what I wanted. You even said in another post that you could get Zakk Wylde's tone from a Crate combo...if you can do that, any amp will work for you.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

Originally posted by Black_Label:
what pedal's and eq's?????

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I use a Boss Super Overdrive and a Boss GE7 with my JCM 800. I have the 2203 which is the single channel 100 watt head and is loud as hell [img]graemlins/headbang.gif[/img]

I have had a few Marshall heads over the years and they all had differences in tone...even the same 2203. I have 6550's in mine and it is one Marshall I won't part with. I love the classic Metal, Randy Rhoads etc.

Is the one you getting an original ones or the re-issues? I haven't heard them but people say the originals are better sounding than the new re-issues.

[wyldefan]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

I would buy it send it to Mark Cameron for his high gain mod. Mark is doing a Marshall mod for me at the moment. Very nice guy! Mark can also put in an effects loop as well.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

not by today's standards...no. You can definitely get the 80's metal tones out of it with a overdrive pedal and graphic eq.

[Hetfield]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

what pedal's and eq's?????

[StuTDavis]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

Yeah the JCM 800 is one of those amps I'd say is almost like a "buzzword" in terms of heavy metal sound. Every metalhead eventually hears about the 800 at some point in their search for tone gear. However, nobody ever bothers to point out the whole story to them in the process of mentioning the amp. I wish we could add a sticky thread about this amp, we get so many people asking about them...which model is better blah blah...how heavy is the sound blah blah...hehehe.

With something like this, you gotta kinda realize where amp tone was back when the gear was made. There weren't really "extremely high gain" amps back then like there are now. Yeah, lots of players used these amps back then, but what nobody seems to bother to do. along with stating that fact, is to remind people that most of those players also used them with a ton of pedals and rack gear, in order to get those metal sounds out of them.

Back then, players realized the amps for what they were--a basic tone to start with, and not a one-unit complete package to nail "your sound". A lot of people these days seem to have the idea that they should be able to get the exact metal tone out of just one amp by itself, especially when it comes to very expensive amp heads. Back years ago, you'd hear about everyone trying out tons of different pedals and rack pieces, trying to get the right sound. Now, somebody buys an amp, and if it doesn't immediately have the sound they want, they give up and ditch it, only to buy another amp to be disappointed with. Amps are and should be seen as basic tone generators, and most likely just one piece of the puzzle in finding "your sound".

So, could the JCM 800 do IT for ya? Sure, could be, just like any other amp possibly could. But realize it for what it was, along with its limitations. When you're looking for an amp, focus on asking what the basic sound of the amp is like, and realize right off the bat that you're probably going to have to add some stuff to it, in order to get the sound you want. If you know what is a good "base" to start with to get the sound you want, then you can more easily know if Amp X is a good place to start in getting there.

Stu

[PowerTube]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

Originally posted by Black_Label:
what pedal's and eq's?????

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I have a JCM-800 2210 (100 watts, 2-channel, reverb) and I run a Metal Zone and a GE-7 EQ in front of it. This is probably the most "high gain" JCM-800 ever made, but it won't come close to full saturation unless you crank it to 10 (very few people have that luxury).

[badams]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

I had an 800 combo in the ninties and had to run a parametric eq with a distortion pedal out of it to get some decent metal sound which did sound good but feedback big time. The newer amps are a better option, i use a JCM-900 SLX(goes to 20!) head now and has ample distortion and saturation.

[Back For More]

Re: Marshall Jcm 800

I use a Mesa/Boogie Bottle Rocket in the front and a GE-7 in the loop (I have the 50W, 2 channel w rev.) Sometimes a Super Overdrive (too much noise though).