Which marshall should my rythym guitarist get?

[sakeido]

The other guitarist in my band is looking to get a new amp. He is hell bent on a Marshall, since he plays mostly rock and only gets really metal when I am telling him what to play. I know lots of metal bands play Marshalls, but which one? It needs to have a nice crunch, but then if you run a OD808 into it, it needs a sick bruising tone. Something with a mid cut or scoop or whatever you want to call it would work, but I don't know anything about Marshalls and their web site sucks.

Suggestions? It has to be a brand new marshall today... so no JCM-800s.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Theres nothing like a good JCM 800 but I do personally like the way the ever- loathed JCM 2000s sound-the DSL 100s and 50s for the most part-they are very versatile.

[toddstaples]

re-think the No 800 rule......

The last of the best...

[Racerx2k]

I like the JCM 800 2205s and 2210s, the silver Jubilee heads, and even the DSLs. Even the 3203s are nice little heads.

[Cleveland Metal]

re-think the No 800 rule......

That or just re-think the Marshall thing altogether, haha... Too many other better amps out there for comparable or less money.

I'd get a Vetta over a new marshall any day. And you know my general thoughts on them haha...

[Strat God]

I think a Marshall DSL 50 would be the minimum for a band that plays out.
I would stay away from non-tube amps altogether- they sound great in the bedroom, but I've never heard a good one in a semi-loud live band sound good. (IMHO)
DSL100 is better but both have great features and have that legendary sound only a Marshall can have. There is a combo version and a head version and the cab configurations are a 1936 2-12" and of course the 1960 4-12" cabs. I use both but currently run four 4-12" cabs onstage.

Plus, they hold their value very well.

[sworn_enemy]

The new JVM's and Vintage Moderns that just came out seem pretty good. All the clips of the JVM I've heard have been great.

[Monster Joe]

I've got both the DSL 100 and 2203 reissue.
The 2203 sounds every bit as good as our other guitarist's original early eighties models.
The DSL 100 is higher gain, more versatile and a lot cheaper.
Downside : it's not as bulletproof...

The thing to remember is they all sound like Marshalls. If you want heavy downtuned grind with oodles of gain, you might be best looking at something else.
If you want the Marshall sound for a decent price the DSL 100 is a good option.

We're entering the studio in March to record our new CD.
I'll be doing the basic rhythms with the DSL 100.
I'll put up some clips.

[UFORocks]

Thing to watch out for on the DSL's are bad/cold solder points. Some people never have a problem, I on the other hand had to pay $200 for a tech to re-solder over 100 bad/cold solder points on the circuit boards.

Tone wise I love my DSL it sounds like a marshall, no other way to describe it. Mine is a 401 combo that I use for both home and jam sessions, and its fucking LOUD for a 40w tube amp.

[mantis]

If the jcm800 is not to be had then I suggest a Peavey JSX. You can play anything you want on it.

Dan

[DonP]

The other guitarist in my band is looking to get a new amp. He is hell bent on a Marshall, since he plays mostly rock and only gets really metal when I am telling him what to play. I know lots of metal bands play Marshalls, but which one? It needs to have a nice crunch, but then if you run a OD808 into it, it needs a sick bruising tone. Something with a mid cut or scoop or whatever you want to call it would work, but I don't know anything about Marshalls and their web site sucks.

Suggestions? It has to be a brand new marshall today... so no JCM-800s.

DSL100 has both the mid scoop and a bass boost if you need. I have a 1/2 stack and love it. I get a wide range of tones.

[siggy14]

I guess you should have included exactly what type of metal you are going for. Are you talking 80's metal, hair metal, speed metal, hardcore, downtuned, wall of sound blah blah, so many different kinds, but for us to make a good judgement we would need to have some examples of artists that would be close to your sound.

Is he set on Marshall, like someone else said there are so many other great amps out there for cheaper and better built. Examples would be Peavey's JSX, or even a Peavey 5150II you can do good rock as well as metal.

You have bogner, you have Hughes and Kettner, Old Mig's, Laney's and so many more. I heard the oranges are close to marshalls but have there own voice as well.

If he is set on marshall's, and lets say you are doing more of a hard rock/80's metal type thing, then I would go with a JCM800 with two tube screamers. One set with level all the way up and drive all the way down, this gives you a great rock/hard rock tone. Then set the second screamer with drive and level all the way up, this gives you a great hard rock to/metal sound, but not newer metal. And Techincally the JCM800 Is a marshall of today, the 2203 is reissued and still in production.

Another great choice would be a Marshall JMP-1 going into a power amp, you get so many options out of this thing. However if he wants a head then my choice is still the 2203 with tube screamers. As to the new JVM's, I have heard good things about them, but if they cheaped out like they did on the JCM2000's and you have all the same issues I would stay away from them. I guess we have to wait to see the reliability on them.

The other guitarist in my band is looking to get a new amp. He is hell bent on a Marshall, since he plays mostly rock and only gets really metal when I am telling him what to play. I know lots of metal bands play Marshalls, but which one? It needs to have a nice crunch, but then if you run a OD808 into it, it needs a sick bruising tone. Something with a mid cut or scoop or whatever you want to call it would work, but I don't know anything about Marshalls and their web site sucks.

Suggestions? It has to be a brand new marshall today... so no JCM-800s.

[UFORocks]

I wouldn't exclude used amps at all, there are some great amps to be found out there, and it really depends on how much $ you have to spend.

If I had $2000 to spend I might look at a marshall handwired, or an orange rockverb.

If you use a lot effects then you could look into an old orange like an OR-80 or OR-120. They're stupid loud and VERY VERY clean, its pretty hard to get them to break up, which makes them pretty well suited for effects.

Steve.

[slayer]

I would think for speed metal and the like a 2203 with a Metal Zone or some strong distortion pedal will do the trick. I want a newer 2203 bad Jack.

[jcm800x]

I of course love the jcm800 but my friend just got the JVM and it is amazing! Too much to list here but there are endless possibilities with that head. Not cheap though!