Tried out a Marshall JVM 410HJS..

[strtdv]

My brother had been looking for a used JVM410H for a while, but an online retailer had the JS sig for such a good price with a Marshall hardcase included that he decided to pull the trigger on a new one.
I got trying it out for a while yesterday.

First of all it's a really different amp from the standard JVM410, both in construction and sound. The knobs feel much more solid and positive than the standard JVM, the input jack is better quality and it has a choke transformer instead of the resistor arrangement the standard JVM uses. Overall it just feels like a higher quality amp.

Features wise it channels 3 and 4 are identical, instead of the high gain and higher gain arrangement of the standard JVM.
Secondly the amp loses the digital reverb of the standard amp (which I was never a big fan of anyway), and gains individual noise gates for each channel, which is both incredibly useful and works really well.
The noise gates use a 3 colour LED indicator to let you know what they're doing: Green is noise gate on but not actually filtering anything, orange is just filtering (it sort of flickers at this stage) and red is noise gate engaged. It helps you judge the sensitivity and stops you killing all your picking dynamics.

Sounds are great. Channel 1 is based on the clean channel of a 6100LM. Green mode is really really clean, sounds good, almost like that really clean sound you hear Zappa use that almost sounds like it was plugged straight into the board.
Channel 1 Orange adds just a hint of dirt but keeps some high end sparkle, not Fender clean but actually very good sounding and really useful, one that I would probably use the most.
Red mode adds more dirt, it really pushes it into a low gain overdrive channel. Sounded quite good but the EQ needed a bit of tweaking between orange and red which would probably put me off using it much in a live situation.

Channel 2 crunch is my favourite channel. Green mode gets you into plexi territory, sounds much more vintage than the equivalent channel on the standard JVM. All the marshall midrange grain you'd want is in there.
Orange mode adds more gain, it's aiming for JCM800 territory, which unsurprisingly it does extremely well (the power amp section is also based on a JCM800).
Red channel adds more gain again and is smoother sounding and a little darker and less JCM800 "growl".

Channels 3 and 4 are identical, the idea being that you can have them at similar levels of gain if you choose but EQ them very differently for live use (the most obvious use would be to either boost or scoop the mids depending on your preference).
They're sold as the really high gain channels, but in reality I was surprised by how refined they could be if you wanted them to be. Obviously there is gain in spades if you need it.
Overall even the high gain channels retain a slightly vintage vibe, getting more modern as you go through the modes and add gain.
I was very impressed by firstly how quiet in terms of hum these channels were, and secondly by how non-fizzy the gain was. Depending on how you EQ it and what mode you use it can be smooth or aggressive, but it's always chunky and in your face which in my book is a good thing.

Very impressed overall with the amp, it would have been nice to get a couple of more modern sounds out of the crunch channel (if you want that the standard JVM probably suits better), but for versatility and sounds it's probably the best amp Marshall have made in 10 years, and the JS sig model adds the build quality that you'd expect in a flagship amp which was a little lacking from the JVM's

[colejustesen]

That sounds like a cool amp! I have yet to try a JVM, but have heard more than enough positive reviews to know that it is good. I love the Marshall sound, and the versatility of it, and what sounds like the Satch model, have is really astounding.

I might have to go see if I can find one to play on...

Cole

[colejustesen]

That sounds like a cool amp! I have yet to try a JVM, but have heard more than enough positive reviews to know that it is good. I love the Marshall sound, and the versatility of it, and what sounds like the Satch model, have is really astounding.

I might have to go see if I can find one to play on...

Cole

[strtdv]

It's definitely worth a look. I'm not usually a huge fan of any signature gear, but really this amp does a wide variety of classic Marshall tones better than anything else I can think of.
The YJM sig model is meant to be better for pure plexi tones, but I've unfortunately not had the chance to try one..

[AdrianPOA]

I love my JVM 210H, but I was considering saving up for a 410H and have the 210H as a solid backup. I might just have to go with the the 410HJS instead. The demos I have heard sound REALLY good.

[amt7565]

Congrats on the purchase and love of it.
I have had my JVM410H for a couple of months and continue to be impressed by its versatility and responsiveness. I am still learning to experiment with the EQ settings. Yet to try the JS version. I initially was using it with a Mesa 2x12, but just couple of weeks back got the Marshall 1960B. It made a world of a difference!!

[magh8]

I think I need to check out the JS model. I owned a jvm410 and it sounded great. only cons were the cheap ass knobs and it had a terrible noise floor. the MKV is a better amp IMO overall.

[strtdv]

 

Originally Posted by magh8

I think I need to check out the JS model. I owned a jvm410 and it sounded great. only cons were the cheap ass knobs and it had a terrible noise floor. the MKV is a better amp IMO overall.

 

I was pretty disappointed with how cheap the overall construction of the standard JVM amps were, the JS seems to be a significant step up. I'm not sure why Marshall have opted to put a digital reverb rather than noise gates on some of their recent amps (JVM's and Vintage Modern's). It's not like any classic Marshalls have reverb..