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JVM vs JCM 800


Disco Cat

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I've owned both. The JVM has a lot more to offer, and can get decently close to sounding like a JCM800. However, it's missing something that the 800 has. After I sold my JVM, I read about some mods that will get you even closer to the 800 in terms of sound and feel. Something to do with less negative feedback. Probably not worth trading unless you aren't happy with the JVM, especially with all the mods for it.

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I've owned both.

 

I now have an 800.

 

The JVM doesn't sound as present and 'there' as the 800.

The 800 feels better, doesn't have sponginess engineered into the tone, doesn't have a massive network of circuitry, resistors and capacitors and filters for the guitar signal to travel through etc.

 

The 800 is THE modern sounding Marshall to have.

It sounds very real next to the JVM.

 

FWIW, I'd take a DSL over the JVM.

 

They feel better to play.

 

My favourite production Marshall's in order are

 

JCM800

JTM45

DSL100

Bluesbreaker

1974x

2061x

 

Etc

 

The JVM and VM are basically at the bottom of my list.

 

In summation:

 

An 800 is FAR better than a JVM. Not just in tone, but how the amp responds, feels, plays etc. It's far more real and organic sounding. It doesn't sound like the tones have been engineered into it as they do the JVM. It just sounds and responds like a great classic amp should/does.

 

If you are only interested in lots of knobs, buttons, switches, are worried about reverb, absolutely must have 4 channels (:facepalm:) need your preamp section to have loads of unusable gain, and like all the filtering sounds that provide you with "real emulations" (oxymoron much) of classic Marshall circuits, then go for it.....

 

If you want something that sounds better, feels better, has more of a natural/real tone, is better built, is more reliable, is just as flexible if you have an ounce of savvy, and is just FAAARRR cooler to boot, then get an 800 and thank me later....

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I've owned both.


I now have an 800.


The JVM doesn't sound as present and 'there' as the 800.

The 800 feels better, doesn't have sponginess engineered into the tone, doesn't have a massive network of circuitry, resistors and capacitors and filters for the guitar signal to travel through etc.


The 800 is THE modern sounding Marshall to have.

It sounds very real next to the JVM.


FWIW, I'd take a DSL over the JVM.


They feel better to play.


My favourite production Marshall's in order are


JCM800

JTM45

DSL100

Bluesbreaker

1974x

2061x


Etc


The JVM and VM are basically at the bottom of my list.


In summation:


An 800 is FAR better than a JVM. Not just in tone, but how the amp responds, feels, plays etc. It's far more real and organic sounding. It doesn't sound like the tones have been engineered into it as they do the JVM. It just sounds and responds like a great classic amp should/does.


If you are only interested in lots of knobs, buttons, switches, are worried about reverb, absolutely must have 4 channels (
:facepalm:
) need your preamp section to have loads of unusable gain, and like all the filtering sounds that provide you with "real emulations" (oxymoron much) of classic Marshall circuits, then go for it.....


If you want something that sounds better, feels better, has more of a natural/real tone, is better built, is more reliable, is just as flexible if you have an ounce of savvy, and is just FAAARRR cooler to boot, then get an 800 and thank me later....

Disagreed to all, with VERY minor tweeks and adjustments, the JVM is every bit as good and in most cases better than everything that you mentioned in every respect but like anything, thats subjective..

 

After you throw the features in to the mix, the JVM is a no brainer

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Nerine you just sound snobbish there mate, played an 800 and had my JVM side by side with an SLX. I understand what you say about feeling more present but i think that is to do with the overall volume, JVM is better at low volume and fills out when you turn it up. The JVM circuit really isn't that crazy and they have the original tone stack structure for each channel. The JVMs and 800s are built in the same factory, the 800 has the benefit of weeding out all manufacturing issues over so many years. My JVM is solid.

 

OP: What channel do you use most?

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Disagreed to all, with VERY minor tweeks and adjustments, the JVM is every bit as good and in most cases better than everything that you mentioned in every respect but like anything, thats subjective..


After you throw the features in to the mix, the JVM is a no brainer

 

Maybe if you like the sounds that it produces.

I don't, which is only my opinion of course, and having one great core sound is much more important to me than having loads of lesser ones.

I have always got massive arrays of tones out of one guitar and a single channel amp.

With the inclusion of the fx loop on my 800, it's just as versatile and flexible as a JVM IMO.

 

Ok, it doesn't have speaker emulated line outs, midi, modes, reverb, and whatever other bells and whistles it has, but those sorts of things are useless to me. For some they may be important, but I like to keep things clean and simple.

The unaffected tone, i.e. Wherever the amp is set, A good boost in front, a volume boost in the loop, and roll down the volume for cleans. That's basically four "channels" straight off the bat how I run things.... Clean, OD, higher gain, solo.

I have also got the added bonus of it sounding like a JCM800 to start with :love:

 

I thought you were an avid Axe Fx'er anyway, Kage??

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Nerine you just sound snobbish there mate


The JVM circuit really isn't that crazy and they have the original tone stack structure for each channel.


The JVMs and 800s are built in the same factory

 

 

Why? I am fairly critical over what I hear. Remember I just returned a Bogner Ecstasy because I thought it sounded pretty rubbish actually. I know what I like my amps to sound like.

 

Ok, the original tone stack structure. That isn't factoring in the myriad other things that contribute to the overall tone.

 

No offended intended but this means nothing. The amps are constructed/designed very differently.

Aren't the pots on the JVM circuit board mounted for a kick off? I know they have a spongy feeling to them if you move them. I'd hate to accidentally break one off...

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Aren't the pots on the JVM circuit board mounted for a kick off? I know they have a spongy feeling to them if you move them. I'd hate to accidentally break one off...

 

The older JVM's are that way, they changed that some time ago and the nobs since then are nice and firm, like my...

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I personally think the 800 slaughters the JVM in every way.

 

I could only find one good sound in all those channels and modes of the JVM 410h and even then it was still a bit too synthetic and compressed for what i like, plus that switching system is slow and {censored}. I'm not a huge 800 fanboi but i'd take one over the JVM anyday, i just think the design and overall package is far superior. I very much doubt that Marshall will be making JVM's in 30 years time, but the 800 is a total classic and will always be in the Marshall catalogue.

 

My favourite Marshall is the DSL100, in my opinion there is nothing that the DSL cant do, its a fantastic amp, i've owned 5 of them and they've always been super reliable for touring and recording.

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Megadeth uses the JVM410, fool. Or at the very least, they currently do.


AC/DC uses the Plexi

 

 

Mega{censored} use digitech GSP1101 and axe-fx into marshall power amps and that is it. Mustaine uses the digitech, I am not even sure if they mic the cabs or go DI and call it a day and monitor through the cabs.

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Why? I am fairly critical over what I hear. Remember I just returned a Bogner Ecstasy because I thought it sounded pretty rubbish actually. I know what I like my amps to sound like.


Ok, the original tone stack structure. That isn't factoring in the myriad other things that contribute to the overall tone.


No offended intended but this means nothing. The amps are constructed/designed very differently.

Aren't the pots on the JVM circuit board mounted for a kick off? I know they have a spongy feeling to them if you move them. I'd hate to accidentally break one off...

 

 

Fair enough but like someone else said they sorted the knobs after the initial run, for anything low volume or high gain the JVM has it right outta the box. The crunch red 800 channel on the JVM sounds great for me, about as close as i think anyone could get without buying an original 800? I always wanted a modded 800 but the JVM has those sounds ready to go, plus it is more versatile.

The JVM is like marmite around here for some reason, i found that different cabs can make the crunch sound great or a bit lacking so i can see why. I agree with you on the VM though, that thing was a waste of production and not necessary.

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I've owned both.


I now have an 800.


The JVM doesn't sound as present and 'there' as the 800.

The 800 feels better, doesn't have sponginess engineered into the tone, doesn't have a massive network of circuitry, resistors and capacitors and filters for the guitar signal to travel through etc.


The 800 is THE modern sounding Marshall to have.

It sounds very real next to the JVM.


FWIW, I'd take a DSL over the JVM.


They feel better to play.


My favourite production Marshall's in order are


JCM800

JTM45

DSL100

Bluesbreaker

1974x

2061x


Etc


The JVM and VM are basically at the bottom of my list.


In summation:


An 800 is FAR better than a JVM. Not just in tone, but how the amp responds, feels, plays etc. It's far more real and organic sounding. It doesn't sound like the tones have been engineered into it as they do the JVM. It just sounds and responds like a great classic amp should/does.


If you are only interested in lots of knobs, buttons, switches, are worried about reverb, absolutely must have 4 channels (
:facepalm:
) need your preamp section to have loads of unusable gain, and like all the filtering sounds that provide you with "real emulations" (oxymoron much) of classic Marshall circuits, then go for it.....


If you want something that sounds better, feels better, has more of a natural/real tone, is better built, is more reliable, is just as flexible if you have an ounce of savvy, and is just FAAARRR cooler to boot, then get an 800 and thank me later....

 

There is a tech on the JVM forum that more or less agrees to what you are saying. Also he uses a 410h religioussly. All of what you describe as "negatives" are more or less audible with the JVM which I guess for some may matter to a degree.

 

But this tech claims that the amps live are close enough to rock n roll and if not, having the same power amp components and changing the ones that don't match up in certain points of the circuits can open up uncompress and basically bring the JVM to the same feel level of the 800.

 

 

His notes were that santiago alvarez which is the designer of the JVM went for a tighter more trebley modern gainy preampy sound with the jvm but allowed for the older sounds to be achieved with some settings. Bear in mind that he noted those differences comparatively and not as if the JVM went into splawn nitro of diezel gain territory or something. Just vs the older style marshalls.

 

 

So he did manage to change things about the amp (filtering and negative feedback and the first input gain stage which is different) and bring it "scaringly close" to his 800 and plexi, all in the same amp!!!

 

 

Satriani is ready to put out a 410h signature. Changes are less gain and compression and a different ressonance frequency on the ressonance control along with a noise gate. That means changing 3-4 caps top.

 

 

And santiago alvarez insists that purity is not really an issue with the JVM: Parts of the circuit that are not used are taken out hard bypass or at least he claims so.

I almost must say that the amp is not indeed "full tube" as the signal does pass through a mosfet for the ressonance circuit all the time but this is nothing compared to boosts up front or volumes or eq in the loop!!!

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Mega{censored} use digitech GSP1101 and axe-fx into marshall power amps and that is it. Mustaine uses the digitech, I am not even sure if they mic the cabs or go DI and call it a day and monitor through the cabs.

 

 

No... that is their live rig. In the studio he used the JVM for endgame, at the very LEAST on Endgame, he may have used it on even earlier albums.

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In the studio they could use I guess anything. But...why not live one should wander. I also knew about the 410 for endgame and that it was out as a DM edition with carbon fibre look. Still live use is wtf about them. Satriani does indeed use them with chickenfoot.

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In the studio they could use I guess anything. But...why not live one should wander. I also knew about the 410 for endgame and that it was out as a DM edition with carbon fibre look. Still live use is wtf about them. Satriani does indeed use them with chickenfoot.

 

 

Because, when they are playing live, they have to play songs from before endgame.

 

These songs (the pre-endgame ones) were not recorded using a Marshall JVM

 

So to get the tones more accurately, he uses the DigiTech pre-amp to get as close to the sound of all of his previous recordings as possible.

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I've owned both.


I now have an 800.


The JVM doesn't sound as present and 'there' as the 800.

The 800 feels better, doesn't have sponginess engineered into the tone, doesn't have a massive network of circuitry, resistors and capacitors and filters for the guitar signal to travel through etc.


The 800 is THE modern sounding Marshall to have.

It sounds very real next to the JVM.


FWIW, I'd take a DSL over the JVM.


They feel better to play.


My favourite production Marshall's in order are


JCM800

JTM45

DSL100

Bluesbreaker

1974x

2061x


Etc


The JVM and VM are basically at the bottom of my list.


In summation:


An 800 is FAR better than a JVM. Not just in tone, but how the amp responds, feels, plays etc. It's far more real and organic sounding. It doesn't sound like the tones have been engineered into it as they do the JVM. It just sounds and responds like a great classic amp should/does.


If you are only interested in lots of knobs, buttons, switches, are worried about reverb, absolutely must have 4 channels (
:facepalm:
) need your preamp section to have loads of unusable gain, and like all the filtering sounds that provide you with "real emulations" (oxymoron much) of classic Marshall circuits, then go for it.....


If you want something that sounds better, feels better, has more of a natural/real tone, is better built, is more reliable, is just as flexible if you have an ounce of savvy, and is just FAAARRR cooler to boot, then get an 800 and thank me later....

 

lol you didn't even mention the 30th anniversary :cop: fail right there bro

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