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JCM 800 vs JCM 900


kaiburns

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Which amp should I get?

 

The Marshall JCM 800: https://reverb.com/item/2789449-1986-marshall-jcm-800-lead-series-4212-50-watt-2-x-12-guitar-combo-amplifier

 

Or...

 

The Marshall JCM 900 (with a 1960A 4x12): https://reverb.com/item/3501886-marshall-jcm-900-4100-dual-reverb-head-1997

 

Which amplifier out of the two could achieve the guitar tone in this song?

 

 

 

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Here's my call. I cross posted from one you did in the electric guitar section of HC

 

I own and old Jmc 800 2x12 combo, singe channel amp. Matt Bellamy has played out of a lot of amps over the years. I am actually not that familiar with his work.

 

Looks like he using Kemper these days.

http://www.musewiki.org/Amplifiers

 

It also looks like from a previous post yo have ruled out the Fender Deville 401.

 

The JCM is a great amp, the 2000 not so good imo, but that is neither here nor there.

 

My call right now is the Budda Super Drive 30 watter. It's been around a while and it a very fine amp. It does some ok cleans and it does the high gain stuff pretty damn fine.

 

I looked on reverb dot com for one and found 2. one for 8

The company is owned by Peavey now. There's not many out there new, but I saw this at American Musical and it's new for 1269. It looks like it's a scratch and dent, but you gte a 42% discound and free shipping. If you hate it I'm sure you could return it with no questions asked, minus the shipping costs.

 

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item-...ERDRIVE30-LIST

 

The real test would be to get one in your own paws and give it a whirl.

 

 

[video=youtube;rcW7Cba2VPM]

[video=youtube;rQh1s67jTE0]

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe this helped and maybe it didn't.

 

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Out of the two you listed, I'd take the 50W combo. Reason being musicians have been downsizing their gear for a long time now. Finding a working band that uses the big stuff, and clubs that still allow it is going to seriously limit your performing options. I like big amps myself and do own several, but other then recording in my sound proofed studio I don't play many gigs that allow the big stuff.

 

A 100W head means you need a really good PA to project the vocals and a bass player they has a bass amp that matches a SVT. If you're playing with a bassist who uses a 2 or 4X10 cab and another guitarist with less then a 50W head, you'll simply mow them down with a 100W tube head and no one will want to perform with you. I have used a 50W to keep up with a 100W but the player usually had the amp dialed back and used pedals for gain.

 

Still for $1400 for a used amp, is a bit extreme even for a Marshall. I'd look around for a better deal. The speakers in that amp aren't top of the line either. Those are budget Celestion's which wont sound nearly as good as others. If the amp had G12H-75 Creamback's I'd say the rig might be worth the price. I have 4 of them in my 1960 cab and they are one of the best sounding ceramics Celestion makes.

 

I'd like to get another 50W Plexi myself. Its an ideal amp head for my playing clubs. Its gets good driven tones at half the volume of a 100W and you can still dial it back to reasonable volume levels. I'd expect to pay about $1100 for one. Cant see paying any more because I can easily build one for that much.

 

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Out of the two you listed, I'd take the 50W combo. Reason being musicians have been downsizing their gear for a long time now. Finding a working band that uses the big stuff, and clubs that still allow it is going to seriously limit your performing options. I like big amps myself and do own several, but other then recording in my sound proofed studio I don't play many gigs that allow the big stuff.

 

What do you mean by "allow the big stuff"? The physical size of an amp has exactly nothing to do with the volume output. Heck, I run my Bogner XTC set at 7W (Triode, Class A, single tube) through a 4x12 slant-front on a regular basis, and I guarantee you it won't be anywhere near as loud and obnoxious as a 50W JCM800 combo.

 

Honestly, I've never seen or heard of a club telling me what amp I can use on stage. I use what makes sense for me from a sound and versatility standpoint - and a lot of times that means bringing my trusty old 1960 4x12 so that I can roll the whole rig in rather than lugging a 50-pound combo that I have to physically lift and carry.

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Get a Marshall 6100LM, and you'll get both JCM800 and JCM900 tones, plus the best Marshall cleans you've ever heard. Nails JTM45, JMP Super Lead, and of course the 800 and 900 varieties. Takes pedals incredibly well too.

 

The 6100 PCB tends to flex a bit when rolling PI values, so it would be a good idea to have a standoff installed at the edge of the PCB to prevent flexing. You can secure a plastic standoff under the edge of the PCB using double-sided 3M stick pads, but this will only prevent downward flexing. It may be enough, as the worst of the flexing happens when downward pressure is applied to the PI socket. Some of the 6100 series suffered from a loss of continuity at the damping relay, due to a broken solder joint at the relay base. It's and easy fix, and will result in many years of maintenance-free operation.

 

Another tip: This goes for any amp... Make sure that the power tube socket commutators are tight! Many of today's tubes use large diameter pins that spread the contacts open. When you replace the power tubes with a new set that has smaller diameter pins, you will end up with a loss of continuity. If you lose contact at pin 5, the tube will red-plate, thereby trashing that tube. JJ tubes have some of the largest pins I've seen. That, or they are putting an excessive amount of solder in the pins... Either way, you need to make sure the contacts are tight before replacing the power tubes.

 

Tools: Make sure the amp is unplugged, and discharge the power capacitors. Use a stainless steel dental pick to pull the contacts together. It takes some time, but it's well-worth the effort.

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i used to own a jcm 800 50 watt 2x12 combo it had pre amp and master volumes .l loved that amp ,i should never have let it go i will probs get another

,i have a jcm 900 at the moment it is 100 watt you can switch it to 50 watt.the 900 is a bit more versatile , the clean channal is great you can get it spanky clean or fat and dirty .the lead channal is pretty good and you can take it over the top if so desired .both amps are great.

the 800 is more natural sounding,brighter, twangier and more aggresive .but the 900 in a bit more versatile and more subtle in tone

,i picked up my 900 head for £250 which was a bargain ,you can be lucky if you hang about and look out for deals.

.i`d get both

the previouse post sounds quite interesting

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