Members JBecker Posted March 25, 2007 Members Share Posted March 25, 2007 It's been said, but I'll reiterate-- anyone who thinks this is a TSL or can't do chugga-chugga metal is completely incapable. Today I head out to a couple of shops with my best friend who's a drummer and a metal guitar player just to see what was out there amp wise. Found a JVM 2x12 combo at Sam Ash that I was definitely interested in sitting down and playing around with. First off, this is the best Marshall at low volumes I've played, by far, bar none. The tone is way more articulate and full sounding than the TSL. The clean was slightly better than the JCM2000s, but still not great. With a Hamer H/H guitar the cleans were dead and very boring. A Gretsch with minibuckers sounded gorgeous clean, but it was definitely all about guitar tone there. The amp got mean very fast and was hitting into loud Plexi territory on the Orange mode of the clean channel and by the Red of the clean channel, I was at near JCM800 levels, easily. Moving to the crunch channel, the green channel started somewhere more where the orange was on the clean but far more lively and open sounding, with a bit of a more natural sound to it. I definitely dug this channel for JMP style sounds. By the orange channel you're talking JCM800 tones but with a better master volume, not quite the same amount of balls. Think the DSL clean channel, crunch engaged and cranked with a really high output guitar or a boost. By the red channel on the crunch, my friend and I both felt we were in metal territory. It wasn't modern metal yet, but every classic Marshall metal sound was already accessible by the crunch on the red channel. Again, the OD1 picked up on green where the Orange channel of the crunch left off. This time the amp was a bit more compressed, the low end was a little tighter and the mids slightly less pronounced (had to turn htem up a bit more to get the same sounds but a bit heavier compared to the rest of hte amp). This thing roared well into 5150/6505 territory (which we were fooling around with yesterday), at least on the "cleaner" channel with an SG and the gain not into insane territory. By the time we went into the OD2 channel, neither of us wanted to play there long. Tones of gain, tones of compression, very tight, very modernish metal sound, but no where near where either of us like our sound to be. Even though he plays metal, he loves Glassjaw and old Hopesfall style tone (H&K Triamp and 5150, respectively), and neither of us thought that that much gain would ever be needed. It was really going into the insano-chugga-chugga gain territory like nobodies business. So yes, the amp gets a huge variety of sounds and sounds pretty good doing it. I bet it would be great in a cover band. And yes, this thing definitely does metal stock better than just about any Marshall. However, the one thing that did bother me is it FELT like a TSL, even though it didn't sound like one. I didn't get that vintage, spongey, rebound, dig in feel out of the amp that I really love and seek for. So overall, sounds really solid, definitely a great amp for Marshall to have built from a marketing standpoint, definitely WAY too much amp for me (and probably most people), and definitely almost all the tones I'd ever need... really all of them, could be found on the first two channels without much hassle. I was definitely impressed enough to know that used, these things are going to be a forum favorite, though I don't know if people are ready to throw down 2k for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members telephant Posted March 25, 2007 Members Share Posted March 25, 2007 Excellent review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Excellent review. I also spent a bunch of time with a 1974x which was way more fun for me... but that's another story and another thread that will get very little attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KarateSchnitzel Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 great review ...now go try out a vintage modern for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 great review ...now go try out a vintage modern for me! I'm far more interested in that, but I've run across 3 JVMs (two heads, one cab) and no VMs. I don't know if that's because no one ordered the Vintage Modern or they're already sold... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zachman Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 It's been said, but I'll reiterate-- anyone who thinks this is a TSL or can't do chugga-chugga metal is completely incapable. Today I head out to a couple of shops with my best friend who's a drummer and a metal guitar player just to see what was out there amp wise. Found a JVM 2x12 combo at Sam Ash that I was definitely interested in sitting down and playing around with. First off, this is the best Marshall at low volumes I've played, by far, bar none. The tone is way more articulate and full sounding than the TSL. The clean was slightly better than the JCM2000s, but still not great. With a Hamer H/H guitar the cleans were dead and very boring. A Gretsch with minibuckers sounded gorgeous clean, but it was definitely all about guitar tone there. The amp got mean very fast and was hitting into loud Plexi territory on the Orange mode of the clean channel and by the Red of the clean channel, I was at near JCM800 levels, easily. Moving to the crunch channel, the green channel started somewhere more where the orange was on the clean but far more lively and open sounding, with a bit of a more natural sound to it. I definitely dug this channel for JMP style sounds. By the orange channel you're talking JCM800 tones but with a better master volume, not quite the same amount of balls. Think the DSL clean channel, crunch engaged and cranked with a really high output guitar or a boost. By the red channel on the crunch, my friend and I both felt we were in metal territory. It wasn't modern metal yet, but every classic Marshall metal sound was already accessible by the crunch on the red channel. Again, the OD1 picked up on green where the Orange channel of the crunch left off. This time the amp was a bit more compressed, the low end was a little tighter and the mids slightly less pronounced (had to turn htem up a bit more to get the same sounds but a bit heavier compared to the rest of hte amp). This thing roared well into 5150/6505 territory (which we were fooling around with yesterday), at least on the "cleaner" channel with an SG and the gain not into insane territory. By the time we went into the OD2 channel, neither of us wanted to play there long. Tones of gain, tones of compression, very tight, very modernish metal sound, but no where near where either of us like our sound to be. Even though he plays metal, he loves Glassjaw and old Hopesfall style tone (H&K Triamp and 5150, respectively), and neither of us thought that that much gain would ever be needed. It was really going into the insano-chugga-chugga gain territory like nobodies business. So yes, the amp gets a huge variety of sounds and sounds pretty good doing it. I bet it would be great in a cover band. And yes, this thing definitely does metal stock better than just about any Marshall. However, the one thing that did bother me is it FELT like a TSL, even though it didn't sound like one. I didn't get that vintage, spongey, rebound, dig in feel out of the amp that I really love and seek for. So overall, sounds really solid, definitely a great amp for Marshall to have built from a marketing standpoint, definitely WAY too much amp for me (and probably most people), and definitely almost all the tones I'd ever need... really all of them, could be found on the first two channels without much hassle. I was definitely impressed enough to know that used, these things are going to be a forum favorite, though I don't know if people are ready to throw down 2k for it. GREAT review, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 GREAT review, Thanks My overall feeling is that Marshall could have cut this thing in half and charged more like what the VM costs and probably would be better off, but that's just me. Just like the Roadking didn't decimate the Recto line...But really, the clean with two modes, the crunch with two modes, and the OD1 with two modes, reverb for the clean and reverb for the other two combined, OD1 and crunch TMB controls combined, one master volume, with switching like it has would have been so much amp that still most people wouldn't need it and could easily pull off 90% of metal.The only thing is, I still feel you can get that tone sweep on an older style amp with the volume knob and a boost perhaps with even more control to the in between thing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ratter Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Great review and very much in agreement with my feelings about the JVM, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Great review and very much in agreement with my feelings about the JVM, too. Cool. Time for a bumpsky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zachman Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 My overall feeling is that Marshall could have cut this thing in half and charged more like what the VM costs and probably would be better off, but that's just me. Just like the Roadking didn't decimate the Recto line...But really, the clean with two modes, the crunch with two modes, and the OD1 with two modes, reverb for the clean and reverb for the other two combined, OD1 and crunch TMB controls combined, one master volume, with switching like it has would have been so much amp that still most people wouldn't need it and could easily pull off 90% of metal.The only thing is, I still feel you can get that tone sweep on an older style amp with the volume knob and a boost perhaps with even more control to the in between thing.... Interesting... I like the idea of the versatility that the JVM provides, as more and more guys need an amp to cover so many bases, they sure do seem to have done it right. I still have my 6100LE and the Mojave Peacemaker, to cover the tones that I like from Marshall, so I probably won't get one, but... If I had to get another Marshall type amp, it'd probably be the JVM. Waiting to see what sort of things pop up with the PCB's, if any. I think my next amp is going to be the Egnater M100. I think my favorite thing that I've heard from the JVM so far is the clean channel. OOOOHHHHHHH, very very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gainfreak Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Interesting... I like the idea of the versatility that the JVM provides, as more and more guys need an amp to cover so many bases, they sure do seem to have done it right. I still have my 6100LE and the Mojave Peacemaker, to cover the tones that I like from Marshall, so I probably won't get one, but... If I had to get another Marshall type amp, it'd probably be the JVM. Waiting to see what sort of things pop up with the PCB's, if any.I think my next amp is going to be the Egnater M100.I think my favorite thing that I've heard from the JVM so far is the clean channel. OOOOHHHHHHH, very very nice. Sup Zach!! To be honest with you, The JVM is my favorite Marshall to come out in the last 20 years or so. I really dig this beast and I will own one after my credit cards have been cleaned a bit! To be honest with you, I think the JVM smokes the 6100LE but that's just my preferance!! I hope all is well my brother!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Interesting... I like the idea of the versatility that the JVM provides, as more and more guys need an amp to cover so many bases, they sure do seem to have done it right. I still have my 6100LE and the Mojave Peacemaker, to cover the tones that I like from Marshall, so I probably won't get one, but... If I had to get another Marshall type amp, it'd probably be the JVM. Waiting to see what sort of things pop up with the PCB's, if any.I think my next amp is going to be the Egnater M100.I think my favorite thing that I've heard from the JVM so far is the clean channel. OOOOHHHHHHH, very very nice. It's definitely the best "clean" clean Marshall has put out since the JMPs when not cranked to {censored}, as far as I'm concerned. I definitely think it's versatile as hell, but for me, in my mind, something like an 800 or JMP with a boost can do a great metal sound, take off the boost and it does hard rock, turn down the volume knob a tad or even switch over to a lower output pickup/guitar and get the dirty blues, roll back the volume and there's your clean. I am just not a foot-tapping fellow, though I can tell you if I were in a cover bad the JVM would HAVE to be THE amp. The ability to take the slightest changes that make a big difference in the accuracy of recreating the exact feel/sound of a song requires the nuance of the different voicings. For original stuff, having the variety of heaviness on the exact same voicing is totally acceptable and even preferable for me. I think the midi switching is also a great option considering I'd need to use something like a G-Major for a cover band gig and that DEFINITELY would be great to just switch to different patches/settings via a midi switch. One almost wonders why they didn't digitally store the pot values (which seems to work as well as physically turning the knobs) ala the JMP-1 or Triaxis and make it really amazing in terms of midi footswitching. That's going a totally different direction, and like I said, makes the amp a real beast that is far too much for me and I really think most people to use. Marshall wanted/needed a more modern sounding heavy amp, that's what the market felt Marshall didn't have a strong contender. This amp does that and so much more it's almost obnoxious. I definitely think they could have gotten away with making the Vintage Modern (what a dumb name) and then the JVM with just Clean and OD1 and market that as their modern heavy rock/metal amp and would have done just as well. If you're just looking for a Marshall for metal, man this thing will take care of it, but, it's also overkill. All in all, I am impressed-- I didn't think Marshall could or would do the modern sound so well while keeping it's character. It clearly can be done, as other makers have shown, but in the past, Marshall has failed when striving to get there. They definitely did it this time. I'd still prefer an 800 + 808 for that stuff though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mctallica1 Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Very nice review. Good, objective thoughts! I am very interested in playing one of these:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Sup Zach!!To be honest with you, The JVM is my favorite Marshall to come out in the last 20 years or so. I really dig this beast and I will own one after my credit cards have been cleaned a bit! To be honest with you, I think the JVM smokes the 6100LE but that's just my preferance!! I hope all is well my brother!! Yeah, I have VERY little experience with the 6100 stuff. I played the 1x12 once probably 2-3 years back and I remember thinking it sounded kind of small and a bit brittle, but who knows what the head may sound like and I only spent maybe 20 mins with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Very nice review.Good, objective thoughts!I am very interested in playing one of these:thu: I appreciate it. The heavier thing isn't so much my thing (I rarely venture beyond Soundgarden kind of heaviness) so I was really happy my friend who is much more into metal was there to balance things out with me. I was also happen it was up on a stand at ear level so those speakers were pointed right at me as I sat down so I really got to hear it for what it was (off to the side I dialed it like {censored} for my friend, even though it sounded great from where I was standing, when I sat down, I realized things have got to change, a lot...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhead5 Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Great review !!! I've got to admit It would probably be great for a live amp but The thing I hate about all these amps is all the channels and the 8000 buttons.It took me about 2 years to figure out My Ecstasy 101b with all the switches and knobs.Besides being a {censored}ty guitar player ,I must be simple 6-8 knobs is about all i can handle.Now our local GC has a few mv'v in stock and I got some great tones out of that pretty quickly but it is far simpler . Remember ------- Like it or not Marshall IS the sound of rock !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zachman Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 Sup Zach!! To be honest with you, The JVM is my favorite Marshall to come out in the last 20 years or so. I really dig this beast and I will own one after my credit cards have been cleaned a bit! To be honest with you, I think the JVM smokes the 6100LE but that's just my preferance!! I hope all is well my brother!! Ralphie, I have to say just judging by the clips, I agree that it smokes the 6100, and your word is as good as gold so, I may sell the 6100 and add a JVM in it's place. All is well, been job interviewing recently and when this phase is done, I'll be even better. Not sure when Bob will get me my goodies, hopefully in time for Christmas. LOL_ NOT really improbable to wait for that long. It will be worth the wait, so it's all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Skoora Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 It's funny, here in Seattle we only have Vintage Moderns and no JVM's have shown up. I'd definitely like to hear that amp as now that I've played the Vintage Moderns a few times they really just don't do it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ShortScaleMike Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 OD1 and crunch TMB controls combined See I disagree completely - what Marshall has got right this time is that you have the independent EQs, with the DSL50/DSL100 amps you had a shared EQ which meant you couldn't set up a usable sound on both the Clean and the Gain channels in many cases, so you have a two channel amp you can only use as one channel at a time - rubbish. Also the DSL has two GREAT suonding modes on the Clean Channel (clean and crunch) which are not footswitchable - this is frustrating also. My 6100 has a great crunch channel with three modes; Mode A being a very Plexi like crunch and Mode B more JCM800ish and aggressive, I loved both sounds but had to choose only one for live work as you can't select them by footswitch, only push button. So I'm delighted that I can get these sounds switchable now and sounding great. Marshall have fixed both these issues with the new amp and I'm very happy for it. The dual Master volume is so useful also, for solo boost and evening out the volume differences in some of the modes of a channel (clean green and red in particular). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chudanez Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 That's pretty much exactly the same review as mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cobrahead1030 Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 cool review man, that's one of the better descriptions of the channels/modes i've seen (i'm usually confused as hell when people write those out_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lostlure Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 It's funny, here in Seattle we only have Vintage Moderns and no JVM's have shown up. I'd definitely like to hear that amp as now that I've played the Vintage Moderns a few times they really just don't do it for me.+100000000, Same here in CNY. I really wanted to like the VM, I just didn't. I ordered a JVM 410H from M.F. based on reviews and clips posted.. I've never been happier with any other amp I've owned. JCM800, Modded TSL100 Included. The direct out feature sounds so good I couldn't believe it.The hell with using a modeler at home for me anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Craggin Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 I played a JVM...but not long enough to really give it a true workout. My 2 biggest complaints: 1) The clips I hear on various forums sound better to me than what I can get out of the amp. (Goes back to tone is in the hands...and I only played for about 20 minutes...probably not long enough to really dial it in.) The tones I did get out were definitely nice...but not "that tone I hear in my head". Again, I'm sure if I could spend a few more minutes with it, that may not be an issue. 2) Too many knobs...I'm getting old and like simplicity. I don't gig out with my Road King anymore for this reason...it's too easy (for an idiot like me) to accidentally turn or hit something and have it screw up my settings. Reason #2, coupled with the fact that my QR is dialed in the way I like it, will probably keep me from ever changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nazgul6 Posted March 26, 2007 Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 I have the head and the combo. What is really cool is what an eq does to this amp. I got great metal tones right out of the box on OD2 Red and OD! red. But last week, I tried an eq in the loop with a slight smiley face and it was amazing how much gain that SEEMED to add. So I started lowering the gain and the more I did it, the better it sounded. Right now my tight metal chunk setting is on OD1 Orange with the gain well below noon and with the EQ pedal it sounds huge. Great amp because the core sound is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JBecker Posted March 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2007 See I disagree completely - what Marshall has got right this time is that you have the independent EQs, with the DSL50/DSL100 amps you had a shared EQ which meant you couldn't set up a usable sound on both the Clean and the Gain channels in many cases, so you have a two channel amp you can only use as one channel at a time - rubbish. Also the DSL has two GREAT suonding modes on the Clean Channel (clean and crunch) which are not footswitchable - this is frustrating also. Well I agree it can be hard for a clean and gain channel to be dialed in with a shared EQ if the amp isn't designed right, but I think separate clean/gain controls can pull it off pretty well. 2) Too many knobs...I'm getting old and like simplicity. I don't gig out with my Road King anymore for this reason...it's too easy (for an idiot like me) to accidentally turn or hit something and have it screw up my settings. Yeah, I'm that way too. For me, Volume Tone is enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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