Members symeboy Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Hi all,Basically i have been playing for a while now (5 years) and Im quickly getting better but i have hit a brick wall in so far as the sound i want! I have invested in a vintage marshall amp (JCM 800) and I play through a Les Paul epiphone with EMGs. I am looking for a decent distortion sound coz my amp has no natural distortion. I have tried a boss MD-2 (absolutely aweful)A boss Metal zone (better but too bluesy not crunchy like I want)A digitech death metal (not bad but too noisy and not enough sustain and sounds bad with palm muting)I am still using my zoom 606 which is the best I have at the mo. i want a clear but crunchy distortion sound (a la Gamma Ray, Dimebag, even Zakk Wylde).Surely there is something out there?any help appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BP90 Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Catalinbread SCOD Subdecay Blackstar G2D Morpheus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mfergel Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Line 6 Uber Metal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrMunky Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 If your JCM 800 doesn't produce any distortion on its own, I would suggest getting it fixed. The JCM 800's claim to fame is its excellent distortion tone, and probably a quarter of the distortion boxes out there are either an attempt to, or are at least advertised as being able to reproduce the sound of a JCM 800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheAtomicJeff Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Originally posted by BrianPhase90 Subdecay Blackstar I thought those clips were pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesabooger Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Isn't the JCM800 1 channel? From what you are describing, I would also suggest the Zoom Tri-metal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GSH Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Originally posted by MrMunky If your JCM 800 doesn't produce any distortion on its own, I would suggest getting it fixed. The JCM 800's claim to fame is its excellent distortion tone, and probably a quarter of the distortion boxes out there are either an attempt to, or are at least advertised as being able to reproduce the sound of a JCM 800. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Klisk Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Originally posted by symeboy Hi all, Basically i have been playing for a while now (5 years) and Im quickly getting better but i have hit a brick wall in so far as the sound i want! I have invested in a vintage marshall amp (JCM 800) and I play through a Les Paul epiphone with EMGs. I am looking for a decent distortion sound coz my amp has no natural distortion. I have tried a boss MD-2 (absolutely aweful) A boss Metal zone (better but too bluesy not crunchy like I want) A digitech death metal (not bad but too noisy and not enough sustain and sounds bad with palm muting) I am still using my zoom 606 which is the best I have at the mo. i want a clear but crunchy distortion sound (a la Gamma Ray, Dimebag, even Zakk Wylde). Surely there is something out there? any help appreciated. EMG's+JCM800... Should be THE distortion tone you want. Turn up the gain/pre/whatever knob. If that doesn't work, bring it to the hospital stat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members symeboy Posted January 15, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Yeah i dunno why it doesnt have any distortion options, no matter how high you turn up the preamp, the sound doesnt distort. i bought it second hand, i can only assume that it was never meant to have distortion.Would a pre-amp do the job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BP90 Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 I wonder if the tubes arent shot? what model is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members symeboy Posted January 15, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 there is two inputs high and low sensitivity there is a pre-amp knob, master, bass, mid, treble and a presence, but no gain knob:cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members symeboy Posted January 15, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 its the jcm800 super lead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BP90 Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 High Input and crank the Pre? what happens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrMunky Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Yes, a distortion box will make distortion, but I can assure you that the JCM 800 was meant to produce distortion on its own. Try these things: 1) turn the preamp knob all the way up 2) plug into the high sensitivity input, directly from your guitar, with the guitar volume all the way up, and play If the sounds are still clean, there is something wrong with the amp (or something wrong somewhere in the setup). Someone either modified it in a very peculiar way, or, more likely it is broken. For the money you would spend on a new pedal, take it to a good amp tech and ask him to make it sound like a JCM 800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gethsemane Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Originally posted by Klisk EMG's+JCM800... Should be THE distortion tone you want. Turn up the gain knob. +1id be willing to bet you're just looking for more gain, in which case i think you should be looking into overdrive or boosts to kick the front end of it.on the other hand, from your descriptions of the different distortion pedals, though, it sounds like you may be partial to more scooped and modern metal tones. if that's the case, you may want to think about a different amp or some modifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members symeboy Posted January 15, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Cheers,but there isnt a gain knob! I have tried plugging the guitar straight into bothe the inputs and still no distortion. Are you sure there is no models that are clean, it was sold to me (on ebay) as "JCM 800 super lead clean" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members symeboy Posted January 15, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 cheers for advice peeps, must go home for dinner! Rock on! S:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shepherdspy Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 What they mean is that the preamp knob IS the gain knob. just like on plexi's the two volumes are the gain knobs.JCM 800 can sound kind clean especially if it has 6550 tubes. Have a tech check it out and get it switched to EL-34's if they aren't already in there. Get new tubes and have it biased properly while it is there.I suggest a DOD 250 (or YJM308, same thing) or a Keeley SD-1 to boost the front end. That is what Yngvie and Wylde do. This will give you a vintage metal feel. If you want modern metal, you may have to get something like a Powerball or Diezel, with more front end gain.*I can't believe I'm giving advice based on what Yngwie would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HMCMedic Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Originally posted by symeboy Cheers, but there isnt a gain knob! I have tried plugging the guitar straight into bothe the inputs and still no distortion. Are you sure there is no models that are clean, it was sold to me (on ebay) as "JCM 800 super lead clean" Can you take a picture of it and put it on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MrMunky Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Originally posted by symeboy Cheers, but there isnt a gain knob! I have tried plugging the guitar straight into bothe the inputs and still no distortion. Are you sure there is no models that are clean, it was sold to me (on ebay) as "JCM 800 super lead clean" "Clean" is verbally ambiguous; it is susceptible to several meanings. For instance, it can be synonymous with "sober," particularly with reference to persons who are habitual users of illegal drugs. It can mean free of sexually transmitted diseases, free of dirt, in good working order free of significant defects, and free of distortion. Although theoretically the auction title could have meant "JCM 800 - a distortion free version," the context strongly suggests that by "clean" the seller meant "in good working order, not too beat up or dirty."There is no "clean version" of the JCM 800. There is no "gain" or "distortion" control, the "preamp" control determines the amount of gain. The control does the same thing that a "gain" control does, they just labeled it differently. I suppose we're a bit unclear about something: When you turn the preamp knob all the way up, and plug into the hi-sensitivity input, does the amp produce no distortion, i.e. is it perfectly clean, like an acoustic guitar type tone? Or, is there some distortion, but not as much as you want?If there is no distortion at all, it's not a matter of setting the amp up differently, its a matter of repairing it. If there is some distortion, then it might be working properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wacopacco Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 Epiphone Les Paul w/emg's Marshall jcm800 should have TONS of distortion. pre-amp control = gain control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Man In space Posted January 15, 2006 Members Share Posted January 15, 2006 I've played, like any other 80's metalhead, on JCM800's, so I can say I've heard a couple of'm. They do not have TONS of gain, it's a midgain amp which sounds good for metal when pushed with something. The DS1 was the most popular item for that. Now if you turn the preamp to ten, and it sounds clean, there is something wrong. Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members symeboy Posted January 16, 2006 Author Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 Hey all,I tried cranking the preamp all the way and plugging in directly to the high sensitivity, and yes! there is a bit of distortion but needless to say it sounds just fuzzy, definitely not what Im looking for.(Im sure the amp is also clean from drink, drugs and stds!!! he he!)Actually Im very keen on the gamma ray/early helloween (anyone heard of them?) guitar sound...another example would be the darkness (on their heavier tunes) and motley crue, both have a similar rasping crunchy distortion that I am after.Im pretty sure all these guys use a marshall set up.thanks for help, much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ScreamCage Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 As far as pedals, I'd suggest the Voodoo Labs Superfuzz. But before you invest in anything of this sort, just take it to a tech and have him look at it. At least you'll know what's wrong with it, hopefully. If you have the money, then you can get it fixed while you're there. Otherwise, just listen to all of the suggestions that the people here have. You might take some pictures of the amp's innards, and then post them on here. Maybe someone can help you from just seeing those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nico de Roode Posted January 16, 2006 Members Share Posted January 16, 2006 this is am amp modeller preset of the jcm 800 with emg'shttp://www.nomadfactory.com/products/rockamp/MP3/Jimmy/INTRO.mp3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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