Members Grazzhoppa Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 hey guys i just picked this up off a guy from craigslist a few hours ago. i traded an alesis micron (that i paid 315 for) for it. i think i got a pretty good deal. its a marshall jcm 900 mark III 50 watt hi gain head. so here are my questions: anyone have a good (or at least passable) clean setting? can anyone recommend me some speakers? i think im gonna order a cab from avatar. i think it might need some new tubes and definitely some new pots as well. im a noob at this whole tube amp thing so if you guys could fill me in that would be great. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grazzhoppa Posted May 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 bump, no one cares? haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mc5nrg Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 -don't run it without a speaker cab -let it warm up for a minute or two before you flip the standby switch so that you have sound. When you turn it off hit the standby switch after the power switch so its in standby mode when you turn it on later. Don't let it sit around on standby forever, just turn it off. -use a speaker cable not an instrument cable to connect the head to the speaker cab Since I am not familiar with the amp's controls and can't see them in your photo- the basic method to getting a clean tone is running the master volume up and keeping the preamp volume down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Moot Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Ditto for mc5nrg's post. And Congratulations! Cool amp for your first tube head. It's a pain in the butt to change pots on that amp. Instead, get some isopropyl alcohol and apply some to the stem of each pot's shaft. Then rotate the shaft to both extremes repeatedly and it should move the gunk to the 0 and 10 possitions, cleaning up the pots for the rest of the range. Tubes are always fun to trade. Make sure to get a good speaker and cab. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members leelee Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 The JCM 900 MkIII was also my first tube amp too. I think I put a set of JJ E34Ls in the power section which gave it some more low end and darkened the amp up a bit. I would definitely go for some Vintage30's for that amp. Not the best for clean sounds but it just works wonders with the crunch tones. As for recommended settings, I don't remember any of them since it's been over 3 or 4 years that I've had the amp. However, like any other amp, I suggest you to put everything at 12oclock and tweak it from there. Have fun with the amp! If I remembered right the amp takes pedals extremely well. Give it a boost and it'll easily become a versatile 3 channel amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_bleeding Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 the MK 3 is a dual master, so it has a single preamp with footswitchable master volumes. So you dial in your tone, and can play it at 2 volumes. You'll have to get your clean tone by rolling off guitar volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattLivingInVan Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 nice deal.and your local-ish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xtchc1978 Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Had one for a while and my favorite speakers were greenbacks, crank that sucker up a bit, keep the highs tamed you can manage some decent tones out of one of those. A good boost can open up some more potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Geeter Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congratulations and Happy New Amp Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundgardener75 Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 +1 for Vintage 30 speakers. Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alex W Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 For Marshall's I always like Greenbacks. They sound the best with Marshall distortion in my humble opinion. Actually any mid heavy amp I prefer Greenbacks. V30's tend to sound too ice pick-ish to me unless they are good and broken in but I have never had them in a Marshall so I have no idea how they sound in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les Paul Lover Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Happy NAD!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Turn that {censored} down, I'm trying to do my yoga. Oh, and happy new amp day. Avatar cabs are pretty good deals. You can get this 2 x 12 with Celestion V30's or G12 H30's for $399. The speakers by themselves are $300, so the cab is basically $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Will Chen Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members A-20 Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congratulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Krashpad Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congrats! (o)(o) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members itkindaworks Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 I had one of them, it didn't do clean very well IMO, mostly crunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ouzhewen Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congrats! Many seem to be satisfied with http://www.avatarspeakers.com/ for their cab needs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kid Klash Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 I've got one of those (look at my avatar) - the official name/model is a JCM 900 Super Lead MKIII, model 2500. Great and underappreciated rock amp. It's heads and shoulders better than the dual reverb version of the JCM 900 too, so you got the one to get! As mentioned before, the basic method to getting a clean tone is running the master volume up and keeping the preamp volume down. By all means, retube it with EL-34's instead of 6550's if you want a true Marshall sound. Many of the Super Leads (SL) were biased "too cold", and a lot of them came with 6550 power amp tubes. I's suggest re-tubing with your favorite brand of EL-34's, and have someone knowledgable check and crank up the bias if it appears to be see too cold. The JCM 900 series replaced the JCM 800 series, and was designed to do hard rock, with more gain than the JCM 800 series. So, you can get a decent clean tone out of it, but you need to crank the master volume up and the preamp volume down to get it. I'd also suggest just cleaning the pots rather than replacing them. There are several good spray-on pot cleaners available, and a nifty "sleeve" that you slip over the pot shaft and spray the cleaner into, to direct the cleaner into the pots. With the sleeve, you won't even need to take the chassis out of the cabinet. You might be lucky enough to be able to turn each pot clockwise-counterclockwise a few dozen times and clear up the "scratchiness". Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congrats man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Woody_in_MN Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Nothing like a Marshall Tube head. HNAD. - w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar Heel Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 HNAD! The day I bought my first tube amp was a great day. Finally, my guitars were sounding like I had always wanted them to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Davo17 Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 HAPPY NAD! I dont have any first hand experience with Marshall tube amps, but I do know Celestion Vintage 30's sound great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blazingblake Posted May 5, 2009 Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 Congratulations happy NAD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grazzhoppa Posted May 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 5, 2009 thanks guys! im definitely gonna be cleaning the pots then and it already has el34's (groove tube i think) so i think after i get a cab ill be set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.