Marshall JMP-1 Tube MIDI Guitar Preamp

I play stuff like Children of Bodom, Firewind, Racer X, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Dream Theater and some 80s metal. This unit has way more than enough distortion in it to play that kind of music, and i don't understand why many reviews complain that the unit doesn't have enough distortion. I am not sure about extreme high-gain nu-metal stuff, since i don't play that stuff and i don't tune my guitars lower than D standard, but i think even if you were playing that kind of stuff it could work. After all,"7" from Slipknot used to use one of this units before. I think the unit has enough distortion in it to sustain the most screaming pinch harmonics, so don't take those reviews about weak distortion too seriously. The tone in OD2 is sounds more overdriven, and i prefer it better to the one in OD1. But OD1 is good in its own way, if you are into some classical stuff. I don't use the clean channels at this point much, but i think they sound ok. My primary guitar that I use with it is Edwards E-AL-120 with EMG HZ pickup. The tone i get from this guitar and amp is very hot and perfect for metal. I plug this unit through speaker simulation output straight to my computer, but i have pretty powerful speakers which are ideal for practicing. I am planning to buy a power amp and cabinets for this unit one day maybe, but right now i just don't see the point as i am pretty satisfied with the tone. People who complain about weakness of this unit, should try some hot EMG pickups i guess - that's one of my advices. I tried a guitar with seymour duncan 59 in the bridge through this unit - and the tone that i got wasn't as heavy as with my EMG. So maybe it's not all just about the distortion? I can also recommend distortion pedals, although for me it's enough distortion - i really love the natural tone that i get from it, and i don't feel like messing up with any pedals.

I am not a live performer, how would i know.

I've been playing for about 2.5 years. I can classify myself as an intermediate to advanced hobbyist. Music is my hobby and i don't make any living out of it. I play for own pleasure and my friends. As i mentioned, i play some metal and instrumental rock for pleasure. If this unit was stolen, i'd probably get another one at some point if i could find it for cheap.

The reason why i got this unit is because i wanted to have something that sounds awesome, something that is versatile and not expensive - after going through various dsp practice amps and computer programs such as amplitube and guitar rig2, where i could never achieve the desired tone, i finally realized that there is nothing better for me than a real valve-driven preamplifier. So i got this used and i feel very happy ever since. I would certainly recommend this unit to everybody - including people like me - who play at home for pleasure - simply because it's an amazing sounding device. Well, maybe professionals should look around more, but for us mortals - it's simply awesome.

There is absolutely nothing that i hate about this unit. I love everything. I can't really compare it to other units of its kind... because i didn't try any other preamps. But i bet others like Triaxis would be better, but they also cost more as well. I can say with confidence that this unit is certainly better than having a practice amp or using those programs such as guitar rig2.