Beast JCM900 Full Stack *NAD*

[Deftone]

For sale locally......

https://goldcountry.craigslist.org/msg/d/auburn-marshall-stack/7259246025.html

*EDIT* I just bought it for $1100.

 

[LP1865]

Thats a hell of a deal if it works.
The head seems to be in a good condition cosmetically.
I would retolex the cabs tho.
Assuming even $200 more for the tolex, its a good deal

 

[Quoitsman]

I bet the wife loves that sitting in the dining room.

 

[Deftone]

Thats a hell of a deal if it works.
The head seems to be in a good condition cosmetically.
I would retolex the cabs tho.
Assuming even $200 more for the tolex, its a good deal

Seems like a hell of a deal. I just watched a 900 sell on ebay for over $800.

A friend loaned me a JCM900 100w 1x12 combo and I was impressed with it. I don't think they are nearly as bad as people make them out to be.

 

[LP1865]

A friend loaned me a JCM900 100w 1x12 combo and I was impressed with it. I dont think they are have as bad as people make them out to be.

IMHO they sound better than the 800s
Just personal opinion

 

[Deftone]

It's a 50w, looks like 1960 cabs bought new in '97 according to the seller.

For comparison:

Marshall JCM 900 50W Hi-Gain Master Volume MKIII head w/ JCM 800 Lead 1960 bottom
$850 Local Pickup Only

https://reverb.com/item/139651-marshall-jcm-900-50w-hi-gain-master-volume-mkiii-head-w-jcm-800-lead-1960-bottom

 

[grumphh]

If you see a Marshall amp that is priced low, ask yourselves why the price is that low.

My experience with 900's and Anniversaries (which are from the 900 era as well) is that they lack fullness or have to many unpleasant highs.
The more you ladle on the distortion, the less this gets noticeable (which is why some apparantly like them i guess) - but if you are looking for "fat and full" tones at low or medium gain, these are NOT the amps to get.
Also, the high gain tones are fine for "cutting through a dense mix" but cutting is what these amps do best, and fat modernish rythm guitar isn't really in their repertoire - for that there are other amps altogether.

In any case, i'd save my money and go for better (imo) sounding marshalls, such as either 800's or earlier (even the 800 channelswitchers) or the DSL's and others that followed the 900's.
But i consider the early 90's the nadir of Marshall amps...


And a small PS. :
Whether the cab says 800 or 900 on it is completely irrelevant, there are no construction differences between them or any other 1960 cabs. 1960 cabs have been built the same way forever, and only the tags on the front have changed along with amp numbers. Oh, and speakers vary, depending on availability in the building era...
But a V30 JCM 900 cab is exactly the same cab as a V30 JCM800 cab

 

[rogue3]

I bet the wife loves that sitting in the dining room.

My moto,never accommodate any woman,wife or otherwise when it comes to gear.

edit: or when it comes to a stack.period.no peace.we can have no peace.

full disclaimer, but rightgeous owner... JCM 2203 vert input head...1982 heavy duty twin 4-12 cabs.the whole stack sounds nice.truth.

 

[your idol]

My experience with 900's and Anniversaries (which are from the 900 era as well) is that they lack fullness or have to many unpleasant highs.
The more you ladle on the distortion, the less this gets noticeable (which is why some apparantly like them i guess) - but if you are looking for "fat and full" tones at low or medium gain, these are NOT the amps to get.

My experience with 900 and SLX is that theyre reliable and easily made really nice with the most basic Boss eq pedal

 

[Deftone]

My experience with 900 and SLX is that theyre reliable and easily made really nice with the most basic Boss eq pedal

Yep, easy fixes.

If you see a Marshall amp that is priced low, ask yourselves why the price is that low.

My experience with 900's and Anniversaries (which are from the 900 era as well) is that they lack fullness or have to many unpleasant highs.
The more you ladle on the distortion, the less this gets noticeable (which is why some apparantly like them i guess) - but if you are looking for "fat and full" tones at low or medium gain, these are NOT the amps to get.
Also, the high gain tones are fine for "cutting through a dense mix" but cutting is what these amps do best, and fat modernish rythm guitar isn't really in their repertoire - for that there are other amps altogether.

In any case, i'd save my money and go for better (imo) sounding marshalls, such as either 800's or earlier (even the 800 channelswitchers) or the DSL's and others that followed the 900's.
But i consider the early 90's the nadir of Marshall amps...


And a small PS. :
Whether the cab says 800 or 900 on it is completely irrelevant, there are no construction differences between them or any other 1960 cabs. 1960 cabs have been built the same way forever, and only the tags on the front have changed along with amp numbers. Oh, and speakers vary, depending on availability in the building era...
But a V30 JCM 900 cab is exactly the same cab as a V30 JCM800 cab

These amps kick ass. Good as a JCM800? Not IMHO. But I can definitely work with one. I usually go clean and eq/dist in front and maybe another eq in the loop. Anyway, I'd likely just play with it for a while then flip it for a profit. Or keep it around for decoration/conversation piece.

FYI cabs matter because 800's have higher resale than 900's. But at the moment I don't even know if it's either one.

Email responses and it sounds like someone is selling it for their son. Probably gone already.

I just posted it because I thought it looked kinda cool......

 

[grumphh]

FYI cabs matter because 800's have higher resale than 900's. But at the moment I don't even know if it's either one.

"Resale" - yes, that is exactly why i wrote the little PS.
So that people who are in the market for a cab can actually have facts to work with rather than those magic numbers 800 or 900, which in the case of cabs are totally meaningless as the cabs are built in exactly the same way.

The stigma of the 900 amps means that 900 cabs are very often bargains and if you are set on having that Marshall logo on your speaker holding crate, the 900 cabs are often a cheap way of getting it.

As for cleans - the MkIIIs (dual master volume models) don't really have any cleans - they have "less drive" and "more drive", and all drive options "cut" like a mofo, but do not give a nice/full low gain tone (imo, of course).
Perhaps an EQ in the loop is sort of a band aid for a slightly fatter tone, but OD pedals in front? Nahhh...

Disclosure: The MkIII was my first Marshall, and it just didn't sound like i wanted it to at all - there was always a lack of bottom end combined with an abrasive top end, no matter the volume or the eq.
Sure, i was heard over the bass and drums, but in the same way that you can hear a bandsaw going through a nail in a factory.
Audible, certainly, pleasant? No.

 

[Deftone]

To each his own.

 

[Deftone]

This one sounds pretty good (modded)

I'm gonna check it out today.

 

[Deftone]

A gut shot.......

This fucker is LOUD. 6L6/5881's instead of EL34's which kind of surprised me. It looks like it came from the factory that way as there is a sticker inside. Have not tried the 1/2 power switch (25w) yet. I already found some good tones going straight in. Can't wait to try my pedal board with it today.

Cabs turned out to be 1960 Vintage (1960AV & 1960BV) Also dated '96. They have Marshall branded Celestion Vintage 30's.

Really looking forward to playing around with this thing. I want to try my Phaez Nailbomb (Mesa Single Rec) and Jubenile (JCM800 Jubilee) on top of a full stack (they're on a 2061cx style 2x12 now). Then I'm going to swap in two G12T-75's I have with the V30's and see how that sounds with each amp.

I can say I got the cabs $250 each and the head for $600. Looks like the speakers alone should fetch $100 x 8....I think I did fine.

Time to go play...bye for now!

 

[Deftone]

25w mode with my board sounds killer, forgot to switch back to 50w. Wont be replacing my Phaez amps anytime soon but I can definitely work with it.

*EDIT* THIS THING IS FEROCIOUS! It's no 800 but damn, it sounds vicious. I have both channels dialed in for dirty or clean. I think the cleans are great. It loves my Les Paul with EMG's.....

 

[Deftone]

The other part of this new toy is the resto project. If you notice in the 1st pic at the previous owner's house, the white spots on the front of the head. Turns out those are spots of Hot Glue. I was able to get most of it out of the fabric by putting a piece of thick paper on it and resting a hot iron on top of that.

Also, each of the cabs had one handle broken off and missing so I pulled one off the B cab and put it on the A cab. Still need two handles for the B cab though.

 

[The Ballzz]

@Deftone
Scumback sells metal handles that are properly sized and screw/rivet hole alignment (although that's less of an issue) for about the same price as the crappy plastic replacements.

Scumbacks Speakers Cabinet Metal Handles

www.scumbackspeakers.com

Just Sayin'
Gene

 

[truckermde]

Disclosure: The MkIII was my first Marshall, and it just didn't sound like i wanted it to at all - there was always a lack of bottom end combined with an abrasive top end, no matter the volume or the eq.
Sure, i was heard over the bass and drums, but in the same way that you can hear a bandsaw going through a nail in a factory.
Audible, certainly, pleasant? No.

Ever heard of changing the tubes?

lol

 

[truckermde]

Killer, bro!

That's awesome, and a cool project as well.

HNAD

 

[grumphh]

Ever heard of changing the tubes?

lol

Being a cheapskate i have only owned used amps - all the other ones sounded just fine, even with old tubes.

Tone is in the circuit.
Some circuits suck.

Tube changes do not change the fundamental tone of an amp they just take what is there and apply slightly different eq curves to the sound.
And "slightly" is the important word here, the (frankly idiotic) claims about "night and day differences" are just tube salesmens marketing bollocks...