classic rock marshall to go with les paul

[LedZepRulz]

TSL is definitely nice, that was another close pick for me before I bought the 900.

I sold my tsl, and now I use a 900, but if I had it to do over again, I probably woulda kept the tsl and sold the 900.

 

[Boleskinehouse]

The only difference is the SL-X has an extra pre-amp tube. Super Lead eXtended.. And it MUST have EL34s.. The 5881s are no good in that amp.

 

[xguitardevilx]

Also, a lot of SL-Xs came with 5881s... EL34s are the way to go..

The extra pre-amp just gives it more gain if you want it, but there's no need to use it all.

My 900 has EL34's too.

 

[Mike-t]

For classic rock tones don't limit yourself to a Marshall, especially if you want go for a combo. The reality is that the really great Marshall amps are all painfully expensive and loud. So they aren't worth the effort unless you have a massive budget and sound proof walls.

If you have to go Marshall remember a lot of their reissues and modern amps aren't really that good. The boutique amp makers will beat them hands down every time. Though I would suggest a look at the recent 1974x combo reissue. I found an original one and it was outstanding, so if the reissue is faithful to the original you would be onto a winner. It looks fantastic, it's circuit is built onto a handwired tagboard, it doesn't have a master volume (that on the whole sound horrible) and it has a classic Marshall voice. That is more then I can say for most modern Marshalls.

The reality is that you'll find far better amps if you look beyond the Marshall brand if you are looking outside the pre-1973 vintage market.

That seems to contradict everything posted in this thread

 

[Boleskinehouse]

Anyway... 900s is getting way off topic. If the dude wants classic rock tone from a Marshall, he needs to get a Vintage/Modern.



*patiently waits for everybody to knock those too*

 

[Madguitarist78]

I know I'm probably being the devils advocate but I have never cared for the 900 and I prefer the 800.

Just sayin,

 

[xguitardevilx]

I know I'm probably being the devils advocate but I have never cared for the 900 and I prefer the 800.

Just sayin,

Not trying to be devils advocate here but, probably because the majority of this forum has lead you to that preference.

 

[Boleskinehouse]

Some '82 JCM800 2203...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvFdjogavA8]YouTube - Marshall JCM 800 2203, low vol. demo.[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkMaEoc2EGY]YouTube - Marshall 2203 low vol. demo pt. II[/ame]


If you need more gain than that, you're hiding behind it..



Vintage/Modern.. Low dynamic range, not much gain..

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFZhd-espDc]YouTube - SKATTER90BRANE guitar pickups[/ame]


I need to make more videos.

 

[xguitardevilx]

Anyway... 900s is getting way off topic. If the dude wants classic rock tone from a Marshall, he needs to get a Vintage/Modern.



*patiently waits for everybody to knock those too*

Vintage Moderns suck!

 

[Madguitarist78]

Not trying to be devils advocate here but, probably because the majority of this forum has lead you to that preference.

Well as I can see, you and I play quite different genres of music. The 800 suits mine and the 900 suits yours. The extra gain is not important to me and sometimes it will mess with a good tube screamer.

 

[AXE]

I thoroughly abused a 2266c last week and I personally thought it was a great sounding amp.

But coming to a forum and asking will yield more answers than asshairs.

Go play some.

 

[lp_junkie]

so how does the 401 sound pushing two 4x12's? is it enough watts?

it's not much different than my old JCM800 50 watt heads really, I can't tell any difference between a 40 and a 50 watter. The only real difference with running a 100 watt head is the extra headroom, but the lower watt amps break up sooner.

 

[st.bede]

I know I'm probably being the devils advocate but I have never cared for the 900 and I prefer the 800.

Just sayin,

hate agree but, I do...


(also, to mention again look at a winfield thomas amp)

 

[Jesa]

My first Marshall was:

JCM 800 50Watt combo LEAD, 2x12 G12-70. Better tone, not enough gain, no bottom end, but with a good overdrive pedal it worked ok.

After that,
I`ve owned a JCM 900 100W head and ran it through a 4x12 cab with H30 celestions, and I`ve tried it with the 4x12 G12-75 (works better with them)...

It simply does not delever THE tone of rock you`re planning to get!
Too thin, to sythetic.

Couple of years went by and I`ve finally bought it!
JMP 50 Watt Super Lead (converted to Master Volume). Ran it through a 4x12 with H30 speakers.

This is it!
The only thing better is a JMP 100W head, but it`s simply too loud!

Plexy is even better, a friend of mine has a couple of them, and runs them thorugh 4x12 cabs with H30 and G12-25 (vintage speakers cca 1975-1980).
The best tone I`ve ever heard was delivered through those amps.

During the years I`ve played a JCM 2000 (head). Nice amp, modern tone, but, I don`t like it!
I`ve played on a Vintage Modern - died after 4 days (brand new). I don`t like the tone.

Also I`ve been lucky enough to play through a Randy Road half stack.
The power, the brutality, OMG!!! The only problem, it`s way too loud But it deliveres THE tone.

So -
1st place - 100W PLEXY
2nd place - 2203 (JMP 100 W)
2nd place - JCM 800 100Watt, master volume (`till `82.)
3rd place - JMP 50 Watt (Master Volume)

HEADS, ran through a 4x12 cab with H30 or G12-25w speakers.

P.S. I`ve also played on a JTM 45 (authentic) - great tone, blues/rock style, but it`s very hard to deliver any kind of heavy sound with it.
I`ve tried an authentic Bluesbreaker combo, but I simply can not recall the impression, it was way way back...

I`ve also owned a JTM 60 combo - cute amp for small gigs and rehersalas, parallel / series fx loop, but it never really bought me with its personality.

 

[bluefrog]

use JTM or 18watt plexi and turn it all up this is classic plexi nirvana.
or a good valve amp and a box of rock from zvex.
this is what I am doing to play classic, blues , abb, lyn/skyn and mule stuff
and have a LP axe with WCRs in...
I wd not say a jcm800 /22xx cannot do this but I might get loud!

 

[dcooper830]

I get great classic rock tones with either my JCM 2000 DSL 100 or my JCM 800 2203X.

Just turn the gain down and turn the volume up!

 

[AxlOz]

I own a 900 slx 50w head and its quite good. Can have too much gain and get mushy if you crank your saturation up too much though, but it cleans up nicely for a singe channel (very) hi gain amp.. When buying it I was A/B'ing between this one and an early jcm900 (not the dual reverb model), and they sounded very similar overall, but the slx won out as it maintained more warmth with higher gain, the standard 900 started getting very thin..

More recently I played a 100w Vintage modern. I was expecting to sound a bit ordinary given all ive read on them but I was actually pretty surprised how warm it was. It doesnt nail a jcm800 tone, or a TSL distortion tone, but I base an amp on how much of its tonal and gain range I can forseeably use and I'd rate the 100w VM at a pretty high 80-85%. If I had cash to spare i'd have bought it.

The TSL series are way too shrill when the gain kicks up high (tried these when trying the 900 and slx), and the DSL's I'm yet to play.. 800's are tops but getting old now so trannys and things become a little less reliable for constant gigging..

To the OP, try lots of marshalls out. THe older ones (800s & 900s) will differ between amps of the exact same model - some good, some are bad.. Newer ones are more consistant. Also, try sovtek if you can find one. Slightly different but good rock tones, you'll either love it or hate it..

 

[Tassel]

JVM or Vintage Modern 100w stacks