2203 vs....all the other amps (Clips)

[Lasse Lammert]

HEy...since my usual shootouts are more or less scooped high gain tones I thought I'd give you something else this time.....middy Marshall goodness

Many of todays amps are based on the good old 2203, some even claim to be a almost perfect replica (JVM crunch channel), so I thought it'd be interesting to hear how close those modern amps really get....

for this test I didn't use the Rectos etc, and unfortunately not the Überschall either (would have made sense, but it's on its way to have to tranny replaced with the 230v version atm, so it's not available).

What I did is record a mid-heavy reference sound with a stock 1978 JMP2203 and then I tried to get close to that sound with the modern amps..I didn't tweak for ages to get as close as possible...but well, until it was in the ballpark at least.

The amps used:
JMP2203
JVM410/Crunch/Orange
Krankenstein+
EVH5150III Blue Channel
Earforce Two

The zip file contains the 16bit wavs as well as a text file with the settings I used for this test.

2203Test Zipped

and if you're too lazy to download a zip, here are the individual files:


JMP2203
JVM Orange Crunch
5150III Blue
Earforce Two
Krankenstein+

 

[kvoid]

Lasse there's a mod for the crunch channel on the JVM that will make it an exact replica

See JVM forum.

 

[Skyweaver]

The 2203 is just great some of those come nowhere near it....

 

[Lasse Lammert]

yeah, the only amp that has the same "directness"/"openess" when playing through it is the earforce

 

[Skyweaver]

yep the earforce came close....damm now I want a 2203

 

[Derpsicle]

Damn I want the Earforce

 

[MetalJonesy]

the EVH blue and 2203 sound almost identical! have that lovely high end fizz!!

 

[Lasse Lammert]

the EVH blue and 2203 sound almost identical! have that lovely high end fizz!!

I agree about that sizzle, but other than that I think the EVH sounds very different in the mids and lows

 

[Jaymz]

How does the KK version compare to the classic?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

very close, it doesn't have 100% of the openess and sizzle, but all the punch.

 

[Jaymz]

Yeah I think the EVH and the 2203 are pretty close, the Earforce having more bitey high mids.

All sound good! Suprised at how scooped the JVM is actually.

 

[nwright]

IMO the JVM and Krank sounded the most different. the 5150III, 2203 and Earforce sounded pretty similar, with the 5150III and 2203 sounding more similar to me and the Earforce a bit different in the mids/lows. IMO in a mix, the differences would be even less apparent.

TBH, I found the Earforce to be my favorite for this tone, not the 2203.