Jcm 800's good or not?

[Elf Slayer 9/9/9]

What is everyone's opinion on the Jcm 800, i know Slayer has used them in the past and continues to use them or atleast Kerry King does and Zakk Wylde does too. I'm wondering if the amp would be worth money and i'm wondering how ballsy, crunchyand heavy the tone can get? Does anyone on the board own one, i wanna get one/try one out maybe a tad bit because Slayer has used them and i like their brutal tone on Hell Awaits/Reign In Blood.

The amp if i do get will be a 50 Watt 1X12 Jcm 800 used for 550$. But basically i wanted to know if this amp could do the duty for playing really fucking heavy shit Death Metal/Grindcore/Thrash tonewise for example i'm talking, early Slayer, Kreator, Morbid Angel, Testament(The Gathering), Death etc etc

 

[scarr3d]

i own a JCM800 model 2203. you won't get the slayer tone with the amp alone. it's just way to clean, (think AC/DC tone.)

you can't crank the master to really drive it because this amp is so FUCKING LOUD. i don't think i've ever gotten the master volume past 4. btw, pulling tubes out doesn't help. (and it's bad for the amp.) get a newer model all tube marshall, or buy my amp.

 

[Vienyard]

Yeah, totally depends on how loud you wanna play and whatnot. If youre just a practicing musician, it'd be silly to get the 800 unless you got a rehearsal space or cool fuckin' neighbors. Marshalls are sickeningly loud for the most part.

Ya gotta keep in mind that the bigger thrash heavyweights youre mentioning need that raw power that a (few) Marshall stacks will give you. So, it all depends on your need. If you dont have the means, youre not gonna get that tone.

Death's tone = Marshall Valvestate (the original heads). Dimmu used to use them as well. I use the updated Marshall Valvestate 2000 AVT series-they updated the tones and it is far more versatile (actually the most versatile Marshall out there, and thats not just my opinion), warm, and powerful than the old series. It has a tube preamp, but they boosted the solid state power amp and it's totally better. I'd recommend that amp to anyone, gigging or not.

 

[Elf Slayer 9/9/9]

i see, well i'm not exactly a practicing musician i'm trying to get a few bands together and i just wanted a good amp that could put out some crushing tone. So i'll check what other kinds of marshalls or amps there are out there. Vienyard i like Chuck's tone on the last few albums of theirs but i wouldn't wanna sound like that i like their old tone off of Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy, it sounds more brutal IMO. But i will look into those valvestates and some other amps, thanks for your help guys.

 

[Sunbane]

According to my experience, it's difficult to get a good sound from the valvestate in a band situation. I used the original Valvestate 100W head in a half stack configuration (4x12" valvestate cab). While the amp sounded great on its own, it drowned completely in the mix. I found myself battling the sound of the bass guitar and I had to bump the treble/middle to cut through - and that's when it would start to sound like shit. At stage volumes, I could only be heard if I dialled in a nasty Slayerish sound - not quite what I was shooting for.

Maybe it would get better with a wide, parametric EQ on the FX-loop and some time spent on setup. I dunno - just wanted to share my experiences.

/Sun'

 

[Vienyard]

Yeah, I think the old valvestate's sucked big time. But the 2000 AVT models are a whole different story in my eyes. I used it gigging quite a bit and it really held up and cut thru. But I like a real nasty, midrangey tone. Not trebly, but just....midrangey. And a lot of it. That's prolly why it cut thru so well.

 

[scarr3d]

if you're going to get a marshall, don't compromise. get an all tube model. not any of the low end "hybrid" shit...like valvestates. i'm not familiar with AVT's, are they all tube? the big chains seem to be pushing the AVT's pretty hard, so...they're most likely garbage. heh.

 

[Vienyard]

AVT's are not all tube. But that's fine. Like I said, they reconfigured their solid state power amp and it's fuckin sweet. But to each their own I guess.

 

[TekChef]

One thing that has not been mentioned is the fact that Zakk's and Slayer's JCM 800s have been modded..they have been hotrodded to give more gain.

The JCM 800 is a good marshall..but..if you want the chainsaw gain, you are going to need to get it modded.

 

[ke2]

Originally posted by MetalChef
One thing that has not been mentioned is the fact that Zakk's and Slayer's JCM 800s have been modded..they have been hotrodded to give more gain.

The JCM 800 is a good marshall..but..if you want the chainsaw gain, you are going to need to get it modded.

Hello y`all, I`m new here
Zakk uses EMG pickups and a Boss SD-1 (Super overdrive), and when I had my old 2203, I could get pretty brutal sounds out of it by pushing the preamp with a pedal. Keep the drive low, and boost the level. KK uses(used??) a half rack EQ as a signal boost, and he uses EMG`s as well

Knut E

 

[TekChef]

I was aware that they Used EMGs, but I recall reading that Zakk's is modded. I will have to dig up the URL

 

[ke2]

Originally posted by MetalChef
I was aware that they Used EMGs, but I recall reading that Zakk's is modded. I will have to dig up the URL

I know that he uses 6550 tubes in it, and there was a lot of rumours that he had had it modded by M&G amplification, but other sources said it was not true, and now he has a sig. model by Marshall etc etc...It probably is modded in a way...

 

[Elf Slayer 9/9/9]

Well i don't have much money or any money at all right now and i don't think i'd have enough to hot rod that amp to get it close to the tone i want.. so i think i'll just look around the amps and see what one i like best. What would help is can you guys suggest any amps that have a ballsy, high gain, amp? I'm not sure i want a valvestate my friend has one its an ok amp, i just think i'd want something with all tubes in it.

 

[ke2]

I agree with the tubes idea Look for used stuff in your local shops. )I`ve read that MARS is going down, maybe a possibility for a good buy there, if you have a MARS nearby, that is..

Carvin MTS has got good reviews(as well as bad ones, but I
believe such a big company would keep the guarantee, and fix any problems you might have)

Carvin Legacy(you might need an additional OD pedal for this one, depending on how heavy you need it to be)

Look for used Laney pro tube amps, or check out the Laney GH 50/100L amps. They are similar to the 2203, but have a footswitchable extra gain stage, and when turned up, these have a lot of gain.

With that said, the Marshall will probably sound really good, but it is VERY difficult to get a 1x12 to push a lot of low end, so it won`t give you "chest thump", if you understand? If you could get an external cab, such as this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=919633206
you`d be better off

Well, I guess this is enough ranting
Cheers,
Knut E