NAD: Marshall JCM800 2203x

so, after a few more rehearsals and a bunch of live shows i can add the following:

- generally speaking, the fact that it's a single channel amp doesn't bother me the least. i keep the TS on all the time for rhythms and leads, place dd7 in the fx loop for lead and clean parts, and just disengage the TS and roll back the gtr volume for cleans. works like a charm.
- i like the fact that the amp is very dynamic, raw, and packs a lot of power and punch. it cuts through the mix like crazy, not even close to anything i've heard before. the 5150 and JVM can both be pretty devastating in a live situation when dialed correctly, but they almost vanish against the 800. which is nice :)
- now, i don't like that i have to rely heavily on pedal gain to get into my desired gain territory. i'm not using a lot of gain (JVM OD2 orange at 1,5/10, no boost), but the 2203 is hardly in hard rock territory even with the gain dimed. consequently, the TS has the level dimed and gain around 3/10, which just adds an undesireable pedal-style coating to the gain structure....
- moreover, it's just too damn bright. my settings: presence 0, bass 7, mid 7, treble 3, master 3, preamp 10, high input. with these settings the brightness is somewhat OK, but it starts to sound a tad muffled, and when i add some presence or treble that fuzz reappears.
interestingly, that fuzzy quality completely vanishes once the whole band starts playing. sounds pretty good actually....but every time i start a song, play a break etc i kinda frown about the buzzy tone.....

to be honest, the jvm has much nicer mids and treble, but it doesn't even come close in terms of punch dynamics and openness/rawness.

any ideas?
i'm basically looking for less fuzzy buzzy gain, MORE gain so i don't have to push it as hard with the TS, while still retaining dynamics to get a clean-ish sound.

btw, cabs used: marshall 1960AV, 1960 A/B full stack, framus dragon with v30s. especially the 1960AV usually sounds great with any head, but doesn't convince me with the 800.
 
Look at the brightness capacitor mod for 800's. Just removes a single cap near the input, I believe. It should tame some brightness.

As for the gain... It's been too long since I worked with Marshall circuits to give you any info. But look up some mods.

Don't be concerned about fuzziness. It's the fuzz that helps you sound good in the mix. Period. There's nothing else I can say on that matter.
 
IIRC the bright cap only affects the tone if the gain isn't cranked, right? i keep it around 8/10 most of the time.....the gain difference to full tilt seems only slight, but it's getting muddier for some reason, even though i don't have to push it that hard with the TS.
 
I own a 2203ZW (Zakk Wylde - basically a regular 2203 with 6550 tubes and BLS graphics), I tried a TS9, a TS808 and a MXR Wylde. The TS9 is good but more rock oriented, TS808 is very clean for my taste and MXR Wylde is awesome, "instant high gain marshall crunch".
 
last rehearsal i tried my boss ge-7 in the loop.

aside from the fact that the ge-7 is a noisy piece of shit, the sound was CRUSHING.
i just dipped around 3k and boosted 1,5k-ish, and the fizz was pretty much gone. i was able to run the treble much higher which also got rid of that blanketed feeling too. i feel this is the way to go......it was pretty amazing, the sound was really really really good. the slight 1k boost gave it a nice snarl and midrange grind too.

any EQ pedal recommendations?? as i said the ge7 is a POS, most people tend to recommend the mxr 10band but it's damn expensive.
what i don't like about graphic eq pedals in general is that the faders are likely to accidentally shift during transport etc.....
the 6 band mxr isn't really an option, as i'd prefer to have a dedicated level fader so i can experiment with turning the EQ off to get a volume boost for lead parts. a pedalboard case might be the way to go here....
 
U can find modded ge7 s that deal with the noise issues but yea.. Wont fix ur issue with faders shifting. Although if ure dead set on a certain setting sure u can find a way to fix that problem but u can also check Stefftd's links i didnt check em yet seems interesting!