Scored an early JCM 800!!

I've got an '82 jcm800 2204 50 watter sitting at home, had it for about 4-5 years. Died on me early this year, brought it to a tech to get it fixed, got it back finally 4-5 months later and only got to play it for a few minutes before it died again, I haven't had the cash to get it fixed again...
Great amps, the tone is definately not for everyone and another pedal is very necessary to get it into high gain territory but it's so powerful and full and always cuts through.
I used to use a marshall guvnor with mine, sometimes used an SD-1 instead, never tried a tube screamer with it since I don't know anyone that has one!
Sickened as I only ever got to mic mine a handful of times and that was before I knew anything really about what I was doing, can't wait till I get it back up and running. Don't think I'll use that tech again- he took ages, was very expensive and he changed out the tubes but didn't tell me until I came to collect it, I would have liked to have a say in what tubes went into it, the brand he put in it I've never heard of!

My JCM 800 is covered in white tolex by stock, they made some in that colour to celebrate the anniversary that year!
 
The 2203 and 2204 amps bark like none other, but volume is really your friend with them. There isn't a whole pile of preamp gain, so you have to get the power amp working pretty hard to get them sounding right. Some sort of overdrive or clean boost into the front always helps, too.
 
Marcus,

Slayer tone is probably the worst example of how a JCM 800 can sound IMO. I love em as a band, but was never a fan of their thin and nasty tone.

Tone is a funny thing. It all comes down to personal preference so much! Who knows, Marcus might really dig an 800 if he could spend some time with one. For me, I usually don't judge an amp until I've played it, or if a majority of people I can trust think otherwise. Not saying this is you bro! But, I think if you spent some quality time with one in a band environment, on a nice vintage 30 cab, you would be pleasantly surprised.

All I'm saying is, a lot of people dismiss a tone or say it sucks, just because it's not their cup of tea. Again, not saying this is Marcus, just venting a bit I suppose haha.

I'm also very much into the downtuned stoner/doom/post-rock stuff, so it's a perfect choice for me. I just can't get enough of that raw midrange bark!

-Joe
 
Marcus,

Slayer tone is probably the worst example of how a JCM 800 can sound IMO. I love em as a band, but was never a fan of their thin and nasty tone.

Tone is a funny thing. It all comes down to personal preference so much! Who knows, Marcus might really dig an 800 if he could spend some time with one. For me, I usually don't judge an amp until I've played it, or if a majority of people I can trust think otherwise. Not saying this is you bro! But, I think if you spent some quality time with one in a band environment, on a nice vintage 30 cab, you would be pleasantly surprised.

All I'm saying is, a lot of people dismiss a tone or say it sucks, just because it's not their cup of tea. Again, not saying this is Marcus, just venting a bit I suppose haha.

I'm also very much into the downtuned stoner/doom/post-rock stuff, so it's a perfect choice for me. I just can't get enough of that raw midrange bark!

-Joe

Hahahahha, very tactfully put Joe :lol: And believe me, nothing would make me happier than to find another amp I love, and I've FAR from made up my mind - so impress me :heh:
 
Hahahahha, very tactfully put Joe :lol: And believe me, nothing would make me happier than to find another amp I love, and I've FAR from made up my mind - so impress me :heh:

Noooo really bro, I wasn't trying to paint that picture of you. I know you are a good dude so I wasn't trying to be a dick! I'm just saying I've seen it time and time again, and some might perceive your post that way. I've mostly seen it on HCAF, but we all know that place is a clusterfuck of misinformation anyway!

Also, I've admittedly dismissed amps in the past without playing them in a band environment or at the proper volume and always kick myself for doing so.

I actually had another 2203 back in 2001 that I bought for $480. I sold it like a fool!

-Joe
 
I'll try to impress with some clips...

Need to find a tight song to play. hmmmm. I'll probably vary it a bit. It will be with my Les Paul w/ passives though!

I can't wait to shake the walls of my house, hahaha. My dogs cower in the basement when I crank my amps, it's funny. :-P

-Joe
 
I'm jonesin' bad for some 800 tone. Especially the modded sounds, demanufacture! It doesn't surprise me that stuck mojo was modded 800, but fills in the blanks! Loved that guitar tone. I like the thrashy tones of scratchin' up marshalls with pedals too. Can the jmp-1 pre get anywhere near these sounds? Would love to have one with the JSX rather then two heads....cause its headin' that way!
 
Truthfully, the only example I can think of for the 800 tone is Slayer's...no thanks :zombie:

Dude, Fear Factory - Demanufacture :rock:

JCM800 into Mesa 4x12" with a B-tuned 6-stringer & EMGs. Obsolete is the same amp, but gain modded (even more?). It's a bit more unique tone, but I'm not such a big fan of it. I prefer the Demanufacture tone more.

Here's an old video, though just youtube "quality"
 
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Dude, Fear Factory - Demanufacture :rock:

JCM800 into Mesa 4x12" with a B-tuned 6-stringer & EMGs. Obsolete is the same amp, but gain modded (even more?). It's a bit more unique tone, but I'm not such a big fan of it. I prefer the Demanufacture tone more.

Here's an old video, though just youtube "quality"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHIsdpKWxbg

I was always under the impression that Demanufacture was a modded JCM800.
 
i still have a mid-80s 2210. a pity that the "clean" ist hardly that, otherwise it would surely be my main amp. playing leads is just so much fun - the tone just SINGS. it also the only amp ever that doesn't need a volume boost of some sort for leads. i usually just go straight in for my rhythm sound (i'm playing death metal btw, and the 2210 has plenty of gain for that, without any outboard gear), and use a tube screamer for leads to get a tad more saturation, thats it. sounds incredible. my other guitar player recently came to me and complained how the marshall destroys everthing, and i should go back to my framus cobra....he's right, the marshall reallly is a band-away amp ^^

just to add my .02$
 
Nice! I've always wanted to try one of the channel-switcher 800s.

The amp actually came yesterday and sounds ace! It's a bit worn, but who cares? Trannies look clean, controls all work fine, and it sounds great cranked.

-Joe