A JVM showed up in a local store.

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thiswaythatway
thiswaythatway
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I finally played a JVM as a store got one in, not GC i might add. I liked it a lot better than the VM. To me it's not hard to tweak this amp at all, just take it one channel at a time. I kept everything around noon, but of course i gunned the gains.

First off, it's got plenty of gain, maybe not as much as i thought. Not as much as my MarkIV but since it probably goes to the point where you won't need a stompbox it really isn't much of an issue. I was able to play leads comfortably even at low volumes. The amp didn't squeel like some people have complained. The different modes are cool but i found that even after a few minutes i wasn't switching through them because i had a few i liked. The Orange modes to me sounded the best, especially on OD2. Red modes sounded wierd to me, Orange sounded better.

The reverbs sounded decent, no complaints there. I didn't even bother with the clean :D I checked out crunch briefly and went through each mode, sounded good for crunchy chords. Most of my time was spent on OD1 and 2.

At low volumes it sounded real good for leads but the rhythm tones weren't very tight, sounded better a little louder. This is a Marshall all the way so if you thought OD2 was going to be Marshalls answer to Boogie for modern stuff, that's not the case. It still sounds like a Marshall and doesn't sound anything like a MarkIV or a Recto.

Overall i thought it was very edgy sounding and i kept trying to dial it in for a smoother sound. I'm not sure what speakers were in the cab though. But i have been playing Boogies for years now so I'm used to a smoother more fluid type of gain. So i walked away somewhat impressed. The amp will deliver for a lot of people. But I'm certain that I'm selling the one i have coming in. For my style and playing the MarkIV suits me much and at low volumes the Boogies are much better. And with all the channels and modes on the JVM and the more i was playing, the less i was switching around which made me think i could do the same thing with an amp with fewer options but with a few pedals to help out.

And i stopped by a GC and played the VM again, still don't like it but it sound a bit better when turned up. We compared it to the DSL again and i think i would have picked the DSL again.

But funny thing, i plugged into a Lonestar Special and for me, it was the best of the day. All it needs is a pedal and it just RIPS. It did have one of those MC90's which i like a lot.
 
Lonestar special head into a mesa 4x10 sounds even better to me than the combo.
 
Danny I agree that the Mk IV is better at low volumes, probably has a bit more gain and is more liquidy. However with some real volume the amp tightensup nicely and comes alive. This amp is my dream come true. Unfortunately for a player to get the most from it you need louder volume than my small room really allows for. In that confined space the sound will just bounce of the walls and simply doesn't allow the me to hear to tone the cabs putting out. When I took it to a local store and let it rip I could not have been happier with my amp. That said it is one of the better low volume amps I've owned. But like mosy Marshalls it shines when the power section is working and the speakers are moving.

Do you agree that the OD channels are nothing like the JCM2000 series? I think th JVM is a thicker sounding amp. Maybe even a darker sounding Marshall.
 
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yngzaklynch":4f75f said:
Danny I agree that the Mk IV is better at low volumes, probably has a bit more gain and is more liquidy. However with some real volume the amp tightensup nicely and comes alive. This amp is my dream come true. Unfortunately for a player to get the most from it you need louder volume than my small room really allows for. In that confined space the sound will just bounce of the walls and simply doesn't allow the me to hear to tone the cabs putting out. When I took it to a local store and let it rip I could not have been happier with my amp. That said it is one of the better low volume amps I've owned. But like mosy Marshalls it shines when the power section is working and the speakers are moving.

Do you agree that the OD channels are nothing like the JCM2000 series? I think th JVM is a thicker sounding amp. Maybe even a darker sounding Marshall.
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I like it better than the DSL, TSL, or JCM800 reissues i have played. But i don't feel the JVM blows the DSL out of the water by any means, versatility yes, but tonewise i think the DSL can hang if it has a Stompbox. The JVM would be a really good amp for a gigging player in a cover band. For at home playing i really don't see myself ever owning a Marshall again because of the volume issue.
Althought the JVM is pretty decent at low volumes, it's a much better bedroom amp than a Splawn Quickrod. But when a Splawn gets turned up lookout. I have heard 2 Quickrods loud and they are monsters, from what i heard the Quickrod sounded more massive and thick compared to the JVM. Not to say the JVM is thin but it didn't slam me like a sledgehammer that the QR's did. But again, i don't think i liked the cab the JVM was on, it would probably sound better on some old beat in cab.
 
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Jdub":b78a0 said:
Great review!!
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If Marshall came up with a model that just had OD2 Orange from the JVM, the Cleans Green mode, and the Orange from the crunch channel, 2 master volumes, and an $1100 price, well that would be cool. :cool:
 
I bought a jvm a week ago and I already sold it. I really wanted to keep it but my splawns gain ch was a lot better sounding to me. I knew I would never play the jvm as long as I owned the splawn. I was hoping the jvm would blow away the splawn because its got 4ch,midi,and a better clean. But I wasn't blown away with the jvm and I sold it.
 
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danyeo":ba205 said:
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If Marshall came up with a model that just had OD2 Orange from the JVM, the Cleans Green mode, and the Orange from the crunch channel, 2 master volumes, and an $1100 price, well that would be cool. :cool:
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That's funny, I said almost exactly the same thing after playing it. Except I could do with just the clean green, and three crunch modes. Heck, even just the crunch channel w/ 3 modes in a standalone smallbox 50w amp would be sweet.

The only Splawn I've ever played/heard was Jim's Competition. Compared to the JVM, it was no contest...the JVM is a lot more amp.
 
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danyeo":a2746 said:
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I like it better than the DSL, TSL, or JCM800 reissues i have played. But i don't feel the JVM blows the DSL out of the water by any means, versatility yes, but tonewise i think the DSL can hang if it has a Stompbox. The JVM would be a really good amp for a gigging player in a cover band. For at home playing i really don't see myself ever owning a Marshall again because of the volume issue.
Althought the JVM is pretty decent at low volumes, it's a much better bedroom amp than a Splawn Quickrod. But when a Splawn gets turned up lookout. I have heard 2 Quickrods loud and they are monsters, from what i heard the Quickrod sounded more massive and thick compared to the JVM. Not to say the JVM is thin but it didn't slam me like a sledgehammer that the QR's did. But again, i don't think i liked the cab the JVM was on, it would probably sound better on some old beat in cab.
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I've spent my life in search of the ultimate 3 channel amp (clean/crunch/lead). In my mind, the ultimate amp would have at least 3 channels and each channel would be able to be boosted in volume without changing the tone for leads. I've bought and sold more amps than I can count on this quest. I've yet to find that ultimate amp.

When I heard about the JVM it sounded too good to be true. I just bought a Splawn QuickRod (a '06 model with the shared gain for clean and OD) and it's the best hot rod Marshall amp I've ever played without a doubt. The Splawn clean on my amp sucks, but the solo boost and OD1/OD2 features on the footswitch make the amp so versatile that it's as close to my ideal amp as possible, minus the good clean channel.

I will try out a JVM, and if I love it I'll replace the Splawn with one, but I have serious doubts that it can come close to the Splawn overdrive. Still, I applaud Marshall for making the most versatile amp ever built and from what I hear it's the best sounding amp they've made in 20 years, so Marshall is doing something right.
 
As much as I wanted to like my Splawn, I just couldn't. To bright and I didn't like the feel. Even cranked. Maybe if I would have changed the power tubes I would have felt differently.

IMO the JVM sounds much nicer and has a better feel to it. If somebody else likes their Splawn more, cool. I'll stick with my JVM.
 
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yngzaklynch":ecf7f said:
As much as I wanted to like my Splawn, I just couldn't. To bright and I didn't like the feel. Even cranked. Maybe if I would have changed the power tubes I would have felt differently.

IMO the JVM sounds much nicer and has a better feel to it. If somebody else likes their Splawn more, cool. I'll stick with my JVM.
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I assure you that no matter what you put in the Splawn tube wise.... the feel would not change. I think Scott makes a good amp but there is something in the midrange that I just don't dig. (Others will and do!! I just Don't)
TO be honest with you, for lack of better words, The splawn was just vanilla to me.

That said, It's great that we now have so many amps to choose from. Lots of guys are going to still love their Splawns which is really cool. I say play what suites you best!
 
The Splawn is fairly bright, and I prefer a darker tone. I've found that the way I dial in the amp, combined with speakers, will let me find a sound I like. I think the midrange thing you're talking about is one of the things I like about the Splawn, but I tend to like a lot of mids.

I can tell you that the Splawn is an amp made for playing live, not for home use. It's one of those amps that just comes alive in a full band mix. Some amps sound great in a room alone but get lost in a mix, the Splawn sounds great in the mix no matter what amp it sits next to. The other guitarist in the band I play the Splawn with uses a TSL100 and Mesa Recto 4x12 cab. I use the Splawn and a 1x12 cab and my amp cuts through the mix better and sound great.

To me, the newer breed of Marshalls (make that anything after the early JCM800 amps) don't sound like a "real Marshall" anymore, they lost that raw grind and started sounding more modern or something.
 
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Odin":43fd8 said:
To me, the newer breed of Marshalls (make that anything after the early JCM800 amps) don't sound like a "real Marshall" anymore, they lost that raw grind and started sounding more modern or something.
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I've recently owned 2 JCM800 2203Xs and played ratter's handwired Plexi he used to own. I've played through various Marshalls over the years and I assure you that the JVM is very much the real deal tone wise. It is not a JCM2000 series amp. Much thicker to my ears.
 
What guitar store was it in? I wanna check it out! :beardbang:
 
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Odin":b1279 said:
The Splawn is fairly bright, and I prefer a darker tone. I've found that the way I dial in the amp, combined with speakers, will let me find a sound I like. I think the midrange thing you're talking about is one of the things I like about the Splawn, but I tend to like a lot of mids.

I can tell you that the Splawn is an amp made for playing live, not for home use. It's one of those amps that just comes alive in a full band mix. Some amps sound great in a room alone but get lost in a mix, the Splawn sounds great in the mix no matter what amp it sits next to. The other guitarist in the band I play the Splawn with uses a TSL100 and Mesa Recto 4x12 cab. I use the Splawn and a 1x12 cab and my amp cuts through the mix better and sound great.

To me, the newer breed of Marshalls (make that anything after the early JCM800 amps) don't sound like a "real Marshall" anymore, they lost that raw grind and started sounding more modern or something.
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I love a lot of mids . I just don't dig the midrange that Scott chose to represent in his amp. It's just a preferance thing!! That toally cool as hell that you are digging the splawn. I really do like the amp, it just doesn't work for me for some reason. Bogners don't work well for me either so go figure!!
 
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donbarzini":934a8 said:
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No, I guess you're right. Just seems like you guys are waiting quite a while considering you were supposed to have them before anyone else. My only opinion is that the JVM has a lot to offer and the features are incredible, the price is right compared to a lot of other choices on the market. The only thing I would recommend is a proper bias, a little on the cold side from the factory, and some better tubes, that's it.
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45ma per tube is alittle cold from the factory? YIKES! For tubes they look like they are using chinese pre's and Shuagang or Svet power tubes....I wouldn't say those are bad choices....
 
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Greazygeo":68694 said:
:|::QBB:45ma per tube is alittle cold from the factory? YIKES! For tubes they look like they are using chinese pre's and Shuagang or Svet power tubes....I wouldn't say those are bad choices....
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George!!

I'm pretty sure his amp wasn't biased at 45ma. I think the bias drifted on his amp in shipping.
 
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donbarzini":10be2 said:
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45ma? More like 28-29ma from the factory, which is about 60%. I took a reading of about 460-470 on the plates per tube. Your amp came biased at 45ma? That's like 80%, very high. As far as tube choices, it's all personal preference.
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I didn't check the bias on any of ours. I don't remember which Marshall amp it was (JCM 2000 I think), but Marshall had recommended setting the bias at 45ma per tube....28-30 ma sounds about right to me for EL34's, I like the bias at 60% myself. With EL34's at stage volumes, for me, they get too muddy sounding towards the 2nd half of the nite (4 hours gigs) with anything much higher.
 
From the man himself. Got this from JVM410.COM


The biasing a JVM is similar to a DSL/TSL. There are independent bias controls for each side of the push pull and shunt 1 ohm resistors to measure the current.

Again, I cannot stress enough that biasing an amplifier is not a user adjustable feature and that working inside an amplifier can be very dangerous. An incorrectly biased amplifier can lead to valve and/or output transformer failure. Leave it to qualified people.

Procedure is as follows:

With the amp open and upside down, place both master volumes fully counterclockwise (OFF), highly recommended a speaker or resistive load into its relative socket and let the amplifier warm up for few minutes. Switch the standby to ON (playing position). Underneath the power valves, there are two small trimmers and a 3 pin connector (I think they are VR2, VR3 and CON1 but just talking off of my memory). VR2 controls the bias of V1 and V2, and VR3 does the same for V3 and V4.

To measure the current of each side place a multimeter set to millivolts, mV, between the center pin of CON1 and each side. Pin on the left indicates the current flowing through the left pair of valves, pin on the right indicates the same for the other pair.

the conversion is as follows: Voltage in mV=current in mA per push/pull side (if valves are matched current per valve will be half of that). So, if the reading is 60mV that means 30mA per valve (factory setting). I wouldn't go any higher than 45mA per valve (90mV), 30-35mA is a good compromise tone/valve life.

S.
 
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