I think some sellers haven't seen the new, new price!
Years ago when I was shopping for one I had decided on the HJS but never found a decent deal.
It’s not user error, but I agree on setting the gain that low. If you compare it side by side with a jcm800 (even a brittle sounding reissue) or any amp with a more organic/less synthetic sound the jvm gets exposed very clearly in how processed it sounds on any given mode regardless of gain level. It’s just an inherent part of its sound sort of like how the UU has that filtered/cardboard-y quality no matter what you do. It sounds like you’re hearing a recording of a Marshall in person lol. The Mark 7 can be like that vs a vintage mark amp, but not as badly as I remember the JVM’s being and the JS model wasn’t any better in that department IME, just a tweaked voicing from what I remember when I tried it, equally processed sounding
This.
My main JVM I've had since they first came out. Has done numerous gigs (300+), rehearsals and recordings - never an issue. In fact I just retubed it right before covid hit a few years ago. It's the single best amp "for me" I have ever owned.
Literally everything is subjective when it comes to tone, but I try not to let price be too much of a factor these days. Certain ENGL amps can be pretty expensive and have what many might describe as inferior engineering and build quality...While the 5150 Iconic appears to be reliable, sounds killer and is very inexpensive. In terms of tone and build quality, sometimes you get what you pay for...Some would consider Diezel to be an example of this principal.
What year is yours?
Not blanket statements. I played them plenty of times at volume (which in some ways actually made it worse) comparing to other amps as reference points and yes I tried multiple cabs and speakers, which aren’t capable anyway of fixing the issue of an amp inherently sounding synthetic like a recording. Nothing can fix that IME. It’s just the inherent sound. No IR’s and I don’t use reverb or any fx to cloud the tone of gear when I’m trying to understand their sound. It’s a huge problem in gear demos when they drench it in reverb or delay. Plenty of pickup varieties too. I do my homework and only give opinions of gear I properly tried and AB’ed with decent benchmarks. It’s just my findings and opinion. It had the Marshall flavor for sure, which of course I like, but like hearing a synthetic recording of one, sorta like comparing Sunny D to fresh squeezed OJ. I don’t care what artists used what gear (not all of them have great tone anyway). I only care about how it sounds in person when I hear it. I’m not trying to be harsh, just as honest as I can be in my findings. We also all have different taste. I don’t care for synthetic soundings amps like Engl’s or JVM’s, nor plastic-y sounding amps like EVH’s, nor quacky amps like Splawn’s, nor filtered/cardboard-y amps like the UU, Omega’s, Driftwood’s or KSR’s. For high gain I like Wizard’s, early Recto’s, Mark IIC+’s, first version Uber’s, Blueface VH4, Hermansson, Dino, Steavens, Lenz or the right modded Marshall’s. Basically amps that sound more organic/raw with more detail to the notes and more natural feelings. Just my opinion, take it or leave it