Canadian JCM 800?

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Emg77

Emg77

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Anyone have any experience with an early 80's JCM 800? I understand the the difference between these and UK/US versions. Just curious as it relates to the tones.
 
I had a Canadian 4104 combo. I believe an 83 but not totally sure on that. Sounded great. I ended up having it modded by Voodoo amps to gain it up, but stock it was pretty killer
 
Had an 83 Canadian 2203, that to this day, was probably the best sounding 800 I've heard.
Had an 81 Canadian 2204 that was not great. Both amps were stock and in proper working condition.
So typical Marshall.....it depends.....

2 BIG issues for me with the Canadian amps: the fuses on the extra pcb are a pain in the ass. Now its gotta come out of the headshell if one blows. And no 16 ohm output transformer tap is a complete deal breaker if you are stocked up on 4x12 cabs like me.
They used the same opt's used worldwide at the time, but they clipped off the 16ohm lead from the opt when the amps were assembled for the Canadian market.
And don't go looking for the 16ohm lead all tied up nice inside the amp, thinking you'll just hook it back up, cause they usually clipped it right up inside the end bell of the transformer.
Apparently Marshall was actually forced to do this by the CSA, the Canadian safety authority of the day, as the CSA felt there was too much ac voltage available on the 16ohm tap. I guess they were worried someone might plug the speaker cable into their mouth ( or other oriface) instead of a 4x12 cab, and electrocute themselves or something.......
stupid government fukkers......:doh::doh::doh:
 
The interesting things about the Canadian/Northern Eu Marshalls are, they kept earlier JMP skin for a few yrs past when the rest of the world got JCM 800s. I had a Canadian 2104 combo, JMP style but had a P serial dating it to 1982. Saw another 2203 for sale, JMP from Norway but had a T serial from 85. Another one, a 1978 Canadian Superlead had the laydown 2562 PT that stopped for the rest of us in 1973/74, and had the metal toggles/small logo but a legit K serial.
So, those Canadian/Northern Eu Marshalls can have some earlier vintage components and design which is pretty cool.
 
I have a 81 2203 and it's the best amp i ever played. Cool story to it also. The guy that i traded with to get it said that the guy from the Cult Billy Duffy used it for a show in Montreal when his failed at sound check. I've had it for about 5 years now.
 
Back in the mid 1990s, a friend of mine brought over to my house a JCM800. It sounded amazing! Both of us at the time didn't know it was a Canadian model. It had metal toggle switches and I think a Red square jewel light. Killer amp!

Glen Morris makes a UK'78 which is based off of a Canadian 50watt Marshall JMP. I have one on order. I should have it by end of September/Early October.
 
Only real difference is a bunch of extra internal fuses, and that the amps came stock with EL34'S
 
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