angelspade
Well-known member
Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions regarding this amp prior to purchase. As I like like to do, thought I would offer a detailed review now that I have put the amp through the paces for a few days. So here goes:
Channel One Cleans: Big surprise here, I have to say the cleans on this amp are actually really good. Certainly not a Roland JC120, Fender Twin or even a Mesa Lonestar but very usable and better than about 70% of the high gain amps I have owned. With the EQ dialed in correctly and the reverb floating near noon it's a very usable sound. Again, pleasantly surprised by this one.
Channel One Crunch: I really like this channel for blues up to 70's style classic rock. It accomplishes this task more convincingly that my other two current amps (Koch & Diezel) primarily because those just have too modern of a voicing to sound authentic in this purpose. Many may disagree, but for me there isn't enough gain, attack or attitude in the JCM 2000 crunch channel (even with the gain and presence pushed) to give me a satisfying 80's hard rock / metal sound. Now, when I added the MXR WA44 Overdrive (that I acquired specifically to pair with this amp) as a boost, a whole new world opened up. With the amp gain set to about 3/4, and the pedal using lots of output but a conservative amount of gain the sound is BRILLIANT in a very Nuno kind of way; tight, aggressive, punchy, articulate with those white hot, grinding upper mids. With these heads trading between $800 and $1000 used, this sound is probably worth the price of admission alone.
Channel Two Lead One: Unlike the the crunch channel, I did get some great 80"s style metal tones with the gain set at about 3/4 and the presence and mids pushed a little. This channel has the crunch and sizzle that the crunch channel lacks and is pretty fun for aggressive 80"s and 90's style riffing. Not super tight of hi-fi the way we have come to understand today's high-gain amplifiers but plenty of gain for anything preceding the "modern" metal era. I backed the gain off to about noon and again hit the front end with the MXR WA44, made a few adjustments and I had seriously aggressive thrash tone in spades. Literally like Slayer in a box.
Channel Two Lead Two: I had some fun with the over the top, "wild pony" gain on this channel, but it's pretty wooly and messy overall. The mids sound "crowded" and there's probably too much compression for that clear, open and pesent Marshall high-gain sound that most of us love. I tried backing down the gain and once again adding the boost and it didn't sound bad necessarily, but it did not hold up to the Lead One channel, or the Crunch boosted.
Overall Conclusion: To give this review some Marshall context, I have owned a JCM800 amd a JVM410H in the past. While I could not compare them side by side, I spent a lot of time with those amps, so I have a good recollection for comparison and reference. Also, I am typically not a player that uses anything in front of his amps, so I did not boost either of those previously owned Marshalls. Now, we can likely agree that only a JCM800 does what a JCM800 does; But I have to tell you this amp comes VERY close, and it is significantly more flexible. This may sound like tone sacrilege, but If I could only have one Marshall I may take the JCM 2000 DSL over a your average JCM800. Speaking of flexibility, this amp does not hold up well against the JVM410H in that category, but it may beat it in certain respects. I think it does a stronger JCM800 imitation and the boosted Crunch and Lead One channels will be favored by some players over the JVM's OD1 orange and red modes; Primarily because the 2000 more closely embodies that classic, searing high-gain (think early Accept) sound that many have come to love on 80's and 90's metal records. If your looking for more modern high-gain Marshall flavors, the JVM takes the trophy there for sure. If you took away my access to a boost and I had to choose between the two; I would probably go with the JVM410H based on flexibility and access to more modern high-gain tones. Am I happy with this acquisition? Absolutely. Is it the best Marshall on the market? That depends on your purposes and tastes, but probably not. That said, if you are looking for several classic Marshall sound in one box, and a very usable clean sound as a bonus, the JCM 2000 DSL is going to be tough to beat considering the price. Final notes: I really like the Deep switch engaged across all channels, it thickens up the bass and low-mids nicely without softening the overall tightness too much. And I stay away from the Tone Shift switch. I understand what they were going for here, but it sucks all the "Marshall" out of a Marshall in regards to those grinding upper mids.
Channel One Cleans: Big surprise here, I have to say the cleans on this amp are actually really good. Certainly not a Roland JC120, Fender Twin or even a Mesa Lonestar but very usable and better than about 70% of the high gain amps I have owned. With the EQ dialed in correctly and the reverb floating near noon it's a very usable sound. Again, pleasantly surprised by this one.
Channel One Crunch: I really like this channel for blues up to 70's style classic rock. It accomplishes this task more convincingly that my other two current amps (Koch & Diezel) primarily because those just have too modern of a voicing to sound authentic in this purpose. Many may disagree, but for me there isn't enough gain, attack or attitude in the JCM 2000 crunch channel (even with the gain and presence pushed) to give me a satisfying 80's hard rock / metal sound. Now, when I added the MXR WA44 Overdrive (that I acquired specifically to pair with this amp) as a boost, a whole new world opened up. With the amp gain set to about 3/4, and the pedal using lots of output but a conservative amount of gain the sound is BRILLIANT in a very Nuno kind of way; tight, aggressive, punchy, articulate with those white hot, grinding upper mids. With these heads trading between $800 and $1000 used, this sound is probably worth the price of admission alone.
Channel Two Lead One: Unlike the the crunch channel, I did get some great 80"s style metal tones with the gain set at about 3/4 and the presence and mids pushed a little. This channel has the crunch and sizzle that the crunch channel lacks and is pretty fun for aggressive 80"s and 90's style riffing. Not super tight of hi-fi the way we have come to understand today's high-gain amplifiers but plenty of gain for anything preceding the "modern" metal era. I backed the gain off to about noon and again hit the front end with the MXR WA44, made a few adjustments and I had seriously aggressive thrash tone in spades. Literally like Slayer in a box.
Channel Two Lead Two: I had some fun with the over the top, "wild pony" gain on this channel, but it's pretty wooly and messy overall. The mids sound "crowded" and there's probably too much compression for that clear, open and pesent Marshall high-gain sound that most of us love. I tried backing down the gain and once again adding the boost and it didn't sound bad necessarily, but it did not hold up to the Lead One channel, or the Crunch boosted.
Overall Conclusion: To give this review some Marshall context, I have owned a JCM800 amd a JVM410H in the past. While I could not compare them side by side, I spent a lot of time with those amps, so I have a good recollection for comparison and reference. Also, I am typically not a player that uses anything in front of his amps, so I did not boost either of those previously owned Marshalls. Now, we can likely agree that only a JCM800 does what a JCM800 does; But I have to tell you this amp comes VERY close, and it is significantly more flexible. This may sound like tone sacrilege, but If I could only have one Marshall I may take the JCM 2000 DSL over a your average JCM800. Speaking of flexibility, this amp does not hold up well against the JVM410H in that category, but it may beat it in certain respects. I think it does a stronger JCM800 imitation and the boosted Crunch and Lead One channels will be favored by some players over the JVM's OD1 orange and red modes; Primarily because the 2000 more closely embodies that classic, searing high-gain (think early Accept) sound that many have come to love on 80's and 90's metal records. If your looking for more modern high-gain Marshall flavors, the JVM takes the trophy there for sure. If you took away my access to a boost and I had to choose between the two; I would probably go with the JVM410H based on flexibility and access to more modern high-gain tones. Am I happy with this acquisition? Absolutely. Is it the best Marshall on the market? That depends on your purposes and tastes, but probably not. That said, if you are looking for several classic Marshall sound in one box, and a very usable clean sound as a bonus, the JCM 2000 DSL is going to be tough to beat considering the price. Final notes: I really like the Deep switch engaged across all channels, it thickens up the bass and low-mids nicely without softening the overall tightness too much. And I stay away from the Tone Shift switch. I understand what they were going for here, but it sucks all the "Marshall" out of a Marshall in regards to those grinding upper mids.
