Guys who own, have owned, or played a Marshall JVM Head....

[angelspade]

I have always been a bit intrigued by the Marshall JVM 410H and 410HJS amps....Seem very versatile, with a broad pallet of tones. Also, I have noticed that a few have been popping up for sale pretty cheap here and there. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger. For the guys that own, have previously owned, or have extensive played these amps, I would like some opinions. Even mores specifically:

1. Are they reasonably well built and reliable?

2. What other amps would you compare them to tonally?

3. How big a difference is there between the standard JVM and the JS version.....Big improvement?

4. Understanding that ALL amps sound better when cranked up.....How does it do at living room volumes?

Any an all options and feedback is appreciated....THANKS!!!

 

[chumbucket]

1.) PCB with digital circuitry. I don't think that you'll retire with it , but they have a pretty good track record.

2.) The crunch sounds similar to a JCM2000 DSL but not identical. They have a lot of sounds inside, hard to compare it to a single amp but it does clean, crunch, and metal fairly well. With some mods it can sort of sound like a JMP or JCM800.

3.) The noise gates on the JS are a very nice feature but the clean on the regular one is better. If I had to do it over, I would use a modded JVM plus a Decimator.

4.) Sounds very good at low volume levels.

I have always been a bit intrigued by the Marshall JVM 410H and 410HJS amps....Seem very versatile, with a broad pallet of tones. Also, I have noticed that a few have been popping up for sale pretty cheap here and there. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger. For the guys that own, have previously owned, or have extensive played these amps, I would like some opinions. Even mores specifically:

1. Are they reasonably well built and reliable?

2. What other amps would you compare them to tonally?

3. How big a difference is there between the standard JVM and the JS version.....Big improvement?

4. Understanding that ALL amps sound better when cranked up.....How does it do at living room volumes?

Any an all options and feedback is appreciated....THANKS!!!

 

[chunktone]

They're pretty versitile, but to my ears were missing something I've come to expect from a Marshall.

 

[magh8]

on what I like to call the top 3 pocket knife amps. the JVM comes in last and lacking very far behind...
Mesa MKV
VHT SigX
JVM410

 

[angelspade]

1.) PCB with digital circuitry. I don't think that you'll retire with it , but they have a pretty good track record.

2.) The crunch sounds similar to a JCM2000 DSL but not identical. They have a lot of sounds inside, hard to compare it to a single amp but it does clean, crunch, and metal fairly well. With some mods it can sort of sound like a JMP or JCM800.

3.) The noise gates on the JS are a very nice feature but the clean on the regular one is better. If I had to do it over, I would use a modded JVM plus a Decimator.

4.) Sounds very good at low volume levels.


Good feedback....Thanks.

Couple of follow up questions regarding your responses: Are the noise-gates helpful / noticeable even at low volumes?...Or primarily for when the amp is cranked up a bit?

You mentioned a "modded" JVM over a the JS version...What mods would improve the standard JVM410H over the JS version?

Thanks!

I have always been a bit intrigued by the Marshall JVM 410H and 410HJS amps....Seem very versatile, with a broad pallet of tones. Also, I have noticed that a few have been popping up for sale pretty cheap here and there. I'm thinking about pulling the trigger. For the guys that own, have previously owned, or have extensive played these amps, I would like some opinions. Even mores specifically:

1. Are they reasonably well built and reliable?

2. What other amps would you compare them to tonally?

3. How big a difference is there between the standard JVM and the JS version.....Big improvement?

4. Understanding that ALL amps sound better when cranked up.....How does it do at living room volumes?

Any an all options and feedback is appreciated....THANKS!!!

 

[BYTOR]

Some cool VH tones with this JVM Satch from a You Tube dude......

 

[PBGas]

I had a JVM410HJS a couple of years back when they first came out. Loved the amp! If I had a need for a 100W amp, I would probably get another one. Lots of great tones on it and the noise gates are amazing!

 

[JTyson]

I had one for 3 years, once I got it dailed I got some really good tones out of it. It was biased pretty cold from the factory, it sounds much better biased properly. I never had an issue with it the whole time I had it, and the guy who has it now has had no problems.
Good cleans all the way to really gained out, with a ton of in between tones if you need them. Takes pedals well, and has a great reverb.
Some folks did not like the reverb, but I thought it was well done

 

[Jono434]

I haven't played either but of the two it seems like the JS version would be the one to get.

Satch is one of those rare players that has been playing for many years but hasn't gone deaf. And has a good understanding of the freqs he likes to hear and the brain and vocab to explain it to techs.. in short he knows what he wants and is great at modding things. It seems he fixed/tweaked a lot of problems that people had with their original JVMs.

 

[JackBootedThug]

i had one and got rid of it in about a month. prefer mesa's. was a good amp though, no issues at all.

 

['63-Strat]

Only issue I've had when playing them is the background noise but that's apparently fixed with the JS version (which I haven't played). Otherwise it's a good modern Marshall.

 

[guitarmike]

Check this out:

I owned a JVM for 3 years. I copped this dude's settings and it sounded great.

 

[blackba]

Check this out:

I owned a JVM for 3 years. I copped this dude's settings and it sounded great.

Cool clip, that guy has some chops. I was able to pretty quickly tell what modes I would start with if I had the amp from the clip.

 

[timeroo]

I tried one and it sounded like a pile of junk to me but I have to note that every Marshall I have ever tried that wasn't a JCM 800 sounded like a pile of junk to me.

 

[jabps]

Love my JVM and prefer it over the JS version.

Incredible amp. If you don't want Marshall tone, don't get it...pretty simple in that regard. If you do want an amp that is versatile and sounds good, and is capable of producing authentic Marshall tones then you cannot go wrong. IMO...and I grew up with old master volume Marshalls, OD1 in the Amber mode is about as good as it gets for hot rodded Marshall tone. For me...there is nothing bad about it from the clean tones which are top notch to over the top high gain, midi, great effects loop, and a programmble foot control you don't want to go the midi route. It also sounds good with virtually any cab or speaker I've put it through...from GB's, V30's...Bogner, Boogie and Marshall cabs alike. And it sounds amazing with straight up GT-75's...at one time my most hated celestion.

Not every amp is for everyone, this one is no exception but when I was playing alot...I toured 2 straight years with it (and a JVM backup which was never needed), countless rehearsals, sessions and never had one problem. It wasn't anymore noisy than my SigX, and the only thing I ever did was change tubes and had it biased a little warmer than stock.

Several years back...it came down to the SigX and the JVM. Loved them both, just liked the JVM alot more. Its been my main amp since and I've essentially had no gas for other amps for many years. Thats my story with it.

 

[angelspade]

Thanks for the detailed feedback...May I ask why (as specifically as possible) you prefer the original over the JS version?

Love my JVM and prefer it over the JS version.

Incredible amp. If you don't want Marshall tone, don't get it...pretty simple in that regard. If you do want an amp that is versatile and sounds good, and is capable of producing authentic Marshall tones then you cannot go wrong. IMO...and I grew up with old master volume Marshalls, OD1 in the Amber mode is about as good as it gets for hot rodded Marshall tone. For me...there is nothing bad about it from the clean tones which are top notch to over the top high gain, midi, great effects loop, and a programmble foot control you don't want to go the midi route. It also sounds good with virtually any cab or speaker I've put it through...from GB's, V30's...Bogner, Boogie and Marshall cabs alike. And it sounds amazing with straight up GT-75's...at one time my most hated celestion.

Not every amp is for everyone, this one is no exception but when I was playing alot...I toured 2 straight years with it (and a JVM backup which was never needed), countless rehearsals, sessions and never had one problem. It wasn't anymore noisy than my SigX, and the only thing I ever did was change tubes and had it biased a little warmer than stock.

Several years back...it came down to the SigX and the JVM. Loved them both, just liked the JVM alot more. Its been my main amp since and I've essentially had no gas for other amps for many years. Thats my story with it.

 

[Rex Rocker]

I'm curious about this amp as well.

Is the JVM Satriani similar to the Peavey JSX at all? I'm aware the JSX shares quite a few similarities with the XXX. I own a XXX, and while I do like some stuff off it, I'm not 100% sure it's the amp for me. I really like what the JVM sounded like on Khaos Legions by Arch Enemy, and Marshalls are some of the few brands that aren't that hard to come across here at stores.

Also, are the high-gain channels on the 2 and 4 channel heads voiced the exact same or is there some difference?

 

[raiken]

I borrowed one for a gig last year. I thought it sounded really good through a 2x12 loaded with Greenbacks, very versatile. Noisy as hell on the higher gain channels, though. Not a problem live, but in a quiet studio or at home it could be an issue.

 

[guitarmike]

I borrowed one for a gig last year. I thought it sounded really good through a 2x12 loaded with Greenbacks, very versatile. Noisy as hell on the higher gain channels, though. Not a problem live, but in a quiet studio or at home it could be an issue.

I bought mine right when they first came out and I remember having noise issues too. Santiago, Marshall's design lead on the amp spent a fair amount of time helping me and others sort out the noise. That amp is very particular to the type of cables you use. He had me start with just the guitar, cable, and amp and I found some cables that were noisy and replaced them with new ones (just your regular music store branded cables) and was able to quiet down the amp. If you stand too close to it with your guitar it will get real noisy too, more than any other amp I have owned. Pay attention to the gain settings in the video I posted, the amp has a ton of gain and anything over 4-4.5 will not add anything but noise. I gigged mine for 2-3 years and never had issues once I knew how to set up the amp. I the video below I am playing it with a stock 300watt Marshall cab and I dug the tone I got out of it (the music not so much ).

 

[angelspade]

Guitarmike: Was the noise, hiss, etc. noticeable even at "living-room" volumes on OD1 / OD2?

I'm also really interested in the primary (aside from the noise-gates) differences with the JS model in terms of tone and feel. I have heard that the OD 1/2 are a bit "tamer" and not as aggressive on the JS version.