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

[angelspade]

Check this out:

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

I really dig the tones that this guy is getting all channels....And basically at "flat" settings. Thanks for posting this.

 

[jabps]

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.

Clean channel for one...IMO the JVM has arguably one of the best clean tones of any Marshall, especially one with high gain. The clean on the Satch JVM was reworked to the 6100 series which I never cared for. Probably because Joe likes to run dirt pedals through clean...I don't. I don't care for the mid shift switch and I actually don't mind the reverb...at least for the clean. I use a little verb and on the amp it at least gives me options without having to use a pedal. Crunch channel was revoiced...again, original suited my needs perfectly. Throw a low gain pedal in front of it and it sounds amazing. As for OD1 and OD 2...just don't think they needed tweaking. With OD 1 on Amber being my favorite high gain sound of any amp I've owned...and there's been alot. And I have no need for the gates...I know some have had noise issue's but I haven't, and I've owned two.
Again, this is strictly my opinion. As I said...not every amp is for everyone. I've owned alot of fantastic amps in my time...but some, just weren't for me. Didn't make them bad...just not for me.

 

[angelspade]

Thanks Jabps. Yeah the noise issue complaints seem a bit varied and inconsistent. I'm wondering if the feedback / hiss issue happens even at living-room volumes....Or is primarily a live / rehearsal issue.

 

[fappen]

The standard JVM isn't too noisy unless the gain is cranked. It was tolerable, I had a Decimator at the time and never bothered using it.

 

[angelspade]

BUMP

 

[155]

I had a 210h and 410h and for me they just thinned out too much at higher gain settings and im not talking about the red modes either to me the dsl 100 is a better sounding amp unless you need all the bs of a jvm..the dual masters is nice though,.just my 2 cents

 

[moltisanti]

i bought a JVM410h a couple of weeks ago with the idea of having it modded by Dan Gower (he recommended the JVM specifically over the DSL), i'm using it stock at the moment and up loud at rehearsal last week it sounded fantastic through a 1960b with 75s and V30s. I was surprised how good it was stock, nice clean, OD1 orange up loud sounds clear and defined with nice punch and chunk, perfect for rhythm stuff. The OD channel is a bit noisy, but not so much as to cause me issues.

The switching is amazing too, using the footswitch (which uses a standard guitar cable) you can select channel, setting (green/amber/red), reverb, fx loop, master volume all with one hit. This is perfect for me as I use a clean channel with reverb, and the loop, a rhythm channel with just the OD1 channel, and lead with OD2, Master volume boost, and reverb.

 

[thiswaythatway]

There was something about JVM's I never liked. I got one in that huge STeve VHT group buy. I also had a Mesa Mark IV at the time. I liked the Mark IV better and sold the JVM. On paper the JVM sounds like an ultimate amp but the tones for whatever reason did nothing for me.