Michi
Active member
I loved mine! The amp likes a nice od of your choice juicing the front too.
Rev
Active member
joepete77":2kemnju2 said:
That's exactly it. The breakup was quicker and a lot smoother. I almost felt no need for a boost of any kind. The other thing is that most Marshall's seem to be biased cold from the factory and I played this one new at Wild West Guitars. I can only imagine the goods when cranked and with a boost.
R
rp108
New member
Funny, I have been thinking the same thing myself. As much as I dig my Bogner Uberschall, I miss the Marshall tone. I had a JCM 800 2204 from '86 and really liked it. Used it for all the rhythm tracks on our record. But it had intermittent problems and without an effects loop, it wasn't really practical to use live. The 2203 with the effects loop seems perfect but the price for a new one is outrageous.
S
Schaf
New member
rp108":cfwerneb said:
I have a 87 2204. Great amp. I installed a Metro loop in it. It works perfect. I run a RP1000 in the loop so if I need an ultra clean channel (I very rarely do). I just use a twin reverb model on the RP. But the effects sound great through that loop. I just run a SD1, a TS9 or a straight clean boost for different flavors. Or just straight up amp. There are a lot of tones in those amps by using different OD's boosts, your volume knob and different guitars'pickups.
R
rp108
New member
Schaf":qhys5l9b said:
Oh yeah, I am aware of the Metro loops. The amp needed work though. During the recording sessions it would just stop working in the middle of recording and we would have to wait until it would start working again. I remember at one point we swapped it out for a JMP, I believe it was from '76, because we didn't think the JCM 800 would work again. Those two amps sounded VERY close. Eventually the JCM 800 started up again and finished out the sessions. But I didn't want to put all the money into it of getting it fixed and modded. If it was a 2203 I may have.
Shawn Lutz
New member
I have an original 83 JCM800 2203 w/6550's, its pretty much a one trick pony but that pony wins big 
I also have a 101B, 50 CL, QR and DC5 and plugging back into the 2203 with a SD-1 in front is always great still.
Mine is in need of a cap job at the moment so its sitting idle right now.
I also have a 101B, 50 CL, QR and DC5 and plugging back into the 2203 with a SD-1 in front is always great still.
Mine is in need of a cap job at the moment so its sitting idle right now.
S
Shiny_Surface
Active member
aw9190":4co4pp92 said:You can use both the OCD & TS9 at the same time
It works incredibly well for low volume playing, i got the idea from another member Shiny Surface and have been doing it ever since
Stacking
I like to combine an EQ pedal + a boost of some kind usually but I've also stacked 2 overdrives as well.
quinnethan":4co4pp92 said:
joepete77":4co4pp92 said:
My old reissue was definitely a little brighter and more gainy than the originals I used to have. Great amp and would get one again if the price was right. New prices have climbed to insane levels (imo) for JCM 800 reissues.
Red_Label
Active member
2203X came in this morning. Been a very LONG day waiting to take it home and do some damage. Got two more hours to endure before I can do that.
I hope to stick with this beast and stop the amp merry-go-round. TIRED of all the gear coming and going. Want to find and keep gear that inspires me, without always jumping over the fence to supposed greener pastures. Want to wear-in some gear to feel like an old pair of shoes. Been several years since I've done that.
I hope to stick with this beast and stop the amp merry-go-round. TIRED of all the gear coming and going. Want to find and keep gear that inspires me, without always jumping over the fence to supposed greener pastures. Want to wear-in some gear to feel like an old pair of shoes. Been several years since I've done that.
Red_Label
Active member
Quick review...
This thing is STOOPID LOUD!!! Had to have the master up to at least "2" (9:00) to get the gain to kick in (gain was set to 3:00 to full). But once I did... WOW. Beautiful roar! But WAY too loud for my man cave. Luckily... I had an inexpensive attenuator handy (The Power Plug) and was able to reduce the volume by 12db and it sounded pretty sweet at reasonable levels (though I still needed ear plugs). This thing truly is a BEAST. But I can see why guys say they aren't a bedroom amp. The XTC 101b and Egnator Rebel 20 are much more bedroom amps. Anyways... I only played for an hour or so because my attenuator was very hot. I've got a better one on the way that should stay cooler, so I'm looking forward to that.
Despite the volume issue, I DO love the singing crunch and roar of this thing and am looking forward to getting to know it better. I played around with rolling-off my guitar volume and really like the way it cleans-up... but still has punch and clarity (and a little bit of hair on it). I also really like the simplicity of it and it makes me feel very free, just stomping on my OD pedal (OCD V4) and/or rolling-off my volume. No complicated footswitches, no layers of circuit boards, no glowing lights, no tone-sucking miles of components and wiring... just pure, simple LOUD tone. Rock & Roll!!!
This thing is STOOPID LOUD!!! Had to have the master up to at least "2" (9:00) to get the gain to kick in (gain was set to 3:00 to full). But once I did... WOW. Beautiful roar! But WAY too loud for my man cave. Luckily... I had an inexpensive attenuator handy (The Power Plug) and was able to reduce the volume by 12db and it sounded pretty sweet at reasonable levels (though I still needed ear plugs). This thing truly is a BEAST. But I can see why guys say they aren't a bedroom amp. The XTC 101b and Egnator Rebel 20 are much more bedroom amps. Anyways... I only played for an hour or so because my attenuator was very hot. I've got a better one on the way that should stay cooler, so I'm looking forward to that.
Despite the volume issue, I DO love the singing crunch and roar of this thing and am looking forward to getting to know it better. I played around with rolling-off my guitar volume and really like the way it cleans-up... but still has punch and clarity (and a little bit of hair on it). I also really like the simplicity of it and it makes me feel very free, just stomping on my OD pedal (OCD V4) and/or rolling-off my volume. No complicated footswitches, no layers of circuit boards, no glowing lights, no tone-sucking miles of components and wiring... just pure, simple LOUD tone. Rock & Roll!!!
SLOgriff
Well-known member
....remember when you liked Bogner's??
Red_Label
Active member
SLOgriff":3c834uy5 said:
....remember when you liked Bogner's??
Bogners be WAY better bedroom and quiet gig amps for sure. But if you're playing in a loud band and having trouble being heard... it seems like it'd be VERY hard to beat the 2203 for cutting through. Just not sure where you'd be able to open this baby up short of a concert stage. An attenuator will be an indispensable tool as long as I have this beast. Luckily, I still have the Egnater and the use of the XTC 101b for practice at sane volumes.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
The nice thing about that stock 800 circuit is the fat that you can spice it up the following way:
TS9- Lynch tones
Rat- Nuno early tones
SD-1 - Jake E Lee tones
treble booster- Blackmore
MXR distortion + / EQ - Randy Rhoads tones
no pedals - AC DC tones
etc... it is a chameleon amp, great for lots of tones.
TS9- Lynch tones
Rat- Nuno early tones
SD-1 - Jake E Lee tones
treble booster- Blackmore
MXR distortion + / EQ - Randy Rhoads tones
no pedals - AC DC tones
etc... it is a chameleon amp, great for lots of tones.
Red_Label
Active member
Kapo_Polenton":3jx1jxrt said:
Nice! Will have to try those pedals. Got a friend bringing my old modded TS-9 over to try in it. I do really dig the clarity of the OCD through it. Also want to try the SD-1 and other OD pedals through it. I've got a Carl Martin Original Plexitone that's been my favorite OD pedal to date, but haven't tried it into the Marshall yet because I've found that running it into non-cleans amps tends to muddy the tone. It wants a clean platform (like my Straub 6L6 blackface type head).
A
aw9190
Member
Red_Label":31nhq75t said:
I have the original big plexitone also and found the same thing that it makes the tone a little murky. I would like to try the newer ones in front of an already dirty marshall.
As of now the TS is my favorite if i had to pick one
S
Schaf
New member
Shawn Lutz":29oiakz5 said:I have an original 83 JCM800 2203 w/6550's, its pretty much a one trick pony but that pony wins big
I also have a 101B, 50 CL, QR and DC5 and plugging back into the 2203 with a SD-1 in front is always great still.
Mine is in need of a cap job at the moment so its sitting idle right now.
A lot of people say this amp is a one trick pony, but I don't agree at all. I can cover just about anything short of sparkling clean and super heavy modern stuff. As someone pointed out early these amps respond very to diffferent OD's, clean boosts, different guitars , pickups and your volume knob. Lots of different sounds in the these amps. And when I put the loop in it opened it up to a whole new world with the way I use it. I can get sparkling cleans and super heavy sounds using the modeler. But most of the time I us ethe amps sound and an OD or clean boost. I've had both el34 and 6550 2204's. I prefer the el34's but they can be dialed in to sound pretty much identical even with the different power tubes.
Shawn Lutz
New member
Schaf":16xc46wz said:Shawn Lutz":16xc46wz said:I have an original 83 JCM800 2203 w/6550's, its pretty much a one trick pony but that pony wins big
I also have a 101B, 50 CL, QR and DC5 and plugging back into the 2203 with a SD-1 in front is always great still.
Mine is in need of a cap job at the moment so its sitting idle right now.
A lot of people say this amp is a one trick pony, but I don't agree at all. I can cover just about anything short of sparkling clean and super heavy modern stuff. As someone pointed out early these amps respond very to diffferent OD's, clean boosts, different guitars , pickups and your volume knob. Lots of different sounds in the these amps. And when I put the loop in it opened it up to a whole new world with the way I use it. I can get sparkling cleans and super heavy sounds using the modeler. But most of the time I us ethe amps sound and an OD or clean boost. I've had both el34 and 6550 2204's. I prefer the el34's but they can be dialed in to sound pretty much identical even with the different power tubes.
A single ch. amp, no clean and doesn't do modern metal is a one trick pony. It really only has one voicing.
I'm the opposite, I prefer the 6550 over EL35, had several 2203/04's with EL34, I kept the best one and it happens to be the 6550 version.
S
Shiny_Surface
Active member
Most (not all of course) channel switchers have one base voicing imo, the channels share a power section and give you switchable shades/hues of the base preamp voicing and at best a clean channel but still shares power section components with the rest of the preamp.
A JCM 800 doesn't have the switching but the shades/hues are there and you can stretch it out into a useable bandwidth of tone imo.
With outboard devices (especially) in conjunction with an effects loop you can match or even exceed some channel switchers bandwidth imo.
R
Rogue
New member
I had 2203x. Cool amp. Then I got an attenuator. Sounded even better. But with an attenuator, I got a 1959slp. It's been a plexi type amp every since, minus a few poor judgement moments and an erred digital attempt.
Red_Label
Active member
Shawn Lutz":364vm1ac said:
Funny thing is... given a good tube amp and a good knowledge of how to get tones... I'll put the PLAYER as the most important aspect as to how to pull all of those tricks out of the amp (be it a multi-channel affair, or a simple one). I've had 3 and 4-channel complex beasts that I bought for their versatility... and discovered that I didn't care for the base tone. So I'd rather have a one-trick-pony amp with a great base tone, that forces me to do all of my variations with pedals and my guitars and hands... than a $3K+ blinged-out flagship amp that's supposed to do everything well. It may do just that... but I've discovered that the less "stuff" between my fingers and the speaker the happier I am with my tone. I do like an OD pedal to hit the front end of an amp to tighten things-up a bit and add some sensitivity/response... but aside from wah, verb and delay in limited quantities I'm good with a pretty raw tone.
Red_Label
Active member
Rogue":2g5vh7yw said:
Yeah, I've been jonesing for a 1959SLP, 1987X, or JMP for some time now. Just never found one when I was looking. I was reading about the JCM800s last night and didn't realize that supposedly they-re pretty much a plexi with MV and full-length chassis. At least that's what Jim (Marshall) said in the intro in the amp's booklet (LOL!). I never really thought about that. So I take it that keeping the gain lower keeps the 800 at least in plexi territory. When I rolled-off my guitar's volume last night I was loving the bright, responsive "cleans with hair" that were coming-out of the amp and in fact, I'm coming to prefer those cleans to pristine Fender cleans anymore.