Marshall JCM 800 2205 Opinions

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tonmazz

tonmazz

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Well I'm debating on purchasing a 2205. I am curious and just wanted to see if anyone had an opinion either way on these. I've heard that the year is key with these. I suppose my dilemma is that I have some good modded Marshalls, would I be dissapointed in this? What do you think?
 
I have two 1987 2205's that are absolutely killer. They sound awesome and do well with an EQ in the loop if you need it. Great amps and built like tanks. :thumbsup:
 
Make sure you know the differences between the years/models of the 2205.

I have owned three; a 1987, a 1983 and a 1988. The early models (81-84) do not have a lot of gain. I mean PUNY gain.
I think in 1985-1987 they added more gain and then changed it to more again from 88-90.

The 1987 was the best sounding one I had. With a 4x12 w/ G12-75s maxed out it sounded like VH's "Light Up the Sky" to me. My 1988
one seemed to be more aggressive and gainier where the 1987 was just right.

Don't buy it thinking you'll use the clean channel, though. Sterile city.
 
I had the 2210 as my main amp for 12 years. It was an '88 and had a fair amount of gain. I loved that thing. :thumbsup:

I agree with the above poster regarding the clean/normal channel. I used a Rockman Compressor as a treble boost and it really improved the sound of this channel, but in no way did it turn it into a Fender. :lol: :LOL:
 
Like everyone said, they are great amps but you have to watch the year. Not only is there a gain issue with the older ones or should I say the earlier versions lol there is actually a design flaw in the PCB that caused them to re-design the amp. The old ones are useless and sound like shit. If the one you are looking at is from the mid to late 80's you should be fine but if its early 80's id pass on it.

Hope this helps

~R~
 
I have owned many over the years...2205's and 2210's...the only ones that I kept were my 87's. I had an '84 and an '85 that just didn't sound very good. I got my first 2205 in 1987 (I was 14) and I still have it to this day. Shit, that was my first tube amp.

In my first post I didn't even mention the clean channel because I have never used it and I don't think of any of the 800's as a clean amp. I don't think Marshall got clean tones right until the 2000 series.
 
I had a 2205 for 15 years. It was either an '86 or '87. Sounded great, but I found you needed an EQ in the loop and had to run a few tricks to it to get a good sound with not so typical settings.

I have a couple of Cameron modded amps now, and don't miss that amp at all.
 
dawnofdreamx97":3ns9glsc said:
great amp, if you want to hear it its all over my bands new cd.... Strait into a 2205 with a 57 and 421 w/ les pauls

https://www.myspace.com/undivided1997

Only one that has a cameron jose on it is dont come near us...
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Nick, that sounds really great, nice work! The sound is amazing. That makes me feel like I should give it a whirl.
 
Guys, thanks for all of the tips and advice, it really helped educate me on what to look for here. The one in question is 1990, not sure if it will come through or not. Any thoughts on that year?
 
tonmazz":eje5xvy9 said:
dawnofdreamx97":eje5xvy9 said:
great amp, if you want to hear it its all over my bands new cd.... Strait into a 2205 with a 57 and 421 w/ les pauls

https://www.myspace.com/undivided1997

Only one that has a cameron jose on it is dont come near us...
Click to expand...

Nick, that sounds really great, nice work! The sound is amazing. That makes me feel like I should give it a whirl.
Click to expand...

thanks !! yea, that is a pretty strait up 2205 with nothing done to it, original tubes even!
 
tonmazz":tuvshwzo said:
Guys, thanks for all of the tips and advice, it really helped educate me on what to look for here. The one in question is 1990, not sure if it will come through or not. Any thoughts on that year?
Click to expand...


It's a good year. The changes that were made were in '86 when they changed the preamp and made it sound better with more gain, then in '87 when they made some changes so that the clean channel wouldn't bleed through. they didn't change them any from 87 through the end of production.
 
tonmazz":qsj6gmac said:
Well I'm debating on purchasing a 2205. I am curious and just wanted to see if anyone had an opinion either way on these. I've heard that the year is key with these. I suppose my dilemma is that I have some good modded Marshalls, would I be dissapointed in this? What do you think?
Click to expand...

Great thread guys.

I think it depends on how much Marshall you want. I've gone crazy in the past with a butt load of Marshalls at the same time, it can get redundant. If you think you have the Marshall thing covered you may want another flavor; Einstien, Orange, Boogie etc... Just a thought, at the end of the day Marshalls to one degree or another always sound like Marshalls. Sometimes it's great to blend them with other colors.
 
totally james...

ps - the 2205 is very similar to the silver jubilee...
 
dawnofdreamx97":1ikqi6yi said:
totally james...

ps - the 2205 is very similar to the silver jubilee...
Click to expand...

kinda. I've had 3 2205's two 2210's and 4 jubilees, and while they're probably closer to each other than anything else in the Marshall line, they're still quite a bit different sounding IMHO. The Jubilee is lot darker and more saturated sounding, while the 800's are more open sounding comparatively.
 
dawnofdreamx97":10amoz31 said:
totally james...

ps - the 2205 is very similar to the silver jubilee...
Click to expand...

Man your guitar sound is great. Can't beat that 57/421 thing. I've used and owned nearly every ribbon mic and just keep going back to the 57/421 for heavies. Love the punch of your guitar tracks.
 
Marshall Freak":2tu3hk5k said:
dawnofdreamx97":2tu3hk5k said:
totally james...

ps - the 2205 is very similar to the silver jubilee...
Click to expand...

kinda. I've had 3 2205's two 2210's and 4 jubilees, and while they're probably closer to each other than anything else in the Marshall line, they're still quite a bit different sounding IMHO. The Jubilee is lot darker and more saturated sounding, while the 800's are more open sounding comparatively.
Click to expand...

I hear ya but they still have that midrange thing. We've had 5 Marshalls at my place as of late; 800, 900, JMP, Super Tremolo, DSL2000. When you throw up a Boogie or a Diezel you hear an approach change that you don't hear from one Marshall to another. I think for me having to make so many different records simultaneously, it's challenging to get them to have there own sound. With that said, if I was a guy who only played my own music with my band then it probably wouldn't matter that much to me. But for my needs I would go insane if all I had were Marshalls to chose from. Also clients have commented when they hear a guitar sound on a record that I made that wasn't their's that the guitars sounded like the guitars on their record. Very sticky situation and I have to do everything I can to avoid that ever happening again. That's why for me I have to blend and mix and match amps.

I think also, I've played Marshalls all my life, I love Marshalls and they, at the end of the day are MY sound so when I dial in a Marshall I tend to go for MY sound which can be mind narrowing as a producer. When I plug into a Boogie or Diezel, even though I've played them for years there's always a sense of effort for me to get them to sound the way I want, which forces me to work harder, which can be good. Gets me out of my James box and it can help me to be more creative. I can set a Marshall with my eyes closed.

J
 
anyone know what year Schenkers/Norums 2205s are? Id guess they are the latter models?
 
James Lugo":3dcsjxyj said:
tonmazz":3dcsjxyj said:
Well I'm debating on purchasing a 2205. I am curious and just wanted to see if anyone had an opinion either way on these. I've heard that the year is key with these. I suppose my dilemma is that I have some good modded Marshalls, would I be dissapointed in this? What do you think?
Click to expand...

Great thread guys.

I think it depends on how much Marshall you want. I've gone crazy in the past with a butt load of Marshalls at the same time, it can get redundant. If you think you have the Marshall thing covered you may want another flavor; Einstien, Orange, Boogie etc... Just a thought, at the end of the day Marshalls to one degree or another always sound like Marshalls. Sometimes it's great to blend them with other colors.
Click to expand...

James,

Your point is well taken, and every now and then I'm tempted to veer from the Marshall for something different. I've been really curious about Bogner lately, the XTC seems like something I might like or the Uber for something a bit heavier. Here's the rub though, I still feel like I havn't found that perfect Marshall I'm looking for and I love all of the different flavors, which is why I am so curious about the 2205. I think when I satisfy my marshall addiction, which may mean 4 or 5 different ones at some point, I'll probably open up to another sound. :lol: :LOL:
 
Oh guys, and by the way the deal fell through. A real nice guy over on TGP or Harmony, I forget now, decided to keep it. He had a newly modded JVM and realized that the old Marshall rip is where it's at. I think he's keeping both but I'm glad I didn't take his if he would be second guessing it, been there before. S0 that means everyone please keep your ears open for a good 2205 should you run across one. Thanks.
 
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