Tell me about the JCM 800 2204

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Alchemist
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I might have a line on one... still undecided. So... tell me about it? Whats the average price (not the lowest because that wont happen here in canada). Tone in comparison with the other JCM 800's... whats the difference, etc. :)
 
get some pedals, I was really let down in the 800. Also, man, the market is high, people are buying these amps thinking they are more than what they actually are, I'm talking crazy prices. It is a good amp, I know I sound contradicting, but it lacks in several places, mainly usable onboard gain. I am not saying I was just hugely let down by the gain of the amp, but it is marketed and recognized by a huge nasty sound, this is because of mods/pedals. I am sure if you hang around places like this enough you understand. But, just trying to clarify. Average price is HIGH now!
 
Jcm800s are in high demand because they are the best sounding of all JCM Marshalls, they retain their plexi-like roar and bottom-end. And lots of people buy them solely for modding. There price is quickly increasing, even more than JMPs some say.

Yet they lack because 1) Very Very little gain compared to modern amps
2) No clean channal, only one lead channal

Additionally, like most other vintage marshalls (plexis, jtms) they must be cranked quite a bit to get distortion. Modern marshalls (JCM2000) have been engineered to sound beter at lower volumes, which the JCM800 lacks.

Its a one trick pony, with an OD Pedal it can get nearly as much gain as JCM2000 by itself. Its a good amp if it is able to be cranked.
 
The 2204 is a great amp IMO. It has a bigger sound to it than the JCM2000's when both are at high volume (I've had both side-by-side). It only has about as much gain as the crunch channel of a TSL with the gain up about halfway, or a DSL on the green crunch channel gain all the way up. If you need more gain, you'll need a boost.

The master volume on them are really touchy. At 1 you are probably too loud to consider TV volume. At 2 you are at band rehersal volume. At 3, the drummer's head splodes. No fx loop stock.

Honestly, I wouldn't pay more than about $600-$700 for one in decent shape. An amp that old will likely need a little work (like re=capping) to hit its peak performance. Something to factor into the price.

They are finicky bastards, but guess what... mine isn't going anywhere! It sounds in-fn-credible.
 
JCM800 2203 - This is the 100 watt version of the single channel JCM800. It is generally considered to be slightly louder and have more headroom. It also has a little more low end or "bigness" (is that a word?) to it.

JCM800 2204 - This is the 50 watt version of the JCM800 single channel series. It saturates quicker, but doesn't have the headroom or the "thump" the 2203s do.

JCM800 2210 - This is the 100 watt channel switching version of the JCM800. It has independent EQ, reverb, line-out and effects loop. Some tone purists dislike it because it has diodes in it.

JCM800 2205 - This is the 50 watt version of the 2210. Same thing applies like the 2204. It has a little less "thump" but saturates quicker.

I believe that's all of them. I have the JCM800 2204 at my house. I chose it because I wanted it to saturate quicker and was hoping it would be better at low volumes. Fact is, I can't even turn the thing up to 1 because it's so fucking loud. I still love it to death though.
 
a big part of the inflated prices would be current 80's metal chic.
what all these kids don't realize is that SO many 800s were mod'd but looked stock.
some guys even had stomp boxes on all the time hiding behind their rig.
 
Thanks guys :)

I was just asking because I was offered one in a trade for my SG Standard. Was also offered a 59 Bassman RI, Orange Rocker 30 combo, and a few other things. I must say the marshall really grabbed my attention the most so far. I'm not a big gain player by the way, so the lack of gain is not really a concern, however the being way too fuckin loud thing is lol.... especially since I will just be mainly a bedroom/studio player for the next few years thanks to research/grad school stuff. How do these sound attenuated though?
 
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Code001":78e11 said:
I believe that's all of them.
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Almost. There are also JCM800 versions of the 1987 and 1959 (50 and 100W "plexi" style circuits, 4 inputs, no master volume). Not as common as the other JCM800's but they're out there.

And ya, the 2204 is loud and the MV is touchy. Honestly, the actual volume maxes out at around 4 or 5 on the MV. After that it just saturates more.

Using an attenuator to make the MV a little less touchy works OK, but it's not that great for choking a cranked 2204 down to bedroom volume. Using it with something like a tubescreamer for pratice at home isn't that bad if you want just one amp that you can use at home and for gigs. But solely for home use the JCM800 isn't a good choice IMO.
 
Ah yeah, I've seen those. Very rare though. Also, there are some combos out there but I dunno anything about them. I originally put my JCM800 up for $650 but no one wanted it so I decided just to keep it. :) I'll mod the piss out of it with the help of JerryP. :cool:
 
I think the JCM800 is one of the best rock/metal amps ever. Yes, they do benefit from a boost but the aggressive tone they have lends itself really well to rock or metal when cranked and boosted with an overdrive.

Wouldn't be my first choice for a home friendly amp or for someone needing a versatile amp.
 
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LaXu":d12e8 said:
I think the JCM800 is one of the best rock/metal amps ever. Yes, they do benefit from a boost but the aggressive tone they have lends itself really well to rock or metal when cranked and boosted with an overdrive.

Wouldn't be my first choice for a home friendly amp or for someone needing a versatile amp.
Click to expand...

I already have a main rig setup, its very versatile, just looking for more toys really. I guess the better choice would probably be the rocker 30 combo, but its still tempting to add more big amp heads to your rig haha. I was getting excited about the 59 bassman RI for a bit, since I do love their tone, but I've been reading a bunch of bad reliability reviews, which is quite dissapointing :(
 
The hotplate worked pretty well with my 2204 to take a little of the edge off. Ya know - turn the amp up to 1.5 and knock it down a hair with the hotplate (-8 dB). I thought an outboard OD sounded better than going further than that on the hotplate.
 
I vote Orange. It'd be better for your grad-student decible limit :D
 
The Rocker 30 is a great little head. It sounds more like an 800 than its older brothers the 50 or 100, due to it not being as compressed.
 
Mysticaxe hits on the head compared to the TSL. I have both right now at home. Doing comparisons. TSL isn't a bad amp lots of versatility. Great lead tone. Has option of VPR 25watt reduction for bedroom recording.

I have done a zillion clips at home comparing these 2 head to head. Using different ODs on the JCM800. Which I can post if you like?

I still have to do low gain ACDC clips comparisons but for metal I found this:

JCM800 w/ZW-44 sounds great. Big and more aggressive.
This was played at MV3 with HP on -4 still F**king loud.
Lead tone good, familair but not big enough or articulate.

JCM800 w.SD-1 keeley mod good tone more raunchy. Big.
This was played at MV3 with HP on -4 still F**king loud.
Lead tone good to ears but ZW-44 sounded bit better.

TSL100 - Good tone big but not as big as JCM800 recordings.
Lead clips I preferred more here though seemed less comprssed and articulate.

TSL in VPR mode (25 watts) Great for recording. wife was smiling finally. Not as big as JCM or TSL in 100 watt mode but.... neighbors were happy. Lead tone on this is my favorite.

So there you have it still don't know what the hell to do. I have 20 days to return the TSL. Love that no OD are needed tone not quite as great as my JCM. But wife is happier. also I can hear tracks with headphones hard with JCM800. I find -8 on hot plate changes tone a bit. I prefer -4 but as I said still F**king loud.
 
I hated the Virtual Poo Refinery or the VPR switch on my old TSL-100, it sucked all of the life, balls & tone out of the amp. The TSL-100 lead channel sounded great at low volumes when you boost it.
 
Good point boogie444 forgot to mention with a clean bit of boost in front of lead channel sounds great for leads and sustains nicely.
or for more vite.
 
My 2204 sounded great with a Hotplate at -12. I also found that I didn't like the Master up too high. Anything over 5 started to get too squishy. I thought the sweet spot was anywhere from 4-6.
 
-12 is killing it man, loss of highs and lows. As for MV I think 4 is great.
 
Everything said about the Master Volume is true, at least for mine! It goes from nothing on 0 to well above TV volume at 1. Its very bright lower down the volume too.

When i have some cash im gonna get mine services, and get a PPMV put on it to. And some kind of switch to take the bright caps out of the loop. I dont know any where in the UK that does mods though :(
 
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