the story of my experimental rack continued...

[gwEm]

i got a marshall 20/20 on ebay. the power tubes might not have much life left, but overall i'm quite happy with it, sounds nice.

you can plug a guitar straight into the poweramp for a good and warm clean tone, with alot of headroom. it works quite well if you go straight in via a crunchbox too.

it does get quite warm, i can see why overheating problems have been spoken of. on the other hand, its been fine for me so far. obviously at 40w it is rather loud

[gwEm]

and here you see the whole rack with the 9001 preamp and my thiele cabs.

they sound good together :) the 9001 isn't the same as my 2204 - but this rig is a lot lighter and more expendable.

not sure if i really need this alternative rack rig... but anyway it wasn't too expensive and as i got it secondhand i should be able to sell it decently. the 20/20 warms up the sound nicely.

i wonder how another preamp would sound, for example the jmp1 or the famous ada mp1

[Jonny]

I like your rack ;)

[Brow]

I have a 20/20 in my rack along witha  JMP1 pre-amp, so let me know if you want anymore info etc :)

[TwilightOdyssey]

Rig's getting bigger and bigger, gwEm. Come over to the Dark Side!! :)

[gwEm]

Rig's getting bigger and bigger, gwEm. Come over to the Dark Side!! :)

>Jedi mindtrick voice< "You will sell your rack and your JMP50 and buy a Splawn Competition"
;)
though i hate to say it - that actually might not be a bad idea - too bad about the current exchange rate

[Jonny]

Rig's getting bigger and bigger, gwEm. Come over to the Dark Side!! :)

>Jedi mindtrick voice< "You will sell your rack and your JMP50 and buy a Splawn Competition"
;)
though i hate to say it - that actually might not be a bad idea - too bad about the current exchange rate

Well, what goes up must come down. Fortunately, it goes back up again, or at least will a little better than it is right now, lol..

[noodleplugerine]

Rig's getting bigger and bigger, gwEm. Come over to the Dark Side!! :)

>Jedi mindtrick voice< "You will sell your rack and your JMP50 and buy a Splawn Competition"
;)
though i hate to say it - that actually might not be a bad idea - too bad about the current exchange rate

Well, what goes up must come down. Fortunately, it goes back up again, or at least will a little better than it is right now, lol..

is that the album cover of the march Jonny? Awesome album I must say.

[Will]

Nice job. Does it do the sounds you want though?

[gwEm]

Nice job. Does it do the sounds you want though?

in fact... i'm not sure. i played it most of the weekend. its not as good as the 2204, but its still better than alot of stuff out there. i suppose i'm after the 80s hod rod marshall sound, and an extra dose of portability vs a head. that 9001 is no doubt good, and its amazing considering the price you pay on the 2nd hand market. but on the other hand its a tiny bit undefined, and its more compressed/less reactive than the 2204. on the other hand again, the 9001 is really versatile compared the 2204, and theres considerably more gain on tap. the 9001 has knobs for everything, so its easily adjustable compared to many preamps, though i can't store 'presets'

was discussing with HTH, and he reckons the sound from the 9001 is a bit harsh. and it is in a way. the 20/20 is really good though, and the presence control and bass boost switch work well to even out the sound. i'm really impressed by the 20/20.

so was thinking about another preamp - and just missed an bargain ADA MP-1 on ebay by 20 mins (was christmas shopping and forgot it) and was a bit grumpy for a bit ;) as this is an experiment i'm being extremely tight fisted. people say the jmp-1 is bland, but maiden and priest use it, and i like the many youtube clips of it. hard to say until its in the room with you, anyway the jmp1 is quite expensive on the 2nd hand market, and is likely to be alot more than i want to spend.

with all these tone experiments i'm beginning to get the feeling that any bright p90/humbucker guitar driving a mid-gain marshall type amp through my thieles will get me the sounds i want ;)

[Will]

:lol: you have been converted by the high powered speakers :P

I'm sure you have already thought about putting a Sansamp british through it ? :D

[gwEm]

:lol: you have been converted by the high powered speakers :P

I'm sure you have already thought about putting a Sansamp british through it ? :D

yeah, high-powered speakers are where its at :twisted: i thought the novelty would wear off, but it hasn't. i think i do actually like them ;) means i should sell my marshall 1x12 at some point

i'd love a sansamp british. i tried my gt2 through the 20/20, and it doesn't sound as good as i expected, but i'm not sure my gt2 is in full health, its taken alot of abuse over the years though.

[HTH AMPS]

I looked at the JMP1 too and thought the same thing - a bit too expensive, even second hand.  I paid £60 for my 9001 - thats a bargain and a half!!!

The 9001 isn't harsh, it's just a bit fizzy in the low end run direct into a power amp (imo).  I thought it sounded best run into the front end of a low-gain amp like a plexi.  It's not as nice as a 2203/2204 though, no way.  I can get close with the 9001, but the 2203 has the edge.

I'd love to try an ADA MP1 - remember those sounding REALLY nice back in the day.

[gwEm]

sorry for misremembered quote ;)

i paid 93.50 for my 9001, but still a bargain IMO.

i'd love to check out your workshop someday HTH.

[shobet]

Yep the MP-1s sound nice in modded and unmodded forms. Sadly mine sits on the shelf since I split up the rack. Bit of overkill for the office these days.