Marshall 1W 50th Anniversary Amps

[Telerocker]

I would use a device with headphones in your case.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Shame you didn't like the Marshall's more. Did you put an od in front of the JMP?

[Chris]

Shame you didn't like the Marshall's more. Did you put an od in front of the JMP?

Don't get me wrong, I thought the Marshalls were brilliant little amps, very responsive and transparent to what was going on at the guitar.  If I didn't need the extra gain I'd have snapped one of them up right away.  I think the issue is just that I'm trying to get a nice little practice amp that is versatile enough to cover anything including higher gain stuff, which I thought the DSL at least would be able to handle, but it doesn't seem to be capable of the same amounts of gain as a proper DSL.  I'm sure I could get the right kind of sounds using a boost or overdrive pedal in front of the amp, but that would kind of defeat the idea of a very portable, no fuss amp that I can lug upstairs/downstairs/into the garage, depending on where I've been relegated to :-) 

The Marshalls for me were significantly better amps than the Blackstar that I ended up getting, but at more than twice the price and not nearly as versatile I just couldn't take the plunge.  If it was for a recording studio or if I wasn't interested in higher gain stuff the story would have been very different.

I would use a device with headphones in your case.

It's funny you should say that; I was using the headphone out on this Blackstar last night and was fairly impressed, but in general I don't usually like headphone outs...  also, come to think of it, I've not seen headphone sockets on many valve amps - I wonder whether there's a reason for that.

[HTH AMPS]

My practice rig...

[TheyCallMeVolume]

Makes sense. Glad you tried them though, they really are cool little amps!

[gwEm]

I have played 3 of the 5 1 watters, the JTM, JMP, and JCM. I own the JMP, and believe me when I say the thing kicks @ss. I also own a JMP 2203, the real deal, and they really sound alot alike. Granted, it is only 1 watt and it is going through a 10 speaker, but when you run through an external cab or especially slave through the FX loop of a bigger amp, it sings.

I liked the JTM, sounded great for the clean kinda stuff and low gain, Hendrix-y stuff. The JMP covers anything from hairy cleans to late 70's rock, especially with the extra pre-tube boost engaged. I did not like the JCM at all. It had the potential to be great but just did not deliver in my opinion. I was not thrilled with any tones I was getting. I highly recommend the JMP, it covers the most ground outside of the dual channel JVM, and with a good overdrive pedal your options are limitless. People complain about the price and only being 1 watt, etc. but these are great amps.

Allstar - did you try the DSL version just out of interest?

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I have. I've tried all of them but the JVM as it's pretty hard to find it at the moment. I thought the concept was  great, as with all of them, but I feel for the most part it failed to deliver. The classic gain channel was decent, but the ultra gain channel was so buzzsaw-y and just not very pleasant. If only one channel is usable, some of the other ones are better options.

[gwEm]

As we talked about on the other thread I tried the JMP, DSL and JVM. I agree the JMP is excellent. Even though you don't like the sound of the JCM one, other people on the Internet seem to like it - all a question of taste of course.

I thought the DSL was quite good, but I wasn't blown away by it like with the the JMP. I can't help shaking the thought that the JCM is the one for me, so I'm trying to figure out what you thought of the rest of the range and interpolate ;)

The thing with that JMP is that it has no master volume, a concern for me. I'm going to try tonebones in my 2204 and see how that works out first. I do need to make a move towards something lower wattage somehow though.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I feel as though the boost in the back helps act as a problem solver for no master volume. Play on low power mode and you can have the boost off and still get plenty of gain, and good gain at that. Not this terrible chainsaw gain. If you want the volume louder than .1 watt but quieter than 1 watt, turn on the boost and that gets you into the gain territory you'd like. Pair this up with an OD pedal, and your possibilities are endless.

I liked the JCM but I just thought it was too thin. I also don't think the "Jubilee" boost does anything that turning your tone knob down can't do. The master volume is a nice feature to have but when I played it I found similar problems like with basically every other which is low volume on the full power mode. If you like your gain it's a very picky amp in that there's a fine line between sounding good and sounding bad, in regards to the preamp volume. And probably most importantly I liked the gain structure on the JMP much better than the JCM, and I thought the JMP can cover tones ranging from JTM to JCM the best. I like that sweet spot in between those two.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I hope you understand anything I just said, looking at it I realize I probably made no sense...

[gwEm]

I hope you understand anything I just said, looking at it I realize I probably made no sense...

Actually, it's given me some extra info to think about, thanks!

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I feel bad droning on and on with all these poor people as my witness!

If you want any more info, PM me. I'd be happy to talk about it some more.

[Sancho]

I have both the JCM1 and the JTM1. They both capture the tones and vibe of their bigger cousins.
The JCM can go whisper quiet, the JTM is a lot louder. I run the JTM at the 0.1 watt setting and by the time it gets crunchy it's well above conversation level. It does sound righteous with both controls maxed.
The JCM takes any guitar well, the JTM is very picky. I get the best results with low to medium power humbuckers.

If volume is a concern, you'll want one of the master volume models.

[gwEm]

I have both the JCM1 and the JTM1. They both capture the tones and vibe of their bigger cousins.
The JCM can go whisper quiet, the JTM is a lot louder. I run the JTM at the 0.1 watt setting and by the time it gets crunchy it's well above conversation level. It does sound righteous with both controls maxed.
The JCM takes any guitar well, the JTM is very picky. I get the best results with low to medium power humbuckers.

If volume is a concern, you'll want one of the master volume models.

Good thoughts there. I am leaning definitely to the JCM1, but it ain't cheap of course so I need to think carefully. I am experimenting with various ways to quieten down my existing head at the moment.

[Sancho]

The JCM is the best gear purchase I've made in years. Especially once I got the Greenback cab to go with it.
It has made practicing and just playing at home fun because it actually sounds like an 800, only at a manageable volume.