JCM800 and JCM900.... similar?

[sambo]

what are the differences? is there a massive step between the two?

im guessing that because the numbers are close then they must be similar, right? lol  :lol:

well any info much appreciated, theres a '900 combo going for £250 and thought if it was anything like the '800s then it had to be worth it....

its specifically described as a "JCM900 50W High Gain Dual Reverb "

EDIT: oh crumbs just realised both the '900 and '800 have like their own chronicle of sub-models lol...... ok ... rephrasion of the question shall take place:

in general, (lol), what are the differences between '900's and '800's? is there a massive step between the two- regardless of sub-model thing...?

[JamesHealey]

I've owned a JCM900 SLX, 900 Dual Reverb, 900 MkIII and MkIII Combo and also a JCM800 Combo.

800 had the sweetest tone out of all of them by far but it sounded a bit too old worldy and vintagey for me the 900 has much more grit to it's sound just think Dave Navaro (Janes Addiction) im sure he was using one then.

Also Passion and Warfare by Steve Vai was recorded on JCM900's dispite popular belief it was 800's.

the mids and high end are much warmer and rounder and characteristic of the Marshall sound.. the 900 is like a grungy dirtier sound but sounds more compressed and to me is much better for high gain styles.. I really dig the 900 w/ a DS1 and DiMarzio EVO pickups, great vai tones.

but at the same time i like VHII's into a 800 :P exact opposite side of high gain sound.

[sambo]

excellent thanks for the info- your like the perfect person to answer the question seeing as youve owned both.

so would you say that £250 for the dual reverb 2x10/12 combo is worth going for?

[TwilightOdyssey]

According to The History Of Marshall, by Michael Doyle:

... In the late [80s] a cottage industry had sprung up, modifying old and new Marshalls to get massive amounts of gain out of them, because that is what the latest style of heavy rock and thrash demanded.

Marshall weren't unaware of the situation; the problem had first been noticed prior to the introduction of the Silver Jubilee series, which went some way towards redressing the balance.

Edit: personally, I think that the SJ's are TERRIFIC heads, especiallywith something to drive the preamp in front of the head itself ...

But Marshall had an obligation to satisfy all of its customers, rather than just those out for maximum thrash, and while it was easy to increase the gain of their amplifiers, to do so while retaining low noise and good reliability and still have a clean sound worthy of the name was not so simple ...

The High Gain Dual Reverb was the replacement for the enormously popular  [JCM800] 2210/2205 series, which were noted ... for having a distortion closest to that which the latest guitar styles demanded ...
While the High Gain MV was primarily aimed at the heavy metal market, its distortion tone wasn't so radically different from the more versatile Dual Reverb ...

Enter the 4100 ... This amp [was] and instant hit and the most poplular of the 900 series.  

So there you have it straight from Marshall: The '900 was created to meet the demand of Marshall users that wanted more gain.

I played a JCM900 at Ultrasound Rehearsal (NYC) last night, and I thought that even with the gain on 10 with my VHII-loaded Strat, the distortion was lacking. However, I had brought along an HBE Dos Mos volume boost.  Using Preamp 1, I had it set for about a 15-20dB boost. It totally transformed the gain into the hotrodded, harmonically rich tone I need. I was using Preamp 2 with about a 6-10dB boost for solos, which cascaded after Preamp 1. Yes, that's a lot of gain boost. Yes, it was a bit noisy. (Not as noisy as one would think, tho) But, I was pleasantly suprised. It sounded very good!

[willo]

800 had the sweetest tone out of all of them by far but it sounded a bit too old worldy and vintagey for me the 900 has much more grit to it's sound just think Dave Navaro (Janes Addiction) im sure he was using one then.

Spot on, Navarro started using 800's but pretty early on switched to the 900 series. I think Nothing's Shocking was recorded with 800's; XXX was 800 and Les Paul. But very early on he was making the switch towards his most commonly used set up; PRS & JCM900. It's the 900 he uses with 'One Hot Minute' Chili Peppers - a lot more 'boom'!

but at the same time i like VHII's into a 800 :P exact opposite side of high gain sound.

Personally, I don't get enough power from this set-up! I guess it's just me  :D I really like Navarro's tone so I think I might grab a pair of Nailbomb's for my VHII's.

The 900 series also had two channels, I think (I remember Navarro saying that was why he switched), and a diode-clipping circuit which some people like, some people don't. I'm sure Bainzy or Hayden will know the score better than me!

[sambo]

woah... more info than i expected.... cheers guys!!  :D

boost pedal works well with a '900 eh ben.... may have to get me one of them... how bout a catalinbread chili picoso boost?  

but the key question- IS IT WORTH THE MONEY!???!?!

i spose i also still need to find out the exact model.... that could make a fair bit of difference...

[_tom_]

Pffftt just get an 800! Classic tone. Although I've never played either  :lol: OR be even more unique and buy a Fender HRDx.. funnily enough I have one I might want to sell..  

Seriously though. I'd buy a hotplate. I bet you can get some amazing tones out of that LC30, just cant get it cranked to get those.

[FiXXXeR]

A friend of mine has the JCM900 50watt Twin Channel Dual Reverb i played that and it sounded a bit thin and not full bodied, the clean channel was ok but not the best.

after i tried his a few days later my amp broke so i was amp hunting, went onto ebay and a JCM800 two channel 50 watt combo (4212) was on there for £300!!! anyway i thought zakk wylde still uses it to this day and metallica, EVH, Slash ect have all recorded and used this amp in the studio and live which they still do to this day. So i went for it without trying it.

the next day i went to collect, took my guitar with me and gave it a whirl, WOW the normal channel is clean right though to led zep style overdrive with the of the volume knob (which i keep at 4 so i can get cleans on the edge of breakup). the boost channel is where this amp takes off turn up the gain and you have the crushing power to flatted houses or maybe countries!!! very full sounding and loads of harmonics, if you hear a sound in your head this amp will do it.

its so much better than my friends 900 that when he tried it he decided he was going to sell the 900 and buy an 800 lol, so now he is currently selling it and very jelous of me  8)

I am going to get a ISP decimator for the amp though because where i live there is alot of electrical noise and as the amp is high gain it picks them all up, with ISP it will get rid of it all  :D

Hope this helps

[_tom_]

A friend of mine has the JCM900 50watt Twin Channel Dual Reverb i played that and it sounded a bit thin and not full bodied, the clean channel was ok but not the best.

after i tried his a few days later my amp broke so i was amp hunting, went onto ebay and a JCM800 two channel 50 watt combo (4212) was on there for £300!!! anyway i thought zakk wylde still uses it to this day and metallica, EVH, Slash ect have all recorded and used this amp in the studio and live which they still do to this day. So i went for it without trying it.

the next day i went to collect, took my guitar with me and gave it a whirl, WOW the normal channel is clean right though to led zep style overdrive with the of the volume knob (which i keep at 4 so i can get cleans on the edge of breakup). the boost channel is where this amp takes off turn up the gain and you have the crushing power to flatted houses or maybe countries!!! very full sounding and loads of harmonics, if you hear a sound in your head this amp will do it.

its so much better than my friends 900 that when he tried it he decided he was going to sell the 900 and buy an 800 lol, so now he is currently selling it and very jelous of me  8)

I am going to get a ISP decimator for the amp though because where i live there is alot of electrical noise and as the amp is high gain it picks them all up, with ISP it will get rid of it all  :D

Hope this helps

I always thought that the 2 channel ones were regarded as not sounding so good as the single channel. £300 was a bloody bargain though, my HRDx was £475! *jealousy*  :P

[Tellboy]

I have a JCM900 Dual Reverb 100 watt combo with an extension cab. Don't use it much now as it's generally TOO LOUD for gigs I play (Use Cornford Hurricane).

The increased gain in the JCM900 was achieved mostly by introducing solid state circuitry (diodes) into the pre amp circuit. (i.e. the resulting gain is not pure valve/tube driven). Therefore these amps sounded different to many of the earlier Marshalls (some people liked it, some hated it). As well as the Dual Reverb 900 they produced the JCM900 SL-X which I believe did not rely on the solid state circuitry as much as the Dual Reverb and had an extra ECC83 valve. It is possible to customise an SL-X fairly easily but not so easy with the Dual Reverb because of the diode circuitry. If you want the more traditional sound from the Dual Reverb you can always keep the gain low and turn the master volume up full to give power amp distortion but dont forget to put your earplugs in first.

[maliciousteve]

I really wouldn't bother with JCM900's. I just sold mine a couple of days ago because the tone is far too thin and weak. I've played through Tim's Zakk Wylde 800's and the tone was ballsy, grity and just great. All he put through it was a keely modded SD-1 with not alot of gain from the pedal.

I'd go with a Laney combo they have some of the best tones availble (even for the price)

[Davey]

any tube marshall amp for 250 quid that isnt in serious need of repair is worth its money

[indysmith]

Seriously though. I'd buy a hotplate. I bet you can get some amazing tones out of that LC30, just cant get it cranked to get those.

+1 dude, for £250 yu can get urself a Hotplate - it will improve the tone of ur LC30 to no end. 8)

[HJM]

It's a great price given that good single channel vertical input JCM800s fetch £500 up now.

The JCM900s and late twin channel JCM800s, and the Jubilee have a diode clipping stage added. This gives the extra distortion you hear on these amps, it's not to everyones taste as it is not an all valve signal path. It's a pair of silicone diodes.

The Jubilees sounded the best of the lot, plus had flexible wattage reduction features.  JCM900s can sound a bit thin, I've never cared for them as I always found them too harsh, couldn't get that marshall midrange overdrive from them. They sound better with a multi FX in the loop though!

At £250 you should be able to turn a profit if and when you decide to move on.

[sambo]

hmmmm pretty mixed feelings on this one... bit of a love it or hate it amp as some people of said, by the looks of the things....

gonna try it anyway....

thanks for all the replies.

i really need to try a hotplate on my lc30... not gonna get one until i do....