Anyone tried the jcm800 1 watt amp ?

riffpowers

i need a practice amp and there are 2 of these for sale locally .
a head and a combo .

i didn't like the dsl5c , but as the jcm800 is one of my favourite amps I wondered what these were like.

anyone tried or owned one ?

Collings

Yep, I tried a combo. Does have an 800 character to the tone but it was a combo I tried which was boxy and I thought it was overpriced for what it was. I would imagine the head sounds good through a decent cab.

ICBM

Just buy a 1980s Lead 12 combo if you want a low-powered JCM800. They sound much better than these ludicrously overpriced toys.

(Although the Lead 12 can do with a better speaker - the rarer Lead 20 is better on that score.)

Sassafras

Never understood the appeal of these ludicrously overpriced amps.
And I own a ZVex Nano Head.

Gassage

Absolute tripe. marketing over substance.

riffpowers

Thanks guys, I reckon I'll give it a miss !

randella

This rash of Marshall threads lately has not done anything to change the fact that, outside of the fantasy "nuclear bunker/plexi Superlead" scenario, the only amp of theirs I have any want for is the Mini Jubilee. Even then I don't feel it would do anything particularly better than my Mini Rectifier. 

Going to to have to face up to the fact that I've switched allegiances. I suppose it's all part of being a grown up

randella

ICBM said:

Just buy a 1980s Lead 12 combo if you want a low-powered JCM800. They sound much better than these ludicrously overpriced toys.

(Although the Lead 12 can do with a better speaker - the rarer Lead 20 is better on that score.)

@ICBM would that be any relation to the Marshall Lead 30 Reverb of me dad's? After swapping out the bobbins speaker it sounded terrific and still does, I played it all through my teens and it's still rocking now. 

TTBZ

For low volume Marshall tones it'd be worth trying a Code 25. Great through headphones and for recording direct with the USB.

ICBM

randella said:

@ICBM would that be any relation to the Marshall Lead 30 Reverb of me dad's? After swapping out the bobbins speaker it sounded terrific and still does, I played it all through my teens and it's still rocking now. 

Yes - that's the model above the 20, later available with reverb - as was the 12, but never the 20 for some reason.

From looking at the schematic, the 30 also uses LED clipping instead of the straight IC overdrive of the older models, so it should sound even better. I don't remember ever having played one, they're probably quite rare.

Looks like they had a G12S-50 as stock - yes, those are rubbish! What did you replace it with, out of interest?

randella

@ICBM after a protracted game of loudspeaker musical chairs, the details of which I won't bore you with, it ended up with the driver from my Marshall (G12T-75, from memory).

Although that's not exactly god's gift to speakers itself, it was a distinct improvement. The amp sounded good anyway, but a different driver really un-strangled the mids, if that makes sense. 

If if I could get away with using one simple distortion in my band I'd cheerfully gig it. I sometimes wonder if a Vintage 30 or similar would improve it further.

It's been rock-solid reliable too, my dad bought it used in about 1990 from Kingfisher in Fleet and the only thing that ever failed was the mains rocker switch which wasn't brain surgery to replace. 

ICBM

randella said:

@ICBM after a protracted game of loudspeaker musical chairs, the details of which I won't bore you with, it ended up with the driver from my Marshall (G12T-75, from memory).

Although that's not exactly god's gift to speakers itself, it was a distinct improvement. The amp sounded good anyway, but a different driver really un-strangled the mids, if that makes sense. 

If if I could get away with using one simple distortion in my band I'd cheerfully gig it. I sometimes wonder if a Vintage 30 or similar would improve it further.

No, probably not - the V30 is very middy, so it would probably re-strangle it .

I actually like the G12T-75 with solid-state Marshalls - for exactly the reason I don't especially like it with valve ones... it's quite a loose, boomy and scooped-sounding speaker - but so perfectly offsets the tight, boxy and hard sound of a typical solid-state power section.

If there is an 'even better' speaker it's likely to be something with similarly deep bottom-end and clear mids - possibly a Creamback G12H-75, if you're not happy to risk a G12H-30 in a 30W amp.

algroves1

Not sure why all the negativity towards the one watt Marshall's. I've got two of the JMP's that are terrific at home. I own a Bad Cat, Dr Z, Mesa Recto, original 800 2204 and the one watt JMP is by far the best sounding and actually most compelling for playing at home.

algroves1

PS I really like my JMP-1watt with a G12H30. It sounds quite extended in the top and bottom to me and is my favourite of the Celesetions at low volume. At the studio it's either T-75 (the clearest) or Alnico Blue (great midrange). 

ICBM

The negativity is because the ones I've played have all sounded terrible even through a 4x12", they're not particularly well-made - DSL quality at best, or possibly closer to an AVT - and the price they were new was laughable.

I could see them working quite well in a recorded mix, to be fair - but as stand-alone amps they just sound small, boxy and honky. The little combos are so bad that I seriously thought they had 8" or even 6" speakers, but in fact it's a 10. (The DSL1 does have an 8", and sounds no worse really!)

I accept that it may be personal taste… I probably like amps you don't. Although you have a Mesa Rectifier - those sound better to me at any volume than any of the 1W Marshalls, even right down to a whisper - they simply have a much fuller, deeper and more open tone.

I do actually think the JMP-1 was probably the least bad of the series - I haven't heard the JVM-1, and only tried the JTM-1 as a combo although the circuit is almost identical to the JMP-1. But if you like them, fair enough!

It took the big dealers up to two years to clear out these 'limited edition' amps at knock-down prices though...

TimmyO

Spend the money on one of the good attenuators

Sassafras

Try the Z-Vex Nano if you're after a tiny low wattage valve amp.
Probably about £200 - 250 secondhand.

algroves1

ICBM said:

The negativity is because the ones I've played have all sounded terrible even through a 4x12", they're not particularly well-made - DSL quality at best, or possibly closer to an AVT - and the price they were new was laughable.

I could see them working quite well in a recorded mix, to be fair - but as stand-alone amps they just sound small, boxy and honky. The little combos are so bad that I seriously thought they had 8" or even 6" speakers, but in fact it's a 10. (The DSL1 does have an 8", and sounds no worse really!)

I accept that it may be personal taste… I probably like amps you don't. Although you have a Mesa Rectifier - those sound better to me at any volume than any of the 1W Marshalls, even right down to a whisper - they simply have a much fuller, deeper and more open tone.

I do actually think the JMP-1 was probably the least bad of the series - I haven't heard the JVM-1, and only tried the JTM-1 as a combo although the circuit is almost identical to the JMP-1. But if you like them, fair enough!

It took the big dealers up to two years to clear out these 'limited edition' amps at knock-down prices though...

Got to say I don't hear that.  Through my 1960B with T-75's the JMP-1 sounds very much in the same vein as the JMP 50 watters I have owned, and the 100 watt Plexi re-issue that I had in my studio for years.  It doesn't have the same thump, but definitely same character and voice.

Can't argue against prices as I bought mine used, but they are what they are - mini versions of classic Marshalls designed for capturing that vibe at home levels, which I think they do better than anything I've used in fifteen years.

ICBM

algroves1 said:

Through my 1960B with T-75's the JMP-1 sounds very much in the same vein as the JMP 50 watters I have owned, and the 100 watt Plexi re-issue that I had in my studio for years.  It doesn't have the same thump, but definitely same character and voice.

Not even close, to me. No thump, no 'kerrang', no roar…

On the other hand neither does an 18/20W, and a lot of people say they sound like small Plexis. Closer, but it's still a middier, reedy type of sound that just doesn't have the authority of the big amps.

How do you set the tone controls on a classic Marshall - bass low or fully off? Just curious! I always have it on 10.