Marshalls...Do I need one?

spark240

So...I have never owned a Marshall amp, or even tried one to any degree, is that odd after some 35 yrs playing?

I have a collection of guitars, but I only ever do recording and not live stuff, so amplification is not a major requirement, but somehow I feel im missing out.

I do have a small Gallien Kruger 250ML and a Vox Valvetronix which if great for when I want some volume, and I can line out for recording if needed.

But...I feel I should have Marshall Stack during in my lifetime ...?? 

Evildurka

Listen to the gas!!!! Lol everyone should have a marshall once in their lifetime.

meltedbuzzbox

I am going to say no

The clean channels arent the best and the drive sounds can be replicated by a pedal

If you want to buy an amp go for a hi-watt or a fender twin :-)

steamabacus

No, it doesn't sound like you do need one.



But do you want one?

slate

Unless you have opportunity to crank a stack, you'll likely be disappointed.
If you have somewhere to play it loud then you should own one. No pedal on earth comes even close.
If you're mainly recording you might like a JMP1 — decent emulated out and it does a good imitation of some classic Marshall tones...

Phil_aka_Pip

Everybody neeeeds one. I have Plexis, a SuperLead MkII, and a Bluesbreaker. If I could have another it would be a JCM800. There's nothing wrong with the clean sounds and the only thing wrong with the drive sounds is that you can only get them at high volume. So I use a Guv'nor...

ICBM

Yes.

http://www.theangelconversations.com/pics/73SuperLead.jpg

kelv_w

why not?  

spark240

Oh no.....This is going to have a costly ending.....

digitalscream

I've never really owned one. I've tried quite a few and never liked any of them (all the way up to a JVM410). I owned a Haze 15W mini-stack for a whole two days; sounded like ass, quite frankly.

I do have the EL84 power amp and it's ace, but I don't think that's really what you're talking about

John_A

Went through a not to dissimilar dilemma recently, I have loads of marshals, but never had a mesa dual rec. the band I play in now I manage with a 18 watt or for bigger gigs a Jtm45. What did I do? Just bought a dual rectifier . Just buy one

monquixote

There are a lot of Marshalls out there so it really depends what you want.

I like a JTM45, but most of them leave me cold. 

thermionic

You at least need to try one for a while. I've owned 2 small 20W combos (a Valvestate and a DSL) and I wasn't disappointed in either. I ended up moving them on for something better suited to my needs, but both were decent amps that did a great Marshall sound. I'm getting into the raw 18W 1974X kind of sound now, I may have to build myself one...

Skipped

Agree that you must try one at some point. It should be a bucket list item for guitarists.

DrJazzTap

Just try one out. It is indeed bucket list stuff (doesn't mean you have to buy one!)

stickyfiddle

I like JTM45s and Bluesbreakers, which are virtually the same thing and Plexis, though I haven't tried one in years. Everything else is shit unless you want to sound like Slash.

capo4th

Probably not

xSkarloey

Skipped;272039" said:

Agree that you must try one at some point. It should be a bucket list item for guitarists.

That's my thought.

I've no wish to own a full stack but I want the experience of playing one. Just strikes me as a fun thing to have tried.

meltedbuzzbox

digitalscream said:

I've never really owned one. I've tried quite a few and never liked any of them (all the way up to a JVM410). I owned a Haze 15W mini-stack for a whole two days; sounded like ass, quite frankly.

I do have the EL84 power amp and it's ace, but I don't think that's really what you're talking about

Same as this. I have played a bunch of Marshalls, I used to use a JCM 800 and a 900 regularly

They dont do clean and the eq seems limited in what it offers. The dirt channels were great but I still think any marshall distortion pedal will get you there.

Volume wise a fender twin seems to drown a jcm 800 into a 4 x 12 

There are so many great amps out there, if you want a new amp I would say try everything you can.

If you just want to look cool then a marshall stack is hard to beat

ICBM

meltedbuzzbox said:

Same as this. I have played a bunch of Marshalls, I used to use a JCM 800 and a 900 regularly

They dont do clean and the eq seems limited in what it offers. The dirt channels were great but I still think any marshall distortion pedal will get you there.

Volume wise a fender twin seems to drown a jcm 800 into a 4 x 12 

I find that all quite bizarre!

I've always been able to get good clean sounds out of Marshalls, and never found a problem getting the tone I want, although I admit the EQ doesn't do that much. I'd pick something like a Super Bass over a Fender Twin for a clean sound (if I didn't need reverb). If anything the distortion on modern Marshalls is harder to get right, I find it too thin and buzzy.

And I've never found Twins that loud (at least without JBLs). A JCM800 2203 into a 4x12" on the other hand is one of the loudest things ever - although not at the same time as the clean sound! Just brutally loud if you crank it.

I suspect we're going for totally different sounds. I'd guess that if you try to make a Marshall do a Fender clean, it runs out of headroom really quickly and doesn't sound that loud. That also makes sense to me with your comment that the distortion sounds were great but that you can get there with a pedal.

I've said this before, but (tongue slightly in cheek and no offence intended!) if you think that a distortion pedal into a Fender can sound like a Marshall, you're a Fender player and not a Marshall player .

And the other way round . I spent years playing Fender amps and trying to convince myself I liked them, but in the end I realised I really prefer Marshalls. It's not a coincidence that the amp I've ended up with is a Marshall derivative, even though it's a 2x12" combo with reverb and tremolo, and you might think it's similar to a Twin. It's not...

meltedbuzzbox

I like to be different :-)

Maybe I am being a little harsh. My strat used to sound alright through the JCM clean but it did used to break up and its not what I would call clean. Maybe grubby is the best description?

I think with modern amps going for a metal amount of gain they all sound mushy and thin (I'm looking at you blackstar).

I suppose I should say an evil twin/the twin rather than a twin. Whether there is a difference in volume I do not know but my trusty black knob the twin amp has always been the loudest thing I have known.

I am a Fender amp player, most definitely. I wont dismiss other brands easily, I have probably played more Marshalls than I have anything else, me and marshalls just aren't a marriage.

I know marshalls are good, so many people buy them and use them. Many of my favourites use them (but they also use fender for clean stuff).

I just like a sparkly clean, its the one thing you cant get in a pedal. I can get a good distortion sound via pedal.

I do think my shredmaster has that JCM tone in spades through my twin. I might be wrong but either way it works well for me and I like it.

Still saying all this, I would take a marshall over a blackstar any day of the week