I (perhaps a bit naively) always think of fender style amps as 'pedal platforms', very clean up to a nice loud volume. However I have seen an increasing number of examples of a non MV Marshall like a 1987x or JTM 45 used clean and I think it sounds really good.
That got me thinking that in my gigging world (the usual unmiced pub/club bluesy rock type gigs) I would never be able to wind an amp of that type up to the level where it would begin to crunch up (without an attenuator) but would it work to give that lovely clean, lots of headroom sound to pair with a nice overdrive and a range of pedals? Especially as the newer Marshalls of this type seem to now have effects loops.
Does anyone use a non MV Marshall like this? Or am I missing the point of this type of amp and should get an attenuator and wind it up into those glorious crunch levels!
Comments
The slight catch is that the Lead models can sound quite shrill and harsh at low volume settings because they have an oversized 'bright' cap on the volume control. This is easy to change though. Or jumper the channels and use only just enough of the bright channel to get the sound you want.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I would add though, that the JTM45 doesn't have THAT much clean headroom, though that can make it an even better pedal platform under some circumstances.
I'm quite lucky though in that the amp has been fitted with a PPIMV and I also use a Rivera Rock Crusher attenuator so if I want to hear what the amp is capable of without pedals I can really wind it up.
It's the best amp I've owned and it really is a pleasure to use.
The JTM45 has much less difference between the Lead and Bass versions, which is one reason it's warmer-sounding.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein