The common internet wisdom is the JCM900's suck, but not all 900's were created equal.
Enter the 2101
The MK3 2101 really is a devastating design, part 800, part 900 but very much a fully fledged, proper Marshall.
It has an incredible feature set that adds to the classic 800 design, the gain sensitivity control allows you to dial in the diode clipping, but with the control set to 0 (or as its labelled, 10) the diodes are out of the circuit. Dual master volumes allow you to have those sweet 800 tones, but get a volume boost for those executive solos with your wedding/function band that everybody must hear. Power section is pure 900, so theres loads of volume but a very useable taper to the volume controls. Switchable from 100w down to 50w,its incredibly flexible and versatile. FX loop is great, although i much prefer to bridge it with a patch cable and run my FX out front. It doesn't get properly clean, but who wants pristine cleans? Its just a very good, very simple amp that can be had for very little money. Don't confuse the MK3 with the Dual Reverb, they're very different, the MK3 breathes fire.
For all those people looking for a more portable and flexible 800, sorry, its been around since the early 90's and you knew nothing about it.
Comments
But it doesn't matter, because 'diode clipping' is not the main deciding factor in the sound of the amp, and they sound great anyway. Jubilees also use diode clipping in both the lead and rhythm clip modes, and a lot of people think they sound great too.
The taper is usually poor at the lower end of the range - the pot does nothing until it's about at 9 o'clock, then suddenly comes in - unless they've been replaced with better quality ones, which is common because the originals fail so often.
That makes no difference unless the FX loop jack contacts are dirty (which admittedly is a common fault). The patch cable simply duplicates the bypass path inside the amp.
Sorry, I'm not meaning to sound pedantic but these things are true! It's a great amp for the money and the size, but there are some real issues with them.
"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
Never played the MKIII or SLX though.
I really liked it a lot.
I have a 1980 JMP 2203 which we plugged into the combo's internal speaker and tonally the 900 was very similar. I really like the sensitivity control on it too, it added a fatness that I thought sounded great.
"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