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Marshall Amps - good or bad?


Brianm

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looking at what is being said in the forums, it appears that many pepole dont use Marshall amps. i'm not a very experienced guitarist, but i was lead to believe that Marshall amps were a cut above the rest. is this true? or is it just the best of the cheaper range of amps?

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Guest stuartmaxwell

all depends on what you are looking for

you have guys who swear by marshall, good solid amps like

i prefer HUGHES & KETTNER though

fat as fuck, really big sounding

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Can't stand marshall, but it depends on what you're wanting to play, they're spot on for certain things but i think they pretty much suck at everything else, no clean channel at volume, always gets crunchy, and not a smooth enough gain channel for my liking.

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Depends how you play, I can get any sound I want out my amp (marshall jcm2000 dsl100 and 4x12 1960 cab)...don't confuse marhsall amps with their solid-state/valvestate line...those amps are pish and belong in the bin...the big boy amps though...they just sing!! I prefer a really heavy sound, even when clean, which is why I'm using P90 pickups now...its the perfect combo and just sounds like all those great records of the 60s....I mean, Hendrix, Townshend (when his guitar sounded good) and countless more..you can't go wrong with that sound!!

Not forgetting that marshall changed the face of guitar amplification (with the help of The Who) and invented the STACK!!! For that, I salute them!!

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The proper Marshall valve stuff does one sound very well - the late 60's/early 70's British Rock sound, which was then re-invented again in the early '80s via Iron Maiden, The Cult etc.

Depends if this sound appeals to you or not..

They made a name for themselves at a time when all the other British stuff was unreliable or designed for clean sounds like the AC30, and the American stuff was expensive and very difficult to get spares for (something necessary for gigging a valve amp of the time).

The biggest attraction was that the volume goes up to 11, and the best sound is obtained playing at this volume.. :rockon:

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I am currently amp-less (Theiving bastards must die), but have used a few different types recently, and if I had the money I'd go and get a big ass Fender Twin or Hot Rod, as all Fenders I've used have been insanely loud & supremely cutting. Valvestates are pish though,, started microphonic (bad) feedback at wuss levels of volume, compared to the(Marshall) half stack I used at Tuts recently, no contest.

Try before you Buy, as always.

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the 5150 is a good amp - now it has been deleted a new satriani model has been made and apparently it's ace.

but then again subjective to the style of music youre playing...

it hasn't been deleted it's just changed name - it's now the 6505 but it's exactly the same amp, all EVH owned was the name

and i'm guessing it's force fed that's the peavy

although both SYL are all mesa now

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Guest Gasss

The quality of Marshall amps has been declining since the early 90s. The new JCM 2000 amps have a lot of reliability problems -serious ones like transformers blowing. Thankfully Marshall have a pretty good service policy.

As for sound, the one thing I have noticed with all the marshalls I have played through is that they need to get above 3/4 volume before they sound good. Otherwise they just sound like the SS amps. I accidentally gigged with a 100W JCM900 on 9 once. It sounded amazing. The same couldnt be said for the FOH band mix.

Anyway, what do I know, I prefer early sixties fender amps!

P.S. I got one on ebay for less than the price of a new DSL50 head

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My amp is a Marshall and i love it (JCM2000 DSL401)

i wouldnt say they are a cut above the rest, but they are THE classic rock sound...

the lower end amps arent particularly great though, you do seem to pay a bit for the name rather than an overly impressive amp, but the valve amps are awesome

not everyone will be a fan though, they are a bit 'generic' for some people, and other will just prefer the sound of fenders/mesa's/whatever

as for peaveys, yeah, the blazers and low end ss amps are utter crap, but they do also make some excellent amps too, the valve amps all seem to get good reviews, the classic 30 is supposedly an awesome amp, and the delta blues they have in brue millers atm is great too...

the 5150 is now renamed the 6505, since evh left peavey and has the trademark on the name. the amp is exactly the same except for the logo

David

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it realy depends what your wanting out of it' date=' marshalls are pretty shit when it comes really heavy guitar sounds[/quote']

That might apply to your MG but just look at who uses Marshall for heavy sounds...I'll point you in the direction of Hatebreed for a start...TSL100 and Mode4 together...crushing.

But why not just make 10 a little louder and make 10 the loudest? ;)

Or buy a Fender...it goes up to 12. Which brings me onto a point I'd like to make. Marshall DSL50 half stack + Fender Hot Rod + amp switcher...the starting point of a mighty rig.

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it realy depends what your wanting out of it' date=' marshalls are pretty shit when it comes really heavy guitar

sounds, but i have always got a decent sound out of my MG series, i also own a marshall bass amp which ive always got the tone right on[/quote']

heavy sounds? the classic heavy metal sounds were JCM800's (admittedly often with a boost on the front)

and the modern valve amps. the JCM2000 DSL's and TSL's are brilliant for modern heavy metal, bands like Shadows Fall use the JCM2000's and they are heavy as fuck (and sound awesome)

David

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I've owned a JMP MKII 50W head and recorded with the JCM800 version of it. Both are quality amps - good sounds - they cut across well live and have balls.

I did find I needed an attenuator or extreme volume to get the best from them. Difficult to get clean sounds without hiss once you have it cranked up, even using pedals. I found the best sound came from cranking the amp and rolling back your guitar volume to get the clean sound, then boosting it with a pedal to gte the "channel change" thing.

These were single channel amps though.

I've never had a DSL or TSL head, but whenever I've seen bands using them I've always been impressed with their tone and ability to sit nicely in the mix. A DSL50 goes for 350 on ebay - good amp for a good price.

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