Marshall YJM 100 Watt Head

[FennRx]

how many of you guys out there seek those big, classic rock Marshall sounds? How many of you of dream about owning a Marshall JMP Plexi amplifier, but have no use for a monster 100w head? Dream no more, the YJM has landed. The YJM is a 100w El34 driven Plexi style amp with a lot of cool features.

 

1) It auto biases. this means you can run about any type of power tube or combination...EL34, KT66, whatever you want. And you don't have to use matched sets anymore.

2) It can run in 50 or 100w mode.

3) It has a built in noise gate and reverb with true bypass.

4) It has a built in Boost to take the amp into more 2203 territory, though the Boost is digital.

5) Most importantly, this amp has an EPA- which allows you to adjust the wattage from 100 all the way down to 0.1.

 

My initial findings:

1. this amp is huge. it's built into a Marshall Major chassis/cab and weighs about 50 lbs.

2) the 4 button foot switch is included (unlike say the Haze 40). also included is a jumper cable to daisychain the channels since this amp is a 4 holer.

3) auto-biasing is simple to do and takes maybe 2 minutes for the whole process.

4) the Boost at first was a bit harsh, but with some experimenting I was able to use it like a Tubescreamer or just to add more dirt for heavy metal tones.

5) The EPA works like a charm. Yes, this amp does sound better the louder it gets (and it is LOUD). But in 50w mode with the EPA at about 25%, it just sound fantastic.

6) Jumping the channels is where the magic is. It just adds a fatness and ballsy tone that I flat out love.

 

Some pics:

 

Some clips:

 

not the best quality. but i think it's ok for quickly recording with a single sm57. excuse the poor playing. I think it is pretty easy to tell which one is the YJM vs the Haze.

[user3d]

I'm considering getting this head but have not heard anyone demonstrate a smooth, non-crunch Eric Jonnson style lead tone out of it. Can the YJM head get that?

Thank you.

[FennRx]

i'm not really familiar with his sound. If he uses/used a Plexi, then yes. My guess would be that you would need to use an OD in front to get a real smooth sound. The built in OD boost would probably work. I find that a TS works quite nicely.

[FennRx]

still the best amp ever.