mrjones200x Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 Hey guys still searching for that tone i desire which is a 1980s rock tone and something which can also get to a brown sound for van halen. My main music tastes are Guns and Roses Van Halen and stuff like that. Also bon jovi ect. I do play metallica too but can use my pedals to help. Anyhow i have a Vox AD30VT which is good but not great and also have the Valve junior V3. As much as i love the sound of the VJ as it is great it cant do the 1980's rock sound i long for. So im asking is it a marshall im after? Been looking at there range of tube amps as ive converted to tube since the VJ. Anyone have any experience with what i could be after? Is the jcm900 series good? or the 800 series or what? dont know and need some advice. All help is good even if it isnt a marshall and you have other opinions too Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hidalgo Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 Hey guys still searching for that tone i desire which is a 1980s rock tone and something which can also get to a brown sound for van halen. I've been "out of the game" for about 30 years now. But I think that QUALIFIES me to answer your question........ I played extensively and exclusively through several different Marshall tube heads with 2 4x12 cabinets' date=' and used 4 cabinets at times in the larger venues. Now that I am getting back to playing, I have been testing some of the smaller amps and also the newer technology that is available. Before I go further, let me say that I am amazed at the sounds that can come out of these newer itty-bitty amps (not to mention the volume). I just purchased a Peavey 15W model, and it is entirely adequate for practice and for amping a solid body so it can be heard while experimenting and learning. That said....from what I have seen in the past few months, there is simply no amp out there that I have tried that gives the Marshall tone and depth that you are looking for. It simply isn't available. You can COPY it with trickery and circuits.....but you can't REPRODUCE it with any other product. The [b']80's rock tone[/b] that you mention is actually the 80's MARSHALL tone projected by old-school Celestion green-backs. And as for EVH....please remember that bands like VanHalen, Bon Jovi, and others have numerous effects available and are being mixed through a board that likely cost more than your vehicle. While you might get "close", it's almost impossible to get their sounds without the circuitry and electronics that they have available to them. If I were buying now and wanted to pull out all the stops, I would opt for the 1959 Head (Super Lead 100W) and the 1960 cabinet(s). The head retains for around $2300, and each cabinet is $1200 or so. Probably as close to vintage Marshall sound as you can get, IMO. Like I said.....I purchased the little Peavey to "get by with" until I see where my playing will lead this time around. If I find a band that I fit in with and decide that I am going to go back out and perform regularly, you can BET that there is going to be a Marshall stack standing behind me. (What a sight....a 54-yr-old rocking thru a Marshall ) Just my humble opinion.....and it's worth exactly what you paid for it. :- . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 The typical 80's rock tone is a JCM800. You should be able to get a used head for around $1k, and a 4x12 bottom for probably $500-700. Figure on spending another $200-$400 on the head to have it fully serviced before using it. Plexis like the super lead were the definitive 70's rock tone. Be aware, if you're going this route, that soundmen will NOT like it, because 50 and 100 watts is simply far too much for practical stage use these days, if there's any hope of getting a coherent FOH mix. If you're relying on overdriving the amp for your tone, as you'd have to in order to get the tones you're talking about, about 20 watts is more than sufficient for all but large venues, and even then, the amp can be run in the stage moniter mix. With anything much larger, you'll have to rely upon some sort of attenuating device, which is far from ideal, tone-wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted January 4, 2009 Author Share Posted January 4, 2009 Thanks for that, It mainly will be home use so what i want is a max really of 15 watts all valve amp with the sound of the 80's (jcm 800). Read a review about the blackstar HT-5 the other day, looks like its similar to the VJ but has an ISF control (infinate sound frequency) so you can adjust it from british sounding right round to american sounding. The head isnt a bad price and the stack is quite nice too but i cant find a dealer locally who has one so i cant try one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Looks interesting...not at all like a VJ, from what I read. There's a dealer locator on their website. http://www.blackstaramps.co.uk/dealers/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Also like the look of the marshall dsl401 too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricmon99 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 the nicest lil amp ever built by Marshall was the JCM600 the lil amp that did it all from old school rock to fender clean........very hard to find today and if they are available they are only too be found in studios, that speaks to there rep and versatilty........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-theory Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 the nicest lil amp ever built by Marshall was the JCM600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwhi2001 Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 The DSLs and TSLs are ok for the money. But the tones you are after are difficult to reproduce at home playing volume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Thanks for that' date=' It mainly will be home use so what i want is a max really of 15 watts all valve amp with the sound of the 80's (jcm 800). Read a review about the blackstar HT-5 the other day, looks like its similar to the VJ but has an ISF control (infinate sound frequency) so you can adjust it from british sounding right round to american sounding. The head isnt a bad price and the stack is quite nice too but i cant find a dealer locally who has one so i cant try one.[/quote'] I just got the Blackstar HT-5 head for Christmas. Have to say it really is a great home amp. Running it to a 2x12 Cab. :D/ Me thinks it really nails that marshall tone with out wakin' up the whole street!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 Cheers mate will be trying one soon before they up the price. Not sure on what to get tho? Would there be much difference in sound between the combo and the stack? (two 10" speaker cabs) Ive already got a VJ V3 so could run the head through that seperatly to if i wanted. Cant afford a cab at the momment. Will the HT-5 almost pull of a Van halen sound? Seen a youtube vid that looks quite promising. Also could you compare to the Valve junior if you had one thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarGeezers Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Personally, I think it's more about finding the tone you like(your signature tone) rather than trying to capture something from the past... Great Tone is where you find it, and a modded VJr can sound quite NICE through a good 12" spkr.,miked with a e609, for those LOUDER venues... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 double post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layboomo Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Actually they had a huge problem with those amps over heating and eating output transformers from everything I've read....and they were OK but not the best IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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