Which marshall for 80's rock ???

[mrjones200x]

Looking at a few combo's and ive narrowed it down to 3 marshalls. Cant afford a plexi head or a jcm 800/900 and 4x12 so looking about £500 range or second hand.

 

DSL 401

Haze 40Watt combo

JCM 900 dual reverb combo 50Watt

 

I play 80's rock like guns and roses, bon jovi, van halen, ac dc ect. The heaviest stuff i play is metallica but i have a metal effects pedal if needed.

 

Any advice would be great

 

Thanks

[Dave]

Duane Allman and Dicky Betts used 50 watt Marshalls in the early days and Dicky has gone back to the 50 watt since he is not competing with 2 drummers anymore. He likes the amp cranked to get the overdrive and doesn't use a lot of floor effects. Back when the ABB were playing 15,000 seat venues they graduated to 100 watt Plexis. In the venues that we play and with today's house sound systems, most bands like lower watt amps and an SM57 stuck on a stand in front for authentic sound.

 

Lots of rock guitar gods have multiple cabinets onstage with many of them disconnected. They use the cabs for looks and might have one 4x12 cab in use. I even read about one guy who plays through a Pod and only has a 2x12 combo producing sound. It sits on top of a stack that is disconnected.

[mrjones200x]

oh yeah i know that a lot is for show but people like slash played through a jcm 800 modded and van halen used a marshall plexi and thats the sound i want and i dont need 100 watts ever even 50 is to loud for home use but the 40 watt seems to be the smallest size all tube amp that marshall do.

 

Cheers

[milospilo]

Marshall have just started making a 15watt all tube amp called the Haze. I haven't heard it yet but it looks like it might be good.

I've got a Tiny Terror (Orange) and you can get a great Izzy/Slash sound out of it. I use it with a 2x12 in my band and it kicks classic-rock ***!

[mrjones200x]

Theres a 2nd hand marshall vintage modern 2266C (Comb 50 watts 2X12) available too if anyone knows about these too?

[m-theory]

but the 40 watt seems to be the smallest size all tube amp that marshall do

They made and reissued both the model 1974 18 watt, and a 20 watter as well, either one of which would be entirely sufficient for all but large stages.

 

Unfortunately, neither would fit into your budget. You're pretty limited with that dollar amount. "THE" 80's rock sound was a JCM800, which is a terrific amp, and a real bargain in the used market, though again, it's going to be beyond your budget.

 

You might consider looking at the various kit amps, or just keep scouring yard sales, pawn shops, and internet auction sites. Patience WILL eventually lead you to a great find, but the key is patience. A buddy of mine just found a 120 w Red Bear head for $400 at a pawn shop. A couple weeks ago, he bought a 1960A cabinet for $350, so he's got his 80's rock amp for $750. Not bad at all.

[mrjones200x]

I found an awesome looking combo so any info would be good, A JCM 800 Combo in 1x12 or 2x12. Used for about £600

[m-theory]

JCM 800 Combo in 1x12 or 2x12. Used for about £600

That'll work.

[mrjones200x]

Is that a good price you reakon. I know these are hard to get hold off by what ive heard. Im gonna have to sell lots of my gear for this amp purchase so will prob be playing through a marshall ms-2 that i have till then!!

[Dave]

Have you done a side by side comparison in a music store to see what you can get out of some of the modeling amps with tube preamp and tube power output stages? You might be surprised what you can get nowadays for around $500. The Line 6 Bogner line and the Peavey Vypyr Tube 60/120 line both are impressive. Marshall sound is one of the more popular models.