Marshall amplifiers are almost universally loved and used by professionals and beginners.
For those who prefer rock, the good news is that some of the most popular Marshall amps also happen to function incredibly well in the hard rock spaces. Moreover, Marshall amps are surprisingly affordable. They’re a reliable go-to option and a consistent favorite among many icons.
Marshall amps can also accommodate a wider range of musical genres. Like any good guitar amp, Marshall’s amps are notoriously versatile.
With that, let’s take a quick look at Marshall’s JCM 800 Reissue 2203 and the JVM410H.
| Features: | Marshall JCM 800 Reissue 2203 | Marshall JVM410H |
|---|---|---|
| Price: | £1,499 | £1,135 |
| Preamp tubes: | 3x ECC83 | 5 x ECC 83 |
| Max Wattage: | 100W | 100W |
| Footswitch: | No | Yes |
| Weight: | 18.8 kg | 22 kg |
Marshall JCM800
Marshall’s JCM800 vintage reissue has nailed the power and crunch of the original and only improved upon it with the addition of the effects loop.
Marshall’s JCM800 has earned a privileged place amongst guitar amps. There’re few images as iconic as that of a Marshall amp head perched upon a matching black 4×12 cabinet. From Clapton to Hendrix, Bon Jovi to Van Halen, scores of rock and blues guitarists have used the power and tone of Marshall amplification. Introduced in the ‘80s, the JCM800 was a milestone for the renowned British brand. The amp features a single channel with a master volume control that allows for a more saturated sound at lower volumes. The JCM800 is now part of Marshall’s “vintage” line of amps.
Design
The amp’s 100W head features 3x ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes and 4x EL34 power amp tubes. Its control layout is simple, with individual controls for bass, presence, middle, treble, master volume, and pre-amp volume.
Sound Quality
The JCM800 sounds like pure rock and roll. The amp defined rock and metal in the ‘80s, and it shows. If you’re looking for an amp that you can use for jazz and country in addition to blues and rock, then you’ll need to look elsewhere because this amp is a one-trick pony.
If you intend to use this amp only for a small venue .i.e. from your bedroom, then you’re going to need a power soak or, at the very least, a good overdrive pedal to coax the best tones from the amp because it really only sounds its best when cranked. When you’ve got the preamp cranked and the master volume above 6, the JCM800 really starts to open up. Its dynamic range is impressive, and the distortion is what you’d expect from a reissue JCM800.
Marshall JVM410H
2007 proved to be a busy year for Marshall, with two new designs in the KT66-powered Vintage Modern series and this new flagship, the JVM410H 100-watt head.
Design
The JVM410H cabinet and styling are what we’ve come to expect from Marshall. While the word ‘iconic’ is often over-used these days, nobody would argue that it shouldn’t apply to this amp. Its heavy-duty hardware combined with black vinyl, gold control panel and the famous white script logo gives a reassuring presence that’ll make any guitarist feel right at home. The JVM’s deep steel box chassis houses lots of electronics, and as you’d expect from an amp that has 28 knobs on its control panel, these are all mounted on printed circuit boards.
One very big PCB holds all the preamp and power amp components, which include the valve bases and most of the rear panel items, while three more support all the front panel controls. The main board is through-plated and all the components are what you’d expect from Marshall’s high-quality standards.
The reason for such a densely populated control panel is that Marshalls JVM is a proper four-channel design, with four sets of gain, volume, and tone controls for each channel. Furthermore, each channel has a mode switch which offers three distinct voices with varying amounts of gain, giving no less than 12 preset sound options to work with. There’s a digital reverb with a level control for each channel, two switchable global master volume controls and presence and resonance controls to fine-tune the power amp’s low and high-frequency response.
On the rear panel, there’re five speaker outlets, two effects loops (one series, one parallel), a balanced speaker-emulated line out, that works in conjunction with the front-panel standby switch offering a silent recording mode, a footswitch jack for the included six-button stage board and a pair of MIDI sockets.
This amp is MIDI compatible, so any MIDI effects unit can track program changes or send program changes to the JVM. However, that’s not all. The non-MIDI stage board is also programmable, so you can use it either to duplicate any of the front panel switches or recall entire channel presets. Every time you change a function the JVM remembers the setting so, for example, if you were to select the crunch channel in a red mode with reverb and the switchable master volume engaged, that’s what you’ll get the next time you return to that channel.
Marshall has deliberately left each footswitch button with a label that’s blank, so you can work out your ideal set-up and then write the various functions on it for your own use.
Sound Quality
Its 4 tri-mode channels rock will rock how you would want it to do! The amps clean channel is one of the best you’ll find on any amp out there, let alone a Marshall. In green mode, this channel’s volume control is bypassed, so the gain takes over as a single volume control, which gives you a very pleasant, high-headroom clean sound that can be either fat and juicy or crystalline, depending on how you set the EQ.
When switching to the orange or red modes, the gain stages are added post-EQ, which is unusual for a Marshall, giving a wide range of highly interactive mild break-up effects. The crunch channel takes you from ‘Plexi’ tonality and into JCM800 territory as you switch through the three modes, while the OD1 and OD2 cover just about every user’s wish for a great Marshall lead sound.
There’re many amps on the market that cost considerably more, which are sadly lacking in this area. So, it’s good to see Marshall leading by example, with a low-noise design that will work just as well in studios as it will on stage.
Conclusion
Marshall’s JVM doesn’t seem to sound as present compared to the 800. The JCM 800 generally feels better and doesn’t have sponginess engineered into the tone.
While both of these amps are great, the JVM may just nudge it. However, if you get the chance, then you should test both amps!