Marshall Tube Amps

[richard1973]

I am interested in getting a Marshall tube amp, and as where I live theres not much chance of testing all the Marshall models, so as usual I turn here for advise and input (no punn)

I want a nice, mellow, warm clean sound which is why I'm thinking tube amps, and as far as I know Marshall is a brand we can trust for that and it also delivers for distortion. Ideally I'm looking around the £600 - £700 mark and looking at GAK website to get general ideas (i'll be more thorough when checking at home as I'm currently at work) also ideas of models etc is what I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

So looking at GAK here are some models that springs to mind. Some are Head amps that are 100W and such, can these be used effectively on their own without a cab?? Reason I ask is i mainly play at home, and heads are more compact in size which would work well with room layout. Head amp isnt necessary and a combo amp will also be considered (and expected).

Marshall DSL 100 Head £649 (gak)
Marshall JCM800 2203X Vintage Series 100W tube lead £869
Marshall 2266 C 50Watt All Valve Combo GAK £619
Marshall 2466 100 Watt All Valve head Gak £599

Any advise as always would be great

[dragsternj]

how could you play a head without a cab ?

[richard1973]

lol ok so thats answered that question, so i'm looking at a combo option only. Yup I wasnt aware if they still had some speakers in there as well. Obviously they dont

[richard1973]

Looking on Marshall website, the JVM410C and 210C look a good option, anyone have info on these and the TSL range?

[nosi0]

There are many other amp brands to consider.

Vox
Laney
Hughes and Kettener
Genz Benz
Line6
Randall

For a bit more distortion

Mesa Boogie
Krank

I have a nice Hughes and Kettner Edition Tube 20th Anniversary. it's compact but powerfull. If you only play at home i would not look at a stack(head and cabinet). I would look at combo's with 1 or 2 12inch speakers.

I personaly find marshall's over hyped and over priced but that's just me.

[callen3615]

line 6 makes some good tube amps im lookn at the 112 40 watt

[dragsternj]

he said marshall

I have a jvm 410 head. Superb amp. Love it Can get all from clean to nu-metal and EVERYTHING inbetween. It has a master volume and it sounds on bedroom levels just fine.

Recommended.

[nosi0]

I know he said Marshall valve amp, i'm just saying that there are sooo many good valve amps, so i'm curious why he has his sights set on Marshall's.

For in house amps you can't really go wrong with your amp unless you get the cheapest one there is. If i were to ever buy a Marshall it would be jcm800/2000 TSL or DSL

You don't have to get a 4x12 cabinet with your marshall head you could also get a nice 2x12 which will be approximately the same size as a combo.

If you've ruled out the heads then the 2266 is definately not a bad choice. as it's only 50Watts you can push the valve's a bit more so it's more crunchy than a 100watt at the same volume. if you don't mind a 2x12 cabinet i would go for the 2466 or the DSL100 with then a different brand cabinet. some nice 2x12 genz benz cabinets. I don't know wether marshall makes 2x12's.

[nosi0]

Originally Posted by callen3615

line 6 makes some good tube amps im lookn at the 112 40 watt

The spider valve's are amazing. digital pre-amps just like the spider III's but the valve power section. these amps blew some of the all valve amps i was playing out of the arena.

[richard1973]

thanks for the advise guys

I picked Marshall because i know I cant go wrong there as you always hear good things about them, so I had to narrow a brand down because theres loads to choose from as stated, and with each brand with many models to pick from its just too much choice lol

Also without getting the chance to test them then I thought ok go with Marshall and see what the jemsters think would be a good model to go for.

(i currently have a Peavey bandit 112 but i want to go for a tube amp set up, pedals and guitars wise I have boss pedals and jem and js1200 and rg550 guitars, so now its time to update the amp)

[callen3615]

i like marshall, my buddy has a jvm head. and i love it, but i dont have 3 grand to blow on a head. i can save up money and in about 6 months get a valve line 6. not everyone can afford 150 watt jvm halfstacks, 5 les pauls, ect. i have compaired them side by side and the marshall wins but its not 2300 dollars better than a line 6 valve amp. but if you have that kind of money go get it

[callen3615]

its sounds like you have a solid rig tho, one i could envy!

[richard1973]

yeah the amp isnt going to be an instant purchase, i'll have to put several months worth of spending money aside to save up for what I want and some of the models like JVM410C has turned out to be a bit too pricey for what I had in mind, however so far after reading reviews and going by prices for specs against other Marshall models the TSL122 i'm finding the most appealing and I've found it for £709. That's about £100 over I had in mind but I think thats ok.

Does anyone have that model? or for around same the price know a better or even cheaper Marshall?

again thanks everyone for chipping in.

[rastachild]

no offense, but i've yet to hear any line6 product that could blow any tube amp "out of the arena" when it comes to quality tone, but then again to each his own, and everyone has a different idea of what good tone is. that being said, line6 makes some amps that would be perfect for the original poster's application, which is mainly playing at home.

richard, you seem a little inexperienced when it comes to tube amps, so i'll give you some general advice. first of all, most 50 -100w tube amps don't really sound great at bedroom levels. at low volume levels, the tubes are not being pushed to the point where they are giving that trademark warm overdriven sound, so the tone you end up getting is typically thin and (if using the preamp distortion) buzzy. of course, lower wattage tube amps can be pushed to overdrive at lower volumes, but even a 5w amp can be prohibitively loud for home use situations.

now marshall has a rich legacy of great amps and some people love them and some hate them. i personally am a fan, but the amps you listed will not sound good until you turn up the master volume significantly. i personally love the dsl50 (find the gain is warmer sounding than the tsl series) and the jcm800 (although i'd go with a 2205 instead) but again, only for band practice and gigging applications. as mentioned before, there are a lot of other options out there now depending on what type of sound you are trying to achieve, how many channels you need, etc. still, i stress that a lot of the tube amps will not sound too good until they are pushed. that's not an absolute, but a general rule of thumb.

so you may want to consider a modeling amp which can achieve some decent tones at lower volumes. i myself have a line6 flextone 3 that i use at home that sounds pretty good (although it takes some tweaking to find the sweeter tones).

[Ibateur]

Actually, if you're thinking of "room" playing, forget about going for 100watts of goodness. Go for 30-50 watts, and you'll still be ahead of the game.