Spent sometime with my Marshall’s this Morning

[Leonard Neemoil]

Used three of my Les Pauls and my new Telecaster.

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No pics of the other LPs?

 

[LargeBoxSmallBox]

I’ll definitely Google this.

Using my SC20H through the matching open back SC112, the Spark Mini added a ton of tight low end to the sound. My buddy, who plays metal (as well as pretty much every genre, he is really good), had a field day with it. We had the knob turned up to about 2-3 o'clock. It was quite a surprise. I've never seen anything on the internet about this besides my posts on this forum about it, but it was awesome sounding. Note that the full-sized Spark did not have the same result!

 

[jcm800gridlock]

No pics of the other LPs?

 

[Troy T. Blues]

Thanks. The bright cap mod is definitely something I’d try with this amp. I recall have that done with both a JCM800 4104 and with a 50 watt JMP combo that I’ve owned.

Maybe it’s my ears now, not hearing certain bass sounds.

Just throw in some JJ tubes, especially preamp tubes. That will darken/thicken it up too.

 

[jcm800gridlock]

Just throw in some JJ tubes, especially preamp tubes. That will darken/thicken it up too.

I’ll have to double check, but I believe that there are JJ’s already in the amp.

 

[scozz]

Hi @LargeBoxSmallBox, I have a full size Spark that is sitting on the shelf in my music room. It’s not a very transparent pedal imo.

I’ve never tried the mini Spark, would you say it’s fairly transparent?, Well as much as it could be and still be in the circuit, lol.

It doesn’t color the tone of the amp, (much)?

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

Holy camoley those are nice LPs!

 

[Neptical]

Beautiful rigs!

A good reason why I use a Boss SD-1 and an MXR 10 Band EQ for all my amps. The most powerful tools in the shed that will put all my amps exactly where I want them.

Years ago I was too cork snifery on using pedals myself. I started to realize there just wasn't ANY amp that did EXACTLY what I wanted...it was always a compromise.

Until one day I figured out..well, if I think of the amp as the heart of my rig, why not give it the rest of it's organs to come alive..? That was the A-HA moment that made feel excited and more than happy to use external OD/EQ gear. Since then, it's actually hard not to get a great tone from any amp.

 

[FleshOnGear]

@Neptical, that’s a really good way to look at it!

 

[LargeBoxSmallBox]

Hi @LargeBoxSmallBox, I have a full size Spark that is sitting on the shelf in my music room. It’s not a very transparent pedal imo.

I’ve never tried the mini Spark, would you say it’s fairly transparent?, Well as much as it could be and still be in the circuit, lol.

It doesn’t color the tone of the amp, (much)?

@scozz the Spark Mini (IMO) is not a very transparent pedal. It sounds good, but is not transparent. It colors the sound more than the full-size Spark. It has a full spectrum of colorization that it applies, depending on where you set the knob. And, as I mentioned, part of that color is adding a nice fat and tight bass to the tone at certain settings. You would not use the Spark Mini for a clean boost.

 

[scozz]

@scozz the Spark Mini (IMO) is not a very transparent pedal. It sounds good, but is not transparent. It colors the sound more than the full-size Spark. It has a full spectrum of colorization that it applies, depending on where you set the knob. And, as I mentioned, part of that color is adding a nice fat and tight bass to the tone at certain settings. You would not use the Spark Mini for a clean boost.

I tried to use mine as a clean boost, drive on 0, it practically changed the entire character of the amp! Not, what I wanted.

I bought a vintage voiced Marshall amplifier, because I wanted a vintage voiced Marshall. I certainly don’t want a pedal, any pedal, to take me too far away from that.

The Spark changes the character of the amp too much imo, I now use an eq pedal in the loop instead. Much more transparent and much better for sculpting certain frequencies.

 

[Maxbrothman]

Treating the JCM800 as somewhere between a clean and crunchy classic gain amp is the way to go, not as high gain, or it will disappoint with mud and mush when cranked. Fun for the first 5 minutes. After, not.

1 x SD-1 will get you hard rock.
1 x SD-1 + 1 x Boost will get you high gain thrash.

Or get hot-rodded, which is worth it because then you can go direct without pedals.

Or get a DSL and find the exact dialing.

 

[scozz]

Treating the JCM800 as somewhere between a clean and crunchy classic gain amp is the way to go, not as high gain, or it will disappoint with mud and mush when cranked. Fun for the first 5 minutes. After, not.

1 x SD-1 will get you hard rock.
1 x SD-1 + 1 x Boost will get you high gain thrash.

Or get hot-rodded, which is worth it because then you can go direct without pedals.

Or get a DSL and find the exact dialing.

Right, an 800 is a low to medium gain amp to my ears, and that’s what I’m looking for as my base tone. I like to mix and match power and preamp sections to get that classic Marshall crunch.

A classic crunch, not a modern type tone, that imo, has a bit too much compression, and an almost fizzy aspect to it.

Besides an eq pedal, I have a Tube Screamer, an Sd-1, and a Bd-2 for soloing and heavier stuff. That pretty much covers what I play, mostly Classic Rock and Blues.

Just my

 

[Maxbrothman]

Right, an 800 is a low to medium gain amp to my ears, and that’s what I’m looking for as my base tone. I like to mix and match power and preamp sections to get that classic Marshall crunch.

A classic crunch, not a modern type tone, that imo, has a bit too much compression, and an almost fizzy aspect to it.

Besides an eq pedal, I have a Tube Screamer, an Sd-1, and a Bd-2 for soloing and heavier stuff. That pretty much covers what I play, mostly Classic Rock and Blues.

Just my

That is where it is at.

 

[Gblev]

Try raising the bass side of your pickup a half turn on the screw, and tweak it until you get what you want. If that gets too woofy, then just raise the screw under the Low E and A strings, doing them also a half turn at a time. Or do a little of both if you find you need to. One of these adjustments will get you what you want.

 

[axe arsenal]

You want more bottom? Use a 4X12 cab!

 

[science]

Used three of my Les Pauls and my new Telecaster.

Still working with the 800 to get more bottom-end out of the High Input.

There is plenty of bottom-end from the Low Input but not enough gain without a pedal.

I even experimented with an attenuator but really not much improvement over working with the Master Volume.

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Its an open back cab. plug the amp into a 4x12 instead and you will regain the tone you seek. Not with an open back speaker box.

 

[Long Distance Boogie]

I have been rocking a JVM 215C, fattest 1x12 combo I have ever played.

I attribute that to the Celestion G12B150 which is what I assume to be a special request speaker for this amp since I have never heard of it nor is it available, easily anyway.

That in combination with the Mudd Amp Stand which is a lightweight foam stand that keeps it low to the ground with tilt back has the amp sounding bigger and fatter than it is.

 

[Lespaul48]

Used three of my Les Pauls and my new Telecaster.

Still working with the 800 to get more bottom-end out of the High Input.

There is plenty of bottom-end from the Low Input but not enough gain without a pedal.

I even experimented with an attenuator but really not much improvement over working with the Master Volume.

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Trade it in and get a Silver Jubilee...problem solved. Beautiful and great amp though.

 

[jcm800gridlock]

They are loud, killer little amps. I would hate to see you ditch it. Those gain settings are fairly low gain depending on one's style. Open er up and just clip the cap on one leg. So easy to put back. Then it won't thin out when gain is on 4 or even 7.

Mush... I wonder if it is biased correctly? They should have that bright, ballsy 800 tone even with master on like 2. They can sound harsh and too bright but I wouldn't describe any settings on a 4010 as mush.

This is with mine gain full up and an OD with level high on OD but no gain set on OD. Doesn't sound mushy to me, still bright and cooking even with the OD, IMO.
I do play higher gain tho. Even if you pin gain and turn guitar down.

Nice playing and tone. Thanks.