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Marshall Amps
- Thread starter jay43
- Start date
Marshall Valve amps are very good as long as you like the Marshall sound which is very much just the one sound, also, Marshall tone controls are passive so you can only take tone away, not add to it, but if that's the sound you like, you can't beat a Marshall especially with EL34s.
I've got a JCM 800 bass series head. 100 watts but so so loud. It depends what you want though. It's certainly not what you want for super hifi modern sounding stuff but it's got a certain magic that suits certain music.
- May 9, 2008
- 4,081
- 1,236
- Disclosures
- Proprietor Springvale Studios
Well there is the old Marshall Major with 4 X KT88 ultra linear output stage = over 200 watts of tube goodness.
Then there is the VBA400 a hell of an amp that one.
If it ain't all tube, to me its not really a Marshall.
Then there is the VBA400 a hell of an amp that one.
If it ain't all tube, to me its not really a Marshall.
Had 2 VBA400s and both had the same problem, the fan cooling. Great in theory but not so good in practice. The fan should pull the air through the grill in the front and blow it out of the back, unfortunately it also pulls dirty air through any hole on the front and back as well which results on various bits not working. The first thing to go on both of mine was the f/x loop. The sockets get dirty and go intermittent, as I didn't use the F/X loop I just bypassed it but then the unused input started to cut the amp out or reduce volume on it's own and caused other problems and switch cleaner did little to help.
A great amp for a few months until the dirt builds up then it became unreliable so had to go.
A great amp for a few months until the dirt builds up then it became unreliable so had to go.
I really like my VBA400. Changing tubes is a real pain given the design of the outer housing, however it is a mean dirty rock amp.
Been reliable for 12 months so far.
I believe the mid priced Marshall stuff doesn't stack up though (pun intended) but I ve never actually tried any of it.
Been reliable for 12 months so far.
I believe the mid priced Marshall stuff doesn't stack up though (pun intended) but I ve never actually tried any of it.
i own a vba400, 74 super bass & a jcm 800 bass series, i think there all pretty sweet. my favourite being the jcm 800 out of the three
Well there is the old Marshall Major with 4 X KT88 ultra linear output stage = over 200 watts of tube goodness.
Then there is the VBA400 a hell of an amp that one.
If it ain't all tube, to me its not really a Marshall.
I disagree 1000%, but that is just me.
I use a mb450 head and dead reliable with 2 2x10 cabs,massive sound and lots of it.I only use the classic channel.
I have heard of troubles with cabs and combo,s but the problems were with speakers and crossovers.
My head has been totally reliable and you can pick them up s/h for a modest outlay.
It is a classic sound but it wouldn,t be classic if it was
n,t very good.
I have heard of troubles with cabs and combo,s but the problems were with speakers and crossovers.
My head has been totally reliable and you can pick them up s/h for a modest outlay.
It is a classic sound but it wouldn,t be classic if it was
n,t very good.
I have a MB450H and 4x10 and 1x15 cabs (as in my sig below), pretty good once i got a few manufacturing problems sorted.
The 1x15 speaker had a dry solder joint inside on the lowpass coil.
The amp head had two control pots transposed, the volume control and blend were the wrong way around, swapped those and now it's sweet.
Nearly four years with no hassels, and i love the tone.
The 1x15 speaker had a dry solder joint inside on the lowpass coil.
The amp head had two control pots transposed, the volume control and blend were the wrong way around, swapped those and now it's sweet.
Nearly four years with no hassels, and i love the tone.
I have both Super Bass amps and a VBA 400. Love the tone of them all, but it's not a typical bass tone. For the Super Bass, think "degrees of Lemmy", hehehe... 
The VBA 400 is a plain MONSTER! Very loud, and awesome tone, IMHO.
Cheers!
The VBA 400 is a plain MONSTER! Very loud, and awesome tone, IMHO.Cheers!
My SWR Redhead passed in after 15 years of use in October 2009 just 2 days before a big festival I and my band organized. So I had to get me a new amp real fast. I live in a small town in Germany, there is no big Guitar- or Bass-Center in my aerea, only two small shops. The one I used to work for a long time had nothing affordable (remember, only two days), the other one just this Marshall MB 4410 - combo. I payed only 2/3 of its price because there was some damage on the tolex on the upper side. Some glue fixed this, you can't see it without good light.
The Marshall MB 4410 is the MB 450 h built as combo with a 410 enclosure. I love the sound of it, using it as fullstack with a DIY - 410-cab that is built as full closed cab, built like copying 1:1 the upper half of the Ampeg 810 E cab. This cab adds wonderful creamy mids to the sound.
SS-sound on "modern" channel is wonderful, warm and clear, the "classic" channel with its tube has a lot of grit which can be dialed in very smooth. The possibility to mix the two channels gives you a very warm, punchy tube tone. It is the second best "no-Ampeg" - Ampeg - sound I could ever hear. For the absoluely reasonable price the MB 450 is a very good, versatile amp. It made me hot about some more tubes, and for the VBA 400. Hope I will collect enough money in a short time.
This amp changed my taste of amp sounds in a minute. I was a long-time GK user with several MB 400 and 800 and a MB 200 Combo. Then there was the SWR Redhead, this one was great but had a ultra hi-fi - sound. Pushing the preamp - tube gave no overdrive to the sound at all. Played a lot of tube amps in 36 years, but they were not mine. Ampeg SVT, II, 3 Pro, 4 Pro and 8 Pro, Mesa 400 +, Hywat and Mywatt (german brand, handmade Hywatt-clone, fine amp!), but never could afford one. I liked the GK-sound and wanted a tube amp just for having a different sound. This is, what the Marshall is able to deliver. Modern, Classic and Mixing, this means three channels. As sayed before, a very versatile amp.
Only thing about the Marshall MB 4410: Fu**ing heavy SOB! 54 KG is about 115 lbs!
And: listen closely! It is a real Marshall, even it has a solid state - poweramp!
BTW, the best "no-Ampeg" Ampeg - sound is the sound of my Peavey T-Max I bought in spring this year.
The Marshall MB 4410 is the MB 450 h built as combo with a 410 enclosure. I love the sound of it, using it as fullstack with a DIY - 410-cab that is built as full closed cab, built like copying 1:1 the upper half of the Ampeg 810 E cab. This cab adds wonderful creamy mids to the sound.
SS-sound on "modern" channel is wonderful, warm and clear, the "classic" channel with its tube has a lot of grit which can be dialed in very smooth. The possibility to mix the two channels gives you a very warm, punchy tube tone. It is the second best "no-Ampeg" - Ampeg - sound I could ever hear. For the absoluely reasonable price the MB 450 is a very good, versatile amp. It made me hot about some more tubes, and for the VBA 400. Hope I will collect enough money in a short time.
This amp changed my taste of amp sounds in a minute. I was a long-time GK user with several MB 400 and 800 and a MB 200 Combo. Then there was the SWR Redhead, this one was great but had a ultra hi-fi - sound. Pushing the preamp - tube gave no overdrive to the sound at all. Played a lot of tube amps in 36 years, but they were not mine. Ampeg SVT, II, 3 Pro, 4 Pro and 8 Pro, Mesa 400 +, Hywat and Mywatt (german brand, handmade Hywatt-clone, fine amp!), but never could afford one. I liked the GK-sound and wanted a tube amp just for having a different sound. This is, what the Marshall is able to deliver. Modern, Classic and Mixing, this means three channels. As sayed before, a very versatile amp.
Only thing about the Marshall MB 4410: Fu**ing heavy SOB! 54 KG is about 115 lbs!
And: listen closely! It is a real Marshall, even it has a solid state - poweramp!
BTW, the best "no-Ampeg" Ampeg - sound is the sound of my Peavey T-Max I bought in spring this year.
TheRealKong said:My SWR Redhead passed in after 15 years of use in October 2009 just 2 days before a big festival I and my band organized. So I had to get me a new amp real fast. I live in a small town in Germany, there is no big Guitar- or Bass-Center in my aerea, only two small shops. The one I used to work for a long time had nothing affordable (remember, only two days), the other one just this Marshall MB 4410 - combo. I payed only 2/3 of its price because there was some damage on the tolex on the upper side. Some glue fixed this, you can't see it without good light.
The Marshall MB 4410 is the MB 450 h built as combo with a 410 enclosure. I love the sound of it, using it as fullstack with a DIY - 410-cab that is built as full closed cab, built like copying 1:1 the upper half of the Ampeg 810 E cab. This cab adds wonderful creamy mids to the sound.
SS-sound on "modern" channel is wonderful, warm and clear, the "classic" channel with its tube has a lot of grit which can be dialed in very smooth. The possibility to mix the two channels gives you a very warm, punchy tube tone. It is the second best "no-Ampeg" - Ampeg - sound I could ever hear. For the absoluely reasonable price the MB 450 is a very good, versatile amp. It made me hot about some more tubes, and for the VBA 400. Hope I will collect enough money in a short time.
This amp changed my taste of amp sounds in a minute. I was a long-time GK user with several MB 400 and 800 and a MB 200 Combo. Then there was the SWR Redhead, this one was great but had a ultra hi-fi - sound. Pushing the preamp - tube gave no overdrive to the sound at all. Played a lot of tube amps in 36 years, but they were not mine. Ampeg SVT, II, 3 Pro, 4 Pro and 8 Pro, Mesa 400 +, Hywat and Mywatt (german brand, handmade Hywatt-clone, fine amp!), but never could afford one. I liked the GK-sound and wanted a tube amp just for having a different sound. This is, what the Marshall is able to deliver. Modern, Classic and Mixing, this means three channels. As sayed before, a very versatile amp.
Only thing about the Marshall MB 4410: Fu**ing heavy SOB! 54 KG is about 115 lbs!
And: listen closely! It is a real Marshall, even it has a solid state - poweramp!
BTW, the best "no-Ampeg" Ampeg - sound is the sound of my Peavey T-Max I bought in spring this year.
Your Redhead died?
My SM-400 was dead and it was a disconnect between the pwr cord and supply. Simple fix. That amp had taken a tumble six months earlier in it's road case out of an SUV onto 250 year old cobblestones and worked that night!
What do you guys think of the JCM 800 bass series cabinet? If anyone has had the pleasure of playing this beast...
I found it for a pretty good price and I'm contemplating buying, it's listed as a 4 x 12 cabinet and yet when I look up reviews it's under 2 x 12. Strange?
I found it for a pretty good price and I'm contemplating buying, it's listed as a 4 x 12 cabinet and yet when I look up reviews it's under 2 x 12. Strange?
