Marshall JCM 800 2203X - How To Get That 80's Tone

I review & dial in the Marshall JCM800 2203X

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[johngittins]

Love the JCM800, instant great US 80s hardrock tones. Bought one new in 1985 and still have it 😀

[shanealan]

800s are monsters. Definitely got their own thing going on, very powerful sound.

[braxal]

Jarrod I am curious. Did you try raising the master above 2 that I think I am seeing in the video? I am used to plexi like my 1972 50 watt and they come more alive when you turn the master up. That is one thing about Marshalls to get them sounding good you got to crank them.

[Dan_Ranger]

From 82 to 89 my 800 ‘s were boosted with either a Boss SD1 or a Rozz Parametric EQ. When I joined UK thrash band in 87 it was the Rozz. You didn’t need tons of gain, you dug deep and made the amp work. The payoff was clarity that stuck out in the mix, live and on record. Still wish I had both my 800’s, but the 90’s came along and we started getting spoilt for choice 😂

[voxpathfinderr]

Jarrod, either use a boss DS-1, or you have to do what everyone has been saying on the forums for over 20 years - you have to turn up the power section to get power clipping along with preamp clipping. These amplifiers back in the 80s were wound up pretty high back when there was loud stage volume. Plug it into your oxbox to get that output tube saturation

[chrisboller]

Did they neuter the reissue? I have a 2203 from 1982 with 6505s and it's the best amp I've ever encountered... and you could not have the volume at 2 and stand that close to it without your ears bleeding, but these last few years I've used a Fryeytte Powerstation (instead of an iso cab) and actually turn the volume up to 5 (gasp). A Boss SD-1 is a must but between working that and my guitar's volume knob I can do everything I want.

[BB-ftnd]

The JCM (with GE-7, SD-1W, BP-1W) is the perfect amp when creating music for a wider audience. Its tones appeal to almost everyone. I wish Marshall would create an amp with a clean JTM-45-like channel, A JCM-800 Crunch channel and a JCM-900 over-drive channel. Each with mods to enhance each channel. The day that amp arrives is the day many amp manufacturers will leave the business.

[goobiecaro]

If you are using that amp and just straight in, they pair up great with greenback loaded cabs and the master at 4 to 7. This way you ae getting the speaker break up along with the power section. Having a hotter pickup like a Superdistortion also helps. It is a loud set up and great for theatre and outdoor gigs. Very old school.

[michaelrauls]

Cool video as always. I thought the tone was great but then I'm an old metal dude from the late 70s/80s.
Ive been thinking about picking one of these up. My only beef with Marshalls is the tone knobs don't seem to do anything. Or very little at least. One trick pony they but I like that trick.

[michaelgallegos]

Thanks Jarrod I always look forward to u Amp reviews freaking awesome brother!!🎸🥁🎶👍🍺🍻🥃

[TallismanRogue]

Getting the JCM-1 50th anniversary 1-watt combo was one of the best decisions I ever made. Max them out on the 0.1 W setting and they ROAR without blowing your ears out.

[wyldeslash]

He’s basically sounded disappointed with it over all, but in the mix of the sounds it sounded phenomenal. Loved how freakin good sounded!

[elektrar]

Great video, but it is quite apparent you are not used to these early true monsters, which behave differently to modded or newer higain amps. You messed with all knobs except the most important one = master, which does not only behave as a volume, but a saturation and another type of gain. Unfortunately at 2 the power tubes barely started to breath, so you need to find a combination of master and preamp volume to get balls, all the harmonics, attack and aggression and then you only need a slight boost from SD1 or OD1 to tighten it up and it will rock. If it was good for Metallica early albums, it should do metal:) I never use master lower than 3 and half but sometimes up to 6-of course I use it with attenuator:)

[voxpathfinderr]

Isn’t this the amplifier that Kerry King uses with his 10 Band EQ in the loop?

[craigkubitzki]

I have a white jcm 800 4104. I have tried a ton of boost pedals with it and I never get a completey satisfactory, brutal, modern high gain tone on it untill i started experimenting with stacking boosts. Ive got forten pedals, sd1 808s and surprisingly my cheaper pedels won for this. The best combo by far was a donner blues driver first followed by the joyo argos... its fucking surgical. When i got the amp i felt the same way cranking up the gain, like "thats is? Thats all it has???" Definitely better with a boost but it absolutely needs two boosts and playing with combinations is a blast. Also when stacking overdrive you do not need the master cranked at all to get a good saturated tone, I live in an apartment and use the amp at low volume and it sounds phenomenal.

[Claimjumper]

Great video. Love that MudKiller for sure. I know you don't have a DS-1 but you could use the one in your Helix or HX Stomp.

[bustersgotavmax]

A lot of those 80's tones were from the power section . A good method was to run clean channel all in and use the gain as the volume, then use an overdrive in front of it. The amp wants to be loud to sing.

[acbenitez]

Legendary Tones makes a simple plug-in V2 mod for these adding another tube preamp into the stage. Boss SD-1 pedal sounds good on the input straight also.

[michelmetal]

The trick was to dial the again back to about 2 or 3 o'clock but then turn the master almost al the way up! From about 3 o'clock the amp starts to come alive. Thats why they used the power brakes in those days. But who am I, I only had 8 of them through the years. Greetings from Holland.

[King_CrimsonX]

Jeff Beck said the reason why he loves playing the Stratocaster is because it makes you work hard for every note, and your tone, but once you get there, you're untouchable. Also, very highly recommend the BOSS SD-1 as an overdrive boost pedal for any Marshall, or 4-holer amp.

The same goes for my 2 Deizel Herbert's, it took me years to dial in those two beasts.