PS, did you guys get emails about the updated Tone Settings?

Got the e-mail.

Also, to broseph who posted that: ditch the pedal. SS Marshalls actually do a decent tight high gain. It's not a nice sound, but it isn't supposed to be.

Man, I can't stand it when people don't understand that the amp head has a good enough sound as it is and they insist on using these horrible pedals. For one thing the Uber Metal is the most horrid distortion pedal I've ever heard. Also the guitarist in my (currently miserable) deathgrind band uses a Marshall DSL 100 that the rehearsal space provides. There's a punchy, good metal tone right there. And every time he has to plug in this Digitech Metal Master distortion. It'll be like "ugh... well, okay, the tone he has there sounds usable still, though nasty, I can live with that." And then he scoops all the mids out until it's just treble fizz and bass mud. Ughhghgh. And he owns a 5150, we tell him to use that instead, and he's like "no man, that thing is broken or something. It sucks. It only does like, Van Halen tones." "Well ____ was recorded with a 5150, so was ____. Come on, it's better than you think." "Naw man, that just aint me."

Why is it that no one in local metal bands knows how to dial in gear? They all seem to like to use questionable pedals or multieffects dialed in questionably into the clean channel of a perfectly adequate-for-the-style amp.

Re: JCM2000s- they get real chunky and percussive if you dial 'em in right. Lots of bass and mids, treble and presence below halfway, doesn't need near as much gain as you think, says "Marshall" on the front panel which has always meant "turn way up!", unfortunately.

Yes indeed, I actually really like the JCM2000. The high gain mode is remarkably similar to a tubescreamer into my Laney... in tone and feel.

Fucking noobs. Goddamn...

I actually preferred my mates DSL50 in its slightly broken state to my GH50L Good amps. And I think shit metal band toane is universal, we have the same problem round here. Usually Line 6 or MG.

Everyone knows Marshalls are only good for classic rock and can't do metal. Like... duh!

I might have to give the JCM2000's another shot some day. With a not-basswood guitar. I'm still sure I'm more of a Mesa/5150 guy anyway, but I doubt they're REALLY as intolerable as I used to find them.

It's really all about how you like your low end and midrange voiced. They are still obviously Marshalls and will sit in the mix a certain way. The Deep and Tone Shi(f)t switches are basically a waste of time and are sort of counter to the inherent voicing of the amp. Don't fight it, just roll with it and let it do its thing, which is big midrangey chunk. It's not going to sound like a Dual Rec or a 5150. It's not voiced the same as an old Marshall; the lows and low-mids especially are quite different (yes, I've A/Bed them and gigged with both in a metal setting) but it's still obviously in the same family.

To my ears it still, like glass-filled rectangular boxes that say "Marshall" on them are wont to do, wants to be turned up really loud, which may or may not be an issue. Like, it needs the volume to do its thing, while most modern high-gainers actually sound pretty acceptable at conservative levels. That bit of its heritage is an argument against. The JVM is its own thing in this regard, from my admittedly limited comparative experience, but it's struck me as a much more completely modern amp that does what you'd expect from that perspective. The 2000s are stronger in their inherent Marshall-ness, I think.

What happened with/to Tone Settings?

Creator got lazy, gave up.

I'll agree with e JCM2000 need to push some Volume. Mine was ok at lower volumes, but once it got pushed a little, it really seemed to warm up and enjoy being a map. That is why I originally got the attenuator, was to push the map a bit and still be able to bring the level to reasonable. If I remember correctly my 2000 didn't sound like anything until the the volume was at least 6 and then felt much better around 7-8. I also played the rawk thing and not metulz YMMV

Fucksticks, I still have that thing. It has a modded SD-1 and a synth pedal sitting on it ATM. (I should ask Miz Jen if she can mail it during the day as I have no post office access during the week.) And 6 on the 50w is exactly right; that's where the powermap gives up the... er, goods and you run out of headroom. For teh rawks, 7-8 would be better 'cause pushing the OT on these, like Mesas too, isn't awesome and is kinda the opposite of awesome. But for teh metulz, 6 is probably where to be. It's not gonna get any louder, you get the power section doing its thing, but it's just gonna get squishier after there where 6 is hella loud with V30s and chunks nicely.

This is one of the maps where I really like JJs in the pre section. They smooth out the top end quite a bit. A full compliment of them can get murky, so something else in the PI (okay, that's technically part of the poweramp) might not be a bad choice. I like long-plate Sovteks or the GT tested version, the 12ax7R2. They do have a tendency to go microphonic, but they sound good. =C= SEDs/Svetlanas are The Only Choice for powert00bs here.

I haven't used the current RI Mullards or Tung-Sols in these. I think I used the old GT Mullard RI, but I have no idea what happened to that tube. It was good. Apparently it had reliability issues, but it sounded nice when I used it in my Mesa stuff and I think in my JMP as well.

I would change the power toobs but it went in the trade for the JMP. Since they are so easy (read cheap) to come by I thought I would take that deal and get me another 2000 later in life.

The 2000 is nice, but I liked my JMP better, even for the metal. Stuck an SD-1 in front and called it a day. Clearer- the 2000 actually had a shockingly murky low-mid thing going on when you A/Bed the two- and better bass from the JMP. Not more, just better. Turned the gain to 10, slammed the front end and called it re: the JMP.

A Les Paul, an overdrive and an old Marshall. It pains me to be That Asshole, but it's kinda true.

Are you sure your not an overweight middle aged guy from TGP?

I'm reasonably sure, because I was never into Van Halen and find the presence and treble knobs on old Marshalls kinda sketchy. I don't trust them. It is, however, the Little Black Dress of Rawk Distortion. It always works. You could show up to anything requiring Riffs with an 800 (style points for a JMP master volume), a TS9 and a Lester and anyone who would look at you sideways for it is a card-carrying Communist with an inappropriate fondness for livestock.

*claps*

Well played.

Girl, you know it's true.

You could show up to play Stones or Stevie Ray tunes with that rig, or show up to play teh br00tz, and it's still respectable and not obviously out of place. For as un-versatile as it is- it's that sound with varying amounts of gain, said sound is dirty guitar. Totally safe and conventional, but that doesn't invalidate it. One of those things that simply is what it is and whilst not always the most amazing choice is so very rarely the really wrong choice. Like, you have to try pretty hard to fuck this up.

To digress somewhat, I'm of the opinion that the standard-issue tools of the rock-and-roll trade were pretty well done right some time ago and you can make a modern-sounding record using gear my age or older if you set it up right. New stuff offers different flavors, and aesthetics change, but the tools to Do It Right and With A Polishedness have been there for a longass time now.

i actually had a guy tell me that he was running a rat into the clean channel of his Ampeg ss-140c.

I major facepalmed and told him how to dial in his dirt channel. I dont think hes plugged in the rat since.