Mommy, mommy, it followed me home! NAD

Simon Says

Paramedics > Fire Fighters
Joined
Dec 21, 2012
Messages
2,412
Location
Gloucester, UK
I've been thinking about getting another amp for a while, even though I still love my Fillmore head.; every time I plug into it, it feels like home; this amp can't handle it all. It's a decent rock amp with some of the attitude I'm looking for; it's quick and solid in the lows, very rich in harmonics, but let's face it: it's not a fire-breathing monster.

So, my main criterion was to find a dedicated high-gain amplifier covering the more saturated tones. At first, I looked at a few Mesa/Boogies; the Mark V and IV have always been high on my list. However, I couldn't bring myself to spend over £2k for something I may only use occasionally. I briefly considered getting a modeller but quickly dismissed the idea. For instance, a Helix plus a PA and a dedicated cab would cost me as much as a halfway decent tube amplifier. I'm not someone who constantly changes their tone preferences, so owning a modeller wouldn't make much sense for me anyway.

A few days ago, I started considering the Marshall JVM410H. The price of a used one in the UK is reasonable. The amp has a decent clean channel, very well-received crunch and OD1 channels, and more drive with the OD2 than I will ever need. It's MIDI-enabled, so I can easily incorporate it into my existing rig.

My feeling about the JVM is that it may very well be the last decent amplifier that Marshall has produced. Let's face it: since Jim died, the brand has been pushing fridges, Bluetooth speakers, and headphones more than amplifiers. Brands like Metropoulus of Friedman are milking the Marshall cool-aid better than Marshall did in the past 20 years.

The purchase was made on impulse and wasn't preplanned in any way. I might end up hating it when I receive it on Monday, and to be fair, I don't expect much from it. But for the price I got it (used), I honestly have no regrets. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised, but in the worst-case scenario, I'm planning to have it modified by Dan Gower. I will give it a good, loving home.

Photo sesh, and tone report tomorrow.
 
Nice! Looking forward to the pics and tone report

Came in this morning: great high gains, average cleans, and disappointing crunch from my limited time with this amp. You can't stiff up the amp to sound modern on high gain and keep juicy light drives. It's okay, though, as I have amazing cleans and crunch to medium drives with Fillmore.

Coming back to OD1 and OD2, they both have more spare drive than I ever seen myself using. I like them more in the Orange mode (green, orange and red to choose from) with the drive knob halfway; that's enough push for pitch harmonics, and I can hear the articulation just enough too. The AiC Facelift era is effortless with this amp.

The amp is almost new; it was made towards the end of 2022, not a mark on it; the tolex was a bit dusty, but otherwise perfect condish.

I'm really not disappointed.


 
Came in this morning: great high gains, average cleans, and disappointing crunch from my limited time with this amp. You can't stiff up the amp to sound modern on high gain and keep juicy light drives. It's okay, though, as I have amazing cleans and crunch to medium drives with Fillmore.

Coming back to OD1 and OD2, they both have more spare drive than I ever seen myself using. I like them more in the Orange mode (green, orange and red to choose from) with the drive knob halfway; that's enough push for pitch harmonics, and I can hear the articulation just enough too. The AiC Facelift era is effortless with this amp.

The amp is almost new; it was made towards the end of 2022, not a mark on it; the tolex was a bit dusty, but otherwise perfect condish.

I'm really not disappointed.


That looks the business!
 
Congrats! Sometimes something just pops up as too good to not buy.

Did that once with a car. It's still in the family.
Congrats brother, nice score.

Thanks, lads. I spent most of the day messing around with the amp and I had a lot of fun. It's my first proper day off since forever, so I turned up the volume, adjusted the knobs, and played around with the switches. I also got out my amp maintenance kit and checked the bias. It's really cold, which explains why the cleans and crunches sound so dull. With a 480v plate voltage (506v in standby), the plate current is 24mA, which is about 45% of the plate dissipation. Even my Boogie is biased hotter than that! I won't do much about it today since I've already cracked open my evening beer, but I do plan to increase the bias to 60% at some point to see how it changes the sound. I don't usually prefer a hot bias, but 45% is stone cold, man!
 
Thanks, lads. I spent most of the day messing around with the amp and I had a lot of fun. It's my first proper day off since forever, so I turned up the volume, adjusted the knobs, and played around with the switches. I also got out my amp maintenance kit and checked the bias. It's really cold, which explains why the cleans and crunches sound so dull. With a 480v plate voltage (506v in standby), the plate current is 24mA, which is about 45% of the plate dissipation. Even my Boogie is biased hotter than that! I won't do much about it today since I've already cracked open my evening beer, but I do plan to increase the bias to 60% at some point to see how it changes the sound. I don't usually prefer a hot bias, but 45% is stone cold, man!

Rock it hot and let it fly dude 🤘🤘
 
With a 480v plate voltage (506v in standby), the plate current is 24mA, which is about 45% of the plate dissipation. Even my Boogie is biased hotter than that! I won't do much about it today since I've already cracked open my evening beer
Good call.

Beer & 480v don't always go well together. Like for pilots: 8 hours bottle to throttle.
 
Thanks, lads. I spent most of the day messing around with the amp and I had a lot of fun. It's my first proper day off since forever, so I turned up the volume, adjusted the knobs, and played around with the switches. I also got out my amp maintenance kit and checked the bias. It's really cold, which explains why the cleans and crunches sound so dull. With a 480v plate voltage (506v in standby), the plate current is 24mA, which is about 45% of the plate dissipation. Even my Boogie is biased hotter than that! I won't do much about it today since I've already cracked open my evening beer, but I do plan to increase the bias to 60% at some point to see how it changes the sound. I don't usually prefer a hot bias, but 45% is stone cold, man!
32 To 35 mA Is What I Believe Mine Was When It Sounded Best. It Has Been A While Though.
 
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