Marshall JVM 50w vs 100w combo

[Amrflyingdude]

Hello everyone.

I apologize in advance as I am a first timer and an old fella here, so if this has been asked or I am asking a stupid question please excuse my lack of knowledge.

I was about to buy my second solid state amp (Boss Katana 100) and thought it might be time to get my first ever tube amp instead, i have never played through a tube amp and have been a loyal user of a Roland JC120 for decades, great amp and will keep it for sure but the overdrives/distortions on that amp regardless of what pedals i use are not really pleasing. Also, lately i seem to be drifting from the classic rock tones to the more metal/shredding tones. So after some research I really like the JVM combos and is the amp i really would like to get. I will be buying used or open box or whatever can shave off a few bucks and I would like to use itt for gigging, however, coming from a Roland JC120 I really don't know if the 50w would do just fine or I need to go for the 100 watt instead. Because never played a tube amp I am not sure how loud these combos can get so I was hoping someone can help me decide.

Thanks a lot in advance for the help!

 

[Crikey]

Welcome.
Either 50 or 100 will rock. Not much dif in dbs but way dif in headroom.
Good luck in your quest

 

[fitz288]

to the forum.
Any way you can try one, or both?

 

[RCM 800]

Ive played with some very heavy hitting drummers and havent had a 50w tube head that couldnt bury them like they werent there. Combos you might have to tilt or put on a chair but should be plenty loud and in bars and small venues they fill the room better IMO because of the open backs.

 

[scozz]

The three responses before me hit the nail on the head! Especially @Crikey s’ post, there’s only about 3db difference from a 100 watter and a 50 watter, and also a little more headroom in the 100.

 

[SmokestackElRopo]

Welcome! Have fun!!!

 

[EADGBE]

Go with the 50 watt. It won't hurt your ears as bad. And it will save you some money when re-tubing. I have a 100 watt master volume and I can barely turn it on. Whereas my two two 60 watt amps are no problem. In some ways most amps get their distortion from the preamp section. The power tubes mostly drive the speakers. So if you're not playing in football stadiums get a 50 watt amp instead of a 100 watt one. Good luck.

 

[Moony]

I really like the JVM215C 50W 1x12" combo.
It's a bit less wide than the other combos and the heads, so less space required.
It also has a nearly closed back unlike the other combos which are more open back, so the JVM215C is less prone to bad sound reflexions from the wall behind that can cause phasing problems.

 

[tallcoolone]

I just looked and the JVM410 combo is $3700 and over 76lbs.

I love Marshall but the new 5150 looks mighty appealing next to those numbers.

 

[Moony]

the new 5150

That's a budget hybrid amp with only two 12AX7 and a MDF housing (except the front baffle)
The JVM is a top of the line all valve amp with a birch plywood housing.
So not a fair comparison imho, totally different leagues.

But I agree that the Marshall prices in the US are crazy high these days.

You can buy a JVM215C for 1179 Euros in Germany.
The EVH Iconic 40W combo is 719 Euros.
DSL40CR is 666 Euros.

 

[tallcoolone]

That's a budget hybrid amp with only two 12AX7 and a MDF housing (except the front baffle)
The JVM is a top of the line all valve amp with a birch plywood housing.
So not a fair comparison imho, totally different leagues.

But I agree that the Marshall prices in the US are crazy high these days.

You can buy a JVM215C for 1179 Euros in Germany.
The EVH Iconic 40W combo is 719 Euros.
DSL40CR is 666 Euros.

Well there are fewer preamp tubes because it is a hybrid preamp I believe. I've had a JVM410 and liked it but it was far from a hand built quality amp. All of the EVH amps I've owned I would have to say were built quite a bit better IMO--they just feel more solid.

I'm not getting the impression the OP is going to be touring heavily with it anyway--I'm just saying that financially it is a real bad time to have to buy a Marshall amp new.

 

[Moony]

Well there are fewer preamp tubes because it is a hybrid preamp I believe

Solid state input, solid state phase inverter, solid state gainstage - the rest are gainstages from 2 tubes.

I would have to say were built quite a bit better IMO--they just feel more solid.

Are you serious?
I've worked on quite a few JVMs and EVH 5150s - the built quality of Marshall is clearly better than of those EVH (and also newer Fender) amps.
It's a different scenario, if you look inside the amps and see the pcbs, components etc. than just using it and judge by the torque of the pots.

I'm not saying that EVH amps are trash - of course they are not.
And I was debating with myself quite a bit if I should keep a JVM2 or the EVH 5150III for myself a few years ago, because I really enjoyed playing the blue channel of the EVH.
But it's a one trick pony and it doesn't deliver the tyoical Marshall crunch and therefore these classic rock tones everybody grew up with.

 

[tallcoolone]

Solid state input, solid state phase inverter, solid state gainstage - the rest are gainstages from 2 tubes.

That means nothing to me--if it sounds great then it is great. Haven't played an Iconic yet but they seem to be getting plenty of love from those who have them

Are you serious?

Yeah. I gigged a 410 for over a year, I know exactly how they hold up and how much maintenance they need, You mention the pots rightly so, I needed two replaced on mine. I don't use the EVH II near as much but it hasn't had any issues and feels damn solid--same as the 2 100w I had.

If it were ME, I would not say the JVM is worth 2,3,4x the $$ of other amps in the metal genre. But that's just me.

 

[Moony]

That means nothing to me--if it sounds great then it is great.

I'm with you on this.

but they seem to be getting plenty of love from those who have them

Would they get as much love if they were $3700?
I know the answer.

If it were ME, I would not say the JVM is worth 2,3,4x the $$ of other amps in the metal genre. But that's just me.

Yes, because they cost too much in the states - I agree on that.

You mention the pots rightly so, I needed two replaced on mine

I've bought a lot of JVMs now and haven't had any issue on the pots so far.
I know some feel bad because they are not mounted to the chassis with screws.
Advantage is that you can easily pull the front pcb off the chassis and work on it.
If something severe happens you could easily exchange it with a new one.

Unfortunately Marshall doesn't sell pcbs anymore without any questions asked.
I had some extra pcbs just for modding purposes - that was a lot of fun!

 

[tallcoolone]

Would they get as much love if they were $3700?

Prob not and that's ok. Hey I am all for companies putting out great sounding gear at reasonable prices. I can't see me buying one new cause I don't 'need' one but I'll try one once they start popping up used.

To my old ears these high gain amps kind of all sound the same to me--narrow and compressed. You play Zep, AC/DC or GnR on them and it sounds cool--I really like the Orange JVM and as you mentioned the Blue EVH--but then you plug into an older Marshall and you hear the dynamics the gainy stuff just doesn't have. Different tools is all

 

[tallcoolone]

Sorry for the major league derail btw

 

[tarznamps]

IMHO - I'm not sure that a Marshall JVM 100w combo is a great first tube amp. I'd save the money and buy a less expensive, less complex tube amp. 15-20w could be great to start out with. IF you do go for a JVM don't get caught up in 50w vs 100w, that is only a 3dB difference. Its the features/channels that are the main difference. Good luck!

 

[Moony]

To my old ears these high gain amps kind of all sound the same to me--narrow and compressed. You play Zep, AC/DC or GnR on them and it sounds cool--I really like the Orange JVM and as you mentioned the Blue EVH--but then you plug into an older Marshall and you hear the dynamics the gainy stuff just doesn't have. Different tools is all

If I was only into high gain, I would probably have prefered the EVH 5150III as I really like the blue channel. The red one is a bit over the top - as is the red OD on JVM (though you can dial the gain back and get some usable tones there too - Johan Segeborn dialed in a Plexi'ish tone on OD2 red).

The biggest plus for the JVM is that it's the best sounding Marshall at lower "bedroom" volume levels imho without using an attenuator.
You could easily mod it to offer a bit more dynamic range resp. lower the compression and NFB, but then it becomes louder and you'll loose the fat high gain tones especially the compressed palm mutes chunk.

I really like the Studio 800 and Plexi too - but they don't sound good at lower volume levels imho.
Marshall should have offered an inbuilt attenuator to switch them down to 1 or even 0,5 watts. But the simple resisive loads moste amp manufacturers use will alter the sound massively in a bad way.

To sum that up - I totally understand that a JVM isn't the best choice in the US because it is so expensive.
See, in Europe you pay 799 Euros for a SC20C and 849 Euros for a SV20C - a JVM215C is 1179 Euros, not much more but offers much more versatility, has better transformers, a 12" speaker etc..
If a JVM215C was 1179 USD in the US I bet much more guys there would want one.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

To The Forum
I would go for the 50 watt myself

Cheers
Mitch

 

[tallcoolone]

To sum that up - I totally understand that a JVM isn't the best choice in the US because it is so expensive.
See, in Europe you pay 799 Euros for a SC20C and 849 Euros for a SV20C - a JVM215C is 1179 Euros, not much more but offers much more versatility, has better transformers, a 12" speaker etc..
If a JVM215C was 1179 USD in the US I bet much more guys there would want one.

1000% this is the gamechanger here in the US ATM