Getting a new Marshall head soon, which is the best all-round unit?
These are available to me:

Valvestate 100
Jcm 800
Jcm 900
Jcm 2000
TSL100
TSL60
DSL100
DSL50
MG100
Avt 150
1987XL
AVT50
1959HW
2061X
MF350
1959SLP

I use a Jcm900A cabinet british model. Also run a Digitech RP200 currently, but would rather not use it if i can get a good distortion out of the new amp.

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1959 SLP is amazing,but it's so loud you really can't use it practically becuase it has no master volume!!!! So if you want it to distort it needs to be turned ALL THE WAY UP.Yikes.Ok I am a total Marshall freak so I will try to help ya out here.DON'T buy any JCM2000 amp! Here are the best Marshalls for heavy crunching death/thrash metal or just harder rock,from best to worst,and they are all 100-watt heads:

JCM800 2210-2 channel,make sure it is at least an '87 model or later as they went through some changes and were refined towards the end....this amp sounds EXACTLY like Ride The Lightning and even heavier with a booster pedal in front.

JCM800 2203-single channel,less gain and needs a booster pedal up front but sounds so damn good you will not be able to stop playing through it.The new reissue is good but older ones are better,and there were two different versions.....vertical and horizontal inputs.Vertical is the best one IMO and they are older.....the reissue is of this version.

JMP MK II 2203-same amp but before they changed to "JCM800" cosmetics.Almost the same circuitry except for a few small changes but basically they are a little less bright.Usually are cheaper.

JCM900 2100-single channel,with a switchable master volume so you can get a nice lead boost for solos.Great sounding amp but not as good as the others listed.Pretty inexpensive.

All these amps sound much better with an overdrive in front as a boost to kick more tube overdrive outta the front end (preamp section) of the amp.Try any of these you see,and when you hear what they can do you will not believe how great it sounds.I use a Boss SD-1 overdrive pedal in front of my 2210 and set it like this:
Level-10
Tone-6
Drive-0

In this way it acts as a"boost" pedal and transforms the amp into a fire-breathing monster!!!! Hope you find this information helpful.

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So the amp has to be Marshall?

Go with the MG100 if you really want a trOOly BrOOtal quality amp

Edit: Really though, can you not try any of these amps out personally? Many Marshell amps do need a boost pedal or modification to get quality high gain, but even then, at ear bleedding volumes.

There are amps that capture the tone of Marshell amps plus more.

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Yes, it says Marshall Head

No, the MG100 is junk. Just listing whats available.

Grindchord: You dont like the TSL/DSL? I heard the TSL in particular was a very good amp. Any reason why? And your above post was helpful, thanks.

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If you go for Marshall these are the best amps IMO.I used the JCM800 2210 on tour with my band Exhumed and used the JCM900 2100 in my old band Uphill Battle on tour and they both sounded extremely heavy and brutal.The vocalist/guitarist in Exhumed (Matt Harvey) uses a 5150 on the rhythm channel plugged straight in and mine was louder and had more balls than his amp,but also was much more midrangey,so we both sounded different.The 5150 is a great amp too on the rhythm channel.In my old band the other guitar player used a Mesa Mark IV and that amp was pretty loud and amazing.....it was better than the JCM900.Tone is subjective though really.

The DSL/TSL amps sound thin and sterile and also have the preamp/power tubes mounted on the circuit board and that to me is TOTAL crap.A solid state amp can sound the same as these....they are just not very warm or punchy at all and have WAY too much circuitry really.Simplicity is always better when it comes to tube amps I think.You will see right away if you compare a JCM800 to a DSL/TSL next to each other.I have done it.Just my opinion,but that's how I feel.

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I found these post to be very intriguing.

I have played through a JCM900. both the head and 212 combo, and found it to be the sorryiest distortion i've ever heard. But i guess you must obviously have to play that bitch SUPER loud in order to break it up or something.

That overdrive pedal idea/ or tube booster idea, is a pretty damn good one and really makes me rethink about trying some marshalls. I'm not saying i haven't heard good marshalls, cause i really like the.. "rock" tone they put out. But for some reason when i played those 900s, they weren't anything like they thought they would be.

I thought about getting an 800 cause i've seen a few bands i like live, and they had it, and it wailed.

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I have found an off the shelf marshall amp rarely gives you the metal tone you want.

Research other amps as well dude. Its a very noobish thing to automatically assume that marshalls are the best amps. Thats why all high school pop punk bands play them (If they can afford them)

Yeah I thought Marshalls were crap for a long time until I stumbled on that booster pedal trick.And yeah they do have to be pretty loud to sound good.But most of the heavier tones I like come from that boosted Marshall sound,which I never knew until like 4 years ago.It's better to have an amp that sounds heavy plugged straight in for some but I like using a few pedals anyway so it doesn't bother me any.

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The 900 has to be almost fucking dimed before that nice thick distortion begins to appear. The same with the 800, but even then a good boost pedal or mod really helps to shape and control things. Slayer uses modified 800's if I'm right, and these marshell amps sound great once driven enough. Overdriven tube amps doesn't always mean loud volume and there are ways to crank the amps without ear bleeding volume to go with it. A power soak ( Hotplates are nice ) is the best option. It allows you to dime the amp, have nice tone, and at adjustable volumes. The only draw back is that you will have to replace tubes once a year, at the least. Tubes don't wear well when driven to distortion on a normal basis. That is one of the great draw backs of tube amps. They are fragile, require frequent maintenance, and cost to maintain at peak performance.

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never ever ever get a valvestate

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My god... Did you even have to say IT's name. He would be better off with a Mg100

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Cannot go wrong with a JTM or a plexi.

For the price of a TSL100 JCM2000 head, you can get an Engl Fireball and mop the floor with it...

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If thats what kind of tone he wants.

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He seems to have his heart set on Marshell. They are nice amps and have a ton of aftermarket modification options. Plus their are so many people that know how to work on them that it will likely out live him.

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Agree. Although i too was completely dead set on getting a marshall until i tried them at the store and wasn't impressed. Granted i probably needed someone there to help show me how to dial in the tones. I ended up spending the same amount as i would on a tsl except on something completely different.

And have not once ever regretted it yet.

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Nor should you regret it. Marshalls need lots of work, extra equipment, boost, or voodoo magic before the heavy tone comes out of them at lower volumes. Crank a stock Marshell to 7-10 and it becomes impressive, but I like to be outside and 200 feet back when that happens.

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hahaha well said... well said.

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I hear TSL's and DSL's are very very unreliable amps. I know this from several HC reviews and the only person I've known that owned a DSL100 had it break down on him 3-4 times in one year(and it was bought new). Marshall supposedly pumps out very crappy product nowadays, but I wouldn't know, just thought I'd point out that you pay more for that logo on the amp head than for actual reliability.

The JCM900 is something I'd like to try out though.

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Well what would be your best choice for a good tube mid-priced head from some other brand?
I just kind of wanted to match a marshall head to the cab i got (and dont plan on trading in).




What you just said is a noobish thing to assume. Nobody had one in my high school, it was all Mesa, Fender and Yorkville (for bass).

Ive been playing for 10 straight years by the way. There used to be 5 music instrument stores here when i first started, now theres ZERO. Sucks so much, the mill in our city is almost shutting down so everything's all gone to hell here.

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