Marshall '78 JMP 100w Super

1979 JMP Super Lead 100W Tube Amp. Four EL34 will blow you away. More power you will ever need. It??s a real single channel classic tone mashine. This Amp generate fantastic sounds just with the right pedals in front, and yes... then this Amp is very versatile too.
I play blues, blues-rock, funk and Top 40 stuff.

This is a strong piece of english meat with lots of tone, tone, tone...
I use some pedals for the different distortion sounds and it works and sounds fantastic. Enough headroom for cutting clean sounds. Sounds very big with the original 4x12 cabinet and very good with the band. You have all those cool classic rock sounds - can??t go wrong with that. I use mainly a Trayser Doublewing Standard and two Fender (57 and 62 USA Vintage) Stratocasters, but changed the Pickups from the Strats into Texas Specials for more mids. I drive the Precence to 5, Treble 7, Mids 6, Bass 8. It suits all my styles from rock, funk to blues in a perfect way and all those classic "Album guitars sounds" come alive!Unbeatable tone.

Don??t need a backup- just e few tubes to change if something would goes wrong- but, never did!!!
It??s build like a tank and will run forever.

Never needet, never repaired. Just a power tube change.

I play since 23 years and have owned a lot of amps (and guitars). Boogie??s, Fender??s, Marshall??s, Laney??s but his one is a keeper!
I love the quality, the simplicity and over all the sound of this amp. It sounds perfect when playing in a band. If stolen I would buy another. It??s a classic amp with classic features. Don??t need anything more. Keep in mind: simple amps have more tone !

Straight up old vintage MV 100 watter. 1 channel. But low input sounds amazing in its own right. with pedals it is very, very versatile.

I have had 2203 reissue (and I like that also) also had a TSL Marshall. But this has its own tone very much classic rock without a pedal. Lots of punch and power. If you think of ACDC pre FTATR tone this is it. Lots of bottom end. Thick.

With a good OD pedal you can get metal easily and nice blues tones. no problem. for cleans put pre on 5-6 and use a OD to kick it in. I also use low input for cleans and kick on a OD for heavy tone. Very nice.

It is a simple amp so it is very reliable.

Never needed.

Great amp thse are getting expensive but they sound amazing. I had modded marshalls and still prefer a OD in front. Just my tone.

I have a 1971 Marshall JMP Super Lead 100W and holy fuck what an amp ......As with other reviews there are no frills and fancy gadgets with this amp ------but you dont need them. This machine is awesome

Heard this amp playedwith a multitude of different types of guitars and they all sounded fantastic

Bulletproof - regular servicing new tubes and a regular cleaning and a hug - it will keep going forever !!!!!

Never had any need to deal with marshall about it - the key is find a repair guy who knows his shit and you trust then why go to Marshall

Fantastis - will not be bested !!!!!

No features, just bass treble,mid,4 inputs, 4 speaker outs

I just either my Les Paul or Fender Strat with it. Sounds great the last of the 60-70 great sounding marshall... They start to change after this year... Somewhat noisy,but it's made for hard rock, blues, rock, or metal,,,no country here Please, get a Peavey... Not much clean here, lots of distortion,, no reverb either... Power and more power, I play it as a half stack, blow the pictues off the wall, down the hall... It is the most used amp in my recording studio, and we have about 15 to choose from, (Genesis Recording Studio www.genesisrecording.com)

Never breaks, tubes wear out, but never breaks down.... It has been on the road as well as studio work, always ready to go...

Never dealt with Marshall on this, it's a 1978 super lead anyway..

I have this amp about 15 years now, been used in studio & road gigs. I own tons of amps, guitars, and stuff. We have vintage gear like Kustom(1960s),Peavey(1980s),Marshall (1978),and Univox (1960s), guitars like Fender,Gibson,Hagstrom, Epiphone,Martin, Yamaha, and more. We record with Pro Tools (7.0) I own a recording studio in Orlando FL, Genesis Recording Studio (www.genesisrecording.com)... If ever lost would find another vintage Marshall no new be's for me.
Rock on
BOB

~just my 2 cents..
78 jmp 100 watt - last of the point to point marshalls from the heyday.
blues-rock, classic-rock, rock!
4 inputs but had it modded by Doug Rock(Roccaforte Amps) so only 1 input is alive but becuz of his mod the overall sound is much thicker. You can get this trick close by inserting a shorty cable from jac 2 into jac 3. I use only Monster guitar cords as I've spent the tyme at the guitshop a-b-ing them and seriously heard a huge tone difference well woreth the money.
-upgrade yer sound- play 10s instead of 9s(strings) and use high quality cords to carry your signal..
no effects loops or reverb to slow the tone down on this badboy. Someday I'll get a little reverb back but in most clubs or barrooms you really don't it. you want it but you don't really need it. I forget exactly(don't do drugs!) what tubes we used last tyme around but after a few hours on them it has really warmed up nice.
I use this amp 2 or more tymes a month average for 4+hours each gig. I change the tubes every 12 or 16 months or if just sounds tired. because this amp is p-p wired and fairly straightforward it doesn't have tons of stuff inside of it to break down. it's simple and classic. these are it's strongpoints.

1995 gibson les paul standard+
stock (498) neck pickup and seymour duncan pearly gates in the bridge.
Plugging the LP into this amp is a sweet combo and recommended for those that havn't but have always wanted to. Am currently playing thru a 4X12 slant cab with 25 watt celestions. these lower watters help break up the sound faster and really do make up alot of the overall sound.
on Clean sound. if i want a Clean sound I'll play thru my acoustic or consider another amp. if i want a non-distorted warm tubey sound i just roll back my volume, maybe tweak the presence, bass, mid, or treble controls, and walla! i've got a decently discernable rnr sound. if i want a srv vibe i just up the Mid control to 12 or 1..for a pagey chunk turn it off or super low..using these simple tone controls this amp can cover alot of flavors and allow your fingers to come alive without resorting to a myriad of effects that systematically, one by one, degrade your overall performance.
~if your gonna play Rush, by all means get a foot controller.
~if your gonna play blues-rock or classic-rock, keep it simple like they did.
going back to the cab configuration..this particular amp in this 1/2 stack form really comes alive when on 3 or more. 4 is killer and above that is way loud! most venues require a below 3 setting which really sux and is gonna make me downgrade to a 2x12 to see how that'll sound. all all-tube pt-to-pt amps breathe differently..and all marshall models sound quite different from each other..i've had several...keep that in mind or really test your amp before buying it-play it for 1/2 an hour or more and really run it to make sure it doesn't start smoking once turned on for more than 10 minutes..
these are old amps and if your lucky enough to get one by all means get it dialed in by a pro, cleaned up, tubed up, and ready to roll.
I keep a sovtek mig 100 as a backup but really prefer the marshall as it sounds so good and warmer than the sovtek.

The distortion is straightforward classic marshall 70s sound. I could elaborate but why?
again, everything in the chain from the tru-bypass wah down to the picks you hold to the slightest variance in tone controls and the wood in your cabinet to the hours on your set of strings to the battery life in your phasor All play a great role in how your gonna sound in that one moment. too deep for ya? get over it.

all those things aside, your attitude in Life dominates the connection between your soul and your hands..

even great amps need tender loving care. and a backup just in case something goes.
this amp has done me well and has been reliable for years.

kewl website. no need to talk.

Overall Rating

I give this amp a big 10 rating because it's never let me down and it really sounds great for the styles i most enjoy playing.
~just my 2 cents..

This Amp doesn't have many features. But that isn't a bad thing. That means it sounds better with Pedals and Stuff. It has 4 inputs. 2 Channels(Treble and Normal). Presence, Bass, Middle, Volume, Volume are the knobby things.

This is the amps strong point. This amp just sounds amazing. I wouldn't recommend anybody who plays Jazz styles or anything that is lookinh for nice clean tone. But it is pretty clean Sounding for a Marshall.

If ANything!! Do not let that damn impedence selector in the back fall out. It will literally Blow up!! But If dropped it down the stairs it works fine.

Right now who cares! it is the year 2000 now and it is a 1978 model. I'll just give it a good mark because it is a good amp.

I wouldn't trade it for anything well maybe? No nothing!! It is awsome I recommend anyone who sees one in a used store get one but not the Re-issues! They don't sound have as good as the originals!!
Keep on Rockin eh!