Marshall JCM 800 2204

I own a 1982 vert input JCM 800 2204 head with the matching cab. I knew what i was after so i didnt buy it for it's versatility, I just wanted a raw multi-dimensional tone that i could manipulate with my fx. I play mainly rock and with this amp, it doesnt get much better. No channel switching, just high and low gain inputs, no reverb, no fx loop, just master volume, pre-amp volume, presence and the obligatory three tone knobs. I play live every weekend in a venue that seats approx 1800 and power is no prob!! This amp isnt designed to be played quietly. 50watts can be deceiving, this thing roars!! I give it a 5 only to be true although I cannot stand these digital multipurpose, multichannel things that parade as amplifiers.

I play a Les Paul Custom with the stock Gibson pickups and the tone is incredible. Very warm and yet still transparent enough to allow the guitars character to emerge. The low gain channel is whisper quiet and the high gain only really starts hissing from 7 onwards but by that stage everyone is deaf so who cares? Besides the much vaunted drive tones that this amp oozes on the high gain channel, when the low gain input is used, pre-amp turned full with master around 8 with a warm compression in front, the sound produced is a creamy, rhythm that goes on forever. This amp sounds small and thin at master levels below 3. It is not designed for brutal death metal distortion and if thats what you're after then buy something else. There arent enough of these things still around to have some metalhead sticking a square-wave pedal in front and claiming grail tone. I have learned a whole lot about using my volume pots on my guitar as gain controllers. The 2204 is very responsive to guitar volume changes. It is surprisingly bright even with a Les Paul and I often play with the presence quite high to round it out a bit.

This amp has been around since 1982. It still sounds amazing. Enough said. Obviously it needs a regular service and tube changes but besides that it is older than most of the guys I gig with and sounds better to! I cant find a backup so I gig without one. If it brokedown at a gig, I would probably be too distraught to play with a backup anyway.

I live in South Africa and so customer service is a bit ropey on most products. However, the Marshall agents here in SA are really helpful and have always been helpful and contactible via phone.

I have been playing for 11 years. My signal chain is Les Paul > TU2 > Crybaby > Dynacomp > Wampler Pinnacle 2 > Nova Delay > CE-2 > Deluxe Electric Mistress > Voodoo Labs Trem > Ernie Ball Volume > DD-3 > Hardwire RV-7 > JCM800. If my amp was stolen.....hmmm....I would have a memorial service and then either buy another if i could find one (fat chance) or buy a Vintage Modern. I love the tone and breadth of sound, I hate the weight of the thing. It's a lot to lug around every week. In my humble opinion, if it's all about native best tone, the 2204 slaughters the JCM900's, the tsl's, the dsl's and the JVM range. Only the Vintage Modern is comparable in terms of raw tone and dynamics.

Made in 1987, surprisingly versatile for my style - cover band from A-Z, 60/70/90/90/2000. It's a two channel 50w lead series head with reverb and effects loop. I've used the amp for several live gigs ranging from 50-500 people. We mic the amp, so I can only push it in larger and open door settings.

Utilize Customer LP's and Strats. Suits my musical style and tastes well. It's not a metal sound, but more for hard rock and below. I've read some reviews, my amp is VERY quiet, even at larger volumes. I mic the amp, so any down time between tunes is very quiet. I utilize Celestion G12-75 speakers in a closed and open back, very punchy, the clean never distorts with those speakers, but I can set the clean to do so as needed. Again thought, the distortion is not brutal.

Not had a problems gigging with it, but I do bring backup fuses and tubes, and a small backup amp based on the venue location.

n/a - take mine to a local amp tech, they're easy to find on these amps. In fact, when I tell them it's a JCM800, they seem eager to maintain on them.

Been playing for 30+ years, live for the last decade. I've owned Bogner (ecstacy 101b), Peavey Classic, Mesa (Maverick - still have), and other Marshall. I love this amp because its simple to use, and has a reliable sound - extremely simple to dial in. The effects loop is surprisingly good, does not sap the tone. I loved the Bogner, but this has the sound Bogner is tries to emulate. The Bogner had a more compressed sound, this amp is more open that the JCM900 and later marshalls. Feel free to contact me to discuss.

This is a 1982 2204 model that has been outfitted with 6550s. Straight forward; only six knobs to deal with. No effects loop. The only thing I've thought about doing is modding it so I could AB the low/high sensitivity inputs.

The main guitars I use with this amp are a Les Paul Classic and a Telecaster with a Hot Rails. I play mostly rock and metal. There are VERY under rated clean tones hidden in the low sensitivity output. The high sensitivity output gets a little buzzy when you run the gain at max, but I don't normally use that much gain. This amp shines when you run the gain just past half way with the master at about 4. I typically run the treble pretty low and the presence about half way up. Lots o' mids give this amp crunch to die for. The lows can get kind of tubby, so be careful at high settings.

She can be noisy in a club where the power isn't grounded, but in an ideal setting this beast rocks. ANYONE who says 50 watts isn't enough should go back to guitar school.

If it doesn't have enough gain for you, try boosting it or getting an attenuator. I've found the attenuator to retain the character of the amp whereas overdrives help with cut, harmonics and sustain.

This amp is fine in the fore mentioned ideal setting. If you are playing where the power isn't grounded, however, bring a spare amp or some spare HT fuses. You'll pop one almost guaranteed if the power isn't grounded or the venue can't supply enough juice for a band and a PA system.

Who cares? This amp is 26 years old. Do you REALLY think they'd service it if I called them? Luckily I have four local (and very reputable) techs to handle such things for me.

Upon reading this review, it doesn't look like I'm rating this amp too highly, however it is exactly what I wanted. It is what it is; a stripped down, classic sounding amp. I've owned a few Boogies, which have all sounded great, but had too many bells and whistles that went unused. If you want a good, classic, hard sound, find one of these. I know a local guy who even plays jazz through one of these bad boys and makes it sound good.

Keep in mind that this would be an excellent studio amp. You don't have to access sounds on the fly. You can really take time and dial in good sounds. This amp works well when boosted too. I've noticed that the fewer pedals you use, the better this amp sounds.

One last caution: be selective about what year you shop for. The older ones have more of a classic Marshall sound whereas the mid eighties models are a little more modern sounding. I've found you can boost the earlier models for a more modern sound but its harder to get a classic sound from the later models.

If this amp were stolen I'd look for another one. It is by far the easiest amp to dial in that I've owned. They are very mod friendly (although I chose to keep mine stock).

I bought this amp new in 1991, but not sure how long it had been in the music store. It is a 2204, 50 watts, and sits on a matching 1960A
4X12 speaker cabnet. Now, call me crazy, but I use it for all kinds of music. I work in a "bar band" and we play lots of covers, PLUS originals. We cover classic rock (ZZ Top, Skynyrd, G and R), Blues (SRV, Clapton), to all kinds of country. This amp does it all!
It has 2 channels, but I only use the "clean" channel, running through a digitech multi effects. Although it's only 50 watts, I've never had a power problem, normally running the volumn at the 9 o'clock position.

As for my guitars, I use a 1968 Fender Telecaster, 1986 Gibson Les Paul (both with stock pick-ups), a Fender SRV Statacaster, and a few other guitars. Gotta match the sound with the song...LOL. I have absolutely no complaints with the sound of the amp...it's bright when I want it, and those tubes give it the warmth it needs...even on country. The amp is not noisy at all, at least in my opinion. As for the distortion, it's pure Marshall.

Very dependable amp. I never have needed to use a backup except for a couple of times, but it wasn't the amp's fault. You MUST be "earthed", for it doesn't work well on an ungrounded circuit. Also, I blew the bottom 2 speakers at a party one night. I was using an early NADY wireless system outdoors and got some static...and blew the speakers. The only other work I've done on the head was to replace the tubes. I used Groove Tubes, and made it sound the same as brand new.

Only used warranty once, and it took quite a while, but they covered my speakers.

I have been playing for 35 years. I also own a tweed Peavey classic 50 that I like (all tube, Fender twin copy), but it just doesn't have that Marshall sound or warmth. This actually is the first Marshall that I ever played. The store owner was trying to sell me on a couple of Hiwatt amps, but I liked the sound of the Marshall better, even though it was 50 watts compared to the 100 watt Hiwatt amps.

features are simple and straight foward,the way a good amp should be
basic tone stacks were and always will be the best

sound quality contrary to a lot of hype that this amp can only produce one good sound is suprisingly versatile using the volume pot on the guitar and backing the pre amp volume off somewhat tone can be enhanced a heel of a lot with mods to the brite cap which can cause a thin sound at low volumes

this was a re issue amp and when i took delivery of it the choke was not bolted on!!! 12 months later the out put tranny blew
the amp was being used every day for about 2 hours
and was driving 2 8 ohm cabs
it was by no means working overtime
quality control issues need to be adressed

not good in my opinion
i could not raise a response from marshall what so ever!!!!!!!!!

i have been working as a proffessional muso for 30 years and played guitar for 45 years
before this amp i used mesa boogies because of their versatility
i will say that i love this amp barring the quality issues

1981 50 watt. This is a great amp. It is versatile enough even for the cover band circuit I have been using it it for the last 2 years. Everything from Anthrax to ZZ top. The Beatles to Yes. and even some country. the amp doesn't truly emulate tones very well, but it has enough tone to sound good in any application.
I have the vertical inputs. I only use the top one, the bright one.

My Effects: (phase90, ts-9, EB Volume, Line 6 delay modeler) it takes the tubescreamer wonderfully, I set the screamer's overdrive on 8. A lot of people turn the presence down low, I use it at 5, treble mid and bass around 5. Pre-amp at 7-8 and master at 3-4. It's really loud at 4 for my purposes, but that's when this amp starts to sing. I use a Fender American Stratocaster with Tex-Mex pickups in the neck and middle, and a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge. It can sometimes be a little bright, but you can't say it doesn't cut through. I also use a Gibson Les Paul Standard with Burstbuckers. It's super meaty and compressed. I always run it through a 1960a 4X12 cab. I've been meaning to get a better cab or speakers but it hard to justify when it sounds great now.
It is a bit noisy especially with the single coil pickups with the pre on 8, the tubescreamer on and no noise gate. But I use a volume pedal to avoid icy stares from bandmates.

It is a dependable amp. I got it 2 years ago, and have used it for about 50 gigs. Nothing has ever gone wrong with it. When I bought it it had just been overhauled, and had the tubes all replaced. I transported it for hours in the back of a trailer, dropped it straight on the concrete with no cover, left it running over 24 hours. I have used it 10 or so times with no backup amp, but I wouldn't recommend it; it is still a tube amp and over 25 years old after all.

I only contacted Marshall once about another amp I have, and never received a reply. But maybe they never got the email, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

I've been playing guitar for 12 years. I have a 70's Park 2X12 100 watt combo. It's always a toss-up for which amp to bring to the gig, but usually the JCM-800 wins. If it were stolen I would try to replace it with the same amp or an older one. In my opinion it is the last great amp Marshall made. Maybe I'll get a nice '65 Fender Blackface someday, but other than that, I think I have THE amplifier.

It has all you really need, although this is kinda limited.

The JCM800's 1983 and before w/ vertical inputs sound amazing!!

Mine's from 1982, never really had problems w/ it.

I give it an 8 just because these things are getting more and more expensive. Although still amazing amp, and well worth the money.

Classic control layout, if you're reading this you know what the knobs are. Occasionally I run into the low gain input with a fuzz to see what the JCM can do with a ton of volume and not much drive working on an already-fuzzed-up signal. Answer: it can do a lot of cool tones working that way, but it always seems contrary to what the amp is really meant to do. I"m not going to rate this category because versatility is not what amps are supposed to do, at least not if they're really cool amps that I'd actually want to own.

Crunch crunch crunch. This thing lives and breathes rock and roll. I'm sure some of you can get it to sing real nice and pretty for your bluesy stuff, but for me it's just pure Marshall grind. With my Les Paul running burstbuckers (repros of classic 50's hb's) I can get a great sound for anything all the way up to Slayer levels of gain. Other people might make you think you need some crazy boutique amp, preamp mods, or hotter pu's to get that kind of sound, but it's right here as long as you get the power tubes working. I've got some very nice pedals (SIB varidrive, Monsterpiece fuzz) and my favorite sound I get from this amp is just running the guitar straight in. I sometimes find myself unsatisfied with the tone, then just yank the cord out of my pedalboard and run it right to the high-gain input on the amp and voila, beautiful dynamic sound. That basically sums up what this amp is all about: straight up heavy, but QUALITY heavy. If you want cookie monster vocals and way too much bass in the mix, this isn't for you. If you want the just-right heavy overdrive that brings out the best in your guitar, this is your amp. Responds to picking dynamics really well too.

Listen to Ian's parts on early Fugazi, that's the sound you'll be getting.

Owned it for four years. Once upon a time, I turned it one and saw a big flash from the back of the amp. It didn't make any sound or light up after that. Turns out it was catastrophic power tube failure, like blowing out the filament on a lightbulb. Had it retubed, and it hasn't even hiccoughed since then. Wish I could say the same for my Fender amps. Supposedly Hendrix used Fenders in the studio because he liked the sound, but was famous for using Marshalls since he used them on the road for their reliability. When an amp is simple and well-made, not a lot can go wrong.

No idea, wouldn't dream of bugging a company about something they built 25 years ago unless it's a nuclear reactor. I think there's liability attached to those things.

Been playing about 15 years now. Also own two SF fender amps, love them both. I can crank some serious rock and roll out of the fenders, but they can only offer an imitation of the sound I get out of the JCM. There's no replacement for displacement, and there's no replacement for good ol' fashioned Marshall tone.

I bought my amp back in the 80's, from a moron who needed the money quik, so I think I did a bargain... I bought the JCM-800 2204 with a 1960A cabinet for just 500 USD!!!
OK, it's very basic... That's a good thing. Very easy to handle.

Superb sound quality!!! I use it in combination with a Boss Super Overdrive SD-1. Screaming metal, dirty punk or subtile blues, the 2204 can handle it with charm!
I play a Gibson SG standard and a Fender Strat USA '79 and it sounds like a solid wall... Always using the high gain input, mostly with the preamp at 10, full bass, treble and mid at 12 o'clock, presence at 2 o'clock...
The distortion is the fattest, most natural distortion ever heard from an amp... I used to play with other guitar players with all kinds of amps, but my JCM blows them all away... And with a superb sound!!!

I play this amp for almost 20 years mow, and it served me at 100's of gigs... It has dropped (even while playing!!!), banged from left to right, and it still keeps on playing... MADE FOR LIFE...
After 15 years, I had to replace the tubes, but that's the only thing...

When I had to replace the tubes, I went to a pecialist in tube amps, in my hometown... And he does a superb job! At a very fair price!

As I mentioned, I play this amp for almost 20 years and I would'nt trade it for any other. If it was stolen, I would chase down the dumbass, and make eat him his own genitals...
I can't compare my 2204 with any other amp.
Only a VOX amp is my next purchase...
An JCM900 sounds too flat, less body. A Mesa is only muscle, no soul. And any other valve amps are just (bad) imitations...
Only the JCM-800 2204 has the true rock 'n roll soul and body!!!

Not many features but a good selection of tone-altering controls, including the high and low inputs presence, low, mid high, preamp volume and master volume. No opinion because there are not a myriad of features, but this is definitely not an amp I would want a ton of features on anyway. I get effects from boxes before going into the amp and have always loved the sound. Ohm switching on the back panel.

Through a Les Paul or other Gibson humbucker, you'll instantly recognize an AC/DC tone, which I think is one of the all-time best rock guitar sounds, though I like Judas Priest's sound but Glenn Tipton's and KK Downing's sounds are a bit heavier (more saturated) than Malcom and Angus. Very recognizable early Aerosmith tone(Adam's Apple, Walkin' the Dog) and early Van Halen as well, though Eddie has tone that is really hard to nail "out of the box" unless you have an Echoplex, waxed humbuckers in a strat, and can play the style, but just as importantly the NOTES, he does like a modern-day Mozart. That is just what the tone of the amp sounds like probably because these bands like use some variation of older Marshall.
Clean the amp can sound great. I like a Fender Super Reverb or Twin Reverb as a personal preference for clean amps, but the Marshall can do a nice one as well. No channel switching to get it, though. You need to plug into the low input and crank the pre down and turn the master up a bit to get it, but it can be found. I found an A/B box between my Super Reverb and this along with my stompbox array worked well when I used to play out live. A little bit of hiss when you drive it, sure, but nothing that cannot be worked around. Play an Am. Stratocaster, LP Std., '89 Jackson Custom Soloist for electrics.
All of them sound great through the Marshall. It's an '82 head and cab, bought it used in new condition in '84. I would never give up this amp for anything. The tone is the best to me.

I absolutely depend on it. It went out at a show in '91 due to power tube failure. They were the original tubes and had lasted from '84 until then. I play it intermittently sometimes just to jam, most often to record, since about '94 or so, and it has been stored for some of that time until recently. I think it needs a new set of power tubes at this point. Other than something like tubes, which are just a regular replacement item for tube amps, the light in the power switch has gone out (getting ready to replace it), and one of the fuse holder black plastic flanges on the back broke (getting a replacement at the same time as the switch). Neither affects operation, but they did happen. Surprisingly nothing more because the amp has a good history of use playing live. I'd have to give it a 10 because the power switch is really the only thing that has gone bad on this. Tubes don't count because they are a maintenance item and the fuse holder flange was inflicted by me during regular gigging 15 years ago.

Customer support I've found to be a little vague in answering questions in the US, as it is provide by the distributor, Korg. They recently responded to a question I had about original tube brands used in these via e-mail in two days and had an answer of "it is hard to say because so many different types of tubes were used in the same model of the same year, but it could have been Siemens or something similar." Not a terrible answer, at least they named one of the tubes that were used of the many, but I would have liked to know a little more in the response. Not a bad experience and somewhat helpful, just nowhere near impressive.

My first high school band was assembled in '83 and I've been playing ever since. I played live quite a bit from about '86-'94, and then lost interest in playing live. I record in a home studio now, but may do a weekend setup sometime in the future.
Everything about this amp I love, and I do believe it is one of the best rock guitar amps ever made. I haven't played the reissue 100 watt version 2203, but would expect it may be close in tone, but probably not exact when compared to an original 2203, the 2204s 100 watt brother.
If you want pure, rich, rock and roll tone reminiscent of Aerosmith(A Night in the Ruts, Toys in the Attic, you know the good, early Aerosmith before they broke up and reformed), Judas Priest(you'll have the tone basics, but need to overdrive your preamp more to get the saturation of priest...I have a BK Butler tube drive that works nicely), AD/DC (especially Back in Black and the earlier Bon Scott era albums) which are the first that come to my mind evertime I plug in, this is the amp.

I think it's an '89, (most of the inside is marked 12/88 & 1/89. It has the horizontal inputs. As stock, it is very limited and it truly is a single channel, the 2 inputs are actually electrically linked, so you can't even use an A/B switch box connected to both inputs. However, you can solve this simply with a soldering iron and a re-jig of the existing circuit, if u know what u r doing. The D.I. is awful and not worth bothering with, but it does mean you can swap the mono jack socket for a "sniff & break" jack, and wire in an FX loop which is unbelievably simple to do, and using a "Y" lead instead of 2 separate ones to connect my effects is tidier too. What I'm trying to say, is that although it's limited, it's very easy to modify into something a little more versatile, and there are a lot of circuits around on the web that show u how.

On idle, it's a tad noisy, mostly, hiss, but that doesn't matter because this thing doesn't do quiet, so once you're playing or recording you can't hear the hiss. The low input isn't really very clean, but it is very warm sounding. Single coils sound quite glassy through it. The high input is what it's really all about though. Proper crunch and very responsive. Hit your strings hard and it's metal, back off the volume a bit though and it's lovely and bluesy. I love both BB King and Megadeth, and it's fine for both, although the Megadeth sound needs just a tiny bit of a push, either from a pedal or a very hot humbucker, but that might be because it's running a bit cold (see reliability section). At high gain and loud volume settings it doesn't squeal either, it just sustains more. In the studio it also seems to have far more depth than anything else. Use an SM57 mic and it makes mincemeat out of my peavey 5150, despite that amp having a lot more gain. The secret is in the mids. Most metal amps sound better with the mid "scooped", but not this one, you meed to turn it up, (Kerry King has a mid boost on his).

I bought this amp in '91, 16 years ago. It has been gigged, it has been stored in damp cellars, it's been bashed and dropped, it has seen cigarette ash and beer in equal measure. It's been on the bus, the train, the car and the van over speed bumps, and although it rattles a bit, it is absolutely fine. In fact, (don't ask me how, it was some moron's fault), it actually fell off the train. That was several years ago and I haven't done a thing to it, and it's still fine! I haven't even changed the tubes since '92, which is why I think it's been running a little cold... but hey, why change it??

I bought it second hand, so there was no warranty. I've had it apart and looked inside, and there are no silicon chips or anything fancy, it's all very simple. There's a PCB and a lot of wire, but I think the whole thing was hand soldered. Apart from the valves (tubes) there isn't really anything to go wrong, and it's all solidly mounted. I have approached Marshall for advice when modifying it. Naturally they don't recommend it unless you're a qualified technician, which I am, but they were nothing but helpful and friendly, so a definite thumbs up there. Lastly, they're British, and as I am and I live here, by American standards, they are only a short drive away from me :-)

I have been playing nearly 20 years, and have always had at least 1 Marshall. I have tried the JCM900, the valvestates, the JVM's. Mode 4 etc. etc. I've tried out other makes too. The only reason I would ever consider playing any solid state amp is because of my bad back, (probably from lugging the JCM around all these years). No one would steal it, (last time I was burgled they dumped it because it was too heavy). I also own a peavey 5150, and although that's so much more versatile, with 2 channels, an FX loop, more responsive EQ etc. the less "full on" sounds just don't cut it, the Marshall sounds great at any gain, and where it really wins hands down, is that it's just so responsive to your playing dynamics. There are other makes, but if you want to nail that "classic" sound, this is it.

My 800 was made in June 1986. Single channel. I play in a metal band that does classic '80s sounding riffs ala maiden, priest, slayer. This amp delivers what I need. Don't buy this amp if you want clean sounds, because you can't do it!!

I play a gibson V, with the standard pickups, trough a ts-808 reissue, with it's output level cranked and the drive knob at about 35-40%. I am in love with this tone. I used to use a Rat instead of the ts-808, and that was okay as well, but my current setup...damn.

I have the amp professionally retubed about one a year, and it has never let me down. Except one time it blew a fuse at a gig, that kind of pissed me off, but now I carry back-up fuses. I would gig without a backup, but going on the road, bring a back up, because you never know.

never dealt with them. My amp tech says this amp is the last good marshall, and it is easy for him to work on.

I've been playing for 15 years, and I've owned a '74 Fender Dual Showman, '98 JCM 900, and assorted practice amps. The JCM 800 is by far my favorite amp...ever. If someone stole this amp from me, I would track them down and feed them poison dog crap, and the rip their head off and shove it up their ass. If that didn't work out, I would just buy another one.

sometimes i wish it had an effects loop.

Same as the rest....Just the basics with a useless DI on the back. On it's own.......Way to Loud and a Little Buzzy.

The sounds of ROCK -N- ROLL History; Past, Present and Future. I purchased it off ebay and had it sent to Voodoo Amps for servicing. It needed a cap job and a few points were cold. I also had a Post Phase Master Volume added in the DI jack on the back. Of course, we added new tubes and it runds dead quite ($300.00 Spent including shipping). On it's own the sound is Amazing!! Thick, raunchy Marshall tone is whatthis thing does and it just KILLS!! With the Master on the back I get even more of a range of tones and w/out any pedals I can get a great Stcky Finger Stones feel, Sabbath, Van Halen, G-n-R. etc. I run a ToneBone HB out front and it goes insane from Tool, to Metallica, etc. The biggest difference for me is that the pick attack can change the tone immediately, so by using the volume knob on the guitar and my pick attack I can pull all sorts of tones. Excellent depth and feel and you can knock down walls with this Bitch open up. I prefere to use the Post Phase master on the back to get in a general volume range and than I use the basic knobs on the front to adjust the flavor and it's classic Eddie Van Hallen!!!!!

Have your amp checked out becuase caps dry out and an ampo will sound like shit. Many people say it's vintage and original and that can mean heavilu used and not set up as designed. Check out Voodoo Amps for the best techs in the business!!

This amp now, should last another 10 years w/out major servicing umless something happens.

Today, Marshall production amps suck and the service is less than that!!

For Ass kicking Matshall tones you can't go wrong. On it's own, it's way to loud and little buzzy with the basic pre and master knobs. Pre phase masters just overload the small 12ax7 phase tube and sound fizzy or buzzy IMO. The post ohase master on the back was a must for me and noe I can puol thick, creamy Marshall crunch at lower volumes for home studio recording and it records lkike a small champ. I run a Genz Benz 2x12 and mic the cab with a SM57-GT Brick-Audio interface-Mac Garageband. I can be set up in minutes and this amp sounds better RECORDED than A SLO100, Fargen Bastage, Fender Prosonic or Matchless head. Classic Cream, Hendrix, Zep and all the other Great players that played a Marshall knew whatthey were doing.

Here's a useful technique for using this legendary amp in small to medium sized venues (150 - 500 people).

Purchase a Variac (usually around $80 on Ebay) in order to knock the voltage down to around 80-90 volts.

Out of the speaker output, use an attenuator (such as the THD or Weber).

On the front end of the amp, an SD-1 pedal or other boost effect to thicken up your tone as desired (Java Boost by Keeley is another sweet choice)

The only downside is that there won't be much of a clean sound, but for that "Brown Sound", this is a very cool method.

1986 50W 2204 JCM 800 with horizontal input jacks. Here is the deal, this amp does one thing better than any amp you have ever played ... but it will only do that one thing. Clean is ok, but if you are looking at this amp you do not want a clean sound. There is not much headroom on the clead side. 2-inputs, I only use one, the other is rather useless in my opinion. I use this amp in my makeshift "home studio". It has more than enough power to do anything I ask of it. In an effort to give a detailed and accurate evaluation of this amp I am scoring it low on the "features" rating. Because, well, it doesn't have many features there is no reverb, or channel switching. But if you want monster gain and gourgeous tone it does that better than anything I have ever played through.

I run a Gibson SG (57 Classic Bridge, 57 Classic plus Neck) as well as a Gibson Flying V (496R Neck, 500T Bridge). I really feel that you need humbuckers to really drive this amp, I have played a Strat through it but the single coils really do not push this amp hard enough for my personal taste.

I play in an original rock/metal band but I believe this amp can cover a variety of different music styles. Punk, Rock, Metal, Blues, etc ... I am not trying to tell you what to do with it. But this thing is a serious amp ... play it for yourself, you will see what I mean. In my opinion when you die instead of the angels playing harps in stuff in heaven, they will be playing an SG through a JCM 800.

In any event this amp is it, it is the F**cking bees knees! Oh, one more thing, you have to crank this bad boy up. If you run it at low volumes it can sound kinda fuzzy. There is a sweet spot between 5 an 6 on the master volume (you will know when you hit it). You can not play this amp quietly ... a bunch of guys will recommend Power Brakes or Hot Plates (Attenuators). IMHO they will cause more harm than good, DO NOT buy this if you DON'T want to PLAY LOUD.

Yes, I can depend on it. However, I would never play a show without a back-up, but that is just me. I have had the amp re-tubed and had the bias set, but that is about it. This thing is 21 years old and built like a tank.

Never had to use it.

I have been playing guitar for 13 years now. I own and have owned many amps. I would buy and sell on ebay and craigslist searching for the holy grail of tone. I have owned Fender amps, Hughes and Kettner amps, just recenlty a Vox re-issue AC 30 cc2x12, but this Marshall takes the cake. This will continue to be my baby for years and years to come. If it where stolen and or lost I would by another immediately. I love the fact that it is so easy to use. There is not 45 buttons and switches on this thing there is Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master Volume and Pre-Amp Volume. That is it, and in my opinion that is how it should be.

This review is for my 1986 Marshall JCM 2204 50watt head and Marshall 1960ax 4x12 cab loaded with celestian greenback 25watt speakers. It was a matching 1/2 stack when I bought it in 1995.
It really is a bare bones kind of "one trick pony", however the one trick it does has become synonymus with RnR. It can make ANY guitar player sound like jimmy H for the first 4 bars of any blues jam in a minor key... guar-on-teed!!! After that of course you're on your own. Anyway, this monster rocks with thick harmonics and sustain that is only achieved from this killer amp. Totally different tone than Boogy, Vox, Fender or any of the "boutique" handwired amps like Matchless, Rivera, Topcat and a 100 other newbie companies. This amp actually wrote a chapter or two in the book that the newer companies are trying to emulate. It has GrooveTube EL34's. I heard that some are fitted with 6550's but never A/B'd the tonal difference although people do swear by the difference between the tubes. At %50 bucks for duet I have not replaced them in awhile but they still sound strong and articulate.
Been gigging with this (unbelievably heavy and cumbersome) rig for 10+ years now (approx 50 shows/year) and has created minimal hassle due to "down" time. Had to replace the filter caps and the power transformer (drake) was replaced about 7 years ago. Other than replacing tubes and cleaning with CRC it has been a cheap date.

Wicked sustain, crunch, growl, harmonics, controled feedback, thick and angry. AC/DC, Aerosmith, G&R's, VanHalen, SRV. Although I've heard David Grissom play a PRS through the same amp and it had a totally different feel to the sound... Marshall Tucker, Skynard or 38 special kind of southern rock sound. The sound of this amp is truely legendary.

10+ years and she's in better condition than I am and I'm sure worth alot more cash!

never dealt with them.

1970's and early 80's with vertical outputs are worth more resale value than the later 80's with horizontal Outs however ALL of the JCM800's kick serious butt and they just keep getting more popular decade after decade.

This one is from 1988. All tube, one channel. I play heavy metal, and it's versatile enough for my style. You can't switch between a million sounds, but it can do most sounds real good. When playing with my band, I use the low gain input for clean sounds, and throw a Boss Metal Zone in front for the kickass higain :) In our VERY LITTLE rehearsal room, it kicks severe ass on half volume, with a shitty AVT 4x12 cab. I'll be buying a 1960A in two weeks, guess I'll have to turn the volume down then ;)

Like I said, this amp can do most sounds, except for ultra brutal higain. Unless you have some really hot pickups and maybe a booster. Kerry King actually does that with an amp like this, I think :)

My main guitar is a '94 Fender Stratocaster with a SD Hot Rails at the bridge. Sounds really killer. I also have an Epiphone LP100, which also sounds good, but the pickups aren't that good. The amp is not noisy at all, not even with full gain at very high volumes.

Like everyone says, it's built like a tank. Not much more to say :) I don't think it ever will break down.

Don't know :)

Playing for 15 years. At home, I have a Fender Princeton Chorus, which I rarely use. But it's an OK amp. Our rehearsal room is in a really safe place, so I guess it won't be stolen. If that happens, I'd definitely get another one!

1984 2004 JCM800 50 watt MKI (mint condition).

All tube, brownish grill cloth (perhaps faded to brown?), no effects loop, weights 40lbs approx, has two horizontal inputs (tend to break easier than the vertical inputs, I hear).

bought it just a few years back on a whim. I've always been a JPM player(I still own a 71 Super Bass 100, '73 Super Lead 100, '78 MKII 50 watt and a '79 MKII 50 watt.)

Power out the wazoo! The loudest 50 watts on the planet!

Installed new caps...

Is it versitile? From Hendrix to Tool. Does every kind of style I play. Rock, Metal and Grunge!

Using a 2000 Fender American Series Stratocaster(with Dimarzio YJM very low output pickups) straight into the high input of the JCM with an old Marshall 4x12 slant with 65 and 50 watt speakers....the sound I get is totally awesome. I see why James Marshall reissued these monsters.
I have been playing with a rather loud drummer at his house with it and so volume setting have been rather loud (4 on the master volume and 10 on the preamp volume). Ya, a boost pedal is needed for wild soloing but bluesy solos are possible without a boost. Chord crunch and simple lower register single note hooks are a jaw dropping experience. What I heard was so very classic, first of all. Scorpions, Nugent, AC/DC, van Halen, Priest, Ratt, LA Guns, Tool, and more of course, is what the JCM reminded me of.
I think a mid or top boost pedal would take me right into Slashes tone. Oh and Tool, I know Tool originally used a 1975 Super Bass head but the JCM does the job perfectly.
Still, just because it sounds like all these bands is not all that important. What is, is like the definition, the smallest nuances of my playing have never been easier to hear over booming drumming. Single note runs sustain forever yet you can hear the wood of the guitar in them.
Truly a tube amp, harmonics are jumping out everywhere. Fat, meaty, my low E sounds like a grand piano's low string.
This amp is also loud! Louder than my 100 watters! I think it did structual damage to my friends home. The walls were shaking!
The only problem with this amp is that it's kinda noisy when not playing. Ya, it's over 20 years old and I'm sure there's a cap to replace or something but it's still annoying and without an effects loop a noise gate is not going to fix it.

Hendrix used Marshalls on the road instead of Fenders because they held up better. That's according to a book written about Jimi's life writtin back in the 70's.

I feel it's more solid and practical than my 70's models.

I spoke to James Marshall at the Namm show in Anaheim California (maybe LA...it was a long time ago) back in the lare 80's and he was a very humble fellow. He gave me some Marshall coasters for my coffe table even!
I told him to reissue the plexi's and low and behold he did! Is that customer support?
Other than that I have always relied on Marshall gurus to service my amps.

I've been a Marshall owner since 1980. I must of gone thru 20 heads or so and maybe 10 4x12 cabinets.
I've been playing lead guitar since 1975. I love classic rock, angry metal and grunge. I also dig Tool (whatever they are).

I love the balls this Marshall has. The earth shakes with the Master up to just 4.

I hate the lack of an effects loop and the noisy preamp section.

If it got stolen....I don't know...if I could find another without the noise...YES!

I'm comparing this head to a multitude of other Marshall heads, the Crate Power Block, an old Series 2 G-K 250 ML (really an awesome head but not as loud or ballsey as the JCM) and a B-52 100 watt( no soul ).

Sure beats the JTM45 reissues in all areas except weight!

BIG BIG BIG...it's the Grand Piano of guitar amplifiers!

Well where to start.. This is a freshly built one. Yeah sorry but I don't have a lot of money so I kinda built this one myself. I kept myself entirely to the schematics but changed the design of the amp. Anyways it got the same features. Gain, Low, Mid, High, volume, presence, Stanby, Power. Offcourse it has the usual two channels + the one I add myself. Low input, High input and the ultra. Though no matter what you do. you get the same sound every time. The equalizer is rather a toy then a real tool but.... read on!

OVERRATED??!! How has dared to say that this amp is overrated!
I've only played crappy amps before this and even tried a mesa boogie once. And somehow it was all the same. Crappy buzzy distortion. I really thought it was me or my guitar. When I turned this amp on I was really dissapointed at first. I never heard this type of distortion before (yeah the clean was clean but I don't care about clean). So a friend of mine said to get rid of the svetlana pretubes and fit in a few jj's. And before I knew it I was in tonal heaven. The high channel sounds really clear. Within one hour I learned everything about tone (never heard tone before not even on the expensive amps in store, allright allright the engl thunder really rocks), dynamics, sustain (thats right), punch and not to mention BALLS!! Turn this thing loud and your windows start shaking. Now I love old skool metal like malmsteen and van halen but this amp doesn't have enough gain for that so I punched in an extra hole sticked a tube in and voila.. All the gain and sustain, harmonics a guitar player ever wants.
At first I plugged this amp into a crappy 6,5" ibanez power jam speaker cabinet and I had very good tone. Now it goes into (yeah guess again) my homemade 2x12 cabinet fitted with jensen c12q. It gets even more freakin amazing!! Remember people, good speakers are 50% of your tone.
I have never had the chance to turn the volume up to 5 or higher but I hear from many people that there is a sweet spot out there in the unknown void called power amp distortion. Without the poweramp distortion it allready sounds amazing.
What I also experienced for the first time is the way the sound changes when you turn the knobs and switches. I never have to turn knobs on the amp again.
About noise. Yep its not noisy, you can hear the 50hz hum from the heaters and the ultra channel picks up the noise from my badly shielded guitar. NOW HERE IS A BIG HINT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. Jim Marshall intentionaly left the 20k resistor out of the cap. I don't care about the 0.00001 db of hum If I have to give away all the biautifull tone this amp has away!! Placing that 20k resistor will make you have big sorry regrets SO DON'T DO IT. No matter what the people say. And yes it is worth it to add an extra tube just don't turn the pre gain to high or you start sounding like transistor. srry no 10 for this amp because the perfect amp does not exsist. I wonder when they will invent such a biautifull thing?

I'm not gonna rate this one since I built this thing myself. I did use very high quality electronics though and I play 3 hours a day sometimes on pretty high volumes (till the neighbours start knockin on the walls). What I though can say is that the way the amp has been designed, you can nearly trust your life to it. No microchips that can fail on you. No crappy parts in the poweramp. All values look cool and designed well within spec. The powertranny (dagnall PTX marshall 50) seems to get hot but I guess it is his job to do that. I would gig with this thing for sure all the other things I've ever used before are a plain joke. This thing turns all the other amps into toys. I'm still not to convinient about the pots though, they are made of cheap plastic. I don't like plastic ;)

AHAHAHHAHHAHAHAH "yes sir can I help you" "Yeah I downloaded a schematic and it says marshall, No my amp has died and you are responsible because it was badly designed" "yeah sure bring it over and well fix it + well pay all the mods required to make you even more pleased".
No that is not going to happen not even in the wildest dreams. I will have to rely on myself when this thing fries.

Overall this amp was worth spending money and effort for. Everyone has said the same to me "hey man you sound like a pro". And I really do so right now. The only thing that this thing cannot deliver is modern distortion and certainly not that oversaturated black metal nu metal junk distortion. But if you are into old skool metal ac/dc and even guns and roses or metallica. This amp can deliver that tone. AND NO!! you will not nail the tone. I mention metallica here but it doesn't sound like but it has the sound to play it and impress. If you play stuff like jimmi hendrix totally go for it, you won't be sorry. I play guitar for allready 11 years right now so I may say I know what I am talking about. Wan't to have huge amounts of sustain and gain just slam in a overdrive pedal in front or trow in an extra tube. My search for tone has come to an rest right now because I really love my amp (ANd it is mine for sure). If it gets stolen... Let's say it like this I will form an large organisation and start hunting the asshole down until I get my baby back and people will die for it. He may take my valbee and my kustom kga-10. I was too generous when I rated those two. I feel like a moron for saying that the valbee has tube sound because it has spungy crappy sad op amp generated distortion. You don't believe me, open it up and take a look inside. Now one last thing. Somebody here mentioned that the 2204 has solid state amplification. Well take a look at the original marshall schematics again moron the only solid state that you will find are the diodes that create the power supply. The jcm-800 2204 is all tube to the end!! If you want to play guitar for real go get yourself one of these or something like an orange, fender, ampeg, engl, mesa but make sure you get an acient design because the new age amps are all made to play nU METAL wich is no music to my ears. No 10 the path to the perfect tone lies within the eternal search. It's a way of life.

I bought this amp back in 1984 and sold (near enough gave away) ten years later, so this reveiw is looking back thru the mists of time. As for features very basic and easy to use compaired to modern gear. My six year old could use it! Two input sockets one high sensitivity and the other low, pre-amp vol, master vol, treble, middle, bass eq controls and presence control plus on/off and standby swithes. Thinking back reverb wold have been nice.

As I recall with the pre-amp vol set to max. The distortion was a little weak for the style of music i was playing at the time. Which was 80's rock, eg Ozzy and Van Halen, but a tube screamer sorted that out. However it would have been/still great for classic rock and blues which is what I play now I would love to be able to try a Les Paul thru this now! Oh yes this amp was bone crushingly loud. I never got a chance wind it up past 4, if ever a amp needed a powerbreak this is it.

Built like a Norman castle and would probaly last as long. These things can really take abuse, use to just sling it in the back of a car without care and it would just keep working. The only kid glove treatment it would get was at least 5 minutes warm up and 5 minutes cool down and thats it.

Never had to use them - is that a good thing.

As I said at the begining this is a retrospective review and should be taken in that context. I have been playing on and off for 32 years as an amuture but i did gig this amp few times. As for guitars at the time i was playing super strats as was everyone else. would I buy another? The simple answer is no, because i've no need or room for anthing that big. Still a great amp though.

No B.S. That's what this amp has. It's got everything you need to rock and nothing you don't.

I've owned it for about a year now. Mine's one of the horizontal input models, made in 1989. It has EL34s.

I'm giving this thing a 10 not because it has a lot of features, but because it has the right amount of features for an amp of it's style. If they threw on another channel or an effects loop, I wouldn't want it. It's very nice not having a footswitch. When I want to use four channels I've got my Mesa Roadster.

Here is the formula for amazing tone:
Gibson Les Paul (or anything that sounds big and thick) -> MXR ZW-44 (or any overdrive you like, I bet a Bad Monkey would sound pretty cool with this amp) -> Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster (level ALL the way up) -> the LOW input of the JCM800. The Pickup Booster into the low input is the secret weapon that makes all the difference.

Do that and you'll have rich, screaming tone that doesn't sound thin and squeaky like the high input does. Trust me, nothing compares to this tone except maybe some of the older Marshalls out there or the new handwired ones.

This amp is getting a 10 for tone because it's irreplacably good sounding and sounds like YOU do when you play through it. If you really know how to play electric guitar, you can make this amp sound great. If you suck, it's going to sound pretty bad. It's as versatile sounding as your playing is and is 100% British flavor.

I once accidentally plugged my speaker cab into the D.I. input. Yes, it was dumb of me. I blew a power tube and the fuse. I was hoping the amp would be stronger (my Mesa amps can handle that and tons more).

Aside from that, there's not a whole lot that can go wrong with this thing. It's from 1989 and it's still in near-mint condition.

I can only imagine Marshall would have terrible customer service, but I don't know first hand.

I've been playing for 6 years. I've owned plenty of amps and currently own a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster and a Mesa/Boogie F-50 combo. This JCM800 replaced my Peavey 5150 before I bought the Mesas. I use a Gibson Les Paul (Duncan JB and Jazz pickups) and a couple other guitars, but when I play this thing I use the Gibson cause it's got the magic.

I would only ever get rid of this amp to buy a better Marshall. I'd love a '78 JMP2203 or a handwired plexi. Probably someday...

Feel free to email me with questions.

I have owned this Amp since 1980 bought it brand new for $995 that was allot of money in those days....and it still plays like the first day i bought it.It can conqur any situation or stlye of music and is second to none...the finest amp ever built by man imo.It has all the buttons a good player needs and none of the ones yoiu dont.

What can i say about a legend like this the creammy sound just keeps comming as the years roll buy...i am using this amp for recording now and it still blows any of my new amps off the map.Buy the way always use aMarshall cabinet with this head others just will not cut it.

Its been with me since i wa s18 and has toured with bands gotten bounced around frozen in the back of our gig mobile and has never complained...the heater valve wnt last year and i had Marhall fix it thats the only thing ever!

have only dealt once with them

Been playing over 25 years and i am playing more now than i ever have in the past and my Marshall is still right in there sounding phenom.If i lost it idon't know what i would do to find one in my shape would be around 6 grand, but with the reissues i guess you could come close......i honestly feel sorry for anyone that has never had a chance to own an tube amp as good as this one "BUILT FOR LIFE"

ok here we go..my little red monster was born in 1984..red tolex excellent condition i bought it used on ebay..the only modification is a parallel loop i think that the 2204 is the definition for the rock amp...no features only 6 knobs to play with the rest my friends is on your hands...let;s see....

i'm in 4 piece band and we play hard rock funk in the style of GLENN HUGHES music.the band called 4BITTEN and we play at least 6 gigs in a month here in greece i have two guitars a fender american standard and a jem blue floral pattern...the amp sounds fucking great with both of them...i can play a variety of songs covering all the 70's 80's and 90's i strongly reccoment the thd hotplate cause this beast is freaking loud with the hotplate my band mates love me my soundman love me....and the crowd in front of the stage.the amp isn't noise at all with hotplate i play it with the master at 5 and gain in 7.5 and sounds fantastic the sound is tearing you apart you want to play more and more and more.....i use it only with a morley wah a ts9 a phase 90 mxr chorus and dd6 the clean channel stays clean in higher volumes and you can get this srv page clean tones
excellent i play it through a 2x12 mesa boogie rectifier cabinet with V30'S excellent

this beast is built like a tank no problem i gig also with a mesa boogie rectoverb 50 w head as a back up so no problem

i play guitar since iwas a 14 years old kid and i'm now 27 i'm a professional musician and my all life is to play in front of lived crowds with my band i used to have an engl screamer 50 combo an ashdown fallen angel head the mesa rectoverb and now my new baby 2204 marshall i wrote this review to tell everybody that if you like true tone with balls get one of this heads but your hands must play cause this amp will not cover your shity playing also this head is LOUD so check it also with a thd hotplate the tones that can give you a 2204 head is the ones that you have in your head from all this records from the 80's try it

1984 50 watt horizontal inputs. This amps is very versatile considering it is only one channel and no reverb, if you tweak the EQ right with different guitars,pickups, and effects combinations you can get about any tone out of it, minus the shimmering fender clean, or some crazy hi gain, distortion. That sounds like poo anyways. I usually play it with american teles and strats straight through and i find the versatility is in how you play your instrument, not boutique gadgets. I just wish this amp had an effects loop, every once in a while i play with chorus and delay and it would be nice to loop it. I use this amp everywhere, its loud enough for anything. I play through a 4x12 cab with only 2 30 watt celestion copies. Plenty loud and a lot of low end.

I use an american telecaster and an american stratocaster, all single standard single coils. Styles range mostly in blues and rock. The blues tone is amazing, if you set it up right. Real edgy glassy tube in your face tone with the strat and a warm ballsy tone with a tele. This amp is very quiet, I found with this amp it sounds best with heavy strings and the high end scooped, especially on the tele. I play with 13 gauge strings and the difference is amazing.

Amazing, never had a problem with it and if it did, its relatively easy to work on. And easily modded as well

Never called them, but wouldnt depend on any foreing speaking typist on the other end of a support line. I would go to the local amp tech.

This is the best amp in the world. I have heard a just about every amp out there, If you want clean, get a fender, if you want dirty, get a marshall, if you want something in between, get the JCM 800, if you want both, get a fender and a marshall. These two are all you will ever need, everything else is just an imitation of an overkill boutique flash. I wouldnt care if I saw hendrix himself playing a line 6, I wouldnt respect him as a guitarist. Line 6 sucks! Purist know where its at Marshall is the best! Hands down, fender is number 2 everything else just sucks, save your time, money and headaches! and if anyone ever reads this and wants to get rid of any JCM 800, email me, I will buy it.

Made in 1986-just bought it used.Not a lot of features and that's the way I like it -UH huh-UH huh.
Not alot of circuits to filter all the harmonics out of the amp.
Big Drake transformers that give this amp it's rich ballsy sound.
EL34 Ruby tubes suited for rock and blues.
The eq knobs actually adjust the tone noticalbly to go with the mood you want to exoress.

Strats ,Teles,Les Pauls -single coils and hums.Strats will give you the Hendrix sound and Les pauls will give you the Beck -Zeppilin sound .
This amp is so quiet I can't tell it's on when idling.
This is my third Marshall and I've kept them all-the huge transformers and filter caps give this amp some serious kick ass sounds.

It's getting on in age but my tech says this beast has lots of life left and is in great shape.
It gets a nine because anything is possible

Warranty is long gone but I have a great tech and he goes through my amps very thoroughly.

MArshall is one of the corner stones of modern rock and roll so unless you have your head in the sand you have to own at least one ,even if you have the higher end boutiques -nothing sounds like a Marshall like a Marshall!
I've been looking DR Z,Soldano,Mesa Rects,Reissue this and that -but you know this is not a reissue and at the price I paid is a severe bargain-they are getting harder and harder to find.