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.

This 2204 with horizontal inputs is dated March 17, 1986. I bought it new (along with a 4x10 1960 cabinet) shortly after that, and I've had it ever since. We all know the features, so I won't repeat them here. I've played several different styles of music, including metal (in the '80s), sort of Austin-style blues-influenced rock in the '90s, and just mess around with it these days. It was a little heavy for the Austin stuff, but I got by.

I started with a Gibson Les Paul Custom -- it sounded really good with that. Later, I went to one of the new Ibanez RG550's - I had to work hard to get that sound right, ultimatley dropping EMGs into the guitar. I used an Ibanez Tube Screamer pedal for metal stuff, and it sounded *kick ass*. Later, I used a Charvel Surfcaster, which was really a mismatch, but worked OK. Now I also use a Gibson SG Supreme. I've never used the clean channel much. The distortion channel is great, but needs assistance for a real metal crunch. The amp is a little heavy on treble and light on bass, but that can be remedied with the tone knobs. Altogether, the sound is really good. It is *loud* -- I rarely have ever been in a situation where I could turn it up to 3 or 4.

I once looked out the back of a pickup truck window on the way to a gig and saw the 2204 head fly from right behind the cab and slam against the back. Proceeded on the to the gig and played for hours. It's been bashed around dropped, etc., and I've never had a problem with it -- never needed a repair.

I have never dealt with the company, and, like I mentioned above, never needed a repair. It is easy to find people who say they can work on these.

I've been playing for 21 years, almost all of it with this amp. I had to take out a loan to buy it (with the cabinet, the price was >$1200 1986 dollars, which was a lot for a 17 year old), but based on my research it was the only thing to buy at the time -- I think I was right. I've had a few small practice amps (like a VOX AD15VT now that's pretty cool), but this has always been my workhorse - never gigged without it. At different times, I've wished it had a certain feature or other, but ultimately I don't think I'd change a thing. It has always sounded great and been extremely solid -- *never* flaked out. It is heavy and bulky, and sometimes I wished it was lighter, but that really shouldn't be a consideration.

Hecho en 1989 este equipo es lo mas versatil que escuche en toda mi vida (por lo menos para mi).En mi banda manejamos un audio muy moderno desde Nu metal hasta pop metal y por mi cuenta soy amante del blues y el equipo responde a la perfeccion en ambos extremos.
El equipo me parece q esta perfecto cmoo esta , muy sencillo y con una infinidad de sonidos.
La entrada high permite conseguir sonidos saturados de pre de increible calidad , sobre todo sumando algun drive como ser un rat o un ts-9.
La entrada low junto con una distorsion (en mi caso un RAT 2) puede llegar a niveles de distoriosn increibles dandonos la posibilidad de "switchear" entre un "canal limpio" (drive off) o uno sucio (drive on).

Mi set up esta conformado por 2 Les paul.
La primera es una samick artist series con dos mics di marzio ; un "tone zone" y un "humbucker from hell".
La segunda es un Gibson Les paul estudio deluxe.
Con ambas guitarras el equipo repsonde increiblemente tanto en sonidos sucios como limpios (y todo lo que se les pueda ocurrir en el medio).
Es un poco ruidos sobre todo si sumamos muchos efectos en la cadena desde la guitarra , pero nada q no tape el volumen de esta bestia o un noise supressor en su defecto.
LAS DISTORSIONES Q SE PUEDEN CONSEGUIR DE ESTE EQUIO CON LA AYUDA DE UN DRIVE SON INCREIBLEMENTE BRUTALES!

CONFIO 100% EN CUALQUEIR COSA Q TENGA LA FIRMA DE JIM MARSHALL POR ALGO SON LOS MEJORES EQUIPOS HACE DECADAS.
Jamas tuve un problema con el equipo.

Tengo este equipo hace algunos mese y lo busque durante 2 a?os , ara cualquier persona q viva en Argentina sabra entender lo dificil (por no decir imposible) q es conseguir este equipo y este modelo (sobre todo de 50 w y con volumen de pre-amp).
Eh probado soldanos , mesa boogies , vht , incluso otros marshall , pero nada puede superar al 800!!!!!.
Si me lo robaran o se me ropmiera compraria otro sin dudarlo.

My JCM was madet in 1987 , and its built like a tank - never had any problems ... It's definitely versatile enough for me , as i use one distorted sound - i play hardcore , no need for clean channel ... You don't have 30 channels etc , but the sounds you get from this 800 are the sounds you need , in many music styles , so i think it's verstatile enough ...There is one channel , you can choose low or high input , which is like clean and distorted channel ...50 watts , tube ,not modded 2204's have six knobs - presence , bass , middle , high , master volume , gain - there is also one more knob on the back of my 800 added , it's the same thing as resonance in 5150 - something like low end control on the poweramp , and this is the only mod on my 2204 ... Never heard louder amp , it's rather impossible to get past 9 o clock of master volume and be able to still hear the drummer , the other thing is that it's getting louder to 12 o clock , and then its still the same volume level , but no one will ever need to play this loud , it just kills - definitely enough power ...

I use ibanez sz320 with emg81 bridge pickup, and epiphone les paul custom with gibson bridge pickup - i use mostly ibanez , as epi needs some repairs ... It suits my style perfectly , as i said i play hardcore , i use only one channel , so its almost perfect for me - but there is not enough gain , i mean i can play on the 800 alone and it sounds great , but i just prefer some more gain - so i boost the dirty channel with mxr kfk-1 eq ... i add some frequencies and gain/volume on the mxr , and it sounds just awesome ... i was using ibanez ts9 to boost gain , but i think that mxr eq sounds better - i can get clean boost adding just volume/gain on the kfk-1 , or add some frequencies , which makes the great sounding 2204 sound even better ... my settins on marshall are - presence - 2 o clock , bass full , middle - 12 o clock , treble - 12 o clock , master volume mostly around 8-9 o clock , gain around 3 o clock , mod resonance full , and i add some stuff on the eq , i don't remember settings now ... it produces some noise when the eq is on , but i don't care about it too much... some days ago i borrowed my 800 to studio , and i was playing rehearsal on my friends dual recto 3 channel - and it was ok - second guitarist was playing on the 800 2204 ... on the next rehearsal we were playing on one guitar , so i took the recto , but there was something wrong - after some minutes i changed amp to 2204 - and the sound was awesome , even without the gain boost ... i'm not saying that recto is a bad amp - for metal it's great , but i just prefer 800's for my style - it's more musical somehow ... distortion can be brutal ,when you boost it - alone there will be not enough gain for modern high gain music - and the best thing with marshalls is that you will hear them on stage etc - some amps may sound great when you play without the band , but in the band you just can't hear them , haha - that's not going to happen when you play marshall ...

i never use backup , i never had any problems with my marshall - and it was built in 87 , i guess its rather hard to break it - but shit happens as we all know , the good thing is that it's rather easy to repair

when i bought it , the sound was terrible , because of some ugly mods - i took the amp to my friend , amp tech , and now the amp is like he was built originally + one mod - resonance od the poweramp ... never dealt with marshall company

i am guitar player for about 13 years , i don't own many gear ... if it was stolen or lost , i would definitely get another single channel 800 ... i played some amps like peavey 5150 , mesa recto , mesa triaxis/2:90 , engl 620 and 530 preamps + mesa 50/50 poweramps, soldano sp77 preamp + mesa 50/50 poweramp , marshalls jcm900 etc - but i think single channel jcm800 mk2 is the best one for me , the sound i get from 2204 boosted with mxr equalizer is awesome - aggresive , musical and cuts through the mix ...

'86 Marshall 2204. 6550 power tubes that sound better than the EL34s, IMHO. Punchier tone with more top and bottom end (not squishy like some EL34s). Features? 6 freakin' knobs. It's simplicity at it's finest. Plenty of power from bedrooms to stadiums and anywhere in-between.

The Marshall 2204 is the definition of the rock amp. Used by the best guitarists of all time. Used in major recording studios around the world. Look at all the boutique amp manufacturers that brag about their "Marshall tone" (for $3000+). I say if you want Marshall tone, get a Marshall 2204. The 2204 has the cascading gain structure that provides rich, complex, harmonic overtones. Not much clean headroom. Can be a bit bright if the treble is turned up. Has the best "just breaking up" tone of any amp out there. There is plenty of gain for classic rock, but it may not be enough for ultra-high gain nu-metal tones.

I've owned Marshall amps for over 30 years and have never had one break down. nuf sed.

Been playing over 30 years. The Marshall 2204 is the best rock amp ever made. Period. That's an informed opinion. I've played almost every style amp at some time. I own other vintage Marshall amps. I would definitely buy another 2204 if it were lost/stolen. Don't spend $3000+ on a boutique amp that only pretends to duplicate the Marshall tone. Side-by-side, the Marshall still blows away a Bogner Ecstacy at $3200, IMHO. If you want great clean tones, go buy a Fender withn the $ you'll save.

Supplement to my previous review. Cant believe these guys below have bagged two of these amps for $150-$200. Pawn Shops rule! A Marshall reissue JCM 800 costs in the region $2500-$3000 and these reissues are not considered better than the 80's models by the purists. You cant argue much with the name users of these amps. Guys like Schenker, Marrs, Morello, Aldrich, Sykes, Wylde, King.. the list is endless. These guys could afford any rig but they're all addicted to the classic bass riff heavy pure valve sound of the JCM 800. The old JTM, 1959 and Jubilee Slash models are also amazing for classic Marshall tones (I should know because I've gigged all of them), but there is just something about these 800's when you tug on that open stringed power chord that is unique. These amps especially love to be cranked - thats when they really show their true guise. Pull back on the middle, treble, prescence get the pre-amp full then push that master up for that early EVH brown sound. I read on John Sykes website that he's now using these heads without boosters, chorus or delay - thats how these amps potentialy are! They love to eat Gibsons of course. A P-90 DC faded I've got sounds incredible plugged straight into this beast - awesome. For me there's more than plenty gain for leads - if you know how to use this amp. A lot of players with high gain amps just cover up their shitty playing with distortion - U cant do that easily with this rig because each note shines through. If you are a 'player' this fact will show up, but if your covering up this amps transparency will nail you. Basically the JCM 800 is a players amp.

It isn't very fancy. It only has one channel & no reverd.(just the way I like it) It has aneffects loop. I believe the simplicity of this amp is what makes it so appealing.

This amp is incredible! I paid $150.00 for it at a pawn shop. I took it home and it didn't sound right at first. I kept playing it thinking that I just wasn't use to it yet. Two days later the tubes went out. I replaced the tubes with Groove Tubes #3's, had it biased and the thing almost scorched my pad! This amp will give you the Zakk sound with no problem. I love this amp! I actually went back to the same pawn shop a month or so later just to see what they had and low and behold there sat another one! Yes, I bought that one also. I paid $200.00 for that one. Two for less than the price of one.($350.00) Disgustingly good deal!

Never let me down!

I have called Korg/Marshall on several occasions and they are always very knowledgeable and quite helpful.

IF you find one for a reasonable price, buy it! You will not be sorry.

This amp has one feature... tone. The absolute personification of hard rock amplification. Mine is a 1981 and it had all the original tubes and LCR filter capacitors in it when I bought it. I replaced all the originals and keep them for collectability sake. No reverb, no effects loop, no problem. This amp taught me how to play guitar, I used to hide behind a wall of reverb and gain, and found out I was only fooling myself. The simplicity of this amp made me an honest player. I repair and modify amps and some guys like an extra 12AX7 put it for more gain, I like mine just as it came out of the box. The good news is that if you like the extra gain stage added, there is plenty of room, Hell I could even add a Fenderish tube reverb circuit, or effects loop if desired. I like this wattage, 50 watts is definitely enough for any club I play, and when I need more I leave that to the sound tech and the PA. I'm giving this a ten because Marshall knew what not to put into this machine.

I play American Standard Stratocasters, American Deluxe Telecasters, and Les Pauls. I use this amp and a '64 Vibrolux Reverb, or Blackfaced Super Reverb A\B'd. This Marshall doesn't have a clean channel, and quite frankly I don't like the Marshall clean sounds I have heard. To me Fender has the fattest clean amps, so why fight it I use them both. It's a bitch carrying two amps, but man... I have the best of both worlds and my tone is always primo. I front the Marshall with a Fulltone Fulldrive 2, or a Tube Screamer (TS9) I modded to TS808 and then some, and these give me the extra kick I need in some of the heavier stuff I do. I also use Vintage 30's with this amp and they are in love with each other. Personally I never use the gain past 2 o'clock.

Absolutely dependable. I have replaced the tube sockets, but that's to be expected in a 24 year old amp, I did it before they went bad and retained them... again for collectability. I think that the simplicity of this amp is the reason it's so dependable. This amp has NEVER let me down. With my maintenence routine I expect it never will.

Never had to call about this amp. Never will. I've delt with Marshall on amps I have repaired, not the greatest, nowhere near as bad as Mesa though.

I have been playing 20+ years, I bought the amp at a pawn shop for $200 bucks. I have never spent a better $200... ever. If it were stolen I would devote the rest of my life to hunt down the MF'er that took it, then I'd get a couple of hard ass pipe hittin' fools to go to work on Holes with a blow torch and a pair of pliers. You hear that thieves you'll spend the rest of your soon to be over life in writhing agony if you touch my Marshall 800! Yes, I would find another one if it were stolen.

This is a one trick pony, no doubt, but it does this particular trick better than any other amp on the planet. You'd be amazed at how many bands used this amp in the 80's at the recording studios.
This amp responds like a dream, and goes from warm to hot with a flick of a pick. I use my volume knob with great success when I tame this shrew. Don't be confused by other models, this is THE one. Other Marshalls utilize solid state signal clipping via LED or Zener bounding. Yes they are all tube but the solid state clipping gives it a buzzy sound which the purist would frown on. A friend of mine loves that LED clipping... to each his own I guess.

Mine has the 6550's in it, I like them the best. I tried the EL34's in it for a while and they weren't my cup of tea... too brittle. They aren't directly replaceable. To all who don't know any better you have to change the value of the bias resistor and re bias the amp; I wouldn't suggest trying this at home unless you are real comfortable with hunreds of volts or a technician or avid and capable hobbyist. Also the circuit board isn't the easist to work with in comparison to a point to point amp. My only bitch is that they quit making this amp... I know that the Zakk 800 is out there, but that's the 100 watt amp and to be honest I can't see the price tag as proportional to the cost of making the amp. In other words I love this amp but the sum of the parts to make this amp can't be more than $400.00. I guess Zakk wanted a big kickback.

I am threatening to make a point to point replica of this amp for my own use as soon as I find a beater to donor the transformers. Did I mention I love this amp?

It isn't a jack of all trades amp so its lack of features isn't a problem. It would be nice to have some reverb, but then Triple Rectifiers don't either. I don't know what year it is, but it has the stacked inputs so I presume its an early one.

Even at low volumes you can get a convincing AC/DC tone without having to crank it to ear bleeding levels. At high volume, having my Analogman-modified DS-1 going into the clean channel it sounds wonderful. I hope my Analogman Metal Zone sounds just as good.

It would be nice to have the modern metal crunch sound, but then this amp preceeds the genre by over a decade. However, if Kerry King and Zakk Wylde still use these amps then why should I complain.

I haven't owned the amp long enough to find out whether there are any problems, but I had it serviced by Marshall when I first got it. All it needed was new valves/tubes, jacks and a new pot so I would say that 20 years service says its reliable.

I have heard negative comments about Marshall's service, but my own experience was very good. My advantage is that I live near to their head office, which might have helped. The guy who I dealt with was very good (Andy Marshall) so I have no complaints.

I made a few mistakes with buying effects for my amp, but the Analogman stuff is the main staple in my equipment. The head runs into a 1960AC cabinet (greenbacks).

I would certainly buy the amp again if stolen, as Boogies cost a fortune over here. Marshall seem to be relying on past laurels, but with equipment this good I am not complaining. I would love to try a Diezel, but out of my price range and I think the neighbours would kill me.

1982 JCM 800 100 watts. Veritcal inputs, modified custom effects loop, JJ Tesla EL 34's, Mullard re-issue 12AX7 pre-amp tubes. Single channel.

I currently run Fender Strat's ( YJM models, 1970, 1973, 1974) with Hs-3/YJM pickups some with Dimarzio Virtual Vintage 54' pickups. I played in the styles of Blackmore, Roth, Malmsteen, Halen, Beck. This amp does the trick with and interesting revelation I stumpled across...I route an Echoplex EP-3 through effects loop with foot switch to ly turn off echo...I actually prefer the unit to not bypass because the Echoplex dulls out the original highs, so Iprefrer that "darker" sound. As far as pedals, its the strat to a dunlup 535Q wah, MXR Phase 90, Ibanez tube screamer ( TS-9 modded to 808 ) Old grey DOD overdrive 250 preamp and thats it. i use both overdrives in combination but with half way gain settings on each so you ultimately get the transparency yngwie bubbly tone put punch with a slight mid from the TS-9. Works and sounds unreal! this amp is loud and mean and awesome! I also run two old 70's checker board 4X12 cabinets with vintage 30's and one that has hybrid 25w celestions mixed. I roll of volume knob on strat to obtain clean tones that are decent. I've had people come up to me and tell me that amp has got a Van Halen/Malmsteen tone. The echoplex through the loop is key!!!!!

Bob Segar said it best...."like a Rock"

never had to deal

Great amp and yes I would be bummed if this got ripped off because of the unique sound to replace and the fact that they are and arm and a leg now! Effects loop standardization would be nice.

umm it was made by marshall hahah. the amp suites me well idk about everyone thats all about some brutal gain but i adore my amps sound i play in a hardcore emo/screamo band and it sounds really good our other guitar player has a triple rec and they go together wonderfully.just one channel oh well :( . i wish it had another channel. i use this amp in my band play lots and lots of shows with it.its a 50 watt and the thing gets louder than the triple recs its the loudest marshall i have ever heard. its tube two el34s and 3 12ax7as i think sounds wonderful

i use a fender tele because i love the way they look with a seymour duncan hot rails to get that humbucker sound. it suites our style very well.we are hardcore screamo kinda music.it has a slight hisss when you arent playing but thats probably because it was made in the 80s haha.this amp can be a beautiful clean sound or a nice barely distorted rock sound mostly i have the preamp turned just about up and that gives me just enough gain for what i am going after.the distortion is def not a rec or anything but thats good to me its 100% tube tone no solid state crap.

i depend on it everyday for practice and every show we play.i do use it without a back up.the amp has never broken on me

never dealt with marshall never had to.

i have been playing guitar for 12 years.i used to have a daul rec but i sold that for a carvin legacy and then i bought this.if it got stolen i would buy one again or maybe an orange amp or something along those lines.i love the way it sounds through my 1960ax 4x12 cab with green back speakers its true tone. i compare it to my daul rec and i like it alot better because its more of a tube sound to me.this amp is great

Wanna hear it?

Hear ya go...

http://4.78.22.159/mp3s/derek_shred.mp3

Marshall JCM 800 2204 made in '82! This thing fits the bill to a T for classic rock ( without any pedals ) to 80's rock, grunge, alternative, death and trash to even Nu-Metal. I play fusion, jazz, blues, funk, classic rock, 80's rock, grunge, modern rock, screamo, death and thrash metal, nu metal and so on. This beast is not suited well for jazz. Sounds great for Gary Moore or Zeppelin blues. 1 channel. It's all that is needed. Use the volume knob. It's inspiring because of its simplicity. I wish it had an fx loop, but this head is still a JOY to play. It is loaded with Svetlana 6550 tubes and it rocks!

Let me just say this:
I hear RHCP, RATM, Toadies, Smashing Pumkins, Soundgarden, ZZ top, AC/DC, Jet, The Darkness, The Donnas, Judas Priest, Maiden, Sabbath, Zeppelin, Anthrax, Testament, Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, Whitesnake, Dio, early crue, Kiss, Ted Nugent and the list goes on.

It is a 1 trick pony and does what it does VERY WELL! Clean sounds vary from Gary Moore to Page or Red Hot Chili Pepers ( think Under the Bridge ). It sounds good, but I would rather use my Mesa Boogie Mark IV for the cleans.

Turn up the preamp drive and the master and slam the front ned with a keeley TS9 ( tubescreamer ) and your in shred territory. Stick a Keeley Twiligth Zone modded MT-2 ( Metalzone ) in front of it and your in Mesa Recitifier territory. Sounds a lot like a Mesa Rectifier or VHT Pitbull.

It has been alive and well for 22 years! I would say it's very dependable.

Never called...

I've been playing 20 years. I have played on may amps. I own a PRS Artist III series and a Mesa Boogie Mark IV head and cab. This thing picks up in places where the Mark IV doesn't, Don't get me wrong. I love the Mesa Mark IV. I use it all the time as well. It's just nice having the best of both worlds. Again, I do wish the 2404 had an FX loop.

pres,ass,mid,treb,master,pre vol,high low inputs very simple.An FX loop woulda been a nice feature.

OK first off the amp in review has 6550s.Anyway this particular amp is very thin and harsh and blunt sounding.I look for an almost 4 inputter sound outta my Marshalls and this is a dead duck.I own a Jubilee combo(tone monster)had a JCM900 SL-X 50,recorded on PTP original and reissue plexis,channel switching 800s and IMO there all better than the single channels.I giged a 2203 800 / EL34s and it was a better amp also.6550s in a Marshall should be a crime.They suck!!!I borroed this amp for 2months while I saved to replca ethe SL-X I had(long story of amp swapping).Anyway if it were mine I think an EL-34 swap would e a great improvement.This is a vertical input model.

hey its made it 20yrs so it can't be too bad.

With an EL34 swap a good bias and nice pretubes I have faith that it would sound pretty good ut you'd still prolly need a pedal to boost sustain or solos.

1987 2204 with horizontal inputs

As the last reviewer stated you can largely forget about the low input socket. Using the high input you can get an excellent bass response with any decent cabinet, a lot of treble on this head so back off on that. The gain is decent but not overpowering, with a
quality gibson guitar it has good thickness and can easily achieve the Billy Gibbons and Angus Young 70's sound.
Using a Fender I am able to get a very pleasing clean bright SRV type tone, while whacking it up full approached Blackmore/Hendrix
Overall I'd describe the sound as authentic old school Marshall
and that means to get the real heavy rock sounds a booster is desirable. I use a Marshall Shredmaster and believe me it delivers BIG TIME through this rig - searing metal with any guitar.
Modern tube Marshalls like the TSL/DSL dont need boosters get real high gain, but in my opinion the quality of the sound from the JCM 800 with the booster edges these newer amps and that is the reason your Kerry Kings etc use them.

Bullet proof

N/A

A very basic amp but possessing more classic tones than any other Marshall I've tried.

I recently had a chance to audtion a JCM800 Lead Series 2204 MKII Amp head. I always look to harmony central when checking out any equipment I'm interested in so I figured I'd post my results. I borrowed the amp from my tech's shop for about three days and figured if it lit up in my hands I would buy it. I had heard great things about them and had become interested. There isn't much in the way of feautures however, just the eq knobs and a master volume,No loop or reverb.

I'm not really sure what the big deal is at all. I have been playing guitar for about 13 years and have a Decent amp collection(Fender Super,Mesa Tremoverb,Roland Jc-120 Jazz Chorus,Fender Pro JR, Peavy ultra plus, JCM 900 Dual reverb 50w) and I couldn't figure out the appeal for this one. I cranked it and still it didn't really excite. It had just been retubed with Svetlana El-34's and Electro Harmonix preamps.Tubes biased for 40mA. It has this real nasty brightness that is too raw and biting. There is no gain on this amp, it sounds like when you roll down your guitar volume knob on a high gain amp.Anyone who tells you that there is enough gain on this amp to play metal without external effects or a booster is bullshiting you to make themselves feel better or to sell the amp. The other thing that bugs me is that the low sensitivity input is practically useless on the 50w amp. You can't get enough volume to ever compete with a drummer with the gain and master cranked. Your only bet is to use the high input and roll down the volume on the guitar for clean, although it's not that good of a clean sound on the 50watt version atleast.If your interested in this amp get the 100watt 2203 because it might have some headroom atleast. This amp is really hyped up and It doesn't even compete with the sounds I could achieve with the 50watt JCM900 Dual Reverb,(The El-34 version). Not in gain, Volume, versatility, or clean sounds, yet the JCM900 gets a bad rep from what I've seen (it's probably the 5881 version).This doesn't make any sense. Guitarist hear that the circuitry is simpler in the 800 therefore it must sound better.The only good thing I could say about it is that it had a nice bass response to it and If I owned it I could probably do the extra preamp tube mod to give it a set of balls.

Its pretty old and there is alot of them out there still so they must be reliable. Although I got it from the My amp tech's shop so who knows.

What customer support, this isn't Mesa Boogie.

Overall a huge dissapointmen.It May be the most over hyped amp of all time. I'm just writing this review to help people before they buy it off Ebay on reputation alone for like $800 because the vintage collectors are saying there are rare now.You need to have effects or a stompbox to really get any tones that are useful out of this thing and if that's the case why not use an amp that has a good clean sound to start with so you know that you can have a great clean when you turn off your distortion or booster pedal.Also there is no effects loop to help out the situation. Don't think that Zack Wylde or Kerry King of slayer use these things without pedals or rack effects to get a metal tone because it aint happening.The earlier Jcm 900 blow these things away. Everone was modding these things because they were so devoid of gain that Marshall finally caught wind and gave us the 900.Beside that there is a very bright ice pick in the ear tonality that you can't dial out with the treble or presence knob. When I buy an amp I want it to have great tone without adding other effects. Those effects should add to an already great sound not the other way around.

this is a 1985 2204 jcm 800,,, i can play any style on this amp... i mean any style... one channel... no channel switching now effect loop on this year... i don't want anything on this amp to affect the tone... it is right where i trip on it... i am only playing this at home but when i do i dream i am in front of a crowd sharing this sound with them... and power it is right there is terms of power,,, i would run two of these if i needed more.

i don't really like to give up my set up... although i will say that a good quality set up is a must... and once one finds how to get this set right you got a pro sound... classic and would impress millions of people tone wise. the sound and tone of my set up gives me goose bumps... usally when it is turn up a bit like most music the right volume for the right mood. a quality overdrive pedal or two will help get sustain at less that 3 on the dial. again i say i can play any style with this amp... just have to know how to use it.

i think i could depend on it... but as things go it is always good to be prepared ...so have some basic tools on hand and a set of tubes... i tube about once a year and ooooh! i can hear what i've been missing... don't over bias your amp to get some harder sound, bias it right and get the right tube brand and type to get the tone you need for the style you need, i have found that everything matters so just don't go at this willy nilly... this future design of the tweed bassman is one of the best. wow how we travel...

i think it is korg now so hands on and i care about MY craftsmanship has kinda gone the way of the flesh horse. there are alot of marshalls out there and alot of people own them so parts or replacements are always there... and the amp is simple in design so easy to fix. good high quality parts are being made for the good old stuff that most of us want but it really takes hard work and risk to make the good stuff... so keep demanding the good old days quality.

i have been playing for wow, 24 years, i am angry at my dad. mom too !but the rock and roll doesnt bother her as much as my dad.
i believe i would get another one... they are running 800.00 or better on e-bay... depending on shape and a little too on year earlier ones where a bit better but i have heard and worked on 1987 jcm 800... and it sounded quite impressive. i did get this amp because i have another earlier marshall 50 watt... and i wanted a jcm 800 because it will run the el34's better sound wise that the lower plate voltage idea. the jmp runs at about 368vdc and the jcm runs at about 440vdc. so i get less compression than i do with the jmp. i wish i wish... i would like to own alot of differnt marshalls to see how many i needed to own... i also want a early hiwatt dr504... but hey that would be more money on getting that sounding well with other guitars-pick-ups-speakers the right tubes...setup on and on... so sometime down the road... i like the tone sounds of the earlier amps i think... but hey i did hear a guy on a old guitar and a newr dsl and he had a sound... go figure...

This is a late eighties 50W head without any features. Just a basic 2204. It has 2 inputs, high and low, no real channels, inputs work fine anyway. I play Satriani style rock, this amp is ok for that, Satriani plays pretty basic, so do i. Tonal controls are limited, however, you can get a very good rock sound out of it.

I use it with a heavily modified Gibson SG with P90 humbuckers, it works very well and sounds really classic. However, this is a rock amp, period! No features and only one choice of volume, loud as hell at any setting using the high input because the low input really is too low, just use it as a link to another head. The volume settings are loud-louder-ohmygod!, so don't buy this amp if you have to deal with neighbours or small bars or cafe's. By the way, it can sound very ACDC with my SG, thats cool, but actually you can get all the classic haircrime sounds out of it just like another reviewer said, this amp was actually used a lot back in the eighties so it sounds very familiar.

It is solid as a rock, i have several marshall amps, they never pooped out.

I am playing since i was 12, now i am 43. I bought this amp as a live replacement voor my original 2204 wich was heavily toured out. It does very well. If it was stolen it would be too bad, i would probably try to buy another or maybe i will try a Koch or a 50W Mesa rectifier head. It is a sad thing that these 2204 amps are becoming expensive collectors items nowadays, prices are driven up by greedy dealers mostly. It is like another reviewer allready stated, don't pay too much for a second hand 2204, they made a lot of them back in the eighties, they were not very expensive back then, and they are not scarce or vintage in any way. There even is a reissue that sounds identical to the original so that makes these originals just old amps, nothing special. They are made very basic and there are no gold or alien parts inside to drive the prices up. When buying, better avoid professional dealers.

This is a JCM800 2204 MK2 lead series amp, pretty basic, 50Watts with 2 EL34 output tubes and 3 ECC83 pre-amp tubes, Drake transformers.
It has a DI output in the back, but i never use it, don't even know if it actually works at all haha. The amp has everything i need, only thing it lacks in my opinion is an input for a channel select pedal (to switch between the high and low input) instead of 2 inputs.
I use my Marshall heads with the standard 1960 cabinet, loaded with the standard G12T75 speakers. Only mod done to my speakers is a damping filling (rockwool), as a experiment actually, i can't hear a difference but nobody feels the urge to remove the filling again so it just got left in there.

It sounds from smooth bluesy (not fender clean, just straight to the point "gee i should buy a better guitar" clean), to brutal! I do not agree with other reviewers that it is not suitable for metal, i have a Gibson LP Classic, Strat, and a Kramer Pacer bananahead with a humbucker from hell in the bridge, with the last guitar this amp screams harder then the hell this Dimarzio humbucker came from. With the LP Classic it sounds, hmm, classic? The Fender sounds pretty Jimi if you want to, but it can be very Yngwie too! The amp is a bit noisy when cranked all the way up there is a hissing sound when not playing, and sometimes some interference from the power supply can be heard through the speaker (like coolers in bars, and mobile phones beepin' through). It is not a real problem though. The amp has some nice sounds, you can get all the famous 80's rockin sounds from this amp since they actually used this amp a lot in the eighties. The low input stays well clean even in high volume playing, the high input tends to overdrive immediately and only gets more overdriven. The tone control reacts well in high volume playing, however, you should do a soundcheck with the volume you will be playing live since the tone does change a bit when pushing this amp harder. The amp could have some less low, it tends to sound really brown with humbuckers, when playing metal you should turn the low-knob allmost shut and the prescence wide open using the bridge humbucker. But finally, this amp sounds good, without a doubt 100% Marshall tone (unlike the jcm900 and newer series).

It is a tube amp, tubes can wear out so if you can afford it, just use 2 or more stacks like me, it looks cool by the way. My amps have never let me down, but i keep them well serviced by my tech.
I give it an 8 because it is a tube amp, they just need srvice once in a while.

Never dealt with customer support.

I am playing from somewhere early eighties. I got myself 5 of these amps during the early nineties, they were abandoned after a tour by the rental company that turned out to be bankrupt and selling them for jack shit, so i adopted them stowing em' away in my garage for a few years while playing my heavy modded Fender Bandmasters. However, my fenders were becomming rather old like me and allmost ripe for a museum like me, so i decided to use the jcm800's on tour just to keep my ego upright with shiny newisch amps, and i used em' ever since. I love the sound, my roadies hate the weight, i love the looks, my roadies hate the weight, i love the show, my roadies hate the weight, i love the fact that is has no useless knobs, my roadies hate the weight and i just love em generally because they are so big, lovely, shiny and smell just like a dream, oh, marshall amps are rather heavy did i mention that my roadies hate the weight WOEHAHAHAHAHA (evil laugh).
If they were stolen, hmm, first i would really like to see somebody trying to steal 5 Marshall stacks from under our noses, he would probably be reduced to a damping filling inside the cabinets.

mine is '84, horizontal input, 50W, single channel, presence,bass,mid,treble,master and pre amp volume- classic.
i bought it with brand new Groove tubes.
i'm kinda missing the FX Loop for my MXR Analog delay, but i can live even without it.

I use Epi SG with Gibson 498T bridge PUP and it works pretty good, use my 2204 with 4x12 box with Celestion V30, hand made, not marsall.
The sound of this amp is warm, agressive, but controlable, with not much gain (my heavymetal friends say its unusable:), but its gotta be in your hands, not in "gain" knob, man!
i play classic hard rock and this gear is ideal for it.

i use it without a backup amp, because a had to sell my old combo (solid state 50w sh*t) to afford this screamer. but i should buy some backup, you never know..
so far there was no need for changing the tubes as ive had this amp for only few weeks.

never dealt with them. no need for doing it..

first, i wanted to buy '76 Master Model (you know, those old amps with "JMP" sign) four-hole. but what a shame, it was tooo expensive. just because of its age! this amp (2204) has the same controls (knobs), better tubes and costs half price than the old JMP sh*t! so, search for the sound not for model, guys! so far, jcm800 2204 is the best amp ive ever had..

Master Volume Series, one channel, basic adjstables, plus an ohmage selector, (4, 8 and 16). Good for playing a variety of different sounds, sounds great with classic rock in the vein of ac/dc. The amp is plenty loud, I play it through an old fender 4x12 cab which i recently put celestion greenbacks in, which boosted the sound immensely.

I use an epiphone sg-custom (triple humbucker) with this amp and it sounds really good, better pickups for my guitar would definetely help, but the amp makes these sparkle like nothing else I have used with the guitar. I play it though an old fender cab with celestion greenbacks, and the sound is very chimey and high, plenty loud, but lacking a bit of depth. The clean input is great at any volume. The gain is absolutely not for numetal stuff, but for punk rock, indy, or classic rock, it's an excellent sound. At higher volumes, when the greenbacks naturally distort it sounds exceptionally rocking, still can't match the beauty or smoothness of an orange ad-30 single channel though.

Been rocking since 1987, very reliable.

Been playing since 1994, This is my favorite piece of gear that I have bought yet. If it were stolen or lost (lost???) i would probably buy it again, if the price was right, if i was going to spend more than 800 i would hold out and get an orange though.

I have no idea when this amps was built, i think around 1988 somewhere. It is a MK2 master lead model, 50W, 2 EL34's and Drake transformers. Luxery options, it has a DI output, the rest of the options is standard. I rate it a 10 because it offers everything i need.

I use a Les Paul with PAF57' humbuckers, and a strat with vintage noiseless pickups. Both guitars sound good on this amp. It can be from very bluesy to that very eighties haircrime hardrock style, it sounds just as how a marshall should sound and how much you are willing to put the volume up. A good speaker cabinet i also a serieus factor for creating the sound. I have my marshall stack equipped with Celestion G12H-30 speakers, and this sounds great (warmer and with more definition then 25er greenbacks of the standard G12T75 speakers)
The amp has a little hiss when i put it all the way up, but it is an old tube amp, what do you expect. Variety is limited, but it gives you a good amp to use with several guitars, search for your tone here, trying several guitars or pickups. This amp won't forgive a bad player, when you play crappy, you WILL sound crappy.
I play it clean (without pedals), mostly with my Fender, it does a good job. I like playing heavy bluesrock in a 3 guys (guitar-bass-drum) formation, so i use a lot of overdrive, this amp has a very classic sounding overdrive but to break through the band in a solo, even with the bright sounding strat, you should consider using a pre-amp like the dod250 (Yngwie) to push the gain just a little bit further. I personally have 2 stacks on stage, the first is with this marshall, the second is a Mesa Triple Rectifier, i use the second to break through with solos using a switchbox but a more affordable way is the dod250.
I rate it a 9 because a perfect amp is jet to be invented, but this one is very close (to me).

I keep it well serviced, it has never let me down jet.

Never dealt with them. I bought the history of Marshall book for my tech, all schematics are in the book with kind thanks to marshall.
A good indirect customer support i guess.

It is a very good amp, but one thing that really bothers me everytime again is that some commercial dealer are driving the prices up because they turn em into "vintage amps". These 2204 amps have a very simple layout, and were sold in very large numbers back in the eighties and nineties so don't pay too much for them, they are not a holy item of rock.
I have several amps including a Mesa Triple Rectifier, Mesa Caliber 50, Red Bear MK120, Marshall JTM30, JCM800 combo and a Fender Deluxe Reverb combo. I am playing live with a combination of the jcm800 2204 and a Mesa Triple rectifier stack.

My amp is a 2204 mk2 w/horizontal inputs so I guess mid-eighties. I play punk rock, and this is more than powerful enough. I never use the low input.

I use a Gibson SG standard with a Seymour Duncan JB bridge pick up, no pedals. I had a 1977 Marshall JMP mk2 100w before this but I traded it for this one as it wasn't particularly reliable, I initially wished I could have got a 100w but soon realised that this overdrives way better at lower volumes. This amp has everything a punk rock guitarist needs, in my opinion there is no better amp for this style of music.

I've gigged with this amp all over Europe and the U.S. with no back up and it's served me well, it's never broken down regardless of how much abuse it's had! (Another good thing about the 50w, it doesn't have a grill on top like the 100w, that thing is a beer magnet!)

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 21 years and I own 2 left hand Gibson Sg standards. If my JCM 800 were lost or stolen I'd hunt down and kill the recipient. The sound is incredibly dirty, nasty, powerful yet tender, warm and receptive, all at the same time, I haven't played through a better amp.

my 2204 was made in '87, i bought it last year (2003) from a friend. This amp doesn't have much for features but it doesn't really need any, well reverb would be nice but hey, a jcm 800 with matching cab for $50/week for 14 weeks, I guess i can live without reverb. This amp is very loud, I played a small club in "goat-fuck-nowhere just recently and couldn't get the master volume over 2 without the other musicians getting mad for drownong them out. (wimps)

I use a strat with fender noiseless pickups primarily, and this amp makes them sing. I have tried guitars with humbucker setups and they also sound awesome, only reason I'm not using something with humbuckers is I can't affort a really good new guitar right now. I have always played through a 50 watt Garnet combo (simalar to a fender amp)and was quite happy with it, but when I brought the marshall into the jam space and plugged it in, WoW! The dynamics, sustain, and harmonics you can get with this thing are just fantastic. Really clean sounds at high volume are somewhat hard to come by, but if you roll back on the gui volume it sounds clean enough when playing with the rest of a band. I don't have much in the way of effects, just an older digital delay rack unit w/ footswitch, Crybaby (sometimes), and cheap distortion pedal (that I seldom use). Most often the distorsion you get by cranking the pre amp and backing off on the master is all the gain you need all in all the sound of this amp rocks!

This amp screwed up one time on me, but that was because the last owner never changed the tubes, EVER! So I outfitted her with new JJ's output tubes(matched of course) and pre amp tubes and that was that. The last owner was very hard on it, he kept it in the garage @ -40*C (welcome to Canada, eh)and would turn it on without a care in the world, but the amp would take no problem. If this thing could survive 15 years with that guy it can take anything. Very durable.

N/A, never needed.

I played for about 12 yrs now, and all the while I never understood why people got so horny over "a Marshall". I always thought they were very over rated and over priced. Then I REALLY tried one. While I still think they are over priced(everything is over priced), I definatly don't think of them as over rated. If my jcm800 got stolen I, I, I... I don't want to think about that. One thing have learned, tube amps rock, especially the almighty Marshall [but i still love the fender twins, and my trusty old Garnet (for blues only of course)] If you have the chance to buy a 50 watt half stack, buy it.

This here is a 1981 JCM 800 2204, it's got vertical inputs which I guess is good. its a single channel amp with hi and lo inputs, 6 knobs and an on/off and standby switch. doesn't get much more simple than that folks. and thats partly why I got it, if you want 4 channels and builtin mega-reverb DSP flanging octave-wahs, this is NOT your amp. its 50 watts, which means basically nothing really, whats the difference between that and a 100 watt amp? not even a notch on the volume knob. it's all tube, it uses 6550's(no i don't like zakk wylde, i guess the 2204's actually came stock with these things, go figure) instead of your usual EL34s you see in most marshalls. i'm not rating based on number of features, but really how well it uses the few features it has. it does its thing and does it very good.

I should mention that I traded in a DSL-100 for this puppy, and not one regret either. this thing had a whole new dimension of sound, it doesn't have as much variety but who cares. my only regret is that its not 100 watts. not because i need more power, actually the opposite. but i've found 100 watt amps have more punch to them, oh well. this amp gets dirty, i play dirty gritty rock, this is what it does very nicely, you're going to have to turn it up though of course, which i don't get a chance to do very often, but when i do... it's sweet. it only really does that one thing, but it does it so well that its all worth it. its clean is... well its better than my peavey rage 158. the DSL's clean was better but, who cares about how well a marshall can do clean? thats not what marshalls are for, they're here to dirty up the joint, and thats just what this one does.

the first preamp tube socket is moody. this is because its not stock, its' definately been replaced. and it sucks. the volume will cut out sometimes, i need to have it looked at. but this is not marshalls fault, all of the other tube sockets work fine.

never dealt with them, they'd probably just tell me to shove my 20 year old amp where the sun don't shine anyways - i'm pretty sure whatever warranty it had expired around the time i entered grade school.

Overall this is a kickin amp. it does its thing well except for when the preamp socket gives me trouble, its simple and thats why i like it. i'd like 100 watts as it'd probably be more punchy but, these amps are hard to find and i don't want to pay the ridiculous 1300 bucks for the reissue. but its definately the best sounding amp i've had regardless.

Mines a 1984 vertical input 2204 w El34's. Features already explained. It sounds fantastic....now. When I bought it used it had a tube effects loop installed and the amp sounded farty with the crappiest bottom end. I had it checked out by Dennis at Central Jersey music in NJ. This guy and his shop know their shit bigtime and found a problem with the loop mod. I had him rip it out set the amp back to stock. After I got it home I couldnt stop playint it. Its sounds great. Its a 1 channel amp that can clean up a little bit when the guitar is turned down, but its made to rock and rock loud. Plenty of power for a 50 watter. Its somewhat limited in its versatility but its a Marshall and its made to be cranked. If you wanna play Donnie and Marie Osmond tunes this isnt the amp for you!!

Gibson les paul 60's reissue with 500t and 496r pu's. Also a Fender Strat plus deluxe with EMG's and a mid boost. 85 in the bridge and 2 SA's in the mid and neck. It screams. I play all kinds of rock from Eagles or Zeppelin and everything in between and this amp works well cause I play more of the heavier stuff and out other guitarist takes alot of the clean stuff. The distortion is great but not heavy like the Boogies Dual rectifier. Its more of a cramy distortion not a fuzzy buzzy type of fuzz distortion. Pure British. I know for sure that if you plug in a guitar made of less quality wood..like an Epiphone or a Squire strat, the amp will not sound no where near as well.

Built like a brick (IMO) I dont carry anything extra to a gig cause I have enough crap already. Its roadworthy

Never had to deal with them

I love this amp. Loud, big, brutal. It sounds great thru a 2 x 12 cab or 4 x 12 1960a with 12h-30's. Tight bottom end, but the speakers are desighned for that. I had lots of amps and have sold all SS and gimig modeling toyz and have only my Marshalls and Boogies left. I had a 2204 and sold it years ago and regreted it to thid day so I plan to die with this one. If it were lost or stoled I would buy another one after I kill the one who stole it or lost it on me.

this amp was built in 1988 ,one channel presence bass middle treble mastervolume pre-amp volume and two inputs low/high.
can't be eazier.
i like it that eazy, but if you want extra's you have to use pedals
and it doesn't have an effect loop.
this isn't an amp for at home , because i don't live in the dessert and i'm not deaf

it's 50 watt,i use the high input with a gibson sg (?1970).
motorhead,ac/dc etc. is the kind of stuff i play.
the sound is great but even greater with an ibanezz turbo tubescreamer.
i'm not interrest in to have exectly the same sound like the bands that i like , just wanna have a rocksound straight in your face,and
now i have it!
first i wanted a 100 watt butt i (and the audience) found out that
this was MORE than enough,it was connected with a marshall 1960 cab.
i played in a big tent and not over the p.a,with both volumes not even turned on half!
when i first got this amp it was very noisey,extreme on high volume.
and when i used the high input,it sounded like a boeing 747 having starting troubless 2 meters in front of you.
the store where i bought it (used), said that it was completly checked
didn't went back to the store.
just went straight to cmw musical amps in driebergen(holland)
because i needed it fast.
where it got new tubes/better wiring and some other new stuff in it.
now its almost completly quiet even at the hihgest volumes.
like i said it is an amp best for one cool sound , maybe it needs a little more gain.

does it's job every time but i haven't got it that long.

i play guitar about ?6 years, first i had a marshall vs 8240 combo.
there was much variety in that one but i always sticked by one setting
and needed more power,.....so the jcm 800 was the answer .
if it was stolen i would buy the same amp again.
one of the reasons that i bought the jcm 800, is that i could't
find annyware one bad word by annyone for this amp.