Marshall JCM 900 4100 Dual Reverb

I play in a classic rock band doing a lot of 80's music but not limited to 80's. We play ever weekend and this amp is a work horse. It's not a plexi but has great clean tone and a lot of gain in it's dirty channel.

I use Fender strats with alnico pickups in a classic rock band. Don't like the muddy sound of a humbucker. Clean this amp can overdrive with the gain all the open or it can give an almost Fender bell tone with the gain backed off to 3/4. Of course you loose volume doing this.
On the other hand the dirty side is very gainy. Almost too much for my taste but you can always back it off.
In some clubs I play with more power the amp is noisey so I run a Furman Voltage Reulator to help clean it up. With good electricy it's fine.

The only failure I've had with the 4100 is when my full stack fell to the floor. I dived for the head and broke the fall with my arms. But the force still knocked off the back cover on impact. I used it that night and went through it the next day. I found the tube sockets needed to be tightened and only two power tubes were testing good. I had retubed it 6 or 7 months before that.
My arms didn't do that well. Brusied and sore for a week.

Mashall is the most unreachable amp company in the world. I have about every brand or have had and they are the worst. I repair my own but if you need a simply schematic you better get it on line.

I've been playing for over 40 years and have a house that looks like a vintage music store. This amp, a Plexi, AC 30 and a Fender Showman are amps I will always have.
If I could have any mod I wanted to this amp it would be two more speaker jacks.
And it would look better if it had a plexi cabinet

2 channels, shared EQ

This is where this amp gets a bad rap. I find high gain or metal pedals don't have tone. Stay off the gain channel and just crank the clean/crunch channel and it's very musical. Roll the volume down on the guitar and it cleans up pretty good. Enough for that Marshall clean with a little crackle, But thats what I like. Mine is EL34 version and it sounds great. With that said, if it isn't enough gain or don't sound good enough for you then get it modded. The value of mine goes up everytime someone mods theirs. This amp HAS TO BE CRANKED !! at least half for my taste.

Great amp. If it were stolen I'd get another one ASAP!!

Two channels, one shared 4 band eq (boo), 100 watt output, half wattage switch, two independant reverbs, pre gain and master for each channel, footswitchable reverb & channel. Pre amp in and out, power amp in, recording out (sounds like shit).

Within reson this amp achieves pretty much any basic tone within the rock idiom. Oddball and studio-hyped tones excluded. From spanky clean (although at ultra-clean levels it sounds a little thin), to thick crunchy distortion, it pretty much gets them all. I like to warm up the clean channel by pushing the pregain a little bit, removes a lot of the brittle characteristics this amps clean channel can have. I mostly use a Gibson Les Paul standard with burstbucker 1 & 2 pickups in it, as well as an Epiphone Casino, with p90's. This amp gets decent blues rock tones, depending heavily on what guitar you use. The Casino gets awesome blues tones from this amp, I plug it in the clean channel and turn the pregain all the way up. The Les Paul is more focused and brings much more rock and high-gain characteristics to this amp. This amp is insanely loud on 100 watts, and it sounds thin unless you turn it all the way up. I have a recomendation to all of you: turn this amp on half power and turn it up as much as you can to yield better tone. I just retubed the power section with a matched quad of JJ E34L's, and had it biased super hot, so it'll break up earlier without taking my ears out. It was the BEST thing I could've done with this amp! It's tone improved dramatically! And I was using NOS Svetlanas before, too! I never take this amp off of the half power switch, because I don't need to. The thing is so damn loud, even at the 50 watt setting. I've heard people say this is their least favorite Marshall, and I've noticed that it tends to sell lower than any other tube Marshall on Ebay. I only payed $400 for this thing used, and it was a STEAL! This amp has a bad stigma because the overdrive channel uses silicon capacitors and diodes along with the tubes for the "natural" breakup, which lends it a sort of uncurably rockish tone. The drive channel is only good for focused rock, metal, punk, etc. The clean channel is where this amp is at, because there aren't any frigging diodes breaking up that nice tube tone, and thats why you bought this thing in the first place. This amp doesn't get enough credit... I own about five other awesome tube amps, and I still use this one regularly. It's a great bargain-priced tube amp, because I think a lot of people don't know how to get a good tone out of it. I've used this amp for ska, reggae, blues, blues rock, rock, metal, punk, funk, and country. I got a decent tone for almost all those musical styles, and that's pretty good for using an amp that's considered lesser than it's peers. I use it with the stock Marshall 4x12 loaded with Celestion gt-75 or whatever they're called. I also like the way it sounds with the Vintage 30's, but they can be too loud and a little "scooped" sounding for this amp. But if you like metal, or punk, you should consider those... I've used this amp with many speaker cabinets, from 1x12 to two 4x12's, and my favorite is the stock, standard issue Marshall 4x12.

Never had it not work unless it was someone else's fault. The only thing that has ever gone wrong on this amp, in it's 14 years of service, is that the reverb died. I had to have it repaired, ran about $90. This amp is a friggin tank, I don't expect to have any problems with it, and the guy I bought it from never had a problem with it either.

Never really needed it.

I payed $400 for it, and I still can't believe the guy sold it to me for only that much. I own several other fine tube amps, including vintage Fenders, Custom made amps, new Fenders, Peaveys, other Marshalls, etc. Honestly, this is by far the best value.

I dont know the year it was made in.This amp is pretty basic and straight forward in features, not very versatile at all.You get a few sounds out of it, but they are very good, especially the high gain sound.It has all the power you could ever need.My amp is equipped with Svetlana EL-34`s. See below reviews for more details.

I use a Gibson LP custom, an american Strat and a tele, straight to the amp and two 412 Marshall JCM 900 cabs, a full stack. When crancked enough, the high gain sound is pure, grinding aggression, with penetrating sonic momentum and attitude. The clean sounds good, but dont expect Fender clean. On the other hand, dont expect a good high gain sound from a Fender...So it it all good, if you only need a really good and powerful hi gain tone.

So far so good...

No idea.

I have been playing fo 21 years. I also own a Marshall jcm 800 2203, wich is very good also. I chose this amp because I love the marshall sound, the distinctive roar and tightness. If it were stolen I would get another one without a second thought.

You know them by now.....

Ibanez Jem with DiMarzio Evolutions straight to the amp to a Marshall jcm 800 4*12. The clean sounds are warm and natural and the high gain sound is simply phenomenal. Just remember to set the amps output to 4 ohms and the cab to 16 (reduces greatly speaker breakup)
Set the preamp gain to "3 a clock", mids in the middle, cranck the treble and bass, presence in the middle, and cranck the fucker up in the 100 watt mode and if this beast does not "do it" for you, you`re either 1. deaf 2. smoking crack.

Ol`faithful.....

It`s a fire breathing beast.....Period.

Pretty basic...everything else you see here. Reverb is useless on the lead channel, in my opinion, since it adds noise and gets drowned out (try a digital delay if you want noticeable reverb with high gain.)

This is a great amp, but it's not exactly a turnkey product. 6L6's/5881's sound tinny and produce little gain with this amp due to diode clipping in the rectifier. Have it biased for EL 34's, and you'll get a nice fat tone with a little more gain and less scratchy treble. Be sure to set your mids high, because Marshalls break up most in the midranges. I also use a $30 Danelectro eq pedal that refines the tone a little and adds a shitload of gain if you raise the output slider just a tad. The right cab will make all the difference, too. Stay away from cheap speakers. I use a custom 4x12 with Celestion Greenbacks. Mesa cabs with Vintage 30's sound good with this amp too, albeit a little harsh. I usually play my ESP Hybrid through this amp. This guitar is perfect for the JCM 900 because I can switch between the humbucker and lipstick pickups to get a wide variety of sounds, including super-saturated metal chug, Jimi Hendix-type fuzz, "clean" Fender tones (as clean as Marshalls get), and 70's rock and roll. I play Hardcore, punk rock, blues, and straight ahead rock and roll ala AC/DC and Motorhead.

Dropped it off a stage onto the floor, forgot it out in the rain for a half hour and played an entire gig with a cab that was the wrong impedence. Still haven't had a problem. Still, it's a tube amp, so with that in mind, it'll always need some maintenence.

Amazing amp for the price. I've been playing for 12 years. I've owned a lot of crappy solid state amps, a 70's Fender twin reverb and a custom built 10 watt head that's similar to a THD univalve. If this amp were stolen, I'd beat the shit out the thief and take it back.

I dont know what year it was made in. But its got the origonal ECC83 x3 valves in the preamp section. And ive had to replace two 5881's in the power stage.

Selectable 8 or 16 ohms could do with 4 ohm setting for quieter stuff.

This amp is quite versatile, it has Recording compensated and direct outputs, i have tryed these but they dont really give the same sound as the full-on out put of the amp, I conected it up to a mini disk recorder and a desk and it just sounds like a small 10 watt solid state practice amp. If want to conect it up to another power amp i just go out the effects send out put, it creates a better valve tone.
The effects loop is quite good although i dont use it, i have connected a wah peddle ocasionly, a good sound is had, you can change the level it operates, (have to have a small negative screw driver to use the knob though). But on the hole if i have any stomp boxes i put them in between the guitar and main imput.

Two channels A/B one clean one overdrive, Reverb and channels Foot switchable, but more about this in the next catagory.

This has quite enough volume, but I always have it set on 50 watt mode, It has a switch round the back to bring it down by half. But when i use it for bass i have it on full 100 watts. I always have it miced up though, even in practices ( with my bass players amp setup its needed anyway!) if its further up it deafans you.

A nice Accutronics Reverb unit, with indiviual controls for both channels.

I play good old Ac/Dc rock and roll, Punk Rock, well just any type of rock music. But where it lacks is Metal, I play metal mostly (metallica, pantera) but it just dosent have enough gain even though its called a hi gain. )The Jcm 800 2210 has way more gain and thats called a lead.) If i need more i put a Marshall guvnor in front with the gain at 9 oclock, trebble on full, vol at 12 oclock and the rest right down, that seems to crank it up some, but it then gets muddy like a solid state. But for when i go punk rock it sound cool, its the same amp as Lars Fredericksen used on his last tour of england with the Bastards.

It only has one set of Equalisers ( Treble, Middle, Bass and Presence tone controls) for both of the channels, A and B, this limits what you can have going on. I would prefer to have a very tinny clean and a quite scooped overdrive, but only one of the two is possible for live situations.

Channel A has reverb, master volume, and pre-amp controls. The
pre-amp or gain control allows it to go from a beautiful clean sound right to a Status Quo or AC/DC sounding crunch with great tone and presence.
Channel B also has the reverb, master, and gain ( ive been thorough this) but as with this channel it goes from almost no sound to crunch (you can make the cruch sound like the Channel A's) then to full distortion.

I use an epiphone les paul special with it i dont really no much about guitars, all i know is that with a nice solid thick guitar i can make it sound like a different guitar on the amp.
I only play rhythm guitar, but on the rare ocation that my lack lead skills are used it sounds great on this amp, not too much gain make the other strings feed back(lol).
To get the noise I use a Marshall Jcm 900 sterio 1960B 4x12 cab, and a Jcm 800 1960BX 4x12 cab, nice big fat noise.

I also use this amp with bass, for this it sounds like an old 70s bass like the Ramones first album or some Small faces stuff, real old.
But also you can get some Green day sounding nosies out of it if you tun the trebble up more.
Channel B is where it really sounds good for playing Motorhead Bass, Lemmy has his backline full of 900s. For the noise making for bass i use a 200 watt 2x15 Cab at 8 ohms, i made myself, to the exact specs of a marshall DBS 2x15 cab. The sound is fat.

I allways without backup, its a marshall, built to last and the valves dont give for ages. They have gone once but that was because they were the origonals. It has fallen off a box in the back of my car and still produces the sounds.

The marshalls guys are always nice, give you all the info you need.
Its so reliable the warranty has run out years ago.

ive been gigging for 6 years, and this is the second best amps ive had, second to a Jcm 800 2210, but this is better as features go.
If stollen id get an 800.
Id like it to have separet EQ but not many amps do. And more gain please.
I chose it because you can get 800, and 2000 marshall sounds.
But on the whole a great giging marshall amp, with cool sounds, solid as a rock (bloody lump) but built like a tractor.
Any other info needed please fell free to contact.
Although you cant idd really give the Rating at a 9.5

2 channels, , footswitch + manual switch, effects loop, 50 watt/ 100 watt selector, reverb, 5881 power tubes. This amp sounded thin and didn't have enough power so I had to fix that. What I did is very simple. I took my Boss graphic equalizer stomp box and built it inside the amp. I made a bigger hole in the grill and fixed the input of the equalizer to it so that the device is attached and the input is always accessible. From the output of the equalizer I connected a cable to the return input of the effects loop and from the send output I made a connection (removable without opening the grill )to the equalizer input. The Boss adapter was built in as well. I then boosted the volume slider of the equalizer between +2 and +3 leaving the other sliders at 0. This doubled the power of my amp immediately without changing the original sound ! Of course I can do whatever I want with the sound now that I got an equalizer in the loop, but for now I think it's just fine as it is. And having done this simple modification I can now put my JCM 900 next to my Hiwatt 100 watt Custom without putting it to shame ...

Before it sounded thin and now it sounds whatever I want it to sound like. It's not too noisy even with the lead gain on + 20. The distortion sound it produces is what you hear on Survivor's "Caught in the game": crunchy, bright and percussive.

The only problem I have is that the pots suck ! I used a contact spray to eliminate the cracking noises but it doesn't work for a 100 %.

Never dealt with them.

It's definately an amp that can produce THE Marshall sound with a little help from you !

Made in 1996
I play mostley rock and metal and this amp dos it all. It's best suited for hardrock en classic metal. You do not get a nu-metal sound out of this amp !!
it has two channels (clean and OD) with a shared EQ (bass/Middle/Treble/Presence).
It could use a solo-boost. Mine has Groove Tubes !!!!!!!!!
It's easy to find the sweet spot between the two channels.
I use this amp when i want my vintage sound. I also own a Mode Four with is much better for playing shred.

I play a Gibson Les Paul Standard, a Gibson Les Paul Classic and a Gibson Les Paul Custom (Zakk Wylde with EMG's). They're all humbucker guitars and they sound amazing trough this amp.
the clean goes from crytal clean to slight crunch when you turn the gain swith
the distortion is chunky.

It's a tube amp so don't expect that it will last forever but it's a Marshall so built like a tank.

Never dealt with them

I've been playing for 13 years. I also own a Marshall Mode Four and I love to combine both amps.
If it were stolen I'dd buy it again.
The only problem is the lack of boost when you want to start a solo. easy solution is to trow in an SD-1.

I don't knwo what year its was made ... probably mid '90ies.
I has "only" two channels compared to the three-channel marshalls I had before (JCM 2000 TSL60, 6100 30th Anniv) BUT it has tons more authentic Marshall tone ! Anyway, the third (solo) channel on my previous marshall always s*cked ...
The eq is shared by the two channels but it's easy to find the "sweet spot" between the two channels. If you don't : use an equalizer.
I do not like amps with too much knobs and switches on it ... as they say : less is more. I also avoid any pedals and effects.
Reverb on both channels ... it's not the greatest reverb I've ever heard (compared to my Fender 1967 Super Reverb) but it's just fine.
I use this amp on stage, on rehearsals and at home (with a jcm900 4x12 cab loaded with Celestion Greenback speakers ... great choice !). Even on low volumes, I was able to get very nice tones out of it. Although, it has lots of power and can be switched (100 or 50 watts). Mine has 5881 power tubes (6L6's with more gain) ...

I play an original 1972 Fender stratocaster and always played on strats before (SRV strat, '50s classic, '62 re-issue, ...) but I also own a Gibson SG Standard. I play a lot of blues/rock at home but in the band we play pop and rock covers from the eighties till now.
The JCM900 accepts strats very well ... and of course it loves humbucker guitars like my SG.
Most of the time I dial it in with lots of bass, treble at 3/4 or 1/2 and cutted mids (on 1 or 2). Gain never goes beyond halfway ...
The clean channel is very nice for a Marshall (in fact, much better than the TSL or 30th Anniv. i.m.h.o.) and by playing with the volume knob on the guitar, you can easily switch between ultra clean and light crunch. The second channel is Marshall at its best ... powerful distortion with lot of headroom ; not muddy at all.
I also use a Vox Wah, a oss TU-2 tuner and a Boss LS-2 (line selector) betwee the guitar and the amp. I use the line selector as a volume booster, without extra crunch/distortion.
With this setup, the basic sound of the amp isn't coloured by any pedals and that's just what I was looking for. I must say that, after having owned and heard many many amps, I prefer these unequaled Marshall tones. I think this JCM 900 is - despite its reputation as being only a 'moderate' Marshall amp - would still be my first choice. Simply, it IS really THE rock sound you can hear on many of those records from the eighties and later ...
I think it is also a very versatile amp; I was able to get some real convincing Jimi/SRV tones out of it. Pop, rock, blues ... even jazz ... this amp does it all. Maybe there are better choices if you want to play metal.
Conclusion : this amp has BALLS and sounds very satisfying to me !!!

I never had problems with it so far but I only own it for two months (bought it second hand) so I can't really judge.

The 30th Anniversary head I had before was the most unreliable amp I ever had : I had to take it to my amp tech every single month ! Then their was a noticeable loss of volume, then the input jack crackled, then the knobs were crackling, then there came smoke out of it (!) and it blew two NEW tubes, ...

I hope this is not a common problem on Marshalls ...

Never had to deal with Marshall and I probably won't since there are no real Marshall-manufacturers in my country. If something goes wrong, I will simply take it to my local amp tech.

Honestly, I have to admit I'm very pleased with this amp.
I owned lots of Fenders, Marshalls, Mesa/Boogies ... and played on lots of boutique amps from a friend of mine (Matchless/Bogner, Rivera, ...).
I will not pretend that my jcm 900 is a "better" amp than all those expensive amps but I only can say that NOTHING compares or equals the Marshall sound.
So if you like the typical Marshall sound, buy a Marshall. In my opnion, you can't go wrong with a JCM 900 model, but I didn't hear all the other Marshall models ... maybe there are better ones, but there are also certainly worse ...

Fianlly, I would like to say that "the Marshall sound" provided by my JCM 900 also "blends" really well with the overall sound of my band. I'm also always able to hear myself when playing; the Marshall always cuts through without being harsh or too loud.

I think price/quality-wise this is one of the best amps you can buy.