Marshall JTM-600

1997 model, vintage style grey/green tolex, no longer sold (bought mine used in 1997 with very little use/wear and tear). The JCM600 head is NOT the same model! (JCM600 is voiced differently; more midrangey). 60 W all tube (EL34/ECC83) head. Two fully independent footswitchable channels (with their own EQ, gain, and reverb controls), master volume, master presence, XLR direct out with switchable speaker emulation, series and parallel effects loops. Very versatile for classic rock, blues, metal, and even jazz and country. This is my main amplifier; I use an Allen Class Act for practice/quiet jams. Check out my review of the Class Act if you are interested in a 7 Watt Marshall Plexi (many people out there are looking for that wonderful crunch at low volumes...) which can also turn into a Vintage Fender Champ or a 6L6 type Fender.

Used with a homemade strat (solid one-piece tung-oiled swamp ash body, Japanses 60's reissue neck, and Seymour Duncan Vintage Rails in all positions) and a Mesa Boogie Rectifier 2x12" cabinet (better construction than Marshall cabs, sorry...) with Celestion Vintage 30's. The Marshall head sounds wonderful with this guitar and cabinet. No hiss/pops/noise at all. Goes from Vintage Plexi to modern high gain easily. Smooth buttery distortion easily controlled with your guitar's volume knob. My preferred setup: Groove Tubes E34LS tubes (hardness of 7), Groove Tubes ECC83's in all preamp positions (smoother/higher gain than 12AX7's), clean channel: all controls to ten (classic plexi), boost channel: gain maxed, bass and highs to ten, mids to zero (classic scooped mid thrash metal). Presence on zero. Easiest modern amp to setup!

Though I have heard many Marshall horror stories (most involving blown transformers), this amp has never had a problem. I even accidentally left it on over night once after passing out drunk and the next morning it worked fine! No blown transformer/tubes! The trick with tube amps, and especially Marshalls, is that you have to baby them. Be very careful when transporting them, and always power up and let it warm up for about two minutes before hitting the standby (always have a speaker plugged in with the correct impedence!). Also, use matched power tubes, and bias the amp correctly. If you do this, the amp should remain reliable. I do wish the preamp tubes weren't mounted to the pc board, but oh well, cheaper amps are built like that these days, and I'm not willing to pay several thousand for a point to point hand wired boutique amp that doesn't have all of the features that this one has.

Never had to deal with the company. No idea about warranty.

I have been playing for about ten years, and ever since purchasing this amp, I have never needed another full size amplifier. I did want to find an amp similar to this with EL34's but in a smaller package for small jams. I tried the JTM combo versions of this amp, but they are NOT the same! The combo's have different transformers (different sound), and do not have the ventilation grill on top to allow heat to escape! EL34's get very hot, and so I decided against one of these. I finally found the Allen Class Act amp, and for any EL34 Marshall fans out there looking for a small 7 Watt version of that same sound, check out my review!

Haven't a clue about production year. I'm currently playing medium-hard pop-rock with a touch of blues rock. This amp suits my needs very well. Series and Paralles effects loop. Direct out. Plenty of power for a retired rocker playing garage jams. This head is all tubes, don't know what kind, probably EL-34's. Possibly a solid-state rectifier. Plenty-O-Features guitar tube head.

Guitar is a Anderson Swamp Ash Classic. S/S/H. The guitar is superbly crafted, but doesn't really inspire me. Got the guitar in part of a trade as well as the amp. This amp seems to be really quiet for a Marshall amp. The bass does sound "farty" every now and then but not so bad. Of course, bass players always tell me that's why they play the bass and to stop worrying about it and stay out of their way. I'm not playing medium or large venues anymore, so can't tell if noise would be a problem at higher levels. The clean channel can stay fairly clean or can be moderately over-driven. Great sounding clean channel for a Marshall and good for a "British" sound pop-rock. No arguments. The disortion channel brings back memories of my past. Seems to be very creamy and smooth, like butter. With the bridge humbucker in the Anderson, it screams very musically. I'm currently using a no-name 2x12 cab loaded with Vintage 30's. I think the cab is 8 ohms, hope I don't blow the damn head. The Anderson guitar, coupled with the Vintage 30's and this head provide a very musical and "brown" sound, both clean and distorted. The distortion isn't overy brutal, but when I kick in a Boss DS-1 into the overdrive channel for over-the-top fun, it's pretty dang heavy.

Haven't a clue, never owned this particular brand of Marshall. Like all major amp companies, there are going to be some lemons, some average pieces, and some tone monsters. I'm knocking on wood, no problems yet. At my age I would gig with a back-up, if it farted I'd go home and snooze on the couch and laugh it off.

Never dealt, in all my years of playing I've never relied on any company except Mesa Boogie. Although Boogie falls down now and then, on the average their customer support is superb. With all the Marshalls and other brands I've owned, I've always used local repair.

I'm 50. I've been playing since I first saw Santana and Chuck Berry at the Fillmore West in San Francisco before I went overseas. Thought playing would be fun and gave it a try. Probably should have gone the car-mechanic route instead. I usually only try to own one guitar/amp combination at the same time, so this is the only equipment I currently own. I don't care, less confusion. Obviously my age dictates I've been through every concievable amp/guitar combination. Most of them sounded good at the time. I get the impression this line of Marshall amps is scoffed at, I could be wrong. Personally, I think this unit provides a sweet, buttery brown tone. A perfect blues-rock or British pop-rock guitar head. I know some have been frustrated in the quality of the combo amps in this series, however the very few reviews I've read on this head haven't indicated too many problems so far that are unusual for tube amps. Personally I highly recommend this head and your choice of cab. If you are on a budget, this series would get you that great Marshall sound at low cost. Other owners are encouraged to contact me and share their tricks, and potential buyers are welcome as well.

This amp is really versatile,
made in england, 2 channel, is perfect

He is perfect for Malmsteen, Blackmore, Roland guitar sound.

he doesn't break with easiness

He is perfect for who likes of a very clear sound.

This amp is really versatile. It has a presence knob, series and parallel effects loops, dual reverbs, master volume and an eq section for each channel. Being 60 watts, its not too loud small clubs or practicing but can hold its own in a larger show. It's all tube, too. My only complaint with features is "why did they put the presence on the back of the amp?"

Typical of a Marshall, the amp really starts to show it's true character when you crank it. Its distortion is fat and robust, unlike the fuzzy distortian of other marshalls. The clean channel has a crystal clean sparkle that's as good as any amp I've heard (and I've heard alot!). Great for jazz and finger picking. Wind up the pre-amp gain and get a bluesy, overdriven sound. WARNING: IF YOU LIKE BIG BASS - DON'T GET THE 4-10 CABNIET. I'm running it through a 4-12 marshall slant cab which put the bass back. The 4-10 may suit some situations, country for example. I play in a thrash metal band but also do solo blues and medateranian style stuff in small clubs, this is why this amp appealed to me. It is a little bit mild for pantera style crunch, but, this is easily fixed with a 7 band eq. The tone I achieved with this is VERY aggressive and soild with that amazing tube sustain that makes each note sing (Did I mention I like this amp alot!). Winding up the presence helps give a shred type bite, but this sounds a little too crisp on the clean channel.

It's had a few blown tubes over the years but that's to be expected.

Pretty bad - it took a long time. Its probably better just to find an private amplifier repair man.

I've been playing ten years. I use a custom made guitar: neck through mahogany back and neck, ebony finger board, koa top, sperzels, wilkonson vibrato and semore duncan pickups. It's got amazing sustain. This amp suits me perfect for its variety of quality tones. When I was looking at buying a new 1/2 stack I tried over 10 other brands. Nothing compared to its huge tone. If it were stolen I may look into getting a soldano which has about the same features. But the price of a soldano is about double this amp. It's great value considering it's all tube. This line of amps however I think has been discontinued. Coincidentally it has exactly controls as the new JCM600 - I'm guessing it's probably going to be about the same sound too. Marshall probably realized that no one wanted the 4 10 cabinet.

Made 1996 Very Versital amp. Great clean Channel. Has all of the latest features, switching, FX loops ect

Great clean channel, but the drive channel, while have ing plenty of gain has no bottom end whatsoever. I tried it through a number of cabs and it made no difference. I usually use a Peavey Wolfgang

Wouldnt buy it again

60 watts, two footswitchable channels (normal and boost), each with independent volume, bass, middle, treble and reverb controls, boost channel has gain control, master volume, series and parellel effects loops, parellel loop has mix control, master presence control on rear panel switchable speaker emulated/normal line out, 8- and 16-ohm speaker outputs
4-12AX7, 2-Svetlana EL-34 tubes solid-state rectifier
Wish reverb was footswitchable; other than that its feature-loaded, but some might wish for extra footswitchable tone-shift or extra boost (that's British for gain)
Channel voices range from sparkling near-Fender clean (with lots of clean headroom) to reasonably high gain (although nowhere near Boogie- land) with earlier Marshall tone color. With the help of an Ibanez Tube Screamer I have found it useful and flexible enough for all of my blues/classic-style rock playing (I'm not a high-gain kind of guy) plenty more than enough gain for my use, but alternative or metal players might want more gain
Cabinet enclosure is thin (7/16?) pressed fiber board (seems flimsy) Green-brown tolex seems thin and not very durable, but the latest models have heavier Marshall black elephant-hide-grain tolex

I play this head with a JTMC212 cabinet with Celestion G12-70s; until I tried the new JCM2000, the clean channel was the best I'd heard from Marshall -- very clear and bright, nice balance and bass response, stays clean at high volumes, breaks up slightly with channel volume maxed and master set low, but this distortion is thin and not rich; it improves considerably as you increase the master and the output tubes get cranking. Best sound from the clean channel is with channel volume in 2-4 range and master dimed, here you get no preamp distortion and the power tubes give you full, harmonically rich, throaty, warm, fundamentally clean tone; presence control can really add sparkle. Much cleaner with a Strat; a humbucker- equipped guitar will cause power amp distortion much sooner. At this level, however, you're way too loud for small club -- you're drowning out your drummer if he's not miked.
Boost channel is considerably darker and more midrangey, sounds its best at medium-gain settings. If you're looking for round, bluesy, bright, low gain distortion like Stevie Ray, its difficult to achieve with this head without a pedal. (A Tube Screamer through the bright clean channel sounds great -- alot like whatever Kenny Wayne Shepherd used on his first album.) Low-gain settings in the boost channel are dark, but do have a vintage purr. They improve beautifully as you turn up the master, and you get real good cabinet thunk, grind and blast depending on which type of pickup you're playing. Again, however, amp sounds its best at volumes too loud for small clubs. The medium-gain zone -- very classic midrangey nasal Marshall sound. Higher frequencies begin to shine in and darkness fades. At low volumes sounds suspiciously like it's getting help from a transistorized preamp distortion circuit (it probably is), but that still ain't bad. Again a twist of the master to the right tells you why Marshall's got its reputation -- get the tubes working and you get the sounds you have in your head when you think "Marshall". You're in the early-Gibbons period and you don't want to leave. Bridge humbuckers bark, snarl and howl. Single coils bite, scratch and whine. Harmonics are great, and feedback is a quick turn around to face your cabinet.
Not to be repetitive, but this amp sounds GREAT at volumes which are way too loud for small clubs -- but in a medium-sized club where drums are miked, it comes into its own. I've had two sound guys tell me, unsolicited, that this is a really cool amp.
High-gain zones -- great for lead everything is enhanced for single notes -- but chords lose definition. Cranking the master doesn't help. But again, I'm not a high-gain kinda guy.
Complaint -- unlike some of the higher-end stuff I've tried recently, the boost channel, to my ears, has its own tone which somewhat obscures your guitar's individual tone signature. When I bought the amp I was playing a Strat with a Duncan Hot Strat Stack at the bridge. This pickup, to my ears, gives just a dab of humbucker bottom and mid which in my taste is an improvement over the stock Strat single coil, but has single-coil output strength and still sounds close enough to a single coil that you don't forget you're playing a Strat -- makes your Strat more versatile without losing its identity. I just purchased a Hamer Artist, a beautiful chambered solidbody with Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers and a fat sound. With JTM600 boost channel, if I back off the tone on the Fender bridge pickup, I could mistake it for the Hamer bridge pickup. I've made this same comparison with other amps, and feel that the JTM boost channel does dominate your guitar's tone with its own. I might attribute this to solid-state distortion circuits in the preamp. However, I have no such complaint about the clean channel. It lets your guitar's real tone shine through. Speaker emulated-line out: You can use this instead of miking. I've only tried it once, seemed to sound pretty good, but my ears were hearing both emula

Have owned it for 6 months, have had not experienced any problems in rehearsal or at gigs. However, playing is my hobby and not my profession; I only gig once or twice a month, so this amp's not been truly tested as a road warrior.

Haven't dealt with the company.

Been playing for 20 years. Have owned old Peavey Classic (late '70s hybrid -- tube output -- crappy sounding by itself) Old early 70s Ampeg VT-22 (all tube -- cool tone switch and controls, great great clean sound but no gain until it was cranked so loud the speakers couldn't take it and they didn't -- sold it to some kid for $50 and he probably probably put better speakers in it and is still laughing at me) Fender Princeton Chorus (solid state -- not a real amp but a toy -- no warmth at all -- wouldn't gig with it), Fender Champ 25SE (hybrid -- tube output -- good clean but cheesy distortion -- practice amp only) Fender Blues Deluxe (tube -- cool for what it aspires to be) Fender Hot Rod DeVille (tube -- cool for what the Blues DeVille aspired to be -- the extra gain feature is not going to make history) Marshall JCM800 combo (a one-dimensional, but bona-fide, rocker)
Of these the JCM600 and the Fender Hot Rod DeVille have the best clean sounds of amps I've owned, but I give the Hod Rod the edge in that category. The JCM600 has the best medium-gain distorted sound (although the JCM800, a U.S. version with stock 6550 power tubes which I had rebiased and fitted with EL34s, rocked pretty damn good).
Highly recommend the JTM600 on the sound/price scale -- give it a "10" in that regard. If it were stolen I'd probably buy another, but I'd shop more first; I'm skeptical about the amp's apparently flimsy physical construction and ability to take abuse.
Again, on the true overall, I have to reserve some space for the real high-end heavyweights I've tried recently.