jcm900

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Tue May 02, 2006 4:09 pm

mite be picking up a jcm900 4100 dual reverb 50w *breath with a 2x12 cab second hand... has anyone had experience with these cranked hard? when i try it out i might not get the opportunity to play it that loud so just wondering what others thought of the tones you get out of it?

joshbosh · Post by **joshbosh** » Tue May 02, 2006 4:19 pm

if you want to play metal with it, you will be shit out of luck without the help of an overdrive pedal

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Tue May 02, 2006 4:38 pm

thats ok.. i do have a metal zone (i know i know... might change it) for heavier tones, but interested in the kinda clarity and tones you get on both the channels.. ive heard you can use a sustainer with these kinda amps to get a bit of a thicker tone with amps of the jcm800-900, sounds like a good idea?

machina · Post by **machina** » Tue May 02, 2006 6:05 pm

I bought a Boss CS-3 compression sustainer to use with my JCM800. That was about three years ago and i've used it maybe once or twice. I found it just messed with the tone in a way I didnt like. I play alt rock though so maybe it might suit metal more? I dunno. I'm sorta kinda trying to flog it off at the moment actually, so you're welcome to buy it for cheap, as the cosmetic condition is below average, but it was working ok last I checked. Let me know.

sgt mukuzi · Post by **sgt mukuzi** » Thu May 11, 2006 12:38 pm

joshbosh wrote:if you want to play metal with it, you will be shit out of luck without the help of an overdrive pedal

the 900 was the hot rodded version of the 800
it has (like many other new tube amps) diodes in the preamp section,
two i think, to increse the level the signal hits the first preamp tube at.
i had a dual reverb and to be honest it only sounded good cranked at about 8
i wouldnt pay more than $800 for a 900

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Thu May 11, 2006 1:53 pm

dont diss it too much ($800?) :p i picked up the head and cab for $1450.. your right that you have to crank it a bit to make it sound 'right' but i wouldnt say you have to have it at anywhere near 8.. im pretty happy with it tho, has a nice crunch to it. i think the el34 tubes the guy replaced the standard ones with make a bit of difference..

thehenderson · Post by **thehenderson** » Thu May 11, 2006 5:05 pm

My 800 had to be on 8 to sound it's best eh, but chuck a clean boost and a tubescreamer into it and you'll be laughing

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Thu May 11, 2006 9:19 pm

yea have been considering buying a tubescreamer or such like.. what i found today is that the metal zone (dont laugh :p) i have acts as a sweet boost to the dirty channel if i put the metal zone on about 2/5 gain (so not much), it kinda keeps the more toneful voicing of the dirty channel (as opposed to the metal zone on clean which sounds kinda sterile) but adds a bit of 'slam' to it, like toolesque kinda thing..

buying a tube amp that brings the tone of the guitar thru now makes me want to change the pickups on my epi les paul tho (the bridge pickup just sounds ASS dirty, no definition whatsoever- trebles the opposite, sounds good dirty but too 'twangy' on clean)

Jenesis · Post by **Jenesis** » Thu May 11, 2006 9:25 pm

Ye olde Metal Zone is a very versatile and handy pedal, if you use it properly/sparingly.

I think the reason it's got a bad rep is because a lot of the time it's used with the distortion maxed out to impress one's m8z 4 total "metal up your ass" garage cred. Which of course sounds like screechy bollocks. Personally, I never have the distortion up past 10 o'clock.

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Thu May 11, 2006 9:30 pm

agreed.. sounds ass cranked past the half way mark, the trouble up until now has been that with my old roland keyboard amp i played through (again dont laugh :p) it sounded horrible at anything below 12 :p trÃ© pleased with the added bang for buck its giving me now!

Gelato · Post by **Gelato** » Thu May 11, 2006 9:48 pm

Agreed x 2. I used to use a Metal Zone and it sounded great when used properly.

thehenderson · Post by **thehenderson** » Fri May 12, 2006 12:02 am

I've never used one, but I hear that they affect your tone in a strange way, or something. Make it boxy or something?

Can you use it as a clean boost?

sgt mukuzi · Post by **sgt mukuzi** » Fri May 12, 2006 9:44 am

glad i got 900 for my 900
not a bad amp but some lesser brands sound way better imo

oolaef · Post by **oolaef** » Sat May 13, 2006 6:18 pm

thehenderson wrote:I've never used one, but I hear that they affect your tone in a strange way, or something. Make it boxy or something?

Can you use it as a clean boost?

u mean keep the gain clean but boost the volume? nope :p

Jenesis · Post by **Jenesis** » Sat May 13, 2006 9:28 pm

but I hear that they affect your tone in a strange way, or something. Make it boxy or something

Yeah, it can sound quite thin and overly trebly at times which is why I usually run a chorus after it.

p.s. if you're really desperate to try a MetalZone out I'm selling mine.