Amp pricing help?

[miles]

I have a 30th anniversary 6100 marshall head and jcm900 quad ( http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Lis...spx?id=71025771 ) which, as you can see, i am currently selling. A person has offered to swap me a "Marshall JMP-1 preamp, Peavey Classic 50/50 Power amp & Lexicon MX200 effects processor" for just the head, i get to keep the speakers. I just need advice on if i should do it or not? I have never had anything like this before and wouldn't have the faintest idea of value. I assume he needs it for portability which is not an issue for me.

Help?

[GrantB]

I have a 30th anniversary 6100 marshall head and jcm900 quad ( http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Lis...spx?id=71025771 ) which, as you can see, i am currently selling. A person has offered to swap me a "Marshall JMP-1 preamp, Peavey Classic 50/50 Power amp & Lexicon MX200 effects processor" for just the head, i get to keep the speakers. I just need advice on if i should do it or not? I have never had anything like this before and wouldn't have the faintest idea of value. I assume he needs it for portability which is not an issue for me.

Help?

If you don't know those components well enough to know, then do not do anything. What if you did swap, they sucked in your view, you tried to offload them and got half of what the Marshall was worth? Also, if people offer you something that sounds slightly too good to be true...then it will be...

Sell the Marshall, go and play as many things as you can, and then buy the thing sounds good...if you have the cash too, you're always on the winning side of the negotiations. Swapped goods not so much!

[miles]

but theres lots of knobs to play with!

[GrantB]

but theres lots of knobs to play with!

Well, I guess that's a good reason...go for it man!!! Woo hoo....

[ash]

The person sounds like a rogue and a conman....

Or maybe its just Kloppsta, who is a member here

Might not be him, but he does have a rig the same or similar to the one you were offerred. I have no idea of the respective merits, but Kloppsta is a decent chap and would probably be keen to get together for a try-out of each other's amps.

[IkeKrull]

The Peavey 50/50 is a beast of an amp. It uses EL84s unlike its slightly bigger brother the 60/60 which uses 6L6s, so it should be a good match for the Marshall as most marshalls use EL84s. I would expect an awesome crunch at large-venue volume from this pair.

The JMP-1 i dont know that much about past its basic specs, but its high-end marshall so i'd be willing to bet it sounds great.

Lexicon similarly have a great reputation for effects. The MX200 is a stereo reverb processor.

However, if youre swapping because you want something quieter (as i think i recall you stating in an earlier post), forget it. The 50/50 will be incredibly,excessively loud, especially through a quad.

However, if youre into big delays and reverbs etc, it will sound phenomenal in stereo.

A downside - between pre and power amp - 14 tubes in total (the 50/50 has 4xEL84s each side in the power section) - think about that when considering retubing.

I'd definitely consider it - the extra flexibility and guitar-nerd factor of the rack setup is attractive, and since you already have a cab there.

I considered a Peavey power amp to pair with my tube fex preamp and a separate 2x12 cab, but just bought a 2x12 valve king, as it was cheaper and just so much simpler, plus it will quite happily operate on it's own if the tube fex throws a hissy fit for any reason.

Frankly, if its the marshall sound you like, i'd stay with your current head - maybe invest in a THD hotplate, which is probably the best thing you can pair a high-wattage tube amp with for general use - If you want to get into all manner of geekery and explore new sonic territory (and have the $$$ to burn), go with the rack setup.

[AmpShop]

Never knew that about the 50/50! The fact is has EL84s does make a certain sense though, in terms of the tone.

Most Marshalls use EL34s though.

[IkeKrull]

Yes, of course you are correct - my bad.

Interestingly, the marshall 20/20 power amp, which would also be a great match for the JMP-1 uses EL84s, while its bigger brothers and most of the higher-wattage amps use EL34s.

I guess 50W is pushing up against the practical limit of the EL84s power handling.

[AmpShop]

Yeah, you don't see too many class a/b 4xEL84 amps around the 50w mark ... VHT make one, can't think of others off the top of my head ...

[GrantB]

Yeah, you don't see too many class a/b 4xEL84 amps around the 50w mark ... VHT make one, can't think of others off the top of my head ...

The voltages would be pushing the boundaries of an EL84 ...how do they manage that without cooking things?

[RobRoyMcCoy]

I had a Peavey Classic 50 in my workshop recently that did 42W clean headroom and over 80W maximum power out of 4 x EL84. In order to do this they run the plate voltage over 400V (around 450V from memory). You need a robust tube to work in an amp like that, particularly at those power levels, but the sound is fantastic.

Rob

[GrantB]

Let me guess, the JJ EL84's handle that voltage no problems

[B45-12]

No of course not - the tubes explode violently and then the mains transformer ignites burning the venue down to the ground. Heck no one said life had to be easy but the audience is certainly entertained! LOL.

[RobRoyMcCoy]

You neglected to mention that most of the audience were burned to death, and those that survived were hideously disfigured...

Yes, the JJ's do, and the Sovtek EL84M would, work fine at those voltage.

[Rog]

Joe Pass?