Vintage Amps And Reliabilty Issues?

[The Echthros]

I have since been very much interested in some of the amps in the vintage market, namely Marshall late 60s Super Basssome or late 70s/early 80s Marshall JMPs/MKIIs/2203s.

My worry though is if I were to pick one of these bad boys up what potential reliabilty issues I would run into? What is cost of ownership with these vintage pieces? Am I going to have to be taking the amp in every few months when some little tick presents itself only to find out there is nothing to be done as the original components are no longer in production?

As you can gather the prospect of ownership presents a bit of anxiety for me.

I am not one to seek these amps for nastolgic purposes or just to collect and be able to say " I have a vintage so and so". I will work this amp. I seek these amps for their voice as I can't see any reason to buy a replica when I can have the real deal.

Any input, tips, or advice for a vintage amp owner would be appreciated.

 

[Scali]

I am not one to seek these amps for nastolgic purposes or just to collect and be able to say " I have a vintage so and so". I will work this amp. I seek these amps for their voice as I can't see any reason to buy a replica when I can have the real deal.

Well, from a practical point-of-view I think you should rotate your view 180 degrees...
If a replica can give you the same voice, why would you bother the real deal?
If you buy a new replica, there are certain advantages... Firstly, you know that all parts are brand new, nobody modified it, you know it has never been repaired or messed with, it's all original, it will come with a warranty, and it's made up only from parts that are currently in production. That means that it's easier to service, and when it needs repairs, it can be replaced with original parts, rather than alternatives, because the originals are no longer in production... which would mean that your amp may sound a bit differently after repairs.

Besides, as you may have found out by now... amp production wasn't the most consistent business back in the day, especially with Marshall... Depending on when and how it was made, there can be huge differences between any two vintage JCM800s for example. One may sound like heaven, the other may be useless junk. So just having a vintage amp of a certain 'pedigree' doesn't quite guarantee that you'll also get that classic voice. A replica is always a replica of a great-sounding classic amp, not a dud.

 

[TomParenteau]

My '79 JMP 100 is extremely reliable. I have had it for about 25 years. The international current selector on the back falls off, though. If you're staying in the same country, just hard wire it!

 

[The Echthros]

I agree with you 100% here man. This really my dilemma. Marshall has reissues of all these amps and If I wanted it I would get those. But it may also be noted that some of the not so conventional practices of brands like marshall in their production of said original amps is what makes them near impossible to duplicate sometimes.

It is possible to find "holy grail" pieces and this is really what I'd be after. I won't buy a vintage amp, or any amp for that matter, without running it through it's paces first. I am not so naive to say "look! its a 79 JMP! <click buy it now>"

I guess objectively I could sit a vintage and reissue side by side and AB, though. Have yet to do that. Thanks for the input!

 

[yacker]

A lot of times problems that pop up in an amp are model specific and not so much age specific. I think for the most part (with the exception of tubes) amps are pretty low maintenance gear. Every now and then you do get a problem with an amp and if the replacement parts aren't available, you will be in a bit of trouble. For the most part though, you might just want to do some research on whatever particular model you are looking at to see if the design has inherent problems.

Other then that there are loads of amps out there from the 60's and 70's that are still working like the day they were built.

 

[Scali]

I guess objectively I could sit a vintage and reissue side by side and AB, though. Have yet to do that. Thanks for the input!

You could do that... but because of the inconsistencies, it's not very likely that they'll sound the same.
Also, there are reissues and reissues. Mass produced 'reissues' such as what Fender and Marshall offer, are generally not all too close of a reproduction of the original. Sacrifices have been made to meet modern safety and environmental regulations, and to keep the cost down.
Marshall has 'regular' reissues in the 'vintage' series and the more expensive 'handwired' series on top of that. The handwired ones are made to higher standards, and closer to the real thing... but a bit more expensive.

I think it may be wise to also look at replica's of small independent amp builders. Some of them make really good replica's, better than Marshall themselves, but again, generally it shows in the price.

Also, I'm not really sure what you're planning to do with them... but if you want to play metal, I'd like to point out that the original models weren't exactly hi-gain amps by modern standards. While Plexis and JCM800s have been used by many famous metal artists, they generally used a booster pedal and/or had their amps modified for extra gain. Bogner and Soldano's most famous amps are pretty much exactly that... a JCM800-circuit with modifications for extra gain stages. And the Peavey 5150/6505 is pretty much a clone of the Soldano circuit at that. So while modern metal amps are related to the Plexi and JCM800... don't expect to get that sort of tone out of the real thing, they aren't metal amps.

 

[TomParenteau]

PS
The re-sale value of my Marshall is about triple what I paid for it.

 

[troyguitar]

Another thing to keep in mind: I had an old JCM800 2210 (aka the highest gain 800 they made) and it was a tank but it didn't sound good until it got up to REALLY REALLY LOUD volumes.

 

[Scali]

Oh yea, and the originals didn't come with an effect loop. Probably something every modern player would want.

 

[The Echthros]

so rather than start a new thread I figured I would continue on topic here. recently looked into the marshall clone companies and came up with two companies I have heard of before...but I want some user insight if there is any. first company was Wizard Amplifiers. seem to be really nice marshall plexi replicas and then some. at 4k base im a bit weary though. then there is Voodoo Amps, particularly the V-Plex. looks promising and for under 2k for a 50 watter I think they may be a sound investment.

watcha guys think?

 

[signalgrey]

i bought a vintage fender. '76 quad reverb. first thing i did was take it to a trusted tech and had him do a full on check up.