Which Marshall head would you get?

[profwoot]

Been digging a Marshally tone lately -- Amp #2 on Archetype Rabea (based on channel 1 of his Kraken) + 2203/Silver Jube on my FM3. That Pedal Show did a demo recently with a 1987X that I really liked too.

I'd prefer to have a clean channel as well, but priority would be making sure I get "that" mid-rangey EL34 power section Marshall distorted tone.

50w or less, preferably. I've thought about just getting a Kraken mkii and rebiasing it for EL34s. Mesa Stiletto could be an option as well, although they're pretty rare. Is Marshall's current Studio series any good?

 

[Shask]

If I were getting a new Marshall, it would be a DSL100HR.

It is bigger than 50W, but it has a volume control.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

DSL20?

 

[maggotspawn]

Another vote for the DSL. Really versatile.
The optional 6 way kicks a$$.

 

[Crungy]

@profwoot I'm kind of in the same boat as you, though I haven't used Archetype. I'm using an Origin 20 which sound great clean and it takes pedals well for overdrive/distorted tones.

That said, I'm looking for that 2203 boosted with an SD1/Dino tone. I might have to cave in and get a DSL lol

 

[DrewH]

Hard to find these days, but the JVM205 is the only marshall amp I would buy.

Speaking of Rabea, he featured his JVM on his youtube channel a while back. Sounded great.

 

[HeHasTheJazzHands]

Get an EL34 power amp for the FM3?

 

[RevDrucifer]

I’d be happy as a pig in shit with any Marshall head that was released before the JCM900, but preferably a JCM800 or SPL.

 

[technomancer]

I still want a Jubilee so that's my answer.

 

[SalsaWood]

JCM800. The rest are bullshit IMO. Even the JCM800 is bullshit, but it takes pedals well.

 

[profwoot]

Been checking out the Studio series and really liking the SV20h (plexi) and 2525h (jube), but then came across this comparison from our own SDS, which makes the 3 studio series amps sound a lot more similar than other comparisons, but also includes the DSL20hr, which holds its own pretty well for being less than half the price.

Bummer that the Studio amps are all $1749 here vs $1299 in the UK, whereas the DSL20 can be had for $629 anywhere. Wonder if that means Marshall isn't distributing the Studio amps as widely.

 

[technomancer]

Been checking out the Studio series and really liking the SV20h (plexi) and 2525h (jube), but then came across this comparison from our own SDS, which makes the 3 studio series amps sound a lot more similar than other comparisons, but also includes the DSL20hr, which holds its own pretty well for being less than half the price.

Bummer that the Studio amps are all $1749 here vs $1299 in the UK, whereas the DSL20 can be had for $629 anywhere. Wonder if that means Marshall isn't distributing the Studio amps as widely.

The studio amps are now $1299 in the US, Marshall took over their own distribution and prices just dropped on all of the more expensive stuff a couple days ago.

 

[Shask]

@profwoot I'm kind of in the same boat as you, though I haven't used Archetype. I'm using an Origin 20 which sound great clean and it takes pedals well for overdrive/distorted tones.

That said, I'm looking for that 2203 boosted with an SD1/Dino tone. I might have to cave in and get a DSL lol

Dino tone mixed with some Nevermore type tone is pretty much my go-to sound. I am usually somewhere in that realm.

The bigger power sections definitely bring the depth in the low end for those types of tones.

 

[Shask]

Another vote for the DSL. Really versatile.
The optional 6 way kicks a$$.

They recently lowered the price on the DSL100HR from nearly $1200 to $829. Definitely makes it worth thinking about at that price!

 

[profwoot]

The studio amps are now $1299 in the US, Marshall took over their own distribution and prices just dropped on all of the more expensive stuff a couple days ago.

Wow that's cool. Guess the drop hasn't propagated to Reverb yet. It seems the DSL series is made in Vietnam vs Studio series in England. I do prefer the tones of the latter too. The plexi version might be my favorite, but the Jube and DSL both have more versatility.

 

[maliciousteve]

Haven't played around with a DSL but can recommend the JVM. Fantastic amp

 

[Emperoff]

If you like Kraken's CH1, I would get just that (or wait for the upcoming Super Kraken MKII). It is an incredible sounding channel, and the real highlight of the amp. It sounds unreal boosted.

With that being said, if you're considering a DSL, get a JVM instead. There is no reason to get a DSL over a JVM besides price. Any Marhsall tone you might want it's there. It sounds amazing, has up to 6/12 different sounds (depending of the version) controllable via MIDI. And having both, green OD in the JVM is very similar to Kraken's CH1. It's kind of the TriAxis of the Marshall world.

It's also very easy to mod if you're into that. I'm determined to mod mine the moment it needs to get serviced.

 

[budda]

Dsl, studio 800, studio plexi, ceriatone, trinity..

Your clean channel is your guitar volume.

 

[l1ll1]

2205?

 

[profwoot]

I watched Bea's JVM video when it came out and still remember how much I loved the tones he got out of it. I've heard a lot of accounts of poor reliability though. They're made in the UK but apparently they cut some corners.

Edit: I'd probably be looking at the JVM205 50w. Anybody know if the OD channel on that one is more like OD1 or OD2 on the 410?

Edit again: Then again, the 205 is the same giant size (29.1"!) as the 410, so maybe you just go all out at that point...