Soon to be proud owner of a 2266c

[CT_Eagle]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself as well as ask a quick question.

I have been playing guitar for about 2 years and decided it was time to upgrade my amp from a Marshall G30R CD to something that is capable of capturing the tone of some of my favorite artists such as Led Zeppelin, early Aerosmith, Black Sabbath and ACDC. I have also been revisiting some southern rock bands such as Blackfoot, Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd. The G30R was a nice amp while I was learning the basics and it has served me well but it is time to move on. After a lot of research and visiting guitar shops to try out amps I settled on a VM 2266c. I found one in very good condition from a highly rated seller on ebay for $800 US. Now I am anxiously awaiting it's arrival which is scheduled for Friday. I find myself checking the FedEx website every few hours to get the latest location. The wait is killing me.

Now on to my question.

This is for those of you that have had a VM for a while. Looking back to when you first plugged into your VM, is there something that you wish you
knew about your amp at that moment that you eventually learned by trial and error?

That is it. Pretty simple question but I think it could result in some interesting answers from the experienced owners.

[surlybastard]

First of all, welcome and congratulations on your purchase!

To answer your question, here's what I recall from when I first got my VM. These are just my opinions, others may differ. First and foremost it's been my experience that the VM sounds considerably better when played louder. I know I was disappointed with mine initially until I was able to turn it above 4, that seemed to me where the rubber met the road.

Other then that, for the type of music you're talking about you'll want to keep the detail higher than the body and probably stick more with the Low dynamic range. Enjoy!

[cpubound]

Congratulations. Nice AMP! I might suggest that you spend a little time using your new amp with NO optional effects pedals.
See what the amp can do standalone. The VM is an old school type of amp in that it allows itself to be controlled quite nicely
using the volume and tone pots on the guitar.
I am not familiar with the G30R. So, I can’t say if it could do the same. Have fun…

[Jwalkin]

Welcome CT_Eagle, and congratulations on the VM 2266C

[surfnorthwest]

A couple of things

Keep the Master Volume high and use your guitars volume.
Didn't know how good Low Range took pedals.

[CT_Eagle]

Thank you to everyone that has responded. I will keep each of these items in mind as I begin learning this amp.

CPUHOund>The C30R is a 2 channel SS practice amp. It really has served it's purpose over the past couple of years. What I really liked about it was the fact it has a CD input so I can play backing tracks on it while I play along. As far as what it can do tone-wise, it is nothing special but it did have a clean channel and a crunch channel which allowed me to play a wide variety of songs. It also has what I think is a nice sounding reverb.

Surlybastard>So how loud is 4 on this amp? I imagine it is very loud. There will be times when I will be able to crank this amp up but there will be others where for the sake of my wife and kids, I may have to turn it down a bit. In your opinion, will I need an attenuator when I crank up the volume a bit?

[tugberk]

Hi CT_Eagle

Congratulations for your new amplifier :)

I suggest you should read FAQ section about VM series ( http://marshallroadhouse.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2771 ). You will see there VM 2266 is not loud as other 50w Marshalls because of the power issue that mentioned there. I am working as a salesman at authorized dealer of Marshall and many other brands in my country. I had chance to try this amp for days with different guitars and pedals. All I can say that this is a great amplifier for almost every genre. As surfnorthwest said, keep the master vol high, so you can hear the accent of KT66's in your sound. If you hear some noise in your FX Loop, use the dB switch. It is much easier to build your tone with detail and body knobs and fine tuning with eq knobs. Have fun with your new amp! :)

[surlybastard]

Surlybastard>So how loud is 4 on this amp? I imagine it is very loud. There will be times when I will be able to crank this amp up but there will be others where for the sake of my wife and kids, I may have to turn it down a bit. In your opinion, will I need an attenuator when I crank up the volume a bit?

Despite it not being as loud as other Marshall's I've played it's still plenty loud on 4 and above. I live in a small house with my wife and a toddler so I hardly ever play my VM at home because it's simply too loud for the space. I have an attenuator but in order to get it to a manageable volume it basically crushes the soul of the amp so I don't like to attenuate it that much. I will say, some people on this board like the amp with the Master volume at bedroom levels so you may find you're fine playing with it that low if you need to keep it very quiet.

[dukealexan]

I also have a 2266C. Like many have said I think the key to the VM is the use of your guitars volume and tone controls. I find the LD setting to be very tame with the master half way detail on 4 and body on 1 and tone controls around halfway. But that same setting in HD is loud and gainny this is where you can dial down the volume on your axe and get a very good crunch. Love the sound of those G12C speakers in the open back.

[CT_Eagle]

Well my amp arrived yesterday while I was at work. As soon as I arrived at home, I went straight to it. I must say I really love this amp so far. I have been trying out different settings posted in the sticky and I am amazed at the versatility. I am really going to enjoy tweaking the knobs and getting to know this amp over the next couple of weeks. The thing that jumped out at me is how clear every note is when I strum chords. My previous amp did not sound those individual notes very well. It is a beautiful sound.

I was a bit nervous buying this amp from Ebay but it truly is in mint shape physically. The only defects I have found is that the Power LED is out. This is a 2007 model and from what I have read this is a common issue. I doubt I will worry about replacing this. The only other problem I have found is with the Dynamic Range footswitch. Sometimes when I press it, the channel does not switch. When I press it by hand and compare it to the Reverb switch, it feels a little "squishy" if that makes sense. I am going to have to replace the Dynamic Range switch which is not a big deal.

[surfnorthwest]

Glad you like it, get the footswitch worked out and you will be good to go. Lot of guys here to help you if have any problems.

[surlybastard]

Congrats, enjoy!

[Ice Tre]

Main thing I had to learn when I first got my 2266 was to turn the Detail 3-4 ticks higher than the Body.

My 2266 also arrived with a dead bulb. I wrote marshall.service@marshallamps.us and they told me to order part# M-bulb-00007 from tubesandmore.com. So I did. It cost $8.55 plus shipping. I remember it was a bit of a pain to get the old one out. You don't need it to know if the amp is on-- the LDR/HDR lamp will be on-- but it does look pretty cool; it's a purple bulb. :)

Enjoy your new amp!

[Nugget]

Congrats on your new Marshall. After owning my 2266 for over a year I can honestly say I am still learning the different sounds this amp is capable of. Currently I have done some research on Clapton's woman sound (tone). It is MHO that the Vintage Modern is an excellent choice for getting this sound. I have to admit that I am some what of an amp whore. I love nothing more than plugging into a new tube amp to see how it feels (sounds). My latest conquest was a Mesa Rect-o-Verb, which I purchased from Guitar center with a 30 day return option. After one week side by side with my 2266 the Mesa went back and was returned. I play mostly blues, hard classic southern rock and some heavy metal. The Mesa in my opinion excelled only in the modern heavy metal sound. I found the Vintage Modern to have a much more responsive and organic sustain than the Mesa Rect-O-Verb. I also felt the Harmonic response to be much better with the VM. Will I ever try something different ?? Well like I said sometimes it just feels good to plug into something different.

[GuitarBuilder]

Dang! I feel that GAS coming on......