NAD - JTM45! Sharing my impressions & how 'bout EVs?

[baconator]

I'm new to the Roadhouse and here's my first post: Yesterday i acquired a JTM45 RI. I've been playing a Marshall 2555 through a 2x12 with evm12Ls for a long time. Love that amp but for our material i just needed a greater variety of tones. I just couldn't get it where i wanted it to be for some of the more traditional blues tunes we do. I have to be able to go from BB King to Bonamassa and the 2555 was just too dirty for a more traditional blues tone even with the gain on 3. So, enter the JTM45...

Anyhow, i tried the JTM45 at rehearsal last night and loved it. Jumping channels and running both volumes at noon i was able to get a wide range of tones from just the amp and adding separately (not stacking) an 808, pork loin, or RC Booster. i think i can get convincing tones throughout the whole range of OD tones i need. I'm using an R7 Goldtop with burstbucker 2 and 3 and a Firebird.

I was curious about how it would sound with the EVs because i would consider those to be an unusual speaker choice for the JTM45. I found it to produce a well balanced tone with tight low end and articulate highs with no ice pick in the highs. All the qualities i prefer. I'm not one that likes a super distorted sound. I only added the 808 and Pork Loin here and there. Used the RC booster about half the time and just the amp the rest. All sorts of great stuff by working the voiume on the guitar too! There was nowhere to hide with the tone i was getting but that's fine with me. I play better with a cleaner tone anyway.

There's all kinds of posts about greenbacks, blues, etc with this amp. So has anyone else tried the JTM45 with EV12Ls? What did you think about that configuration? What other speakers have you tried? How about the Eminence EJ1250? Thanks guys!

[Alpeggio]

Hi baconator and welcome to our Roadhouse. Can't help you with the speakers, I'm a Celestion only guy, and that gets complicated enough for me, without comparing other makes, but just wanted to say I love what you are using there, must sound fantastic.
Al

[JkGriffin]

Welcome...

Am curious as well with the EVM12Ls for various Marshall amps... That is the speakers that Joe B. swears by, so they should be fairly good...

[baconator]

Thanks Alpeggio! I'm really happy with the JTM. I just did a quick dial in about 30 mins before we started so i can't wait to see what i can get out of it after spending some time tweaking! Looks like you have quite a collections of Marshalls there yourself. I've never played a yjm but i hear they're fantastic.

JKgriffin - Thanks for posting. i got the EVs a little while after i got the 2555 as at that time i was wanting to use something similar to Joe B's tone as a starting point for my tone. From my original post you can see i've kinda moved on to a different tone with the new amp. I'll tell you this, the EVs do everything he and others say. They do not color the tone in any way so whatever the amp produces is what come out. They're 200 watts each so there's also no way you're going to get them to distort. They are also extremely heavy. My 2x12 weights about as much as the stock 1960A! Prior to getting them i was using a stock 1960A cab and could not believe the difference the EVs made. After his unreal chops, those speakers play a huge part of Joe B's clear and articulate tone.

[longfxukxnhair]

Welcome to the Roadhouse and love the name.

Like Al, I am into Celestions

[baconator]

Thanks longfxukxnhair! Figured i've been a tourist on this forum long enough and it was time to post something. Since you're a celestion guy, what's your favorite?

[ClassicRock88]

Baconator - Welcome and happy NAD!

I believe that Joe uses EV12L's for their power handling. He likes to run two heads in to one cab and he said in an interview that he was blowing up T75's doing that. Wowza! He considered the 75 to be a dark sounding speaker and he liked that, so I would assume that the 12L is a correspondingly dark speaker. I have never played one and the ones I have seen for sale have been quite expensive. The JTM45 is loosely based on a Fender Bassman (pun intended) and it will be correspondingly dark. Conversely the Jubilee clips I have heard tend to be very bite-y. This leads me to believe that the 12L helps to tame the Jub a bit.

If you have the JTM45 AND the EV's, why not try them and then you can report back to us? I like Celestions like Al and Long. I also like Jensens, Eminence, WGS, Mojo, Weber, Peavey AND Electro Voice! If they make good stuff I like it. Try it out. Experimenting is part of the fun.

[baconator]

Hi ClassicRock88 - Thanks and thanks for responding! I tried the JTM with the EVs at rehearsal the night before I started this thread. My first post on this thread provides my thoughts on how it sounded. I decided to put my impressions of the tone out here on the forum and see if anyone else had tried EVs with their JTM45s since that doesn't seem to be the "normal" speaker choice for that amp. I may follow up with more thoughts after rehearsal later this week.

After exhaustive research and experience with both speaker types, my opinion is that the T75 and EV12L are nothing alike. The T75 has huge scoop in the mids, but I'm not sure i'd consider it a dark speaker. The EV12L definitely has the power to handle any amp, but its best quality is that it does not color your tone in any way (some have said they are "sterile" or "too hi-fi" sounding but I completely disagree). EVs are a very neutral speaker so they put out whatever is coming in from the amp. I've found the EVs allow a lot more ability to shape the tone with the amp's P,B,M & T controls. The EVs are terribly expensive and incredibly heavy but so worth it. It's too bad they only make an 8 ohm model now. I understand they discontinued the 16ohm model after having some parts sourcing issues. I haven't tried many of the others you mention, but I've heard great things about them all.

The 2555 amp I refer to in my original post is in fact a Jubilee. Specifically, it's one of the black tolex Jubilees Marshall made in 1988 which Joe B has referred to as a "Black 88". That was my main amp prior to getting the JTM45. After owning one for quite some time, I don't consider the Jube an amp with too much bite or one that needs highs rolled off. Actually, I think it's darker than most other Marshalls, no matter which speaker its run through. This is only my opinion/observation after doing a lot of research on Joe's tone and rig, but I think the main reason he pairs a Dumble-style amp (he's used several: Two Rock, Carol-Ann, VanWeelden & now a true Dumble) is to ADD some bite to compliment the Jube's darker tone. I could be wrong on that though. I had a Two Rock at one point, but not the model Joe used.

thanks!