Too good to pass up...

[aristotle]

I should have known better than to walk in to a music store on Black Friday....

$4K was just too good to pass up though. I really was just there to buy a couple of light cans at one of the larger local music stores.... Made the mistake of asking about what deals were to be had. Evidently they've had the full stack back in the wharehouse since '06 or '07 (whenever they were made) and it made the list of stuff they wanted to move. I didn't know much about the 40th anniversary reissue and when I heard the price, it didn't impress me all that much. I asked if they'd just sell me the head (A JTM45 has been on my list of amps I'd like) but they wouldn't break it from the stack. Got home, looked it up, and the deal looked good. Back I went, haggled just a little, and came back with it. Totally unopened, brand new.

I know I'm easy when it comes to Marshalls, but this thing is something else. The speakers are great too, and pair really well with the head. Played through a single 4x12, volume at 50 watts is perfect for gigs. The full 100 watts through the full stack is something to behold - though not something I'm likely to do very often.

We'll see how things go over the next couple of weeks, but this looks like a keeper.

[bmi]

I confirm, it is a keeper.
The head and the cabs are really great, don't break the stack.(where is the second cab?)
I will never sell mine. ;o)

[surfnorthwest]

Great investment! I belive that is one of only 300 made, good thing you got the cabs with it because those have some very speical alnico speakers. Personally I have never heard it, video clips would be great if you get some time.

This is another Marshall SteveD designed. Congrats

[aristotle]

Definitely have the top cab...just wasn't stacked in the photo I posted. Here's one with it. Interesting that the top cab is open backed. Speaking of the cabs, I know that great effort was taken to make these things as authentic as possible, but I'd sacrifice authenticity for some good handles! In any case, I don't think I'll be using it in the full stack configuration much. 50 Watts through a single cab is perfect.

OK Surf, you've convinced me to drag myself into the 21st century and figure out how to make recordings. This is the '54 Les Paul plugged direct into the High Treble topside. High Treble bottom jumped to Normal top. High Treble volume at 7, Normal at 8, all eq's and presence set to 5. An SM57 was placed on the lower left speaker of the bottom cab (I know nothing about mic placement...it was roughly center of the cone.) The SM57 was plugged into a channel of a Mackie mixer, set to flat eq, and output to a handheld recorder. The recorder was set to make sure AGC was off, so any compression is due to whatever an SM57 does or whatever the cheapey recorder is doing. No clue what the recorder quality settings were, but it generated a huge .wav file that I managed to get iTunes to convert to MP3. Anyway, here it is....

-- Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:34 pm --

Also meant to mention that the amp wasn't touched during the recording...all variations in tone are strictly from guitar volume, tone and pickup settings....

[gtrman]

Wow - Great score.
Congrats on a massive purchase.
I'll bet this one is really sweet .. it looks awesome !

[Wildone]

Beautiful amp! Ibet it sounds amazing.

[CBoothe]

Good God thats beautiful! Great Score!

[TubeStack]

Beautiful!

[aristotle]

Played it for the first time with the band yesterday, and this thing really is loud. Even just set up as a half-stack, in order to keep the amp happy, we had to bring up the volume of everything else beyond what we normally do. Not for the feint of heart. I'm sure that I can figure out a pedal configuration that will allow me to drop back on the volume and get more or less the gain I want, but where's the fun in that? Fortunately I have bandmates who have a sense of humor about the whole thing...

Pushed, this amp is as good as it gets (but then again, so is the VM...and the YJM...and....) If I ever get into recording though, the JTM is the one to use I think...

This was the first time that I ever attempted to record an amp. While I think that the tone in the clip above is accurate, it just doesn't convey the feel of the sound - particularly for clean and semi-clean tones. You just can't simulate loud I guess, and it's very loud even in what seems like the quiet section of the clip.

[bmi]

I agree, the clip doesn't do justice to the amp.
"all eq's and presence set to 5" this is one reason i think.
It's a JTM45 so roll back the bass knob.
With the presence below 5 you get a fat tone, after 5 you go from crystal to bright tone.
This amp rings, it makes music.

By the way i'm using an attenuator when i want to push it. (Marshall SE100)

[SmokestackElRopo]

Sunday night - Savoy Brown started that one. I have always love that tune. from the muchly unknown looking in album.