JCM900 HGDR 4100

[biggs]

I picked up a 91/92 4100 today. Its an EL34 version. It's absolutely mint and I got it for a song. I've read so much bad about these amps that I really had to try one for myself. This amp sounds great! Gets a bit fizzy at low volumes but get it working and its quite something. The clean channel is killer. So are some worse than others? Based on what I'm hearing out of this amp I have to ask why so many are 4100 haters?

[P A U L]

Because of the new cathode gain stage in the pre-amp.

Back in the early '90s, a buddy of mine (who had been playing hotrodded 800s for years) bought a 900 (not sure which one) & he had his tech pull out the cathode & add a tube. He loved that more than any of the modded 800s he played.

The 800 series is not only a great circuit, but it also has a cult like following. If you notice, when people come out w/ an amp that they are trying to convince people to buy, they will often say "it's like a modded 800". Even when Marshall moved to the 900 series, they said it sounded like an 800, but w/ added features. Many didn't buy it though.

Just like the JMP-1, that came out around the same time, it gets a lot of skepticism still to this day because of the cathode & different eq. (Marshall also claims that you can duplicate an 800 on it too) The TSL is another that gets disrespected a lot.

If you like it & are getting awesome sounds - more power to you!

[ClassicRock88]

Don't TSL's get the hate that they do for overheating/self-combustion? I have heard a number of GREAT TSL clips and a store near me has a mint condition TSL100 for $700, but I have held off partly because of money, partly because I am one of the 800 cult people (love mine) and partly because of the reliability issues.

That being said I played a JCM900/SL-X with 5881's in it once. Didn't care too much for the Overdrive channel too much but I liked the clean channel, and then when I cranked the gain on the clean channel it sounded AMAZING. Once again I heard that they had some reliability issues but if I found one for dirt cheap near me I would definitely take it for a spin and see what I thought.

[JCM900MkIII]

Don't TSL's get the hate that they do for overheating/self-combustion? I have heard a number of GREAT TSL clips and a store near me has a mint condition TSL100 for $700, but I have held off partly because of money, partly because I am one of the 800 cult people (love mine) and partly because of the reliability issues.

That being said I played a JCM900/SL-X with 5881's in it once. Didn't care too much for the Overdrive channel too much but I liked the clean channel, and then when I cranked the gain on the clean channel it sounded AMAZING. Once again I heard that they had some reliability issues but if I found one for dirt cheap near me I would definitely take it for a spin and see what I thought.

Sure about that? SL-X is a one channel amp, with seperate master volumes, like the 900 MkIII.
Think you are mixing them up. The only 900's with 2 channels are DR's...

[ClassicRock88]

I very well may be. It had two preamp knobs. One went from 1-10 and the other from 11-20 if I recall correctly. I got my favorite sound by leaving the second one at 11 and the first one at 10.

[mkstylee]

Well I adore my 4100 the best sounding marshall in my arsenal by far ,as for the cathode gain thing makes no odds to my ears ,according to some other guys it's not the only marshall to use it, but if it sounds good to you then it's all well and good ,I run 5881 valves though.