NAD Satch JVM

JVM Heads and Combos, Satriani 410HJS, Satriani Combo

Moderator: longfxukxnhair


xanderbullets29
<25
<25
Posts: 8
Joined: 15 Oct 2014, 12:04
Has Liked: 0
Been liked: 0
Contact:

NAD Satch JVM

Postby xanderbullets29 » 26 Mar 2015, 08:55

Hello all....I am not quite sure when it was but I had a post requiring assistance on which marshall amp I would buy..... the VM or the Satch JVM. Suffice to say I went the Satch JVM route. The price on the amp was very hard for me to pass up so based on donnyboilers' youtube clip and surfnorthwest's review of the amp, I snagged it. A couple of things though....

I did notice when going through the channels that the amp sounded a bit dark and muffled. My first initial response was to check the bias of the amp. Being the third owner of this amp, the tubes are probably a bit used up (the amp is a 2013 model by the way). So I checked the bias and got a 65ma reading on both sides. Quite cold. After finding out the plate voltage (474v), I proceeded to bias the amp a bit on the hotter side of 38ma/tube. I noticed a bit of a difference in the sound in a good way but still noticed the somewhat muffled/blanket-on-the-amp sound. Maybe Im wrong but I somehow was expecting to hear the bright treble and upper mid presence that marshall amps are known for. I did not notice the type of preamp tubes that came with the amp so what I would like to know is what type of preamp tubes would you guys suggest for v1 v2 v3 v4 v5. Please help. Thanks. :pray

Marker
Gold Member
Gold Member
User avatar
Posts: 600
Joined: 03 Jul 2014, 03:57
Location: Portugal
Has Liked: 393 times
Been liked: 321 times
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby Marker » 26 Mar 2015, 10:20

What cab/speakers are you using?
This amp sounds best with 1960A or 1960AV.

I went the opposite way - I sold my JVM HJS. Latter a great deal on the VM showed up and I bought one. I'm totally happy with the VM, it's exactly what I wanted - very rich and traditional tone, full sound spectrum, rounded tone, punchy, very dinamic, it sounds like a real good pro Marshall you hear on the records.


As for the JVM HJS, I had the same conclusions you do and mine was brand new. There's nothing wrong with the JVM HJS and Donny makes it sing; it might just not be the amp for you/ your setup.
There's a dialed in lower frequency response that Satch asked the amp to have, Santiago (the amp's designer) wrote it here when I shared my toughts on the JVM HJS
http://marshallroadhouse.com/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=17380

Maybe the tubes combination might take it to where you want it; however if the amp's fundamentally not doing it for you I doubt that swapping tubes will do a great difference.

Mats A
Knighted
Knighted
User avatar
Posts: 2723
Joined: 19 Feb 2008, 14:17
Location: Västerås Sweden
Has Liked: 108 times
Been liked: 199 times
Contact:

NAD Satch JVM

Postby Mats A » 26 Mar 2015, 10:58

It's the HJS design. It has the top end rolled off in the circuit. Among things there is a resistor on the Crunch and OD channels gain pots that does this. It's almost like having the tone control on the guitar rolled down a bit. I've had two and sold both. It lacks much of the bite and attack you usually get on a Marshall. I guess Satriani like a tone that lacks attack and sounds a bit like a keyboard. But he used to use the Boss DS1.

xanderbullets29
<25
<25
Posts: 8
Joined: 15 Oct 2014, 12:04
Has Liked: 0
Been liked: 0
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby xanderbullets29 » 26 Mar 2015, 13:30

thanks for the reply guys

Marker - I have a 2x12 cab loaded with an et-65 and 50w greenback clone by wgs speakers. Sucks that I just got rid of a pair of g12-t75's that I had a year ago.

Mats A - I agree with your observations as well.

Overall, I will try to see what results I get when I play around with some preamp tubes when I get home. Having said that, what preamp stages affect the way the amp distorts? I know v1 and v2 are vital so I will start the preamp tube rolling from there.

Mats A
Knighted
Knighted
User avatar
Posts: 2723
Joined: 19 Feb 2008, 14:17
Location: Västerås Sweden
Has Liked: 108 times
Been liked: 199 times
Contact:

NAD Satch JVM

Postby Mats A » 26 Mar 2015, 13:52

You can try different valves but most of it lies in the circuit design. It can be modded if so. A signature amp will always be tailored after the player it's made for. If your taste is not the same it can be a problem.

xanderbullets29
<25
<25
Posts: 8
Joined: 15 Oct 2014, 12:04
Has Liked: 0
Been liked: 0
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby xanderbullets29 » 26 Mar 2015, 17:51

Hey all...so all the preamps are the marshall 12ax7's. I did however change the pi to a tungsol 12ax7 to see how it would affect the tone. I did notice a slight difference in the sound. However after an hour or so i noticed a slight hiss coming from the crunch od1 and od2 channels even with the noise gates activated. The only channel the gates work on is the clean channel on green. I have the fx loop on as well. Any idea why?

surfnorthwest
El Jefe
El Jefe
User avatar
Posts: 17468
Joined: 31 Jul 2007, 19:02
Location: Vero Beach Florida
Has Liked: 4353 times
Been liked: 7813 times
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby surfnorthwest » 26 Mar 2015, 18:54

Mats A wrote:It's the HJS design. It has the top end rolled off in the circuit. Among things there is a resistor on the Crunch and OD channels gain pots that does this. It's almost like having the tone control on the guitar rolled down a bit. I've had two and sold both. It lacks much of the bite and attack you usually get on a Marshall. I guess Satriani like a tone that lacks attack and sounds a bit like a keyboard. But he used to use the Boss DS1.
:roll You more than anyone have some kind of voodoo hex with JVMs. I don't feel this lack of bite or attack you wrote, my experience with the amp is nothing of the sort.
My Gear
Surf's Jukebox

Image
'When I Don't Have Anything Interesting to Play, I just Play Fast' But then who wants to hear 64 bars full of 32nd-notes except the douche-bag blowing them from the stage.


surfnorthwest
El Jefe
El Jefe
User avatar
Posts: 17468
Joined: 31 Jul 2007, 19:02
Location: Vero Beach Florida
Has Liked: 4353 times
Been liked: 7813 times
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby surfnorthwest » 26 Mar 2015, 18:59

Welcome to the Roadhouse xanderbullets29.

Whenever buying a signature amp it is important that you do a little research on the way Joe uses the amp live and what his chain is. The amp was designed around what he wanted for live performance.

I took me a few days before I fully learned the amp and what it can do, watch your gain settings, some of the best tones out of that amp come with the gain set lower and the master up. Presence and your eq all need the user to take the time to fine tune it.

For the gigging musician I is a damm good amp IMO.
My Gear
Surf's Jukebox

Image
'When I Don't Have Anything Interesting to Play, I just Play Fast' But then who wants to hear 64 bars full of 32nd-notes except the douche-bag blowing them from the stage.


Mats A
Knighted
Knighted
User avatar
Posts: 2723
Joined: 19 Feb 2008, 14:17
Location: Västerås Sweden
Has Liked: 108 times
Been liked: 199 times
Contact:

NAD Satch JVM

Postby Mats A » 26 Mar 2015, 23:04

Maybe so Surf. But it's a fact. The amp is designed like that. The treble control is tailored also so it gives only about 80% of a regular Marshall treble control. When it's on 10 it's like 8. I believe Satriani has all gaines on 10 according to Santiago. I like the regular 410H on Crunch Red and OD1 Green with a booster or my Rocket Fuel. Fantastic pedal.

xanderbullets29
<25
<25
Posts: 8
Joined: 15 Oct 2014, 12:04
Has Liked: 0
Been liked: 0
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby xanderbullets29 » 27 Mar 2015, 09:21

Thanks for the warm welcome Surf.....this may sound naïve on my end but I wanted to ask something with regards to the fx loop and the noise gates. When I powered up my amp this morning I made sure that I took of the fx loop out of the chain in all the channels and modes. I proceeded to activate the noise gates on all the four channels and modes and it worked fine. However when I turned on the fx loop and accessed the crunch channel on every mode with the gates turned on, I noticed that after I played a power chord or a note that I got a very soft hiss from the amp even with the gates on. Shouldn't the gates gradually take effect and completely eliminate the hiss? I normally set the gates at noon on all four channels. I should mention that the fx loop knob at the back is at about 8 o'clock. Could that be the problem?

Pat6969
<25
<25
Posts: 15
Joined: 16 Nov 2014, 14:13
Has Liked: 0
Been liked: 0
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby Pat6969 » 31 Mar 2015, 18:48

Easily the best amp I've ever tried and owned. Not for everyone obviously but simply slays for my purposes. I play in a cover band and there isn't a tone I can't get, simply amazing head. Period!! Takes a while to dial in but well worth it. :jam

Mats A
Knighted
Knighted
User avatar
Posts: 2723
Joined: 19 Feb 2008, 14:17
Location: Västerås Sweden
Has Liked: 108 times
Been liked: 199 times
Contact:

NAD Satch JVM

Postby Mats A » 03 Apr 2015, 09:40

Glad you get a good tone out of it.

Zube
<25
<25
User avatar
Posts: 23
Joined: 29 Jul 2011, 03:20
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Has Liked: 0
Been liked: 1 time
Contact:

Re: NAD Satch JVM

Postby Zube » 05 Apr 2015, 05:02

Pat6969 wrote:Easily the best amp I've ever tried and owned. Not for everyone obviously but simply slays for my purposes. I play in a cover band and there isn't a tone I can't get, simply amazing head. Period!! Takes a while to dial in but well worth it. :jam
+1
i just got this amp about 2 weeks ago, great amp. i was on the fence between this and a regular jvm but opted for the JS version, and glad i did, there was a few options on this amp that made it clearly the best fit for me. I play in a cover band also and though i dont have all my tones tweaked in yet, i found it very easy to get great tone right from the start.. I had a jcm 800 back in the 80's, bought brand new also, and though ive been without the amp for a long long time (got rid of it, bad decision) this amp takes me back to that growl and bite that my old 800 had, not an exact tone reproduction, but very close, plus its way more versatile if your playing in a cover band..

im enjoying this amp more and more each time i use it, i think its a very well rounded amp from Marshall
"Excellence is not a skill, It is an attitude"

Return to “Marshall JVM”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest