Vintage Modern vs Jubilee

[Finnster]

I am borrowing a 2550 Jubilee right now and I am really loving it. Can anyone compare the VM to this amp?
I have the opportunity to buy the Jubilee for less than I can get a new VM for......

So the question is.....what are the similarities and or differences?

I am tempted to just keep the Jubilee because it has great tone and it may just end my tone chasing but this forum has peaked much curiosity for the VM.

[Slashwannabe1]

I am borrowing a 2550 Jubilee right now and I am really loving it. Can anyone compare the VM to this amp?
I have the opportunity to but the Jubilee for about what I can get a new VM for......

So the question is.....what are the similarities and or differences?

I am tempted to just keep the Jubilee because it has great tone and it may just end my tone chasing but this forum has peaked much curiosity for the VM.

For what I play with the VM is a Jubilee rip off tone with the Vintage Modern for Slash's old live tone and the Vintage Modern Nails that Jubilee Slash Live Tone enough for my standards and my standards are very picky as I've been chasing that tone down for years!. Honestly the VM's are going to be here for a few more years and theres a whole lot more VM's than Jubilees.

I personally would say buy the Jubilee Now and get a Vintage Modern later. Either way both are GREAT amplifiers and in my opinion the best 2 amplifiers that Marshall ever made. The Vintage Modern can cover a lot of the same ground as a Jubilee if set up correctly but there are small things that are unique to them. The Jubilee has EL-34 power tubes so there will be a difference when both amps are cranked side by side, the EL-34s will be a little more brash on the high end and the VM's KT66s will have a good dose of Mids, but if you are chasing the Slash tone (as a lot of Jubilee owners do) both of these amplifiers will intersect in that tone range. The one area the Jubilee I feel excells over the VM is in the lead master volume pot and output master volume pots, you can adjust your rhythm volume and lead volume seperate and use them at different times via switch as you may already know, other than that I put both these amps on a equal plane for tone.

Its really up to you, but the Jubilee is a rare amp compared to the VM but not so rare that you can't find one or more on ebay every other week. If you want something that can get the Jubilee tone with a warrenty go with the VM, if your not concerned with that I'd buy the Jubilee.

[Finnster]

Thanks for your thoughts. I do love this Jubilee, I have a JMD1 that I thought could replicate the tone of the Jube.....boy was I wrong!!!

The JMD is cool but the Jubilee has mojo and presence that just cuts through the mix!!! The JMD has its own thing but I am more of a "one sound" guy and use the guitar volume a lot.

I am going to buy this Jubilee and maybe one day pick up a used VM as there are some great deals to be found on those sometimes.

[wharris]

I think that is a good move, as the Silver Jubilee has a collectible aspect to it, and it seems that you are getting a pretty good deal on it. The SJ is a darker-voiced amp than the VM. Cheers!

[Mats A]

The Jubilee has diodes clipping in the circuit. But that must not be a bad thing. Also Slash often used a graphic EQ in the effects loop. don´t know if he still does that.

[Finnster]

The Jubilee has diodes clipping in the circuit. But that must not be a bad thing. Also Slash often used a graphic EQ in the effects loop. don´t know if he still does that.

Yea if you pull the gain knob. I dont really prefer that sound so I leave it pushed in. This way the other "channel" stays sorta clean.

[Mats A]

But that wont take the diodes out of the ciruit or will it?

[Finnster]

But that wont take the diodes out of the ciruit or will it?

Honestly, I dont really know...sorry.

[wharris]

The diode rectification in this circuit is awesome. Just crank it up and enjoy. I prefer the 100W version myself as it seems to have more balls, especially in the mids and low end.

[Slashwannabe1]

Thanks for your thoughts. I do love this Jubilee, I have a JMD1 that I thought could replicate the tone of the Jube.....boy was I wrong!!!

The JMD is cool but the Jubilee has mojo and presence that just cuts through the mix!!! The JMD has its own thing but I am more of a "one sound" guy and use the guitar volume a lot.

I am going to buy this Jubilee and maybe one day pick up a used VM as there are some great deals to be found on those sometimes.

I honestly believe that is the best option for you right now :)

I'm a one sound guy too! I want one very good sound that defines my playing and tone and the Vintage Modern gets me there! The other amplifier on my "to get next" list is a 100w Jubilee, I love them as much as I love the Vintage Modern and I'm very suprised to see the Vintage Modern 100w 2466 gets closer to that sound & feel than even any EL-34 amp I've tried has gotten.

I think the one day you pick a Vintage Modern up you'll see that while there are some differences between it and a Jubilee, they are closer sounding to eachother than most would think, especially when going for the Slash sound. Both are very organic amplifiers and they both love the Guitar volume articulation and YES the Vintage Modern cuts through the mix in almost any band situation! I've played along side many guitarists with many different rigs (Randall,Fender,Mesa,Peavy half stacks) and the Vintage Modern wins every mix showdown it enters (at least in my own expirence), though I have yet to play against a Guitarist with a Plexi and that just may be the exception to the VMs ability to cut through haha .

[Mats A]

The diode rectification in this circuit is awesome. Just crank it up and enjoy. I prefer the 100W version myself as it seems to have more balls, especially in the mids and low end.

I was not talking about the diodes in the rectification circuit.

[toxx]

The real sound of a Jubilee (or a Slash head) really hasn't much in common with the VM. Both can do amazing Marshall tones with more gain than plexis but with kind of the same "mojo" or whatever ... but they sound very different from each other.

The recorded tones of different Marshall amps often sound very similar if you have no direct comparison. Best example is Slash himself - he never sounds very different with different amps on live recordings, although the real live sounds of these amps differ very much (in terms of Marshall tones, not like a Mesa sounds different from a Fender amp).

[lewis_grey]

I have both in their respective 100w forms. The Jubilee is a very differently voiced amp to the VM, it's smoother and has a tighter midrange and overall feel, whereas the VM has a spongier bass response due to the KT-66 power section and a lightly sharper, 'Plexi like' top end. They are both best utilized as one channel amps (i.e. ignore the dynamic range and rhythm clip functions) so once you set them up how you want, do all the work with your guitar knobs. The VM is far more versatile with it's body and detail controls, the Jubilee is very much a one trick pony although it's a hell of trick!! The Jubilee has a very unique response to your picking which is hard to describe without actually playing one, it's also noticeably louder than the VM.

I have to admit, my Jubilee has now been resigned to somewhat of a collector's piece for now, I use it occasionally for gigs but it mainly see's action when I have the house to myself and feel like causing a bit of a stir in my sleepy little village :dance The VM served for most all of the gigging duties until I recently took delivery of a slightly more manageable 35w amp built by Granger Amplification (excellent boutique builder and very reasonably priced, I highly recommend checking them out).

Back to the topic at hand, I'd personally grab the Jubilee while you can get it at a reasonable price, chances are you'll never be given the opportunity again the way prices on them have been going the last few years. It's a stellar amp and I can't imagine why you'd regret getting it, and on the off chance you do you could probably make a tidy profit on it

[Slashwannabe1]

The real sound of a Jubilee (or a Slash head) really hasn't much in common with the VM. but they sound very different from each other.

I disagree heavily.

While there are nuances that are unique to each amplifier, such as the diode clipping & EL34s on the Jubilee and the KT66s and unique pre amp design on the Vintage Modern, but if you are going after any Slash Live tone it can be had with the Vintage Modern. The qualities of the KT66s vs EL-34s alone aren't a large enough factor alone to not be adjusted around if I were to do a A/B test of a Jubilee and Vintage Modern and then ask you which one was which. Once you get that Body control around 5 & the Detail around 7 the Vintage Modern turns into a clone of the Slash Jubilee sound and hell even sometimes covers an area of the JCM 800 tone.

Would it be fair to say the Vintage Modern can cover a JCM 800 & Jubilee's full tone spectrum? of course not, but there are times where tone can intersect on different amplifiers and the Slash tone from records to live can be had on a Vintage Modern.

Here you go decide which one sounds best to you! (listen to your right channel speaker for the lead/rhythm done with said amp).

Jubilee Recording:

Vintage Modern Recording:

Modded JCM 800 with 65/50 tubes Recording:

All were done with the same Vintage 30 cab and the same Les Paul Copy Guitar with Seymore Duncan Alnico 2 Pro pick ups.

The master tracks would be he best way to tell but honestly these all sound pretty damn close! and you ain't going to have a Mesa get that close or Peavy.

[StephenRutledge]

The diode rectification in this circuit is awesome...

The clipping diodes in the pre-amp section of the circuit is what makes the circuit design of the Jub different to other Marshall amps. Bonamassa likes the pre-amp design of this Marshall. It's a bit like having a distortion/overdrive pedal already built in to the amp. Meh... I can take or leave the Jub.