do you have any idea how many people are trying to solo over your riffs? wait. is it just me? fuck ah well. *returns to quest for mesa 400+ and Rivera stereo monsters*
Also thank you for content, we're bored but it's so much LONGER than usual. :-) Hope everyone is okay where you are at - Hello from Portland Oregon...please come visit later for food, drink, and musical campfire conversations in various settings. Thank you for seeing us. :-)
John,I have watched quite a few of your videos here and each time I must say your playing blows me away..your ability to just keep coming up with badass riffs that even after me playing over 30 years I would dream being able to play like that...also yes these older 8100 and other Valvestates from that time frame still rock !
I've had an 8100 since 1993 and I still caress it each day. The pots really do get sticky and noisy, but its only happened once and a guitar tech buddy fixed it in afternoon. I play a '77 Les Paul Custom through a Hughes and Kettner 4x12 and its bliss.
Hi! We opened for Monuments in Bahía Blanca, Argentina last year. I used a Valvestate on that show and you we're really cool and saw a part of our show and then talked for almost half and hour about this amp on the backstage. Had a blast I because never thought you would dig it lol. It was a pleasure to talk with you sir! You are more than welcome to hear our stuff. Cheers! Guitarist/singer Diego :)
A friend of mine picked up the combo version of this amp at a garage sale for $25. No matter how much I offer for it, he won’t sell it to me. The dude doesn’t even play guitar, he just uses it for a decoration.
I got one new in 1994 and it was the only amp I had up until not too long ago. It definitely got no love except for some bands that used it, most called it junk and I felt insecure because I didnt have a full tube amp. In 2020 its considered a classic and motivates me to do some service on mine (caps). Also it turns out its a similar process getting my tone on any amp.. edit: with the modern high brow djenty sound he's got going on here it sounds ass like everything else these days
@@troopin Same for me. I also got VS in the middle 90s and have been my main amp ever since (some years i wasnt playing in a band, some occasions i been using others too). I have toured with my last band for near 8 years with that. I have encountered people who made jokes about it, and others who came to tell me how much they love those amps. I have played at shows where other bands could carry their expensive big full tube amps or their crappy cheap amps. The Valvestate never dissapointed, always delivered, always a maybe defeatable but undeniable good tone and volume. I know some great musicians that use them as well. I will never be ashamed of my VS. I dont care about the people joking on them.
@@search895 Yeah, I was just sick of it thinking the grass is greener. I have a dsl1hr and that preamp gain just isn't the same.. sounds good in its own way. On my VS I run the contour all the way off and the treble up, eq in the loop to tailor the mids. If the contour is up the treble needs to be way down or off. Knowing how to dial it goes a long way
@@troopin Most of the time i been using a V8080 for punk rock and hardcore punk. Most of the time i set the eq near 12 o'clock with a very slight bass cut and very slight mid and treble boost. Contour at its middle or a little more. I experimented with some pedals pre and post preamp but it usually sounds better on its own. I prefer to use it plugged into a cab than its original factory speaker, which is a celestion g12t. But when you plug it into v30s, it is great. In most of the rehearshals and shows i set the volume at the middle or less.
I bought my 8100 new in 1994. It needs a service so it's temporarily retired, but I friggin love it. You used the contour knob more in this video than I have in 26 years 😆 mostly maxed out for thrash! Back it off slightly for lead.
There was an 8100 that came on the used market in my area. This video is the reason why I bought it. So far this thing is exactly what I’m looking for. I noticed that the OD2 Channel is pretty noisy with my passive pick ups. I added an ISP Decimator noise gate in the FX loop and the amp is super quiet when the guitar is not being played. It is important to note that the amp is very quiet when I plugged in the Fishman Fluence equipped guitar without using the noise gate pedal. Now I need to get some Celestion Vintage 30 in my cab to get to get that nice percussive tone. Thanks again for making this video!
Damn Mr Browne, That brought back a lot of memories! I bought the 8100 used from a buddy back in the day. Played a lot of shows with it never let me down. Wish I still had it. Great playing as always!!!
Amp sounds nice and thick but your riffs are also making that amp sound incredible. You're playing accentuates the amp in a very positive way. Im really enjoying hearing you play.
I picked up this amp from a local guy who didn’t know what he had… I threw in a fresh 12ax7 and built a custom 4 ohm speaker cab for it. With a dyna drive pedal in front of it, it is one of the best sounding amps i’ve ever played. The full-chord clarity you can get at high gain settings is unparalleled! 🤘
It's crazy that it was four years ago. I remember the first time I saw it. I was absolutely amazed by this amp and bought it like a month later. I still have it, and it’s my favorite of all. Thank you for making this video
I have 3 of these in the studio. An 8080 1x12 Combo, An 8100 and also the later model VS100 which is still very killer boosted. They stay nice and tight. I have the power section of the VS100 bypassed and am strictly using it as a preamp into a Fryette PS-100. Fucking killer sounding rig! Marshall did it right with these amps and they are sleepers for sure!
i have one since probably late 90s, ill tell you why it gets a bad rep, the opamps inside sometimes can happen to just overheat and get damaged and then the sound can lack attack and gets mudy when pushed too far, same can happen to the preamp tube. I moded mine a bit to avoid those issues
@@FFFRoS Sure, i removed and replaced every single opamp and added sockets, so no unsoldering needed if i need to do it again. I also replaced a few capacitors and a few resistors because a few can get really hot and sometimes can get roasted over time. And ofc a brand new 12AX7 and a good cleaning. Dont forget to check every front connections and volumes too.
@@palpatinerex2753 I assume you uprated those resistors, too, so that they won't get hot in the first place? Just going up from 1/4w to 1/2w/1/2w to 1watt etc would probably do it. Some better quality resistors that are much more temperature stable with finer tolerances would probably make a difference, too, and may improve things. It's not like Marshall tends to use the best quality components in these things
@@nicwilson89 For some they are now cement resistors yeh to ease with the temperature.. In fact its not their ratting but more about their bad placement for some of them, some get hot and they can roast some capacitors too close to them. I mean even the lamp can roast from that. Great amp, not so wise guts design
Marshall Lead 12 80's run, Valvestate 100, GK250 ML/RL and Randall RG80/100, all the sounds of the 80's. Throw in the Peavey XXL which came a bit later and you have a SS batch of mayhem.
After trying so many amps and amp sims it was so funny and I was laughing when I played through one and I got the clarity I wanted. Every note is clear and punchy. I got one immediately. I couldn't believe it, I mean this amp is so versatile. Probably because it has been used in the studio for so many albums by many artists. I was kinda thinking I was getting BFMV tones while they use 6505s.
I bought an 8100 in 1994 for $800.00 (US Dollars) and though the pots have needed occasional cleaning, everything still works. They were expensive back then but I bought it in Seattle during the Grunge era and anything guitar related in Seattle was on a high markup.
Hi John! Tommy Victor from PRONG played this head for the Cleansing album, what a tone he had! I have the VS100 head, which is similar? HORNS UP! \,,/!
Noice work! I've two different version of these heads from the early 90's. They punch & scream.... sooo underrated. FYI: Tommy Victor used one of these on PRONG's epic 'CLEANSING' Album.
I have a Marshall Vaulestate 8080 thats my father found on the trash of someones house brought to me thinking ill found it handt and when I plug my guitar to it its was amazing how good the clean and drive channel sounded I still have till this day ive had for 4 year and still love it, even thought I had a Boss GT 10 at that time I will plug my GT 10 as an effect into the Marshall and I got some really good tone, now that I have a helix lt, ill used once and a blue moon but deff keeping that amp for a long time
Bought a 8100 2 years ago ago at a flea market for even cheaper (25 Euro) ... most of the pots were stuck (needed some replacements).... but otherwise it worked quite fine. Just a Boost in front of the OD-2 ... perfect for old school Death Metal ,raw Grindcore & Noiserock. :-)
I bought my Marshall Valvestate 8080 (80W Combo version) new in 1993. I've learned on it, played shows large and small with it, traveled with it, moved across the country with it... other than the noisy pots (can't really be cleaned - should be replaced), it still destroys so much of the other amps I've tried. I'm a super high gain player and i could crank the gain up and play it on volume level 1 and still have the same scorching high-gain tone while practicing in my bedroom in my parents' apartment 25 years ago. You can, at the same time, crank it all the way up without any degradation (unless on clean). I learned not really understanding why everyone around me was buying a ton of pedals, racks, effects... because I could get the gain and tone that I wanted right out of the box with this amp. Love it. Will never sell it. None other like it. PS: Turn the Contour all the way up!
I moved to New York and 90 and got a gig with a singer who had a geofence deal.We just wrote for a few months, then ended up going to a rehearsal studio . I felt a lot of pressure to be good since I have never played in a room with this singer. I’m a good player but not great. I depend on a good sound. We walked in the room and the only thing they had was one of these amps, I was very worried, solid state. The thing rocked like hell I was so relieved.
Love the video! I've got that head as well, got it along with a 1960 4x12 cab. Was almost exclusively into metal back then but ending up using it for my cover band gigs for almost 8 years along with different humbucker guitars and an MXR M77 - it never let me down and even though I'm more into single coils, cleaner sounds these days, I'll never be parting from it. Love your playing! cheers from Austria
these were great. i actually had 2 of them back in the day. even though they were solid state amps, they had no problem being able to keep up with the drums.
This was my very first amp. I ran it into a full stack driven by a tube screamer and with a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the loop. What came out was pure doom. It was so much doom I'd catch other guitar players that came to my shows looking at my settings trying to figure out how so much pure doom could come out of a single head.
I’ve used a sonic max stomp for years ,helps all of my crap amps sound better . Have a 5150 , and it kills even more with that pedal in it . The stomp in this 8100 I’ve had hooked up for about a year and I love it sooo much !
I love the little Papa Roach nod at 8:25! The amp sounds great man. Older SS style amps always had a bit more depth I think. It's something that's lacking from a lot of modern ones.
A buddy had a friend on tour leave one of these at his house a few years ago and had no use for it. Say it in his attic for another couple years till he threw it away and I took it. Didn’t even know how to play at the time and wasn’t into Death. Years later this video just reminded me it’s still sitting in my basement and now I can pull it out and put it to use.
Great playing. Picked up an 8080 combo for the princely sum of zero pounds recently. Guy gave it away as all the pots need replacing and it has a bit of hum and some pops. Got it to use as a free cab but OD2 channel is actually great! £20 of pots and caps should see it as good as new
I have one of these and I absolutely love it. Add a TubeScreamer and it goes ballistic! One criticism though - Why the hell did Marshall decide that it was a good idea to have a footswitch for the reverb, but not between the OD1/OD2 gain stages?
Blood Brothers just reminded me of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, didn't see that one coming! Congrats on the new studio setup, this is a killer demo to start off with there.
Just stumbled on this by accident, killer playing man! I really dig that guitar too!!! I have a ton of different amps in my studio and but for my live rig, its always been Marshall. My first one I think was a Mosfet 100. I just went Marshall at that point. The biggest benefit is you can turn all the knobs to 12 o'clock in a rush and they always sound really solid. Nothing else cuts through the mix like my Marshall's. I'm currently using 2 30th Anniversary heads, yes the blue ones with EL34s, one sounds killer and the other really good but is mainly in a case as a back up. Keep rocking and look forward to checking out more of your vids!!!
Yes this amp is brutal I have this in to a 4×12 plus I have the valve state 60 watt combo 2x12 with stereo chorus upgrade the tubes to 70s 12ax7 mullards I feel the the mullards work best in marshalls have them in my plexi also
Years ago I bought a VS100RH head and two matching 4x12 straight front cabs brand new for $800.00 and it was a beast. I played through it for a few years before moving on to a 5150 II head through the same cabs. Then I traded the Marshall stack outright for a new Boogie oversized Recto 4x12 cab. Which cost more than I gave for the full Marshall stack. So I actually turned a profit on the Marshall VS stack. I really liked that VS stack. It sounded very good and was always 100% reliable.
Oh boy, me and the other guitarist in our band both started with this exact head...sounded pretty good and superlight to carry around. We switched to tubes after about a year......memories 🥰
Been after one of these for so long! I applied for a job at a cash converters and in my cover letter I told them I'd maintain and value their music gear properly because they were losing mad money there and never heard back from them. I bought an LTD Viper 100FM with an EMG 89 in the bridge for £90!!! Love the cheeky PR riff in there too ;)
I had a Bi-Chorus head back in the 90s for a much different application. I used it, combined with a HyperFuzz pedal, to chase that grinding fuzz tone of the Smashing Pumpkins from Siamese Dream. Still look around for another every once in a while for nostalgia purposes mostly, but it did a decent job of jumping between that tone and a pristine clean tone. Lead tones were a bit more of a challenge...
being solid state there's no problem in using it without a cab, actually that's how i use mine for recording :) i made sure to ask marshall's customer service on that beforehands
@@bobbytabernacle yup, just re-listened to the bit, on the fly I actually misunderstood the statement as "probably damaged because of that". Although just wanted to take the chance for a PSA, there is indeed no issue if one wants to use the head for direct recording :)
Got mine prob 10 yrs ago for $100 (usd)...blew away the MG I had at the time of course. Used for 100 + gigs, was in a car crash heading to a gig (reverb knob/pot busted off) then it started "bacon sizzling" lol...Had my amp guy check it out, replaced the tube socket- had no idea this minor piece was a culprit for awhile. Working perfectly now, may sell...ahhh maybe not lol.
I've had a Marshall Valvestate VS100R 1x12 combo since the late 90's, and it's still a phenomenal sounding amp. About 4 years ago, I put a WGS Veteran 30 speaker in it, and it really came alive! Last year, I picked up a 2000 Valvestate VS100R Head to run through my Blackstar Pro 412a cab, and it's got a few issues (pops & cracks) that need addressing, but it sounds amazing! I heard rumor, the guy from Marshall who designed the circuit for the Valvestate amps, left to help start Blackstar. Don't know if it's true, just what I heard... I know the circuit is different for the 8100 and the VS100, and that the 8100 doesn't run the tube in the overdrive channels, it's all solid-state (and you can hear a difference if you know what to listen for). And the VS100 runs ALL 3 channels through the 12AX7 tube preamp, and it actually sounds like a tube Marshall in all the channels with real sag and depth (because the preamp is tube). So, if anyone is wanting one, and wanting true tube sound from a hybrid amp, the VS100R is what you're looking for. 👍🏻 I think my next video will be running one of my Les Pauls through my VS100RH for demonstration of the sounds. Rock on guys! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Funny. I got my valvestate 8100, when I was 15 ( back in 2005) at a garage sale for 5 bucks. Yeah, 5 bucks. They said it was broken too. Turns out it worked perfectly. Dad got a Marshall 4x12 straight cab with 4 greenbacks. I sure miss that amp like none other.
I played one of these in the 90s.. probably could get one for $200 or less.. I wish I still had it. I think it sounds frikkin great for a solidstate amp!!
Have the 8100 and the 8080 combo...LOVE them. Also have, and like two of the 3203 Artist heads...just killer! I like all the odd ball (hated) Marshall amps. 4500 Dual Reverbs and the 2205 split channel JCM 800 are among my favs. Along with the 3210 Mosfet heads. Great home playing amps.
So good. I got the Master Effects Martyr which is supposed to be a really good replication of the 8100. Coming from Canada though it won't be here for another few weeks.
I got mine the week it was rolled out and still have it. It's amazing. It probably needs a new tube or valve or whatever that key part is that makes it so metal, as it's fizzled off a pinch, but still sounds so amazing compared to anything else I've ever tried. Here's a trick for noisy pots; and please refrain from the "oh, no, you didn't!": WD-40. After using the proper cleaning stuff on the pots they still were sticky and noisy, so I did it on a whim, and they react like new again for a while. Just take care where you apply it. Your results may vary. WD40 is not my first choice and is not made for this stuff, but it worked for me.
There's a proper cleaner for pots: Contact cleaner WD-40 (the company) also makes a version. PRF is another common one. And yeah, if you say WD-40, it's a but funny as WD-40 is a company that makes probably 15 different types of lubricants, oils and cleaners. But for some reason, WD-40 has become synonymous with their water displacer product :)
@@VortechBand WD-40 Multi Use Product, is how it appears on its can. No other description. I do have other WD-40 branded products like rust inhibitor, etc. But this is the one everyone simply calls WD-40.
I love the contour knob! Makes the amp so freaking flexible. I so regret selling this thing.
4 года назад
Hey right after you did that video with Ola about the Stomp I went right out and bought it. It is awesome. There is so much potential for great tones on that box it's crazy. Believe it or not one of the line6 2204 mod presets is my favorite.
I had the 8080 combo with the exact same controls. Always loved the sound of it, especially the Contour pot was able to shape very different sounds. The clean channel was alright when the reverb was engaged ;) My first "proper" amp. The 80W combo was definitely loud enough to play a gig with a hard-hitting (but unmic'd) drummer. Always had the noisy pot issue as well. Sadly the amp broke after 15 years.
Thanks everyone for listening! More content from 42 gear street coming up...
do you have any idea how many people are trying to solo over your riffs?
wait.
is it just me?
fuck
ah well.
*returns to quest for mesa 400+ and Rivera stereo monsters*
Also thank you for content, we're bored but it's so much LONGER than usual. :-)
Hope everyone is okay where you are at - Hello from Portland Oregon...please come visit later for food, drink, and musical campfire conversations in various settings.
Thank you for seeing us. :-)
John,I have watched quite a few of your videos here and each time I must say your playing blows me away..your ability to just keep coming up with badass riffs that even after me playing over 30 years I would dream being able to play like that...also yes these older 8100 and other Valvestates from that time frame still rock !
Just bought one today after looking for years.
John is the only gear RUclipsr where I watch even if I'm not interested in the gear...just because I love his playing.
same here
Same man😂
I watch him and Rabea for the same reason.
Same here
He is the best
Same here.
I've had an 8100 since 1993 and I still caress it each day. The pots really do get sticky and noisy, but its only happened once and a guitar tech buddy fixed it in afternoon. I play a '77 Les Paul Custom through a Hughes and Kettner 4x12 and its bliss.
You buy it for the Death. Melted my heart lol
Marshall mode four is an amazing sleeper amp. Amp 1 on it is like a more refined 8100. Boosted it is unbelievable.
I heard the cabs are good too.
Hi! We opened for Monuments in Bahía Blanca, Argentina last year. I used a Valvestate on that show and you we're really cool and saw a part of our show and then talked for almost half and hour about this amp on the backstage. Had a blast I because never thought you would dig it lol. It was a pleasure to talk with you sir! You are more than welcome to hear our stuff. Cheers! Guitarist/singer Diego :)
I was there too
His obviously not impressed with yur shit?🤣🤣😂
This guy looks like “Pre” Malone
You sound like a guy trying to get into a reddit compilation
@@dcdanger7597 you seem to know a lot about reddit. lame.
😂🤣
KEKW
A friend of mine picked up the combo version of this amp at a garage sale for $25. No matter how much I offer for it, he won’t sell it to me. The dude doesn’t even play guitar, he just uses it for a decoration.
Tell him you buy the interior. Take the guts and put empty pot knobs on it. Or a front plate instead the amp.
I got one new in 1994 and it was the only amp I had up until not too long ago. It definitely got no love except for some bands that used it, most called it junk and I felt insecure because I didnt have a full tube amp. In 2020 its considered a classic and motivates me to do some service on mine (caps). Also it turns out its a similar process getting my tone on any amp.. edit: with the modern high brow djenty sound he's got going on here it sounds ass like everything else these days
@@troopin Same for me. I also got VS in the middle 90s and have been my main amp ever since (some years i wasnt playing in a band, some occasions i been using others too). I have toured with my last band for near 8 years with that. I have encountered people who made jokes about it, and others who came to tell me how much they love those amps. I have played at shows where other bands could carry their expensive big full tube amps or their crappy cheap amps. The Valvestate never dissapointed, always delivered, always a maybe defeatable but undeniable good tone and volume. I know some great musicians that use them as well. I will never be ashamed of my VS. I dont care about the people joking on them.
@@search895 Yeah, I was just sick of it thinking the grass is greener. I have a dsl1hr and that preamp gain just isn't the same.. sounds good in its own way. On my VS I run the contour all the way off and the treble up, eq in the loop to tailor the mids. If the contour is up the treble needs to be way down or off. Knowing how to dial it goes a long way
@@troopin Most of the time i been using a V8080 for punk rock and hardcore punk. Most of the time i set the eq near 12 o'clock with a very slight bass cut and very slight mid and treble boost. Contour at its middle or a little more. I experimented with some pedals pre and post preamp but it usually sounds better on its own. I prefer to use it plugged into a cab than its original factory speaker, which is a celestion g12t. But when you plug it into v30s, it is great. In most of the rehearshals and shows i set the volume at the middle or less.
I bought my 8100 new in 1994. It needs a service so it's temporarily retired, but I friggin love it. You used the contour knob more in this video than I have in 26 years 😆 mostly maxed out for thrash! Back it off slightly for lead.
There was an 8100 that came on the used market in my area. This video is the reason why I bought it. So far this thing is exactly what I’m looking for. I noticed that the OD2 Channel is pretty noisy with my passive pick ups. I added an ISP Decimator noise gate in the FX loop and the amp is super quiet when the guitar is not being played. It is important to note that the amp is very quiet when I plugged in the Fishman Fluence equipped guitar without using the noise gate pedal. Now I need to get some Celestion Vintage 30 in my cab to get to get that nice percussive tone. Thanks again for making this video!
It made me laugh very hard when you suddenly started playing the Papa Roach riff out of nowhere at 8:25
let the man live damn
Suchhh a sick riff
Love me some papa roach
Damn Mr Browne,
That brought back a lot of memories! I bought the 8100 used from a buddy back in the day. Played a lot of shows with it never let me down. Wish I still had it.
Great playing as always!!!
Amp sounds nice and thick but your riffs are also making that amp sound incredible. You're playing accentuates the amp in a very positive way. Im really enjoying hearing you play.
Oh my word this gave me flashbacks to every rehearsal room in london from like 10-12 year ago, so much nostalgia from that tone
I had an 8100 20 years ago and loved it. It blew up on the road and I have been wanting another one ever since. Good to see you backing this gem!
I picked up this amp from a local guy who didn’t know what he had… I threw in a fresh 12ax7 and built a custom 4 ohm speaker cab for it. With a dyna drive pedal in front of it, it is one of the best sounding amps i’ve ever played. The full-chord clarity you can get at high gain settings is unparalleled! 🤘
It's crazy that it was four years ago. I remember the first time I saw it. I was absolutely amazed by this amp and bought it like a month later. I still have it, and it’s my favorite of all. Thank you for making this video
I have 3 of these in the studio. An 8080 1x12 Combo, An 8100 and also the later model VS100 which is still very killer boosted. They stay nice and tight. I have the power section of the VS100 bypassed and am strictly using it as a preamp into a Fryette PS-100. Fucking killer sounding rig! Marshall did it right with these amps and they are sleepers for sure!
i have one since probably late 90s, ill tell you why it gets a bad rep, the opamps inside sometimes can happen to just overheat and get damaged and then the sound can lack attack and gets mudy when pushed too far, same can happen to the preamp tube. I moded mine a bit to avoid those issues
Hello bröther, could you please elaborate on this?
Yes, how did you modify it to prevent such issues?
@@FFFRoS Sure, i removed and replaced every single opamp and added sockets, so no unsoldering needed if i need to do it again. I also replaced a few capacitors and a few resistors because a few can get really hot and sometimes can get roasted over time. And ofc a brand new 12AX7 and a good cleaning. Dont forget to check every front connections and volumes too.
@@palpatinerex2753 I assume you uprated those resistors, too, so that they won't get hot in the first place? Just going up from 1/4w to 1/2w/1/2w to 1watt etc would probably do it. Some better quality resistors that are much more temperature stable with finer tolerances would probably make a difference, too, and may improve things. It's not like Marshall tends to use the best quality components in these things
@@nicwilson89 For some they are now cement resistors yeh to ease with the temperature.. In fact its not their ratting but more about their bad placement for some of them, some get hot and they can roast some capacitors too close to them. I mean even the lamp can roast from that. Great amp, not so wise guts design
Marshall Lead 12 80's run, Valvestate 100, GK250 ML/RL and Randall RG80/100, all the sounds of the 80's. Throw in the Peavey XXL which came a bit later and you have a SS batch of mayhem.
After trying so many amps and amp sims it was so funny and I was laughing when I played through one and I got the clarity I wanted. Every note is clear and punchy. I got one immediately. I couldn't believe it, I mean this amp is so versatile. Probably because it has been used in the studio for so many albums by many artists. I was kinda thinking I was getting BFMV tones while they use 6505s.
I've always wanted to try one of these. Sounds great!!!
I bought an 8100 in 1994 for $800.00 (US Dollars) and though the pots have needed occasional cleaning, everything still works. They were expensive back then but I bought it in Seattle during the Grunge era and anything guitar related in Seattle was on a high markup.
Great tone and personality for modern metal! Marshall needs to release a new edition of these amazing amps
a company took the exact 8100 circuit anc put it in apedal ;
I actually used a Valvestate on a djent project aswell! The results were incredible :)
John this is absolutely one of the best sounding amps you've reviewed ultimately. Its so tight and full at the same time.
Hi John! Tommy Victor from PRONG played this head for the Cleansing album, what a tone he had! I have the VS100 head, which is similar? HORNS UP! \,,/!
This is what we used in my old band Gates of Ishtar in the nineties! Good old times!
I've got one of these hooked to a 2x12 cabinet. Sounds great with boost pedal! Noisy pots as well.
Your use of 9th chords is absolutely beautiful 🔥🔥
I'm always amazed when I watch you play. Beautiful chords and melodies and so tight!
Noice work! I've two different version of these heads from the early 90's. They punch & scream.... sooo underrated.
FYI: Tommy Victor used one of these on PRONG's epic 'CLEANSING' Album.
for a true tube `push` i go from valvestate line out into effects loop or 2nd input of peavey valveking all tube amp.
Literally the first time i've not heard the valvestate sound like an underwater can of bees
The problem of Valvestate is the speaker, with good speaker it sounds killer (just like any high end amp)
Legendary amp! One of the best solid state(/hybrid) amps ever made.
The magic here is in the cab. Not dissing the Valvestate as I love 'em, but the speaker will make ALL the difference.
Exactly!!
Yes. But as we all know Schuldiner used the stock Valvestate cab (which was no top class cab in any way).
Your playing is very unique in a world of sound the same guitarists....
Dude just plays from an angle that I've never seen!! Keep killing it John! I need "Monuments in the Morning" like I need my coffee!
You need to do a cover of Death “Flattening of Emotions” with that Valvestate head! 🤘🏾
Dude could downpick the intro no problem lol
I have a Marshall Vaulestate 8080 thats my father found on the trash of someones house brought to me thinking ill found it handt and when I plug my guitar to it its was amazing how good the clean and drive channel sounded I still have till this day ive had for 4 year and still love it, even thought I had a Boss GT 10 at that time I will plug my GT 10 as an effect into the Marshall and I got some really good tone, now that I have a helix lt, ill used once and a blue moon but deff keeping that amp for a long time
A blast from the past! This amp has been the first amplifier I bought when I got my first job.
It still sounds pretty good.
Good job John!
Bought a 8100 2 years ago ago at a flea market for even cheaper (25 Euro) ... most of the pots were stuck (needed some replacements).... but otherwise it worked quite fine.
Just a Boost in front of the OD-2 ... perfect for old school Death Metal ,raw Grindcore & Noiserock. :-)
It actually sounds very good!
I bought my Marshall Valvestate 8080 (80W Combo version) new in 1993. I've learned on it, played shows large and small with it, traveled with it, moved across the country with it... other than the noisy pots (can't really be cleaned - should be replaced), it still destroys so much of the other amps I've tried. I'm a super high gain player and i could crank the gain up and play it on volume level 1 and still have the same scorching high-gain tone while practicing in my bedroom in my parents' apartment 25 years ago. You can, at the same time, crank it all the way up without any degradation (unless on clean). I learned not really understanding why everyone around me was buying a ton of pedals, racks, effects... because I could get the gain and tone that I wanted right out of the box with this amp.
Love it. Will never sell it. None other like it.
PS: Turn the Contour all the way up!
You can absolutely clean those pots... I have two of them!
"it's so fucking loud, I'd gonna turn it up a tiny bit more" hahahaha
I got an 8100 on the way and already got an 8200 bichorus. Great amps!!!
I’ve still got a valvestate 8080 combo, currently at my Dads. I need to go and dig that thing out and have a new play through it. Always loved it.
I moved to New York and 90 and got a gig with a singer who had a geofence deal.We just wrote for a few months, then ended up going to a rehearsal studio . I felt a lot of pressure to be good since I have never played in a room with this singer. I’m a good player but not great. I depend on a good sound. We walked in the room and the only thing they had was one of these amps, I was very worried, solid state. The thing rocked like hell I was so relieved.
Love the video! I've got that head as well, got it along with a 1960 4x12 cab. Was almost exclusively into metal back then but ending up using it for my cover band gigs for almost 8 years along with different humbucker guitars and an MXR M77 - it never let me down and even though I'm more into single coils, cleaner sounds these days, I'll never be parting from it. Love your playing! cheers from Austria
these were great. i actually had 2 of them back in the day. even though they were solid state amps, they had no problem being able to keep up with the drums.
ahhh man... I had one of those way back when. With the right cab, for the right music - these things slay. Hope you're good. G
This was my very first amp. I ran it into a full stack driven by a tube screamer and with a BBE Sonic Maximizer in the loop. What came out was pure doom. It was so much doom I'd catch other guitar players that came to my shows looking at my settings trying to figure out how so much pure doom could come out of a single head.
I’ve used a sonic max stomp for years ,helps all of my crap amps sound better .
Have a 5150 , and it kills even more with that pedal in it .
The stomp in this 8100 I’ve had hooked up for about a year and I love it sooo much !
Not sure if it was your right hand, the tone, the hardware but... Everything Sounded amazing !!
I love the little Papa Roach nod at 8:25!
The amp sounds great man. Older SS style amps always had a bit more depth I think. It's something that's lacking from a lot of modern ones.
A buddy had a friend on tour leave one of these at his house a few years ago and had no use for it. Say it in his attic for another couple years till he threw it away and I took it. Didn’t even know how to play at the time and wasn’t into Death. Years later this video just reminded me it’s still sitting in my basement and now I can pull it out and put it to use.
Still have mine, love it. It's insane how it can sound with a decent overdrive.
Seeing you riff around at 3:30 I find myself noticing bits from your excercises on Riffhard!
Great playing. Picked up an 8080 combo for the princely sum of zero pounds recently. Guy gave it away as all the pots need replacing and it has a bit of hum and some pops. Got it to use as a free cab but OD2 channel is actually great! £20 of pots and caps should see it as good as new
Sold on getting one now thank you sir your clarity is amazing
I have one of these and I absolutely love it.
Add a TubeScreamer and it goes ballistic!
One criticism though - Why the hell did Marshall decide that it was a good idea to have a footswitch for the reverb, but not between the OD1/OD2 gain stages?
I’ve been waiting for this one! They’re not just great “for a solid state amp” they’re great full stop! And it didn’t disappoint here either!
Blood Brothers just reminded me of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, didn't see that one coming! Congrats on the new studio setup, this is a killer demo to start off with there.
Just stumbled on this by accident, killer playing man! I really dig that guitar too!!! I have a ton of different amps in my studio and but for my live rig, its always been Marshall. My first one I think was a Mosfet 100. I just went Marshall at that point. The biggest benefit is you can turn all the knobs to 12 o'clock in a rush and they always sound really solid. Nothing else cuts through the mix like my Marshall's. I'm currently using 2 30th Anniversary heads, yes the blue ones with EL34s, one sounds killer and the other really good but is mainly in a case as a back up. Keep rocking and look forward to checking out more of your vids!!!
These have become classics, awesome.
4:00 saving for later that riff is sick
Wow that head sounds amazing... i remembered when Death was using these and everyone wanted one... and now i want one again...
Yes this amp is brutal I have this in to a 4×12 plus I have the valve state 60 watt combo 2x12 with stereo chorus upgrade the tubes to 70s 12ax7 mullards I feel the the mullards work best in marshalls have them in my plexi also
you have such a cool style of playing, awesome demo. Thanks for sharing!
Years ago I bought a VS100RH head and two matching 4x12 straight front cabs brand new for $800.00 and it was a beast. I played through it for a few years before moving on to a 5150 II head through the same cabs. Then I traded the Marshall stack outright for a new Boogie oversized Recto 4x12 cab. Which cost more than I gave for the full Marshall stack. So I actually turned a profit on the Marshall VS stack.
I really liked that VS stack. It sounded very good and was always 100% reliable.
Oh boy, me and the other guitarist in our band both started with this exact head...sounded pretty good and superlight to carry around. We switched to tubes after about a year......memories 🥰
Such great playing!
This sound way better than I thought it would and I love the Papa Roach riff you threw in there.
@8:25 gotta love that he plays blood brothers by papa roach!!!
I met him in South Africa, great guy and a very nice personality, love Monuments!
Been after one of these for so long! I applied for a job at a cash converters and in my cover letter I told them I'd maintain and value their music gear properly because they were losing mad money there and never heard back from them. I bought an LTD Viper 100FM with an EMG 89 in the bridge for £90!!! Love the cheeky PR riff in there too ;)
Man. U have a very distinct style to your playing. Its killer. Thanks
I had a Bi-Chorus head back in the 90s for a much different application. I used it, combined with a HyperFuzz pedal, to chase that grinding fuzz tone of the Smashing Pumpkins from Siamese Dream. Still look around for another every once in a while for nostalgia purposes mostly, but it did a decent job of jumping between that tone and a pristine clean tone. Lead tones were a bit more of a challenge...
being solid state there's no problem in using it without a cab, actually that's how i use mine for recording :) i made sure to ask marshall's customer service on that beforehands
rizzo92 yea but it’s still not gonna make any sound...pretty sure that’s what he was referring to
@@bobbytabernacle yup, just re-listened to the bit, on the fly I actually misunderstood the statement as "probably damaged because of that". Although just wanted to take the chance for a PSA, there is indeed no issue if one wants to use the head for direct recording :)
rizzo92 yea that’s what I figured you heard. Still good to know 👍🏻
I hope you are using a cab simulator in your daw.
@@Bloodlust2929 Of course I'm not, did you think I knew what I was doing? Keep the hope strong!
Wicked tones and playing..wish I had a guitarist like you
Grew up playing my uncle's Valvestate 3-Channel Combo amp. Awesome n
Marshall is one of my top favorite amps,sounds really good! You got a new subscriber,nice job man
🤘
Got mine prob 10 yrs ago for $100 (usd)...blew away the MG I had at the time of course. Used for 100 + gigs, was in a car crash heading to a gig (reverb knob/pot busted off) then it started "bacon sizzling" lol...Had my amp guy check it out, replaced the tube socket- had no idea this minor piece was a culprit for awhile. Working perfectly now, may sell...ahhh maybe not lol.
I've had a Marshall Valvestate VS100R 1x12 combo since the late 90's, and it's still a phenomenal sounding amp. About 4 years ago, I put a WGS Veteran 30 speaker in it, and it really came alive! Last year, I picked up a 2000 Valvestate VS100R Head to run through my Blackstar Pro 412a cab, and it's got a few issues (pops & cracks) that need addressing, but it sounds amazing! I heard rumor, the guy from Marshall who designed the circuit for the Valvestate amps, left to help start Blackstar. Don't know if it's true, just what I heard...
I know the circuit is different for the 8100 and the VS100, and that the 8100 doesn't run the tube in the overdrive channels, it's all solid-state (and you can hear a difference if you know what to listen for). And the VS100 runs ALL 3 channels through the 12AX7 tube preamp, and it actually sounds like a tube Marshall in all the channels with real sag and depth (because the preamp is tube). So, if anyone is wanting one, and wanting true tube sound from a hybrid amp, the VS100R is what you're looking for. 👍🏻
I think my next video will be running one of my Les Pauls through my VS100RH for demonstration of the sounds.
Rock on guys! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
The preamp tube on the 8100 is on the boost channel, not the clean channel.
@@MagnusFredriksson1 My bad, said it backwards...
@@TroyPosey No problem 😃
Funny. I got my valvestate 8100, when I was 15 ( back in 2005) at a garage sale for 5 bucks. Yeah, 5 bucks. They said it was broken too. Turns out it worked perfectly. Dad got a Marshall 4x12 straight cab with 4 greenbacks. I sure miss that amp like none other.
Have you ever tried the Ampeg VH140c, or the Ampeg SS series.. Truly some of the best solid state high gain amps.
I played one of these in the 90s.. probably could get one for $200 or less.. I wish I still had it. I think it sounds frikkin great for a solidstate amp!!
Great video! I still remember this one local band back it 2006. They’ve had one guitar player and he played two of these. That was so amazing 🤘💪
Have the 8100 and the 8080 combo...LOVE them.
Also have, and like two of the 3203 Artist heads...just killer!
I like all the odd ball (hated) Marshall amps.
4500 Dual Reverbs and the 2205 split channel JCM 800 are among my favs.
Along with the 3210 Mosfet heads. Great home playing amps.
I had a 2x12 combo of this and my other guitar player did too. So awesome and loud
So good. I got the Master Effects Martyr which is supposed to be a really good replication of the 8100. Coming from Canada though it won't be here for another few weeks.
you have amazing playing, and i think the quick response time of tha amp matches your blistering chops.
Great amp! Just bought 8100 head with pack of coffee. Not bad! I need to fix few issues that has, nothing major thought. Cant wait to shred with it!
Great John. Now, I have yet ANOTHER amp to hunt down for my studio..... ;)
I got mine the week it was rolled out and still have it. It's amazing. It probably needs a new tube or valve or whatever that key part is that makes it so metal, as it's fizzled off a pinch, but still sounds so amazing compared to anything else I've ever tried.
Here's a trick for noisy pots; and please refrain from the "oh, no, you didn't!": WD-40. After using the proper cleaning stuff on the pots they still were sticky and noisy, so I did it on a whim, and they react like new again for a while. Just take care where you apply it. Your results may vary. WD40 is not my first choice and is not made for this stuff, but it worked for me.
There's a proper cleaner for pots: Contact cleaner WD-40 (the company) also makes a version. PRF is another common one.
And yeah, if you say WD-40, it's a but funny as WD-40 is a company that makes probably 15 different types of lubricants, oils and cleaners. But for some reason, WD-40 has become synonymous with their water displacer product :)
@@VortechBand WD-40 Multi Use Product, is how it appears on its can. No other description. I do have other WD-40 branded products like rust inhibitor, etc. But this is the one everyone simply calls WD-40.
Amazing amp! I have one of these and I love it!!! Great playing, greetings from Chile!!!
I love the contour knob! Makes the amp so freaking flexible. I so regret selling this thing.
Hey right after you did that video with Ola about the Stomp I went right out and bought it. It is awesome. There is so much potential for great tones on that box it's crazy. Believe it or not one of the line6 2204 mod presets is my favorite.
I had the 8080 combo with the exact same controls. Always loved the sound of it, especially the Contour pot was able to shape very different sounds. The clean channel was alright when the reverb was engaged ;) My first "proper" amp. The 80W combo was definitely loud enough to play a gig with a hard-hitting (but unmic'd) drummer. Always had the noisy pot issue as well. Sadly the amp broke after 15 years.
I had mine new since Highschool 1998!
These are great amps. With a couple pedals I could gig one and get some sick tight tones.