Every time I hear a good Plexi vs JCM800 comparison (like yours), I think “they really made a great job at Marshall with the JCM800 to develop an amp which can give you all the good aspects of a cranked Plexi tone at reasonable volumes!”
They are all great amps and pedal platforms. I currently have a Wangs 1987, Bogner Goldfinger and Carl’s 5w jcm800. I hit all my amps with an English Muffin tube overdrive that is cloned after a jcm800 preamp.
What a great video ! 800 is a tad more compressed than plexi which sounds more organic and bit more forward. DR is really really not bad all, just more bit more modern and lean. 900 DR’s go for extremely cheap compared to the other 2, great deal due to bad reputation since people are comparing them to 800’s. Totally different voicing.
Upvoted for riff raff, communication breakdown I have a reissue fender deluxe reverb single speaker and use a friedman dirty shirley for my distortion/overdrive and a JHS prestige for extra weight/grit… I have a 2012 gibson usa les paul traditional pro I wish I had a jcm 800 tho ;)
Yeah it surprised me, bought it for very little and after reading some bad reviews online didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised when it turned up. I really like it!
excellent comparison, having the 2203 & 4100 myself im a bit biased towards them, the 4100 clean channel boosted sounded best to me the 1987x unboosted sounded very warm all are winners......
Great vid and song choices! You don't hear Riff Raff very often played in demos and comparisons. Between the 800 and 1987x...it's hard to say because both had tonal characteristics that I really, really liked. The 900 sounded choked and more hi-fi by comparison. The HX sounded tighter and brighter than the SD-1. I preferred the SD-1.
Thanks for the comments, I’d agree with pretty much everything here, although I’d almost forgotten I put the HX Stomp JCM800 model in here. It wasn’t planned, at the end of the video I thought I wonder how close it is with the real amps given I’d put everything into a load box and used IRs, figured it might be really close due to this but ultimately you can here how different it really is with the others.
@@regayers Oops...shame on me! I thought the HX was some sort of overdrive pedal like an SD-1. I know very little about processors, emulators and digital modeling devices with good reason...I only like real tube amps. I don't care how good the sample is of a particular tube amp, it's just not the same...both in tone and maybe even more so in feel. I suppose what I said about the HX in my original comment is pretty poignant! The JCM800 Model wasn't really even that close to the actual JCM800 amp. I will say that those digital modelling devices are convenient though, which I see as being the only advantage to them.
@@chadherring2790 a pretty good summary, the 87 is a little looser feeling, the 900 more modern with less solid feeling bass. Still trying to find my own 2203/4 but I currently have a JCM800 1959 Plexi which is also great!
I personally love both Teles and Les Paul’s for rock riffs, but that’s why I put 2 riffs with a Les Paul and 2 riffs with a Tele to cover the bases in the video so hopefully people can hear it from both perspectives.
4.30 in and the only one I consistently like is the 2203. The other two sound flubby and choked, especially the 1987. On that amp you’ve either got to much bottom end dialed in or too little mids. Maybe there’s too much attenuation ?? I’ve got a 70 Superbass, 71 1987 and 79 2203, all stock.
I would agree with your descriptions, the 1987x I ended up selling and replaced with a 1959 JCM800 Superlead which I’ve been far happier with. The 1987x just never sounded tight no matter where you put the settings. I haven’t tried any others to confirm if it’s just the amp Model but from what I’ve listened to online it is a bit squishier and compressed compared to its 100watt brother which is how I found it. Attenuation was identical for all amps (THD attenuator set on load for silent) however the 1987x needed less as it’s 50watt so the master was full on the 1987x but more like 3/4 on the others. (All amps had MV) I’d love to try an original 1987 to compare but I’ve never seen one locally.
Every time I hear a good Plexi vs JCM800 comparison (like yours), I think “they really made a great job at Marshall with the JCM800 to develop an amp which can give you all the good aspects of a cranked Plexi tone at reasonable volumes!”
Excellent video, thx. Helped me a great deal making my decision.
Really quality content here. And great comparison. Thanks!
They are all great amps and pedal platforms. I currently have a Wangs 1987, Bogner Goldfinger and Carl’s 5w jcm800. I hit all my amps with an English Muffin tube overdrive that is cloned after a jcm800 preamp.
What a great video ! 800 is a tad more compressed than plexi which sounds more organic and bit more forward. DR is really really not bad all, just more bit more modern and lean. 900 DR’s go for extremely cheap compared to the other 2, great deal due to bad reputation since people are comparing them to 800’s. Totally different voicing.
Very massive tone when you add SD-1 in amp. Love it.
Awesome comparison mate
Upvoted for riff raff, communication breakdown
I have a reissue fender deluxe reverb single speaker and use a friedman dirty shirley for my distortion/overdrive and a JHS prestige for extra weight/grit…
I have a 2012 gibson usa les paul traditional pro
I wish I had a jcm 800 tho ;)
jcm900 amazing. Still sounds "modern"
Yeah it surprised me, bought it for very little and after reading some bad reviews online didn’t expect much but was pleasantly surprised when it turned up. I really like it!
excellent comparison,
having the 2203 & 4100 myself im a bit biased towards them,
the 4100 clean channel boosted sounded best to me
the 1987x unboosted sounded very warm
all are winners......
Great vid and song choices! You don't hear Riff Raff very often played in demos and comparisons. Between the 800 and 1987x...it's hard to say because both had tonal characteristics that I really, really liked. The 900 sounded choked and more hi-fi by comparison. The HX sounded tighter and brighter than the SD-1. I preferred the SD-1.
Thanks for the comments, I’d agree with pretty much everything here, although I’d almost forgotten I put the HX Stomp JCM800 model in here. It wasn’t planned, at the end of the video I thought I wonder how close it is with the real amps given I’d put everything into a load box and used IRs, figured it might be really close due to this but ultimately you can here how different it really is with the others.
@@regayers Oops...shame on me! I thought the HX was some sort of overdrive pedal like an SD-1. I know very little about processors, emulators and digital modeling devices with good reason...I only like real tube amps. I don't care how good the sample is of a particular tube amp, it's just not the same...both in tone and maybe even more so in feel. I suppose what I said about the HX in my original comment is pretty poignant! The JCM800 Model wasn't really even that close to the actual JCM800 amp. I will say that those digital modelling devices are convenient though, which I see as being the only advantage to them.
Each have their suit
Fucking fantastic ❤❤❤
Awesome tones mate! What model tele is that? Looks fantastic
It’s an original 1972 Tele with Mr Glyn Cruel Mistress pickups.
800 or 87 ?
800 all day!
800, 87 needs a treble boost, 900 was far away sounding compared to either.
@@chadherring2790 a pretty good summary, the 87 is a little looser feeling, the 900 more modern with less solid feeling bass.
Still trying to find my own 2203/4 but I currently have a JCM800 1959 Plexi which is also great!
makes more sense to use a guutar with humbuckers for true classic rock tones,nobody useses tele for this music
I personally love both Teles and Les Paul’s for rock riffs, but that’s why I put 2 riffs with a Les Paul and 2 riffs with a Tele to cover the bases in the video so hopefully people can hear it from both perspectives.
I can't see myself playing a strat or telecaster... Terrible sounding guitars for distortion
4.30 in and the only one I consistently like is the 2203. The other two sound flubby and choked, especially the 1987. On that amp you’ve either got to much bottom end dialed in or too little mids. Maybe there’s too much attenuation ??
I’ve got a 70 Superbass, 71 1987 and 79 2203, all stock.
I would agree with your descriptions, the 1987x I ended up selling and replaced with a 1959 JCM800 Superlead which I’ve been far happier with. The 1987x just never sounded tight no matter where you put the settings. I haven’t tried any others to confirm if it’s just the amp
Model but from what I’ve listened to online it is a bit squishier and compressed compared to its 100watt brother which is how I found it. Attenuation was identical for all amps (THD attenuator set on load for silent) however the 1987x needed less as it’s 50watt so the master was full on the 1987x but more like 3/4 on the others. (All amps had MV) I’d love to try an original 1987 to compare but I’ve never seen one locally.
I prefer the 800