Kind of a shorter/quicker one this time. I forgot to shoot the B-roll of the guitar but I thought it showcased the unique JE-1500 EQ so here it is!
New Amp: Mesa Triple Crown TC-50 Head Gold Tolex
I’ve been occasionally looking for good deals on Mesa amps to add to my collection lately, and after acquiring a Mark V (and being thrilled by it) I started to look at some of other models in the range. I’m covered on Rectifiers, but I have little to no experience with the Electradyne, Royal Atlantic, and Triple Crown models. From what I understand, these share a similar architecture and design ideology.
After spotting a TC-50 on Guitar Center’s used listings for a very good price - and an interesting color I couldn’t quite place (it looked creme to me in the pictures), I snagged it.
Instead of creme or tan like I expected, it’s GOLD tolex! Combined with the carbon fiber front (both top and bottom) and gold piping, it’s quite the striking look. I’m pleased that it’s a bit of a darker gold, so its not too flashy or bright like “gold tolex” would lead you to believe.
I’ve already spent some time dialing it in and my first impressions are good, but not mind blowing. As with any amp, I think it’s important to spend some time with it, try different speakers and settings, as well as guitars, so anything I say below could change as I get more time with it. The spring reverb is fantastic though - no complaints there.
The drive channels sound a bit like a Mark series amp, especially with the “tight” switch turned on, but the EQ structure is different - more like dialing a Marshall amp. Set to the “normal” setting, it gets a little flubbier in the bass but also fuller - really akin to a rectifier style amp. The “tight” switch does not only affect the bass though, it adds some hair and midrange grit to the tone as well - it’s really more accurate to call it a “voicing” switch than anything else. The tone flows nicely from Channel 2 to 3, you can keep the same core tone and change EQ, gain, or volume and it still sounds like the same amp, which is a plus. The Mark V can be a bit of a “3 amps in one box” whereas the TC50 is definitely just “one amp with 3 gain levels.”
The Cleans and “drive” mode on the clean channel are superb right off the bat - it’s the drive channels that will take a little more time to get along with. With the presence dialed back, or alternatively the treble down and presence up, it is easy to dial a great classic rock crunch on this channel, or a full sounding dirty clean.
New Amp: Marshall JCM800 Model 2203x Reissue
I finally have a single channel, master volume, Super Lead Mark II amp. The full 100 watter too, and a reissue to boot.
This is a hell of an amp, and I can see why this has been the tone people lust after for years, build amps based around, modify to their liking, and so on. This amp is dynamic, punchy, full sounding, and has this incredible elasticity and flow to the notes that is impossible to really describe without experiencing.
There’s not much to cover since it’s such a simple design, based on the early plexi circuits but using cascaded gain stages (and the voicing shaped to accommodate that), the JCM800 2203 is a staple of modern rock tones and possible the most famous and most recorded amp of all time (for overdriven tones, at least). A simple front panel has six knobs - presence, treble, mids, bass, volume, and preamp gain. Two inputs, a high and a low (skips one of the three gain stages). These are invariably run with the preamp gain set to max, but if desired can be set lower for surprisingly great sounding clean tones. Compared to the split channel JCM800s I have, this one feels like the mids are a little more relaxed, the amp just a tiny bit more mild, but with an even wider spectrum of sound. Contrasting with the JVM410 I got around the same time, this amp is the total opposite - it’s extremely touch sensitive and has very present ultra-highs, but without being piercing, and deep full lows that extend beyond any lows coming out of the JVM.
This particular unit is a 2005 reissue, complete with a factory effects loop, but still sporting the silver back grille (as opposed to modern Marshall’s black).
No other features on this one - just one great channel, a nice loop, and some of the best rock tones I’ve ever heard. Also no surprise that this is one of the best pedal platforms out there, it can be taken into extreme metal territory with a boost or distortion pedal and all of the characteristics of the pedal shine through as well, enhanced and colored by the amp perfectly. I have had a Joyo Ultimate Drive (OCD clone) for years now and thought it was awful until I heard it through this amp. My SD-1 and Tubescreamers sound great as well, and I can imagine any unique overdrives would have their full potential realized through an amp like this one.
Definitely a long term keeper - and it looks great stacked on top of my JCM800 2210 and JCM800 1960A cabinet!
New Amp: Marshall JVM410H
Since I’m going through the whole range of Marshall amps anyway, I knew I’d have to try the JVM eventually. I never got the appeal of the 2 channel models, so when this four channel popped up for around the same price I went for it.
I’ve heard these compared to JCM800’s, supposedly sharing the same power amp design and similar topology in the 3-gain stage mods of the crunch channel, or green mode of OD1.
Well I have to report that is not at all the case. The JVM is definitely a versatile amp with some great tones, but it is no JCM800 replacement, at least not for me, and not even close to replacing my split channel 800s.
OD1 is very close sounding to my TSL head, nearly identical in fact, but more congested than that amp. Something about the overdrive channels of the JVM is that all of the frequencies seem to be condensed a little to a more focused spectrum - it has less deep bass and less “air” highs than the TSL, or my JCM800’s. On top of that, this amp has as much gain as the TSL has at max around 1 O’clock, but it also has far more background noise - and I’d never call the TSL a “quiet” amp. I’m not sure why they decided to do this, I’d think a smoother taper on the gain controls would be much more usable.
OD2 can get a pretty close to rectifier tone, but with a squishier, more saturated attack to the bass notes. I’m not the biggest fan because the same issue with the focused frequency spectrum means I preferred my actual rectifiers, but I can see how a JVM410 would be a killer amp for a cover band - you could do 80s metal on OD1 right up to Nu-metal recto tones on OD2 all with a couple of taps on the footswitch.
My favorite mode on this amp is Clean Red, which oddly uses all 4 gain stages but stays just a tad overdriven and clear. I find this mode to be the most similar to my Plexi’s normal channel, which is funny because my actual Plexi uses only 2 gain stages.
Crunch felt a bit underwhelming as well, it just doesn’t have the punch of… flow? of the JCM800’s. A certain je ne sais quoi that the 800’s have that this amp does not on any mode. Again, red mode was my favorite here.
I can compliment the digital reverb, which was very close to my TSL’s real spring reverb when A/Bing these amps. The TSL was just a tiny bit bouncier on the clean tones, for example playing surf style music, but for most tones and especially on distortion channels to add some weight it was functionally identical.
With so many other fantastic Marshalls in my collection, and no plans to ever drop down to only one or two amps ever again, I’m not sure where this amp fits in. I think this is another one to be returned - but it was fun to try out for a little while.
Grab one on Reverb here: Marshall JVM on Reverb
New Video: Orange Thunderverb vs Rockerverb vs Dual Dark comparison
Put together some comparison clips playing some heavy riffs through all three of these amps. They all have that strong Orange midrange but quite a few differences in overall gain and voicing, especially noticeable in the top end.
I’m not sure which one is my favorite - probably the Thunderverb Channel A for me.
New Video: Orange Dual Dark 50
I just put together this video showcasing some of the details, features, and tones this awesome metal amp can produce. Too bad these are discontinued, and hard to find at that! I searched a long time to get a hold of this one and it was well worth it.
New Video: Charvel Model 3A
Similarly to my BC Rich ST-III video, this guitar is now off to its new owner! Nothing like selling a guitar off that I will most likely never see again to put the pressure on to make a video!
I got this guitar years ago and it’s in truly superb condition. It was dusty and the truss cover still had the plastic on it! I imagine this guitar spent a lot of time sitting in someone’s closet or under the bed. I lowered the action a bit and really enjoyed playing it. The pickups are some of my favorites in the range and I find them to be very dynamic especially when paired with an amp without much compression.
New Amp: Marshall JCM800 Model 2210 Split Channel
I put in this order as soon as I saw the listing pop up on Guitar Center’s used listings. It was listed as a 2203x Reissue, which I’ve really wanted for a while, and the price was about half the going rate for one of those. The store called me to tell me that it was no a 2203, but instead a 2210 model. I verified the serial number was from 1986, making it likely to have the later version of the circuit like my beloved 2205, so I went for it anyway and figured worst case scenario it’d be an easy flip for a profit.
Disappointingly, the amp arrived with some serious damage to the headshell, with the top piece of wood with the handle cracked and splitting from the vertical sides at the finger joints. It tore the tolex there and was only held together by the rivets of the plastic corner pieces. On top of that, the spring reverb tank was totally trashed, the springs inside broken so badly they actually damaged the transducers inside as well beyond repair. Luckily, the amp itself worked and it even came with a nice set of SED Winged =C= EL34 power tubes (which I immediately removed and packaged away for later use).
I gave the store a call and they were very understanding and able to work out a partial refund deal for me. That should cover the cost of either a headshell repair/replacement and the spring reverb tank, though I’ll have to do the work myself, but that’s okay.
This amp is a blast though - it sounds incredible. Very interesting to me, but when it arrived I immediately set the controls exactly the same as my 2205. However, this 2210 sounds quite different - it’s much less bright, a bit thicker sounding with stronger lower mids. Both amps still excel at what they set out to do, and share the same core tone and feel, but it is interesting that my 2205 with the treble on “3” is about the same as this amp with the treble nearer to “7.”
Probably the hardest part about that now is it’s so hard to decide which of these two amps to keep. I thought this would be a slam dunk - sell the 100 watter since it’s louder, but now I’m finding it just as easy to dial in at studio volumes and has a different tone altogether. I’ll have to open them both up and see if any modifications have been performed. I suspect this 2210 has at least some upgrades done, since during this time it should’ve been equipped with 6550/KT88 power tubes (and my 2205 has a pair of these), but instead came with EL34’s and runs just fine with those tubes.
Still, deciding between two fantastic sounding JCM800’s is a good problem to have.
New Amp: Mesa Boogie Mark V
I’m about ten years late to the party on this one, so there’s not much I can say that hasn’t been said before. But after owning a Mark IV for a couple of years and loving it, I finally picked up a Mark V. Is it better than the IV? In some ways, definitely. In others, maybe not - but barely.
How is it better? Well for one, the spring reverb actually works and sounds great. My Mark IV as soon as you turn the reverb above “0,” the drive channels instantly lose a ton of bass and fullness, and sound tinny. At first, I thought there was something wrong with my IV, but turns out that’s just expected behavior for them. Since the Reverb isn’t footswitchable, in my mind it may as well not even be there. The V corrects this problem on both fronts - reverb can be turned on and off via footswitch, dialed in different amounts of each of the 3 channels, and it sounds amazing with a nice long tail and doesn’t affect the core tone of any channel at all.
Other great features are 3 modes per channel, some of which are a little better than others but that’s the point - nearly anyone’s preferences are catered to in this amp. I find channel 1’s clean to be almost identical to the Mark IV’s RHY 1 channel, but with a more usable EQ. The Mark V also adds a fat and tweed mode to this channel, expanding the range quite a bit and can even double as a light crunch channel in tweed mode.
Channel 2 offers Edge, Crunch, and Mark I modes… the standout to me here is the Mark I mode by far. With the gain and treble maxed out, the Mark I mode could be a high gain amp all on its own. This is one of the best tones I’ve had from any amp really, and I’d even be happy if this was the only channel/mode of an entire amp! It’s much darker than your usual Mark tone, though it can get lost in the mix a little and probably isn’t the best pairing for lower tunings. Keep the treble maxed just like you would on a real Mark I or it becomes very dull and muddy. This is Fender EQ topology, remember.
Channel 3’s Mark IIC mode gets a lot of praise, but I’ve grown fond of my Mark IV, so I jump straight into IV mode. It is an excellent recreation - side by side nearly identical to my Mark IV the way I have it dialed. On my IV, I set my gain and drive to 8, and treble to max. On the V, I set the gain to about 7-8, treble maxed, so I’m not surprised they sound so close. However, the Mark IV does have a couple of controls that the V doesn’t have, and if you really use those then you might be disappointed by the V. For example, the IV has both a gain control and a “lead drive” control, which can be dialed in differently for some variety on the tone. I personally like them both set exactly the same, which is how the V works, but if you like lower gain and higher drive, or vice versa, you can’t get that same tone out of the V. Another missing features is the “harmonics” or “mid gain” switch of the IV, which changes the voicing of the amp. The V feels to me like it’s based on the “harmonics” voicing, which is the most popular voicing I’m sure, but if you like the “mid gain” voicing it isn’t here. And last thing, the IV has “shift” controls on the presence pull pots, which drastically changes the way the attack of the notes sounds and feels. I like to use the shift function on RHY 2 of the IV to liven it up, the V does not have this voicing at all.
One other issue with the V so far, on the IV I had a six button footswitch - the first four buttons being RHY 1, RHY 2, Lead, and Lead +EQ. I liked being able to jump from Lead to Lead+EQ directly from the footswitch without tap dancing, and the volume levels were pretty close on that channel. On the V, engaging the EQ on Channel 3 results in a HUGE volume boost, so much so that you either have to press both the “EQ” and “CH 3” buttons at the same time with your foot, or as I’ve done, just set it so that Channel 3 has the EQ “always on” and dial the master to match channels 1 and 2. It’s really a minor complaint, but I do feel like that’s the only way to use it - maybe if there were a total volume control as part of the graphic EQ, kind of like how MXR EQ footpedals are - that could balance the volumes a little better. Anyway, those are my only complaints and overall it’s a superior amp to the Mark IV as long as you are using multiple modes. If you live and breathe on the IV’s lead channel, I think the IV has the superior lead channel and offers a few cool features that the V doesn’t have.
New Video: BC Rich ST III
Just before I sent my ice blue ST-III off to its new owner this week, I put together this video to showcase its features and quirks. I’ll definitely miss this guitar, it has a really fantastic neck and it was in great condition for its age. The Ibanez Edge trem is one of my favorites and it was cool to have that bridge on a guitar that wasn’t an actual Ibanez too.
My plan is to make videos for every guitar and amp I have, so I have a lot of material to work on, so subscribe to my youtube channel! I’ll do my best to put out a video every week or two. Enjoy!