Marshall Jvm Series Jvm205H 50W Tube Guitar Amp Head For Sale (2024 Update)

Great amplifier, especially for the money. First of all it is an amazing pedal platform amp with nice bass and mid response. Everything I've run into it sounds really good, and it's near breakup gain is gain on 10 and boost off. It is most like a JTM45, it has a lot more bass and more active tone controls than later Marshall amplifiers like the JCM900 I previously owned. It doesn't overdrive too much on its own, but if you push it with a booster, it does pretty well. It is loud, even in the low power setting, and to really get it to drive, you need to push the power amp. It also doesn't seem to have as much drive as I remember from trying a 50 watt version, but that may have been the guitar more than the amp. Great value, I would recommend it to anyone looking for what I just described. If you want something that sounds like a Super Lead, Super Bass, or JCM800, this is not the right thing to buy. If you want a great pedal platform or early Marshall sound, you can't beat it.Craig

I've had My Marshall Origin for about 6 months and I've been pleasantly surprised. I've been a Les Paul/Marshall guy for 40 years and I have the hearing loss to prove it but this Marshall has it all. This versatile 20 watt head is the perfect combination of versatility and guts.This Amp is perfect for pedals as it great grand daddies were, I use an J Rockett Archer Ikon Klon clone, An OCD a Tone City King of Blues and an original Electro harmonics LPB-1 booster. I can go from crystal clear bell like tones to Ace's plexi grind to the verge of jCM 800 tones or straight in crank the Gain and get that sweet traditional Marshall tone and attack. Unlike the Marshalls of old the EQ section greatly influences the color of this Head and along with the tilt control which replaces the need to jump channels from the Hi and Lo inputs its all there. The addition of the switchable effects loop is a huge plus as is the gain/Boost control which gives you that little extra edge for leads. Running the amp on full and using your guitars volume and tone controls gives you a lot of versatility as well. The adjustable power out put feature is nice for quiet practice but I prefer to use my Bugera PS-1 attenuator and keep my amp volume on 10, just a personal preference. A suggestion, I've used this head with 1×12 and 2×12 cabinets an it sounds good but when i finally plugged it into a 4×12 this amp took on a whole new personality. The 4×12 let this amp breathe and with the EH LPB-1 driving the front end and a little reverb I had ACE's Kiss alive tone dead on by using the gain boost and a little color from various pedals the tone possibilities a vast. All in all this amp would be a great deal at twice the price, marshall once again did it right.Miggs

Extremely versatile amp. I play a lot of electric blues but I grew up on hard rock/metal. Today I also play a little bluegrass, country, classical, pop and whatever suits my mood at the time. But at the end of the day, I usually revert to a heavier sound. Now the Marshall has a nice clean sound, although not as clean as my old Fender Pro Reverb. You can't have everything. Where this amp really shines is in its ability to generate anything from mild overdrive to extreme high gain. With this amp I can get high gain harmonics that I could not get from other amps, even with heavy gain effects. The only negative really is that the amp is quite physically heavy.Fuzzy

Firstly, I am in a bar/party cover band of older (>30 years to nearly 60) musicians with day jobs. We are not all Recent Hits, but do mostly songs people have heard of in all years from mid 60s to this year. The flexibility of this head is its big feature for someone like me. This is not a prescriptive review — this is just how I use it. Some of the skeptics have wondered why you would need 4 channels with 3 tones each. They have a good point, but not one that applies to a cover band. If I had to have one amplifier, it would have to produce the tones that this amp can do on channel 2 (crunch) green and orange, and channel 3 (OD1) green and orange. Crunch orange and OD1 green are quite similar and are the tones of the classic plexis and old Marshalls. Crunch green is what you would want for "clean" tone with a Marshall level of compression and just a little breakup for an electric guitar. OD1 at orange is what you would do for distorted classic rock — adding an overdrive in front of a plexi or a very saturated pickup, for example. For every song I really like, and everything I would do if I wasn't doing covers, those two channels at those two colors would cover it. For gigs, I can set channel 1 (clean) and Channel 4 (OD2) to be more extreme. The clean channel is actually what i use to be my acoustic guitar and occasionally as my hollow body electric emulating an acoustic. It is not perfect, nor is as good as having a specialized acoustic amp or clean tone jazz amp. However, it is good enough, and it simplifies the signal path to not have separate amps, and there is enough separate EQ to make it work. Channel 4 can be used for dirtier, more distorted stuff, and the weird thing is that now I use it entirely for country. My band doesn't do any metal, and the heaviest guitar sounds we do are the likes of Carrie Underwood. Getting the hiss to go away is not that big of a deal — put an MXR Smart Gate or any other gate I've tried into the _serial_loop_ and twist the knobs — it will take care of the problem. The JS head might be better and I haven't tried it. I do appreciate that you can't use the OD channels on this without a noise gate, but it isn't a big dial to fix. The reverb is good but nothing special. Reading this review before submitting, I realize that the oddest thing is that I personally have no use for any of the red versions of the four channels. That is probably a classic rock attitude — this thing has a lot more metal tone than I will ever use, so you should use other reviews if you want that.Iceandsnow

This is just and amazing head… I can't complement it enough. I wanted so many of the iconic Marshall tones but couldn't afford to go out and buy a JCM 800, 900, Plexi…etc. This head truly does a great job of getting all the tones your looking for. It does take a little dialing in with all the different modes in each channel to find what they all do… but once you have it kind of figured out its a tone machine. the included foot switch is a pleasant surprise also. It's programmable and works like a charm with just a normal guitar cable. I have also used the midi switching capabilities and they are also wonderful, though not as easy to use as the foot switch. If you are a gigging musician or just want a lot of options…..get one of these!Tony

Just for some background, I've been playing guitar only about 6 – 7 years. Was a professional drummer prior to that so have been around a lot of great guitarist and a lot of different rigs. I have also been through a lot of amps in those 6 – 7 years. For me the plus side of the JVM210H is the MIDI programmable foot switch. I do not like using pedals for dirt, but need more than just 1 clean and 1 dirt channel like most two channel amps offer. even though the 210 is a 2 channel instead of a 4 channel like the 410, the programmable MIDI foot switch allows you to save 4 different tones, which is kind of like having 4 channels. It does not save eq settings via MIDI so that is one downside to it versus the 410. But still it allows me to get 4 different levels of gain with no distortion/OD pedals which I love. Having the 3 different modes on each channel does give you a lot of options and they all sound very different. My only complaint would be that the second channel modes are so high gain that they are hard to use for anything but metal. The green mode on channel 2 (lowest gain) is somewhat usable if you don't set the gain too high, but amber and red are just noise and feedback for me. That being said, it still leaves 3 perfectly usable modes, and 4 if you tweak channel 2 green properly. It is one of the most versatile amps I've played and that's where it shines. The clean is okay, nothing special to me, no real sparkle to it, but the channel 1 amber and red tones are very good. I will say this, anyone considering this amp may want to consider moving up to the 410 model as it gives an OD channel (channel 3) that is much more fat and vintage sounding than channel 2 on the 210 model. Still a great amp and running it with Greenbacks helps get more of a vintage tone as well.Keith

I had almost given up on my search for the perfect head. I’ve purchased and returned several Mesas, PRS, Victory, Orange and EVH heads. They all had certain things I liked, but also lacked something. I was never a Marshall fan just because it seemed like a trendy boutique amp. I now see why. As soon as I plugged it in I was floored. The clean is sparkly and bright; the edge of breakup on the overdrive channel is so satisfying. The warmth and roundness of the tone with this head is just plain amazing. It is everything I want in a head. It goes from blues, hard rock all the way to metal. It fills all the voids. I’m a true Marshall fan now. If you haven’t tried it, give it a chance. You won’t be disappointed.Gary L.

I was thinking getting the 4ch version instead, but less is more! The 2ch version is more than enough to give you a wide range of tones, gain, and EQ. I have my 4-way footswitch set to CLN Green, CLN orange, CLN red, and OD green. I think the OD orange and green modes are a little over the top. Dial this amp in with all knobs at 12 o'clock, and it's pretty much set. The two master volume knobs come in handy if you're switching the FX loop on and off, but I keep it on pretty much all the time, on 100% wet (note that there is a significant drop in volume when kicking in the FX loop). I use the two master volumes to level out the two channels: one for the CLN/Crunch, one for the OD channel. The reverb is pretty good as well, so I got rid of my reverb pedal. I would not suggest you use the power amp send/return for effects, unless you have a high-end module that can handle the +4dB signal level. Overall, this amp is 100% kick-ass.hendrix1975

This amp was bought to replace a faulty JVM215C which had to be sent back. The JVM205C is a great combo for small to medium gigs. All the usual Marshall 'JCM800-like' sounds are there but obviously very dependant on what guitar you put through it. The different gain modes for both channels & the two master volumes make it great for live gigs once you get used to dancing on the footpedal. You can do away with your distortion, overdrive & boost pedal using this amp & put your delay/ chorus etc through the effects loop. There is an insane amount of gain available on the overdrive channel but if you do stsrt cranking the gains & masters up you will get a lot of hiss & hum. This is a very noisy amp! It's reasonably heavy, not as heavy as some, but the recessed side handles make it easier to carry. This is a good combo, but for me not a great one. I prefer my AC30C2 with an overdrive & boost pedal.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

The tone is just not there. And for nearly $2000, one would expect a useable tone. I took a chance and ordered one of these because of the glowing "tone" reviews. But I guess tone is in the ear of the beholder. I didn't hear it. Sounded thin, tinny and small and cheap. I put this amp next to my Fender Deluxe Reverb and A-B'd them. My hope was to dial in a dirty sound to switch back and forth. I knew right away that I couldn't go on stage with the Marshall. The Fender sounds 3-D. You feel it all around. It's full and rich and just "there." The Marshall sounded cheap by comparison. Yes, I know they are two totally different voiced amps. And yes, I realize the Marshall is a modeling amp. But for $2000, you could get a Rivera combo that would totally smoke this amp in tonal quality. I really appreciate Musicians Friend's customer support. They were totally cool about me returning it and even paid for the shipping. They will eventually get that money back from me in the future. Bottom line… $2000 is what you'd pay for a boutique amp. So I would advise buying a boutique if you are gonna spend this kind of coin. I didn't find any useable tones.Geoff

I was looking for really clean sound, and I happened to try this amp in a club and decided to buy one. My Fender Stratocaster through the clean channel sounds heavenly like a Dire Straits tune. I also have Gibson ES339, and it sounds equally great, picking up all the nuances of respective guitars. I personally like the Gibson through my Fender Blues Jr. amp better though. But if you want just 1 amp, I'd pick this Marshall. From the clean to dirty, it just handles it really well. I don't even feel the need for any external pedals. Just plug in and start playing. I originally purchased an used one, but it turned out to be defective. But it wasn't a hassle at all to exchange it to a new one, thanks to great customer service at Musicians Friend. The new one came with a defective cable to the foot pedal, and Musician's Friend ship a new cable the same day I made the call.willow1210

This amp was bought to replace a faulty JVM215C which had to be sent back. The JVM205C is a great combo for small to medium gigs. All the usual Marshall 'JCM800-like' sounds are there but obviously very dependant on what guitar you put through it. The different gain modes for both channels & the two master volumes make it great for live gigs once you get used to dancing on the footpedal. You can do away with your distortion, overdrive & boost pedal using this amp & put your delay/ chorus etc through the effects loop. There is an insane amount of gain available on the overdrive channel but if you do stsrt cranking the gains & masters up you will get a lot of hiss & hum. This is a very noisy amp! It's reasonably heavy, not as heavy as some, but the recessed side handles make it easier to carry. This is a good combo, but for me not a great one. I prefer my AC30C2 with an overdrive & boost pedal.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

The tone is just not there. And for nearly $2000, one would expect a useable tone. I took a chance and ordered one of these because of the glowing "tone" reviews. But I guess tone is in the ear of the beholder. I didn't hear it. Sounded thin, tinny and small and cheap. I put this amp next to my Fender Deluxe Reverb and A-B'd them. My hope was to dial in a dirty sound to switch back and forth. I knew right away that I couldn't go on stage with the Marshall. The Fender sounds 3-D. You feel it all around. It's full and rich and just "there." The Marshall sounded cheap by comparison. Yes, I know they are two totally different voiced amps. And yes, I realize the Marshall is a modeling amp. But for $2000, you could get a Rivera combo that would totally smoke this amp in tonal quality. I really appreciate Musicians Friend's customer support. They were totally cool about me returning it and even paid for the shipping. They will eventually get that money back from me in the future. Bottom line… $2000 is what you'd pay for a boutique amp. So I would advise buying a boutique if you are gonna spend this kind of coin. I didn't find any useable tones.Geoff

I was looking for really clean sound, and I happened to try this amp in a club and decided to buy one. My Fender Stratocaster through the clean channel sounds heavenly like a Dire Straits tune. I also have Gibson ES339, and it sounds equally great, picking up all the nuances of respective guitars. I personally like the Gibson through my Fender Blues Jr. amp better though. But if you want just 1 amp, I'd pick this Marshall. From the clean to dirty, it just handles it really well. I don't even feel the need for any external pedals. Just plug in and start playing. I originally purchased an used one, but it turned out to be defective. But it wasn't a hassle at all to exchange it to a new one, thanks to great customer service at Musicians Friend. The new one came with a defective cable to the foot pedal, and Musician's Friend ship a new cable the same day I made the call.willow1210

For classic rock lovers looking for those delicious, Super Lead Plexi-type tones (think classic rock from the 60's and 70's–Hendrix, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, etc.), this amp is for you! I am totally blown away with this amp for the price. I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did because this amp is now $150.00 more than what I spent. I had a hard time deciding between the 50W and the 20W versions. I went with the 50W to have more clean head room, but would have been just as happy with the 20W head. And who plans to play a Marshall clean anyway? 😀 Most who purchase a Marshall are planning to crank for crunch, although you can get some nice clean tones and all that jazz :-D. The only downside with the 50W version is that you will have to bias the amp if you ever replace/swap the tubes. The 50W is not cathode/self-biasing like the 20W head, so plan on $30-$60 to bias your amp with a tube swap unless you have the equipment and know-how to bias yourself. This amp is extremely loud, even with the mid-power setting! Oh my heck is it loud! I'm running this head through an EVH EL34 2×12 with Celestion G12H 30W Anniversary speakers. Holy wow, awesome, and loud! 😀 To save your ears and keep your family and neighbors happy, I'd advise using an attenuator or power soak. With the Marshall Origin, to get those nice, crunchy, classic Marshall tones, you really have to crank the master volume to around 6-8 to saturate the power tubes and then also dial in your preamp gain to around 6-10. We're talking loud, loud, loud without an attenuator! For a very affordable power soak option, go with the Bugera PS1 (under $100.00), which will allow you to crank (even dime) this Marshall to get all those classic Marshall tones without blowing your brains out. Note–this is not a high gain Marshall amp. It's a classic rock Marshall, but it takes pedals extremely well for those wishing for more high-gain territory.AJ

This is an amazing amp! Not only is it affordable, but it's so versatile! I like to dial in an edge of breakup tone so that by rolling back the volume pot on my Guitar I have pristine cleans, roll it up for that classic "crunchy," biting clean. This amp also LOVES pedals, so when I want more gain I can step on the blue channel of my Friedman BE-OD Deluxe. Even More gain = the second channel on the BE-OD Deluxe with the mids ever so slightly cut back (now we're getting into the hard rock/metal territory). And if that's not quite heavy enough to serve a particular sound, well the internal foot-switchable boost adds a nice extra oomph. The EHX Metal M*ff is great for those extreme levels of gain (contrary to other reviews, this amp is perfectly capable of doing Metal if you utilize your favorite dirt pedals). And the effects loop is wonderful! Reverbs, Delays, Modulations…they sound great through the loop! Even on the lowest power setting, this amp is very LOUD, because that highly sought after power amp distortion that makes a Plexi so desirable demands to be heard!! Is this a Plexi? Of course not, but that magical characteristic of genuine Marshall tone is quite convincing in the Origin! IMHO, for the price, this is as close as you will ever get, and it is fantastic! If you want a good, reliable, LOUD amp with the versatility to cover all your needs, and don't want to spend 5x's as much, well this IS what you have been wishing you could find!Shasal

Extremely versatile amp. I play a lot of electric blues but I grew up on hard rock/metal. Today I also play a little bluegrass, country, classical, pop and whatever suits my mood at the time. But at the end of the day, I usually revert to a heavier sound. Now the Marshall has a nice clean sound, although not as clean as my old Fender Pro Reverb. You can't have everything. Where this amp really shines is in its ability to generate anything from mild overdrive to extreme high gain. With this amp I can get high gain harmonics that I could not get from other amps, even with heavy gain effects. The only negative really is that the amp is quite physically heavy.Fuzzy

Firstly, I am in a bar/party cover band of older (>30 years to nearly 60) musicians with day jobs. We are not all Recent Hits, but do mostly songs people have heard of in all years from mid 60s to this year. The flexibility of this head is its big feature for someone like me. This is not a prescriptive review — this is just how I use it. Some of the skeptics have wondered why you would need 4 channels with 3 tones each. They have a good point, but not one that applies to a cover band. If I had to have one amplifier, it would have to produce the tones that this amp can do on channel 2 (crunch) green and orange, and channel 3 (OD1) green and orange. Crunch orange and OD1 green are quite similar and are the tones of the classic plexis and old Marshalls. Crunch green is what you would want for "clean" tone with a Marshall level of compression and just a little breakup for an electric guitar. OD1 at orange is what you would do for distorted classic rock — adding an overdrive in front of a plexi or a very saturated pickup, for example. For every song I really like, and everything I would do if I wasn't doing covers, those two channels at those two colors would cover it. For gigs, I can set channel 1 (clean) and Channel 4 (OD2) to be more extreme. The clean channel is actually what i use to be my acoustic guitar and occasionally as my hollow body electric emulating an acoustic. It is not perfect, nor is as good as having a specialized acoustic amp or clean tone jazz amp. However, it is good enough, and it simplifies the signal path to not have separate amps, and there is enough separate EQ to make it work. Channel 4 can be used for dirtier, more distorted stuff, and the weird thing is that now I use it entirely for country. My band doesn't do any metal, and the heaviest guitar sounds we do are the likes of Carrie Underwood. Getting the hiss to go away is not that big of a deal — put an MXR Smart Gate or any other gate I've tried into the _serial_loop_ and twist the knobs — it will take care of the problem. The JS head might be better and I haven't tried it. I do appreciate that you can't use the OD channels on this without a noise gate, but it isn't a big dial to fix. The reverb is good but nothing special. Reading this review before submitting, I realize that the oddest thing is that I personally have no use for any of the red versions of the four channels. That is probably a classic rock attitude — this thing has a lot more metal tone than I will ever use, so you should use other reviews if you want that.Iceandsnow

This is just and amazing head… I can't complement it enough. I wanted so many of the iconic Marshall tones but couldn't afford to go out and buy a JCM 800, 900, Plexi…etc. This head truly does a great job of getting all the tones your looking for. It does take a little dialing in with all the different modes in each channel to find what they all do… but once you have it kind of figured out its a tone machine. the included foot switch is a pleasant surprise also. It's programmable and works like a charm with just a normal guitar cable. I have also used the midi switching capabilities and they are also wonderful, though not as easy to use as the foot switch. If you are a gigging musician or just want a lot of options…..get one of these!Tony

Extremely versatile amp. I play a lot of electric blues but I grew up on hard rock/metal. Today I also play a little bluegrass, country, classical, pop and whatever suits my mood at the time. But at the end of the day, I usually revert to a heavier sound. Now the Marshall has a nice clean sound, although not as clean as my old Fender Pro Reverb. You can't have everything. Where this amp really shines is in its ability to generate anything from mild overdrive to extreme high gain. With this amp I can get high gain harmonics that I could not get from other amps, even with heavy gain effects. The only negative really is that the amp is quite physically heavy.Fuzzy

Firstly, I am in a bar/party cover band of older (>30 years to nearly 60) musicians with day jobs. We are not all Recent Hits, but do mostly songs people have heard of in all years from mid 60s to this year. The flexibility of this head is its big feature for someone like me. This is not a prescriptive review — this is just how I use it. Some of the skeptics have wondered why you would need 4 channels with 3 tones each. They have a good point, but not one that applies to a cover band. If I had to have one amplifier, it would have to produce the tones that this amp can do on channel 2 (crunch) green and orange, and channel 3 (OD1) green and orange. Crunch orange and OD1 green are quite similar and are the tones of the classic plexis and old Marshalls. Crunch green is what you would want for "clean" tone with a Marshall level of compression and just a little breakup for an electric guitar. OD1 at orange is what you would do for distorted classic rock — adding an overdrive in front of a plexi or a very saturated pickup, for example. For every song I really like, and everything I would do if I wasn't doing covers, those two channels at those two colors would cover it. For gigs, I can set channel 1 (clean) and Channel 4 (OD2) to be more extreme. The clean channel is actually what i use to be my acoustic guitar and occasionally as my hollow body electric emulating an acoustic. It is not perfect, nor is as good as having a specialized acoustic amp or clean tone jazz amp. However, it is good enough, and it simplifies the signal path to not have separate amps, and there is enough separate EQ to make it work. Channel 4 can be used for dirtier, more distorted stuff, and the weird thing is that now I use it entirely for country. My band doesn't do any metal, and the heaviest guitar sounds we do are the likes of Carrie Underwood. Getting the hiss to go away is not that big of a deal — put an MXR Smart Gate or any other gate I've tried into the _serial_loop_ and twist the knobs — it will take care of the problem. The JS head might be better and I haven't tried it. I do appreciate that you can't use the OD channels on this without a noise gate, but it isn't a big dial to fix. The reverb is good but nothing special. Reading this review before submitting, I realize that the oddest thing is that I personally have no use for any of the red versions of the four channels. That is probably a classic rock attitude — this thing has a lot more metal tone than I will ever use, so you should use other reviews if you want that.Iceandsnow

This is just and amazing head… I can't complement it enough. I wanted so many of the iconic Marshall tones but couldn't afford to go out and buy a JCM 800, 900, Plexi…etc. This head truly does a great job of getting all the tones your looking for. It does take a little dialing in with all the different modes in each channel to find what they all do… but once you have it kind of figured out its a tone machine. the included foot switch is a pleasant surprise also. It's programmable and works like a charm with just a normal guitar cable. I have also used the midi switching capabilities and they are also wonderful, though not as easy to use as the foot switch. If you are a gigging musician or just want a lot of options…..get one of these!Tony

Overall: Why is the JCM 800 regarded as one of, if not to some the greatest Marshall ever made? Plug in and see. While there are few knobs you still can find a large range of classic tones. From really nice cleans to that classic Marshall gain that the 800 is known for. I will not compare originals to this 20 watt rerelease. Although the only thing I will say is that you don't need a power soak to get that classic tone, you will not go deaf getting it, yet you can overpower your drummer in the 20 watt mode. I put a Boss Super Overdrive in front of the amp and crank the drive, and out comes the tones of Ride the Lightning and Piece of Mind. Get an overdrive to go with it if you want the heavier side of classic metal. Just get oneJohn

If your looking around you may see this same review on another sight because I love the amp that much. I have always wanted a JCM 800 but didn't want to have to use an attenuator to play a 50 or 100 watt amp at the house. This amp is awesome and you'll love cranking the gain and ringing out cords. I find myself constantly ringing out G cords and just listening to its growling beauty. I want to address some comments made from others on the internet… Some argue it doesn't sound like the original 100 watt JCM 800. If you're splitting hairs there is a slight difference when playing in 5 watt mode vs 20 watt mode. 5 watt is excellent, 20 watt is the bomb! 20 watt seams to provide a little more clarity in the sound. Best sound I've ever heard! That said I still use 5 watt mode most of the time so it's still great to my ears. I'm only mentioning this slight difference because that's possibly the reason some say it's not like the 100 watt older brother. Side by side they may be right. But I would want the 100 watts of noise anyway. I bought the 2/12 cabinet that pairs with it. I play at my house and have yet to turn the master volume up to even half way because it's that loud. So playing with a band or in a club would be no sweat for this amp. This amp gives you the sounds of all the hard rock played in the 70's and 80's and 90's. Want to play zeppelin, Bad Company, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Motley, or Greenday or Zakk Wylde? This amp does them all to a T. I love it and very happy to have it in the collection. I would buy it again and again. Thank you Marshall for this amp.Dan

Overall: I’ve tried a multitude of Marshall amps through the years and never found one that worked for me. Based on others I heard I knew I would like the JCM 800 but didn’t feel like going deaf to get that great tone. But now Marshall has created a JCM 800 that makes sense for a gigging musician. Here’s why: (1) It sounds the way I’ve always felt a Marshall should sound like. (2) It sounds great at 5 watts and is loud enough at 20 watts to be heard over our hard hitting drummer. I mean for 20 watts it is stinking LOUD. And I mean that in the best possible way. And (3) It is relatively light and portable to move to gigs which matters at my age lolDon’t listen to people that tell you this amp is a one trick pony. Lots of great tones here and it cleans up well using the volume knob on your guitar. It’s a simple amp that gets incredible tone when cranked. If it’s a one trick pony that’s one hell of a trick and worth the price of admission alone!Overall I couldn’t be happier with this purchase and with zZounds as usual stellar customer service.The Marshall Studio Classic gets two devil horns upMartin

Overall: This amp is the "cats meow" it rocks. It plays clean or dirty. I modded my SG and the out put of the guitar is so hot the only pedals I use in front of the amp is my korg tuner and my 5 band eq pedal. I run an old DOD analog delay ( I know its a dinosaur lol) through the effects loop. All I can say is be ready to fall in love all over again I plan on buying a second one just because I love what this amp does. 60s or 70s rock players this is the amp you need. I took one of my old amps and sold it today. Thats how much I love this amp. I just cant say enough about it.Ricky

When I saw this amp on EBay I had to have it. I played Southern Rock and Blues for a good 15 years in my band Steelhorse from Reading Pa, also with Shotgun Blue and Chucky (the guys named the band after me). I had to have it because it looked exactly like the 1972 super lead that I sold on eBay a few years back.what caught my attention was the 3 switch set up consisting of on, standby and to me the most important one, Polarity. People may smear at that and say use a grounded plug but! That doesn't always work. Sometimes you get lit up and u have to use s cheater plug. This is also one of the reasons I love the old Fender alps. I was skeptical at first since it was a re issue but then I thought, it was the first line of repro's of the exact amp that shared stage with me for a good 17 years and that Marshall would probably had put a lot into making it sound the the Hand wired original. Turns out they did. To my ears, i could barely tell the difference. My amp was growly and yet creamy on the leads. This sounds the same and unlike the new Marshalls, it doesn't sound sterile or brittle. I took the bright cap off of mine and I'll do the same to this amp (yes, the bright channel) since for me, it's way to bright even with my Les Paul. It also sounds great with my American deluxe Telecaster with the tone rolled back a hair. These take pedals extremely well and have a clean sound to kill for. I only sold mine due to unemployment at the time, I did have other back up amps. These are great main amplifies, if you have a chance to get one, do it!! It's well worth the money and besides that, it just looks way too cool on stage!! Hope this helps any amp buying decisions!!chuckysstuff

Most buyers of this amp are older and have owned many amps, myself included. This amp does have a certain mojo tone that is special. I use this for my classic rock playing as I have a amp for every mood. My favorite setting is high 2 input, no channel jump. I put a maxon 808x in front, turn the channel 2 vol up to 3 and bring up 808 to needed vol. This allows good tone at modest levels. I always use 20 watt mode because this amp is all about driving the power tubes for tone. Loudness 1 slightly tunes overall brightness in a subtle way, sounds really good, I run this into the matching vertical 2×12 cab. Pretty cool indeed.T MAC

The spirit of the classic Mk II Super Lead is here in spades. The tone, the touch sensitivity, all of it. A few words of warning for those that haven't experienced a non-master volume Marshall before: if you aren't in a free-standing house by yourself or a properly insulated isolation booth, I can almost guarantee that you WILL need an attenuator still. Fortunately, a Weber Mini-Mass is like $161 right now. Sounds great out of the box, but come to fine out, it sounds almost as miraculous as a vintage unit when you put in better tubes. I found the magic combo to be Tung-Sol V1, V2, EHX V3, and a pair of the production Mullard EL34 in the power section. Doing so allows for more note separation during high gain arpeggios (think "Growing On Me" intro), more clarity and top end retained when rolling back the guitar's volume, and a more "3D" texture with some nice top end "sizzle." The tiniest errors you make WILL be placed under a magnifying glass by this amp. It's expressive, and that's part of its value and charm, but if you're not used to it, you're about to find out how much you actually suck. Neon lights? You'll hear 'em. AC at the wall is dirty? You'll hear it too if you don't get a Furman. A double-edged sword for sure, but with enough time you'll master it, and be better for it. Effects Loop functions perfectly, but if you're expecting to put time-based, ambient effects (delay, reverb) in and use the amp's overdrive, get ready for a balancing act. It can be done, but you'll need to know your gear intimately. A lot of this amp's crunch and grind comes after the effects loop still (in the phase inverter and power tubes), so if you're expecting the loop to allow you to treat the amp's color like an OD pedal, you'll still need something like a Fryette Power Station or BOSS Waza Tube Amp Expander. Beautifully well made, and weighs next to nothing. More than a week in and it's easily my favorite.Viking expat

Let me preface this with this thought- I'm chasing the ADA tones and flexibility of my teens. If I could have a programmable MIDI knob for every innovation on this amp while maintaining the function control it already has and the fire it already breathes… yeah… Brass tax- Two channels, 3 modes each, independent reverb, dual master volumes, yada yada… it sounds GREAT. The cleans are BEAUTIFUL! I've run an acoustic/electric on it with playing results. The overdrive orange and red modes are where I live on this. Big, harmonically rich tones, cliché Marshall rock and metal in a box (and that's a GOOD thing!) The function recall using the 4 button switch is GREAT! I basically set it up for 1- clean 2- heavy rhythm 3 & 4- solo (one orange and one red). I do NOT wish I bought the 4 channel, this is flexible enough and suits me just fine. I can play a show with just this, my 212 cab and wireless and have all the tones I need.Spaz

Overall: I bought this amp after hearing it at a local music store. They sold it before I could buy it-and I'm glad they did because zZounds has been awesome to work with and purchase equipment from. I have had this amp for over 4 months now. Marshall speaks for itself with 50 years of building guitar amps. What makes this amp so great is it's versatility. I'm playing in a band that plays a wide range of musical styles from blues, r&b, classic and modern country, and 70's-modern rock. WIth 6 varieties on the 2 channels, this amp covers everything. With it being all tube, it has a very warm and full rich tone. The response to different guitars and pickups is great. For the price and the tone, this is one of the best amps out there for an all valve amp. Paired with the Marshall 1960A, the full sound is awesome. One last point, the amp has a two master volume controls that can be switched back and forth with the supplied foot switch. This means that I can go to a solo and set my solo volume without having to change my preamp settings, so I don't have to "color" my preamp settings with other boost effects to get my solo volume.Gary

The cleans are very chimney,the orange overdrive on the channel 1 is kinda jtm like. The red is Jmp/jcm 800. Channel 2 green is similar to a hotter jcm 800. Orange and red are solely the jvm's own thing. Plenty of gain. I suggest a external eq or overdrive to tighten those modes up a bit. Im yet to crank it but master at 3-4 and channel volume half way I could feel it coming alive through my mesa 2×12. Seems to be built well. Built in the UK. So if you want marshall tone and then some I recommend this amp.Vince

Really happy with this amp. Good clean sound with lots of headroom and great with pedals. Higher gain/crunch channel also very nice with a vintage vibe.Tom B.

Outstanding clean amp, very close to it's bassman origins and certainly not the amp you want if you expect tons of gain from the amp itself. It's plenty loud for anything with the right cab and it takes drive pedals (Vintage LM306 Rat, TS, Fuzz Face, and more) better than many amps I've used. If you're not too taken by the EHX logo, there are ways to make your own SOVTEK logo and have the amp of your dreams for an absolute bargain.Warthog Alien Recording & Sound

Loud, well built and versatile. I run both channels with an ABY pedal and blend different sounds that way. It is a very articulate amp and blows away the clean on my rockerverb.Bri

Finding an amp to do high gain with more than 2 channels is a challenge, without going really expensive. I love the 4 channels, allows me to cover everything I want on one foot switch, no messing with midi. Really love the high gain channelReviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Firstly, I am in a bar/party cover band of older (>30 years to nearly 60) musicians with day jobs. We are not all Recent Hits, but do mostly songs people have heard of in all years from mid 60s to this year. The flexibility of this head is its big feature for someone like me. This is not a prescriptive review — this is just how I use it. Some of the skeptics have wondered why you would need 4 channels with 3 tones each. They have a good point, but not one that applies to a cover band. If I had to have one amplifier, it would have to produce the tones that this amp can do on channel 2 (crunch) green and orange, and channel 3 (OD1) green and orange. Crunch orange and OD1 green are quite similar and are the tones of the classic plexis and old Marshalls. Crunch green is what you would want for "clean" tone with a Marshall level of compression and just a little breakup for an electric guitar. OD1 at orange is what you would do for distorted classic rock — adding an overdrive in front of a plexi or a very saturated pickup, for example. For every song I really like, and everything I would do if I wasn't doing covers, those two channels at those two colors would cover it. For gigs, I can set channel 1 (clean) and Channel 4 (OD2) to be more extreme. The clean channel is actually what i use to be my acoustic guitar and occasionally as my hollow body electric emulating an acoustic. It is not perfect, nor is as good as having a specialized acoustic amp or clean tone jazz amp. However, it is good enough, and it simplifies the signal path to not have separate amps, and there is enough separate EQ to make it work. Channel 4 can be used for dirtier, more distorted stuff, and the weird thing is that now I use it entirely for country. My band doesn't do any metal, and the heaviest guitar sounds we do are the likes of Carrie Underwood. Getting the hiss to go away is not that big of a deal — put an MXR Smart Gate or any other gate I've tried into the _serial_loop_ and twist the knobs — it will take care of the problem. The JS head might be better and I haven't tried it. I do appreciate that you can't use the OD channels on this without a noise gate, but it isn't a big dial to fix. The reverb is good but nothing special. Reading this review before submitting, I realize that the oddest thing is that I personally have no use for any of the red versions of the four channels. That is probably a classic rock attitude — this thing has a lot more metal tone than I will ever use, so you should use other reviews if you want that.Iceandsnow

This is just and amazing head… I can't complement it enough. I wanted so many of the iconic Marshall tones but couldn't afford to go out and buy a JCM 800, 900, Plexi…etc. This head truly does a great job of getting all the tones your looking for. It does take a little dialing in with all the different modes in each channel to find what they all do… but once you have it kind of figured out its a tone machine. the included foot switch is a pleasant surprise also. It's programmable and works like a charm with just a normal guitar cable. I have also used the midi switching capabilities and they are also wonderful, though not as easy to use as the foot switch. If you are a gigging musician or just want a lot of options…..get one of these!Tony

I've had this for a month. I bought it new. I also have an original block letter 5150, Jet City HDM100 and Engl Steve Morse. The Blackmore is a great head. It is very powerful. You won't need an overdrive or distortion pedal. This head has all the gain you will ever need. The best thing I like about it is how easy it is to get a great tone. Dialing in what you want will be easy. The voicing on this amp is also amazing. I can dial in the classic British 70s tones used by purple, sabbath, AC/DC, rainbow, white snake, zeppelin, etc. I play mostly this style but you can also dial in 80s hair band tones and this head is a monster for modern metal. The cleans have great clarity and headroom. No matter how much volume you use you can dial in crystal clear cleans with no breakup. With the Z5 foot switch, you can have several tones, from crystal clear cleans, to fenderish bluesy, to red hot hi gain at you instant disposal. It's sort of like a 4 channel amp with shared eq. The eq is basic and shared in ch 1 and 2. How does this compare to my other heads. The Jet City HDM100 is a great head. The tones are fantastic but it is obvious in build quality that the engl heads and 5150 are higher quality. The price is vastly different but the sound is amazing. If you are on a budget or you are a hobbyist the Jet City heads are amazing and you can get similar results in tones. You don't need to spend 2-3k to get great tones or sound great. The engl heads and 5150 give you that extra 10 percent that make them pro quality. Thus, to compare truly similar gear I won't include the Jet City. First off, the peavey 5150 is a great amp. Comparing the blackmore and morse engl heads with the 5150 is like comparing fine wine. These amps are great and it comes down to taste. The morse is the most versatile, the blackmore beats out the morse in hi gain tone by a tiny margin, the morse has more usable features like noise gate, the morse has the best sounding clean tone, all deliver great tones and are easy to dial with the 5150 and blackmore being easier than the morse. Bottom line, great amp. Worth the price. Not all the options that you might see with the engl Steve Morse but not as complicated either. Highly recommended.Ron

This is hands down the best amp I've ever owned. I play Blackened Death Metal – if you want to hear this amp look up my band Despair of the Ancients on facebook or myspace – all our recordings use the Blackmore and the tone is amazing! The High Gain is unbeatable, the clean channel is unbeatable, the crunch and inbetween sounds are amazing as well. Just plug straight into this beautiful tone machine and you will not be dissapointed.Michael-7D1it

I got this month almost a month ago. I spent a month just listening to soundclips and videos, because I couldn't try this amp out locally. After selling my 6505+, I decided to get this amp.I made a great decision. Sparkly cleans, nice, responsive crunch channel, and the over-the-top distortion is just perfect for metal. Roll down the gain a bit, and you get into the JCM area. Overall, I would recommend this amp if you play a little of everything, and have always wanted great tone.Itsallinmyh3ad

Think Led Zeppelin, Free, Cream, Bad Company, the Who, Deep Purple, etc. This amp is old school rock and gets the job done. I love it!rollinstoned

I've owned every great Marshall amp made, and the Class 5, made in England, is the best by far. Sounds the best, looks the best, most reliable with less tubes to worry about. Great with pedals, and has 8/16 ohm outs, and dedicated headphone jack. Pure awesomeness!just ME

Great tone and size. Looks classy . Only downfall might be its on or off you can not turn it down. But its made in Englandbctking411

I own an older one from 1985, this amp sounds great broken up, and does not buzz or hiss when you're not playing. It has a simple single channel with very few knobs which I like as well. It's a rock solid amp great for loud rock and roll, but…. It's way too loud! I have it running through an attenuator and then into the cabinet, which sounds great, but the attenuator then becomes an extra thing to worry about hitching up and breaking down on stage. It's also heavy, and in the road case it takes two people to move. I toured with this amp recently and it was way more than I needed. If you are playing through a full stack to a crowd of 400+ then go ahead and get this amp, you need it! but if you're playing to a smaller audience througha 2 or 4 speaker cabinet, consider getting a jtm style amp or something you can crank up instead of having to reign in.LOOTERS

Overall: SInce most people who read reviews want to be sure and compare before making a purchase. These are a very simple tube amp with alot to offer. I don't go in for two much on the effects side as with other amplifiers as I always felt with rock these had everything you really need to sound good…and I mean really good. I have owned vintage 2203 as well as the new reissues. These sound great and are everything the vintage are. Let me just add I put in my own favorite tubes and had the biasing done and ran the tubes a little hotter to hot rod it a bit. But out of the box it was very tight sounding just like the vintages were when they were first sold. The only thing in my book that I would regard as better would be a high end hand-wound boutique head- frankly that is necessary- these will give you everything you want. If you like nice cleans and nice gain and like it to sound natural—buy a tube amp and buy a Marshall 2203. – Let me mention I own 2 Roccaforte boutique heads- A 76 Marshall 100 JMP MV and this reissue JCM800- It holds it's own against the others no problem!Doc

The JVM was my first choice for a professional grade amp. Had to rely on internet demo's to choose [music stores in my area do not stock the JVM's because they are expensive]. No regrets after receiving and playing it for a month. Has so many great features like the dual master volumes, decent reverb and a great footswitch. Sounds awesome at bedroom levels as well as turned up. Excellent Celestion speaker choice by Marshall. I also purchased the DSL 40c last year and love it, but I did not like the shared EQ. I was afraid the JVM might not sound much better than the DSL, I was wrong ! The JVM can get any DSL tone and more. A very versatile amp. It has more than enough gain, in fact too much for me. I like the Clean / Crunch channel for my style [classic / Southern rock] while the overdrive channel can be tamed into Marshall heaven. If your looking for an amp that can do just about any tone-this is it. My only complaint about the combo is the knobs feel very cheep with no friction or drag. Like turning a cheap radio dial. That is why I gave it 4 stars. Otherwise the build quality is good. I chose the JVM over Friedman & Mesa and do not regret my decision. It's a keeper.Combo Addict.

I have had this amp for about a year now and i love it!!! This amp has 2 channels each with 3 gain stages and works great with my pedals! On the hottest channel this amp has so much gain you dont even need an overdrive pedal. You can easily get those satch and vai tones out of this amp with ease. Its also very loud if you dont like your neighbors lol! the clean channel is awesome as well you can get extreme pristine cleans out of it. i have 30 plus years exp and picky when it comes to my sound and I tell you this is the most versetile amp in my arsenal. I even have all the settings fairly low and have a great sound. I cant believe the overdrive in this amp when they say there most gain to date they are not kidding well worth the money all though they will most likely give you a better price (though i am a good customer with them and buy a lot from them).GARY L GARY RICH GUITARS

Have owned quite a few amps and all had their specific niche – the Marshall Vintage Modern is the best of all the amps I have ever owned or demoed. Here's why: Many amps do one or two styles well while the Vintage Modern captures so many range of tones and in such a quality way, there is really no need (other than size) to own other amps. The Vintage Modern can adjust to capture nearly any style and amp tone. The VM is fat, warm, clean or dirty and every tone is a quality one. The matching 425a cabinet contains special Celestion Greenback G12C speakers designed specifically for this amp and they are amazing. Get this amp – you will never listen to another amp the same again. And yes, even for home low volume play. I have (have had) the following and the VM blows them all away (not even close): Fender Bassman 59' RI Fender Princeton 68' Custom Reverb Fender Supersonic 60 Fender Supersonic 22 Fender Blues Junior NOS Fender Blues Junior Fender Blues Junior III Fender Vaporizer Fender Pro Junior Fender Musicmaster Fender Ramparte Fender Superchamp XD Marshall Class 5 Marshall Lead 12 Vox AC10 Vox AD100 Gibson 35RVT Peavey Classic 30 Peavey Classic 50 Peavey Vyper 15 Bugera V22 Bugera 6262 Peavey Bandit 60 Probably 15 more I have forgotten.m9290lla

Love the sound you get with th Vintage Modern. Well worth th price…The reason I dislike reviewing is that it is to complicated. Why can't I just say what I want? Why at least 100 characters? This sucks.vicsin56

Great pairing with the 425A cabinet. Good vintage vs modern gain distinctions. Quite permissive with individual guitar dial-ins and effects. Good value at $600 for a used unit in good condition.creso_thoma