Dave

[quote name='Wil' post='73283' date='Oct 12 2007, 12:21 PM']I wish I had one to go with my Little Mark, that's for sure! Portability is one thing, but that's a classic amp right there! Edit - Oh, by the way, as far as I know, the Bass version is the same as the guitar version, but the EQ is voiced more for bass. So, just a different EQ board, but the same power section. I think.[/quote] You're right from what I've heard/read after enquiring on the Marshall website. I know it's specifically "for bass" because there is a JCM 800 "For Lead" and a JCM 800 "For Bass" (and it's actually printed that way on the front of the amplifier). It's apparently all in the EQ section. So I tried running my Fender P through three of my overdrive/distortion pedals, increasing only the VOLUME and NOT the gain/distortion knobs to see if I could make the amp sound dirty, but no luck. I've got a Marshall Guv'nor, EH Pi (Russian version) and EBS Multi-Drive and could not get the amp to overdrive with any of these cranked to 11. I must admit I didn't turn up the master volume of the amp very high (to stay in the neighbours good books) but then you said this should not be necessary to get the dirty tube sound as it was all about turning up the input signal. So if you have any other suggestions to help filthify this squeaky clean sounding amp I'd really appreciate it. Don't get me wrong, it is a great sounding amp, but it's just not behaving in the dirty manner I require, ha-ha.

[quote name='ped' post='73264' date='Oct 12 2007, 11:46 AM']I would be worried that if I did start powering off with the standby switch off then I would forget to flip it when I power up the next time![/quote] I know what you mean, you get used to what you get used to and it can be hard to deviate. I guess that's why I did an exhaustive amount of research so that I can prevent any bad habits. It seems that a lot of people are using different methods to power down using the standby switch, and most seem to think you just do the reverse of what you do to power up, but many sites suggest this is not the correct method. Probably doesn't do TOO much damage, and may only decrease valve lifespan by a little, but I try my best to do things the right way where possible. PS. Nice tuning key cosies!

[quote name='BOD2' post='66984' date='Sep 28 2007, 04:08 PM']Strictly speaking the "correct" way to switch amps on/off is as follows - Valve amp with "Standby Switch" To Switch ON 1. Ensure the master volume is at 0 2. Ensure the Standby switch is OFF 3. Switch ON the power 4. Wait for at least a minute or so 5. Switch ON the Standby 6. Bring up the master volume To Switch OFF 1. Turn the master volume down to 0 2. Switch OFF the Standby 3. Switch OFF the power[/quote] As a recent purchaser of a valve amp with Standby switch that I didn't know how to use, I've done quite a bit of research on this, and have come to the conclusion that when switching the amp off, you are NOT supposed to switch off the standby before switching off the power. By powering down in the reverse order to that stated in 2/3 above supposedly allows any remaining charge to drain out of the power filters. www.musictoys.com/gearhead/gear14.php Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to have read this in a few different places, including the Marshall amp FAQ.

Cheers for all the suggestions. I did think about increasing the input as a possibility, but must admit I haven't tried that yet. The guy I saw playing through the Marshall head did have some pedals (and possibly a SansAmp) in his chain, but definitely no distortion/overdrive effects. And he was using a P Deluxe, whereas I was just using my passive P. Was going to try the Stingray to see if it helped, but I do have some overdrive pedals I can try to increase pre-volume without adding distortion. I was a little surprised the amp didn't have a GAIN control knob, and only a master volume after the EQ settings. By the way Cheddatom, what's the JCM800 plug-in you're talking about? I would assume it's some kind of effect you use, but what equipment is it running on to get the sound. Just curious. It's my first dive into the world of valve-dom, so not really sure what to expect. I did all the internet research I could, but must admit I'm surprised at how loud it is. I've not tried it in a band setting yet, and I understand (though possibly incorrrectly) that 100W tube power does not equate to the same perceived volume as 100W solid state, but this thing sounds pretty impressive. Most would probably say I'm nuts buying this beast when I've got a super-light 500W LMII amp, but I guess I'm still in search of "the sound in my head", and weight isn't a big consideration... yet.

Has anyone ever played through/owned one of these. I saw a band using a Marshall amp and decided I wanted to give one a try to see if I could reproduce the bassist's slightly distorted/overdriven Marshall tube tone (it sounded AWESOME). Must admit I wasn't totally sure this was the head he was using (couldn't get close enough to find out) but I was convinced I could read JCM on the amp, so unless he was using a guitar amp, I don't think it could have been anything else. Long story short, I picked one up on ebay, but can't for the life of me get it to distort. I wonder if this is because it's the BASS version. There's very little info on this amp on t'internet, but the majority of things I read about older valve amps is you can't really turn the volume past 4 without getting distortion, and yet when I hooked this beast up to my MarkBass traveller 151 I could crank it up to 10 and it still sounded clean (AND LOUD). While this would normally be a good thing, I was actually after the distorted tone, so it isn't really what I'm looking for. Any suggestions? And before you ask I did have a super-brief chat with the bass player using said amp, and he said he didn't use any effects and the tone was all about the Marshall.

Having recently opened for a TERRIBLE covers band (whereas we played originals) I would definitely go with the bad originals band every time. Having sat through an hour and a half set of many songs I (used to think I) quite liked being murdered by sloppy interpretations definitely hit home why I rarely (if ever) go to see cover/tribute acts. We also opened for a Thin Lizzy tribute band recently who actually did a pretty decent job, but even that performance felt flat to me, so I've decided I'm definitely only into original music in a live setting, and have found out there is nothing worse than hearing some of your favourite songs being slaughtered by a covers band. Cringe-worthy!

[quote name='metaltime' post='38840' date='Jul 30 2007, 11:07 AM']add a matching black headstock then thats what i am after.[/quote] You mean like this one? The Sterling and HH Ray are no longer in my possession, but the Black H was the first "high end" bass I ever bought, and she's definitely a keeper. I also have a 2 band Black Ray with Rosewood fretboard, which is strung with stainless slinkys, whenever I'm after a slightly different sound. Love my Rays.