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marshall jcm-800 vs SuperLead 1959

jgyn

New member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
783
Well, I A/B'd the JCM-800 I was planning to buy with a 1959 SuperLead from the early 70s...

Man.

What a difference, in the clean sound alone. The Superlead sang, even at low volume.

Suffice to say, I decided to hold out for the Superlead, which is 2x the price of the JCM-800. I know Marshall's reissued the 1959 head,
which sells for like $1050 at Guitar Center. This old one, though, is 'pre PC Board', and it costs almost as much. What are the superior
qualities of a pre-PC board, and of old versus current Marshalls in general?
Thanx,
-jan

PS- Also, the Superlead had a master volume installed in the back.
 

mullard

New member
Joined
Jul 15, 2001
Messages
39
I find the pre-pc board to have no effect on the sound but ease of mods and maintanenace.
Also the master volume mod can be installed in different ways on the 1959 which could change the sound.

MULLARD B
 

Marshallhead

Active member
Joined
Jul 19, 2001
Messages
5,556
what year is the super lead?

yes the super lead is a mighty beast indeed-800's are cool but they lack the sheer tone of the sl-no diff in tone pcb to ptp in my experience i have a couple of 74's that are pcb and they crank-i also have some ptps from the late 60's-early 70's and they rip as well-the 74's seem to distort earlier and basically fully on with the vol knob on 2-anything up from there just adds to the furious grind-my 69 has a smoother taper to the volume and is easier to keep cleaner at a lower volume if so desired-hope this helps
 
R

RICH

Guest
I think it depends on just WHAT jcm 800 you're comparing to. I'll take the old suckers before the 2203 and 2204, but if I need to go into the super metal zone, I like the 2210 or 2205 JCM800. The old suckers actually do a mean clean for a marshall. Priced the same I would do an original over a reissue, the point-to-point board is a shitload easier to work on.
 

TedB

New member
Joined
Jul 16, 2001
Messages
2,141
In comparison to the Marshalls being made currently, the old non-pcb amp is very easy to service, is constructed with better components, and certainly has better transformers. The master volume mod on the SL is probably less than optimum even for a MV mod, and indicates the inside of the amp has seen a soldering iron. Who knows what else may have been done? I see this all the time, and the previous work ranges from a few replaced parts to complete butchery. Have it checked out by someone who knows what they are doing.
 
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