Marshall JCM 900 100 watt amp head Reviews 
4 / 5 based on 1 reviewsI bought it off of e-bay for $490 plus a little more for the shipping and handling.
It's Marshall through and through. Iv'e never had a tube amp before this, and I had tried all the solid state Marshalls and really hated them. I was looking into a Johnson Millenium, but I figure I should go out and by an all tube amp instead of one of the hybrids. I figured that I should get a JCM 900 since it was the 90s model, and I think bands back then had a lot more balls than bands do now... plus the new ones are expensive and I still had to buy a cab. I wasn't disappointed. The gain sounds sweet on this thing, bites a lot and really opens up if you tweak it enough. I'm happy that real tubes sound a lot better than the AVT's imitation of tubes. Really loud too.
As far as I can tell, the clean sound is a lost cause. This thing is pushing so much gain that you just can't get rid of it. Even with teh gain turned down, it still sounds very crunchy. Also, from what I can tell, theres no way to boost the distortion other than turning the knob on the amp. I'm not sure though, since I haven't even bought the footswitch yet, therefore I'm not really apt to say what it will and will not do.
The construction and quality of the product is good. It's obvious that someone gave a $hit when they made the amp. The pots sound like they need a little cleaning out, but thats because it was previously owned I'm sure. Personally I feel like a better person when I see the big white plastic "MARSHALL" looking back at me... but thats just me. Haven't had a problem yet.
Well, I love the amp... it's really a nice solid piece of equipment that I don't regret buying at all. It's my main amp, and though it's harder to work with than the newer technology coming out, you get the reward of knowing that your Marshall sound is coming from a real Marshall, and there ain't nothin sweeter. Emulation ihas nothing on the real thing, but there are some drawbacks. It's just not a very versatile amp... plain and simple. If you want the Marshall sound, I'll give this a five... don't hesitate. For those of you who want a well rounded amp though, beware. This is a gain machine, and should be looked at as such. Work with it though, and you'll be rewarded.
Clayton rated this unit
on
2002-12-08.
