Marshalls sound bad

Yes the normal channel of a real Plexi is dark and muddy. This is why most people jumper both channels and run them together. The "Plexi 50W Jumped" amp sounds great when dialed in correctly and the right IR is used.

Fractool couldn't import the Leon Todd TV mix 2, says the file doesn't match with my Axe fx II. But Axe Manage in Axe Edit itself did the job.
Just tried the Plexi 50W jumped. And to me it sounds so much better than the Plexi 50W normal channel which is useless to me in the default setting because of the dark and muddy sound.
 
Most Marshalls sound decent. Some sound bad. None make me say omg this is the amp I want to die with. There’s a reason folks built careers modding them as well as brands making their schematics sound better. The FAS models represent this the same. Killer sounding Marshalls are generally called Friedman.
 
Most Marshalls sound decent. Some sound bad. None make me say omg this is the amp I want to die with. There’s a reason folks built careers modding them as well as brands making their schematics sound better. The FAS models represent this the same. Killer sounding Marshalls are generally called Friedman.
People mod civics and imprezas all the time, does that make them bad cars that need to be modded to be worth it? No, they're modded because it's built on a good platform, and the user wants something extra.

Everyone has their own tastes of course, I like the normal Marshalls better than the Friedmans in the axe.
 
People mod civics and imprezas all the time, does that make them bad cars that need to be modded to be worth it? No, they're modded because it's built on a good platform, and the user wants something extra.

Everyone has their own tastes of course, I like the normal Marshalls better than the Friedmans in the axe.
People can do whatever they want to a civic. It’s still a grocery getter and it’ll never be a vette.
 
The only thing bad about this is the end of the topic. It should have included two words at the very last. "to me". ;)
 
People can do whatever they want to a civic. It’s still a grocery getter and it’ll never be a vette.
Hahaha...Do you know, what a 1976 Corvette Stingray is? It is by far the most beautiful and most SENSELESS car in the universe. Had a Civic for years. Never let me down, even when I had no money for service and threated it like shit. Sitting next in a friends Corvette, when just driving 100 mph on a country road, my only thoughts were "we all gonna die in this car". ;-) But it's..........sooo beautiful.
 
I am always surprised when anyone says they think that Marshalls don't sound good. But, I am glad that everyone has different preferences. That way we don't have a bunch of drones wandering around, agreeing with each other. My personal strong preference is a Marshall, though.

To me, nothing cuts through a mix (especially live or jamming) better than a Marshall JCM, imo. It allows other instruments (like the bass) to hang out in their natural frequency range. Other amps are often too muddy (many amps are like this, including some Marshalls), too bassy (like Mesa Boogies) or to treble-heavy (like Orange or most Fenders) for me. Marshalls dominate the mid-range the way I think that guitar amplifiers should. The Celestion Greenback 12" speakers color the tone in such a way that I just can't get over.

One thing is for sure, nothing sounds quite like a Marshall.

My other favorite amplifiers include Soldano SLO, Fender Super-Sonic, Hughes and Kettner MKIII, and Vox 2x12 combos. And, lately, I have become more of a fan of Blackstars.
 
Most amps to me have too much bass on default settings. Very well could be the IR's that I use (OH MAR CB 412 EV). But, when I reduce the bass usually through low cuts in the amp block and cab block it sounds absolutely glorious.
 
I would also advise - hunt down some isolated multi-tracks, or (as I did recently) - refresh yourself with a Youtube concert from the late 80s, and listen to the guitar in isolation.

There is much, much less bass than you'd think - the JCM800 is not a bass heavy amp, but put it with a band, and play it loud - amazing.

I'm talking about a different age, I didn't play much at home and accepted that when I did it would sound mushy - but when I took the stack to rehearsal - we rehearsed loud, proper hearing loss, ears ringing volumes. And at that level with a bass, drums etc. the JCM/Jubilee - for the music of the era, absolutely ruled.

But listen, at home to those isolated multi-tracks, or (as I did the other day) - watch a live video when the guitarist hits a few chords just checking tuning between songs, and you'll notice - no bass at all, none.

As others have said, Marshalls can sound bassy - couple of years ago, I had a 54 Goldtop, loved that guitar. Played a friend's Plexi - was very loud but sounded great, we smiled and cranked it all the way. Honestly - didn't sound so good, like a bad fuzz - because so much distortion we needed to turn the bass right down, and truth is no one played that loud - look at the classic stuff, it would be loud but then with a Super Distortion or a Distortion+ in front for more gain, and those pedals all cut bass.

Gary Moore with his JCM800s ran a Boss DS-1 in front, sounded amazing - now we'd sneer at that.

Sorry random Sunday thoughts!
 
I would also advise - hunt down some isolated multi-tracks, or (as I did recently) - refresh yourself with a Youtube concert from the late 80s, and listen to the guitar in isolation.

There is much, much less bass than you'd think - the JCM800 is not a bass heavy amp, but put it with a band, and play it loud - amazing.

I'm talking about a different age, I didn't play much at home and accepted that when I did it would sound mushy - but when I took the stack to rehearsal - we rehearsed loud, proper hearing loss, ears ringing volumes. And at that level with a bass, drums etc. the JCM/Jubilee - for the music of the era, absolutely ruled.

But listen, at home to those isolated multi-tracks, or (as I did the other day) - watch a live video when the guitarist hits a few chords just checking tuning between songs, and you'll notice - no bass at all, none.

As others have said, Marshalls can sound bassy - couple of years ago, I had a 54 Goldtop, loved that guitar. Played a friend's Plexi - was very loud but sounded great, we smiled and cranked it all the way. Honestly - didn't sound so good, like a bad fuzz - because so much distortion we needed to turn the bass right down, and truth is no one played that loud - look at the classic stuff, it would be loud but then with a Super Distortion or a Distortion+ in front for more gain, and those pedals all cut bass.

Gary Moore with his JCM800s ran a Boss DS-1 in front, sounded amazing - now we'd sneer at that.

Sorry random Sunday thoughts!
I prefer to let the bass do the 'bassing.' Stand alone, it makes sense that other amps might sound good. But, I prefer to hover in the mid range, allowing frequency ranges of other various instruments to shine through the mix. In fact, I specifically like Marshalls because they don't try to do the bass's job. But, it is just personal preference.
 
Hahaha...Do you know, what a 1976 Corvette Stingray is? It is by far the most beautiful and most SENSELESS car in the universe. Had a Civic for years. Never let me down, even when I had no money for service and threated it like shit. Sitting next in a friends Corvette, when just driving 100 mph on a country road, my only thoughts were "we all gonna die in this car". ;-) But it's..........sooo beautiful.
I grew up around stingrays and owned a few camaros. Camaros were good starting points for creating huge amounts of horsepower. A few bucks and you were burning rubber. In contrast, a Honda Civic will get you to the supermarket for 300k miles before you have a real problem. Definitely not true for a GM car in the 80s. So how this relates to amps for me……..if you want a hot rodded Marshall, buy one of the many brands out there who do that well. Unless you really enjoy ripping up amps with 50 year old parts.
 
Most Marshalls sound decent. Some sound bad. None make me say omg this is the amp I want to die with. There’s a reason folks built careers modding them as well as brands making their schematics sound better. The FAS models represent this the same. Killer sounding Marshalls are generally called Friedman.

 
More timeless music was made (and continues to be made) with Marshalls than will
ever be made with Friedmans. Ever! :)

That was done in spite of their perceived limitations, too. There is arguably no other
line of amps that will have the sonic imprint on the history of rock music that Marshalls
have had.

Not to mention Friedman's entire schtick requires the precedence of Marshalls. He has
ZERO amps in his line without their influence and impact.

And just to pile on---I could snag a late 70's to mid 80's era Marshall for much less than
what a new BE-100 costs and one of those will appreciate in value and give me a lot of
enjoyment playing them, while the other may or may not achieve any kind oof legacy status.
 
I prefer to let the bass do the 'bassing.' Stand alone, it makes sense that other amps might sound good. But, I prefer to hover in the mid range, allowing frequency ranges of other various instruments to shine through the mix. In fact, I specifically like Marshalls because they don't try to do the bass's job. But, it is just personal preference.

Metallica with their Mesas (and not their earlier JCM-driven era stuff) really had a profound
impact on a generation of guitar players and what they want their guitar tone to sound like.
Good or bad, it happened, and it shifted the guitar out of the midrange and more into the
territory that the Bass would reside in. Chugging and rattling the walls became a thing. It
was assumed to be required. Then you have players who dialed in their tone alone to
sound as massive as possible and never really thought about how the guitar was supposed
to fit in the mix. Rather, guitar came to dominate the mix and that is when Marshalls start
to sound "bad." ;)
 
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