JCM800 2203x halfstack vs AXE FIII w/poweramp and cab

SloeGin

Member
Hey guys,

I played a Marshall JCM800 2203x with a 4x12 cab in a musicstore and i totally loved it.
The loudest I played was on volume 1 or 1,5 but I was in tone heaven :D
Help ... the JCM800 is one of the loudest amps out there but I totally dig it.
Boosting it with a SD-1 would even give me even better tones and i presume using an attenuator would make me able to push the amp further.
I tested the SC20 with matching cab a year ago but it felt boxy to me.
With the 2203x it just felt and sounded perfect!

I only play at home and don't even record.
Am I insane for wanting a 100 Watt amp just playing at home? :D

I'm torn between either getting a JCM800 and 4x12cab or an AXE FIII (or FM3) w/poweramp and 4x12cab.

What are your experiences with both setups? Is there a big difference in feel and sound between the 2?

Thanks!
 
That head by itself costs as much as an FX3 Turbo, an FC-12 and a couple expression pedals. I'm not sure if that particular Marshall is modelled, but there are 290 different amp heads in the FX3, not counting all of the other effects. I'd try the FX3, and if it isn't for you, return it within 15 days.
 
I'm from Europe.
The JCM800 2203x head is 1600 euro, The Fractal axe fx III would be 2600 euro for us Europeans :)
 
If the amp does it for you, then buy it

But that's all you'll have, buy the Fractal and there's so much more versatility, plus there's all the effects and routing options

The 800 flavoured amps in the Fractals sound better and do more than the actual JCM 800 I used to own

YMMV
 
Hi

I owned a JCM800, 4x12 and a Two Notes Reload. What a phenomenal amp and all the tones you could ever want once you get that TS in front.

For as much as I loved the tone, for home use it was massive overkill. Also for home it is too loud to attenuate. My Reload had a prominent fizzy sound coming out that was very audible as it was attenuating the amp at 4 on the master and 7 on the Pregain. I switched to a Captur as it had a fan, you can hear the fan over the amp depending on how load you can have the amp volume.

Recording wise, there is no comparison. Unless you can crank the amp and get a Mic in front and have the skill to mix it, the Axe blows it away.

I sold mine once I heared the JCM800 in the Axe.

Mike
 
I'm from Europe.
The JCM800 2203x head is 1600 euro, The Fractal axe fx III would be 2600 euro for us Europeans :)
That info does make a difference! Yeah, I see that Thomann has it for $1600 too. Still, that's only 1 amp, where the FX3 has 290. And you don't have to attenuate with the FX3 👍 You are a home player right now, but that might change in the future. You might join/start a band, or even start recording.
 
To add to what has already been said:

Unless you are absolutely adamant that is the sound you want, it's a no brainer to go with an AxeFx these days. The versatility, and quality of sounds, and ease of use at any volume is unrivaled.

For instance, here lately I've been playing with JCM800 model, but with the old two channel Mesa Rectifier tone stack (Recto1 Orange for those taking notes) with a Shred boost in the preamp, into Leon Todd's TV Mix 7 Cab IR, topped off with a Maxon OD808 up front. Talk about a pleasing sound. Doing that in the real world would take a fair bit of money, plus a fair bit of money to undo it.

Think about it. There's really not a guitarist that has stuck with the same amp for any lengthy amount of time. There are some, but it's a rare case.
 
The Axe III fed into a power amp and cabinet will not compare to the real JCM800 and 4x12. Apples and oranges.
If you're talking about mic'ing up a cab and recording the half stack, then the Axe can compete. Otherwise, you won't be able to scratch that itch of the visceral punch of the amp in the room.
 
I almost exclusively run a Brit 800 Mod on the Axe and love it! Blows my real Jose-modded JCM800 out of the room.

Put a Super OD DRIVE in front. Adjust to taste. Set it to 6550 power tubes. I crank the AMP Grid Bias to 1.0; the variac to 150%; and crank your room volume ....

Won't be taking the real amp and cab out for some time, last had them out in April for comparison .... they lost!!
 
The Axe III fed into a power amp and cabinet will not compare to the real JCM800 and 4x12. Apples and oranges.
If you're talking about mic'ing up a cab and recording the half stack, then the Axe can compete. Otherwise, you won't be able to scratch that itch of the visceral punch of the amp in the room.
But for all intents and purposes, the fractal into a good power amp and cab IS an amp in the room. Not saying they’ll match but that should be closer to the real amp than going direct.
 
Hey guys,

I played a Marshall JCM800 2203x with a 4x12 cab in a musicstore and i totally loved it.
The loudest I played was on volume 1 or 1,5 but I was in tone heaven :D
Help ... the JCM800 is one of the loudest amps out there but I totally dig it.
Boosting it with a SD-1 would even give me even better tones and i presume using an attenuator would make me able to push the amp further.
I tested the SC20 with matching cab a year ago but it felt boxy to me.
With the 2203x it just felt and sounded perfect!

I only play at home and don't even record.
Am I insane for wanting a 100 Watt amp just playing at home? :D

I'm torn between either getting a JCM800 and 4x12cab or an AXE FIII (or FM3) w/poweramp and 4x12cab.

What are your experiences with both setups? Is there a big difference in feel and sound between the 2?

Thanks!
If you're sure that won't be playing out, it does seem silly to get a big amp and cab. I was in the same boat, although I do record. I sold my stuff, got an Axe Fx III and have not regretted it for a single moment (I had a Mesa mini rec and a Peavey classic 20 - even smaller than the JCM800 with 4x12 you're looking at).
 
I used to own a JCM900 w/ 4x12 Marshall cab, and played a buddies JCM800 quite a lot, so I feel I know the amp pretty well enough as a comparison to the Axe Fx III. If I had that choice today, the III would win, hands down, without another thought!

And even if you do decide to play out, bands these days are moving more and more to no live amps on stage, and sending a direct signal to FOH. The stage volume is more manageable, and the mix is clearer. (And the sound guys love it, since it's easier to mix.)
 
If you're sure that won't be playing out, it does seem silly to get a big amp and cab. I was in the same boat, although I do record. I sold my stuff, got an Axe Fx III and have not regretted it for a single moment (I had a Mesa mini rec and a Peavey classic 20 - even smaller than the JCM800 with 4x12 you're looking at).
Cab I agree. It’s still nice to own the head and use a loadbox to play.
That being said, I like the 2555 model more than my actual 2555, but I like having both too.
 
I have had a (pre-JCM800) 1980 JMP 2203 since about 1995. Same amp with different styling effectively.

It is probably the last amp I will ever sell, and it has been used through a multitude of 4 x 12 cabs over the years. Yes, it can be a bit fizzy, it needs to be ridiculously loud to get the best from it (I use a Marshall Power Brake to tame it quite often), I need pedals to get everything I want from it (modded TS-10 is the go to drive), but I completely failed to find anything that I could use as a substitute for years and years. I wanted a little more versatility, the possibility of a clean channel, and hopefully more portable. I went through a whole bunch of different amps, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing that felt anything like right in a live scenario. Closest I got for low volume/smaller rooms was a silver face Fender Deluxe Reverb, which was similarly just on the "nasty side of nice", and was great for smaller gigs. But then it turned out to be worth 5 times what I paid for it, so it went. (As did my spare '78 JMP 2203 when it turned out to be worth 3 times what I paid for it.)

And then (in 2016 I think) I got an Axe FX II, a power amp and a 15" FRFR cab. I spent quite a long time deep tweaking the Brit 800 2204 model, among others, and finally found a decent usable substitute. For the first time ever I could play any size of gig, or practise at home, and while it wasn't quite a 2203 in a box, the feel was close enough that I played happily at any volume, anywhere, and if I needed a Fender Twin clean sound, or Vox AC30 harmonic overtones, they were there on tap.

Since then it got a whole lot better. I bought an Axe FX III, and then Cygnus firmware got released, and the way I use the 2203 (cleaner than you'd think) is really faithfully imitated nowadays. I can even imitate the differences between my favourite 4 x 12 cabs that got sold or traded over the years.

I don't think you are insane, but I definitely don't need to plug into my 2203 half stack anymore. It has been languishing in the gear cupboard with my JMP 1987 50 watt head and the one remaining 4 x 12 cab for some time now. You might need to do it just to get the 4 x 12 half stack bug out of your system, but an Axe FX and a relatively small (but high quality) FRFR powered speaker can make all the same feel, tones and more.

Liam
 
I sold 2 Marshall Silver Jubilee heads (and a few other similar amps) plus a bunch of cabinets once I got the AXE-FX III, not quite 2203’s but same principle applies.

Living in a densely populated area they were difficult to enjoy as I had to keep them turned down to tiny fractions of “1” on the output master and 1mm up or down made a lot of difference. Attenuators be never really did the trick I wanted them to do.

They were also frustratingly inconsistent, some days sounding great and others not so good (despite being well serviced). Having heads like that now that I don’t tour or do session work on the same scale was insane.

AXE-FX III is perfect for me now. I can tweak a JCM800 or anything else for that matter to absolute breaking point and wail away without anyone getting hurt.
 
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