If you had to choose tones, BF Bassman or JMP 1987 tones?

[jcruppe]

If you had to choose between tones, BF Bassman or Marshall 1987 model JMP tones of the 60's era?

[jcruppe]

I made a boo boo with the 2204 and 1987 designations but I did mean 1987 amp. It's not really scientific anyways I was just curious. So I guess Early to mid 60s Fender BF versus Early 60s 50 watt Marshall sounds would have been the better question.

Thanks

[Big Jim]

I think the reason no one is responding is why I'm still scratching my head a day later. Hmmm delicious sweet cleans and super overdrive....or.....Great crunch and that Marshall roar. I cant friggin' decide. That must be why I play Fender circuits AND Marshall circuits!!!!

[Colossal]

To me, those amps represent very different musical genres. A Bassman roaring away is an incredible thing to behold in the hands of a competent Bluesman. I used to go see a blues trio out in California. The guitar player/singer had a '51 Tele and a real old Tweed Bassman. Just guitar and amp. Phenomenal and inspirational tone and he would get that amp to just sing.

A 1987 type amp though is also a thing of beauty and many of the bands I grew up on (and still listen to) use(d) Marshalls. I absolutely love Marshalls. '68 Superleads, hot rodded JCM's, 1974 circuit 18Watters...they all sound great and are the pinnacle of glorious output tube distortion. Jimmy Page, Hendrix, Eric Johnson, Clapton, Alex Lifeson, Van Halen, everyone uses/d Marshalls.

So if you are asking me to vote on which amp to build I would say what kind of music do you want to play with it and what is your personal passion and style? To solve your problem, I would build'em both and run'em in stereo!

[Big Jim]

I figured it out ....you have to log in to vote haven't seen many polls here...

[selloutrr]

can I use a pedal on the front end of the fender or mod it?

stock vrs stock?

next... for which application or style?

From a rental standpoint. I get about 35% more interest in the vintage Fender. From the feedback I recieve, the Marshall is timeless, but the tone can be achived/faked/dialed in from cheaper rentals. More companies offer a clone of the marshall, so based on it's popularity maybe you could conclude Marshall is the better amp?

[jcruppe]

So if you are asking me to vote on which amp to build I would say what kind of music do you want to play with it and what is your personal passion and style? To solve your problem, I would build'em both and run'em in stereo! [/quote]

I should have asked "If a person was stuck on a deserted island and they could only have one amp sound what would they choose?"

[Alexo]

I should have asked "If a person was stuck on a deserted island and they could only have one amp sound what would they choose?"

I imagine the passing ships would stand a better chance of hearing you through the Marshall.



...fwiw, I'm building a 2-in-1 amp for a client right now, normally I don't go in for footswitches and multi-channel setups, but it's what the dude wanted, and it's an interesting challenge.

Setting 1: EF86 into EL34's, multi cap tone switch.

Setting 2: 12AX7/Fender Tone stack into 6L6's.

Cathode/fixed bias switch, tube/ss recto switch.

So I guess I'd take that one, assuming it will work.

[jcruppe]

can I use a pedal on the front end of the fender or mod it?

stock vrs stock?

next... for which application or style?

From a rental standpoint. I get about 35% more interest in the vintage Fender. From the feedback I recieve, the Marshall is timeless, but the tone can be achived/faked/dialed in from cheaper rentals. More companies offer a clone of the marshall, so based on it's popularity maybe you could conclude Marshall is the better amp?

You could use pedals, I suppose I opened a can of worms and should have been more specific. I have been modding amps and working on kits. I am building a kit now that seems like it is designed to get in the ball park of either amp. I plan to build the amp and sell it for a small profit and then buy another and so on. I was just polling to see if there is a strong preference for either sound. I noticed that in the market place there seem to be a lot of Marshall Clones as well as Tweed Clones but not many Blackface Clones by comparison.
Thanks, that is very interesting concerning the rental information.

[selloutrr]

the market is saturated with marshall want to be amps. It drives up the value of the true vintage originals for the sake of collecting, but from a tone stand point if you were blind you wouldn't know the original from the clone. (granted the same PT voltages and tubes are used). The reissue iron available is a very close reproduction, the suddle differences are usually masked in outboard pedals and mixing.

The blackface amps aren't cloned (yet) for the most part due to the fact you can still buy them used for a reasonable price. It's not profitable to product a product that costs more then the original you are cloning... not a huge market in over spending.
The blackface fenders from the early to mid '60's (twin reverb, deluxe, princeton Reverb, dual showman, bassman head, bandmaster head, etc.) rent all week every week. Since they can be replaced on Craigslist easily. The rates are far lower then the sought after tweed amps. The blackface sound fantastic and once in the mixe they give you the "fender" tone without the higher price tag.

I'd focus my effort and time on building a new circuit or adapting / correcting a previous circuit for todays market. With 100+ companies making marshall and fender clones as well as the actual companies still offering new products and reissues. That is a lot of competition for a small market of players... keep in mind (most guitarist are broke!) Pro players make up about 3% of all guitarist and out of that 3% fewer then 40% make a $100K+ yearly living from it. Most only play products they are given for free.

[jcruppe]

That sounds like good advice. I appreciate it as well. I suppose with my Mod 101 kit I will just concentrate on getting it to sound good period, though I'll likely start with the Blackface foundation and tweak from there.
Thanks

[Structo]

I voted for the Bassman because I like the clean tone of a Fender better than the Marshall.

I think Bassman's take overdrive pedals better and you can go from crystal cleans to roaring overdrive.

Because in reality I spend as much time with a clean tone as I do with an overdriven tone.

Don't get me wrong, when I was a kid I would have died to own a 100w Marshall Super Lead but I think I would get tired of the volume unless it had a master volume, power scale or attenuator.

[selloutrr]

I voted for the Bassman because I like the clean tone of a Fender better than the Marshall.

I think Bassman's take overdrive pedals better and you can go from crystal cleans to roaring overdrive.

Because in reality I spend as much time with a clean tone as I do with an overdriven tone.

Don't get me wrong, when I was a kid I would have died to own a 100w Marshall Super Lead but I think I would get tired of the volume unless it had a master volume, power scale or attenuator.

good point it's easy to dirty up an amp but hard/impossible to clean up a distorted amp

[crbowman]

I have both and I STILL can't decide!