Marshall JVM 205H (Page 1 of 2)

Maybe he wants a good amp home as well?

The JVM I tried was to fizzy sounding. Consider a ceriatone jubilee clone...

I use a 50 watt DSL and I can only get the volume to 1 maybe 1.5 with the gain at 6 before it's too loud for the house. Best aiming lower in terms of watts if you're mainly playing in the house.
There are a good few lower watt amps out there, (and that class 5 coming out, which looks rather interesting)
Maybe go for a tiny terror or something, loud enough for small gigs and can be switched from 15 watt to 7 watt for in the house. It also has gain control so you won't even need to crank the volume if you don't want to.
Though, if you wait for the class 5, it has to be cranked to get the gain, (I don't know what kind of volume this is though) but it has a headphone socket if you really want your neighbours to like you.

I liked the 100w JVM that I played recently.  It's also one of the backline amps at the GC KOTB's contest.  Anyways, you have to keep in mind that the JVM is 4 completely seperate channels with 3 switchable gain modes.  I would imagine that you could dial in ANY gain sound that you desire with that amp!  If even the 50w model is too loud for you there are some other options.  First, if loud is an issue Marshall may not be the amp for you.  Most models are VERY loud haha.  Some lower wattage amps that would probably work well:  Any smaller Mesa combo (good cleans with plenty of gain to do rock/metal), Rivera (similar concept), Budda Superdrive 18 combo (may need a tubescreamer or something for heavier sounds), Fender Prosonic/Supersonic combo, etc.  It's going to be tough finding a great "metal" amp that isn't too loud being that the two go hand in hand.  To be honest before I would drop the coin for the JVM I would give Peavey a serious consideration.  I have gotten some downright respectable blues/hard rock/metal tones out of their XXX and JSX amplifiers.  I prefer the JSX if given a choice between them.  Lynyrd Skynyrd uses or used the XXX for a lot of live shows in the past couple years.  Very classic rock sounding and you still get that 3rd channel for the metal stuff.  Good luck amp shopping!

Then Blackstar is much better i read. The Blackstar HT-5 would be an option too for me i think, it's supposed to be able to provide a nice clean and a good crunch/ OD channel. It can handle bluesrock and metal perfectly is being told but judging from youtube clips (altough that may not be the best reference) it sounds very boxy and compressed. As like all 5 watters i think ... even with a 2x12' cab ... anyone got experience with the Blackstar?

If its just home practice you're maybe better getting a good clean or crunch sounding amp, and getting a pedal to get the metal sound. There are hundreds out there and it could save you some money.

To be honest i don`t know what the heck you all are talking about. Have played various amps throughout the years and can`t see the problem with playing a 100 Watt head at home. Ok it will not sound as good as turned up. But before i got over to tube amps i played several 5-15 Watt practice amps. But i can honestly say these amps didn`t nearly match the sound of my tube amps also at lower volumes and my GT 6 and several others pedals didn`t change that. So now i have a Diezel Einstein which is the mother of all amps , a Marshall JSX 410H and a Peavey JSX. All of these and especially the Diezel and the Marshall sound very good at lower volumes. So if you want the sound of a Marshall i wouldn`t be afraid with regard to the volume aspect. The JVM sounds stellar at lower volumes. But if you have the cash get the Diezel Einstein.

I'd have to agree with Joe's choice as IMO the Marshall is a better amp.  My previous post may have been misread as I was comparing the XXX with the JSX.  While the JSX is cool I don't really think it is as versitle or as "Marshall" sounding as the JVM.  The one thing that the JSX does that I like (even at low volumes) is a nice controllable feedback.  I agree that people should not be afraid of big amps.  Unless you are cranking the bajesus out of a low wattage amp you are not really getting power tube distortion anyways.  Ever play an 50 or 100 watt Marshall Plexi?  Those amps are pretty darn clean especially with single coils until you are way over 100 db.  Most amps today are designed to have the preamp do most of the tone sculpting and the power amp just provide the volume.  That's not to say the power section doesn't have any important tone roles but unless you are cranking a 1w-5w amp (still loud) full blast it's going to be mostly preamp that you are hearing.  Amps like Soldanos, modern Master Volume Marshalls, Dumbles, Mesa Boogies, Riveras, VHTs, Diezel, Bogner, etc etc are known for their overdrive tones.  I promise you most people aren't riding that master volume past half way even at concerts!  Point is that you can get great tones out of big amps without big volume.

Hi,

I am using the Marshall JVM 410H since a while now. After going through a lot of different amps I am quite satisfied right now.

I would strongly recommend to go for the 410 instead of the 210. The 410 has a bit more punch and is even more versatile.

One thing I can say for sure: This is the PERFECT amp also for bedroom players. This amp sound awesome in lower loudness settings because it has loads of gain and a digital reverb for each channel. It also provides a speaker simulated direct out which you can connect to a mixing board using headphones. In this mode the standby switch can be set off to save the power amp tubes.

Joe used a JVM at the North Sea Jazz Festival 2009. Sounds good to me. This shows again, sound is comming mainly from your fingers.

Another good amp is the Engl Blackmore. But not so much for bedroom levels.