Marshall JMD50

Marshall is been known for the great straight ahead rock 'n roll guitar amplifiers. They have been around for decades now have been pretty much the catalyst for most hard rock and metal bands. They've been used all over the world and pretty much every studio recording imaginable. This amplifier is basically a digital front end with a power tube power section. That means there are no preamp tubes in this amplifier but just to EL 34 power tubes. It's kind of a modeling amp and it does all of the tones that pretty much any Marshall amplifier could do. You have a modeling front and a power back. It gets pretty close to those tones but it just doesn't have that right feel and tone that you would get out of preamp tubes.

UTILIZATION

Features

Power rating: 50W
Preamp: Digital Natural Harmonic Technology
Poweramp tubes: 2 x EL34
Preamp topologies: 16
Modulation effects: Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Tremolo
Delay effects: Hi-Fi Analogue, Tape, Multi
Tap tempo control
Reverb: Independent custom voiced
Midi Control: Midi in, Midi Thru
Stompware controller: supplied
Emulated line out: XLR
Headphone out: 1/4" jack
Line in: 1/4" jack
Preamp: 1/4" jack
Effects loop: Serial / Parallel -10dBV / +4dB with mix control
Speaker output: 1x16Ω, 1x8 Ω, 2x 16 Ω
Developed in the UK, manufactured in China



SOUNDS


I'm a big fan of Marshall amplifiers because he really fit my tone in my feel towards a guitar. This amplifier just does not get it from me. It could be that it's made in China and I pretty much refuse to buy anything or any guitar amplifier or gear amde in China. Marshalls really let me down with his amplifier in a sense that they have successfully built their company with good quality components and hard work based in the country of origin but now that they're outsourcing some of their products just doesn't do it for me. You're pretty much going the way of Vox which is been a lacking and a disaster for about 10 years now.


OVERALL OPINION


At new you can find these guitar amplifiers right around thousand dollars but that's probably about $900 more than I would ever spent on this guitar amp. It's made in China and I would never buy this amplifier for that reason alone. Marshall if you want to keep business with me you can continue to make your amplifiers in the United Kingdom or else I'm going to switch over to plenty of other boutique amplifiers that do it much better than you were doing it now.

This is the 50 watt combo version of the JMD:1 amp. You get the same great features and tone. However, the tone will be a bit more spongy due to the cut of half the wattage. You will get a bit less headroom in the overall tone.

This amp is an interesting take on the new wave of amplifiers. They take the digital side of modeling and combine that with the power tube section of your already familiar Marshall tone. It was a big surprise at how close to the amp models that this amp comes close too.

Marshall JDM50 Digital/Tube Guitar Amp Head Features at a Glance:

Power: 50-watts
16 digital preamps
Power Amp: 2 x EL34
Four modulation FX
Delay FX
Reverb
Noise Gate
Series/Parallel FX Loop
Footcontroller included
MIDI In and Thru
Emulated Line Out
Headphone Out
MP3/CD Line In

UTILIZATION

Details
Type Hybrid
Number of Channels 4
Power 50W
Effects
Reverb
EQ Bass, Middle, Treble
Amp Modeling Yes
Number of Models 16
Number of Tubes 2
Preamp Tubes No Preamp Tubes
Power Tubes 2 x EL34
Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x Line (1.4")
Outputs 3 x Speaker, 1 x Headphone (1/4"), 1 x Preamp, 1 x XLR
Footswitch I/O
Effects Loop
Height 12.2"
Width 29.53"
Depth 8.66"
Weight 34.61 lbs.

SOUNDS

So basically it is a digital preamp and a tube driven power section. The preamps cover just about ever Marshall amp that they have done and it does a surprisingly good job. I have never been a fan of amp modeling as most of my experience has been with Line 6 and those things sound terrible. So when I first heard this amp, my ears immediately perked up.

The amp covers a lot of Marshall ground and the price is nice as well. If you can't find a decent tone out of 16 amp models then this isn't the amp for you. So you should be able to quickly get the sound you are looking for in about 2 minutes or less.

OVERALL OPINION

At new these amp come in at around $999, which isn't a bad price for the features and tone that you get. There are plenty of hot-rodded Marshall tones available in this amp and it doesn't take too long to find them either.

I would recommend this amp to anyone who loves the Marshall tone and can't decide which series they would like to have. The tone come as close as you can get for a modeler and sounds fairly organic.