Marshall JVM410H

The JVM 410 is Marshall's flagship 100 watt powerhouse. Following in the footsteps of the JCM 2000 series, the jvm has much more that the dsl or tsl ever did. The JVM comes with 4 el 34 power tunes and 1 ecc83. Four preamp tubes along with an awesome footswitch.

UTILIZATION

There is a lot of versatility built into this monster and the sound possibilities are controlled via four separate channels all with super versatility. The channels are clean, crunch, od1 and od2. Each channel has three modes leading to incredible possibilities for sounds. Reverb for all channels as well as two masters, a resonance and presence. Of course it comes with volume, bass, mid, treble and gain for each channel. The panel is a bit daunting at first and it does take a while to get that hang of things. Once you do the JVM 410 has limitless sound possibilities.

SOUNDS

This is by far the gainiest amp that Marshall has ever put out there. There is no lack of bass power as well. The resonance is a nice touch as anyone who mods old Marshalls can tell you. This is usually the first mod anyone adds to beef up the bottom end. It allows Marshalls which can be a bit thin sounding, ramp up the low end to compete with the power and throw of a Mesa for example. It just gives you a lot more depth, especially when playing more modern rock which needs to be a bit more bottom heavy and tight sounding. Marshall did well in listening to the people who have been asking for this for some time. The channels all have so many possibilities; there is no way someone couldn't find a tone they were looking for. Speaking of tone, this series is tonally more pleasing than the JCM 2000s were, they did a nice job here as well.

OVERALL OPINION

I would say that this amp can really do it all and is a great product for sure. Very versatile and sounds incredible. For the gigging musician, there isn't much more you could ask for except for on board effects but the effects loop pretty much lets you integrate effects pretty well. Only thing is that it does take some time to get used to all of the controls, buttons and dials. The JVM 205 might be better for those that don't need as much and like a simpler set up. Some say the 210 sounds even better than the 410. Only other thing I found is that the loop was hard to get sounding exactly transparent like some other loops I use often, the metro loop being one of them. Other than that the 410 is a great choice and will not disappoint.

The Marshall JVM line of amps was designed to be as versatile as possible, with the flagship 410 head featuring 4 channels with 3 selectable modes per channel. There's also an effects loop and individual reverb controls for each channel. The full list of features is as follows:

* 100-Watt valve head
* Valve complement: 5 x ECC83 (12AX7s) in preamp, 2 x EL34s in power amp
* 4 independent, footswitchable channels-Clean, Crunch, OD1 & OD2
* Each channel boasts 3 footswitchable modes — Green, Orange & Red
* Studio quality, footswitchable digital reverb with level controls for all 4 channels.
* 2 footswitchable master volumes
* Two FX loops — Series/Parallel & Parallel
* Series/Parallel FX loop is footswitchable
* Emulated line out
* 6-way, 7-LED footswitch with memory capabilities (UK patent pending)
* All switching can be done via MIDI
* Made in England

It's got lots of different features and sounds for sure, which does match the goal of ultimate versatility. It's certainly got a lot more going on feature wise than say, a Marshall DSL or even the TSL. Those were not great amps in my opinion, so I hoped the JVM would be different. Well...

UTILIZATION

As I stated previously, this amp has a LOT going on, so it can be difficult to dial it in quickly. I had to spend about an hour just going through the channels and modes to know roughly what each channel sounded like with each of the three modes before going on and tweaking the tones from there.

The clean channel goes from very clean to a gritty sort of "edge of break up" type of tone to an even more gainy clean sound, reminiscent of the older Marshalls when pushed a little bit. It's nice to have that variety to be able to switch to those tones as opposed to dialing in another channel for them.

The crunch channel picks up where the clean left off and it covers everything from classic seventies arena rock to a late seventies hard rock tone. There still isn't a whole lot of gain in this channel, so you're going to be relying on power tube distortion and sustain if you use this channel a whole lot.

The OD1 channel was definitely my favourite. It covered everything from Van Halen esque rock tones all the way up to modern rock tones. OD1 orange mode was definitely the stand out distorted tone on this amp as I really enjoyed it for everything from 80s LA rock to modern rock. That one mode alone was probably reason enough to enjoy this amp, but not at the price Marshall would charge.

OD2 was a decent channel as well, much like OD1 but with scads more gain. It was almost too much gain, and combined with the overcompression that most Marshalls nowadays have, it was almost unusable at higher gain levels. The compression and scooped midrange issues were still there, but not quite as badly as on the DSLs and TSLs.

SOUNDS

I tried it only with one guitar (Parker Fly Deluxe) with DiMarzio humbuckers and a coil tap mode as well. The cleans had a nice chime to them with split coils and I really liked adding a bit of reverb to give it a bit of that classic sixties flair. Going to the higher gain modes on that channel resulted in some cool quasi overdriven clean tones that, though I didn't have much use for them, sounded cool. The crunch tones were nice as well... very rich and dynamic overall (though like I said, I feel they would rely on power tube distortion/saturation so high volumes are better with this channel).

The OD1 mode was my favourite. Using it with split coils resulted in some cool hard rock Strat esque tones and putting it back into humbucker mode was great as well, perfect for many styles of British voiced rock tones. The biggest issue I had with this channel was how noisy it could get at higher gain levels. It was a bit louder noise wise than I would have expected... c'est la vie I suppose. OD2 was cool for wild gain sounds, but it was very noisy and compressed, so it was not a channel I gravitated towards often.

Aside from the compression and slightly scooped midrange nature of a lot of Marshalls nowadays, the biggest surprise was the amount of noise. It had a prominent hiss at higher gain levels and I couldn't imagine using such a noisy amp on a regular basis. Keep in mind this amp was new out of the box so it hadn't been used or abused in any way.



OVERALL OPINION

I feel that JVM is a step forward for Marshall, but it still doesn't quite get there. There are some nice tones within (on the clean and OD1 modes especially), but the inherent compression and buzzy sound that is a problem with Marshalls did get to me. Ultimately this would result in me not purchasing a new Marshall or recommending one, but they do sometimes take measures to improve them. This amp's closest competition would be a Mesa Boogie amp, of which there is no contest. I'm a MUCH bigger fan of Mesa than Marshall and have no problem saying so.

For the $1,700 or so new price that these amps are... I think you're getting a deal that's okay. Personally, if I wanted ultimate Marshally tones with versatility, I would spend $150 more and get a handbuilt Splawn Quick Rod with three gear modes. While the JVM isn't a bad amp by any means (there are actually some great tones inside it), it just has a high price and that pesky compression sound that can't be dialed out...

I had heard so much talk about this amp for some time that I felt I need to get it. I was recently playing Mesa Boogies and wanted to go back to the Marshall tone that I was comfortable with. So I sold a Mesa that I had to get this amp. I had already owned a DSL 100 and was looking for something similar with more options. I got this home and was immediately disappointed. The amp was cold right out of the box. In that the bias needed to be warmer and get those tubes cranking hotter. So the sound was kind of thin to me. Next I noticed how noisy this amp was compared to the DSL 100. I always knew the DSL has a bit of noise but not even close to this amp. There was so much gain in here that I needed to go out and buy a noise gate. I don't like using noise gates if I don't have to. It was really too much for me to handle, so I dumped the amp within a month after buying it.

Marshall JVM Series JVM410H Tube Amp Head Features:

* 100-Watt valve head
* Valve complement: 5 x ECC83 (12AX7s) in preamp, 2 x EL34s in power amp
* 4 independent, footswitchable channels-Clean, Crunch, OD1 & OD2
* Each channel boasts 3 footswitchable modes — Green, Orange & Red
* Studio quality, footswitchable digital reverb with level controls for all 4 channels.
* 2 footswitchable master volumes
* Two FX loops — Series/Parallel & Parallel
* Series/Parallel FX loop is footswitchable
* Emulated line out
* 6-way, 7-LED footswitch with memory capabilities (UK patent pending)
* All switching can be done via MIDI
* Made in England


UTILIZATION

There are a load of options in this amp. There are four channels with three different modes to choose from within each channel. So essentially it is a 12 channel amp. Some of these modes are repetitive. For instance you can get the same sound out of channel one on the red mode as you can channel 2 with the green mode. I pretty much stayed away from channel one since it seemed pointless to me. I used channel two quite a bit since it felt the most natural sounding of them all. The 3rd and 4th channel while sounding gainy were just too much and there was so much noise that it just didn't get used.

I read through the manual online at Marshall's website just to see if there was anything that I was missing. It was clear that I wasn't going to get this thing sounding the way I wanted.

SOUNDS

Perhaps I didn't give it a fair shake but I just couldn't get past how much noise this thing had. Plus it felt cheap to me. The sound was similar to a Line 6 simulator. It didn't feel natural at all. Nothing about this amp felt like a real amp except maybe channel one or two.

I used all kinds of guitars with this thing to make it sound good such as Strats, Tele, LP's, Wolfgang and even a Rickenbacker. Nothing could make this thing sound natural. Allow me to preface this by saying I had owned a Splawn QR and comparing the two was not fair. The Splawn was so far superior that it was pointless to even keep this amp. This amp wasn't even in the same league.

OVERALL OPINION

My opinion on this amp is to pass it up. Get a DSL 100 if you want high gain Marshall or get a JCM 800, modify it or slap a SD-1 in front for about have the price as this amp. If you want to buy an amp with high gain Marshall tones then get a Quickrod. If you want a huge low end amp then get a Nitro. Just don't waste your time with this amp.

I would not recommend this amp to anyone. At new prices they are over $2000. At used you may find it as good as I did for $1100. Save half that and get an DSL. Or save part and buy a 800 or a used Splawn.

(Originally written by rockboy51/translated from Audiofanzine FR)

All-tube amp head (5 ECC83, 4 EL34)
Output power: 100 watts
4 channels: clean, crunch, od1, od2
3 modes per channel: green, orange, red
Quality digital reverb
2 master volume controls
FX loop

UTILIZATION

First of all, I use it mainly with a Les Paul but also occasionally with a Stratocaster, a Telecaster and a Jackson.

Like all tube amps, it must be pre-heated some minutes before you can actually start playing (you have to use the standby switch for this). The head seems rather complex but it is simple and practical in its use.

The amp offers 12 different sounds (each of the 4 channels has 3 gain modes), which allows me to always find the sound I want.

I also like the amp's memory function. The included footswitch has 6 switches (labeled 1 to 6) and control LEDs (very convenient). This allows you to program the footswitch the way you see fit. For example, I assigned the switches as follows: 1 = clean channel, 2 = crunch channel, 3 = OD1 channel, 4 = OD2 channel, 5 = toggles between volume 1 and 2 (convenient to boost a solo) and 6 = reverb on/off for the active channel.
Each channel configuration is stored in the amp. For example, if I'm using the clean channel in orange mode, with the reverb on, master volume 1, FX loop on, and I switch to the OD1 channel in red mode and master volume 2, I can always go back to the clean channel and find it exactly as I described it above. And it's the same if I recall the OD1 channel again.

SOUNDS

Now let's talk about the sound possibilities...

I play mainly rock but I like to add thrash and pop elements to my playing. This amp offers me all the sounds I need.

I'll start with channel 1:
Green: Very simple clean sound, there's nothing to say about it.
Orange: Warmer sound with a bit more gain. When I use this mode I also activate a Boss Chorus CH-1 that I connect to the FX loop. This gives me a very rich Guns 'n' Roses sound (think Paradise City, Don't Cry, etc.).
Red: This mode has more gain. It can even produce a slight distortion.

Crunch channel:
I love this channel. Every mode (from green to red) increases a bit the distortion.

OD1 channel (overdrive 1):
This channel's green mode produces nearly the same result as the the red crunch mode. The orange mode produces a deeper distortion and it is very good to play rock and hard rock. The red mode is pretty much like the orange but with more distortion. It sounds like a high-gain Marshall.

The OD2 channel (overdrive 2) has the same design as the OD1 channel but with more distortion so that you easily get thrash metal sounds.

The master section allows to set the sound resonance and presence. Very convenient.

The 4 channels allow you to have different EQ settings to fine-tune certain sounds. This amp head provides me all the sounds I need and it has a warm and brilliant overall sound...

OVERALL OPINION

I just want to say: congratulations Marshall!!!

I've been using this amp for 2 months. It's my first all-tube amp and I'm thrilled. It's a killer amp!

My only critique would be that given that it's an all-tube head, it is very heavy and the stairs at my place are very steep.

I find it has a good value for money and wouldn't hesitate to buy it again.