Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Jump to content

Does The Jcm 800 Sound Broken To You?


steele666
 Share

Recommended Posts

They definitely are diverse amps. I had a JCM 800 for a few years.. The 1959 Model 100 watt head.. No master volume. No gain knob.. Was balls to the walls loud. It was ear piercing by the time you got it loud enough to overdrive it.. Sounded great though. Sold it because I was getting this. Sold my Triple Rectifier because I was getting this, too. Selling my Fender 140 tube head, because I have the 500x. It can do Mesa grit, Marshall dirt, Fender clean.. So, no need for me to have those amps sitting here collecting dust. I'll still have my handful of tube amps.. I have 3 of them left and 2 I definitely won't ever sell. Ultimately, if I start gigging on a large scale again.. I'm going the tube power amp route and using the 500x as the preamp. Get myself one of them ISP rack noise reduction units.. A spare power amp.. Probably a Rocktron Velocity.. Wireless.. 1-2 other things.. And I'll be set.

 

All great tones and just shows me how diverse an amp this is because while both tones I've listened to sound great mine has a little more high end 80s shrill in it. To me the 800 model is at home in 80s genre and some early grunge. I prefer to use the classic distortion in front of it or the Jumbo Fuzz

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

who really gives a flying lollipop if it sounds exactly like any particular amp?

 

People who want to simulate the sound of a particular amp. People who want to simulate the sounds of particular bands which use the particular amp:

 

 

This is the amp thats used by Megadeth, Slayer, ... Judas Priest, Iron Maiden....

 

 

The only question is does it sound good or not?

 

No. If it sounds good like Lady Gaga but you want to sound good like Slayer, it makes all the difference.

 

If you absolutely have to have an 800 exactly, go buy one...

 

Okay, if you buy me microphones, a space where I can play an amp in the middle of the night, and you buy me an education in recording real amps, which I've never done before.

 

to dump this simply because you don't think the 800 is a perfect match is ridiculous...

 

Unless simulating the 800 is one of your particular goals.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

so what changed?  some very helpful folks posted some audio clips showing they can use it.  All of a sudden now you can too? (I hope so) You started off saying it was a POS but now its good to go...  just because you heard some audio clips?  do you still think its a "bee buzzing mess of an amp"?  Is it still "completely unusable and sounds nothing like an 800"?

 

My point here is its not the gear.  Its the user ALL the time, EVERY time.  This is not to bash you or anyone else.  Its the nature of the beast.  Understand that this gear will put you in the ball park but you have to hit it home. It may never exactly duplicate the particular example of an amp model that you have in your head.  BUT, it will get you close and you have to go the rest of the way with tweaks and ability.  Some times the tone you want to replicate will be best found with a different amp and cab altogether.  Its up to YOU to find what works and it matters not what others post in audio clips.  You want to sound like Slayer?  Trust me, the 800 model is certainly NOT the only amp model that can get you there...

 

Don't fall for the old trap of "if I only had that other piece of gear" syndrome... this is that other piece of gear, YOU just have to coax it out.  As you see here there are plenty of folks willing to go out of their way, as am I, to help others realize thier potential and learn.  Stick around and have fun.  No doubt you have good things to show us too...  ;)

 

 

People who want to simulate the sound of a particular amp. People who want to simulate the sounds of particular bands which use the particular amp:

No. If it sounds good like Lady Gaga but you want to sound good like Slayer, it makes all the difference.

Okay, if you buy me microphones, a space where I can play an amp in the middle of the night, and you buy me an education in recording real amps, which I've never done before.

Unless simulating the 800 is one of your particular goals.

  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is just a comment on modeling not this particular JCM issue....

 

I rarely go to the custom tone facility here, as I have rarely found anything that I could download and just use. I have gotten some great ideas from the tones, which I got some years ago, and still use extensively, and thanks to the contributors on that, but what I found is, I download something that I'm interested in, and I think What were they thinking?? -- this is no where even close!! The basic problem is the tone may sound great to a particular person, and will sound great on their setup, but as others have noted, the variables are way too many to be able to count on to hear the same thing from user to user.

 

The person who uploads it has a sound in their head they go to with the equipment -- guitar (brand, output level, tonality, JTV, regular electric, single coil, hum buckers, JTV model or Mag PU's), connection (analog or VDI if JTV), actual amplification for the signal (tube, solid state, guitar amp - in the front or in the power section or 4 cable method, or full range pa type amp), physical speakers (guitar (midrange peaks), or full range (flatter, more even response)), actual cabinets, the actual room, or stage you play in, into recordings or into a live situation - higher or lower volume levels even make a speaker react differently, and the ear reacts differently. While the only thing in common for the uploaded tones between us is the POD HD 500 or 500X....

 

I'm a weekender for gigs, but have been at it for over 40 years, now.  Over time with the PODs I had (XTL, X3L, HD500, HD500X), I've come to some basic tones for the types of music I play. I do a very clean country tone with a hint of edge at the top of the volume pedal, for blues I use an edgier version of the same, but with drive up a bit for more bite, for 70's 80's rock, I do a distortion tone - tight, not a rumble, and a heavier distortion for that end of the spectrum. I have some very nice acoustic sounds with the JTV and HD that I am very happy with. I haven't really gone with the JCM amp models, as it is not an amp I was ever drawn to in RL - Not my particular cup of meat... Then for other uses, I have patches for other effects in or out -- variations on the basic patches or forced tunings on the JTV. One thing I've noticed is that the majority of tones on the custom tone area are fairly distortion heavy.

 

I practice for hours on a song to get it right, but don't spend tons of time to get the exact tone of a special amplifier for a 3 minute song.... That amount of detail gets wasted on an audience - it would only be for me, and I have a palette of sounds that pleases me.

 

I've got a certain tonality in my head that is my base, and oddly enough, when I tweek other models in the 500X or on an amp in a music store, the base sound I always end up with with most amps either sounds like the tone in my head, or if not achievable with that amp or model I move on to another amp, unless I'm specifically looking for something radically different. It all is coming down to personal preference, and I don't expect others to read my mind and just know what I'm happy with. I definitely agree with ratatats -- the individual makes the tone, it's their choices of equipment, settings, and playing techniques that vary widely, and make wildly varying final outcomes. Until you're happy with it, you have to keep tweeking, or if that doesn't get you what you want, change something to chase your tone. No one can do it for you, and only you will know it when you hit it. If it was easy, anybody could do it.... ;o)

 

Dave

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As davidb7170 said, it's always good to point out that the uploaded custom tone patches should only be used for getting ideas. I too use it for that but ultimately adjust to what I feel like at the time I'm playing. My goal has been to just be able to pick up a guitar and play it the way I feel like playing it so I can have fun and others around me can get a kick out of it too. This sort of thing doesn't lock me in to any one form of music or particular amp models. I like this way of doing it because It keeps me in learning mode which fosters new ways of playing. Many times I'll just pick up a guitar and choose an amp and just see where it takes my playing, basically I adjust to the tone then play for a while to warm up and start tweaking from there depending on how I feel. Sometimes I'll play something really good and then wished I recorded it, lol. That only makes me think harder about how I played what I just learned. Keep the learning process engaged somehow 'cause if it stops it's sometimes hard to get back, hahaaa. Now I usually always create new tones so that I understand how to create them and can do it on a moments notice.

I worked with alot of different kind of machinery and each machine was always different so I had to always adjust to them at different times that's the sort of thing that makes you good 'cause what happens is you are always in flux so at a moments notice you can change to make things happen in good ways quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasnt trying to start a pissing contest guys, just to my ears it doesnt sound right. I plugged my POD XT Live in to compare the 2 and personally i think that version of a JCM800 that they modelled on the PODXT sounds better then the model they used for the pd hd. I guess I was just wondering if any felt the same way? and clearly some people do.

Ive used plenty of 'real' amps to compare to the models on the pod hd and most of them are vey close if not spot on. I just feel they really missed the ball with the 800, and the Uber the rest are close enough approximations to where no one can tell the difference in a recording. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also not to dig on anyones posts but the music everyone is posting is very different than the sound im looking for. Im looking for a thrash sound with the 800, think Rust In Peace, Reign In Blood, balls to the walls thrash. Unfortunately the 800 has a very distinct tone you need to make this work, I cant get it on the Uber, or Treadplate or Engl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like you need the real amp, etc.. I don't think your digging on anyones posts. The forum is full of opinions we should come here knowing that. If you want the exact tone someone else uses for their music you may find yourself spending alot of time and money and hauling heavy gear or at the very least alot of time. I do hope you all that are loking for that particular tone find it though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

You started off saying it was a POS

 
I didn't. I started off by saying I don't even own one. I'm not the original poster.
 

Its the user ALL the time, EVERY time.

 

How can this be taken seriously? As if every modeling algorithm were created equal. I engineer and program synths for living, though nothing remotely in competition with Line6 products. Next time I create a crappy product, I'll pitch it to you and blame you if it sounds crappy in your hands.

  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also not to dig on anyones posts but the music everyone is posting is very different than the sound im looking for. Im looking for a thrash sound with the 800, think Rust In Peace, Reign In Blood, balls to the walls thrash. Unfortunately the 800 has a very distinct tone you need to make this work, I cant get it on the Uber, or Treadplate or Engl.

 

I know Rust In Peace and Reign in Blood like the back of my hand (what they sound like, not how to play them), and the samples posted here don't convince me POD HD could do that, and that is no disrespect intended for the people who kindly posted samples.

 

I want a good 800 simulator too. I'll look into the red Pods and see how they compare. And that will somehow annoy the fanatics who believe its every musician's duty to use POD HD and make what he can out of it.

  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wasnt trying to start a pissing contest guys, just to my ears it doesnt sound right. I plugged my POD XT Live in to compare the 2 and personally i think that version of a JCM800 that they modelled on the PODXT sounds better then the model they used for the pd hd. I guess I was just wondering if any felt the same way? and clearly some people do.

Ive used plenty of 'real' amps to compare to the models on the pod hd and most of them are vey close if not spot on. I just feel they really missed the ball with the 800, and the Uber the rest are close enough approximations to where no one can tell the difference in a recording. 

 

I know from POD XT that this is a great company. A great company will try to fix their mistakes; they don't need fanboys blaming bad simulations on the consumer.

  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You want to sound like Slayer?  Trust me, the 800 model is certainly NOT the only amp model that can get you there...

 

No I won't trust you. No one's posted anything that sounds remotely like Slayer. Talk is cheap.

  • Downvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stick around and have fun.

 

It's like a creepy cult. When you call a simulator an "800-simulator", some people are going to want it to actually simulate an 800. If it doesn't do that, you can rename it. Make up a name for it. But don't call it an 800-simulator if it doesn't simulate an 800, and if you see people looking for a real 800-simulator just leave them alone because real simulation isn't your area.

  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

BachRules, people here tried to help you, been polite, kind, and some agreed with you, some don't. With your latest comments you just prove that you don't want help, or proves, you are here just to bust out our community. You don't deserve so much even to be in this community. You are here for nothing, doing nothing , wasting our time for you.


  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

BachRules, people here tried to help you, been polite, kind, and some agreed with you, some don't. With your latest comments you just prove that you don't want help, or proves, you are here just to bust out our community. You don't deserve so much even to be in this community. You are here for nothing, doing nothing , wasting our time for you.

 

 

I'm not looking for a community, I'm looking for an 800-simulator. Do you really not understand that? My problem is with the clowns blaming the HD's defects on the consumers; that's not most here, but it's a significant portion.

 

 

You don't deserve so much even to be in this community.

 

I sincerely believe you need to get a life. This is a forum based on a product. Thanks to obsequious fanboys like you, Line6 feels less pressure to deliver high quality. But who cares what your music sounds like, as long as you have your 'community' here.

 

You are here for nothing

 

That's retarded. I'm here researching products.

 

You are here for nothing, doing nothing , wasting our time for you.

 

So quit wasting your time telling me the HD has a bunch of amps that sound like Slayer, and quit wasting your time telling me I don't really want an 800-simulator, or telling me that I shouldn't want an 800-simulator.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

So quit wasting your time telling me the HD has a bunch of amps that sound like Slayer, and quit wasting your time telling me I don't really want an 800-simulator, or telling me that I shouldn't want an 800-simulator. 

Guess that I didn't tell you anything of that, then who is the retarded here :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guess that I didn't tell you anything of that, then who is the retarded here :)

 

... in which case, I did not direct any criticism at you... and yet you got all crazy with me.

 

No one posting audio wasted their time. It's helpful not just to me, but to any number of other people reading this, and some might think the samples sound like an 800, or may just like the samples and not care whether it's like a real 800; and my opinion on that isn't important to anyone but me.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My problem is with the clowns blaming the HD's defects on the consumers;

 

there is no defect here. There is only an inability to get the tone you want without working at it.  The end result ALWAYS depends on your skills and abilities.

 

 

Some guys just get it done...  Others? Well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

there is no defect here. There is only an inability to get the tone you want without working at it....

 

Some guys just get it done...  Others? Well...

 

I hear a guy who plays guitar a lot better than me but I still don't hear the Slayer tone.

 

The end result ALWAYS depends on your skills and abilities....

 

... and it always depends on your equipment too.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Life is too short to be arguing and insulting each other. Be that as it may, I didn't want to touch this thread to avoid getting caught in the middle but since I have personal experience with the amp in question I figured I'll share. I played a few and I have to say that they weren't user friendly amps and most of the times they were a one trick pony. I personally think the appeal came from the reliability rather than the sound as most touring bands used them because they were simply reliable. They can be cranked at full volume every night with much less concerns like other amps that would quit after a couple of nights of abuse.

 

To get an 800 to sound good, you had to be specific in what you use, so they're truly not very versatile. Most player I knew used the BOSS overdrive  (OD-1 if I remember correctly) and that made the 800 into 4x12 sound like a fire breathing monster. If you used any other distortion pedal, they would sound like junk...I'm sure you could use other drive pedals to get good results. The combos were no different and despite what you might have read from line6 literature about the clean sound of the 800 being underrated, the 800 that were floating around were either modded or who knows what, but the clean channel sounded thin and lifeless and no one I knew bought an 800 for it's clean sound. The obvious thing that most players forget  is that most tube amps can be made to sound similar so you could still get good clean sound from the 800 with additional pedals or EQs if you wanted to.

 

So how close did line 6 modeled the 800? In general I would say very close and this thread can support this conclusion. Many are having difficulty but some are getting great results, just like the real world amps.

 

But and there's a big BUT. When you turn the Drive knob ( in line6 simulation) down all the way to the left, you get a volume boost and a thicker nice clean tone as if you switched to a completely different channel. (Try a distortion or tube drive here and you would get good results, but that's not the point). The point is that the simulation is not accurate in this respect, so something is really broken here. How do you get a volume boost when you turn the drive to minimum!! Can this be effecting the gain staging of the whole simulation? Someone from line 6 might want to chime in if they happen to read these boards. Remember that this doesn't imply that the current 800 simulation is really bad, it might be better than the real thing as what happened with the Uber if any of you remember. The original  Uber simulation ( year 2010 firmware) that had an error in the simulation was brought back as the" line 6 electrik" as many demanded it as being better than fixed or corrected uber .

  • Upvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But and there's a big BUT. When you turn the Drive knob ( in line6 simulation) down all the way to the left, you get a volume boost and a thicker nice clean tone as if you switched to a completely different channel. (Try a distortion or tube drive here and you would get good results, but that's not the point). The point is that the simulation is not accurate in this respect, so something is really broken here. How do you get a volume boost when you turn the drive to minimum!! Can this be effecting the gain staging of the whole simulation? Someone from line 6 might want to chime in if they happen to read these boards. Remember that this doesn't imply that the current 800 simulation is really bad, it might be better than the real thing as what happened with the Uber if any of you remember. The original  Uber simulation ( year 2010 firmware) that had an error in the simulation was brought back as the" line 6 electrik" as many demanded it as being better than fixed or corrected uber .

 

Ya'll helped me understand alot more about the history of this amp, which I would never had known given my lack of experience with amps in general, Thanks. Also I know what you mean with a boost when turning the drive down. I noticed this but didn't think much of it 'till now, lol.

 

Alright, let's all settle down. The direction this thread is going, it will be locked and shut down and that won't help anyone. It could be a thread where we all jump in and try to tweak the 800 with different ideas which would be very helpful but I doubt that is where we are headed.

 

Now getting back to the JCM800, the first versions were master volume design and the later versions were two channel. Also, the original matching cabinets had a model of Celestion speakers that were not well received because of their sound and were changed by Marshall to a different version of Celestion.

 

*Most important, the UK version used EL34's and the USA version used 6550's. So depending on the speaker and tube version, there could be a very noticeable difference in tone and how it breaks up and overdrives.

 

So different users could be chasing different JCM800 tones which could explain the discrepancy in opinion. Line 6 modeled the 2204 which was the 50 watt master volume unit, but which one? The UK or USA version? EL34's or 6550's? What version of the Celestion G12-75?

 

I have personal experience with the Marshall 2210 which was 100 watts, two channels sitting on top of a 4X12 cabinet housing two Creambacks and two V30's. I can tell you that the modeled version is no way near the tone of that, but I didn't expect it to be. I've spent some time with the modeled version tweaking and tweaking some more, but I never achieved a tone that I like so I moved on. Not a big deal to me, but I can understand others being frustrated. However, I think your frustration is not knowing about the various renditions of  the JCM 800 and you may be chasing a tone that was not created with the modeled version.

 

I think that this is great example of why I believe that the next generation of Line 6 modeling software should incorporate the ability to swap tubes and other components. This is what Peavey Revalver does and their upcoming version 4 will do it at an even greater depth. This would allow us to change the characteristics of the amp models with different internal components to mimic the different version of amps like the JCM800 that had several different models including and most of all, different tubes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hear a guy who plays guitar a lot better than me but I still don't hear the Slayer tone.

 

 

... and it always depends on your equipment too.

 

Apart from the fact that I think the clip posted sound more or less close to the original, you don't know what other equipment they did use in the studio recording Reign in blood. I don't think that was the amp alone...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Apart from the fact that I think the clip posted sound more or less close to the original, you don't know what other equipment they did use in the studio recording Reign in blood. I don't think that was the amp alone...

 

True, but without a demo that sounds like the real thing, I don't understand where so many here get the idea that enough tweaking is all it would take. I'm not big on faith, more into science.

 

Most of the demos posted here include high end noise like I've never heard in any Slayer or Megadeth, or any other successful band. It was painful, and I hear it in the demo from Line6 too. I've never heard anything like it from analog equipment, so I wonder of it's aliasing. I can't imagine how you'd cut that out without cutting out the whole high end.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for bringing this post back on topic guys, I definitely dont want this to end up closed. 

And I totally agree that the 800 was a one trick pony but the one trick was awesome! I never used the OD-1 in front of mine, I always used the TS-1 but the point of using those 2 pedals was the same, boost the signal. 

Im surprised more people havent yelled at me to just 'use the pod xt if you like it so much'. I really feel the pod hd sounds incredible and really is/was a huge step up from previous modelling. Maybe next update (if there ever is another update) they give us another 800 or maybe a 5150....

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

True, but without a demo that sounds like the real thing, I don't understand where so many here get the idea that enough tweaking is all it would take. I'm not big on faith, more into science.

 

Most of the demos posted here include high end noise like I've never heard in any Slayer or Megadeth, or any other successful band. It was painful, and I hear it in the demo from Line6 too. I've never heard anything like it from analog equipment, so I wonder of it's aliasing. I can't imagine how you'd cut that out without cutting out the whole high end.

Since you haven't been able to hear the tone you want, despite the best efforts of some kind people here who have gone out of their way to post demo clips for you, maybe the HD500 isn't for you. Personally, I'm not inclined to go out of my way to try to convince you of something you don't seem to want to be convinced about, especially when you tend to berate those who do bother responding to you (I think I'm next). Your last sentence above says it all. Perhaps its just time for you to pursue other options to get the Slayer tone you want, whatever that is.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Since you haven't been able to hear the tone you want, despite the best efforts of some kind people here who have gone out of their way to post demo clips for you, maybe the HD500 isn't for you.

 
It's not just about me. You mean, the HD isn't for anyone who wants an 800 sound but doesn't hear an 800 in the posted samples.
 

Your last sentence above says it all.

 
The sentence read, "I can't imagine how you'd cut that out without cutting out the whole high end," and I have no clue what your issue with that sentence is.
 

Personally, I'm not inclined to go out of my way to try to convince you of something you don't seem to want to be convinced about,

 

How do I "seem" like I don't want to be convinced? Of course I wish the HD could do a good 800 simulation. That would be the easiest solution for my needs, considering I have an HD sitting next to me (just without a power supply), and I'd rather not return it. The real problem is, I'm being honest about what I hear, and you dislike honesty so you're making a ridiculous accusation that I'm biased, but you're just being foolish, and there's already been more than enough foolishness from you hostile, obsequious fanboys in this thread. Do you believe that the numerous other critics of the HD-800 are similarly in some sort of delusional denial of its awesomeness?

 

And if you don't want to post an audio sample for the whole internet, you can pretend like I'm the only one who would have listened to it, so you can pretend that I'm the only one you're denying your service. This issue doesn't revolve around me, but it's flattering that you make it out to, with your panties so in a bunch.

 

Or if your real reason for not trying to convince me is that you can hear how wrong the HD-800 is, then stop Lying.

 

Maybe I will sell this HD to someone with a lot of Faith, and he can have Faith the HD could sound like an 800, if only enough "tweaking", and he can make crappy Faith-music with it and I'll find another way to sound like Slayer.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 
 
...

 

Maybe I will sell this HD to someone with a lot of Faith, and he can have Faith the HD could sound like an 800, if only enough "tweaking", and he can make crappy Faith-music with it and I'll find another way to sound like Slayer.

 

Exactly. Please do.

 

As predicted, I'm next on your hit-list just by responding to you. I won't be wasting any more time with you.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm next on your hit-list just by responding to you.

 

But you didn't "just respond to me", you liar.

 

I won't be wasting any more time with you.

 

And you're retarded for having done so in the first place.

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...