play professionally

rock, country, pop

PRS custom 24...home player

Metal, rock, alternative

I've been chasing JCM 800 sound (without actually buying a JCM 800...don't ask me why) with no such luck. I've tried pedals with a could clean amp and lesser Marshall combo amps but with little to no success. If something doesn't sound quite right I usually bail on the amp, I felt like bailing on the JMD:1 after my first couple practices with it but I liked the sound enough to keep working with it. I've been using it for a couple months now and it's breaking in very nicely, I really only keep it on the JCM 800 setting and it's the sound I need. A part of me still wants to get a great clean tube amp and throw another one of the "800 voiced" pedals in front but I know, for a fact, that it won't sound as good as the 800 voice on this amp. Marshall did it right and for a pretty great price point. There's a lot to be desired in the effects and that is a disappointment that you have to factor in but if you're looking for a hint of reverb, delay, chorus ect. this will do just fine. If you're playing in an effects driven band you're going to want to explore better options than the effects offered here. Honestly I think Marshall should have skipped that aspect and concentrated entirely on the voicing of vintage/classic amps. This amp is completely compatible with my style, although out of all the voices I would say that around 5 are usable, in my opinion...and that's including a couple cleans. I have no use for the "beefier" metal tones.

JCM 800, JCM 800 and JCM 800, I think it's the best sound on here. Really, if you're looking for JCM 800, next to buying that specific amplifier, your best bet is JMD:1. Get your settings right and use your guitars volume knob to control the sound, it's all you need. I would love to strip the amp down to just have the JCM 800 setting and nothing else. Haha There's nothing wrong with the extras, all the voices sound like they're supposed to, the effects are good but you will not be happy with the amount of control over them, very little. The tubes sound great and the compression is nice, it's solidly built and it feels like it's going to be with me for years. Loud, loud and loud.

There's definitely a learning curve. I was unhappy with the amp out of the box and almost sent it back, if you play with it for a couple weeks and you're a fan of classic Marshall sounds, I think you will no doubt find what you're looking for. If you're looking for effects heavy sounds, well maybe it'll work for you, but in my opinion you're gonna wanna look elsewhere, or give this amp a long look over at a Guitar Center. Make sure it's what you really want. So, this amp is just a little overcomplicated to get a great sound from, it'll take you a while to find what you want but when you do you can save your settings and come back to it anytime...with the footswitch included you can save many different settings. It's a pretty great feature, I just don't use it because...well you know.

It's 2 months old and kicking strong. I haven't dropped it or knocked it hard and don't intend to but I feel that it could take a beating. It's loud as all get out and might have people telling you to get out. The knobs have good weight, the tubes are quality, the speakers take what I've given and I'm confident they can take more. I usually play with the volume at around 5 or 6 and the master at around 5 or 6, it beats out my bassist and drummer and forces me to wear earplugs, it can easily handle a small club and even some outdoor shows. Mic it up and you're set for any setting.

This is iffy, a part of me wants to go way lower. I really believe amps of this quality shouldn't sell for so much but if you want good sound you're gonna have to drop some cash. I'm sure some people could rattle off some amps that I could have gotten that don't have Marshall on the front that are less expensive and sound better. I'm not a Marshall loyalist, at all, I may even admit that I liked my vintage Music Man amp more, but the crunch is here, in spades. Are there better amps at less money, surely, do they give the 800 sound that I want, better than this, I guarantee they don't. Guarantee.

Never contacted.

The "I want it" factor, well it gets a 10 because I wanted it so bad that I bought it. I looked at the videos of many different amps, namely this one and the Egnator amps, I went with the JMD:1 because every in depth review I watched the musician was able to get sounds that I wanted.

Musician of 17 years. Guitar, bass, drums. Active musician.

Punk Rock, Alternative