Hahahah! that was the whole title based on...Marshall! Marshall! Marshall!

Ok what about this...JCM800 2203 or 2210?

Get a tweed "59 Bassman. That's what the good Marshall amps were copied from.

i dont have any experience with marshall so i picked the first one because it said something about vintage and vintage things are usually good.

Go for broke, get that Marshall Jimi Hendrix hand wired job. Jk, Vintage modern is niiiice. I do miss my 800 though, damn ye financial hardship.

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10-4 good buddy, over and out!

You'd be far better off with a 50watt. Theres absolutely no need for a 100watt stack these days. Ok the speaker configuration of a fullstack with 8, 12" speakers is a sound all of its own. You'll never get the thing past 4 though and in reality you'll only be using half the amp. They were designed for a time when P.A's weren't very good. Today your stage volume is going to be much lower. Personally I use around 10-15 watts onstage, via a attenuator.

Considering that I'd choose a TSL or DSL. The TSL has a built in power reduction system. If the DSL has the same gizmo I'd get that, I prefer the basic sound of the DSL. Its gain structure is a little different and doesnt sound quite so cascading.

Of your choices for your tastes the vintage modern would also be my choice. Jcm800's are great (I use 2 of em, a 2210 and a 2203) as are 900's. 900's are a little harder sounding at times, good for metal. The VM however seems better for your tastes from what you say. As for 2203 or 2210, the 2210 is like a transition from 800-900. The clean channel of the 2210 is just like the 2203, its rarely clean. Mine distorts at 3-4 on that channels gain control. The drive channel is pure JCM900. The use of the volume control on that amp is everything. Below 4 it just sounds thin and buzzy as is the case with most marshalls.

The only amp based on the bassman was the JTM-45. It was made with English equivalents to those american parts. Consequently it doesnt sound anything like a bassman. Also it wasnt actually that popular. Thats why the 1959 superlead plexi was developed. Townsend was constantly complaining about the sound of them. Myself I got to play through around 5 bluesbreaker combos in november. Its the combo version of the JTM-45. Its a very magical experience theres no sound on this planet like a les paul into a bluesbreaker. Everyone should do it atleast once.
That would be a good choice for you at 30watts. Trust me its 30watts not to be sniffed at, their as loud as anyone needs. Jeff Beck still uses em.

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Absolutely, Blues Breaker and a Paul, delicious combination.

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10-4 good buddy, over and out!

Well I would go with a JVM410H. YOu have all those tones in one head.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but I gotta say, I've owned. and used five different Marshall amps over the past twenty-five years-all tube amps- and sadly not one was a keeper. I've been told that the only way to really appreciate a Marshall is to power it with 220 volts. The amps are equipped for this, unfortunately the 220 isn't readily available at the small to medium sized clubs and bars I play in. And, I'm not that hard to please tone wise. My big problem with all the Marshall amps I've owned was consistancy....One night great, the next like hammered dog waste. I've nerver had that problem with any other of the more expensive (and some of the cheaper) amps I've used. Of course, opinions vary. Stay with what works for you.

Wolfman
I'm not at all offended by your opinion so dont worry about that. As far as consistency goes all I can surmise is that its down to the tonestack of marshall amps. The bass, middle and treble controls do nothing on their valve amps at gig volume. Your pretty much stuck with the same eq for every room. 20ft away from the amp it doesnt matter where the bass control is all you get is that high mid heavy sound. As I said previously the tone of marshall amps is far more dependant on the volume control than any of the eq controls. You either get on with that or you dont. Luckily theres a world of different manufacturers out there for people that dont like them.

I've never heard the one about them not running properly on 110V, perhaps because I live in the land of 240V. You can always get a step up transformer to run it at 240V though. I'll get a step down tran and set mine to 110V to try it.

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Both my JCM 800s (2204&4210)have consistantly sounded great and have proven very reliable.I had a 72 Artiste 2040 with 2-12" Greenbacks that I sold to my nephew about 10 yrs ago and he still uses it gigging and recording.The Artiste sounds so good that people think it's a Bluesbreaker (same cabinet).The Artiste has been called Artist but it was originally spelled Artiste.I rarely hear of anyone having problems with Marshall's tonal consistancy but 5 amps in a row that must be a record.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Isnt it the Artiste thats superior to the bluesbreaker? 50watts with reverb instead of tremolo? I thought the basic tonestack, pre and power sections were the same bar threverb instead of tremolo.

You really are getting to creme of the crop amps here Guitslinger. Whenever you mention marshall people think of these driven stack monsters. The 1962 combos (forgot the designation for the Artiste was it 64?) were absolute tonal gems, capable of plenty besides beano tone. As an aside do you find the clean channel of your 4210 to be almost exactly the same as the 2204 when plugged into the 2204's cab? I use the 4211 and 2203 and find it hard to spot the difference. I must say I do vastly prefer the 2204 to the 2203. Theres a tonal difference in it thats hard to describe, its like grittiness. I found the same between the DSL 100 and 50 watters too. Maybe its just speaker reaction.

I'm starting to feel a spend coming on.

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i voted for the 800 , i've had one for about 14 years and it's never let me down and always sounds great

Hi Nik,The Artiste was the 2040 made from 71-78,it does have a reverb circuit however the previous owner had modded it quite a bit(a neat job)and had a circuit installed using 1 channel's inputs to install control pots.He modded it out to 2204 type operation and installed a master volume.He thought enough of the amp to install it so it could be returned to original state without much trouble.They also made a 100W Artist in a head only model the 2068 from 71-78.The Artiste is a lot cleaner than the Bluesbreaker however with the mods this one is almost indistinguishable in tone.I think it's the same model Roy Orbison used for years,it's identical in pix I've seen.I sold the amp to my nephew only under the condition that if he ever sold he'd sell it back to me for the same price($400)a bargain to say the least.I've run the 4210 through my 4-12 cab and it does sound amazingly like the 2204.I agree the 2204 sounds a lot better than the 2203 mine has G-25 Ls and my friends 2203 has the G-75 Ms the 2203 needs massive volume to give the warmth that the 2204 needs when it starts to break up even then there's a rawness to it that you don't get in the 2204.A 2203 needs to be outdoors or in a large venue for you to extract the tones it's capable of,definately not a small venue amp.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.