Hi TGS,I have some info about 100 W JCM 800 heads.Marshall made only 3 100 W heads in the 800 series: 2203,2210 and the 1959.
The 2203 was a single channel master volume amp and was much easier to rein in than the 1959 as you could get a real good crunch without causing your ears to bleed by turning your master way down.
The 1959 was a remake of the famous Plexi that Jimi Hendrix prefered and was an absolute beast as far as volume goes.You could get some control of the volume by "daisy chaining"the 2 channels.Daisy chaining is simply running a lead from the input of channel one into an input of channel two therefore preamping one channel with the other therefore allowing some control of the massive volume.
The 2210 is also somewhat easier to control as it has a split channel feature that engages an overdrive from a footpedal and has a master volume so you don't get in over your head volumewise.The 2210 also has a footswitchable reverb that can bring extra texture to your sound.
So your teacher has one of these 3 fabulous amps,the 1959 is a true beast and not for the faint of heart but the others can be just as hairy but can be tamed a lot easier.I hope this info was helpful.Either way you're in for the thrill of your life.

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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.

Indeed!

I used to play a '74 Super Plexi Lead through a pair of Sunn 412S cabs.

Anything volume setting beyond "3" caused a seismic event......simply awesome!

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Back in the mid 70s I could've gotten 63 firebird VII with gold hardware and Vibrola and a late 60s 1959 plexi in factory custom white "elephant hide" Tolex and blue grills on both 4-12 cabs as a package deal for $1,200 or gotten the amp alone for $900 or the guitar for $400 and I didn't have the presence of mind to get a loan for it.Stupid,Stupid Stupid me.

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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.

Those were the days, eh?

In the mid '70s I remember seeing mid '60s Princeton Reverbs in pawn shops for ninety bucks!

I wish Ronco would start marketing their "Mr. Time Travel" machine.



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I've been on the lookout for one............ Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Mike build your own mate.




Source the parts yourself you'll do it for a third of the price (I can't believe the cost of these kits) and about a fifth of the cost of buying a new complete amp.


You'll have a lot of fun and learn a lot doing it, I did.
Currently planning a JTM45/5F6A basicaly a bluesbreaker that heads more towards a bassman. Gonna slap it into a 4x12 cab. The ultimate british Bassman.


TGS
I really think you could be barking up the wrong tree with a JCM800. They are quite hard, edgey sounding amps. Responsible for Marshalls constant focus on metal amps and not a lot else, since the early 80's.
Make sure it's exactly what you want before you buy. The 2210/4211 is a very metal amp, the precursor to the JCM900's. Even the master volume amps don't come into their own till your upwards of 6 on the volume control. With everything else at full tilt. Trust me, you just don't need that kind of power for gigging these days, ever. I'm completely smitten with the not so dirty channel of my 4211. I just can't get a usable clean sound out of it, I use the gain channel for that and put up with the volume loss.
I Got a JCM2203KK too, the Kerry King signature amp. It seems to be based more on the JVM, but delivers a massive sound. Probably due to the KT88 valves. It sounds quite nice if you don't use the silly midboost/noisegate function, for a lot less wunga than the 2203x reissue.
If I were you I'd look to a JTM45 head or blues(back)breaker combo.

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No no and no

Nev

The secret is to do a small easy one first

You could do this mate and save yourself a grand in the process. Cost you about £90 in parts to build it as a head.
Then ofcourse the wooden cabinet to house it.

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No no and no

Actually nevin that's funny because I have a broken super old chrome toaster that would make a great cabinet for a small tube head!

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Hi Nik I have the 4210 and 2204 that are basically the 50 W versions of your amps and I can get some Bitchin' bluesy tones from them.I guess that the 100W versions must have some other things in their insides to make them unsuitable for blues,I figured that were the same amp only louder but I guess that's not the case.BTW I have a Marshall book from the early 90s and it has the schematics for many desireable Marshall amps, I wish that I could read schematics,I'd have some real fun.

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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.

Guitslinger

No doubt you can get the sound you want out of your amps. It's in no way a impossibility. I, after seeing a vid of TGS play, think they are a little too hard edged sounding for what she wants.
Yeah you can get a great Billy Gibbons tone out of either, and Buddy Guy used to endorse the 2210/4211's. However I just don't think their ideal amps for that use. They are a expensive amp that excell at what they were made to do, rock and metal. I do think the 50watters sound superior to the 100 watters, I find that with all Marshall amps though.
Personaly for a blues/rock amp out of Marshall I don't think you need look any further than the DSL.

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No no and no

Thanks for the info Guitslinger!

My teacher described it as having two channels and a footswitch, so it's most likely a 2210. It would make sense, since he used to be on the shredder band wagon. While he can still shred, he isn't really into the guitar pyrotechnics for the sake of guitar pyrotechnics anymore. Now he'd probably rather listen to Motown than to Iron Maiden. Which is part of the reason he's letting me borrow this amp if I want.

nikininja: I'm not actually thinking about buying it right now, he (my guitar teacher) just offered to let me borrow it for a few gigs. If I like it then I may see about working out a payment plan (which would probably take several years to pay off, so it has that working against it). Honestly, I have the same reservations about it that you mentioned. I honestly don't want a massive amount of volume. I'm not SRV and this isn't an appropriate band for it. One of the reasons I was hired was that I was aware of how loud I was and I try not to overpower the vocals. I probably wouldn't turn the Marshall up past 1 or 2.

I was really just more interested in the clean tone and then adding the usual overdrive and/or distortion when needed. I also wanted to check out the dirty channel too, to see if I could get a decent tone without using the pedals. But I've played Fender style amps basically since I graduated from solid state practice amps and I've never so much as played through a real Marshall tube amp, ever. So I'm really, really curious.

And looks have something to do with it too. A Marshall stack has a stage presence of it's own, it almost makes up for the fact that I stare at my feet the whole time I'm onstage.

I think that if I were to actually buy a Marshall I would get a smaller head or combo and I would go for something more vintage sounding. I'm more after the creamy overdrive types of tones, not really the edgy metal thing. And I really don't need to be as loud as Hendrix. I'd rather have a smaller amp and turn it up more than to have a bigger amp and have to keep it turned down real low. But then again, that's what I'd use my pedals for. To make it sound turned up when it's really not. I was actually looking for something like a fifteen watt Marshall if there's such a thing. I want the tone but not the volume. I could use it for small clubs and band practice. And I could even hook my guitar up to several different little amps like that to get the multi-amp SRV thing going without going deaf or having to drag a ton of huge amps around.

I don't know, I think I may try the half stack just for a gig to see how I like it. It wouldn't hurt, and I'd finally get the Marshall stack obsession/curiosity out of my system.

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Well TexBex you better borrow it.

I don't dislike the amp at all. If I did, I would have sold it.

Truth be told the 2210 is a great circuit, really good. The clean/not so clean channel is the place to go for drive. Keep the dirty channel clean and use that for a clean tone. The drive on that channel is a bit too much for what you want. It is ideal for Metalica stuff though.

It is a very versatile amp, just don't expect to find the tones you're after where you'd normally expect em to be. As I said, I use the clean channel on mine almost exclusively. No pedals, just turn it up full, that's where I find that classic kind of driven tone. Kind of 10 Years After, or a early Santana sound. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFpfureaCVs

The dirty channel cleaned up does a great 80's pop kind of clean.

Get yourself a ox too, they weigh a tonne.

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No no and no

I wouldn't have thought about using the clean for overdrive and the dirty channel for clean, but I'll definitely try it.

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Mike...this site might interest you.

allenamps.com

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I Can't Explain

Thanks Beaubs.Appreciate your help........... Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.