I know this doesn't really have anything to do with Fender, but you guys have always helped me out in the past. So here's an ad for a 1986 Marshall JCM800 100 super lead head. I'd like to know how good of a deal that is. I really like the classic Marshall tone & I'll be playing my Fender Strat, & my Les Paul through it. Well here's the link, http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/msg/2705824645.html

Yep that is the baby. Priced right too, around £500 UK.

Don't expect Clapton/Hendrix tones out of it, though it will get you about there. It's more ZZTop Eliminator sounding.

Get some earplugs.

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sounds like a good deal to me as well (jcm800 owner) and as niki has pointed out get some good earplugs let us know how you get on , cheers
Alan

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For just $900 I'd go for it in the blink of an eye,the retail price just for my 50W JCM 800 2204 is $1,400 + so judge yourself accordingly. The 100W Marshalls have to be driven to almost pain threshold before they distort unless you use an attenuator or it has a master volume which I don't think the one you're looking at has.Of course you could always invest in a Marshall Guv'nor or some other great overdrive to give you the Marshall oomph at a low volume.If you are plaining on playing large venues or outdoor gigs that's the rig for you.

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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, it has a master volume so bluestratocaster can rock out anywhere , it's not a great practice amp though but remember and get a decent cab for the head if you buy it , don't buy a marshall mg 4x12 cab whatever you do (funds permiting ) go for a 1960 4x12 , or a sweet 2x12 that will handle the power , cheers
Alan

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Well I already have a combo amp for home use, so this amp would be used mainly for gigging. But the 100 watts may be a bit much for most gigs. So I'm planning on maybe getting an attenuator. I'm just wondering how low would an attenuator be able to decrease this amp's wattage to? (approximately)

Haha, after screwing around with my friend's crappy MG, I'd never go near those things!

MG cabs sound decent when paired with a good 1960 cab for a bit of sound reinforcement but as a stand alone cab it doesn't cut it.I use an MG 412 along with my 1960 cab and it enhances the mids and highs nicely because it has no bottom end to it. I didn't notice that it was a master volume as he gave no model number so it must be a 2203 if it's a 100 W master volume.Nick would know that for sure since he has one of these puppies.
Jim Marshall is quoted to have said that the JCM 800 2203 was the best amp Marshall ever built.

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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.

I'm borrowing a mid-80's Marshall JCM800 from my guitar teacher. He doesn't gig much anymore and he wanted someone to be using it rather than having it sit dormant in his garage like it has been. I've got to say, even though I'm not really into heavy metal (more of a blues person), it's got to be one of my favorite amps ever. Clean it sounds great for Riviera Paradise type stuff and it's still possible to get classic sounding Marshall crunch if you don't turn the gain up all the way. When I gig with it for my rock band I really don't even need pedals for it, I usually have to layer overdrives to get the sound I want. Honestly, I'd probably be trying to talk my teacher into selling it to me if I had the money. But the only thing about it is that it's definitely not the most portable amp in the world, sometimes a 30-40 watt combo gets the job done better at certain venues.

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Well I texted him about the master volume, & Alan is right, this one has a master volume & yes, it's the 2203.

Blues, don't procrastinate. Just go and get the amp before someone else does. It won't sit around for ever at that price.
That is the classic amp, right there. Theres what the 1959 and the JTM45 in the Marshall catalogue that are considered on a par with that amp. The thing is for sale on your shores for a little over what a Hotrod Deluxe costs on these. Which it's a universe away from as amps go.

There's a reason everyone from Clapton, Gibbons to Slayer or Corgan have used that amp. It sounds so bloody good.

Thats an amp priced to sell. As for it being a PCB rather than handwired, well Marshall PCB's of the time aint like they are now.

So grab your wallet and get out the door. Shirt tails flapping all the way. Hurry.

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And if for whatever reason you don't like it (you will), then you could always sell it for at least $900.

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blues you havent bought the jcm800 yet ? nick is bang on with what he's saying that amp won't be there for long , and just for a bit of reassurance my 800 is from 1981 , so it's from the first year they were made , it still has the original valves in it , it's never been repaired and it's done countless hours of gigs and jams and a lot of practice sessions in the long time i've owed it , they are bombproof , so what are you waiting for go grab that amp , cheers
Alan

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I had an '85 2 channel combo version. Recently sold it to buy a Les Paul.

That thing was kicked around stages. Thrown in vans. Spent nights in the garden alone. Had beer spilt on it. It has even been bleached.
Marshall have a reputation for building bomb proof amps for a reason.

When I sold it, it was either that or my KK head. The only reason I sold the combo was because an old acquaintance bought it. He's gigged it plenty of times before buying it and thrown it in vans too. He had a new kid on the way and wanted the KK head. I talked him out of it by offering him the combo for a pittance (£200, what I paid for it). Cos I didn't want him blowing his dough with a baby on the way.

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I have a JCM 800 2204 which is the 50W master volume and it's just a wonderful amp,I can get full bore crunch at little more than living room volumes.I put it in for new tubes and rebiasing once and the guys in the shop went all ga ga over it saying that it was the best Marshall they'd ever heard and the 2203 is up in that territory too.My daughter's former boyfriend paid $1,200 for a 2203 half stack about 17 years ago and despite repeated requests from me and others he won't part with it for any price and he's after being offered good money for it.

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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.