The Marshall JCM 800 has grown onto one of the most desireable Marshall amps. It’s a little funny beause at one time guitarists did not really care for the master volume marshall amps.

The 2203 is the 100w version. The 50w is the 2204.

The JCM 800 was a direct descendant of the JMP series of amplifiers. In the picture below notice the horizontal jacks. Earlier 800’s had vertical jacks. There were some very minor circuit changes when they switched to horizontal jacks. Many consider the vertical jack model more desireable.

I saw Extreme last night at Toads’s Place in New Haven. They were fantastic and at the top of their game. It was great to see them in such an intimate setting.

I took a few pics of Nuno’s amps setting on his new Randall signature series amp.

Also Nuno was using a Boss GT-8 primarily for effects and volume boost. Next to the GT-8 is a Boss OC-3 Octave pedal. I really didn’t notice if he kicked on the octave pedal.

Overall his tone was great. He had two heads on stage but one was a backup.

This summer Zoom is releasing the Zoom Q3 video recorder. The Q3 is similar to the H2 with the addition of video. I was pretty excited to hear about the Q3 because I really love my Zoom H2.

The Zoom Q3 uses the same capsules as the H4n so I am sure the audio recording quality will be great. This is going to be a great tool for bands to record shows and rehearsals. I think it’s a pretty good tool for YouTubers as well.

I have a feeling Zoom is targeting more than musicians with this product and is trying to capture a bit of the Flip Video consumer. To that end I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t a wide screen or HD capability on the Zoom Q3. I just assume any new video product can shoot widescreen.

I’d like to get my hands on one of these to give it a proper test.

Vox has entered the low power tube amp market with the introduction of the Night Train. The amp features two 12AX7 preamp tubes and two EL84 power tubes which deliver 15 watts of power. The amp is switchable to deliver 7.5 watts in trio mode.

The preamp is pretty cool and has Treble, Middle and Bass control along with a switchable Bright and Thick mode. I haven’t seen a schematic but I imagine the bright and thick modes are accomplished by modifying the stock tone stack.

The amp is pretty nice looking and Vox has a matching 1-12 cabinet with a custom VOX Celestion ‘greenback’ speaker.

I haven’t had the chance to hear one in person. Vox has posted some excellent clips on their web site.

This is a pretty review on Youtube.

Overall I kind of dig how this amp sounds. To me it seems to have that Vox vibe (duh) and can get pretty snarly too.

A few years ago Lori Linstruth made available her Behringer V-amp library. I still use some of her presets. They sound really great for a thick solo tone. You can download them here.

Lori rhythm
Lori Solo 2 wet
Lori Solo 3 wet

Lori Linsruth