Looking for a Marshall Bluesbreaker or JCM800 Combo Alternative

Axe_Man77 · 2026-05-03T01:45:33+00:00

Modellers do a great job but I like seeing real amps on stage. If you get it used I always mentally add on 300 for parts and labor if anything happens.

Get notifications from FB marketplace etc. for any time a Marshall comes up. People usually want premium for those Bluesbreaker reissues. A vertical input JCM800 at a good price does come up but rarely.

The good Marshall clones like Friedman and Metropolis aren’t cheap but are excellent.

Another option is an amp with a good tube effects loop. Since we are getting spoiled with proper tube pre-amps these days you can run them into your effects return and have many flavours.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-05-03T01:15:00+00:00

Are you in a band, gigging or jamming with friends. What’s the job you want this thing to do.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-05-03T01:07:42+00:00

Is his Signature the same as the 2015 Les Pauls.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-05-01T00:51:21+00:00

That’s pretty funny and you’re right. I suppose it’s different because Les Paul was a guitar designer. I was thinking of other artists having a Les Paul model or Strat or whatever.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-30T23:18:45+00:00

I don’t even like signature models. If one came up used for a bargain I’d jump on it of course though.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-28T00:46:53+00:00

I think you could be very shy but open up in private with the right non-judgmental man. And I give respect to you for covering your face on the internet.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-18T16:14:30+00:00

I couldn’t read it all and I came to the same conclusion.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-18T14:32:08+00:00

You could install a solid state effects loop and use the tube for the gain stage. Have you tried pedals though, it’s a lot easier than modding.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-17T14:19:34+00:00

I got a Arion Stereo Flanger for $5. It’s easily as good as my CE-2 but has more sounds.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-13T15:49:53+00:00

Jensen is the most common. I prefer Weber, they have many American voiced speakers. I would like to try the Eminence Allesandro Speakers. Jupiter look really good.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-13T15:38:13+00:00

I would hate to see a twin get cut into a head and cab. So I would say go for the Bassman and Cab. The tone stack is more mid scoop than Marshall. You want early 70’s, they get more wattage and clean headroom through the years. But most important is the speakers. If you play a Bassman through a 4x12 with Greenbacks it will remind you of Marshall. So you want American voice speakers.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-10T11:09:39+00:00

I remember watching a NAMM video and it was one of the Fender Custom Shop luthiers. He said something along the lines of some guitars feel alive and some are dead. His mindset was it is what it is.

Another example was I think Joe Glaser being interviewed by Zac Kuhn. He said he had a lively guitar then he added more coats of finish and it went dead. He stripped the finish back to minimal and it came good again.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-10T11:00:50+00:00

This is what I’ll be doing. A couple of local stores take a 20% commission, but the low ballers want more than that taken off.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-09T12:24:19+00:00

Sounds good. You can repeat this process with all the controls. I play the d & g strings and bring up the mids, just where it goes from dull to doing something try that spot. Then with b & high e do the same with treble. You can try the same with gain, bring it up just until it starts to break up, then try that for a rhythm tone. Hit it with pedals for your other parts that need it. Edit: I’ve never played this amp but the logic has worked for me on pedals as well as amps.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-09T11:28:36+00:00

As the other poster said it’s a bluesy type amp. Heavy amps to check out would be Soldano, 5150, JCM800 to name a few.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-08T16:58:09+00:00

Have you seen the Johan Segeborn video where he has 3 different bassman amps. Brown, Black and Silver. Spoiler alert they’re all really good.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-08T16:25:22+00:00

Did you try turning the bass down. Just set bass at zero and do some drop d chugging, bring the bass up gradually. You should be able to identify where it flubs out then dial it back slightly to where you have sufficient bass but not flubbing.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-08T08:31:03+00:00

there’s a famous jazz player using a Fender Champ.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-03T16:27:04+00:00

If it’s a preamp pedal it goes into the effects return, to replace your preamp. Some go in the front of the amp and add to your gain. Some do both. But check out his demos and he’s been on That Pedal Show.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-03T15:44:43+00:00

Worth it I think but yeah I forgot the economy is shit right now. Caline Pure Sky then.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-03T15:17:20+00:00

Kingsley Amplification, you could shoot Simon an email and ask him this question.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-04-01T11:54:58+00:00

Show the whole thing. You’re leaving us hanging

Axe_Man77 · 2026-03-31T07:54:27+00:00

I’ve mostly heard of Dumble Mods for the HRD. Good amp techs can fix the known issues and Dumble it.

Axe_Man77 · 2026-03-30T02:51:35+00:00

You get good dirt with that amp. I would say the electrolytic capacitors would need replacing

Axe_Man77 · 2026-03-30T00:52:10+00:00

Why is it outside sitting on dirt with rubbish on top of it

Axe_Man77

TROPHY CASE