sv20 or reissue jtm45

hi any pointers on these , looking for plexi sound , but not too bright , ideally hendrix. Not fussed if 20w or 50w as I have a decent attenuator. Not looking for higher gain sounds more clean/ break up/ dirty.
sv20 sounds great but The few amps with tube rectifiers Ive played Ive liked , but maybe this takes the amp too far away from Hendrix tones?
Would swapping in kt66's instead of 5881s help on the jtm 45? is there an easy mod so you can make the tube/ solid state rectification switchable on the JTM?

Maybe an Origin 20 Head?

I use on myself and it's fantastic especially when it starts to get pushed

Plus it looks wicked

Will you be gigging the amp, and in what sized venues? The SV20 possibly might not stay clean enough, e.g as a clean pedal platform, or for Hendrix-style Strat clean tones, at volumes high enough to match an energetic drummer. For dirty tones you should be fine. The JTM-45 has a lot more clean headroom, even with the nominal extra 10-15 watts.

I put one of these together earlier this year, Its sat unused, I could be tempted to part with it. I prefer fender type amps.

https://modulusamplification.com/the-deep-fried-marshbar---20-watt---ultimate-hot-rodded-plexi-amp-kit-8724-p.asp

Neither.

2061x.

It’s just better, for that sound at that sort of power level… and I am normally a TMB tone stack user.

als427 said:

is there an easy mod so you can make the tube/ solid state rectification switchable on the JTM?

No mod necessary, just put a plug-in solid-state rectifier in place of the GZ34.

Hendrix used about 300ft of curly cable. That must knock off some treble.

are the jtm45's too bass heavy?

I have the PRS HDRX20 and it’s superb for the money. A loud 20W and loves a pedal to get things cooking rather than pushing the pre treble and bass gains.
   Small and light and you’ll pick one up new for £500 or £400 2nd hand

Cranked, the Bluesbreaker combo is bassier and flubbier than other plexi amps I’ve played, but I’ve never had to run it flat out at a gig. I tend to run the bass control at 2 or 3 and get my drives from pedals and it’s not too bassy running clean. 

Petepassion said:

I have the PRS HDRX20 and it’s superb for the money. A loud 20W and loves a pedal to get things cooking rather than pushing the pre treble and bass gains.
   Small and light and you’ll pick one up new for £500 or £400 2nd hand

This, sounds perfect for what you're asking!

I've gone down this rabbit hole, have tried the SV20, ST20, JTM45, Bluesbreaker combo, 2061x, PRS HDRX20, plus some more expensive variants by Bogner, Divided by 13 and Morgan. 

@Petepassion is right in suggestion the HDRX, amazing bang for buck and is quite literally voiced to get you where you want to go. I'd say the JTM45 Reissue is way too boomy at low volume and then squishy at higher volume. 2061x is a fantastic amp, but the EL84's lack the headroom at volume, especially with a fuzz pedal in front. 

I'd suggest spending a £400 or so getting a solid 2x12 with some G12H's (the creamback H75's even better). Vertical is great, even better are the diagonal 2061cx cab. 

Then spend no more than £500 on either an SV20H or a ST20H - I prefer the latter. 

Or, the HDRX20 is awesome and cheaper, but I would say slightly lacks the versatility of the Marshalls (and maybe slightly lower build quality, but on par with the price differential). 

The answer obviously, is 

ryanverbena said:

Or, the HDRX20 is awesome and cheaper, but I would say slightly lacks the versatility of the Marshalls (and maybe slightly lower build quality, but on par with the price differential). 

I think I'd disagree on the last part to be honest, the HDRX20 is a better quality build the all the Marshall Studio Series, and the components are arguably better quality too. Pics below speak for themselves, the SV20 is great sounding though!

HDRX20:


SV20:

I’ve owned an SV20 and currently own the HDRX20 and my only input would be that the PRS covers more of a range.
   I used my SV20 with an attenuator whereas I Use my PRS with a pedal in the front.
   Given the choice I would go for the PRS as it punches well above its weight, but try them both if you can and see what you think.

If you can wait till boxing day/new year sales I'm sure the HDRX20 will be cheap enough new and you get the warranty, food for thought maybe.

Wow it's currently £399 on a Peach app deal! I'd snaffle that, you could easily flog it on for the same money. Sounds mega through a 2*12.

@Boromedic - where can I find that deal? Can't find an app download on the Peach website.

The app is on Play Store or the Apple Store I guess? If you download the app and search HDRX it'll show up hopefully?

Cheers @Boromedic - downloaded from Play store and it is showing at £399 in the app Vs £499 on the website.

I’ve owned both the SV20H and JTM45. I find them very different amps. Personally my preference is for the JTM45. It’s not “that” loud because it’s not uncomfortable due to the frequencies unlike the SV20H which feels louder because it’s quite “shouty”. 

shaunm said:

I’ve owned both the SV20H and JTM45. I find them very different amps. Personally my preference is for the JTM45. It’s not “that” loud because it’s not uncomfortable due to the frequencies unlike the SV20H which feels louder because it’s quite “shouty”.

I wonder if that’s the same effect as the one the guitarist in my band had did - played with just a guitar straight in it sounded great, but when pushed with a pedal it sounded very congested and started to develop a ‘one note’ overtone where everything sounded the same - and the frequency was right in the middle of the singer’s vocal tone range so she couldn’t hear herself properly. I wouldn’t have said it sounded very loud - in fact it was noticeably quieter than the much clearer sounding Laney LA30BL he replaced it with - but it was quite overbearing.

ICBM said:

shaunm said:

I’ve owned both the SV20H and JTM45. I find them very different amps. Personally my preference is for the JTM45. It’s not “that” loud because it’s not uncomfortable due to the frequencies unlike the SV20H which feels louder because it’s quite “shouty”.

I wonder if that’s the same effect as the one the guitarist in my band had did - played with just a guitar straight in it sounded great, but when pushed with a pedal it sounded very congested and started to develop a ‘one note’ overtone where everything sounded the same - and the frequency was right in the middle of the singer’s vocal tone range so she couldn’t hear herself properly. I wouldn’t have said it sounded very loud - in fact it was noticeably quieter than the much clearer sounding Laney LA30BL he replaced it with - but it was quite overbearing.

Yes, that is what I found. It was lovely with the guitar straight in or a vintage style fuzzface but the SV20 did not take drive pedals well at all and the FX loop is not great. 

Beexter said:

Cheers @Boromedic - downloaded from Play store and it is showing at £399 in the app Vs £499 on the website.

Cool, glad you found it in the end :)