JTM 45 sounding amp with extras?

So - Im kind of settling on a JTM 45 sound for a pedal platform.

I need clean with JUST breaking, with HBs when  digging in at around 100db.... I also really need WITHER a reverb OR an FX loop..... Head only.... Ideally Point to point, or HIGH quality PCB.  It needs to take pedals well.  

If there anything that comes close to this?   Ive seen the dirty Shirly and Little Sister, Ive seen the JTM 45 reissue and the little 20w studio version.    Ive not seen much else TBH - though Ive only recently started looking.

Anyone give any suggestions?  



 

Tone King Majesty/Royalist ?

Possibly, Ive been looking at some Royalist Vids, it seems a tad brighter than the JTMs so would need to try in person - not heard of the Majesty.  

** Edit** OK, so the Majesty is the older name for the Royalist.   Same amp then (pretty much)  

The 1987x has an FX loop. I had the 1987x and JTM45 and moved the JTM on because they are so similar sounding

Ceriatone Tweed Bassman “all access”?

https://ceriatone.com/american-classics-5f6a-tweed-bassman-all-access/

roberty said:

The 1987x has an FX loop. I had the 1987x and JTM45 and moved the JTM on because they are so similar sounding

I normally dont like Marshalls, and certainly not the plexi's 70s and 80s flavored.   For some reason - in finding the right amp - I tried some modelling of the JTM specifically - and I love it for clean/pedal platform.  The 1987x models not so much.  As such I probably  want to specifically stay with the 45 circuit.

I think the 34 has a bigger low and crunchier presence - with less in the mid. ITs the mid range bark I dont like on a Marshall.  The 45 is more like a cross between a fender and a Vox - witch is kind of what Im looking for.  TAHT SAID, and while its Fractal models I have played - real amps are real amps - might be worth trying a 1987x in person just to see. 

@paulmapp8306b that's fair and honestly I'm not really a Marshall person either. While the 1987x is slightly harder and more aggressive my experience was that the differences only become obvious as the amps are driven to distortion. It takes a lot to get a Marshall rock sound from the 1987x. I guess what I'm trying to say is it's worth trying one before dismissing them outright - if it turns out you like the sound it will be a convenient solution. Good luck :)

There’s a Matchless Chieftain on eBay right now, head and cab. Ticks the boxes. Absolutely stunning amps and sound superb at volume

You’ve pretty much described the Dirty Shirley/Twin Sister. 

Depends on your price range, but for £750 little is going to beat a JTM45 reissue. But also depends on what sound you want.

+1 for Dirty Shirley

What about a Top Hat Emplexador? I might be slightly biased as I have one and love it, it was a bit of a bucket list amp for me. Worth a look if you haven’t already.

Also maybe the Rift Amps Aynsley Lister signature head. 

paulmapp8306 said:

I need clean with JUST breaking, with HBs when  digging in at around 100db.

In that case you need either a master volume, power scaling or an attenuator, or a pretty low powered amp. 100dB 1m from the cab requires 1W, through a 100dB cabinet (either a 100dB 1x12” or a 98dB 2x12”). If you can go a little louder, or use a lower-sensitivity cabinet, 5W should be about right.

The obvious choice is the Marshall Studio JTM.

Re Issue JTM45 modded with pair of KT66, vintage spec filter cap's / Transformer's.
 Add Fryette PS2a

 I have this and it a dream set up for me.

Nerine said:

You’ve pretty much described the Dirty Shirley/Twin Sister. 

Don’t overthink it. Just get either of those. They’ll easily do the job. 

TBH the Little Sister Ive heard sounded terrible.  It was WAY brighter and raspier than the JTM45.....  they might be INSPIRED by the 45 but they dcnt sound like them.  The Royalist comes closer I think - though thats a tad bright too. 

Signman62 said:

Re Issue JTM45 modded with pair of KT66, vintage spec filter cap's / Transformer's.
 Add Fryette PS2a

 I have this and it a dream set up for me.

I have a PSa2 already - II power my AFX into a cab with it - and I absolutely intend to use it with the valve had to either lower volume for home - or increase clean volume if needed.    Yes I can also use it to add a loop - and therefore reverb too - but Id rather the reverb in the amp itself if at all possible - hence putting that in my OP.    Id also absolutely use KT66s if I ended up with the JTM reissue as well.  Hadnt considered the transformer or caps mind.  

ICBM said:

paulmapp8306 said:

I need clean with JUST breaking, with HBs when  digging in at around 100db.

In that case you need either a master volume, power scaling or an attenuator, or a pretty low powered amp. 100dB 1m from the cab requires 1W, through a 100dB cabinet (either a 100dB 1x12” or a 98dB 2x12”). If you can go a little louder, or use a lower-sensitivity cabinet, 5W should be about right.

The obvious choice is the Marshall Studio JTM.

interesting.... Ive had a 12w amp on loan that cant give me that volume clean (a Morgan PR12) though that was based on a tweed circuit.... The cab is a 2x12 with a V30 and a G12h Creamback.   

I have considered the studio - but not convinced theres enough clean headroom for that.   Im not monitoring 1 Meter out either - Im monitoring about 2 meters above the amp - though its a small room Ive measured in. 

That said - I tried a Suhr Bella that in 22W mode as WAY too loud before it started to break for my needs - yet the Morgan   wasnt even close.   I probably need to try teh studio - though in the A/Bs Ive watched (on youtube which doesnt tell the whole story I know) the studio is brighter and raspier than the JTM45 reissue.  Still doesn't have reverb or a loop mind.  

Im not OVERLY worried about volume (high or low TBH) as I can us the Fryetter Power station for 50W of clean to increase volume if the amp doesn't have the headroom - or attenuate if its too loud.  Id rather NOT - as while it is good, its not a perfect solution.  

Petepassion said:

Depends on your price range, but for £750 little is going to beat a JTM45 reissue. But also depends on what sound you want.

Anything up to £3500......  Ive been very close to either a ~Hamstead rt or a Two Rock studio sig- before I started trying the Marshals that  I wouldnt even look at in historically.  

paulmapp8306 said:

interesting.... Ive had a 12w amp on loan that cant give me that volume clean (a Morgan PR12) though that was based on a tweed circuit.... The cab is a 2x12 with a V30 and a G12h Creamback.   

I have considered the studio - but not convinced theres enough clean headroom for that.   Im not monitoring 1 Meter out either - Im monitoring about 2 meters above the amp - though its a small room Ive measured in. 

That said - I tried a Suhr Bella that in 22W mode as WAY too loud before it started to break for my needs - yet the Morgan   wasnt even close.   I probably need to try teh studio - though in the A/Bs Ive watched (on youtube which doesnt tell the whole story I know) the studio is brighter and raspier than the JTM45 reissue.  Still doesn't have reverb or a loop mind.

If the Morgan is based on a 5E3, they distort much earlier than the clean power would suggest.

The ST20H does have a loop.

ICBM said:

paulmapp8306 said:

interesting.... Ive had a 12w amp on loan that cant give me that volume clean (a Morgan PR12) though that was based on a tweed circuit.... The cab is a 2x12 with a V30 and a G12h Creamback.   

I have considered the studio - but not convinced theres enough clean headroom for that.   Im not monitoring 1 Meter out either - Im monitoring about 2 meters above the amp - though its a small room Ive measured in. 

That said - I tried a Suhr Bella that in 22W mode as WAY too loud before it started to break for my needs - yet the Morgan   wasnt even close.   I probably need to try teh studio - though in the A/Bs Ive watched (on youtube which doesnt tell the whole story I know) the studio is brighter and raspier than the JTM45 reissue.  Still doesn't have reverb or a loop mind.

If the Morgan is based on a 5E3, they distort much earlier than the clean power would suggest.

The ST20H does have a loop.

yeh, just seen that.  Make it a more suitable option than the JTM45 reissue.

I need to find one to try to be sure I guess.... I still have that Hamstead in my head too TBH as well but its 3 times as much (not that funds are an issue)  

@fretmeister posted this in another thread, and whilst it isn't a JTM 45, it certainly gets some of the sounds you can get from one, with the addition of a ton of other Marshall sounds and apparently the best master volume around:
https://youtu.be/t4frSJcVl1Q

If I had a £3.5k budget I would need to do a lot of traveling or visit somewhere that had a lot of my options to try and were patient enough to let me loose on them for quite a while.
There is only one thing more misleading than trying a guitar in a shop… yep… Amp.
good luck.

theterracat said:

I saw you found the 20W Friedman a bit raspy, all a matter of taste and perception I guess! (To be clear, I could absolutely see you finding it lacking there if you were looking for more "grunt" or bass, either way.) I have the Dirty Shirley Mini, and find it does a pretty refined JTM sound and has a fantastic MV. I have tried it with my PS2 and without, and now never use it with the Fryette because Friedman MV is so good.

Edge of breakup is absolutely its happy place, and the three way gain style selector is great to play with for different sounds. You may want to try one through a few different speakers if you get the chance to see if that might have influenced the raspy sound? Cheers and good luck on your quest.

P.s. I found this video a bit helpful the other day when I was contemplating the nice JTM45 RI here FS on the Board... https://youtu.be/HY7tmHsymDE?si=Fefudr3CuS1g5-0N

Yeh.  Seen that a few times.  Felt the freedman was the worst of the 5 shown fir my tastes.

PhilKing said:

@fretmeister posted this in another thread, and whilst it isn't a JTM 45, it certainly gets some of the sounds you can get from one, with the addition of a ton of other Marshall sounds and apparently the best master volume around:
https://youtu.be/t4frSJcVl1Q

Again, it's more the plexi than jtm.

I'm looking up with Paul in the new year to test a few things.

paulmapp8306 said:

Signman62 said:

Re Issue JTM45 modded with pair of KT66, vintage spec filter cap's / Transformer's.
 Add Fryette PS2a

 I have this and it a dream set up for me.

I have a PSa2 already - II power my AFX into a cab with it - and I absolutely intend to use it with the valve had to either lower volume for home - or increase clean volume if needed.    Yes I can also use it to add a loop - and therefore reverb too - but Id rather the reverb in the amp itself if at all possible - hence putting that in my OP.    Id also absolutely use KT66s if I ended up with the JTM reissue as well.  Hadnt considered the transformer or caps mind.  

Filtering is very important.

I used to use a 60's Fender tank and owned many Fender vintage with onboard verb.

Right now using a Topanga in the FX loop, deliver the goods with the JTM and my 6G3

I have a Ceriatone that Nik made me about 10 years ago.  It's a JTM 45 (KT66) power amp with 18 TMB and EF86 preamp.  I use it jumpered so I can blend in the clean from the EF86 with the TMB.   
The master volume (above the TMB input), works with the TMB pre.  The EF86 doesn't have a master and has a switched tone circuit.