The ULTIMATE Marshall Tone!

[duhvoodooman***]

I would say this is it.

This kind of question is obviously supremely subjective, but Joe B has the best Les Paul tone in the world to my ear. It's only "half-Marshall", though, because he uses a bank of four 100W amp heads, one of which is a Marshall Jubilee (See that, Tone? JB loves him some Jube tone, too!). He only uses two heads at a time, but the Jubilee is always one of them, and he uses the 2nd amp to tailor his tone to whatever he's looking for. Last time I saw him, the other three were a Carol Ann, a Van Weelden Twinkleland (Dumble OD Special clone), and a Category 5, and he was running them through two Category 5 4x12 cabs. He changes the cabs and some of those other three heads from time to time (I've seen shots of his past set-ups with a Two-Rock and a Budda head), but that Jubilee head is always there. So I guess you could say that his "foundational" tone is Marshall.

BTW, I'm seeing him in Springfield, MA next Thurs. Nov.11. He just finished a European leg of his tour, and this will be the first show back here in the US.

EDIT: Here's a rundown on his rig from the man himself. Just about a year old now. In this case, he's using a Bogner head instead of the Category 5.

[Tig***]

So you threw in a ringer like Joe B to trump us all, eh? The guy is a prodigy, which is just plain cheating on your part... You should be ashamed!


Lucky you to see him again next week. We'll expect a full report, si?

[marnold***]

That is definitely a good tone, but I have to say, I find his strat into Marshall tones more interesting. Same with Robert's vids, I like the Suhr into the Marshall (or Mack) better. Interesting. I wonder why that is.

I'm the opposite end of the spectrum. I feel that traditional single coils with a lot of gain just seem to be missing a lot in the balls department. That's where I thought those old Area 61 pups I used to have really shined. They probably didn't sound "vintagey" to most people when played clean, but they sure sounded great with any level of distortion.

Good thing we don't think the same on these things. The music world would be an awfully boring place then.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yah, I agree Marnold. Good thing we don't have to agree on it. Don't get me wrong, I do like the LP into Marshall tone. Tig, I also put Joe B. up as a ringer, but with his strat. With equipment improvements, he beats Mr. Hendrix's strat tone at this point. And if I had to pick one, Joe's LP or his Strat tone, i would pick the strat. I wish he would switch it up once in a while, as you only seem to see his LP now. Probably some contract requirement, but still. Mayer has his contract with Fender, but you seem him pulling out all sorts of guitars.

[Jimi75]

Everybody seems to be talkin' Joe B plus Marshall plus Strat. Well, check this out and you know what a Marshall and a Strat should sound like. By the way, Joe is not mixing amps in this clip, as it seems he uses just two Jubilee tops.

[sunvalleylaw]

Nice Jimi! Thanks! I had found that one, but lost track of it and posted the other one instead. You'll note that I remembered, looked for, and posted your JTM45 with your JV strat and OCD plus Wah. I always was impressed by that tone too!

[Jimi75]

Nice Jimi! Thanks! I had found that one, but lost track of it and posted the other one instead. You'll note that I remembered, looked for, and posted your JTM45 with your JV strat and OCD plus Wah. I always was impressed by that tone too!

I saw it of course and I was happy for being mentioned with my JTM45 by you. THANK YOU that was very kind of you!

[ZMAN]

Ok Sunvalley. I know I just love the Humbucker Marshall tone, but if you are looking for a Strat/Marshall tone with balls, nothing beats this.

[Spudman***]

Speaking of Strats and Marshalls...anything by this guy qualifies as good in my book.



For humbuckers I'll go with Michael Schenker

[Katastrophe]

Silver Anniversary Jubilee up close and personal. Still love it after 23 years so it's still my personal fav although I loves me a good plexi.

No doubt about it, Tone, that Jubilee sounds amazing!

[TradAmpGuy]

Although I have many "favorite" Marshall tones... this is one of my favorite favorites:



My $0.02 on the subject. Perfect blend of OD while still allowing the chords to sound out

[NWBasser]

From Tradamp guy:

"Perfect blend of OD while still allowing the chords to sound out "

I agree 100%.

I used to be enamoured of the super-saturated high gain sound, but found that tone to lack a lot of chord definition. I'm certainly in the Marshall camp now. My H&K Edition Tube seems to nail it pretty good.

[deeaa*]

Ayuh, that's important...must be able to play 6-string chords no messying up.

[Retro Hound]

Please forgive my ignorance, I've been following this thread to try and get a handle on the "Marshall sound." A few songs I've heard on the radio in the last few days and I'm wondering if they are Marshall: Van Halen "Panama" and Boston "More than a Feeling."

[msteeln]

With ripping speaker cones and everything!



Marshall amplification, the amp humper's choice.

[marnold***]

Please forgive my ignorance, I've been following this thread to try and get a handle on the "Marshall sound." A few songs I've heard on the radio in the last few days and I'm wondering if they are Marshall: Van Halen "Panama" and Boston "More than a Feeling."

My $.02: I'd say yes to "Panama" and no to "More than a Feeling." Maybe I'm all wet.

[Spudman***]

My $.02: I'd say yes to "Panama" and no to "More than a Feeling." Maybe I'm all wet.

More than a Feeling was probably a combination of Marshall and Scholz Rockman

What about your amplification?

Our live stuff is all Rockman gear. I have added some tweaks, which make my amps sound a little bit more like a tube stack. The Rockman sound is a smooth distortion so I added a couple of boxes that allow me to dial in the amount of buzz-saw roughness that I want. I’ve been using those distortion boxes in the studio and just started using it in the live gear.

In the studio I use my live rig in combination with some tube amps. I use Marshalls. I’ve used Mesa-Boogies over the last few years that I really like. And sometimes I’ll try an old Fender. I have a couple of old Rockman prototype amps and speakers that I like to use. It’s a collection of junk.

[marnold***]

When I hear that song, I hear Rockman. It sounds, well, like Tom Scholz. He's got an easily identifiable tone to me.