May 2009 \ Features \ 45 Degrees of Tone: The JTM45 Roundup

45 Degrees of Tone: The JTM45 Roundup

Steve Ouimette

Nearly 50 years since its creation, the Marshall JTM45 remains both a relevant and near-perfect example of what a great rock ‘n’ roll tube amp should be.
Premier Guitar May 2009
(8 of 8)

The Blindfold Test
As a final, fun test, we did a blind study, to see how accurately I could identify each of the various amps in the roundup. Johnny and Tony set up the group of amps, and I sat in a chair with my back turned away from them. With the guitar plugged in, they began to fire up the various amps, and we got rolling. Out of all the amps, I was always able to distinguish the Wallace BKW45, due to it’s slightly darker sound. The Metros were also fairly easy to spot, but I ended up guessing the kit as the custom build and vice-versa. The ’65 was also an easy amp to recognize, but as ear-fatigue set in, the lines began to blur substantially. Pretty soon, I was confusing the Germino for the reissue JTM, the Mojave Plexi for the Wallace, and the Metros for the real JTM. It just goes to show you that all of the amps performed remarkably well, and you can be fooled when you’re not seeing what you’re playing, so never discount a PCB reissue head as a second fiddle to the real thing. In the mix of a band, these differences become small, and any one of these amps would hold their own any day of the week.

Wrapup
To have the opportunity to play through so many variations on a classic theme was not only fun, it was educational. Each one of the builders excels in creating their own unique version of the great rock and roll amp that Ken Bran, Dudley Craven and Jim Marshall built back in 1962. While like all Marshalls, the JTM45 went through changes in tubes, components and designs over its lifetime, there is a trademark flavor and color that still can be found in all of them. Not everyone can afford a vintage 45, but with the help of these builders we have the opportunity to get into that sound and have build quality that will last for years.

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Comments

 (35 comments) display by
UsernameComment
BobC
on 03/23/2013 		@W.A.Looker Because they were named JTM45 due to the fact that they had a max output of 45watts. As measuring the power of guitar amps became more about a standardized RMS measurement and less about marketing fluff the "real" wattages started being used. People around when the JTM45 was created still know it as a "45 watt" amp even if under the more accurate measurement it is not.
W.A. Looker
on 10/25/2012 		Why does everyone and I mean EVERYONE insist on saying that these are 45 watt amplifiers??? The clones might very well be, but on Marshalls own site it says that the reissues are 30 watts. It might not mean much to some, but if you are going to put it in writing, be accurate.
Joe R
on 08/13/2012 		I have a 97 Re-issue (pcb) which performed extremely well for the past 10 years. Currently the board is being replaced with a Ceriatone turretboard unit and 5881's with KT66's. (all due to a funky colored burn on the pcb and strange microphonic type squeal (not affected by tube change in preamp). Can't wait to ressurect this beast!
paul
on 01/02/2012 		I live in the UK and bought a JTM45 re-issue new, less than half the price of any of the clones here. And of course I supported British jobs cos the amp is MADE IN BRITAIN. Unfortunately, CELESTION SPEAKERS ARE CHINESE and as such are NOT British. My JTM RI sounds great. I think no amount of amp tone can make up for the tone you get from your fingers, so i am not even gonna read these reviews, I am going to PLAY.
de
on 03/16/2011 		i have a jtm 45 reissue from the mid 90's. the original printed board is replaced with a doug hoffman marshall plexi-style point-to-point board and the amp builder had to increase the caps sizes a bit. it's now using 2 el34's, but i want to go back to using paired 6l6's/5881's. in my opinion the jtm 45's have a more mellow, less edgy tone than the jtm 50 w plexis, even when keeping the tube rectifier in there.
Andrew
on 08/23/2010 		I have a JTM 45 reissue from the early 90's. This is the last model with the original Drake transformer.. Whoever says the Metro amps and all boutique custom built shit overtaking mine: thick bullshit. 6l6 sound darker indeed than EL34 but this particular baby really smokes... Tried Metro, Germino, Ceriatone, etc.. they are all good, but cannot really tell the difference sound-wise blindfolded.. SG, good cable, JTM 45 cranked, maybe throwing a fulldrive 2 in front of it, man you would love it!
Peter
on 07/24/2009 		Just in reply to the man who said we are sheep... you're right :-) When you look at players in the sixties they were doing all sorts of wierd mods, slicing speakers because the distorted sound was groovy baby.... but they also used dual showmans, hiwatts, FUZZ boxes :-) My favourite amps at the moment are a Marshall DSL100 and Fender (red knob) Dual Showman head and they do everything, plus more, that I want... for another bloke it would be a Fender Twin or a Boogie... Don't get me wrong, these were great amps in their day... and when pushed they crank today... but again it's funny making big money from old technology...
Peter
on 07/24/2009 		The reason why companies change their product is competition... idiots wanted more and more gadgets built-in to the amp... channel switching, overdrive, reverb, FX, lighter amps, etc... or be left behind in the rush...

You can't beat ONE great tone... and then play around with that... add one great guitar... and a guitarist with "the touch" and bingo... If I became a Satriani on guitar and used a TSL601 combo... and young pups looked up to me... they'd re-issue the TSL in 20 years time :-)

Cheers!
Frank M
on 06/24/2009 		One thing I think needs to be pointed out about the Marshall Reissue in this roundup is that looking aththe PCB you can easily see that the circuit was totally modded from the original JTM45 circuit with those larger caps and how they're wired up as well as the fact that the orignal came with 5881s not EL34s so that was a mod as well. Still a great article and about the only one out there that compares them. Now if we could have a good Plexi 100 watt round up would be really great!
trippin
on 05/29/2009 		Skeptical of "reissues"? Why did people stop making them? Easy. Making short term cost improvements and the typical kinds of model "upgrades" dictated by a competitive marketplace. The same reason Les Pauls were made with pancake bodies and poly finishes. So I'd say rather the opposite: the sheep were the ones lured to what was peddled as the latest and greatest iron at that point in time. Even the Beatles went all transistor, didn't they? Sputniks and all that mod stuff! That was like the cool thing: "Solid State." Since then we reflected on our musical history and discovered that, hey, whoa, we really liked those old records for a reason. Not everyone, mind you, but some. It's a conscious decision and a conscious goal that has nothing to do with wool bearing mammals, and it's not everybody's bag. So if it's not your bag, that's cool. But no one is "amending" the past. To the contrary, we're recreating it as true to original as possible. We do this because we HAVE learned the lessons of the past. You've got it all backwards, man.



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