Helix JCM800 2203 Request Thread (FW 3.70 new Brit 2203)!

EOengineer said:
I’m just at a loss to come up with more reasonable explanations as to how they can get so many things so right in Helix, and then miss some other ESSENTIAL low hanging fruit so badly.

In 2023, a manufacturer absolutely CANNOT have a modeling product out there with poor Plexis, 800s, Mesa Mark, and Mesa Rectifiers and expect people to stick around and invest in the platform when others are doing it so well, and in some cases for far less money.
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^ 100%

The lack of attention to incomplete, sub-par or even completely broken models like the PV Vitriol Crunch says a lot.
This is really frustrating.

I don't care about new Original models when the classic models are so poorly done even by 2015 standards when the Helix was released.
 
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Waiting for someone to say the marshall 800 is perfect and it must just be your computer setup

Does the Placater Dirty have the correct bright cap type setup or is it an extremely different circuit anyway? What about one of the bogners?
 
pipelineaudio said:
Waiting for someone to say the marshall 800 is perfect and it must just be your computer setup

Does the Placater Dirty have the correct bright cap type setup or is it an extremely different circuit anyway? What about one of the bogners?
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Bogner Shiva and Friedman BE100 are different circuits than a 2203. To my ear, both are darker and fatter. Bogner Uberschall is an entirely different thing.
 
What’s the over/under L6 puts out a new original model where the entire circuit is just bright caps??

pipelineaudio said:
Waiting for someone to say the marshall 800 is perfect and it must just be your computer setup

Does the Placater Dirty have the correct bright cap type setup or is it an extremely different circuit anyway? What about one of the bogners?
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Have you tried unplugging the bright cap and plugging it back in?
 
Rocco Crocco said:
We can't let this thread die.

If I had to pick a helix amp to get close to a JCM800, what would it be?

Placator? Revv Purple? Archetype Lead?
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Don't know if it's just me, my settings, and my guitar, but to me the Orange OR80 model with the FAC dialed up a bit, with a mix of GB20 and 25 gives a lot of that bitey brighty jcm800 flavour, when on lower gain settings.
 
kartikg3 said:
Don't know if it's just me, my settings, and my guitar, but to me the Orange OR80 model with the FAC dialed up a bit, with a mix of GB20 and 25 gives a lot of that bitey brighty jcm800 flavour, when on lower gain settings.
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I’ve noticed the bite there as well. I’m not sure it captures the 800 vibe, but I know what you mean. Seems like there might be a bright cap there as well because you can pick up that extra top end by rolling the gain back.
 
kartikg3 said:
Don't know if it's just me, my settings, and my guitar, but to me the Orange OR80 model with the FAC dialed up a bit, with a mix of GB20 and 25 gives a lot of that bitey brighty jcm800 flavour, when on lower gain settings.
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Low and low mids though. May be even harder and more subtle to compare. Ime that’s where I focus my ear after I’m done with focusing on highs… maybe that’s the opposite of what one “should” do. But that’s how I seem to do it instinctively. With that said. Orange models always poke me (with the low mids) like an old lady throwing an elbow in my lowest rib at the store when I either didn’t notice them being there because I was trying to remember what cereal my son wants or didn’t mean to cut her off in the line… pfeeew… wait… what was I saying…wood.. yeah it’s the wood… Orange and “wood”. I kinda believe my damn guitar is an anti Orange guitar… like plus and plus doesn’t go settle anywhere, or i am allergic to low mids. Plus and minus with my guitar is definitely Marshall, just not Helix Marshall… Headrush marshall… yes. No effort, it fits… like straight out of the stock settings even. Luckily other models in Helix does just that for me. But it still isn’t that Marshall that I want.


I just made a very pointless post. What was I trying to say. Something with lows and low mids… but I forgot where to place that in Marshall discussion. Maybe it’s because it just feels so different there to (Marshall vs Orange) Because I never even played a real deal Marshall amp also… Sorry for this.
:rofl
 
Orange OR80 is a great model, it's a 70s NMV where most of the distortion comes from the poweramp, Jimmy Page loved these.

The 330p bright cap is present and the 'James' tonestack is working correctly (additional Mid control should be kept at 5).
The FAC control changes coupling caps after 2nd gain stage.
All is well when comparing sound to schematic.

No, it doesn't sound like a 2203 at all.
 
MirrorProfiles said:


some talk on jcm800's, gain and bright caps. Not really a fan of the Lynchmod thing here, overly crunchy and a bit weird sounding to me.

"bright caps are cool, they make Marshall's sound like Marshall's"
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I love Pete’s videos. He really gets Marshalls in a way a lot of others do not. His video comparing bright caps on his various Marshall style amps is my go-to when talking Marshalls with people who are just getting started with them.
 
"Wooly, lack in tightness, a little anemic"..... plays a riff... finest stock JCM800 tone I've heard on youtube. :rofl
To answer Pete's question, a great boost like the EarthQuaker Plumes will do.

The JCM800 is ever growing in popularity, in the last few years alone I've seen a lot more JCM800 content on youtube than ever before, people rediscovering this timeless classic and the vast tonal palette it can deliver from clean to high gain.

Earth to Line 6.... WAKE UP.
 
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maybe interesting to the thread and the value of a stock 800. Soldano and Legendary Tones Hot Mod vs boosted Marshall 2203. Even though the extra gain stage is in a different part of the circuit, I was surprised how close boosting the front end with a pedal gets. BE100 is something different, not really a replacement for an 800 IMO.

I must be a weirdo with boosts because I never really liked the SD-1, and had a plumes but sold it pretty quick. IMO nothing beats the Maxon OD808. Sort of enjoying the Helix Plumes more than I did the real thing, probably because it doesn’t have a Maxon OD808 peering over it saying “just use me instead”
 
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