Things you see while on a spending freeze..

[TubeStack]

MV on the amp isn’t the best either, on HDR mode it can sound ok around 5 but the amp really comes alive when it’s higher up. Luckily the 50W isn’t a particularly loud 50W (JTM45 circuit after all so 50W is being massively generous), so I just use it mostly cranked.

Yes, the 100W was more like 70-80W, and the 50W 35-40W, forgot to add that.

 

[TubeStack]

Here was mine.

 

[JiveTurkey]

Here was mine.


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I know everything else but JFC that cabinet

 

[DrewJD82]

Here was mine.


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Man, I’ve always had an interest in this amp but could never find a review I felt grasped the amp. If it can do a JTM45-JCM800 I’d be sold.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

If it can do a JTM45-JCM800 I’d be sold.

VM might struggle to do the 800 thing, it’s looser and flubbier (like a JTM45). Definitely fun with the gain up though, it’s just kind of like taking a modded Marshall in a slightly different direction.

I compared them roughly a while back:

if you want a JCM800/JTM45 hybrid, Friedman Dirty Shirley is precisely a JCM800 preamp and JTM45 power amp. A bit squishier than an 800 (more because it has less filter nodes for the preamp than the tube rectifier) but really nicely tuned circuit. Nicer build than Vintage Modern, and better MV and FX loop too.

 

[Bob Zaod]

The Marshall sound is all things to all people.

Had a '76 JMP 2204. It had some minor mods to try to tame the nail-shower treble. With an SD-1 for a bit of push, it sounded really good. Foolishly sold it for about $1000.

Oh I am sure these days I could make that JMP sing but back then I had no clue on what to do with a proper tube amp.

 

[DrewJD82]

VM might struggle to do the 800 thing, it’s looser and flubbier (like a JTM45). Definitely fun with the gain up though, it’s just kind of like taking a modded Marshall in a slightly different direction.

I compared them roughly a while back:

if you want a JCM800/JTM45 hybrid, Friedman Dirty Shirley is precisely a JCM800 preamp and JTM45 power amp. A bit squishier than an 800 (more because it has less filter nodes for the preamp than the tube rectifier) but really nicely tuned circuit. Nicer build than Vintage Modern, and better MV and FX loop too.

Thanks, man!!!

 

[TubeStack]

I know everything else but JFC that cabinet

Yes, that was a killer cab and I really should have kept it. But I had just bought the Electra Dyne head and Mesa 4x12, and really don't need two 4x12s. Also, I kind of knew I was done with greenbacks and becoming a “lifer” with V30s. But it's a super cool cab and not that easy to find up here.

 

[TubeStack]

if you want a JCM800/JTM45 hybrid, Friedman Dirty Shirley is precisely a JCM800 preamp and JTM45 power amp. A bit squishier than an 800 (more because it has less filter nodes for the preamp than the tube rectifier) but really nicely tuned circuit. Nicer build than Vintage Modern, and better MV and FX loop too.

I've played with the Fractal model of the DS and would love to try a real one. Just wish Friedman made a higher wattage version. 40W and squishy isn't great for loud hard rock.

 

[RaceU4her]

Welp, I remember telling you save up a little longer for that cheap Marshall that would no doubt pop up.

 

[MirrorProfiles]

I've played with the Fractal model of the DS and would love to try a real one. Just wish Friedman made a higher wattage version. 40W and squishy isn't great for loud hard rock.

Wouldn't a BE or one of the variants of it scratch that itch? or just a bog standard 2203?

 

[TubeStack]

Wouldn't a BE or one of the variants of it scratch that itch? or just a bog standard 2203?

A 2203 would be .

But I love the spongy/squishy JTM/VM/DS/Dyne, KT66/6L6 thing even more, just in the 80-90W range though. I had a VM 2266 for a bit and much preferred the 2466.

(Also, realistically, I will never pay Friedman prices, so there's that. So I shouldn't really complain he doesn't make a more powerful DS, I guess… )

 

[MirrorProfiles]

A 2203 would be .

But I love the spongy/squishy JTM/VM/DS/Dyne, KT66/6L6 thing even more, just in the 80-90W range though. I had a VM 2266 for a bit and much preferred the 2466.

(Also, realistically, I will never pay Friedman prices, so there's that. So I shouldn't really complain he doesn't make a more powerful DS, I guess… )

Jason Tong and Shea Monomyth are doing killer mods for Vintage Moderns (I think Jason’s might be based on some stuff Dave Friedman shared with him). Could quite easily tweak the preamp a bit, move the MV, put in an LND150 FX loop and get a 100W Dirty Shirley killer.

 

[Coalface1971]

A 2203 would be .

But I love the spongy/squishy JTM/VM/DS/Dyne, KT66/6L6 thing even more, just in the 80-90W range though. I had a VM 2266 for a bit and much preferred the 2466.

(Also, realistically, I will never pay Friedman prices, so there's that. So I shouldn't really complain he doesn't make a more powerful DS, I guess… )

2203/4 is my favorite Marshall circuit. That same circuit with lower preamp filtering and lower HT might be where you could get the same JTM45 vibe. A couple caps and resistors and you might have it.

 

[GreatGreen]

For that price, you’re basically paying for the cool white Marshall cabs and getting the amp (or at least an awesome replacement head shell for another Marshall amp you like better) for free.

 

[Bob Zaod]

For that price, you’re basically paying for the cool white Marshall cabs and getting the amp (or at least an awesome replacement head shell for another Marshall amp you like better) for free.

I was thinking similar. I mean those cabs are not cheap and the head on reverb averages like 850-1k. On top of that i live in the passive agreeable capital of the world and I could probably talk him down quite a bit. Hmmm I dunno.

 

[-BOOGIEMAN-]

Man, I dig it!!!

 

[Bob Zaod]

Welp, I remember telling you save up a little longer for that cheap Marshall that would no doubt pop up.

Ehh I don't need to "save" I could buy it today. My finance director (wife) manages most the money and right now we are looking at a hefty investment purchase.

Ever since I dropped 15k all at once on PA, Lights, and other gear, I need permission to spend more than a few hundred bucks or sell stuff to make a purchase.

 

[TubeStack]

I expected to wake up today to pics of this full stack in your living room, @Bob Zaod .

 

[AutomationBias]

I've stood right in front of two Plexi full (Greenback) stacks on 10, and it didn't sound like I thought it would (the volume is an experience, btw). There was no instant VH1, Hendrix or Cali-Jam Blackmoore.

I had a different experience, although it was only one stack. Back in the 90s I had a long series of flips that culminated in a beautiful sunburst '66 Strat. I borrowed my amp tech's '69 plexi for a weekend and it was just instant Hendrix. Tons of fun. As a relatively broke college student I couldn't justify keeping what was then a $3500 guitar, so I sold it to a guy in Japan.