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Marshall JVM 410H
List: $1,900
If you bemoan Marshall’s lack of current tone refinements (yes, many Marshall cult followers revere the relics more than the current offerings), be informed that the new JVM 100W head is a proper new offering. Instead of another retro-contemporary fusion as presented by the Vintage Modern 2466H, the JVM offers the user a cauldron of modern livery as well as treasured tones.
Features/ build
The JVM is a full-fledged 4-channel amplifier; each channel (Clean/ Crunch/ OD1/ OD2) is equipped with its own volume, gain, 3-band EQ & reverb controls. To add excess to details, each channel is further blessed with a tri-mode gain capacity; the user has 12 tonal voicings to work with. Over at the master section, a quartet of knobs oversees each channel’s reverb responses, the other quartet are responsible for a twin master volume offering, resonance & presence control.
The JVM posterior holds other accesses; 4 speaker cab outputs (each with a different resistance reading), FX loop (series/ parallel), pre-amp input/ output, emulated line-out as well as MIDI & footswitch outlets- the JVM is a real antagonist to its other hallowed, single channel siblings.
On the visual front, Marshall has chosen to keep things traditional by employing its iconic black/ gold colour scheme. Unlike its Mode Four power sapping brother, a model insignia is omitted here, a tasteful exclusion indeed. The overall upholstery & fixtures are sheer indicators of English elegance.
Rating: 95%
Tone
It is necessary to know the following electronic brewery before one fully appreciates the tonal lager here. Each channel’s gain mode is colour coded; green, amber & red to indicate mild, warm & hot drive respectively (forgive the unimaginative, traffic light sequencing). The clever programming resident here is that once you activate a certain drive mode, upon selecting another channel, the previous drive type is set as default. So if you choose to activate the Crunch channel’s red mode, after moving over to the Clean channel for some chord works & subsequently reverting to the Crunch, the red mode is activated as default.
Moving on to the drive voicings on offer, Marshall has included treasured tones in addition to modern ferocity so what you get in whole is a chemistry of familiar ear candy in tandem with the manufacturer’s latest drive incarnations. For instance, the classic 1959 Plexi tone is available in the Crunch channel. The OD1 channel offers a contemporary JCM2000 lead voicings while the OD2 channel specializes in a JCM800 type ferocity.
Clean
In keeping true to its vintage livery, the clean channel’s green mode has a channel volume bypass. This is different from its other higher gain modes because at higher (master) volume settings, things are kept exceptionally dirt-free (also cab driver dependent). The amber mode has another gain stage added so there’s supplementary punch for you chord peddlers. The red mode is the clean at its hottest; in addition to increased punch, pump up the volume levels (channel/ master) & you’d get a pseudo crunch response which is largely pick-sensitive. We don’t usually associate ‘clean’ with a Marshall but this is arguably one of the industry’s best voicing this side of the Fender Twin.
Crunch
As the name implies, this is the starting point of the dirt inclusive package. If you are a blues crunch proponent, this channel’s Plexi parallels will keep you occupied. The red crunch mode is best described as a half-driven JCM 800; nothing too excessive but biting as it should.
OD1/ OD2
We now enter Marshall’s high gain territory, where the contemporary JCM2000 characteristics are aplenty. To the uninitiated, these channels share too much similarities to be worthy of channel separation but that’s largely because the user fails to manipulate the 3-band EQ on offer. The OD2’s middle control was tweaked to give a less divergent sweep compared to the OD1. This is typical of the JCM 800 character where midrange has a demure response; most of the upper end sting lies with the treble offering.
In use
Marshall had pickups consideration in mind with the JVM conception. The drive intense channels respond contrastingly to the pickups in use. If you embrace restrained drive settings, single coils & lower output humbuckers would serve you better in the clean & crunch channels. If you are adverse to guitar volume maneuverability, you should hear how your guitar cleans up/ drives the amp this way. The hotter OD channels are more attuned to high output humbuckers but respond equally well to the reviewer’s (lower output) Seymour Duncan Jazz humbucker. Active units enjoy a brilliant chemistry with the hottest drive this amp has to offer; these are especially complementary to the grizzly nature of a Brit-type distortion which tends to be muffled in the neck position. You now know why the Slayer lads & Zakk Wylde enjoy their Marshalls tremendously.
Extras
If you are largely pedal-free because you appreciate a straight through plug in, but enjoy an occasional drive/ booster trip, the JVM goes one-up in terms of FX-loop accessibility. At the front panel dwells an FX Loop switch which lets you activate/ bypass the loop activity with ease. The FX feature here also employs a Mix control so you have the final authority in deciding how much external pedals sculpture your tone, in conjunction with the amp’s default voicing (READ: parallel connection). There is also a booster button adjacent to it, if you think your pedals need the extra injection.
Another tonal option here is the JVM’s line-in feature which is serial in nature; any signals fed into this outlet would process your tone post pre-amp but before the Master section. Unlike the aforementioned FX loop facility, this circuitry is devoid of a front panel control but a bypass option is available at the rear. A neat trick here is, if you think you need yet another signal booster just prior to the master section, insert a patch cable in the input section & leave the output unplugged; ta-da! A ready booster at your service!
The JVM is able to give you a flat EQ response (or a ‘bypass’ if you permit…) should you prefer an external device to be at the helm instead- simply reduce the channel volume to naught & raise the master volume to taste. While this is in effect, the channel’s EQ is in slumber mode but the gain & mode bits are 100% alive.
Finally, there would be pedal addicts out there who would wish for a mild drive employment with the JVM or to put it in simple inquisition- can you Tubescreamer-fy the JVM to good use? You definitely can my friends. The JVM has a positive outcome with mild drive type pedals in both serial & parallel plug-ins but please mind the pronounced (background) hissing.
Tone test equipment
Speaker cab: Marshall 1960/ Crate GT412
Guitars: ESP Eclipse II/ Ibanez RG7620/ Ibanez TM70/ Ibanez RGR321/ Ibanez S1620/ Ibanez RG1550/ Ibanez RGA 121/ Fender ST72/ Music Man SUB1/ Gibson Les Paul/ Edwards E-LP-85SD-P/ LTD M50
Pedals: Ibanez Tubescreamer TS7/ TS9/ Guyatone OD-2/ BOSS OD3
Rating 90%
Conclusion
Forgive this lengthy entry but you get the picture; there’s so much on offer here, it’s perhaps Marshall’s most sensible contemporary offering to date. The dedicated 4-channel feature isn’t new; Marshall’s Mode Four has this in place prior to the JVM debut. Feature-wise, the JVM is a little excessive (a definite overkill compared to its Vintage Modern sibling) but this should be seen as an applaudable player benefit which adds to feasibility rather than uselessness.
Tone-wise, the JVM isn’t a Jack of past Marshall ear candy & master of none; it properly fuses the golden Marshall tones with the later high gain ferocity. This is a compelling consideration for proponents of varied Marshall voicings who frown upon owning multiple Marshall heads, especially when its asking price is on the appealing side of the $2K mark.
Fair warning to players in general; if you aren’t a Marshall/ Brit-type drive fan, this JVM might serve to be another unproductive, grizzly-voiced tube guitar amp in the market. For the rest of us who appreciate the drive ferocity of a Marshall on fire; this amp isn’t one to omit from your consideration & then there’s the clean & crunch lure- highly recommended.
Overall rating: 90%
Likes:
• Varied + dynamic voicings
• Features
• Price
Dislikes:
• Serial loop has no front panel activation/ deactivation
• Twin master volumes on offer but no simultaneous activation
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