Since I began playing guitar, I have always thought that the Marshall stack was the coolest thing to ever be created - the sound, the look, the prestige which these amps brought with them seemed the epitome of guitar amplification to me. Naturally, then, when I had the chance to pick up the JCM 900 (4100 series), I jumped on it. Mine happened to be a 1992 model, with the 6L6 (5881) tubes in it. I have since had it retubed to the classic Marshall EL34 - and this review is for the retubed 900.

Sound:

Without the new tubes, the sound was simply OK. I play guitar in a punk band, so I need something that will be high gain, but not muddy. The Marshall worked well for that, but it didn't have that "Marshall" tone to it. Once I spent the extra $100 to have new Electro Harmonix EL34 tubes dropped in, however, the amp took on a life it its own. The sound now is warm, creamy, with ample bass and clean mids. The clean tone is also a thing to behold - everyone associates the great clean tones with Fender amps, but my 900 could give most newer Fenders a run for their money in the bluesy, warm clean tone area. The tone is simply the best I have heard out of a 900 series Marshall. Without the retubing, I would rate the sound a 7, but with the new tubes, it is far and away a 10.

Durability:

I use my amp to play about 2 shows a week, and it survives quite well, only a few nicks in the tolex. When you consider that the amp is 10 years old, a few nicks here and there are simply par for the course. As far as electronics are concerned, they still seem to be holding up wonderfully. I would definitely recommend spending the money to get new tubes put in every few years to prevent failures, but the rest of the amp is built like a tank.

Value:

I am somewhat exempt from commenting on the amps value, as I only paid $600 for the amp and a cab, but I am very happy with the amount of money that I spent of this amp.

The Marshall JCM 900s are a wonderful amp, although there are some quirks. You do only get one set of tone controls for your clean and distortion channels, so you need to find a combination that works well, or put an outboard EQ on one of the channels to compensate. With that being said, you don't get the kind of variety in tone that a JCM 2000 would get you, having separate tone controls on each channel, but the price is much lower for a 900. The tubes that come stock are very flat sounding, so if you do happen to buy a 900, spend the money to get it retubed. I do think that as far as Marshall amps go, though, this amp is definitely an underrated performer, often overlooked in favor of the JCM 800 series.

Recommended: Yes