Marshall JCM 800 2203x VS Marshall JCM 900 4100 |High Gain Shootout 

I don't understand why people hate on the 900, or jcm 2000. They sound awesome. Actually, I do know why... because they are snobs, and won't let themselves admit that there are amps that are not an 800, that sound good. I guarantee if you made a recording of a 900, and told the snobs it was an 800, they'd say it sounded great. Then if you told them it was actually the 900, they'd say "oh, well it didn't sound good in the blah, blah, blah" smfh. Any of the jcms sound great. Too many people listen with their eyes, not their ears

That 900 sounds absolutely incredible, the 900 wins for me. I feel like both of them in a mix would sound really good together

The 900 sounds more tight, percussive, and slightly scopped/modern compared to the 800 but man the 800 just has that distinctive GROWL that you recognize right away! And I bet it felt better underneath the fingers, too, more note bloom and such.

Killer demo and playing! I think the 2203 sounds like 1985, and the 4100 sounds like 1993. Both have their place!

I own a JCM900 SLX 100w and also a JCM900 DR 50w , both are early EL34 models.. and when the Duel Reverb is turned up proper it sounds great, they really shine in the mix of a band situation, and cut through the live mix with the right frequencies, almost like a secret weapon, but then again, that's what they where designed for. I think alot of hate comes from not experiencing their potential in the live environment, which as I said is where they shine, .. Simply put, at that time Marshall didn't spend all that development, time and money to put out something that wasn't designed to do what it was designed to do, and that was to have a great modern ( for the time ) high gain rock machine that shines through the mix when those power tubes are doing their magic.

I got my JCM 900 in 93 it is the only Marshall amp I have ever played. It is a great amp, a trick to it is if you want great Distortion with low volume you need to put a volume pedal or some sort of volume control in the effects loop. That way you can crank the volume of the amp get the sound you want but can control the output volume to the cabinet.

love your videos man! thank you

The JCM 900 sounds so darn mix ready in here! It fills the perfect spots.

Awesome riffs and playing, btw!

Killer playing! To start off...I think most people can't tell the difference between most similar type amps unless they are played side by side in the same style like you've done here. Also, I think you're probably using a guitar with pretty high output pickups to get enough initial drive needed to get these sounds. That being said, the 800 is more open sounding and has more harmonic overtones with an upper midrange hump where the 900 is darker and has more compression. In a band mix, the 800 will most likely stand out more. Keep in mind that the JCM800 was looked down upon by Super Lead players when it came out the same that the JCM900 was looked down upon by JCM800 players when it came out.

I don't possess the learnéd guitar vocabulary to express what about the 800 I'm preferring this morning but it wins to my ear for now. That being said, the 900 is kinda giving me Static-X vibes and we all need more evil disco in our lives. Thanks for the video.

Great job, as usual 👆

I completely agree with everything you said. I love my 800 and 900. I also love the TSL and DSL. They are all great amps.

Nice shootout! Both great sounding amps on their own. Haven't played a 4100 yet, but playin a SL-X for years and love it. I also own the 800 Studio for a few weeks now, which is great and very versatile, takes pedals and different guitars really well. Few years back I sold my first SL-X to buy a Silver Jubilee, then I played one at my local store and I hated it. So bought another SL-X from a good friend, got it modded to EL34s and that's it til today.

Great video man, and yeah the JCM 900 owns in this particular shootout

Nice, I've had a 4100 and agree with your observations but there is a reason the 800 is soo loved. Both good but for different reasons

Great video. Very useful. Both amps sound great, but the JCM900 is just a bit fizzy. I would choose the JCM800. Thanks for making this.

I like the JCM 800 better because it attenuates some of higher frequencies which allows the cymbals & high hat to own that space in the frequency range. Your drummer, engineer & producer will thank you. Listen to how the the cymbals and high hat become less distinct when they share the same upper frequencies that the JCM 900 accentuates. Perhaps turning down the 900's Presence could help with this. That said, the JCM 900 has a very satisfying full range tone when played without a backing track to provide context. I like the way this side-by-side demo was done with the two amps alternating at useful intervals with the same backing tracks so you can hear the differences in how they sit the mix.

holy the comments are blowing up! I've been trying to send as much traffic to your guys channel as I can I tell everyone this is Meatal. Lol. Anyways I was waiting for this one, I was gonna get a jcm 800 before I got the 900, it was a bit more money but just like you said here, I was told you'll never get the sound your looking for unless you got it turned way up. I think I might've went a little overkill on getting the jcm 900 and the mesa 4x12 os slant especially for trying to learn how to play.

I own both an early 1990 JCM900 4100 with EL34's and an original JCM800 2203 from 1981, and I can easily say they are both great amps. Either one can get sounds the other cannot. The 900 is more "modern" sounding by itself with no pedals. I good comparison would be to compare a 4100 with a 2-channel 100w JCM800 from the late 80's. they are very similar. Once you add pedals you can get much much more variety of tones which will can minimize or eliminate differences. Most people who hate on them are likely just repeating themselves. Just make sure it's properly biased as these were biased cold back in the day.

I like the overall tone of the JCM900 better. It seems to have more bite. Would cut thru the mix nicely.

I've owned both amps, and still currently do. To me the jcm900 can produce an assortment of rock tones some sounding very similar to the jcm 800. If given a choice I would rather own an 800. That said, the jcm900 really does shine on its own. Maybe even better suited and more music genres than the 800. If you're talkin straight up 80s or guns and roses tone. The jcm800 wins hands down

Sweet 🤘🏻

Interesting that you say your 900 is darker. I wonder if a bright cap has been snipped or something. I have a 4100 reissue with a 6L6 quad made in 2015 and it's very bright regardless of the cab used (Creambacks, V30s, Greenbacks, etc...). I have to keep the Presence around 9 o'clock and the treble doesn't travel past Noon. At any rate... outstanding video as always, you do great work.

I own the 4100 myself...it gets a good tone...I like it because of the built in reverb even more ....never played a JCM800

JCM 800 hands down! 900 sounds great but the clarity on the 800 is fantastic!

I’m liking the 800 more, but it’s just more preference at this point because they both sound great. Would be great to use both amps in a studio setting together.

I just got a used Marshall 1960B Cab to run with my JCM800 2203x. The guy before jacked with the speakers. Think I'm going to go ahead and replace them. Trying to decide between the G12T-75 and G12H-75 Cream backs. Do you have any opinion? Should I go All G12T or All Cream backs or should I do 2 of each?

I'm here for the riffs. They're fuckin awesome

Hey man sei cazzuto hai un playing fortissimo🤟🏻💪🏻🎸💯👍🏻

JCM800: -more "musical" mids -punchier and smoother distortion JCM900 -a bit more aggressive and modern-sounding -more scooped mids -can be bit harsh in the upper range and has scratchier/raspier distortion

I always considered myself an 800 guy when it came to Marshall…but after this demo, the 900 just felt… smoother?? Almost more even in across the frequencies, while the 800 had the classic upper mid boost. The 900 wasn’t as scooped as say, a dual rec, but not as upper mid focused as an 800. Almost like an orange. And I love me an orange.

Great job! I probably watch more comparison videos than most. I live for them. Unfortunately the thing that can't be quantified is the FEEL of the amp. I own a Mesa Boogie Mark V 90w combo and I love the tone most of the time, but after playing a Marshall JCM 2000 (which isn't even that great sounding of an amp IMO), I noticed that I vastly prefer the FEEL. It's hard to even say why using terms that make much sense. The Mark V feels kind of "flubby" in the lower registers despite my best efforts at tweaking. The higher pitched notes sound too "round" and "fuzzy." Comparatively, the JCM had a perfect "sharp-edged" feel to it. Another interesting aspect is that only one channel of this particular JCM 2000 head worked, and I very much disliked another JCM 2000 model I played at the same studio. I guess we really just need to try before buying, but it seems like less and less shops have higher end amps. Everyone carries solid state fenders, blackstars and the odd princeton or vox.

I love all Marshalls, and these both sound great, but I would generally prefer the more open and dynamic sound of the 800 over the 900. That's just personal preference though, and out of all my amps my two JCM800s (2203X and 2203KK) are probably still my favorites. I would have to imagine the 800 has been used on at least 10x more famous recordings than the 900 though, and it has been used for all kinds of genres as well. And I think the familiarity with the sound of it because of that is another part of why many people would pick it over the 900.

Can we just appreciate the high quality line up from marshall? 800, 900, TSL, DSL, Plexi, and my personal favorite- silver jubilee...and for what it's worth my origin 20h is my favorite to own- 20w through a 412 is ridiculous, a 212 would make more sense. Not to mention the built in attenuator..very responsive and user friendly with a great marshall 70s vibe

I prefer the slight mid boost of the 800 but to each his own. they are both great amps and a little eq could make either sound like the other.

I subbed 50 seconds in lmaooo

Awesome vid man. I must say, thats the first time Ive ever heard a 900 sound better than an 800. They both sounds great, as does your playing. \m/

Dam that 900 sounds mean!! Love it!!

You know how we all have that moment in life we regret, but no matter how much we try to forget them and move on, that one particular moment will just eat us alive until the day we die? Yeah, mine was back in 1996 when I got desperate for cash and pawned my 1980's Marshall JCM800 50 watt head for $100 dollars, and then wasn't able raise the cash to get it back out of pawn. I had bought that head used for $50 back in 1988, and it was literally in like brand new. Not even a speck of dust on it because the guy had always kept it tucker under the fitted vinyl cover when he wasn't playing through it. I couldn't begin to count how many shows I played through that head, and it always sounded amazing. To be perfectly honest, at the time I didn't know what a truly special gem I had. Of course a couple of years later when I went to purchase a new rig I suddenly realized what I had given up, when even back in 1998 you couldn't touch one for under $2K, and NOTHING else sounded quite as good. Which is to say I never got my hands on another JCM800. To this day my legs get really tired from kicking myself over that one.

☆☆ They both Sound Good, But I'll take the "JCM 900"...Yeahhh !! ☆METAL☆.

i like both. inspired riffing by the way!

Both sound great but the 900 while higher gain is also more compressed sounding which might not cut as well in a band situation. The 800 boosted probably would as history shows

Personally I enjoy the rythim parts in the 900, the leads I prefer the 800. nice video!

As I get older and more experienced I don't get what the trend about scooping low-tuned guitars was. I love me some thick baritone midrange.

Great video !! Love marshalls...i own a JCM 800 2203x and is a ripper ! Whats your setting on the presence knob ?

I didn't like the sound of the JCM 900 when I first got it. I had other amps that sounded better to me. Years later I brought it to the repair shop to have the POTS fixed, retubed and biased. They put JJ Tubes in it. Now I love the amp. The JJ tubes warmed the amp up nicely. Low to midway on the gains, high on the master volume and a Boss Super Overdrive in front. Sweet.

I own a JCM 900 and have had it for a couple years. I also have an EVH Iconic, a Marshall Valvestate , which is a solid state amp with a tube preamp, and a Crate Blue Voodoo, which is pretty much a clone of the JCM 800. (or so they say) Anyway, my point is, I can get pretty much any tone I want with these amps but the JCM 900 is and has always been my workhorse. My biggest complaint is I can not switch from a dirty channel to a clean channel since there is only one gain knob which controls both channels. As far as EQ and drive, this amp does not get the credit it deserves but I will say that adding and overdrive to the front gives it more diversity. Cool video!

Im new to this, just bought my first 900DR. Learning of the hatred for this amp seems on par with the Porsche purists that hate every other Porsche unless its an air cooled 911. Or Harley riders that hate every biker unless theyre on a Harley. I did my research in opting for the 900. Cost between the 800 & 900 did not justify going with an 800. But hey, Im just a newbie and may need to sell the house for an 800 one day.

I’ve had a 900 for almost 20 years and I never knew about the hate it gets online. To me it’s just people on forums who probably have never even plugged one in.

I bet they sound awesome together.

Your riffs are awesome! Some riifs sound better with one amp, some riffs sound bether with the other. Its my oppinion. Cheers from Portugal 🤘🍺🇵🇹

Both sound great. I’d rather have the JCM800 because of the music I play but if I were to play all metal I would rather have the 900. The 900 is more my metal taste whereas the 800 has that brown sound touch. It almost sounds as if the 900 is running on 6L6s…maybe you have 6CA7s in there? (My favorite power tube type).

JCM 800 just has that "edge". This "edge" is only heard in the plexi, 800 and jubilee IMO.... 900 sounds great dont get me wrong, in a mix no one would be able to tell, but on their own the difference is very notable.

I’m just glad I got a jcm2000 dsl50 back when they were still cheap af. Head was like 550.

This guy rips. I personally like the 900 a lot and dislike the people who say its “bad.” Each amp has it’s pros and cons but when it comes to versatility I would say the 900 beats the 800. If playing metal I throw a tube screamer in front of my 900 which it saturates it just a little bit more. Both are phenomenal amps though.

Ooooo theae both sound great this is a hard choice for me because I like playing heavy but I also like playing jrock which isnt heavy

Damn, JCM 900 all day!!!

Both sound great, but I prefer the 900 for the upper midrange clarity, it's also a two channel amp..with more flexibility...

Best demo `I've ever heard on the JCM 900, of course a JCM 800 always sounds good.

Insane chops man. The 900 sounds better to my ear!

All the marshalls up to the more modern dsl 2000 stuff need to be loud, they are just built to sound best at wall shaking volume. If you think about the 2203 is a master volume plexi at its heart, since 1975, where there wasnt a lot of preamp distortion.

great demo. 900 adds a bit of hair, but honestly. either one should be loved

Damn, these two amps are really close. You could flip a coin and be happy with either outcome. For the style of playing in this video, though, I'd have to give the win to the 900 - but just by a hair

JCM 800 because I have an original 1980 version! Can’t afford both?

Hey, this is a great video, but consider turning your preamp gain down, there's a lot of clipping in the sounds. Of course, it might just be my headphones. Cheers!

With the right speakers, the 900 is immense. Swap out the G12-75-T in the combos for Vintage 30s or Creambacks and it's unstoppable.

The 900 sounds great too, but seems a little flat to me, sounds like the 800 has slightly more snarl or growl to it in my opinion.

I have JCM800(2203)mod x1, JCM900(2100)modx1, JCM900(4100)mod x1, JCM900(4100) x2,. I feel JCM 800 and 900 differ in the sound of the mute picking performance. The JCM900 inevitably has a high frequency sound. I don't need the high frequencies when playing heavy metal tunes with mute picking. However, the JCM900 has a distortion component due to diodes more than the JCM800, so there is no choice. I prefer the drive sound of the JCM800. I modified the JCM900(4100) to add independent loops for each of the AB channels. Roland CE300 chorus is connected to the A channel loop, and an overdrive is connected to the B channel loop. This is a recommended modification because you can feel as if you are switching between Marshall and Roland Jazz chorus just by stepping on the switch once. And both JCM800 and JCM900 have modifications to add Resonance. I got a fat mute picking sound from this modify. Yes,Maybe I like the sound of mute picking. lol This was a great comparison video. Let's all enjoy the Marshall sound. \m/

When you did the ENGL vs 900, they sounded more alike than this video. In this video (800 vs 900), they both sounded good but different in the beginning. When you grabbed the Gibson Flying V, the 800 became more articulate

That’s why they called 800 the bad boy. It’s a lot clearer way more bark way more organic sounding. Nowhere near as fizzy. 900s are great but it’s not an 800. I can’t believe people actually think the 900 sounds better.

Yeh I prefer the 900 hear. I perceive the 800 to be a thinner with breakup sound whereas the 900 is more of a velvet lounge type of sound. I'm surprised as I've never owned either of only heard the feedback about them.

Solid video! I’ll take the 800. It has more weight

I have 2 of the JCM2000s (one heavily modified), a 900, and now an 800 on the way. All made by Marshall (not Zound).

The 800 sounded to me like it had more clarity. I have to ask though, in a band situation playing a gig, would the audience ever know which one your using or even care? I think not.

Both sound great. Anyone who disses either is either a snob or doesn't know how to dial a tone (or has crappy hands). For metal I favor the 900 but would still be very happy with a 800. Great video! Great tones and rifffing.

I have a 900 4500. I mean it’s ok. I did some mods. Took out gain Stage clipping diodes on channel 1. Sounds decent. It does sound better louder. I’ll say that. With 50 watts of power, you can achieve power amp saturation quicker than a 100 watt version. Who would ever need 100 watts of amp on any Stage is questionable. A fender twin is fn loud….

The 900 doesnt sound less good at all! Cheers from Portugal 🤘🍺🇵🇹

800 seems to sit in the mix a bit better, and I don't hate the 900 cuz I prefer scooped tones....buuuuut other amps scoop better

Read the disclosure, quickly realized that I came to the right place!

JCM 800 = Classic rock/Hard rock sound JCM 900 = Modern high gain sound

I have played all three jcm types . All are excellent with each their own flavor. I own the 900 because it was the cheap one.

🤘❤️🎧📷👌

800 brighter and cleaner mids. 900 is darker and reserved. drop your tuning down a few steps and it gets even better.

ALICE IN CHAINS...GRABO CASI TODOS SUS DISCOS CON CABEZAL JMC900 SLX.100W.

For this music definitely the 900

Was the TS9 on during the scooped demo?

Is this the 5881 or EL34 JCM 900?

JCM 900 for me.

Ho il jcm900 dal 1990 ma non ha mai suonato così 🤷🏻‍♂️, ha le valvole el34. Non lo cambierò mai è l'amore della mia vita, ho lavorato per quasi un anno per potermelo permettere a quel tempo. Oggi suona ancora da paura, però ripeto non così come su questo tuo video

900 for rythm, 800 for solo, because...why not haha either one is good enough for me.

Wow thought the 800 sounded better in the first part and the 900 sounded better in the E flat tuning .. interesting

JCM 800 for rock , JCM 900 for metal

On the clips with the solo guitar sound, I prefer the JCM 800, but in the mix I think the 900 sounds better. Maybe it was just how it was mixed, but the JCM 800 seemed to smother everything else so the guitar is in your face and the rest of the band is an afterthought; whereas the JCM 900 fit in much better and resulted in a more cohesive sound overall. Everyone knows the stereotype of the cocky, self-centered guitarist who wants all the attention, so maybe that’s why so many love the 800 and hate on the 900?

Can you please compare the 900 to the JVM???

Im a die hard 800 fan… but fuck that 900 blows it out of the water. I wonder how a 900 feels tho. Either way im more of a MESA guy. I’ve tried a lot of Marshalls except the 900 and the only ones I despise are the JCM2000, its to fizzy and not in a musical way. I know people have gotten good souns out the JCM2000 but I just can’t gel with it

Hmmm looks like I need a tube screamer 😂

The 800 sounded better in Drop C, the 900 in Eb

800= Slayer ; 900= Anthrax

Jsm 800 sounds awesome, for me much better