TRASH OR TREASURE
Zachary r. fjestad
Marshall JCM-800 Combo
Hey, Zach.
I use this Marshall JCM-800 1x12 combo
for all of my gigging, and this baby really
screams! Can you give me some background
on the JCM-800 Series and tell me what
today’s current value is?
Thanks, Tom
Dallas, TX
Hey, Tom.
If you ask me, Jim Marshall’s JCM-800 Series
are among the most influential amplifiers
they’ve ever produced. We’ll get into that
shortly, but first I want to give you a little history about Jim Marshall and his amplifiers.
Actually, any reader with an ounce of guitar
amp knowledge already knows quite a bit
about Marshall history, so there’s no need to
rehash the whole story, but a few interesting tidbits are helpful. Marshall actually built
his first amplifier based on a 1959 Fender
Bassman with the intention of providing musicians in England a large amplifier like the
Bassman at a fraction of the cost. Marshall is
one of the best when it comes to listening and
giving his customers what they want, and this
is how he developed the 4x12 speaker cabinet
and modern features such as effects loops,
channel switching, and higher gain stages.
The JCM-800 Series was introduced in March
1981, shortly after the relationship between
Marshall and their distributor Rose-Morris
ended. Marshall signed a fifteen-year contract
in 1966 with Rose-Morris for exclusive world-wide distribution rights that severely hindered
Marshall’s development and expansion in
the 1970s because of the large commissions
Rose-Morris received for their services. In
anticipation of Rose-Morris’ expiring contract
and to boost sales, Marshall worked hard to
develop a new line of guitar amps. The new
series basically utilized the previous 50- and
100-watt chassis with a few important tweaks.
Most notably in the US, distributor Unicord
began replacing Marshall’s tried and true EL34
power tubes with the seemingly more reliable
6550s. Marshall also updated the cosmetics of
the amp with a control panel that spanned the
entire width of the cabinet with Jim Marshall’s
signature, a black cloth grille, and a much
larger script Marshall logo. The JCM-800 name
came from the license plate of Jim Marshall’s
car at the time—that stood for his initials
(James Charles Marshall) with an arbitrary
number of 800 that coincidentally enough
worked well for representing the 1980s.
Your amp is a 50-watt 1x12 combo numbered
as the Model 4010. It features a 12-inch
Celestion speaker, five tube chassis with three
ECC83 or 7025 preamp tubes and two EL34
or 6550 power tubes, a solid-state rectifier,
single channel, two vertically mounted inputs
(high gain, low gain), six knobs (Volume,
Master Volume, Treble, Middle, Bass, and
Presence), power and standby switches, and
speaker jacks. As you can see, this JCM-800
model isn’t loaded with features and it isn’t
as versatile some other amplifiers, but a lot
can be said about its simplicity. Like most
Marshall amplifiers, this one is built like a tank
and the reliability is outstanding—perfect for
the gigging musician! The JCM-800 Series
was phased out at the end of the 1980s and
replaced by the JCM-900 with more features.
Marshall has followed its trend of producing
their main line of amplifiers for a decade with
the JCM-2000 series as well.
Why do I think the Marshall JCM-800 Series
is so influential? For me, it defines the hard
rock and heavy metal genres of music in the
1980s. Performers such as Slash of Guns ‘N
Roses, the Youngs of AC/DC, and Zakk Wylde
created their signature sounds through these
amplifiers. The JCM-800 Series is known for
having a very warm distorted sound, and
while many traditionalists were turned off by
the sound that the 6550 power tubes put
out, it really paved the way for Marshall’s
future with rock and metal performers. In
fact, Marshall even produced a limited edition Zakk Wylde JCM-800 Model 2203ZW
amplifier with 6550 power tubes in 2002.
Today, the JCM-800 50-watt 1x12 combo
(Model 4010) is currently valued between
$1100 and $1300, and the value has slowly
but consistently risen over the past few years.
Since so many of these are in service by players and not sitting in collectors’ closets, I
think this amp will be continue to rise in value
and be a treasure for years to come.
Sources: Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers, 3rd
Edition, by Zachary R. Fjestad; Jim Marshall
the Father of Loud by Rich Maloof; The
History of Marshall by Michael Doyle.
Zachary R. Fjestad
Zachary is the author of the Blue Book of Acoustic
Guitars, Blue Book of Electric Guitars, and the Blue
Book of Guitar Amplifiers.
Questions can be submitted to:
Blue Book Publications
Attn: Guitar Trash or Treasure
8009 34th Ave. S. Ste #175
Minneapolis, MN 55425
bluebookinc.com
guitars@bluebookinc.com
