Marshall JMP2199

Marshall JMP2199 2x12 'Master Lead Combo'

OK, so those of you who've been paying attention might remember that my first 'proper' amp was a JMP2199, the same as this (although that first one ended up being modified pretty severely).

I loved that amp. Not only was it the seed that grew into my current fascination for all-things-Marshall, but it was also entirely usable. It was versatile enough to see me through long days of practice at conversation volume, right through to some (for me) very big gigs ... it also saw me through a live session on the radio, although it WAS Radio Humberside, so there were probably only about 8 people listening. Regardless, it did the job, did it well, and never let me down, even after countless journeys in the back of a Transit van.

One of the main attractions was that it was neutral ... I suppose that some would call it sterile, in that whatever you fed into it came straight back at you, only louder. It took pedals extremely well, and saw service as a bass amp AND had my iPod stuffed through it for over a year once I relegated my hi-fi separates to the attic (... they're still up there somewhere actually ... I might have to dig them out).

But then, like a complete cock, I sold it when I got into valve stuff. Seller's remorse kicked in pretty quickly, but I consoled myself with the knowledge that my new valve gear was SO much better than that old MOS-FET piece of shit. The short-sighted foolishness of a cork-sniffer? Yeah, probably. There's little doubt that a thick, lean, juicy rib-eye steak is 'better' than a Big Mac, but sometimes you just WANT a Big Mac.

So. This is a early 1978 30W MOS-FET which drives a pair of 1978 Celestion G12Ls (T1632s) ... they're not particularly sought-after speakers, but are nicely balanced and (as was the case with my previous 2199) loud enough to do the job. I flirted with the idea of swapping them out for a pair of greenback reissues, but for what? The bragging rights so I can say I've got greenbacks? Not my style. These are original to the amp, so are staying put.

This was advertised as an attic-find (literally ... found at the back of dead-unlike-Dave's attic when the family cleaned his shit out) and was listed as being 'crackly'. That was used as a severe bargaining tool ('crackly' could indicate all manner of issues, right?!) but I was quietly confident that it was just the dirty old pots ... my old one did that too and it was an easy fix). Anyway, the asking price was slashed pleasingly, and hands were shaken.

It turned up COVERED in dead spiders, slug-trails, ring-marks from (I'm guessing) beer cans, and was smelling like something that just got shit on by a dead, wet dog. The Marshall logo was missing that flamboyant flicky-bit from the 'm', and there was a teensy hole in the grille-cloth. So, there was some work to do.

Before any renovations, however, I powered it up and let it stand for a while. No light in the on-off switch (so added a new item to the 'to do' list). It didn't catch fire however (which is always a positive), so I did the usual trick of winding each of the pots back and forth a few dozen times to clean the contacts off. I plugged in 'Nancy' and waited for the deafening crackles. Nothing. By that I mean no crackles ... Nancy sounded warm, rich and clear. I set the controls to the positions that I always used on my old one (I remembered exactly where they all needed to go, like it was only yesterday) and there it was ... just like old times.

Now. Those renovations. Obviously, I set about the whole thing with a toothbrush and hot water, and it came up looking good and smelling sweetly. I wondered whether scrubbing off nearly 40 years of mojo was a good thing or not, but the prospect of some of the grime being the product of some drunken geezer puking on it during the inevitable shitty-pub-gigs was enough to convince me to do it. I have a new logo in my gear-case, along with a new light-up on-off switch and a roll of grille-cloth, but I'll save those for another day ... for NOW, I'm more than happy to keep it all original. At least it doesn't smell like something died any more (... and I don't mean uncle Dave).

One thing I DID do was to wire an input jack into the speaker wires. A piss-easy and infallible job, which means that it can be run as Dr Jim intended, or the amp can be disconnected and an off-board amp fed to the speakers directly. So, this now serves two purposes. Firstly, it acts as a speaker cab for my little JVM-1 head (the two go together VERY nicely), and secondly it acts as a clean platform for my effects stuff. Although I've never been a big fan of effects, sometimes valve drive and a splash of reverb just isn't enough.

Let's all raise a glass to dead uncle Dave. I'm looking after your amp ... and it smells better now.