Marshall JCM 800 Series Amplifiers

photo of 1980's Marshall catalog Introduced during the 1980's, the Marshall JCM 800 series added sought-after features to the product line, such as an effects loop and master volume. The look of the head was also redesigned, with grille cloth now incorporated (instead of all Tolex vinyl) and a larger logo.

This cover of a 1980's Marshall full-line catalog shows a good-looking 100-watt half stack: A model 2210 100 watt channel switching lead head powering a model 1960A angled cabinet featuring four G1275 Celestion speakers. The amp features individual gain and EQ controls for each channel, Accutronics footswitchable reverb, effects loop, and a line out with separate gain control.

Cosmetically, the JCM800 models sport larger logos on the heads and speaker cabinets. Another difference is the addition of grille cloth material on the upper two-thirds of the head box, replacing the all-vinyl look of earlier Marshalls. It is still a handsome design, and one that was carried over to the JCM900 line, as well.

While I thought that the "JCM 800" designation had to do with the decade of introduction, Michael Doyle in The History of Marshall states that the JCM came from Jim Marshall's initials and that the 800 came from his car registration plate. In any event, this series was launched in early 1981 after Marshall's contract with distributor Rose-Morris ended.

JCM800 Model 2205 channel-switching head Here is a nice example of a JCM800 model 2205 channel-switching head with reverb. This great-sounding amp belongs to Dave Mauldwin, lead guitarist of the U.S. band Violets Of Dawn.
Head models in the JCM800 product line include the 1959, 1986, 1987, 1992, 2203 (100 watt Super Lead), 2204 (50 watt Super Lead), 2205, and 2210 (see photo at top of page and combo model 4211, below, for summary of features).
The photo shows a factory custom-order red "elephant grain" vinyl-covered JCM800 setup that I used during club dates back in 1991. The top is a model 2203 100 watt amplifier with a matching 1960A angled 4x12 cabinet. This was a rather minimal stage rig for me, as you can see by what I was using just a few years later when the band was playing larger venues.

It's interesting to note that when the music store ordered the setup, they did so on speculation. One store ended up with the amp heads, while a store (part of the same chain) in a different city ended up with the speaker cabinets! Because they didn't match the other Marshall models color-wise, the stores put the red vinyl Marshalls on sale. I was fortunate enough to acquire a matching outfit by visiting all the stores in the chain.

The author's red Marshall JCM 800 Half Stack

Combo models in the 800 line include the following:

Marshall JCM 800 Model 4211 100 watt combo. Click here for larger photo.   Nice photo of Marshall Arts supporter Jim Soucie's JCM 800 series Model 4211 100 watt 2x12 all-tube combo amp. Note the plastic footswitch that controls reverb and channel switching. A larger version of the photo is available by clicking here.

If you're observant you've noticed one thing about the combo amp models. The chassis is installed into the cabinet with the tubes pointing down. Thus, the controls are laid out exactly opposite those of the amplifier heads. You can see that the switches and knobs are mirror images of the head shown at the top of the page