Marshall Amplification JCM800 2203-01 Owner's Manual page 4

Introduction
The all-valve 2203 is one of the most highly respected and revered 100 Watt Marshall heads in the company's
long and illustrious history. Evolving from the legendary 100 Watt 'Plexi' head, it was also our first amplifier to
house a Master Volume (MV) control. This simple but groundbreaking feature allowed the user to overdrive the
preamp valves into desirable distortion without having to turn the amp full up. This proved to be incredibly popular
and practical because, as you probably know, a 100 Watt Marshall is extremely loud when on full volume!
Furthermore, thanks to its cascaded preamp design, the 2203 was capable of producing a level of distortion never
heard from a guitar amp before.
The very first 2203 was actually introduced to the world in 1975. The JCM 800 version that surfaced some six
years later, in 1981, was merely a cosmetic redesign of the original. The circuitry remained exactly the same (as
the saying goes, "if it isn't broken, don't fix it!"), but the amp's appearance got much bolder with a full-width
control panel (the 2203 of 1975-1981 had a shorter front panel like a 1959SLP), grille cloth over the front baffle
(the original 2203's baffle was covered with vinyl), white piping, and 'JCM 800' written in bold letters on the front
panel, together with Jim's signature. If you're wondering about the origin of the JCM 800 name, it's an interesting
tale – it came from the registration/license plate of Mr. Marshall's car which was, wait for it, JCM 800! The 'JCM'
part of it referred to Jim's initials (James Charles Marshall), the '800' was merely the number on the plate – no
more, no less!
As guitar amplifiers go, the 2203 is the very essence of simplicity – it's a one channel amp with no reverb or
built-in effects and its all-valve design produces a sound that, as Mike Doyle so aptly describes in his excellent 'The
History of Marshall' book, is "crunchier than a lorry running over a hedgehog!" As a result of its idiot-proof
interface, distinctive roar and larger-than-life 'edge', the 2203 immediately set the standard by which all other rock
amps were judged and it remained the 'industry benchmark' throughout the entire 16 years of its production life.
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