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CHANNEL OVERVIEW
The JVM's front panel is divided into 2 main
sections: Channels and Master. Each of its 4
channels has 3 modes which are distinguished
by a different coloured light (green, orange or
red) appearing in the respective MODE switch;
the pre-amplifi er's gain structure is uniquely
reconfi gured for each and every mode. Joe
was intimately involved in these 12 voicings
and worked closely with designer, Santiago
Alvarez, for many months perfecting each and
every one. Here's a description of all twelve
from Joe himself:
CLEAN CHANNEL
CLEAN GREEN MODE: This is the clean channel of
the 30th Anniversary 6100 head – my favourite clean
tone of all time – but with more tonal fl exibility
than the original has to offer. For shimmering
clean tones it's great and if you put a little
compressor pedal in-front of it, it's beautiful.
You can really feel the guitar and that's the thing
about amps – a lot of it has to do with what
you're putting into it. So the guy who's got the
vintage Tele
will be pulling something different
®
out of those channels that someone who's got
a hot-rodded Les Paul
, or someone with a 25.5"
®
scale guitar with coil-tapable humbuckers, a
locking tremolo system, basswood body and maple
neck and rosewood fretboards, like me. All are
catered for with all 12 modes of the JVM410HJS.
CLEAN ORANGE MODE: Here we've allowed for
just the slightest step-up in gain, perfect for
those vintage tone guys who are plugging into a
1x12", 2x12" or 3x10" cabinet, and are looking for less
of an "in your face" Marshall sound and more of
an old F**dery sound. Just that little bit of extra
gain on the Orange Mode is something that I think
goes a long way in achieving that.
Also, what it does is give you another little
"bump" up so if you're using a distortion or
overdrive box you've got something that's just a
hair of a step above the total clean of the Green
Modes. As anyone who plays with boxes knows,
that slight amount of gain at the input stage
is so important in making a distortion box work
or making it sound horrible – so we were very
sensitive to that.
CLEAN RED MODE: This just steps the gain up
another level. It sounds great and is just a good
jangly, slightly broken-up tone. Very useful.
So, on the Clean channel you can go from totally
clean to a little bit of break-up and then a little
more. Furthermore, you can step through these
three modes and it's seamless. There is a slight
volume bump from Orange to Red that we've
put in there to compensate for the increased
compression you get when you add gain, which
a lot of amps don't address. I was very keen on
being able to step through all the modes during
the course of the same song – it was very
important to me for that to be a feature.
In keeping with the classic clean amps of yesteryear, all
three modes of this channel feature what is known as a
pre-gain tone stack (i.e. the tone network lies before the
channel's main gain stage). The reverse (i.e. the tone
network being after the main gain stage) is typical of most
Marshalls and, as a result, the Clean channel's tone controls
work in a slightly different way than you might expect. In
addition to controlling the tone of the channel they also
affect how it reacts in terms of gain, allowing you to shape
how the signal distorts.
For example, turning up the Middle control on higher Gain
settings will focus the distortion there, making your sound
'sing' in a traditional blues/rock way. Also, because of the
channels' 'tone then gain' topology, when a lot of gain
is dialled in (especially in the case of the RED mode), it
may appear that its tone controls aren't doing as much as
you'd expect or sound over distorted. This is because the
signal is being distorted after the tone stage, minimising
the effectiveness of the Bass, Middle and Treble controls.
CRUNCH CHANNEL
Tone Note: At this point the JVM reverts to the more typical
Marshall preamp circuit characteristic of 'gain then tone'.
This is also true of the OD1 and OD2 channels.
I love this channel because, to me, it's as if
a very important period of Marshall History is
sitting there. It also represents three of my all-
time favourite amps that I've used to record all
the time. I'm not going to go too crazy trying to
over-describe these because anyone who knows
and loves Marshall will know the classic amps and
sounds upon which they're based...
GREEN MODE: Inspired by a Master Volume, JMP.
ORANGE MODE: Based on a JCM800 2203 which,
like the JMP, is such a standard in rock music.
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RED MODE: That telling, modded JCM800 sound
that so defi ned the '80s era, and is still a "go to
sound" for any rock band.
This channel is so useful. For me to be able to
make two albums using this channel – a solo
record and "Chickenfoot III" - and to tour,
using all three modes during the show is a true
testament to just how good the JVM410HJS's
Crunch channel is and how many different tones it
can give you.
OD1 & OD2 CHANNELS
It's a crazy idea I know, but these two channels
are identical. Generally, logic and intuition would
tell you that the rational thing to do if you've got
four channels is to make them all different. That
said, I've realized, particularly from the experience
of playing live, that once you get your tone dialed-
in, you wish that you could also get it a little bit
louder and with a slightly different EQ once you
get it louder. I've found this to be the case more
often than not, and no-one wants to walk around
with two heads if they don't have to – they'd
much rather have one head with the sounds in it.
Hence the reason for OD1 and OD2 being the same.
So working with Santiago, we made the two
channels essentially the same as OD1 on the
original JVM410H but then, at the click of a
programmable button – the added Mid-Shift – you
can make either one, or both of them be identical
to the original JVM OD2 channel too, in terms of
the EQ curve. So on the JVM410HJS you can dial
in that big, full, organic "Get Your Buzz On" CF
guitar tone. Or, you can activate that switch and
there's a bit of a scoop which I found while
still being a really fat tone, makes more room for
Sammy's vocal in the overall shape of the sounds
that make up Chickenfoot. But then, by the same
token, I fi nd that on my solo work that space
needs to be fi lled by my guitar so I need that
extra midrange to do so properly.
I've now got the ability to have both those
sounds and as the gain structures are identical and
the way two channels behave are also the same,
you can successfully use the channels back to
back.
GREEN MODE: A lot of Gain
ORANGE MODE: Even more Gain
RED MODE: None more Gain ©Nigel Tufnel!
In conclusion: I don't want to say that "I'm
as happy as a peach" because that's a horrible
analogy! Let's just say that I'm spoiled for
choice because there are just so many options
for how wild you want your guitar to sound
within the 12 Modes of the JVM410HJS. I love it,
I really do.
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