Anybody ever play a Lee Jackson modded Marshall?

[Wizard of Ozz]

I used to own 2 modded Marshall JCM800 2203's back in the '80s. Both had an extra 12AX7 added to the preamp, as well as some other mods. I now have the chance to buy a JCM800 2204, modded by Lee Jackson, to included an extra 12AX7 (supposedly this is the only mod). I really liked my 2203's that I sold when I went to a rack, and would love to recapture that sound.

If anyone has any experience with Lee Jackson's Marshall mods, let me know how you liked them and how they changed the overall tone.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dave Paetow]

I fixed a Lee Jackson modded Marshall for a guy, it was the worst sounding piece of crap I ever tried. I ended up removing all the 'mods' and returning it back to stock for the owner.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

...um don't hold back tell me what you REALLY thought of it. spin

 

[Dave Paetow]

The owner hated the way it sounded, too. That's why he had me return it to stock. It had a horrendous gritty, fuzzy, buzzy OD tone at times would go into a strange oscillation, it was horrible. This was a regular 800 series, though.

 

[John Catto]

I've worked on a few Lee Jackson modded amps, both Fender and Marshall and owned (I have no idea why!) for about a week one of his preamps. Every single one of them sounded uniformly and exceptionally terrible, I'm with Dave, I wouldn't go within a mile of anything he'd modded 'cept maybe if it was extremely cheap because of the mods. my 2c

 

[GAINMONSTER]

his custom amps are the shit tho!

 

[jvbjr]

I thought they were terrible, shrill, noisey, just plain horrible.

 

[GAINMONSTER]

I HAVE A METALTRONIX AND A XLA THAT TOTALY KICK ASS!
THE AMPS SOUND BEST WITH THE ATTENUATOR ON!
very van halenish/
a design flaw with the built in attenuator was that you shouldnt crank ithe normal master to the max,,, and the metaltronix amp is a weird amp to learn...especially without the owners manual
but they are very very good

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

How well does your Metaltronix nail the Zakk Wylde "No More Tears" tone? This is the sound I'm after. Zakk has said in numerous interviews that he used a stock JCM800, and after listening to that album a hundred times...it's definitely a Marshall...but it's not stock. I talked to a lot of people that love the Metaltronix amps, but I still want to keep that basic Marshall EL-34 Classic Crunch.

 

[adrenaline junkie]

I've always heard that Zakk used a 800, with a Boss SD-1, Super Chorus, and EMG's in a Les Paul Custom, but I've read other guys on here saying that he uses MG amps, in Marshall Chassis.

I love his tone on that CD, I'd love to be able to nail it too.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I've always heard that Zakk used a 800, with a Boss SD-1, Super Chorus, and EMG's in a Les Paul Custom, but I've read other guys on here saying that he uses MG amps, in Marshall Chassis.

I love his tone on that CD, I'd love to be able to nail it too.

Zakk didn't know what an M&G was when he made NMT's. Also, his JCM800's still were using EL-34's...not the 6550's he is using now. I had 2 modded 2203's (loved the tone) just like everyone else in the '80s, and I have read numerous interviews from that time where Zakk had endorsed Lee Jacksons amps and mods (it's also stated in the liner notes of NMT, Zakk thanks Lee Jackson- hmmm)...so it would be reasonable to assume he used a Lee Jackson modded Marshall on NMT.

 

[adrenaline junkie]

I'd never heard that, or read the cover that far. All I know is I LOVE his tone on that CD! It's Got Tremendous BALLS!

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Yep. That's what I'm after. In the liner notes Zakk thanks Lee Jackson...hmmm. Also on "No Rest for the Wicked " he played a Metaltronix as well. So, I'm trying to zero in on that modded Marshall tone.

 

[GAINMONSTER]

I REMEMBER SEEING HIS RACK WHEN HE FIRST JOINED OZZY AND IT HAD 4 METALTRONIX M-1000 HEADS IN IT!!!
i also read the interview where he stated that he used the heads on his recordings with ozzy! he also was in metaltronix ads!
the amps i have do the no more tears thing perfectly!
they are very harmonicly rich also and ive developed my own pinch harmonics using them which were really inspired by billy gibbons but the amps are so rich you cant help not sounding like zack! which is a little f'd up because i have my own style and not trying to imitate!
i have a tascam 788,,,, if anyone knows how to upload mp3's i'll send them a disc for some soundclips of my riffs on the lee jackson stuff,,,

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I'd love to hear some clips of the Metaltronix in action. I've not done any MP3 recordings myself, but I think if you go to www.mp3.com you can post (upload) them there, and create a link to them to post here. I'm sure if you ask aorund someone here knows how to do it. I'd really like to hear your amp though. :!

 

[GAINMONSTER]

I CAN BURN A CD BUT DONT KNOW HOW TO GET IT UPLOADED??? I CAN SEND IT TO SOMEONE HERE TO DO IT!
it really is a jem of an amp,,,lemme know?
i will do a track with the xla also,,,which is a 50 watt version with 2 master volumes.
the m-1000 is the zack wyley sound!!!
just a little trivia for those of you who didnt know his real name!
please dont think im a zakk gerber baby!
i just remember that from the early interview before he was mr wylde

 

[jvbjr]

A Bogner Ubershall or VHT Pitbull can give you that Zakk sound as well, and they are built far better than anything Jackson ever made. How that guy got famous is a mystery.

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

I CAN BURN A CD BUT DONT KNOW HOW TO GET IT UPLOADED??? I CAN SEND IT TO SOMEONE HERE TO DO IT!
it really is a jem of an amp,,,lemme know?
i will do a track with the xla also,,,which is a 50 watt version with 2 master volumes.
the m-1000 is the zack wyley sound!!!
just a little trivia for those of you who didnt know his real name!
please dont think im a zakk gerber baby!
i just remember that from the early interview before he was mr wylde

If you go to www.mp3.com I think it has info on how to do it. I'll play around with it myself and try to figure it out. It'd be great to hear those MP3's. That's what I was thinking, because Zakk mentioned the Metaltronix/Jacksons amps alot back then.

I don't know his name, but I know he's from New Jersey. :lol2

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

A Bogner Ubershall or VHT Pitbull can give you that Zakk sound as well, and they are built far better than anything Jackson ever made. How that guy got famous is a mystery.

He made a big name for himself back in the '80's in LA modding amps (Marshalls mostly) for guys like Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai, and Paul Gilbert...so it's no mystery how he got known.

I've played both the VHT UL and CLX, and even with the 5 band EQ, they still don't nail the NMT tone. The CLX came closer IMHO, because of the EL-34's vs. the 6550's in the UL. The thing with the VHT's is that the preamp overpowers the overall tone of the amp (too much preamp gain). Whereas Marshall amps have a more balanced power/preamp tone. I've not played the Uberschall, but from what I've herd regarding the Uberschall, it's more of a Mesa Recto, VHT clone, with alot of heavy bottom and bass.

 

[jvbjr]

He made a big name for himself back in the '80's in LA modding amps (Marshalls mostly) for guys like Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai, and Paul Gilbert...so it's no mystery how he got known.

Every amp I ever heard or played he touched sounded horrible, everyone I knows that bought one had it changed because they hated theirs, it is STILL a mystery to me.