FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Marshall Jmp 1

Question:
Has anyone out there tried using the Marshall JMP-1 preamp in direct recording situations and if so, how well did it work. I'm especially interested if there were any noise/hiss problems.

Answer:
I've used a JMP-1 for both my live rig and for direct recording for several years. It seems some people like the JMP-1 for direct recording but not for live and vice versa. I guess most of the issue comes down to your own personal taste and what you are looking for in your guitar tone. I personally think that the JMP-1 produces some wonderful and very realistic (as in Marshall stack) sounds when used to record direct. Naturally, others' mileage varies, since the guitar used, the degree of distortion desired, and the playing of the individual and the position of the planets all have a lot to do with the final tone you get on tape. I have had some results that were so convincing (at least to me) that I had to actually re-confirm that I had recorded the guitar parts direct, with no live amp at all. I have tried lots of devices made for direct guitar recording, including some of the computer-modeling ones and, to me, the JMP-1 cops the most authentic Marshall tone of any I've tried. As far as live playing goes, I used the JMP-1 through a Peavey 50/50 all tube (8 EL-84's !) power amp and a Marshall 1963A 4x12 cabinet and got some potent results that I really liked, even if the rig did not *roar* like a Marshall stack. Of course, I don't play hard rock or metal or any genre that requires a Marshall stack roar. In terms of noise, obviously, like any pre-amp, the more distortion you dial in, the noiser the JMP-1 gets. I don't use the JMP-1's clean sounds for recording, as I find them a bit brittle, so I can't say if it is too noisy for clean sounds. I don't think so though. I've never noticed a lot of hiss/garbage from the unit. In any case, the noise that is generated when you are using distorted sounds can be gated out pretty effectively between phrases and you'll never hear the noise when you are playing a distorted sound anyway. I would definitely advise you to give a JMP-1 a test drive and see if it fits your needs. I would not hesitate to buy one again if I lost the one I have.