Ease of Use: 6
Pretty easy. Turn the dial and get your sound man. Lots of guys play around with this JMP-1 but none buy. They say it sounds crappy.

Sound Quality: 2
I work and own an old pawnhop in Seatle. Most of the stuff I got is junky and this JMP-1 is just as bad. I have been tryin' to sell it for five years and no one wants it. I think it sounds shitty but I don't say anything when someone is looking at it. Terrible sound and cheaply put together. Had another one but threw it in the garbage cause the battery leaked all over it and wrecked it. Noisy, stinky, cheapy, crappy. I play a Marshall JCM900 that sounds awesome. I'd never play this JMP-1. I hope I can sell it soon.

Reliability: 3
It keeps shorting out tubes. I tried taking both tubes out and connecting the circuit with some tin foil and it worked. Now I sell it as a tubeless mod. It sounds just as crappy, so the tubes didn't do nuthin'.

Customer Support: 1
Marshall gave me some bullshit that this is a tube pre-amp. I said,"Bullshit." They hung up on my laughing. They knew I got suckered with this pos.

Overall Rating: 2
Almost a hunk of junk. Good for beginners but no real musician would touch this unless they were getting a heap of cash. You know, like KISS a few years ago. Marshall has really let a fart out of the bag with this thing. I have it priced to go at $100, cause I just wanna get it out of my sight.

Just a waste of tin and transistors.

Submitted by Darky's Pawnshop at 07/06/2002 12:50

Price Paid: US $956.00

Sound Quality: 1
This thing produced the WORST possible tones and then some.It wasnt allowed(in Guitar Center) to turn the preamp UP w/a Real Poweramp hooked in to a 4x12 cabinet.I played it at talking volumes....sounded ok.
Brought it home and got shit out of it.A NEW Unit too!What a waste of time and energy the JMP-1 is.
Not even a real tube Preamp.I Know because before I brought back to Guitar Center I had My Local AmpTech look at it(shitty tones caused me to have a NEW Preamp looked at By a Bench Tech.)He laughed and pointed out the Transistors in the path between the tubes that produce the Distortion anjd Shit tones that it makes.
I was Like: whatthefuck..?
Back to Guitar Center and screamed at the Mgr.: Gimme back My Money!
Got My $ back.....and bought a Bogner from a Internet Dude.
Never looked back!
Sold the Mesa 50/50 too.

The JMP-1 SUCKS.

Reliability: 1
what a Piece of Sheep Shit!
I HOPE they go Bankrupt and have to eat rice and potatoes for the next 25 years.
Reliable..? Who cares!

Customer Support: 1
The Marshall Company and ALL the products they make SUCK!

Overall Rating: 1
I would rate all of Marshall and their products WORTHLESS and Full of SHIT.

Submitted by Anonymous at 12/01/2002 21:30

Price Paid: US ca. 800

Sound Quality: 1
Back then I used this with Charvel Jackson and Ibanez Jem guitars, mainly for direct recording in a home studio where I couln't crank up my amp. I no longer play those guitars but it's safe to say they're decent instruments. The JMP gave me a sterile, lifeless, and crappy sound, no matter what. I have heard shabby $40 distortion/overdrive pedals that worked better.

Reliability: 8
It's properly built. I dropped it once (from about two feet, on a carpet, so not exactly a worst case scenario for a piece of equipment) and it still worked. If only dropping it had changed the sound a bit I might have been happier - LOL.

Customer Support: 1
It's widely known that Marshall's customer service sucks, except maybe if you live in the UK. I once had to deal with them for a broken power supply in a top - they fixed it without charge (warranty) but I had to miss my amp for several weeks.

Overall Rating: 1
This isn't just about the JMP-1, folks. Marshall may be a "household name" but the only halfway decent stuff they produce are their top of the line TSL/DSL amps and their terribly overpriced Vintage re-issues (which, technically, are nothing like the "originals" whatsoever - no way, hah !). They make the *worst* messy sounding speaker cabinets you can imagine, and without any doubt the worst preamp I ever heard (this one). The reason why so many people, especially metalheads, think Marshall is so great is because it's all they see or know. As for this crummy excuse for a "valve preamp" : I couldn't believe this thing had valves inside - I doubt if they're actually in the circuit chain - LOL. But hey, they sit there glowing so that's nice. The question is if you want to spend nearly a grand on that. You'd be mad to do so. I have used quite a few pieces of Marshall equipment before I woke up and smelled the coffee. The only thing Marshall have going for them is the familiarity of the brand name. Nice gold plates, nice logo. But that's it. Even their "better" amps all sound alike - but they call it a "trademark sound". You want boring ? Buy a Marshall. Mesa/Boogie to some extent suffers from the same problem, but the overall quality and build is better. The most expensive MB products are very good, but overpriced - period. You think a rectifier cab is so great ? Check out a 4x12 Classic or Vintage Engl cab, sound better (especially in the low end) and costs less - only there you don't pay for the brand name. I really can't think of any good reason to spend money on a Marshall product if you're seriously after getting your own, great tone - the tone that suits your music, no matter what it is. If you're halfway decent on the guitar and want a great sounding amp that a) reflects what you play and b)is still within reach of mere mortals, check out brands like Engl, Hughes & Kettner, Brunetti, just to name a few. Marshall is cool if you play like everyone else and want to sound like everyone else. It may come across as very arrogant when an "absolute nobody" like myself slags off a company like Marshall - but for the love of God grab your guitar, go to the store and try some alternatives and LISTEN to the sound. Don't pay attention to what the mags say (they need Marshall's advertising money) and don't believe the crap from people who get their equipment for free. It's ironic : PLAY, LISTEN, and you will see why Marshall is probably one of the ***WORST*** tube amp manufacturers on the market today.

Submitted by Chriss at 10/15/2002 13:14

Price Paid: US $920,00

Ease of Use: 9
THIS IS JUST AN UPDATE .

Very easy to use . I needed the manual only to save settings , but that was not necessary , that was so bad , so I didn need to save patches .

Sound Quality: 4
TOO BAD . And too NOISY . It sounds exactly like the weak Maiden tone ( Dave , Adrian and Janick use this preamp , before a Marshall 9200 ).
If you want to make it sound better , youl need a Mesa 50/50 ( at least ) and a Marshall 1960 cabinet at full volume , ah , and using a heavy guitar , with Dimarzio , or Seymour Duncan pickups .

DON`T buy this thing if you want metal .

Reliability: N/A

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 1
Thanks GOD !!! I went back to the store , and after hours of talking , they gave me all the money back .

But after that , I opened the unit at home , and that was true . The Marshall JMP-1 is a SOLID-STATE preamp .
Those tubes make no difference !!!

It sounded just a little better than my Marshall VS100 .

And I got a Digitech 2101 , much heavier , much more sustain , and best suitable for Metal .

Believe it or not , a Boss DS-1 has more punch and sustain than this JMP .

Submitted by Lee at 07/05/2002 17:43

Price Paid: US $800

Ease of Use: 8
Easy controls and easy to program but there's more to a pre-amp than that. Editing easy. Very Straight forward. Had a manual for it. Useful-yes. Not as easy to use as a non-midi pre-amp but decent just the same.

Sound Quality: 3
When I was first getting into amps and stuff is when this came out. At first it seemed like the holy grail of tone, but when I gained some experience I realized that this is what another reviewer said, "A smoke show blow-job." I like real tube gear. Not 150 volt crap or not solid state assisted BJ stuff. I like a pre-amp that gets its sounds from the tubes not from overdriving some transistor for reference. What's that all about anyways Marshall. For its prce, I'd give it a 3. If it was $200 than a 4.

Reliability: 9
Never broke down on me, but then again it's not really tube. Independant clean and gain channels. Meaning: 1 tube for clean, 1 tube for gain and a whole lot of solid state. I'm sure that tube aren't realy even needed. Just marketing hype. I paid new price for it and sold it for a little over half of what I paid for it. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I'm gald I dumped it when I did cause ina few years time when people smarten up and Marshall discontinues it, then you'll see it for $100 at pawnshops all over.

Customer Support: 8
Good.

Overall Rating: 4
Would I buy it again? No!
Is it a good beginners pre-amp? Yes.
Does Kiss really use it? Yes, because they are sellouts. Look at the Randall crap they use now. Solid state crap.
I liked how it looks. I hated the internal chip factory inside.

What do I use now? Peavey Rockmaster. Why? Almost 100% tube(hard to explain), sounds good. Can be purchased cheap, etc.

I used to be a hardass about kepping all my rack gear marshall but I grew out of that. It's about getting the right sound for you. A unique sound. The way to do this is by using rack gear that you like. Combine it to make your own sound. Very difficult to get a great sound by just sticking with one company. I used to have a JFX-1 by Marshall. Good but limited digital effects processor. Dumped mine, lost some money on it but gained some sanity back. In a few years, that will be littering dirty and scummy pawnshops because once the battery goes, the unit is toast. The battery for it is no longer made so pawnshop city.

If you want good gear for cheap(not for the price of the tubes(KIRKHAMMETISGOD, OXYGEN, and some of the other crybabies) go with Peavey tube rack gear like TG RAXX, Rockmaster, TB Raxx, etc.

Submitted by Bob Rockmaster at 06/03/2002 11:56

Price Paid: N/A

Sound Quality: 1
No matter what you use(pick-ups/guitar/EQ-outboard/Inboard...I'm Bored!)This unit is NOT worth the $ marshall wants or what the users who are selling em for on H/C.
This thing hisses like an arab on crack!It is Noisy and very annoying in any high gain setting.Shrill,Thin,and very "hissy".Sounds like a Desert Sandstorm.
The ONLY thing brutal is Marshalls attempt to make this thing sound real.(in answer to the silly question from the review questionaire.)

Reliability: 1
I depend on Myself to play good....you CANT get thru a gig with this unit unless you are tone deaf.
Marshall is a Joke nowadays,and I defy ANYONE to give me a REAL world scenario in which they aren't.

Customer Support: 1
Customer support...? Watta JOKE! Marshalls Heirarchy are all worthless and weak.So is the Marshall product line.So is ANY Marshall made after 1968.
Get a real amplifier(BOGNER,VHT,BRADSHAW,EGNATER,BUDDA,MESA~BOOGIE,
KOMET,DIEZEL,SAVAGE,KOCH,MATCHLESS,FUCHS,TWO-ROCK,etc......

Overall Rating: 1
I will NEVER buy another Marshall product...I'm ashamed to even putmy name in print for this review.

Submitted by Anonymous at 10/27/2001 14:25

Price Paid: US $900. used

Sound Quality: 1
Now who the heck is stupid enough to think he's going to spend $900.-ish and get all the glory of a plethora of Marshall amps? ME!!! It's quiet, it's midi, it's got all you'd need....if you like fake approximations! Heck, I get more gain when I squeeze my cat! In my opinion the sound is worse than the whole Valvestate concept. It sounds like the 12AX7 preamp tube is trying its damnedest to warm up what really is nothing more than tone circuitry, meaning, that every program is just a tone chip, and that the tube really has nothing to do with the sound. "A 12AX7 does not a Marshall make".

Reliability: N/A
Whelp, I once dropped a 4x12 cab down a flight of stairs and it was fine. I doubt this preamp could handle the same!

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 1
This is the biggest piece of crap Marshall ever put on the market. Anyone with an ear for that real Marshall tone, in any of it's incarnations, is bound to agree. I spent three entire evenings playing with this thing, trying to convince myself that it was MY ear that sucked, thinking Marshall couldn't possibly make such crap. Turns out Marshall made suckdom history! Think about it; if a real Marshall stack can cost roughly $1500 or more, what makes us think they'll give us ALL the Marshalls of the past and present in one box for so little? Good thing my local music shop had a 7 day return policy or I'da been screwed outa almost a grand!!!

Submitted by Vince at 09/24/2000 20:15

Price Paid: US free(thank god)

Sound Quality: 1
no matter what good guitar you use w/this unit(Jackson u.s.a. customs,charvel san dimas,paul reed smith mcCarty,or any quality U.S.A. Guitar)this thing sucks...! a real smoke and mirrors blow -job on marshalls part...but what do you expect from them,quality? yeah right!this thing is noisy as hell and should come w/earplugs.all the sounds in this unit are mediocre at best.the only variety you can coax outta this box is mediocre,bad,badder,and terrible.you can believe all the hype and bullshit about big stars and signed guys using this unit ,but i'll tell you this ...take a peek at the racks they are using and you'll see bradshaws stuff(CUSTOM AUDIO ELECTRONICS)and alot of other REAL QUALITY GEAR.and the jmp is usually a back-up(cuase it's solid state and requires no maintenance. the speaker emulator is the only usefull thing in this unit.(thats why it's in most of the racks i mentioned before.)

Reliability: 1
who cares if it's reliable...the sound SUCKS...!

Customer Support: 1
the bozo's at marshall got real pissed off when i asked em about the bridged transistor providing the useless distortion...they tried every marketing lie and story theyhave been taught to get me to believe the unit is pure tube. the head tech got on the phone and tried to dissuade me into believing that the preamp is providing pure tube tone and that the bridged transistor is there for circuit reference...what a crock of british BULLSHIT.i am an electrical engineer and a certified technician who repairs and services VHT,SOLDANO,FENDER,BOOGIE and countless others so i am telling you the bottom line...this unit is a marketing ploy and a shitty one at that.if its got a warranty...better hope the idiots i talked to on the phone are not the ones fixing it(what a bunch of moronic liars)the dudes i spoke with were at the very most "idiots with soldering guns".and one guy there (i wont mention his name but he is an english guy,and a writer,and used to play in a band w/a silly name referring to death)was totally tryin to convince me that the unit was all tube...when i asked him some simple tube circuit questions that any 1st year electrical technician could answer he was dumbfounded and quickly gave the phone to an even bigger idiot,who could not walk and chew gum at the same time.whatta waste of time it was talking to those yo-yo's.

Overall Rating: 1
save your time and money.....you will regret paying money for this unit.alot of dudes think marshall's are fabulous.i think they are great BOAT ANCHORS...they sound MAGNIFICENT UNDER WATER.

Submitted by Anonymous at 02/17/2000 06:38

Price Paid: 850 (canadian)

Sound Quality: 1
I'm using BcRich and ESP guitars with Duncan and Dimarzio pickups (I prefer Dimarzio by a long shot though!).

It doesn't suit me at all. The rhythm sounds I can get are very dark and muddy and/or they don't have enough gain. The addition of an EQ can't cure a thing, it's downright awful for rhythm sounds.

As far as lead sounds are concerned, it's just as awful and poor. The lead sounds are not focused, they're not tight and screaming. Maybe they scream a little, but if your tone is not focused, what can you do??

Clean sounds, believe it or not, are rich and tight!!! Some of the best dry clean sounds I've heard! Too bad I don't care about them!

If someone asks me how brutal is the distortion.....I would say it is very brutal, but it's not TIGHT! AND I HATE PLAYING IN AN AMP THAT'S NOT TIGHT!

Talk about tight, my Metal-Zone into my small peavey amp, THIS IS TIGHT...all the notes are heard and there's GOBS of pouring tight GAIN!!

Overall, I'd rather use my Metal-Zone that this preamp.....it sounds awful!

I use a Peavey classic 60/60 power amp (groove tubes and mesa-boogie tubes) and a Marshall 1936 2x12 cab with celestions.

I rate it 2 for clean sounds, but for distortion it's a big ZERO!

Reliability: 5
NO! The knob that is used to change parameters keeps skipping the damn presets. Also, the output level knob stops the output when it's halfway open!! IT STINKS ON ICE!

Customer Support: N/A

Overall Rating: 1
I've been playing for 5 years now and I have tried a shitload of stuff. The best sounds I heard are from a Marshall DSL 100 cranked. I thought the JMP-1 would sound EXACTLY like it...BUT IT IS NOT!

IMHO, the best midi preamps on the market are:

-ADA MP-1.....GREAT LEAD SOUNDS!!! GAINY AND SHREDDY! SCREAMS. It lacks a bit of tightness, but it is still GREAT.

-Rocktron PIRAHNA.....kickass scooped tight rhythm sounds!!

-Rocktron CHAMELEON and VOODOO VALVE.....probably the best I've tried overall! TIGHT GAIN!!

The JMP-1 tries to be a good preamp, but fails admirably.

I'm gonna throw it out of the window and get a used ADA MP-1 or a Rocktron preamp. Then I would have the GAIN and SHRED SOUNDS I need and crave!!

Don't be fooled into buying this thing....a real Marshall DSL/TSL sounds mucho better!

Submitted by Phil Baldwin at 10/17/1999 10:32