marshall jcm900 static in pots/ volume spikes?

i havent used this amp in well over 5 years. the volume was really touchy and jumpy the first couple days of using it. today, the clean channel was playing the high gain channel and skipping back and forth (but the clean channel was obviously selected on the face)

is this just needing some sort of contact spray or am i looking at something not so fun?

seems like only the volume of each channel is having this issue.


this is NOT a master volume head.

Contact spray should improve performance vastly. My early '90s JCM 900 had crackly pots, and a jolt of contacnt cleaner was the very thing.

can i spray this from the outside, or take the chassis out?

It's a piece of crap, what do you expect from marshall?

hey ian- recognized you from epiphone..

to my jcm s defense- it has been through HELL since 1992. it was a serious gigger from the original owner- many cig. burns/melts on the head, cracked corner pieces, missing one piece of the handle cover, tolex on the cab is worn to the wood where the "break angle" is-- i have babied it- but its been in a very very dirty dusty basement for a few years.


i love that amp- the only bad thing i have done is knocked it over at a show many many years ago.


she has such history with me, i wouldnt sell it for 10 percent off current retail prices for similar marshalls.

hey ian- recognized you from epiphone..

to my jcm s defense- it has been through HELL since 1992. it was a serious gigger from the original owner- many cig. burns/melts on the head, cracked corner pieces, missing one piece of the handle cover, tolex on the cab is worn to the wood where the "break angle" is-- i have babied it- but its been in a very very dirty dusty basement for a few years.


i love that amp- the only bad thing i have done is knocked it over at a show many many years ago.


she has such history with me, i wouldnt sell it for 10 percent off current retail prices for similar marshalls.
LOL. I totally forgot my J/k.
I totally would think bashing marshalls would be forum suicide...
Anyway, after the MG, AVT, and DSL, they have really soiled their name faster than the JCM and JVM series can make up for that.
If you wanted to give me a JCM or even an AVT, heck yes I'd take it, even trade combo for half stack. I like alot of sounds out of a marshall, but I think
I can totally understand loving an amp that's been through or will go through hell. My fender twin is 15+ years old, pristine condition when I bought it, the dude bought a 100W tube combo and didn't do a single gig.:roll: I'm gonna put it through alot. It desperately needs a speaker change, it's got some mismatch going on in there with one speaker likely much older than the other(original). I'm gonna put some eminence texas heat speakers into it, because they rock. Just haven't yet, and since I'm going to england today, no poin tin it.