JTM45 Clones?

[GBARIV]

Selling the boogie and on to the next fun thing. Been leaning towards an orange (ad30 or or50) or a Marshall clone (jtm45).


Ceriatone looks to be the most promising in regards to the jtm45 thing. Good reviews, great price. Anyone here with personal experience? I really like the fact it's HW (my inner snob).

Anyother makers in a similar price range?

 

[63 vibroverb]

I have no experience with the Ceriatone, but I played a 90's reissue JTM45 a few years ago and almost bought it. Sounded beautiful for cleans and sang real nice when cranked.

I do own an Orange OR50 and that ended my search for a british/marshally amp. Not too much headroom, but it's not made for that. It's squishy, chewy, and fuzzy sounding. Lots of gain available if you need it, but it sounds great no matter where the dials are.

The AD30 single channel is also nice. And the Retro 50 is a sweeter, more mellow OR50.

 

[telelogic]

Friedman dirty shirley.

 

[mabley123]

I love my Metro GMP45. but its not in that price range.

 

[wmsimpson]

When I got the itch to build a JTM-45 clone, I ended up going with the Tube Depot JTM45+ kit. Not regrets. It was a lot of fun, and it sounds fantastic.

 

[Paul G.]

I have two Ceriatone amps, Including a JTM45.

My JTM was wired impeccably and built with good quality components.

I've had it for almost 2 years now, I gig with it 7-10x a month. It has been utterly reliable, idles whisper-quiet and sounds exactly what a JTM45 should sound like.

When the original JJ tubes wore out, I put in a set of Genalex Gold Lion reissues and the amp got even better.

Nik runs a great company, responds to e-mails and is knowledgeable and helpful, respecting his customers like nobody else I've ever dealt with.

I cannot recommend Ceriatone highly enough.

And I can speak from intimate experience that the Ceriatone JTM45 clone is fabulous.

P.

 

[TheNewSteveH]

I built a Mojotone for a friend. He wanted KT88's, so I had to mill out the chassis to make it all fit. It sounded wonderful. The components were very nice.

Can't recall whether it was noisy, but that is probably a given with a factory-style chassis.

 

[MMARSH]

BYOC Brit45 kit - great components, step-by-step instructions, awesome sounding amp.

 

[backline]

Ceriatone Builds VERY GOOD amps.
good luck

 

[mabley123]

Check out the Valvestorm?Metropouls Spec Kits. GMP45

I believe the 1 with Mustard caps ( Limited Edition ) ect. Is $1350 including Head Cabinet, Heyboer/Drake Transformers, and Dagnall Choke.

 

[Wyatt]

The OP never said he wanted to start a new and challenging hobby of amp building. None the less, as much as I enjoy building amps, the Ceriatone is hard to beat on construction and price...value.

The Ceriatone is hand-wired, true to the original circuit, and $1050 assembled and delivered to the U.S. (head cab and all).

The only competing option I can think of is the Avatar 45, it is $1100 delivered to the U.S.

 

[Paul G.]

The OP never said he wanted to start a new and challenging hobby of amp building. None the less, as much as I enjoy building amps, the Ceriatone is hard to beat on construction and price.

The Ceriatone is hand-wired, true to the original circuit, and $1050 assembled and delivered to the U.S. (head cab and all).

The only competing option I can think of is the Avatar 45, it is $1100 delivered to the U.S.

I read it the same way, OP was looking for an amplifier.

Building your own amp is rewarding and can be fun. For a first-timer it can also be frustrating.

For an assembled, quality amp, you can't beat Ceriatone. Every solder joint on my amp is perfect (except where I changed out some values myself), every wire routed cleanly and correctly. No squeal, no hum comes from good lead dress, something not easy to do, but critical.

Here's some gut shots from their website. My amp looked just as clean inside.

 

[GBARIV]

Thank you all for your comments! I am in no way skilled enough to build my own, as much as I'd love to!

Ceriatone is deff looking to be the winner, I'm going to jam on some oranges and hopefully a real jtm45 to compare.

The Ceriatone JTM 45/100 experienced edition also looks fun.

Are there 2x12 cabs in vertical format that have thatt vintage Marshall vibe/look to pair with a JTM headshell?


Opinions on ceriatone vs avatar?

 

[bparnell57]

You could always look into a Fender Bassbreaker 45...

 

[GBARIV]

I think I've narrowed it down to ether an Avatar 45 or a Ceriatone JTM45. Any strong preferences ether way?

Cab wise I'm thinking going Mojotone, they have an empty cab that looks just like the Marshall 2061cx but at half the price! (2x12 version of there 4x10 cabs I believe). Question with this route is speakers. What would you guys recommend?

 

[JD0x0]

No experience with Avatar. Ceriatone makes good products. I own an ODS clone from them. The downside of Ceriatone is shipping. They're based in Malaysia and that adds to shipping costs of a heavy item like an amp. So far though, even with the shipping added, it seems like Ceriatone is still one of the most economical choices. Also last I've dealth with them, they typically add mods and changes by request. Half power switches, minor cap changes etc.

 

[Wyatt]

Cab wise I'm thinking going Mojotone, they have an empty cab that looks just like the Marshall 2061cx but at half the price! (2x12 version of there 4x10 cabs I believe). Question with this route is speakers. What would you guys recommend?

To be far, the Marshall cab comes with $300 worth of speakers installed and is much easier to re-sale if you ever decide to do so (Fender and Marshall always are).

On the plus side to the Mojotone, you get to pick the speakers used.

 

[Paul G.]

My rig -- Ceriatone JTM45. Orange 2x12 open back cabs. 1 for small clubs (sometimes turned on its side, sometimes flat), 2 for large stages.

No complaints at all.

 

[410DeVille]

Avatar 45 is nice.