Hi Myles,
I have a Marshall JCM800 50 watt (2205) half stack that I've owned since I bought it new back in 1982. I used it for practice and gigs for a couple of years back then and played it hard. I quit playing in bands in the mid80s and the amp has lead a quiet life since then. I do play through it once in a while but never for too long.
It has all the original parts, including tubes, and has never been opened.
While the amp seems to be working ok, I don't think I'm getting all that I could (sound-wise both volume and tone) from it. I experiment alot with the tone and volume controls and it seems like I always need to have the gain turned up at least 2/3 of the way to get anything good with some volume.
Wondering if i need to have it re-tubbed after all these years?
Any ideas would be appreciated. Also, what brand tubes would be good replacements? Are the power tubes EL34s or 6550s? I'm looking for a good hard rock sound, sort of a Slash-like tone if I had to say something.
Thanks very much!