I got a Marshall JCM800 2203X about a year ago and on the back of the amp it has selectable input voltage settings for 110V, 220V and 230V. Since I live in the US, the voltage that comes out of the wall here is around 120V.
Back of the amplifier:
The amp runs okay on 120V, and no tech that I have brought the amp to has told me that I need to lower the voltage or I'd risk damaging the amp, but I was wondering if running this amp at 120V is wreaking havoc on my tone... I've noticed that if I turn the mids up to any sane level (above 3) my amp begins to sound very harsh.
1. Would lowering the input voltage using something like a variac to the 110V my amp is "expecting" to see make my amp sound less harsh?
2. Could further lowering the voltage ...to say 90V?... improve the tone even more?? Or will i just start breaking stuff? (The internet seems very divided on this topic.)
I know Eddie Van Halen used to use a variac set as low as 90V to get the "brown sound" he was looking for, but I was wondering if there was any real merit to this claim and if it could solve "harshness" that I am hearing in my own amp.