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One of the best sub-£1000 combos on the market? We think so...

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The JVM2 range sits quite neatly JVM4's MIDI-powered four-channel flexibility and the organic old-school minimalism of the KT66-powered Vintage Modern, and is likely to provide an ideal blend of features for most modern players.

Like all modern Marshalls, the JVM205 benefits from a tough ply cabinet and a hefty steel chassis, which combines with a pair of Celestion 12-inch drivers to provide a substantial package that's no lightweight. Yet it's still very portable, thanks to the relatively compact dimensions and a pair of side-mounted grab handles that make lifting and carrying so much easier.

The rear of the cabinet looks a little different because of the two perforated grilles, which provide room for the Celestion drivers to breathe and prevent damage to the output valves. We think the JVM205's dimensions are particularly pleasing to the eye – the extra depth of the control panel works well and helps create a blend of appealing visual proportions.

Inside the chassis, modern production dictates that nearly everything is PCB-mounted. Apart from the two Dagnall transformers, the majority of preamp, output stage and power supply components sit on one large high-quality PCB which is fixed to the chassis by sturdy bolted metal standoffs.

"If Marshall was trying to create the ultimate sub-£1,000 guitar amp, it can give itself a pat on the back."

Double-sided and through-plated, this board contains all the high voltage stuff including the valve bases and most of the rear panel components, with a small daughter board attached to it for the JVM's digital reverb.

A separate single-sided PCB sat just behind the front panel handles the pots and switches, with other small boards for the speaker outlets and input jack. The PCB-mounted valve bases mean the preamp valves are quite deeply recessed and difficult to change quickly – also, the loudspeaker connections are made with spade connectors which have a tendency to work loose over time. These two minor niggles aside, the overall impression is of a well thought out design that will easily cope with pro-level use.

On the features front, the JVM has practically everything most guitar players could ask for, and then some. There are two channels which both offer three different voicings, accessed from the channel mode switches.

Both channels have the standard complement of gain, bass, mid, treble and master volume, as well as separate level controls for the JVM's digital reverb. There are also front panel controls for presence and resonance, which fine tune the power amp's high and low frequency response, and two master volume controls that can be set to different levels.

On the rear panel, the JVM205C also benefits from two effects loops (one series, the other parallel), a speaker emulated balanced line out, no less than five speaker jacks and MIDI. MIDI means that you can control any switch setting and send/receive program change commands, effectively turning the JVM into a highly versatile six-channel tone machine.

Add to that a very clever footswitch that can be used to store presets or emulate the front panel switches and you've really got something – but these features are of little worth if the JVM doesn't cut the tonal mustard…