The Plus versions have had very big changes: 3 position bright cap switch w/2 different caps which influence the sound immensely, Red Base Power Tubes which currently build by far the best EL34 power amps, new capacitors in the signal path, NOS pre amp tubes and much more.

The JTM 68 leans on the 50 watts Plexi Marshall with diode rectification from 1968! It comes with a classic ECC83 pre-amp and as standard to all Gladius amps with the unique Variac power reduction! Of course it is hand-wired and equipped only with the best components. An indispensable extra feature is the internal Channel-Patch, through which both inputs (treble & normal) can be interconnected without having to use a conventional patch cable. Rhythm & Lead can be switched by a foot pedal which in Rhythm Mode keeps even the fattest Les Paul clean and generates in Lead Mode the original singing Heavy Rock tone. By switching from Lead to Rhythm the amp turns 'clean' without the slightest loss of volume or even definition. In Rhythm Mode you can play the amp real tight, without getting the usual sludgy sound when playing a Humbucker-guitar, which is often criticized with Vintage-Amps. In combination with the Gladius cabinets, the amp can be played clean even at a level of 0,1 watt without loss of sound.

Lead-Channel:

As the name already suggests, in this setting the complete Vintage-Sound up to 1968 is covered. Extremely fat, round and smacky in response with heavy distortion as used by for example Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Hendrix and Jeff Beck.

Rhythm-Channel:

With this setting you will get a clean and very stable tone similar to a Plexi 100, open however without the partially too lively Vintage-Character. Explosively quick in response, without sounding aggressively or harsh. Fat and round but merciless defined like with Eddie van Halen, or Joe Bonamassa, Slash and many others.

The Gladius story began with further developments of Plexi Style Marshall amps from the late 60's. It was quickly recognized that a power reduction is absolutely necessary for today's customers. In order to be able to do without the unloved master volume, Gladius specialized in the development of a self-developed VARIAC system, which comes close to the sound of a voltage-reduced amp. The Mark II was born. The Mark III then got a rhythm and lead switch, which simulates the characteristics of a 50 watt and a 100 watt Plexis (Except the JTM 65). However, this was too much of the organic crunch for many customers and they also wanted a lossless master volume. Here Gladius decided on the PPIMV modified by Ken Fisher (Trainwreck), which enables the sound to be played at room volume without the loss of dynamics and without loss of gain. The development continued, however, because many customers wanted a more mid-oriented tone that could assert itself better than the Plexi tone even in the most fragile mixes. By changing many little things, the Mark IV was brought to life, which is also clearly more rocky in the JTM 67 and JTM 68. As the last big challenge, Gladius has dedicated himself to the topic "Bright Cap". The internet is full of comments on this topic, what one loves, another hates. One thing is certain, the topic of bright caps is very sensitive, because the sound characteristics change fundamentally. So Gladius has integrated a 3 Way Bright Switch into their now available MKIV PLUS models. This means that the middle position has the previously low Bright Cap, while position 2 has an extremely high value that sounds very, very rocky. Position 1 has the most treble and has a medium value, which can be described very nicely with the sound of AC/DC. Bone dry, very tight and very cranky in attack. Why the name Plus was chosen is obvious. The amp has received more updates than ever before in the history of Gladius JTM's. In addition to the bright caps, there were completely new capacitors in the signal path. Thanks also to the people at Tube Amp Doctor who developed the new Red Base Pre- and Power-tubes, which come very, very close to the sound of old tubes. So now a JTM's over the wide range from classic Plexi tone late 60's to modern JCM 800. There are no amps on the market that are as flexible as the Gladius JTM's without the well-known signal losses. That's Rock'n'Roll Ladies & Gent's.