Marshall has been a key member of Red Bull's design . heads and later the 200 watt Marshall Major. Also, whether I play a 50 watt or a 100 watt plexi amp, I still need to use an attenuator such as the THD Hot Plate to bring down the levels a bit. Portable and perfect for small gigs and rehearsals, the Studio Vintage is easy on the eyes and ears, stylistically modelled after the classic Plexi with all that classic tone to boot. From my experience, the higher prices paid for plexis come from vintage amp dealers and the lower prices are typically found from private party sales. The look and aesthetic of the Plexi amplifiers are arguably one of the most defining features. Not only did these tubes yield the now-famous Marshall crunch tone, the sound that helped define the genre, they could be driven at higher voltages to provide that louder amplifier that players were demanding, even in its smaller 50-watt version an amp that could actually put out around 60 watts when pushed. The Vox AC4, for example, is considered point-to-point. Of course you always have to be careful, but at the same time Im a believer that 95% or more of the folks out there are basically trustworthy and some correspondence with the seller can generally help give you a feel for the person. The tale of the most iconic tone in rock history. Eric Clapton was another early adopter of Marshall amps, using them first with the Yardbirds and later with John Mayall. It merely refers to the acrylic plastic material (Plexiglas) the company often used for its front and back faceplates from 1965 to 1969. Organic enough for vintage rock and blues, and molten enough for metal, the JMP 2203 is the clear bridge from the classic rock amps of the late-'60s and early . Plus, where the Bluesbreaker reissue combo is physically smaller than the originals, the KT66 wont fit as it is too large The JTM 45/100 (and early MKII up until 67) amps used KT66 power tubes. Marshall 1987X 50-watt Plexi Tube Head with FX Loop It took years to full understand and grasp why, but to make a long story short, this guitar player friend of mine had factored in all the appropriate ingredients to his sound. Renowned Marshall historian Mike Doyle nicknamed this amp "The Pig" because its "huge cabinet and short, stubby control panel" reminded him of "a pig's snout.". $1,750 - $2,295. That said, a dealer has its reputation at stake so usually there is more comfort involved with those purchases as well as possible recourse for misrepresentation or issues. We proudly built a replica so exact that its sonically impossible to tell the difference. Since its glory years, the Plexi has been reintroduced as part of the Vintage Reissue series and also in the Handwired Series. Marshall Studio Vintage Plexi Guitar Amplifier Head (20 Watts) - zZounds The Hotspot For Fake Marshall Gear. Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959 | UAD Audio Plugins - Universal Audio Jim Marshall - the Father Of Loud and namesake of the company - was not a guitar player. Remove the back panel and look inside. Models have of course changed much through the years and while the well-known rock recordings seem to always get all the great Marshall tones, it can sometimes feel somewhat elusive for the person who has saved their money and gone out to get their first Marshall and then perhaps felt some disappointment by not hearing or obtaining all the sounds they expected. Its for this reason that Im not going to cover the particulars about these amps or what to look for in terms of originality, etc., though Ill discuss these specific trends with the various amp series that follow. While the new heads moving into the 70s would have brushed metal gold faceplates, they still used mostly late Plexi-era internals. Rectifier: solidstate (diodes). This is an amplifier design that takes the classic Marshall plexi amp (e.g. What year is this old amp? The Fender Bassman, not so much. Just making sure I am not getting scammed before it shows up. Relive the amp that defined a generation. All Marshalls during this era were hand-wired point to point with no printed circuit boards. Product Details. Plexi Era Drake 784 139 4, 8, and 16 Ohm Secondary Endbells available in most colors $ 252 Add to cart Spec Sheet O100JM Marshall | 100 Watt | Output Transformer Plexi 1.5 stack. Youve got all sorts of options when actually looking for a plexi Marshall you can check your music stores in your area, possibly the classifieds in your local paper, but beyond that you also have the Internet as an option which can open up new possibilities. [CDATA[ (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); // ]]> The new JTM 50 used EL34 power tubes (instead of KT66s, which were harder to come by at the time), yielding a higher output and requiring a bigger output transformer. They decided to use this space for branding, adding the name JTM45 and MKII on either side of the switches. in the case of the second scenario, but its o.k. To further tighten up the low end, the big filter capacitors in the power supply were also upped from 22uF caps to 50uF caps, a value increase that partnered well with the move to solidstate rectification. Metropoulos Amplification '68 12000-Series Plexi 100 Watt head Look at the front and back of the amp. The thoughts that I share here should also be credited to fellow friends and musicians that Ive known and worked with throughout the years. for me at that point to take my business elsewhere! 1967- early 1968: MK II labeling on all amps. 6152 Stanton Ave, Buena Park , CA 90621 Buena Park. It had two independent channels (Channel 1 had 6 dB more gain than the Channel 2), but it would be fifteen years before Marshall built in channel switching. Other changes included moving the coupling capacitors to the output stage and adding extra negative feedback. What was that Marshall sound? A wide palette of distortion color that is rich and full and just powerful and timeless in tone is what these amps deliver. Turn up the amp and play play hard and the amp rewards you with fullness of tone and smooth distortion. The Marshall Shoppers Guide Part 2: Metal Panel JMP to the JCM 2000. Next time, well cover the metal panel years, including the start of the master volume series and some of the other interesting changes that occurred in the models from the time of mid 1969 through the JCM 2000 series. Examine the shine or lack of shine on that transformer bell housing and compare it to the output transformer, which is the transformer closer to the near center of the amp. When the last true Plexi heads were made in 1969, a template and a reputation had already been well established. Loud as hell as expected as no master volume, so an attenuator is highly recommended. Clapton had been touring in Greece with a side gig after leaving the Yardbirds, already having done one stint with Mayalls band. Solidstate rectification took care of that, so while the rectifier isnt in the signal chain, it still contributes in a very real way to the sound and feel of the amp. It was the secret weapon of the day. Mid 68 marked the transition to the window-style voltage and ohm style selectors which is a one inch round black plug with a small square window to view the ohms or voltages selected. Its design was largely based on the Fender Bassman, one of the worlds great guitar amps (a bit of an irony! 1968 Marshall Major Plexi 200 Watt KT88 Genelec Vintage Tubes, Blackmore -Dawk $200.00 shipping 1965 leather Marshall JTM-45 plexi era strap handle 8" Rare Original 1967 50W Plexi model 1986 Vs 2015 50W Plexi model 1987X.. will all go a long way to providing many years more of faithful service. There are no hard and fast rules here. Legendary Tones - The Marshall Shopper's Guide Part 1 May 31, 2023. In this regard, they are favored for their loud bluesy tones and warmth. Marshall Plexi 1959SLP 100W Tube Guitar Amp Head I know my original wasnt Anyhow Have a good one. People dont usually think about swapping output transformers, but especially when you play these amps hard, the tonal coloration of the transformer definitely comes into play. You know with all this said, most dealers and people in general are honest, but youve got to be careful, especially with people that claim they dont know anything about a particular amp theyre selling. The Vintage Reissue has done incredibly well and is favoured by Kevin Skaff from A Day To Remember, Dan and Justin Hawkins from The Darkness and many others. Most obviously, all the Fender tubes were replaced with British ones. Fender Tone Master Super Reverb Amp: Solid State Re-imagined. The KT66 is a very high-quality tube with a bit more headroom than the EL34 and allowed this amp to deliver some nice bottom-end frequencies in the mix. "It starts . In 1972 EL34 tubes were getting harder to come by, so the American distributor started replacing them with 6550 tubes. again, either transformer!) While Fender amps may have blazed a trail for country and early rock n roll, we owe modern lead guitar tone to the precedent-setting Marshall amps of the 60s and 70s. A History Of Marshall Amps: The Early Years | Reverb News The Blues Breaker was the combo version of the JTM 45 and available in a cabinet equipped either with alnico or ceramic Celestion speakers with some models including a tremelo effect. Review: Rob Marshall's 'The Little Mermaid' Enriches the Original. Based on your location, we've changed your settings: Shipping Region: And the transformers manufactured by the specialty companies mentioned have done a fantastic job recreating them and are a great way to add tone to a struggling reissue amplifier. Considerations when purchasing vintage Marshalls!? Kind of a trick question, but in general if youre shopping specifically for a plexi Marshall and want the best price and amplifier possible for your dollars, youll have to decide whether or not its worth it to you to spend some time to examine the market and see the trends. These monster amps did not have master volume knobs, just three simple controls: Volume, Bass and Treble. The name originates from its shiny, Plexiglas panel, commonly used on Marshall amps between 1965-1969. A swapped out output transformer for a lesser quality cheapo version will dramatically alter the tone and the value of the amplifier. The majority of these Marshalls have red painted dye that was put onto all the solder connections including the pots, switches and jacks. Fortunately old Marshall plexis are amazingly simple circuits and some time spent in general maintenance when you first obtain your amp areas like retube/rebiasing, retensioning, cleaning all tube sockets, cleaning the jacks, retensioning and cleaning voltage and ohm selector sockets, etc. JMP plexi Marshalls are the most commonly available and are certainly the most affordable of the Marshall vintage plexi amp lineup. Thinner than normal top screen vent for 100 watt models. The first few specimens had an offset chassis and control panel (something Jim thought would better line up with the jacks on cabinets), making them rare collectors pieces these days. There just isnt anything like the ability to feel a set of power and preamp tubes overdriving together musically. Mr. Why are they cheaper you may ask? Marshall Plexi Super Lead 1959 . And the transformers manufactured by the specialty companies mentioned have done a fantastic job recreating them and are a great way to add tone to a struggling reissue amplifier. Picked it up for $4600 Shipped from a Vintage store on Reverb.com in London which had good reviews. With the Marshall 1959 Super Lead Plexi for UAD-2 and UA interfaces, you get all the and hear for yourself the range of sultry, rich tube tones. :-). By the time the first production models were developed in 1965, the 50 watt transformers were replaced with 100 watt output transformers. The sound of a JTM 45 overall is a diverse one, offering warm clean tones as well as some pretty fat grinding overdrive or bluesy dirt available when turned up. In some cases, the band could now drown out the crowd completely. Artists began to explore this threshold territorylong before rows of 100 watt stackswith the humble blues-rock voicing of the JTM 45. Mid 1968-July 1969: JMP now labeled on front panel. With the additional of a split cathode preamp for different levels of brightness between channels, a modified tone stack for higher gain and a new Dagnall transformer, these JMP 100 Superleads were louder, more aggressive, more crisp. Dan Hawkins | The Darkness | Studio Vintage Playthrough. I also use the Alex attenuator, which works great with this amp. Marshall used the term point-to-point with its marketing of the handwired series, so I think the term has shifted a bit in meaning over time. These are a cleaner speaker that still retains warmth. But definitely not recommended for plexis at least my personal ears dont recommend them, but this can be an opinionated piece. Plug style voltage/impedance selector continued. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited. Because these classic amps were built well and use good components in the first place, Marshall plexi amps are overall very reliable and can take a beating. Marshall 1968 plexi(original) vs Marshall 1968 Plexi Clone For those that want to really make an even closer approximation of a true JTM 45 or Blues Breaker (and this applies to ANY of the reissue series by the way), a big tonal difference can be had if the reissue models output transformer is changed over to a higher quality unit such as those made by Heyboer or Mercury Magnetics. Scary Mod Handmade in USA, 100% Pure Tube, High Gain Module for Marshall Amps! Should I modify it? Marshall wanted to up the power of its amplifiers because players of the time were demanding it. The Marshall Shoppers Guide Part 1: Marshall Plexi Era, check out the article on that exact subject under the Amps pages. I also agree 100% on the Metro amps. The same holds true, believe it or not, with vintage amplifiers. Thats despite some significant changes even if analyzed against the big picture these changes might appear relatively slight; or at least far less significant, say, than the changes wrought by Fender between the tweed Bassman of 1960 and the blond Bassman of 1960/61, or by Gibson between the Les Paul of 1960 and the Les Paul/SG of 61. Of course I didnt know about which Marshall to get in the first place and there wasnt an Internet resource at the time (much less an Internet) as well to help. The JTM 45 also was most often equipped with KT66 tubes, unique for a Marshall since the Marshall rock sound is more commonly equated these days with the EL34 tube. Certainly Ive had good luck and experiences making purchases from Ebay, dealers listed online, as well as through folks on forums or bulletin boards, but Id say its again because I try to be very careful and ask very critical questions. I found this article very interesting, I really do love Marshalls but Ive never had a plexi amp. Austin Guitarst Eric Hisaw on Someone Else.. Sometimes referred to as the Bluesbreakers little brothers, they used much smaller EL84 power tubes. The first JTM 45 Mark II is even encased in glass at the Marshall headquarters in Bletchley, England. Email us: mariotejeda@acrylicdisplayinc.com. The actual volume difference between a maxed 50 or 100 watt is only about a 3-4 dB difference! The Studio Vintage recreated the 1959SLP in a 20W form. The journey to the Plexi began when Pete Townshend was once more asking for a louder amplifier. If a seller is unwilling to allow this scrutiny, Ill pass on the transaction either the seller in this case has something to hide and may be looking for a more naive customer or he/she is just not willing out of laziness or whatever reason to deal with the questions thats o.k. Uncover the story behind a true game changer. A Super Lead or Super Bass will have three preamp tubes and a Tremelo model will have a 4th tube. Regarding cabinets, since writing the tips and tricks for the Super Lead article, Ive had a chance to aquire and play through two basketweave style cabinets. Marshall ORIGINAL Plexi Vs REISSUE - YouTube The lower priced EH LPB1 is also very good though Im not sure if the new versions are true bypass. form and the circuits themselves were very similar throughout. Monthly Rent. #1 For all you 4 hole experts out there, I'm wondering if there is a big difference between an original Marshall JMP 1987 vs something like a Germino, Rockitt, Ceriatone, Metroamp, Metropoulos, etc. Sonically, JMP versions of the plexi had a touch more gain, some of this in theory can be attributed to the tone of the output transformer and resulting saturation occurring when it was downsized a bit. What did they change? 4.8 (3 reviews) Verified Listing. Based off the 1959SLP, the amp that defined the tone of the 60s, the Studio Vintage is here to do it all over again! If you have a tech you trust, perhaps have them look over an amp before a purchase if possible and they can give you an idea of what youre getting into. Great piece on "Taylor Marshall for Prez in 2024" by Michael. These mid-1967 features characterize what have come to be known as the "Black Flag" or "JTM 100" heads. This is mainly because, despite being a very different-looking amp, the JMP50s circuit is still a direct descendent of the circuit found in the 5F6A tweed Fender Bassman of 1958-60, upon which Jim Marshall based his original amp, the JTM45. That gritty, chewy, slightly crispy sounding EL34 grind is a standard of the heavy rock sound that was clearly established by Marshall, and has been emulated by countless manufacturers ever since. Red Bull designer Marshall to join McLaren in 2024 - BBC As for boosts, Im a bit biased but the Time Machine Boost is a collaborative effort I did with Robert Keeley many years ago it has two channels so you can do any combination of rhythm and lead boosts.