It is almost 4:am & I can't sleep! It is because I am getting a new Marshall plexi tomorrow! It is a Marshall 20 watt Studio Vintage & it is Limited Edition Snakeskin finish!!! OMG I can't wait!!!
Mine is very harsh. Bought to build an EJ cliffs rig. BK Butkers Echo preamps, verbs, analog delays and so on. Hooked up ways I would’ve have when I 15, backwards. Any combo, in front, loop etc. will not sound like EJ. Plug into a hand built Peavey or Buddha and it’s as easy as 1’n the mids and treble.
Have a 1987 small box jmp Plexi from 68 with a 69 cabinet. Sweet stuff. Amazing how all the Plexi players in 60’s all sounded different on the same amp. And at the same time sounded fantastic.
I'm about to build a 1970 jmp 50 in an origin 50 donor amp.. I keep thinking of all these cool mods and tweaks . Then I see videos like this. The stock pkexi is more than enough for bliss! A ppimv and pentode triode will be more than enough
I’ve owned three plexi type amps. They were hand wired 50 and 33 watts, and a Marshall VS20. They are all unholy loud, and live, they highlighted every mistake in a big way. There was no reverb, gain, or compression to hide behind.
with higher volume the air pressure waves are much stronger, yes even a 20 watt marshall is loud as hell but get allot of bodies in the crowd, they soak up that volume and all of a sudden you arent so loud so the more audience bodies, the more watts you need.
I came across the late, but I full heartily agree. I went from a 100 watt JCM 2000 to a 1987X and the plexi made me a cleaner player. It also had a amazing feedback and harmonic that I havent heard since. Its worth noting many years later I have a awful case of tinnitus 😂! Great review of a iconic amp
I have the same exact model from ''99, been playing it for 15 years. I had no idea about the trick at 7:08, that you can add brightness and gain by turning up the volume on channel one when you're only plugged into channel 2 without a jumper! I tried it and it works- thanks Angus! I'm still learning stuff about this amp and I love it--
Good demo....The reissues sound really good! Used to have an original 1969 Marshall 50 tremolo head that was amazing. I bought it for a steal when I was 20. I just got sick of playing it clean with the volume on 3 and still getting yelled at to turn down. Ended up selling it and buying an original 68 deluxe reverb that's great for clubs. Would love to get that Marshall back someday though....
Michael Craig It was a 1968 50 watt JMP. The ‘66 JTM45 that I had was from the studio of Herbie Herbert (Manager of Santana and early Journey). The ‘68 was an amazing amp. I have a video on my RUclips channel of the JTM45 but I don’t have any clips of the ‘68 plexi. I sold those two amps and then had a 1978 100 watt JMP which is hard to beat for a bare bones rock amp, which is also on my channel.
What you said at 8:25 is EXACTLY how owning my Plexi relatively early on in my musical adventures made me feel. There’s just a certain vibe and attitude that gets added to your playing when you’re used to playing a real Plexi. Peace man.
I have a 1974 mk2 and an mid 70ties Stramp which is a Plexi Clone. Both are without Master and insane. With a good Pedal you can really get this incredible ACDC Sounds. Love these kind of amplifier.
You are 100 percent spot on about this amp making you a better player. When a mistake is made- it’s OBVIOUS with these amps (unless you have loads of effects running) .... so my opinion is that you better get used to it before playing out ... because it can make a good guitar player sound not good at all!!! For example , a player may sound like a 10 on a Princeton reverb, but sound like a 5 on a plexi!!!!! I know 😉😉
Amazing video. I owned a 72 small logo hand wired (one of the last) 50 watt Bass head a few years back. Wish I’d never let it go!! Most touch sensitive amp I’ve ever played
I've owned a re-issue 50 watt Plexi and I loved it. The only problem was you need to turn the channels up to 5-6 for it to really sound good. Bridging the channels, of course. I also blew the transformer on mine, replaced with the same one you did. Aside from that, it's the second best amplifier I've owned. First being a Traynor YBA-1A, which I currently own. Thanks for the video!
What causes transformers to blow? Is it too much bass, or the way their stock transformers are designed? I hear a lot of Marshall owners talk about blown transformers. My amp is a Ceriatone Plexi.
One thing that is really overlooked is the 4X12 cab and speaker type and the microphone/s type/s and position/s is ....super critical to the sound especially when everything is distorting. It can get too bright and ugly fast. then theres the room
Harsh mistress indeed! I've had a 1974 metal panel 50 watter for about 10 years now. Coming from being a JCM800 guy I had a bit of a learning curve, but once I got used to it I'm in love. It's impractical and loud as all hell and I really have to be on my toes to sound good through it....but when I'm in the zone it's an amazing feeling.
Angus you are so right! I had to wait until the family was out and no neigbors home, all because my playing was so average. But whenever I did, it felt like getting getting a recharge. Id be happy as for days after. Last year I got an Ox box. Best investment ever - those cabs take up so much space too.
I think your commentary about buying used gear from a local retailer that also acts as a musicians hub being a place to give your business was absolutely spot on
@@AngusClarkGTR ,you are welcome. Everything you said about these mythical amps is true, they are not all sunshine and roses yet they can dish out a spine tinglingly great experience. And I totally believe in supporting local business. I calls em as I see's them.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I can't believe I've owned a JTM45 for so long and never knew about/tried that low input trick for playing at low volumes. With a pedal, it sounds AWESOME. Life changing. Wow.
GCKelloch I’m sure, and as I say in the video, there are a lot of great builders that make amps that sound “like a Marshall Plexi” but they’re not. Actually showing up with the genuine article comes with a certain aura, and hearing loss, financial woes, and heartache. That’s the point of the video, right?
Great tones and explanations. I have a JMP 2203 head that I had Lee Jackson (of Metaltronix amps) do a tube buffered effects loop mod on, I use the "4 cable" method with my pedal board for amazingly clean delays and modulations while in the high gain input; something that was not possible before. So now I can get all that organic Marshall tube overdrive crunch yet with wonderfully ambient multi-dimensional and undistorted delays and reverbs! Simply phenominal!
Absolutely true about revealing every little mistake in your playing! I have a 1980 1959 MKII Superlead NMV that was getting some weird ghost notes and weird phasing sounds when doing long slow bends etc. Figured the original capacitors were shot so I replaced the big power section caps & while I was in there put a Point to point turret board in it with all fresh Sozo preamp caps, new resistors, set the bias etc etc.. the thing is So clear, warm, crunchy, sensitive to touch and natural sounding... it hides NOTHING. Painfully LOUD amps!!
That's the tone for me. It's great there are so many Marshall's out there. They really made a lot of these amps and you can get this tone like you do without buying a vintage amp. I also really love the M160 mic.
+1 to that. I still amaze my friends by -plugging the guitar straight into my 1987x and cranking the volume! No OD, no Compressors, no reverb or pedal board, just output tube breakup by the dump-truck load!
Hey dude, thanks from all of us on the heart felt rundown. Many of us bedroom rockers want to hear the realities of gear and how to get those tones. Its not as simple as it had seemed when I was young and couldn't afford anything. Thanks again.
My pleasure! Right now the reality of recording this thing at my home studio involves a $2k soundproofing of the crawlspace beneath my kitchen! And I'll still probably have to use a Fryette PS2 or similar modern attenuator box just to take it down to where it doesn't rattle the floors if I want to play it for any real length of time. Still love it. Can't help it. Rock on.
I was lucky enough to own one of these in the seventies, I also had a 100W bass head and a regular 100W plexi too, sigh... don't have any of them now. And yes my hearing has suffered.
I'd love to hear and see more videos like this. Articulate, knowledgable and chops to boot! I own a JTM45 and while it sounds wonderful it doesn't have that Plexi "thrak" you've got going on here.
Thanks! I think the Rangemaster or similar treble booster is the move on the JTM 45, it’s a warm amp, a completely different animal. Yes, the split channel is the BOMB! I’ll do a vid on that one later this year.
All the legendary sound comes from marshall amps of the sixties. They were all based on the jtm 45!! All the amps were the same basic circuit just more power. The plexi from 67 and 68 were the best.
Angus, loved you're playing on Kitaro's live album, pure greatness. Loved you and Kitaro together as well, your polished aproach against his organic aproach is amazing to hear, it worked so well.
🔊🤠👍I was surprised by the sound and feel of the first plexi stack I played through. It was not what I expected. You feel totally exposed. I completely agree that you become and must become a better player. Nowhere to hide.
A bit of advice for anyone owning a Plexi, or planning on owning one.... Remove the rear panel from the amp head. Why? These amps run a bit hotter than most, and are poorly vented without top vents. The ventilation grill on the back is small in comparison to other Marshall amp heads, and don't allow for good convection air flow. After playing mine at moderate volume level for an hour or so, I noticed that the rear and top of the amp were hot. After removing the rear cover I placed my hand on the output transformer, and you could fry an egg on it. Smoking hot. Have since been playing it without the rear cover and everything (other than the tubes of course) has been just warm to the touch. Night and day difference. No doubt this has an effect on the life of these amps.
I'm not a fan of putting an fx loop on a non master volume Plexi which is crancked up from 7 and 10 because the effects will npt sound as clean since your getting distortion form the power amp section. I rather use a load box so you can get a signal to your effects. Besides, I use a 100 watt 68 Plexi and to crank it to 10 is impossible. I also use a Fryette Power Station for my studio that has an effects loop so I can play my Plexi up to 10 or a Suhr Active Reload for live performances with a splitter for effects and an RJM mini mixer into a stereo tube power amp into either 2 Marshall cabs or a stereo 2 x 12 cab for smaller gigs and it sounds amazing. Out of many great amps that I own(Suhr, Freidman, Fender,Vox, etc) I like my Plexi the best!
@@AngusClarkGTR Nice guitar tone and playing! I see you have some nice heads behind you. .'m using an Ampete 444 amp switcher to switch between amps in my studio and sometimes if my back feels up to it, I bring it to rehearsal or a gig so I can switch between them via MIDI. It's great to be able to switch between a Plexi, a 5150 or a BE100 without any glitches or a Fender Vibrolux to get a nice clean tone.
Through being able to model amps on an axe fx and on a line6 pod go, I have discovered plexi's and pedals are the way to go I was all about 800's and I still love them, nothing sits better in a band and gives you the feel of an 800. But discovering that a plexi and pedal or pedals of your choice is perfect has swain me to the plexi side. I don't currently own one but the origin model I've recently grabbed is damn close and the price is ridiculous I am really happy with my rig. Sooner or later I'll get a plexi but I'll keep using the origin so I don't have to be concerned with damaging a plexi.
That’s funny . Youde better not though ., you better play that plexi when you get it.. and pedals . Yes everyone has noted the lack of forgiveness the plexi can assault us with ., but absolutely pedals is the answer. To taming the beast
I’ve had quite the number of Marshall amps over the years. Metropoulos, Germino, and the usual suspects. The 1987x is a great amp. Probably one of my favorites along with an old 2204.
Nice video! At 07:12 U talk about channel bleed. First time I heard about that was in an interview with Yngwie Malmsteen’s former sound guy (Pontus Norgren). Pontus said that Yjm uses the treble channel only but turns up the bass channel which bleeds in with sound.
30th Street Guitars was the best guitar shop in NYC...is still great, and have a great boutique pedal collection, but when they moved to 27th street they had to downsize and no longer have much of an amp collection. I use a 1959 reissue (2007) attenuated with a Rivera Rock Crusher and it sounds beautiful, RC does a great job of holding the tone and taming the beast. The difference between the Lead (1987) and the Superlead (1959) in volume difference is nominal, about 3 dB, that's it...the difference with the 50 watt Lead is it has less clean headroom, that is: it takes less volume before you saturate the tubes and it begins to overdrive. Plexis are just tone beasts...sweet spots all over them. I like the effects loop in the back of the reissues, I run a rack mounted reverb through it...but it takes pedals in the front beautifully.
The reason for the quick volume jump is the 500pf capacitor across the bright channel volume pot. When I build them I use a 250pf and it really helps make the amp more manageable. I am a Mercury dealer and yes, there products are excellent.
most youtubers make me look to the sky, hoping for an asteroid the size of Texas but you seem real cool and you're a good story teller which is rare . The other thing is that you are actually funny. so many youtubers have that hot girl funny syndrome. They think they r so funny but they are about as funny as cancer. Like kinison said to rodney dangerfield "i like the way you think, I'm gonna be watching you "
Have had a early 90's Marshall 1959 Reissue SLP for about 10-12 years. Absolute amazing tone but so, so (so so so) loud. Had to get an attenuator to keep it reasonable at home and most gigs. I use a THD Hotplate that has done me well. Important to keep your servicing up however if you are gigging with it. I prob use my Deluxe Reverb more now because I gig less and play a lot more around the house (w/ wife and kids). But nothing will beat those large stage mic'd Marshall experiences.
Adam Pipes Amen brother! I have a THD hotplate collecting dust. I always felt like it did something more than just make the amp quieter. It made the amp go from being solid to porous, like there was no density to it. Suddenly I was getting masked by the cymbals and whatever else was going on in the high end. So I just stopped using it. I had a Deluxe Reverb as my small amp for years! Parallel lives my friend.
Great explanation I hear you. I want to get one. I had two in my life but when I'd play gigs they'd fail and never make the whole job. I still wants one bagginses!
In my Marshall days I was using a 100 watt head. What I loved using with it was the Tom Scholz "Power Soak". Could maintain the great tone and control the volume beast with ease. Don't know if they're still around on Ebay or not but there are surely some power attenuator devices out there to use instead of having to add master volume controls. Your Marshall sounds great!
@@AngusClarkGTR I was looking at a couple of ads for Tom Scholz power soaks on Ebay UK just yesterday, so they still come up, and look to be well-made, too. One of the sellers had photos of the interior.
Played a JMP-1 with JFX-1 into a Valvestate 8008 power amp with a Marshall 1978 4x12 with black back Rola G12H30s. It was a good rig (the cabinet is amazing). I never fully bonded with it (lots of op amps in a JMP-1) but the flexibility was a nice trade off. Played it for ten years. Went back to tube amps. I have a 1990 JCM 800 Super Lead 1987. Great amp. I like it just as much as any of the classic or reissue Super Lead amps I have heard or played.
Thank you for the tip: plug into the normal chanel alone and raise the treble channel volume to get some treble back, I am going to try it on my Marshall SV 20W combo, the smallest brother of the SL family (which sounds great but is still TOO loud! can you believe that?)
I love plexi and modded plexi amps, like Friedman and Metropoulos. Dave and George make Amazing Amps. I have a few Friedman Amps....BE-50 Deluxe, Twin Sister, Jake E Lee 20 Watt Amphead (newest amphead).....A while back I bought a Metropoulos DVL-1 Modded Plexi Amp 100 Watts. One super badass amp, that George originally made for William Duvall from Alice In Chains...Sounds great through my 2x12 Friedman Cab with 2 UK Made Greenback Speakers....Greenbacks sound droolworthy through Plexi and Modded Plexi Amps.
I've got an old MK2 with 6550 outputs and fresh caps. The only eq knob that seems relevant is treble and she will teach you where your tone knob is in a hurry.
@@AngusClarkGTR Could be true. Mine is from 1975 and was converted to master volume and preamp boost in the 80's {think Metaltronix}. It's basically unusable on a modern stage unless you use an isolation box.
It's always fun playing with another guitarist and watching them set up an elaborate pedalboard only to have their jaw thrown to the floor with Super Lead growl.
I always enjoy hearing boogies getting crushed by an old Marshall, in any 2 guitar player band situation iv'e ever encountered. That buzzy, bullshit, lack of midrange, high gain boogie sound looses every time 👍🤣
I owned an old Marshall head back in the 80s….I’m sure it was made in the 70s. And it was 200 watts. I only had one cabinet. A unmarked Bass cabinet with 4 Electrovoice SRO 12s. Ridiculously heavy. What….would you use that for? It was nutty. It had a single gain control, and wouldn’t break up until 7. Living in a trailer park at the time, it was of course almost never used. The amp had a plug that could let the amp run on different voltages. I did get a chance a couple times to really let loose with it albeit not having a lot of chops at the time. “Wild thing” was truly…..wild.
Aloha Braddah! Enjoyed your video and your comments and views! Just bought myself a Plexi....the newest and baby of the Marshall Plexi line, the Studio Vintage. Mahalo nui loa for sharing!
I still use a JMP-1 along with numerous others. I think it'll exceed the 74 JMP 50W, based on flexibility. It has more gain, and the volume is controllable. Its also MIDI switched. I have it connected to Marshall EL34 50/50, Mesa Stereo 2:100, and Peavey Classic 50/50 for 34/6L6/84 options. I like the JMP-1. That said, the old Marshall is loud, has tons of bottom end, and records amazingly well every time. As though they tailored one killer voice, at one loud volume. You sound GREAT man! Love the ACCA DACCA.
Prob the best argument for the JMP 1 is Billy Gibbons. He's used them for a couple decades now. He runs em through Valvestate power amps and his tone is, of course, great. I've never played a JMP-1 but I've owned ADA MP1's and they sounded amazing. However, I had to use an 800 watt solid state power amp to get close in volume to even a 50 watt Marshall. Tube power is a beast!
"Marshall JMP-1 MIDI preamp with a separate power amp..." I always wanted one of those along with the 9200 Dual Monobloc power amp. And right under them? A Mesa Traxis and a 90:90 power amp, all with a Dual Recto to round it out. And the 5150, naturally. :) Mid gain Marshall tones seem really difficult for software and solid state to emulate well. Once you get into Tube Screamered boosted JCM800/900 territory it seems easier to dial in. Those 50s-70s vintage mids and the musical way they break up can be really complex.
Great thoughts sir. To your question, in 20 years of playing this year, I can say confidently that most players I have met have talked about the sound of this amp, but have not plugged into one for themselves, so they don’t have a real reference point. Pretty sure only a couple of pros that I know have played one, or good examples of vintage guitars like ones from the fifties. I have only been able to play one once at Chicago music exchange, and it was amazing to play with this huge sound, but not practical at all for someone like me. Amazing sounds though! Nice video. Peace!
Hi I'm absolutely in love with these things! Never understood from which came the name of 1987 and 1959 of those ampli since they where made in the 60's and 70's... 🤔
I bought the new studio version and even that was too much amp for me. I had no idea how to tame it, and I'm not a very good player, anyway. There was too much volume and nowhere to hide, so I returned it. I regret that, but then again, it was so loud.
The reason the HI treble channel affects the LO channel is due to the way the amp is wired, so the bright circuit on the HI channel volume control acts as an adjustable treble bleed on the LO channel, somewhat similar to the way the tone control works on the guitar. Both volume controls are wired in parallel into the next gain stage, and are not isolated from each other, unlike more modern designs which typically would have a switching circuit to remove one channel's control's from the signal path at a time.
I also had a non-MVolume JMP in the late 80's made in the 70's. I got it with a blown power transformer. Good amp but one dimensional even tho it did that one sound great. The actual plexi was not an original Marshall product but made by Ken Bran, Jim Marshall's repair man. The design was stolen from late 50's Fender Bassman. Check the old schematic and compare. They are identical. Fender amps were very expensive in England so Marshall had Ken making them in the repair shop of his music store. Fender changed the topography of their preamps in the early 60's to a cleaner sound by putting the EQ after the first triode stage rather than after the third triode as in late 50's. They also got rid of the emitter follower feeding the EQ section. The sonic differences are notable. The original design is very basic. Almost anyone with soldering and able to read a schematic can easily build one.
Hi Angus, Cool video. I've been getting into The SG/Marshall thing too.(Dsl40cr) at one time I had a 1987x it was awesome but in my situation I couldn't use its dynamic range. The NMV Marshall are a completely different feel like you said!! The punch is massive! Keep rocking!
Thanks Cary! I don't know the "NMV" designation? A buddy of mine has a DSL which he had re-tubed and Blackie changed out the bright cap on the gain channel to bring it more in line with an old JMP. It sounds amazing, not as precious as the JMP, and the effects loop works, so it's a total win.
This dude & i have a very different opinion of a bone crushing tone! In this day & age just pick up a JVM for "that" Marshall tone! It pretty much covers every relevant Marshall amp!
Well you’re right up to a point. But a as they say a jack of all trades is master of none. All that extra circuitry is taking away from the signal. I went down the channel switching amp route but they never sound quite right. Now I use a Jcm 800 and just the guitar volume. Best tone I’ve ever had.
PatientMental to clarify: I say the “volume” jumps to bone-crushing - which obviously doesn’t translate via youtube. The tone is what it is, vintage power section and speaker breakup. Classic for sure, not as brutal as the modern amps. But it will rattle walls!
As a restorer, I am forever yanking out the old tube bases in favour of ceramic new ones.. as the late 60's early 70s versions suffer from corrosion deep in the socket.
I used to own an early 70's 50 watt metal panel we called "Marsha". It was an absolute screamer! A tone monster! A few years before I got it, it was in a building that caught fire. You could see where the chassis had got hot. It was still perfect inside though. The guy I got it from changed the caps, the tubes and the vinyl. He sold it to me for only $300! I rem my friend saying,, "If you ever sell it, you're gonna really regret it". Boy, was he right! 3 yrs later, I hurt my back and needed money so I sold it for only $400. Like any player, there's stuff you regret selling but my "Marsha"... it still haunts me! She's the one that got away.
@@j_freed That's a good one bro. BTW, talk about weird timing, I just ran into the guy, Skip, that I bought Marsha from today at the guitar store. I hadn't seen him in at least 2 years. I showed him the message I posted here about the amp. Get this... He actually said he's gonna look around for me a vintage Marshall head for cheap, then he gave me a reassuring wink and said, "Watch, I'll make it happen". This guy has friends everywhere plus, he can build and repair amps and now he's retired. He also loves my playing which is why he sold Marsha to me so cheap. He knew it was all I could afford. Anyway, I don't know what's up his sleeve(maybe buy a blown one and repair it for me?) but he's no B.S.'r. Could it be that God heard my plea and is bringing another Marsha into my life? If that happens, I'll def post back here. Pray for me guys
If your tired or just not into playing it will show in your playing. In a soldonal high gain type amps you can get away with little mistakes.Maybe why eddie gave up his plexi
I have a 1987x with factory effects loop. First time I played through it with jumpers was a "that's it!" moment - no reverb or effects. Same even when "clean" although that term means something different on these amps. It's exactly that raw immediacy that I like - even though being, as you say, naked. That's a good thing eventually.
Great video, Angus. I'm a long-time Hot Rod Deville player and it's sort of defined me too. and I don't really like me ;) Now I'm thinking of getting back into Marshall (this or the SV20) as I love the cleans as well as the "concussive" punch you talked about. But tell me, is that "concussion" the plexi or is it perhaps a 4x12 cab going with it? In other words, pushing it through a 1x12 is more likely where I'd want to be... Thanks!
Tony Knight hey, if you want to use a smaller cab I think the Studio Vintage is the way to go. While I haven’t played it myself all the clips sound awesome. I think you could get a great result with a 2x12 bluesbreaker type cab (I have a mojotone one) and Celestion Heritage G12’s. I think a one twelve lacks low end, it doesn’t get you there.
@@AngusClarkGTR Hey Angus, thanks for you response. I have pretty much decided on the SV20 (unless I try to build my own Plexi). I agree that every video I've seen shows a great tone, including cleans and edge-of-breakup which are important to me! I'm actually building my own 1x12 cab right now, experimenting with some different tone woods I have hanging around, and eventually when I can actually access other woods, I'll build a an out of baltic ply for comparison.I absolutely agree that minimal a 2x12 would be ideal, but for health reasons I'm focusing on reducing the weight of my equipment, starting with my amps and cabs ;) On the other hand, if I can make a 2x12 cab light enough without using neodymium speakers I might just try that! Stay safe and healthy -- my thoughts are with you and New York, I spent 12 years of my life living around there!
"it takes from you any hiding place" Truth. For an even more "no place to hide" experience, play a Telecaster through a Plexi. Or a Hiwatt. One thing that lots of players don't know is that the old 50 and 100 watt plexi panel amps get very nice clean tones at low volume.
If an amp allows you to hide its usually lacking in some key part of a sound your looking for. What ever that sound may be, or it just doesn't sit in a band mix well. Some genre's don't need the guitar to sit perfectly in a mix but it is alot bets when it does. It's that old saying I ain't saying it will make your pecker grow an inch but I ain't not saying it will make your pecker grow an inch.
Plexi's sound different through the years. Marshall was a nickle & dime operation back then. They sourced their parts from the cheapest parts/vendors available. RS transformers were off the shelf transformers (1962-65), then Drakes (1965-68), then Dagnalls (1967-72?) with plenty of overlap & variations (plus other vendors).
I have a 1990 2210 split channel, one of the last ones made. It has the Dagnall tranny. It could use some tonal tweaks but it works for me. Never mind the MV, it's still ferociously loud!
@@AngusClarkGTR it was Marshalls Valve pre amp into solid state series amp. But the AVT all valve technology which followed later was also valve pre amp into solid state but the gain when cranked had this horrid fizzy sound to it that no one liked it also used cheaper controls cheaper built. The VS series where the last of the "proper marshalls" in terms of sound and build quality. They sounded great but not a high gain amp. Good for classic rock and blues.
@@LeeKirkman88 I've had both the VS and the AVT. Currently have an AVT50h head and it sounds great and better than any of the VS amps I've owned. Underrated amp and not fizzy if you set the eq properly.
@@jakedibiase7404 Others that have owned it have said the same its got a great clean sound but anything past 1 oclock on the gain and it becomes fizzy you can really hear it you cant eq it out at all. When i had one i only used pedals on it as the distortion was crap David Simpson on youtube aquired one and found the same so he sold it. No fizz on the VS and the AVT series is cheap they started using plastic potentiometers and lower quality cirçuit board etc.
Haha fun to see here the same stack of Blackstar and Marshall standing at my home!!! :) I made the same experience with the jump on volume controls but later used a volume control on the fx-loop to get rid of it. To play a Marshall purely with a Guitar is unbeatable. Such sweet tones, dynamics and response, but it also rubs your fails directly into your face and forces You to play accurate, as You described it, I totally agree!!! That Marshall is a very good instructor... :) From the issues You explained, I'll be warned to play it cranked up completely for a longer time, thx for that!!! Btw: like AC/DC and from only listening to Your licks can't say its the original or not... :)
It is almost 4:am & I can't sleep! It is because I am getting a new Marshall plexi tomorrow! It is a Marshall 20 watt Studio Vintage & it is Limited Edition Snakeskin finish!!! OMG I can't wait!!!
2 mos later. How is it?
Dope
Mine is very harsh. Bought to build an EJ cliffs rig. BK Butkers Echo preamps, verbs, analog delays and so on.
Hooked up ways I would’ve have when I 15, backwards. Any combo, in front, loop etc. will not sound like EJ.
Plug into a hand built Peavey or Buddha and it’s as easy as 1’n the mids and treble.
Have a 1987 small box jmp Plexi from 68 with a 69 cabinet. Sweet stuff. Amazing how all the Plexi players in 60’s all sounded different on the same amp. And at the same time sounded fantastic.
I'm about to build a 1970 jmp 50 in an origin 50 donor amp..
I keep thinking of all these cool mods and tweaks . Then I see videos like this.
The stock pkexi is more than enough for bliss!
A ppimv and pentode triode will be more than enough
Plexi always have that in our face tones ... i used to be a high gain amp player for 25 years, but switched to the angry growl of the Plexi.
I’ve owned three plexi type amps. They were hand wired 50 and 33 watts, and a Marshall VS20. They are all unholy loud, and live, they highlighted every mistake in a big way. There was no reverb, gain, or compression to hide behind.
Same with the origin. Every mistake was heard by everyone
with higher volume the air pressure waves are much stronger, yes even a 20 watt marshall is loud as hell
but get allot of bodies in the crowd, they soak up that volume and all of a sudden you arent so loud
so the more audience bodies, the more watts you need.
I came across the late, but I full heartily agree. I went from a 100 watt JCM 2000 to a 1987X and the plexi made me a cleaner player. It also had a amazing feedback and harmonic that I havent heard since. Its worth noting many years later I have a awful case of tinnitus 😂! Great review of a iconic amp
Soldano are the same...so clear and articulate, nowhere to hide. Forces you to raise your game.
I have the same exact model from ''99, been playing it for 15 years. I had no idea about the trick at 7:08, that you can add brightness and gain by turning up the volume on channel one when you're only plugged into channel 2 without a jumper! I tried it and it works- thanks Angus! I'm still learning stuff about this amp and I love it--
glad I could help!
Good demo....The reissues sound really good! Used to have an original 1969 Marshall 50 tremolo head that was amazing. I bought it for a steal when I was 20. I just got sick of playing it clean with the volume on 3 and still getting yelled at to turn down. Ended up selling it and buying an original 68 deluxe reverb that's great for clubs. Would love to get that Marshall back someday though....
Absolutely right; with a plexi there’s nowhere to hide lol
Practicing with an acoustic helps
Why is that??
there’s no place to hide on an acoustic either!
@Eric Tasaico why are they harder??
@Eric Tasaico normally I use a Fender Hot Rod...
@@rasmuss2239 They are more dynamic, i.e. more pick sensitive. If you pick a note too quietly or too loudly everyone will know.
Playing a Plexi isn't irrelevant, just ask JD Simo. You rock!
I thought he switched to a fender something. I witnessed a show with his Plexi and my ears were ringing for a few days.. Rock n Fucking Roll!!!!!
I had a 1966 JTM45 and a 1968 50 watt Plexi and they were both glorious. They are both gone now but they were incredible amps.
What model was the one made in 1968? I thought the JTM-45 was the 1st plexi?
Michael Craig It was a 1968 50 watt JMP. The ‘66 JTM45 that I had was from the studio of Herbie Herbert (Manager of Santana and early Journey). The ‘68 was an amazing amp. I have a video on my RUclips channel of the JTM45 but I don’t have any clips of the ‘68 plexi. I sold those two amps and then had a 1978 100 watt JMP which is hard to beat for a bare bones rock amp, which is also on my channel.
What you said at 8:25 is EXACTLY how owning my Plexi relatively early on in my musical adventures made me feel. There’s just a certain vibe and attitude that gets added to your playing when you’re used to playing a real Plexi. Peace man.
I have a 1974 mk2 and an mid 70ties Stramp which is a Plexi Clone. Both are without Master and insane. With a good Pedal you can really get this incredible ACDC Sounds. Love these kind of amplifier.
You are 100 percent spot on about this amp making you a better player. When a mistake is made- it’s OBVIOUS with these amps (unless you have loads of effects running) .... so my opinion is that you better get used to it before playing out ... because it can make a good guitar player sound not good at all!!!
For example , a player may sound like a 10 on a Princeton reverb, but sound like a 5 on a plexi!!!!! I know 😉😉
I think they take time to adapt to. When I switch to a more forgiving amp I find myself working to try to pull the Plexi tone.
Amazing video. I owned a 72 small logo hand wired (one of the last) 50 watt Bass head a few years back. Wish I’d never let it go!! Most touch sensitive amp I’ve ever played
I've owned a re-issue 50 watt Plexi and I loved it. The only problem was you need to turn the channels up to 5-6 for it to really sound good. Bridging the channels, of course. I also blew the transformer on mine, replaced with the same one you did. Aside from that, it's the second best amplifier I've owned. First being a Traynor YBA-1A, which I currently own. Thanks for the video!
What causes transformers to blow? Is it too much bass, or the way their stock transformers are designed? I hear a lot of Marshall owners talk about blown transformers. My amp is a Ceriatone Plexi.
One thing that is really overlooked is the 4X12 cab and speaker type and the microphone/s type/s and position/s is ....super critical to the sound especially when everything is distorting. It can get too bright and ugly fast. then theres the room
Harsh mistress indeed! I've had a 1974 metal panel 50 watter for about 10 years now. Coming from being a JCM800 guy I had a bit of a learning curve, but once I got used to it I'm in love. It's impractical and loud as all hell and I really have to be on my toes to sound good through it....but when I'm in the zone it's an amazing feeling.
Kevin Standridge yeah man, it takes commitment! Thanks for sharing and checking out the vid!
Angus you are so right! I had to wait until the family was out and no neigbors home, all because my playing was so average. But whenever I did, it felt like getting getting a recharge. Id be happy as for days after. Last year I got an Ox box. Best investment ever - those cabs take up so much space too.
I think your commentary about buying used gear from a local retailer that also acts as a musicians hub being a place to give your business was absolutely spot on
lynyrddeville thanks!
@@AngusClarkGTR ,you are welcome. Everything you said about these mythical amps is true, they are not all sunshine and roses yet they can dish out a spine tinglingly great experience. And I totally believe in supporting local business. I calls em as I see's them.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I can't believe I've owned a JTM45 for so long and never knew about/tried that low input trick for playing at low volumes. With a pedal, it sounds AWESOME. Life changing. Wow.
Johnny Navarro glad I could help!
GCKelloch I’m sure, and as I say in the video, there are a lot of great builders that make amps that sound “like a Marshall Plexi” but they’re not. Actually showing up with the genuine article comes with a certain aura, and hearing loss, financial woes, and heartache. That’s the point of the video, right?
Great tones and explanations. I have a JMP 2203 head that I had Lee Jackson (of Metaltronix amps) do a tube buffered effects loop mod on, I use the "4 cable" method with my pedal board for amazingly clean delays and modulations while in the high gain input; something that was not possible before. So now I can get all that organic Marshall tube overdrive crunch yet with wonderfully ambient multi-dimensional and undistorted delays and reverbs! Simply phenominal!
@el guitardo that’s so cool, I’d love to hear it!
@@AngusClarkGTR great, I will do a demo of it on my channel then I'll post the link here, as a reply. Please stand by thanks.
Absolutely true about revealing every little mistake in your playing! I have a 1980 1959 MKII Superlead NMV that was getting some weird ghost notes and weird phasing sounds when doing long slow bends etc. Figured the original capacitors were shot so I replaced the big power section caps & while I was in there put a Point to point turret board in it with all fresh Sozo preamp caps, new resistors, set the bias etc etc.. the thing is So clear, warm, crunchy, sensitive to touch and natural sounding... it hides NOTHING. Painfully LOUD amps!!
Jim Hinson It’s a journey with these amps but when you give it some love its all worth it, as you know!
That's the tone for me. It's great there are so many Marshall's out there. They really made a lot of these amps and you can get this tone like you do without buying a vintage amp. I also really love the M160 mic.
The Plexi and metal panel superleads are the end all be all of guitar amps PERIOD!The most recorded amp in rock!
Larry Johnson amen brother, preach!
+1 to that. I still amaze my friends by -plugging the guitar straight into my 1987x and cranking the volume! No OD, no Compressors, no reverb or pedal board, just output tube breakup by the dump-truck load!
Theres 5150 and the rectifier too, and fenders
Fredrik Svärd fine amps to be sure but I’m gonna stick with Larry on this.
Superlead and plexi. The two I will always use for anything.
I own three 100 watt 1959 model Super Leads from 1970, 1973, and 1974. They're incredible sounding amps and they are incredbly LOUD.
OldSlowGamer no question who the loudest guy in the room is!
Hey dude, thanks from all of us on the heart felt rundown. Many of us bedroom rockers want to hear the realities of gear and how to get those tones. Its not as simple as it had seemed when I was young and couldn't afford anything. Thanks again.
My pleasure! Right now the reality of recording this thing at my home studio involves a $2k soundproofing of the crawlspace beneath my kitchen! And I'll still probably have to use a Fryette PS2 or similar modern attenuator box just to take it down to where it doesn't rattle the floors if I want to play it for any real length of time. Still love it. Can't help it. Rock on.
I was lucky enough to own one of these in the seventies, I also had a 100W bass head and a regular 100W plexi too, sigh... don't have any of them now. And yes my hearing has suffered.
this is one of the best demos/ explanation of Plexi style amps. Thanks. 🤟✌👆🤘
Thank you!
I'd love to hear and see more videos like this. Articulate, knowledgable and chops to boot!
I own a JTM45 and while it sounds wonderful it doesn't have that Plexi "thrak" you've got going on here.
Also, is that a split channel 800 out of shot on the left?
Thanks! I think the Rangemaster or similar treble booster is the move on the JTM 45, it’s a warm amp, a completely different animal.
Yes, the split channel is the BOMB! I’ll do a vid on that one later this year.
@@AngusClarkGTR awesome, can't wait to see that one. I have a 2210 that doesn't get played a lot anymore but it's super loud and punchy.
All the legendary sound comes from marshall amps of the sixties. They were all based on the jtm 45!! All the amps were the same basic circuit just more power. The plexi from 67 and 68 were the best.
Russell E Simonetta thanks for the info!
Absolutely amazing description of the Plexi. I'm not up to snuff to safely operate my SLP100 without a crash helmet.
Angus, loved you're playing on Kitaro's live album, pure greatness. Loved you and Kitaro together as well, your polished aproach against his organic aproach is amazing to hear, it worked so well.
Thanks so much!
Love me some Plexi!! I had a 74 pre voltage drop, but with circuit board...the hybrid!! I loved it...regret moving it!!
Nothing like a Plexi! Sounds great!
🔊🤠👍I was surprised by the sound and feel of the first plexi stack I played through. It was not what I expected. You feel totally exposed. I completely agree that you become and must become a better player. Nowhere to hide.
Great demo, you’re a gifted player, and nothing beats that AC/DC classic rock tone.
Gibson SG + Marshall = Rock n Roll Heaven.
If you watch live classic rock videos, you’ll see what makes them sound good is how cleanly they play, and they mute well
A bit of advice for anyone owning a Plexi, or planning on owning one.... Remove the rear panel from the amp head. Why? These amps run a bit hotter than most, and are poorly vented without top vents. The ventilation grill on the back is small in comparison to other Marshall amp heads, and don't allow for good convection air flow. After playing mine at moderate volume level for an hour or so, I noticed that the rear and top of the amp were hot. After removing the rear cover I placed my hand on the output transformer, and you could fry an egg on it. Smoking hot. Have since been playing it without the rear cover and everything (other than the tubes of course) has been just warm to the touch. Night and day difference. No doubt this has an effect on the life of these amps.
Solid advice
Good call. Don't blow a fan at them though, the tubes should still be pretty hot.
I'm not a fan of putting an fx loop on a non master volume Plexi which is crancked up from 7 and 10 because the effects will npt sound as clean since your getting distortion form the power amp section. I rather use a load box so you can get a signal to your effects. Besides, I use a 100 watt 68 Plexi and to crank it to 10 is impossible. I also use a Fryette Power Station for my studio that has an effects loop so I can play my Plexi up to 10 or a Suhr Active Reload for live performances with a splitter for effects and an RJM mini mixer into a stereo tube power amp into either 2 Marshall cabs or a stereo 2 x 12 cab for smaller gigs and it sounds amazing. Out of many great amps that I own(Suhr, Freidman, Fender,Vox, etc) I like my Plexi the best!
nice set up.
@@AngusClarkGTR Nice guitar tone and playing! I see you have some nice heads behind you. .'m using an Ampete 444 amp switcher to switch between amps in my studio and sometimes if my back feels up to it, I bring it to rehearsal or a gig so I can switch between them via MIDI. It's great to be able to switch between a Plexi, a 5150 or a BE100 without any glitches or a Fender Vibrolux to get a nice clean tone.
Through being able to model amps on an axe fx and on a line6 pod go, I have discovered plexi's and pedals are the way to go I was all about 800's and I still love them, nothing sits better in a band and gives you the feel of an 800. But discovering that a plexi and pedal or pedals of your choice is perfect has swain me to the plexi side. I don't currently own one but the origin model I've recently grabbed is damn close and the price is ridiculous I am really happy with my rig. Sooner or later I'll get a plexi but I'll keep using the origin so I don't have to be concerned with damaging a plexi.
That’s funny . Youde better not though ., you better play that plexi when you get it..
and pedals . Yes everyone has noted the lack of forgiveness the plexi can assault us with ., but absolutely pedals is the answer. To taming the beast
i use mine with a Fryette Power station. cant beat it. Also have put two transformers in it over the years
I’ve had quite the number of Marshall amps over the years. Metropoulos, Germino, and the usual suspects. The 1987x is a great amp. Probably one of my favorites along with an old 2204.
Gary Jarvis how was the Germino? I’ve heard nothing but great things about them. So expensive though
Nice video! At 07:12 U talk about channel bleed. First time I heard about that was in an interview with Yngwie Malmsteen’s former sound guy (Pontus Norgren). Pontus said that Yjm uses the treble channel only but turns up the bass channel which bleeds in with sound.
Mercury magnetic’s transformer and choke have a great name with amp and guitar techs alike if you get a chance invest in upgrading your amp.
Great vid man, exactly what I was looking for 😎🎸
30th Street Guitars was the best guitar shop in NYC...is still great, and have a great boutique pedal collection, but when they moved to 27th street they had to downsize and no longer have much of an amp collection.
I use a 1959 reissue (2007) attenuated with a Rivera Rock Crusher and it sounds beautiful, RC does a great job of holding the tone and taming the beast. The difference between the Lead (1987) and the Superlead (1959) in volume difference is nominal, about 3 dB, that's it...the difference with the 50 watt Lead is it has less clean headroom, that is: it takes less volume before you saturate the tubes and it begins to overdrive. Plexis are just tone beasts...sweet spots all over them. I like the effects loop in the back of the reissues, I run a rack mounted reverb through it...but it takes pedals in the front beautifully.
The reason for the quick volume jump is the 500pf capacitor across the bright channel volume pot. When I build them I use a 250pf and it really helps make the amp more manageable. I am a Mercury dealer and yes, there products are excellent.
thanks Ribert!
most youtubers make me look to the sky, hoping for an asteroid the size of Texas but you seem real cool and you're a good story teller which is rare . The other thing is that you are actually funny. so many youtubers have that hot girl funny syndrome. They think they r so funny but they are about as funny as cancer. Like kinison said to rodney dangerfield "i like the way you think, I'm gonna be watching you "
Have had a early 90's Marshall 1959 Reissue SLP for about 10-12 years. Absolute amazing tone but so, so (so so so) loud. Had to get an attenuator to keep it reasonable at home and most gigs. I use a THD Hotplate that has done me well. Important to keep your servicing up however if you are gigging with it. I prob use my Deluxe Reverb more now because I gig less and play a lot more around the house (w/ wife and kids). But nothing will beat those large stage mic'd Marshall experiences.
Adam Pipes Amen brother! I have a THD hotplate collecting dust. I always felt like it did something more than just make the amp quieter. It made the amp go from being solid to porous, like there was no density to it. Suddenly I was getting masked by the cymbals and whatever else was going on in the high end. So I just stopped using it. I had a Deluxe Reverb as my small amp for years! Parallel lives my friend.
Own two SLP100w reissue's .1992 93 love them .....just plug in a Rockman X-100 into both in stereo . Game Changer !
Rare Form As much as I loved my Rockman, and the Boston albums, that would not be right for me.
Great explanation I hear you. I want to get one. I had two in my life but when I'd play gigs they'd fail and never make the whole job. I still wants one bagginses!
In my Marshall days I was using a 100 watt head. What I loved using with it was the Tom Scholz "Power Soak". Could maintain the great tone and control the volume beast with ease. Don't know if they're still around on Ebay or not but there are surely some power attenuator devices out there to use instead of having to add master volume controls. Your Marshall sounds great!
Steve Leavitt thanks!
@@AngusClarkGTR I was looking at a couple of ads for Tom Scholz power soaks on Ebay UK just yesterday, so they still come up, and look to be well-made, too. One of the sellers had photos of the interior.
"The guy who plays a Plexi" will never be irrelevant to me. Big fan of the tone here.
Amen!
Played a JMP-1 with JFX-1 into a Valvestate 8008 power amp with a Marshall 1978 4x12 with black back Rola G12H30s. It was a good rig (the cabinet is amazing). I never fully bonded with it (lots of op amps in a JMP-1) but the flexibility was a nice trade off. Played it for ten years. Went back to tube amps. I have a 1990 JCM 800 Super Lead 1987. Great amp. I like it just as much as any of the classic or reissue Super Lead amps I have heard or played.
30th Street guitars - that's where i got my beloved LP Classic 1960 flame-top. Almost 20yrs ago, damn time flies
Thank you for the tip: plug into the normal chanel alone and raise the treble channel volume to get some treble back, I am going to try it on my Marshall SV 20W combo, the smallest brother of the SL family (which sounds great but is still TOO loud! can you believe that?)
Great rundown. You're right about what these things will do to your hearing. Wear "protection."
I love plexi and modded plexi amps, like Friedman and Metropoulos. Dave and George make Amazing Amps. I have a few Friedman Amps....BE-50 Deluxe, Twin Sister, Jake E Lee 20 Watt Amphead (newest amphead).....A while back I bought a Metropoulos DVL-1 Modded Plexi Amp 100 Watts. One super badass amp, that George originally made for William Duvall from Alice In Chains...Sounds great through my 2x12 Friedman Cab with 2 UK Made Greenback Speakers....Greenbacks sound droolworthy through Plexi and Modded Plexi Amps.
Thanks!
I've got an old MK2 with 6550 outputs and fresh caps. The only eq knob that seems relevant is treble and she will teach you where your tone knob is in a hurry.
Lloyd Domke I think these tone knobs work a bit better than that, but the bulk of the tone shaping comes from how you blend the channels.
@@AngusClarkGTR Could be true. Mine is from 1975 and was converted to master volume and preamp boost in the 80's {think Metaltronix}. It's basically unusable on a modern stage unless you use an isolation box.
It's always fun playing with another guitarist and watching them set up an elaborate pedalboard only to have their jaw thrown to the floor with Super Lead growl.
I always enjoy hearing boogies getting crushed by an old Marshall, in any 2 guitar player band situation iv'e ever encountered. That buzzy, bullshit, lack of midrange, high gain boogie sound looses every time 👍🤣
John Rossi preach!
@@johnmarshall3903 mehh, love me a marshall, don't get me wrong, but boogies rock but you gotta know how to tweak one...
Get a Matchless and never look back👍🎸🐕🇺🇲
Yeah but you gotta play something that will make their jaw do that. My jaw is in the same place.
4:55 Matt Wells! He did a master volume mod on my ‘73 SL100 so I would actually play it! It sounds killer now.
When you crack them you can control the gain with your guitar volume rolled to 6 or 7 8or 9 for solo
I owned an old Marshall head back in the 80s….I’m sure it was made in the 70s. And it was 200 watts.
I only had one cabinet. A unmarked Bass cabinet with 4 Electrovoice SRO 12s. Ridiculously heavy. What….would you use that for?
It was nutty.
It had a single gain control, and wouldn’t break up until 7.
Living in a trailer park at the time, it was of course almost never used.
The amp had a plug that could let the amp run on different voltages.
I did get a chance a couple times to really let loose with it albeit not having a lot of chops at the time. “Wild thing” was truly…..wild.
Great video Angus. Im using the studio vintage, great to have a smaller 1959 type amp. Works great and sound great. Love your tones 😎
Tore Knutsen thanks so much!
Your Plexi sounds great btw. You def got that Angus tone happening. Rock On!
Aloha Braddah! Enjoyed your video and your comments and views! Just bought myself a Plexi....the newest and baby of the Marshall Plexi line, the Studio Vintage. Mahalo nui loa for sharing!
Thanks man, I want to get one of those, let me know how you like it!
I still use a JMP-1 along with numerous others. I think it'll exceed the 74 JMP 50W, based on flexibility. It has more gain, and the volume is controllable. Its also MIDI switched. I have it connected to Marshall EL34 50/50, Mesa Stereo 2:100, and Peavey Classic 50/50 for 34/6L6/84 options. I like the JMP-1. That said, the old Marshall is loud, has tons of bottom end, and records amazingly well every time. As though they tailored one killer voice, at one loud volume. You sound GREAT man! Love the ACCA DACCA.
Solar Guitar Studio Thanks!
@@AngusClarkGTR Absolutely! Here's one of my favorite dudes using a JMP-1. Check him out!
ruclips.net/channel/UCO6ezc38gdv028k39aOvaCQ
Prob the best argument for the JMP 1 is Billy Gibbons. He's used them for a couple decades now. He runs em through Valvestate power amps and his tone is, of course, great. I've never played a JMP-1 but I've owned ADA MP1's and they sounded amazing. However, I had to use an 800 watt solid state power amp to get close in volume to even a 50 watt Marshall. Tube power is a beast!
Jmp1's are the dogs bollox, they nail every marshall tone on the planet
Volume pedal in the FX loop is a great bedroom hack as well.
"Marshall JMP-1 MIDI preamp with a separate power amp..." I always wanted one of those along with the 9200 Dual Monobloc power amp. And right under them? A Mesa Traxis and a 90:90 power amp, all with a Dual Recto to round it out. And the 5150, naturally. :)
Mid gain Marshall tones seem really difficult for software and solid state to emulate well. Once you get into Tube Screamered boosted JCM800/900 territory it seems easier to dial in. Those 50s-70s vintage mids and the musical way they break up can be really complex.
Great thoughts sir. To your question, in 20 years of playing this year, I can say confidently that most players I have met have talked about the sound of this amp, but have not plugged into one for themselves, so they don’t have a real reference point. Pretty sure only a couple of pros that I know have played one, or good examples of vintage guitars like ones from the fifties. I have only been able to play one once at Chicago music exchange, and it was amazing to play with this huge sound, but not practical at all for someone like me. Amazing sounds though! Nice video. Peace!
Thanks Jason!
Great info, we need more of these videos.Thanks man!
You are correct sir they are so loud that any mistake is out there!
Great Marshall. I had a 2100SLX that was awesome. It was stolen..
two45triox that sucks!
Hi I'm absolutely in love with these things! Never understood from which came the name of 1987 and 1959 of those ampli since they where made in the 60's and 70's... 🤔
They are just model catalog numbers supposedly with no inherent meaning. Like for instance there's a 2061, 2203, etc
Fantastic vid! Thanks for sharing. Love that tone.
Erik Truss thanks man!
I bought the new studio version and even that was too much amp for me. I had no idea how to tame it, and I'm not a very good player, anyway. There was too much volume and nowhere to hide, so I returned it. I regret that, but then again, it was so loud.
This why I bought a metropoulos metroplex, you get the plexi tone at low volumes, you don't have to crank it all the way up.
The reason the HI treble channel affects the LO channel is due to the way the amp is wired, so the bright circuit on the HI channel volume control acts as an adjustable treble bleed on the LO channel, somewhat similar to the way the tone control works on the guitar. Both volume controls are wired in parallel into the next gain stage, and are not isolated from each other, unlike more modern designs which typically would have a switching circuit to remove one channel's control's from the signal path at a time.
Thanks for your video loved it and love to own a plexi one day best wishes Mick Australia
Michael Haller right on mate! There’s gotta be some decent used 50-watters around in Aus!
Mick, check out some old Wasp amps. Many good plexi clones for cheap! Made in Aus/NZ
man that sounds sooooo fucking good. So that is a vintage one?
It’s a reissue from the 90’s. So it’s vintage but not original.
I also had a non-MVolume JMP in the late 80's made in the 70's. I got it with a blown power transformer. Good amp but one dimensional even tho it did that one sound great.
The actual plexi was not an original Marshall product but made by Ken Bran, Jim Marshall's repair man. The design was stolen from late 50's Fender Bassman. Check the old schematic and compare. They are identical. Fender amps were very expensive in England so Marshall had Ken making them in the repair shop of his music store.
Fender changed the topography of their preamps in the early 60's to a cleaner sound by putting the EQ after the first triode stage rather than after the third triode as in late 50's. They also got rid of the emitter follower feeding the EQ section. The sonic differences are notable. The original design is very basic. Almost anyone with soldering and able to read a schematic can easily build one.
Hi Angus,
Cool video. I've been getting into The SG/Marshall thing too.(Dsl40cr) at one time I had a 1987x it was
awesome but in my situation I couldn't use its dynamic range. The NMV Marshall are a completely different feel like you said!! The punch is massive!
Keep rocking!
Thanks Cary! I don't know the "NMV" designation? A buddy of mine has a DSL which he had re-tubed and Blackie changed out the bright cap on the gain channel to bring it more in line with an old JMP. It sounds amazing, not as precious as the JMP, and the effects loop works, so it's a total win.
I meant Non master volume
Thanks
@@caryboudas5359 thanks for the clarification! Yes, the NMV amps have the punch!
This dude & i have a very different opinion of a bone crushing tone! In this day & age just pick up a JVM for "that" Marshall tone! It pretty much covers every relevant Marshall amp!
Well you’re right up to a point. But a as they say a jack of all trades is master of none. All that extra circuitry is taking away from the signal.
I went down the channel switching amp route but they never sound quite right. Now I use a Jcm 800 and just the guitar volume. Best tone I’ve ever had.
PatientMental to clarify: I say the “volume” jumps to bone-crushing - which obviously doesn’t translate via youtube. The tone is what it is, vintage power section and speaker breakup. Classic for sure, not as brutal as the modern amps. But it will rattle walls!
I've owned and played about everything and I knew as well as all my friends telling me "dude get a plexi and be done with it".🤘💪🎸
As a restorer, I am forever yanking out the old tube bases in favour of ceramic new ones.. as the late 60's early 70s versions suffer from corrosion deep in the socket.
I used to own an early 70's 50 watt metal panel we called "Marsha". It was an absolute screamer! A tone monster! A few years before I got it, it was in a building that caught fire. You could see where the chassis had got hot. It was still perfect inside though. The guy I got it from changed the caps, the tubes and the vinyl. He sold it to me for only $300! I rem my friend saying,, "If you ever sell it, you're gonna really regret it". Boy, was he right! 3 yrs later, I hurt my back and needed money so I sold it for only $400. Like any player, there's stuff you regret selling but my "Marsha"... it still haunts me! She's the one that got away.
Tarrell Freeze great story!
@@AngusClarkGTR Thanks Bro
That was a nicely toasted Marsha-mallow amp.
@@j_freed That's a good one bro. BTW, talk about weird timing, I just ran into the guy, Skip, that I bought Marsha from today at the guitar store. I hadn't seen him in at least 2 years. I showed him the message I posted here about the amp. Get this... He actually said he's gonna look around for me a vintage Marshall head for cheap, then he gave me a reassuring wink and said, "Watch, I'll make it happen". This guy has friends everywhere plus, he can build and repair amps and now he's retired. He also loves my playing which is why he sold Marsha to me so cheap. He knew it was all I could afford. Anyway, I don't know what's up his sleeve(maybe buy a blown one and repair it for me?) but he's no B.S.'r. Could it be that God heard my plea and is bringing another Marsha into my life? If that happens, I'll def post back here. Pray for me guys
Good luck! I got my '71' plexi in 1980.
I payed $275.00. I still have it.
Those old plexi's are SO expensive!
Nice informative video. Top stuff.
If your tired or just not into playing it will show in your playing. In a soldonal high gain type amps you can get away with little mistakes.Maybe why eddie gave up his plexi
Sadly that's Exactly why he gave up the plexi, he needed more gain as his chops were fading
Great video. Very useful info. The JTM 45 is a bucket list amp for me. 🤞🏻 one day I’ll have one. Thanks for posting.
I have a 1987x with factory effects loop. First time I played through it with jumpers was a "that's it!" moment - no reverb or effects. Same even when "clean" although that term means something different on these amps. It's exactly that raw immediacy that I like - even though being, as you say, naked. That's a good thing eventually.
Done a lot of business with Matt at 30th and Blackie, both great guys.
Great video, Angus. I'm a long-time Hot Rod Deville player and it's sort of defined me too. and I don't really like me ;) Now I'm thinking of getting back into Marshall (this or the SV20) as I love the cleans as well as the "concussive" punch you talked about. But tell me, is that "concussion" the plexi or is it perhaps a 4x12 cab going with it? In other words, pushing it through a 1x12 is more likely where I'd want to be... Thanks!
Tony Knight hey, if you want to use a smaller cab I think the Studio Vintage is the way to go. While I haven’t played it myself all the clips sound awesome. I think you could get a great result with a 2x12 bluesbreaker type cab (I have a mojotone one) and Celestion Heritage G12’s. I think a one twelve lacks low end, it doesn’t get you there.
@@AngusClarkGTR Hey Angus, thanks for you response. I have pretty much decided on the SV20 (unless I try to build my own Plexi). I agree that every video I've seen shows a great tone, including cleans and edge-of-breakup which are important to me! I'm actually building my own 1x12 cab right now, experimenting with some different tone woods I have hanging around, and eventually when I can actually access other woods, I'll build a an out of baltic ply for comparison.I absolutely agree that minimal a 2x12 would be ideal, but for health reasons I'm focusing on reducing the weight of my equipment, starting with my amps and cabs ;) On the other hand, if I can make a 2x12 cab light enough without using neodymium speakers I might just try that! Stay safe and healthy -- my thoughts are with you and New York, I spent 12 years of my life living around there!
did the metropolis to my old 800 different amp,cut the bright cap on it.
Frank Quinn not sure I understand what you mean. The metro loop, or a metro birght cap mod?
Nice outro, solid tone and I like what you had to say about your search for tone and power.
"it takes from you any hiding place" Truth.
For an even more "no place to hide" experience, play a Telecaster through a Plexi. Or a Hiwatt.
One thing that lots of players don't know is that the old 50 and 100 watt plexi panel amps get very nice clean tones at low volume.
If an amp allows you to hide its usually lacking in some key part of a sound your looking for. What ever that sound may be, or it just doesn't sit in a band mix well. Some genre's don't need the guitar to sit perfectly in a mix but it is alot bets when it does. It's that old saying I ain't saying it will make your pecker grow an inch but I ain't not saying it will make your pecker grow an inch.
You are so right. They are magnificent!!!!!!
Nobody buys a Marshall for it's clean tones..
@@simonvanderheijden432 True. The plexi panel amps do have them, though. Hidden down below "3".
But again, who buys a plexi to play it on "3"?
Plexi's sound different through the years. Marshall was a nickle & dime operation back then. They sourced their parts from the cheapest parts/vendors available. RS transformers were off the shelf transformers (1962-65), then Drakes (1965-68), then Dagnalls (1967-72?) with plenty of overlap & variations (plus other vendors).
thanks!
I have a 1990 2210 split channel, one of the last ones made. It has the Dagnall tranny. It could use some tonal tweaks but it works for me. Never mind the MV, it's still ferociously loud!
I really love the VS series that came before the AVT series which was poor.
GuitarFreak I’m not familiar with those designations.
@@AngusClarkGTR it was Marshalls Valve pre amp into solid state series amp. But the AVT all valve technology which followed later was also valve pre amp into solid state but the gain when cranked had this horrid fizzy sound to it that no one liked it also used cheaper controls cheaper built. The VS series where the last of the "proper marshalls" in terms of sound and build quality. They sounded great but not a high gain amp. Good for classic rock and blues.
@@LeeKirkman88 I've had both the VS and the AVT. Currently have an AVT50h head and it sounds great and better than any of the VS amps I've owned. Underrated amp and not fizzy if you set the eq properly.
@@jakedibiase7404 Others that have owned it have said the same its got a great clean sound but anything past 1 oclock on the gain and it becomes fizzy you can really hear it you cant eq it out at all.
When i had one i only used pedals on it as the distortion was crap David Simpson on youtube aquired one and found the same so he sold it. No fizz on the VS and the AVT series is cheap they started using plastic potentiometers and lower quality cirçuit board etc.
Haha fun to see here the same stack of Blackstar and Marshall standing at my home!!! :)
I made the same experience with the jump on volume controls but later used a volume control on the fx-loop to get rid of it.
To play a Marshall purely with a Guitar is unbeatable. Such sweet tones, dynamics and response, but it also rubs your fails directly into your face and forces You to play accurate, as You described it, I totally agree!!!
That Marshall is a very good instructor... :)
From the issues You explained, I'll be warned to play it cranked up completely for a longer time, thx for that!!!
Btw: like AC/DC and from only listening to Your licks can't say its the original or not... :)