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anybody have a vintage 100 watt marshall plexi head?


mbengs1

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like the ones eric johnson and yngwie malmsteen use. is it modded in any way? i think if i had the chance to own an old marshall plexi i would get a couple of them and mod them to my liking. more gain, and lower the treble. and just use on those amps as long as i am a guitar player....

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Why would want to get a vintage classic known for the way IT sounds, and then change it? If you don't like the sound, it is not what you need to buy. There are so few real vintage plexi's around that still work like they should, it would be criminal to mod one.

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Why would want to get a vintage classic known for the way IT sounds' date=' and then change it? If you don't like the sound, it is not what you need to buy. There are so few real vintage plexi's around that still work like they should, it would be criminal to mod one.[/quote']

 

Agreed.

 

I've never owned one, but a shop I used to manage had one in the back that belonged to one of the owners, so I've had ample opportunity to play through them. Monstrous power and volume!

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I have purchased 2 Marshall alps in my life. I still have them both.

 

One is a 50 watt JCM 800 2x12 combo. It's a single channel amp, no reverb. I bought it new in 1983 or there about.

 

It's a one trick pony, but what it does is amazing. I have never done anything to it except change the tubes.

 

In this day in age, it's a lot of amp, way louder that I would need on most any stage. Back in 83, it was perfect.

 

I keep it cause it's in killer shape. I scratch the face plate trying plug-in in a darker room. Other than that I have yet to see another one in that good of shape.

 

It's model 4104

 

 

I also have a old Fender Twin with the push pull Master volume. It pushes 135 watts. Back in the day I ran both.

 

It you ever think you really need a 100 watt amp, look no further than a Mesa Tremloverb.

 

The amp is freaking amazing. I owned one for over 15 years. The only reason I sold it it, was cause it was 98 lbs in a 2x12 combo configuration. Physically in a bigger can than either the Marshall or the Twin. I can toss a Twin around like nothing

 

 

I have been wait for Mesa to re-release a modded version of the T verb in a 1x12. I'll be the first to buy one.

 

Forget the 100 watt Marshall, but iif you insist, go for it.

 

The Mesa Mark V is an amazing creature. The combo is 65 lbs. Physically pick one up and you be holy s!@t that weighs a tone for such a small package.

 

[video=youtube;DI5n4CJ0kQA]

[video=youtube;N9iC20QNNZA]

 

 

 

 

 

This one is in good shape too.

https://reverb.com/item/2256382-vintage-marshall-4104-1986

50 watts is too loud for what I'm doing anymore.

 

The other amp Marshall I bought was a second generation Marshall Class 5 combo. I find it a touch on the dark side, but I turn the bass down. Think small when recording. Tube amps usually have a sweet spot. I can't stress this enough.

 

Spend your money on a great recording mic and the best pre amps you can afford.

 

I think if I buy another amp, I'm gonna buy a Quilter Micro Pro. combo. Which one I have no idea yet. 1x8, 1x10, or the 1x12. I do know I don't need the 200 watt HD one.

 

 

[video=youtube;KKk9XQV6tpY]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'll take the JMP50 over the 100 any day. You can crank these up to sound great with even a loud rock band and still turn it down to play quieter.

I had one back in the late 70's before someone stole it form me. Mine had three switches and the smaller head cab like the one in the top pic so it was likely built around 1971.

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

I have a 1960 cab like this.

 

80ba34b60b6231cb4be9770d125a0248.jpg

 

 

The 8X10" cabs were killer sounding too. I used one for awhile back in High School and it sounded great on a big stage.

 

mod2fj2weoqgvwdga8n6.jpg

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All of those Marshalls bring back memories to me. I cut my teeth on Twins, but after moving to high gain (relatively) I never went back.

But I never owned one in my youth. I played a DR504 Hi-Watt and a graphic only OR120 with 2 4x12 cabinets. Sure was a pretty stack. Thats was early 70's in the days when real PA's didn't exist in small clubs or local bands. You MIGHT have a spare amp head and a couple of 2x12 Bassman or Bandmaster cabs (easy to find then) that was your PA. No monitors either. We would play for 2500-3000 people in a college gym and you were expected to fill the room with your amps. (sorry for the drummer though.) Eventually I did buy a 2210 (not what I now consider a real Marshall.) During those days, I did have friends with Royal Guardsman or Beatle amps, some with Twins, a Sound City or two, Plush, Earth, Kustom, and Bandmasters and Bassman (blackface) were direct cheap. We used to buy them for $40-50 each, or $100 with cabinet too. EVERYONE else had a plexi, usually beat to hell. 10 years later when we looked for them, we only looked for the ragged ones. If the Marshall sounded great, it usually was gigged so hard it was beat to hell. If it was still pretty, it almost never sounded right. Anyway, we had small and big box heads, basket weaves, checker boards, 8x10 cabs, and we had no idea what we really had at the time. If you didn't have a huge, loud amp you disappeared in the sonic mayhem of a large gig with no PA. Afterall, who wanted a Princeton Reverb or a Deluxe for gigging, they were bedroom practice amps. My practice amp was a Vox Berkley with trolley and cab. I recut a baffle for the cab and put a pair of JBL grey frame D-120s in it. Screamed....till it died. Solid state had not been perfected then. Ah to have them all back now.......especially the OR120 and the Marshalls of any type from then.

 

 

Sorry for the long post, but it was nice to have those thoughts again.

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The other amp Marshall I bought was a second generation Marshall Class 5 combo. I find it a touch on the dark side, but I turn the bass down.

 

I love my little Class 5. :)

 

Think small when recording. Tube amps usually have a sweet spot. I can't stress this enough.

 

There's a reason, as a studio guy, why the majority of my amp collection is 20W* or under. :)

 

Spend your money on a great recording mic and the best pre amps you can afford.

 

You're preaching to the choir director brother. You should see my racks and mic locker. :lol:;)

 

 

 

 

 

* My Princeton Reverb II w/1x12 EVM speaker and my AC15 running together are plenty for live. If I need more juice, they can mic me and run me through the PA.

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You're right about PA's. You were lucky if you could get a Shure Master or Kustom with the speaker columns. We used a set of Cerwin Vega cabs and a Peavey board. Awful sound quality but it was a PA. I eventually snagged a set of A7's and used them for a good 10 years. Never had a really good head for them but the cabs sounded great. I eventually cut them down in size which made them easier to move.

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like the ones eric johnson and yngwie malmsteen use. is it modded in any way? i think if i had the chance to own an old marshall plexi i would get a couple of them and mod them to my liking. more gain' date=' and lower the treble. and just use on those amps as long as i am a guitar player....[/quote']

What you do with a non master amp is learn to use your guitar's volume knob, run through a good attenuator and have a good pedal board set up with some good over drive pedals. Otherwise buy a master volume amp. IMO there isn't anything much better than a Marshall JMP 100W superlead firing on all four EL34s.

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I just won an auction for a small Marshall and am waiting to get it. It is just the chassis and electronics, no tubes, no cabinet, but at $203 I couldn't say no to it. It is an 18 watt clone (1974x). I ordered a new head cabinet and here is a quick and dirty mockup of what it should look like except that my logo will be the gold instead of white. We all know purple Marshalls sound better. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n32066982[/ATTACH]

 

EDIT: Well I just picked he 18 watt up, and OMG. I absolutely love this amp. I have one issue to sort out and it will be my main goto I think. Channel one tone control is not as flexible as the tremolo channel is. Having never played one before, don't know if that is normal for these amps, but it sounds wonderful anyway. I am going to be playing a lot more I think...

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I also have a Marshall 2196 cab that is unusual. It was a lead/bass cab made for maybe 3 years. Size of a 1960B but with 2x12" from the factory. Also has the tray slides, not cups on it because it was never meant to pair with an A cab. I have it stripped to wood and getting ready to recover in purple elephant like the head above, and bought salt and pepper grill cloth for it. Have new steel handles, new back instead of compressed wood, new casters, and all new plastic and gold rivets. Anxious to get the stack together. Thinking of putting in a pair of Celestion Century V30s that are 103 db, and if I don't like them will put my greenbacks in it. Getting excited now. Should have it all together in the nest couple of weeks. Pics to follow.

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n32066988[/ATTACH]

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