Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Just to follow up on couple of points brought out that I think may explain the mystic of some Marshalls, and some of the disapointment with others.

The old Marshalls were simple circuts that depended much of the sound quality of the tubes that were being used. The tubes are the amp. Those old tubes are long gone now, or they will cost you hundreds of dollors to replace with the same.

You got the most out your tubes tone quality back in the day, by pushing them hard. Today you usually can't play that loud, so even if you have good tubes in your tube Marshall, you can rarely utilize their full potential.

Many of these more modern amps are designed with these modern limitations (modern tubes, and moderate volume levels) in mind. Gain makes up for some of these problems in many cases. Many amps can't out Marshall a Marshall, but they can ofton out gain them. A lot of guitarists today associate gain with tone.

I turned some of my Marshalls into dogs, temporarily, back before I knew how to tune them, so they can be their best. This is done for the most part by selecting the right tubes for the particular amp, and by knowing how to properly bias them. Marshalls almost demand an owner that can do these things themselves, because it's so crucial.

BTW, the reason I havn't aquired a VM, was because it doesn't come in small box head.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Many of these more modern amps are designed with these modern limitations (modern tubes, and moderate volume levels) in mind. Gain makes up for some of these problems in many cases. Many amps can't out Marshall a Marshall, but they can ofton out gain them. A lot of guitarists today associate gain with tone.

Not all gain is musical & created equally though.

If that was the case then we'd all be playing Crates & Line 6 rigs which have no tone...

For me, less gain usually = better tone.

 

[ModestCargo]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Not all gain is musical & created equally though.

If that was the case then we'd all be playing Crates & Line 6 rigs which have no tone...

For me, less gain usually = better tone.

I've always been a low gain man, but it seems it takes some years to figure out that backing off the gain works.

But then, gain does compress and cover bad playing to a degree. Not saying I was better than joe guitarist though, don't get me wrong!

I don't like master volume amps as a general rule but a practice amp is a different story.

 

[James Rock]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

It's also perception though - if you want to sound lie Jimmy Page then stick an LP through a Marshall and you will sound more like Jimmy Page cos, consciously or subconciously, you will feel better apart your playing...you'll have the vibe going on. Sports performance is so dependent on mentality, and music is too - with an LP and a Marshall stack you'll feel badass and start to play more badass cos you've got your Jimmy Page-gameface on.

Or something.

While that is definately true if I wanted to sound pagey and have an ultimate Jimmy play I'd use a tele cos thats zeppelin (my fave zepp album) tone and it inspires me and makes me feel great. A little irrelevant though but I see what you mean like if you got infront of a raging marshall stack with an LP and just slammed some power chords in!

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

One of my friends, the guy who bought the Major I talked about in the other thread... He bought a JCM900 2-channel half-stack when he was 16 or so as his first "real" amp. The 900 series was pretty new, just released. He didn't even try it at the store, figured it was an all tube Marshall... "How could I go wrong?"

Within a week he was using the same little Boss pedal he had been using with his solid state Fender combo... hahaha

He's owned a few other Marshalls including that modded Major, might even still have a DSL 50... but his main amp now is a CAE Overdrive 100.

Heh....that's funny.

I had a buddy that used to work at MARS Music when it was around.

One of the issues he used to talk about was trying to convince players that came in and tried and wanted to buy Marshall heads to take the floor model, the one they've plugged into, demoed and they know they like the sound of.

He said the hard part was trying to tell them that something out back out of the box may sound totally different without using the phrase "product consistency can suck sometimes..."

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

For me, the bottom line is this: there are some high performance modern amps that "out Marshall a Marshall"...but then they no longer sound like a vintage Marshall.

I own some amps that "out Marshall a Marshall" ( reverb...more overdrive...master volume that works...etc.) and although I love them, I found myself missing the vintage Marshall tone.

So I bought an older Marshall again, just so I could have that genuine, Marshall tone again.

Lew

 

[thucydides]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

It's also perception though - if you want to sound lie Jimmy Page then stick an LP through a Marshall and you will sound more like Jimmy Page cos, consciously or subconciously, you will feel better apart your playing...you'll have the vibe going on. Sports performance is so dependent on mentality, and music is too - with an LP and a Marshall stack you'll feel badass and start to play more badass cos you've got your Jimmy Page-gameface on.

Or something.

I actually understand what you are saying. Brian May of Queen touched upon this in an interview a few years back when he said that he felt the best about his playing when he had his 'sound' happening, vs. any gtr though any amp.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Lew - "Master volume that works"

Ha, ain't that the truth. My JMP might as well not have the numbers 1,2,7,8,9 or 10. Sounds like ass before 3, doesn't change after 6.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Re: Can a Marshall really be "out-Marshalled"? I played some "new" ones today...

Lew - "Master volume that works"

Ha, ain't that the truth. My JMP might as well not have the numbers 1,2,7,8,9 or 10. Sounds like ass before 3, doesn't change after 6.

My 2205 has always been the same way... both before and after the mods! Both the channel master & amp master need to be over three to really "wake up" and start slammin. Difference is that the channel master actually DOES make a difference between 3 and 7 while the amp master, once it's over three or four the amp doesn't get any louder, only looser.