How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

D

devilfish

New member
Hi,

This may seem REALLY dumb and silly...but if someone could lend me a hand I'd be very grateful.

I'm buying my first stack type amp soon and I have NO idea how to go about setting it up, 'caring' for a valve head or anything like that.

So what's the basic stuff I need to know for setting it up and not blowing it up basically :D

Even stuff as simple as ''how does the cab connect to the head'' I'd just like to be 'reassured' about because I'm spending a lot of my money on this amp so if anyone could offer some tips/advice that would be great.

Thanks
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

ALWAYS use speaker cable to connect the head to the cab. Using a guitar cable is never a good idea.
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Take right forearm, swipe over all pots for initial setup :)

Do not walk away with the guitar plugged into the head on top of a full stack.

If it tips, do not try to catch it.
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

1. Always make sure the cab is plugged into the head before powering up.

2. If you turn the amp on and no sound comes out, turn the amp off and check #1 immediately.
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

All volume / master volume knobs on all channels are to be left at 10 at all times. Failing do so negates the point of having a stack.
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Robert S. said:
ALWAYS use speaker cable to connect the head to the cab. Using a guitar cable is never a good idea.
Click to expand...

BIG +1 there !

Turn the volumes down to zero when powering up & work your way into it.

Find out how old the tubes are & if there's doubt, get a new set & keep the old ones as spares.

If it's been a long time since it was biased, take it to a tech that will show you how to do it the next time around :D

Have fun with it :beerchug:
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Well it was serviced and revalved around 3 years ago...since then it hasn't been touched.

Will it need to be re-biased?

What is 'biasing' and what does it do to the valves?

also what's the difference between a speaker cable and a guitar lead?

thanks
 
Last edited:
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

1. As stated ensure you have the speaker cable running from head to cab.
2. Check that you have the correct impedence setting on the head to match the cab i.e 4ohm/ 8ohm/ 16ohm.
3. If your cab is stereo then make sure you know which jack to use.
4. Do not turn your amp on until you've checked all of the above.
5. Turn on the power switch first, let the amp warm up for a minute or so (longer is ok), and then flick the standby switch.... then, hopefully, you'll rock and annoy everyone!
6. When you turn off, flick the standby off first, leave a couple of minutes to allow the valve to cool down slowly, then turn off the power.

I've seen people who sound check, and then leave their amps on standby for hours, no need. Sound check, then turn off as above. 10 minutes before you are going to start. go turn the power switch on, leave on standby, and when you go up to play, flick the standby switch and you'll be good to go.

If you change the POWER valves you should get it rebiased even if you put the same tubes from the same manufacturer! I believe you can change the pre-amp tubes without any problem.

If ever you don't get volume or it suddenly goes off, just turn the lot off. The reason why you shut down gradually is to prolong the life of your valves, so if there's a problem shut down quickly.

Other than that, enjoy your new amp!

All the best.
 
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Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Play it hard and dont spill your beer on it.
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

What the others said.....

1. NEVER switch the amp on without a speaker cab attached.

2. Use a speaker cable, NOT instrument cable, to connect the amp to the speaker cab.

3. Ensure the impedance selector on the amp is set to the correct value for the cab you're using. Remember to check and change it if you ever use a different cab/cabs.

4. Turn the red power switch on at least two minutes before you turn the standby switch to on.

5. After use try to let the amp cool down before you move it.

6. Read this: http://www.marshallamps.com/downloads/files/DSL100_50 hbk.pdf

7. Marshalls are great amps. Rock out and enjoy! :headbang:
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Hey,

Seeing as this amp has been stood under a cover for 3 years, anything I should do to keep it working basically?

Thanks
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

What model is it? What speakers are in the cab? Does it run on EL34's?? Most Marshalls do, but a few of them have 5881's stock.

Biasing is needed when changing power tubes only. They need to be a matched set and the amp needs to be adjusted to make it run correctly/efficiently which will make it sound better.

Get yourself about 5 different pre amp tubes and swap them around to see what you like. V1 or the first position makes the biggest difference in tone/gain, so really swap that one around for some fun.

Do some reading on basic tube amps and how they function just to get familiar with how they work. It's really great fun, so enjoy!
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Jolly pretty much covered it.

When I got my first Marshall I took it to a tech and had him replace the tubes and check the amp over. It might not be a bad idea to at least have someone look it over. But if you fire up and it sounds fine, you should be good to go.
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Buckeyedog said:
Does it run on EL34's?? Most Marshalls do, but a few of them have 5881's stock.
Click to expand...

It's a DSL50. It'll be EL34s.

(AFAIK the 5881s were only ever fitted to amps sold in America and Canada - devilfish is in the UK).
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Simon_F said:
It's a DSL50. It'll be EL34s.

(AFAIK the 5881s were only ever fitted to amps sold in America and Canada - devilfish is in the UK).
Click to expand...

Cool then, the DSL is easy to bias with a simple multi meter without pulling the chassis. Get one and bias it yourself.....saves time and $$, plus it's just darn fun to swap out tubes!

When I had my DSL, I had good luck running a JAN/GE 5751 in the PI slot to smooth it out just a bit.

Ah, good info. I had an old three channel Marshall and it had 5881's.

The DSL is a cool amp, so crank it up and enjoy!!
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

kjrocks said:
Play it hard and dont spill your beer on it.
Click to expand...

I disagree with half of this statement. My amp is so much more toneful with all the beer, liquor, water, ashes and whatever that have accumulated on the top of the head.

The tolex absorbs all that and excretes it into "tone."
 
Re: How to set-up and 'care' for a marshall half stack?

Ref the tubes/ valves fitted to UK Marshalls. I bought 2 brand new 50watt plexi (1987) R.I's and 1 was EL34 and the other was 5881's. The odd thing was that me and my mates thought the 5881 fitted amp sounded better?
 
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