Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

[Mr 9finger]

Either my googlefu is off today or I they're just not out there yet. I laughed like a little girl when I saw these and the price tag they put on them. Turns out the joke is on me because the JMP-1's are dam near exactly what I need for something I want to do. I know there's some out there on the used market, but even at $550ish for a used one, that's still pretty ridiculous. They can't be that dam difficult to build up. There's nothing to them.

If anyone has any ideas or can point me in the right direction...I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Oh, I think AX84 has some low watt kit plans, like the Firefly. Those Marshall mini amps are basically their respective preamp fed into a 12at7 power section. Values may need to be shifted to find what you like, but they shouldn't be hard. Watts Tube Audio has a mini plexi kit coming soon...

 

[DankStar]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

from clips of H&K's 18 watter & gearjoneser's stamp of approval I'm wondering if it may out-marshall a marshall of the same size/price.

but I see what you're asking - they are so small, you'd figure they're pretty simple circuits!

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

but I see what you're asking - they are so small, you'd figure they're pretty simple circuits!

You just know those circuits are going to end up out there on them thar intarwebs.... it's just a matter of time

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Oh, I think AX84 has some low watt kit plans, like the Firefly. Those Marshall mini amps are basically their respective preamp fed into a 12at7 power section. Values may need to be shifted to find what you like, but they shouldn't be hard. Watts Tube Audio has a mini plexi kit coming soon...

I don't frequent those sites, so if you see something and happen to think of me, give me a shout. I think what's cool is these little 50th Anniversary Marshall's use 2 12AT7's in push/pull for the power section.

from clips of H&K's 18 watter & gearjoneser's stamp of approval I'm wondering if it may out-marshall a marshall of the same size/price.

but I see what you're asking - they are so small, you'd figure they're pretty simple circuits!

The H&K Tubemeisters have way WAY too much wattage for what I want to achieve. I know that sounds a bit crazy but it is what it is.

You just know those circuits are going to end up out there on them thar intarwebs.... it's just a matter of time

I'm really hoping so. I need 2 of them for what I'm wanting to do and even at the used prices these are going for that's still over a grand.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

I'll spill the beans I guess. I'm trying to put together a mini Randy Rhoads style rig. Most of the stuff is readily available but I'm kind of stuck on the amps. The important thing of getting close to that kind of sound is he ran his into a maxed Distortion+ w/ a 10 band EQ boosting the midrange into his Marshall's at the verge of them being out of control. I can handle loud, but that's not possible w/ a normal size head or even the newer "lunch box" type stuff that's out now. Even 10 watts pushed to it's limit will rattle windows.

I had thought about using some plexi in a box type pedals and run them into an AMT tubecake 1 watt power amp, but I don't know how that would work out running a delay into the dirt box. If I were to do something like that, I'd probably opt for the Bogner XTC pedals.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Sticking with the plan I see.


The Tubemeisters go to 5 or 1w, but I suspect the 1w marshalls will sound better because they are built around those little power tubes.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

I think just about anything you do will be a compromise. There are so many parts to this equation, including the sound you are trying to emulate being dependent on speakers, studio processing tricks, microphones, etc. That said, be aware this venture might not get you 100% there. Anyways, you planning on building an amp to do this?

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Sticking with the plan I see.


The Tubemeisters go to 5 or 1w, but I suspect the 1w marshalls will sound better because they are built around those little power tubes.

Yup, but it's been a little frustrating trying to find "realistic" amps for the job.

I think just about anything you do will be a compromise. There are so many parts to this equation, including the sound you are trying to emulate being dependent on speakers, studio processing tricks, microphones, etc. That said, be aware this venture might not get you 100% there. Anyways, you planning on building an amp to do this?

I've already accepted that I'm going to have to compromise on some of the stuff. In reality it's just not feasible to do full scale and going smaller is always a crap shoot. Not mention a lot of Randy's tone came from how he played. If I can get 85% there, I'll be content, but I want that 85% to be as for lack of a better term authentic as I can get it. If you follow what I'm saying. I could probably get there w/ a modeler of some sort, but that's kind of cheating I guess is the way I feel about that.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Understood. Which amp are you trying to emulate, here? The 100 watt plexi? I've got some experience building that one, just the precursor to it, in 50 watt version.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Welp...that on the verge of "out of control" type tone exemplified by Randy, The Nuge and Gary Moore in their early days is a product of not only gain and/or distortion boxes, but mainly of volume.

It is very hard to emulate that any other way.

Trying to do it with a 1w amp is like buying a HotWheels version of a musclecar to take to the race.

 

[trevorus]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Welp...that on the verge of "out of control" type tone exemplified by Randy, The Nuge and Gary Moore in their early days is a product of not only gain and/or distortion boxes, but mainly of volume.

It is very hard to emulate that any other way.

Trying to do it with a 1w amp is like buying a HotWheels version of a musclecar to take to the race.

I like how you put that. The tones we're talking about were likely amps with some horsepower being run hot and hard. Getting that out of a 1 watt amp is going to be tough. But, as 9finger said, 85% would be pretty good. That ,Iget well be possible.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

On that same note, I'd probably have similar results w/ using 5, 10, or 25 watt amps. I get what you're say'n, but I don't want to be deaf or get tickets every other day either. If I thought I could get away w/ running 2 plexi's at full steam through 4 4x12's....I would. I would even go as far as tracking down the Altec speakers Randy used or have Weber make me some clones. I think I can hit the 85% mark w/ some careful choosing. Hell I can get dam close using a Distortion+ and the crunch side of my DSL50....but the master volume has to be cranked. That kind of volume in a 20x15 room will hurt you. Not to mention the cop that lives 50 yards away said he could hear me inside his house.

So far this is only theoretical. I've not laid any cash out on this except for the parts to build a Dist. +. I'll probably go ahead and buy some of the other pedals because I can use them for other things. I also realize I'm not going to get it right off the bat. It's going to take some experimentation/trial and error. It's going to be a fun(probably somewhat expensive) journey!

 

[CTN]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

They're definitely out there. A friend of mine has the 1W JCM2000. It's a really nice sounding amp, has about the same character and gain on tap as a DSL/TSL JCM2000, but lacks the roar. Worth the money...I don't think so, personally, but he got a good deal on it so it made sense in his case. Makes a great amp for recording or quiet jamming (he uses it in his tiny apartment with a Dr. Z attenuator). If the price were lowered I'd probably get one, but at their current prices it seems a bit silly, imo.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

They're definitely out there. A friend of mine has the 1W JCM2000. It's a really nice sounding amp, has about the same character and gain on tap as a DSL/TSL JCM2000, but lacks the roar. Worth the money...I don't think so, personally, but he got a good deal on it so it made sense in his case. Makes a great amp for recording or quiet jamming (he uses it in his tiny apartment with a Dr. Z attenuator). If the price were lowered I'd probably get one, but at their current prices it seems a bit silly, imo.

Agreed. Even the used market prices on them are a bit hard to handle for what they are. The JCM800's of the line are getting almost what they were new. I've not checked eBay, but I don't use eBay so that could be a whole different thing.

 

[Toe-Knee]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Have you looked into Mark Huss' 6v6 plexi?

http://mhuss.com/Plexi6V6/

It may get you where you want to be.

In regards to the 1w marshalls not being worth it as theres nothing to them it's not quite that simple when you take into consideration the R&D costs for mating the preamps with the new poweramps and of course new transformer designs etc.

However i dont think they're worth it because i think low wattage amps dont sound that great.

 

[Stratevatis]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

On that same note, I'd probably have similar results w/ using 5, 10, or 25 watt amps. I get what you're say'n, but I don't want to be deaf or get tickets every other day either. If I thought I could get away w/ running 2 plexi's at full steam through 4 4x12's....I would. I would even go as far as tracking down the Altec speakers Randy used or have Weber make me some clones. I think I can hit the 85% mark w/ some careful choosing. Hell I can get dam close using a Distortion+ and the crunch side of my DSL50....but the master volume has to be cranked. That kind of volume in a 20x15 room will hurt you. Not to mention the cop that lives 50 yards away said he could hear me inside his house.

So far this is only theoretical. I've not laid any cash out on this except for the parts to build a Dist. +. I'll probably go ahead and buy some of the other pedals because I can use them for other things. I also realize I'm not going to get it right off the bat. It's going to take some experimentation/trial and error. It's going to be a fun(probably somewhat expensive) journey!

I came in here looking for that 1 watt clone kit too, but the mini Randy rig is fun to think about. If you'll settle for 85% then you can run the eq n distortion plus into a stereo chorus then pretty much any 2 little marshalls if they're set right. I think 2 lead 12 white mini stacks would be incredible. Lol. You can also get a resembling tone at any volume with an eq, distortion plus, chorus and marshall guvnor. You just gotta balance the the right amount distortion plus crunch with the marshall pedals overdrive. Good luck. That's a fun project.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

There's a Lead 12 sitting less than 5ft away as I type; it's red instead of white but I don't think that'll affect the tone too much :lol:
If only I could remember where my Distortion+ is... The Lead 12 suffers from low end buildup if the gain is run too high, but it should be OK clean w/ a pedal.

The closest I've ever been to Randy's sound was a Dist+ with both knobs maxed run into a '73 100W Superlead set on the edge of breakup w/ a T75 4x12. It sounded glorious, but it was loud as hell.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Marshall 50th 1 watt amp head clones or kits?

Were these any good? I was tempted but they were too much money for me. I've found the JTM1 schematic, could be a fun project.