Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

[Philcguitars]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking to go TUBE and Stereo either simultaneously or by progression. Anyway Ideally I'd like to go Hiwatt, but that's really pricey, so... I was thinking of a twin rack like the Marshall EL34 50/50. I have considered the 20/20 too as I already barely power up my 80Watt SS amp.

What do you guys think. Should I save on money or save 'up' money? Do I need 50 or 20 watts stereo?

 

[d1dsj]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I had a Marshall 9100 (50/50) dual mono bloc power amp a while back. I really liked this amp but didn't I didn't go the whole hog and get a JMP1 to go with it. It sounded quite good with a GT6, but a JMP1 is simply awesome for overdriven sounds! My advice is don't be afraid of it being too loud... it's not a loud amp. My 50watt Cornford is MUCH louder and is a plug and play amp, but the Marshall was a great sound. It sounded alive to me... really warm whether mono or stereo, infact I could kick myself for letting it go cheap... SHOULD HAVE GOT A JMP1!

If you're playing live get the 50/50 at least (100/ 100 is best) but if you're just home playing/ recording get the 20/20. All the best.

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I had a Marshall 9100 (50/50) dual mono bloc power amp a while back. I really liked this amp but didn't I didn't go the whole hog and get a JMP1 to go with it. It sounded quite good with a GT6, but a JMP1 is simply awesome for overdriven sounds! My advice is don't be afraid of it being too loud... it's not a loud amp. My 50watt Cornford is MUCH louder and is a plug and play amp, but the Marshall was a great sound. It sounded alive to me... really warm whether mono or stereo, infact I could kick myself for letting it go cheap... SHOULD HAVE GOT A JMP1!

If you're playing live get the 50/50 at least (100/ 100 is best) but if you're just home playing/ recording get the 20/20. All the best.

Thanks,

I'm playing electric mostly at home, and gig acoustic at the moment. Hoping to introduce more electric to gigs which is why I was thinking more on the 50 watt lines, but we're always in small venues so...

 

[d1dsj]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

If you can afford it I'd go 50/ 50... do it all. Truely great build quality too. Just out of curiosity, what pre-amp would you be using?

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I was planning on using my GT-6 as the pre-amp.

 

[metlking]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I have a Marshall 9100 50/50 poweramp......used it for many years with no issues! Mine came with 5881 but I had it converted to EL-34. I don't use it anymore but will probably hold on to it.....
Great poweramp! Be prepared though....it weighs a ton!

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

Be prepared though....it weighs a ton!

All weight is relative!

 

[Brewtone]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I have a Marshall 9100 50/50 with EL-34s that I picked up really cheap on Chicago's craigslist. I've been running the pre-amp of my Slash Jubilee into a TC Electronic G-Major, and Rocktron Xpression. I use the stereo outputs to feed the Marshall 9100 into two 2x12 cabs.

Jubilee Tones in Stereo!!!!!!! :headbang:

 

[metlking]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

All weight is relative!

Yep, it's worth the weight! I'd consider the Mesa 20/20 also......If I ever go back to using rack gear I'd probably look for one of those. I could get everything in one six space rack then.......

 

[d1dsj]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I was planning on using my GT-6 as the pre-amp.

Ah... that's what I did. It sounded quite good after some tweaking, but if you ever get chance try a JMp1... awesome!

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

Seems I'll be looking quite possibly for a used JMP1! If I go this route!

Any comment on the comparison to Hiwatt/Orange/Vox etc? In tone, not presentation/housing!

 

[Brow]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I have a 4 piece rack with a JMP1, a TC Electronics G-Major and a EL84 20/20 amp in it.

I'm still tweaking it but so far it sounds great!

I think the 20/20 will have more than enough power for gigs to be honest. Plus, it's alot smaller and lighter than any of the 50/50 or 100/100 power amps.

1 thing really irks me about the 20/20 though and that is that it's always stereo, there's no option to sum the outputs from each side of the amp into a mono feed. So I always have to use my stereo 2x12 cab whenever I want to tweak it etc, which is a bit of a ballache but not the end of the world

 

[Philcguitars]

Re: Marshall EL34 50/50 Pros and Cons

I have a G-Major in 'Major' repair on my kitchen table at present. The Doc 'Me' says that after some minor operating it'll function like new!

So sounds like I'm on track with the idea at least.