What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

BigAlTheBird

BigAlTheBird

Guest
Hey guys.
So I'm in the market for an amp again. I sold off my Crate Vintage Club 20, which sucks. I sold it because it was too bassy, and didn't have enough reverb (the reverb was inaudible until about 7, and at 10, it was = to a 3 on a Hot Rod Deluxe).
I'm thinking about getting a Marshall this time around. I have PLENTY of time, because I'm moving back up to school in a month, and I won't have anywhere to crank the amp (I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment).
I want classic Marshall sound (really good crunch), in a somewhat inexpensive, used, amp. The MG series is ****, I know that. The Valvestate series has some decent amps, but I'm not sold on any of them (nor have I written any of them off).
I don't necessarily need a combo, although that is a plus. What are some awesome sounding, inexpensive Marshall amps which I can buy used?

Thanks a lot guys!
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Are you looking for more of an "80's classic Marshall" or "70's classic Marshall" or "60's classic Marshall?" I would certainly consider all of them awesome and classic. :)
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

The Vox Valvetronix modelers would be best. My 30watt has an attenuator and headphone jack.

It has just about every possible tone built into it, just takes tweaking to find the right ones.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Laney AOR are JCM 800 clones with added gain, and go really cheap on ebay.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

as far as cheaper Marshalls I liked some of the older Valvestate amps... i thought some of the ones from 10 years ago where pretty good.. New ones i have little experience with

Stay away from the MG line... I have one and have played thru a few at the store... noisy as hell...

A Boss DS1 pedal is a cheap Marshall sound thru most amps..... :)
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

The Boss GT-6 and GT-8 both have some killer Marshall simulations. There are also plenty of other smaller amp modelers that have great Marshall tones. This is probably the most cost effective, not to mention the most dorm friendly solution.

The great news is there are plenty of amp companies that do "The Marshall Sound". You can get great clones from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Seriously, probably your best bang for the buck in this category would be a Celtic Edana....from our own Scott_F. For around a grand it can't be beat.

Authentic Marshall? Plexi's and superleads are going to be expensive. Single channel 800's (2203's and 2204's) are getting stupid prices on eBay. These are considered by most to be "The JCM 800" sound....ymmv and opinions are like butholes...everyone has one. You can still get the dual channel (2205 and 2210 as well as each of these in various combo's) for a decent price if you watch ebay close, or your local stores.

JCM600's are a real sleeper in the Marshall line. Fantastic clean channel, and the drive channel was 90% as good as my JCM 800....I wish I had never sold that combo. The DSL is also a great sounding Marshall.

I don't know if this helps or confuses things, but there are a lot of options to get a good Marshall sound.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Thanks a lot guys!

In answer to the question about how cost effective should it be, I'm looking to eventually pay around $500 used. So that translates to maybe $700-$1000 new. And I certainly won't be doing this now, my next amp is gonna be a Hot Rod Deluxe (if I can find a steal on eBay) or a Crate V1512/Crate Palomino 16. My Vintage Club 20 was pretty insane, I'm sad to see it go. I know for a fact that the V1512 and Palomino are less bassy and have decent reverb. The HRD has FANTASTIC reverb of course, but I'm not sure how bassy it is. Never really cranked it enough.

But thanks for the help guys! I'm looking into Vox. I wanna try some "British" sounds. Laney looks to be a really cost effective company too. Thanks again guys!

Oh and I'm not looking for quiet. I have a "sound room" here at home where I can pump it to 100 dB and no one cares. But for the next 9 months at school, my practice amp will be just fine. Thank God I got out of the dorms a few years back though! :thumbsdow
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

I had a marshall DSL 401 a while back that i bought for $400. It definately had the marshall sound alright! the clean channel had a mean blues/crunch when cranked too. An OD pedal is really needed to get the gain channel to really crunch though. I only sold it because it wasnt loud enough! 40 watts of the marshall EL84 is like 20 watts of my Laney hehe.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Wow dude! That DSL 401 looks like a really nice amp. I may have to look into that! Thanks!
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

A guy out here has just bought a 401 and he loves it. Don't think you'll beat it for genuine Marshall with value for money.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Vintage Traynor Bassmasters with some very minor tweaks will give you vintage Marshall Plexi tones every bit as good as the original. 300-400 will get you one of the best built amps ever. I have 4 Traynors, 1968 through 72, just fantastic amps.

Here is my 1969 Traynor Bassmate in action.

6 $$$ Trick
lo-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3991928&q=lo
hi-fi URL: http://www.soundclick.com/util/getplayer.m3u?id=3991928&q=hi
 
Last edited:
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Agreed about the Traynors; a few tweaks in a particular direction can get you in Marshall, big Fender, or faux Hiwatt territory. Best bang for the buck in a vintage EL34 amp...
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

MattPete said:
For bedroom Plexi sound, I'm digging the clips I hear of this:
http://www.sombrabella.com/bumbox/
Click to expand...

Interesting, because I am driving to Toledo today to check out his stuff.

I hear if you goose the Lead 1 with a clean boost, you can get some great tones. We will see...

Bob
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

+1 on the vintage Traynor amps.

I have an early 70s YSR-1 Custom Reverb that I play through a Vintage 30 equipped 2x12 cab. Wow! It doens't go into JCM 800 gain territory on its own, but can give some nice crunchy and fat clean-ish tones by cranking the volume.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

Don't waste your money on modelers and substitutes. You're never going to be satisfied. If you want a classic Marshall sound, find a Marshall that has the sound you want and buy it!
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

I had a Marshall DSL 401, the amp was too spongy for my tastes
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

What exactly does that mean, 'spongy?'
Thanks for everything though guys.
 
Re: What's the most cost effective way to get awesome classic Marshall sound?

And there's just something about the Marshall logo that just SCREAMS cool.
 
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