Would like aedvice- my 50 Watt Hiwatt ain'yt cutting the mustard

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: Would like aedvice- my 50 Watt Hiwatt ain'yt cutting the mustard

Jimmy Page didn't use standard Hiwatts; his amps had the Special All Purpose "SAP" preamp which incorporated an extra 12AX7 gain stage and a few other changes. The resulting tone is still Hiwatt, but with a definite Marshall flavor. Page's Celestion speakers also helped to emphasize that.

Also is your Marshall 1959 original or a reissue? If it's original, what year was it made? Marshall changed the 1959 circuit several times over the course of the original production run, so an early example from 1967 isn't nearly as bright or gainy as one from '72 or '73.

The SAP design must've come some time after the RAH performances because an extra gain stage in a Hiwatt should have more of a driven Mesa Boogie tone due to the extra 12AX7 gain stage. This is most certainly not the case when using the Catalinbread RAH pedal which more closely emulates (3) 12AX7's w/MV.

My Marshall is a 74' SL converted to 68' 12K Series specs with all the vintage NOS components and tubes.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Would like aedvice- my 50 Watt Hiwatt ain'yt cutting the mustard

A 1978 50 watter was my gigging amp for a dozen years or so. Usually with a 4x12, sometimes with a 2x12. The style of music dicated an od pedal, which the Hiwatt took well.

That said, I did have a GB loaded Marshall 4x12 for a while. Never gigged with it, but I would use it for non gig jams, plugging straight in, no pedals. Yes, if you crank it with that set up. it doesn't have the super cleans that a Hiwatt has a rep for.

Sure, you could add speakers, which normally may cause one to lower the amp volume. But, I think that you'd be better off getting speakers with a high efficiency rating, and that don't break up like Greenbacks do.