What amp would you pick?

[Briman24]

Good tone is all in the fingers

 

[anomaly]

For me, once I tried a real deal original unmodded vintage Superlead I had no more interest in trying any other modded Marshall, or even the tried and true 2203/4 with a boost. It simply lays waste any other modded or stock Marshall I’ve owned. Only other amp that would compare is another Superlead.
It has to be stock; no tone sucking MV mod, no loop, and absolutely HAS to have the 5K Lemco bright cap. Anything less and it’s gonna be a neutered version of the real thing.
You’ll have to find a pedal or two to get enough gain for hard rock and beyond, but my 72 is so good I sold a great Wizard MC and a rare C+ Coliseum because of it.
The 2 pedals I use cost 100 bucks for both…you don’t need an Uber rare spendy pedal to get the goods.
For reference I’ve been through 60+ stock 2203/4s, Jubilees and modded Marshall’s at this point. Previous vintage non MV Marshalls I tried, all had MV mods + gain mods.
All cool but none compare to my 72.

Those old Marshall's are so fucking loud though, and they don't deliver the goods until they're at mind numbing volumes. Very unpractical for most situations. Then there's the issues that come up with those amps, most notably caps. They're a waiting disaster. Plus you gotta sift through a bunch of subpar Marshall's before you find a good one cause they aren't all created equal.

I say go find something different for your tone needs if you got the Marshally tones covered.

 

[Briman24]

Those old Marshall's are so fucking loud though, and they don't deliver the goods until they're at mind numbing volumes. Very unpractical for most situations. Then there's the issues that come up with those amps, most notably caps. They're a waiting disaster. Plus you gotta sift through a bunch of subpar Marshall's before you find a good one cause they aren't all created equal.

I say go find something different for your tone needs if you got the Marshally tones covered.

 

[braintheory]

Those old Marshall's are so fucking loud though, and they don't deliver the goods until they're at mind numbing volumes. Very unpractical for most situations. Then there's the issues that come up with those amps, most notably caps. They're a waiting disaster. Plus you gotta sift through a bunch of subpar Marshall's before you find a good one cause they aren't all created equal.

I say go find something different for your tone needs if you got the Marshally tones covered.

They're very loud no doubt and impractical for many guy's needs because of that. I've tried and owned SO many vintage Marshall's (Racerxrated has been through even more) and IME (he'd tell you the same) the only ones that didn't sound at least very good (better than the majority of recent made amps) just needed servicing from a tech (nothing too serious) and then the sound we expect was there. For lower volumes, a lot of the modded ones can actually be excellent there and some 2203/4's here and there (like my last JMP I owned) have more gradual volume tapers. Boost those ones and you can get some decent tones at volumes that won't break the ears. For me at least, I've not heard any valid substitute yet for that tone other than vintage Marshall's, but I guess it can depend what exactly ones wants in the Marshall tone or how picky they are

 

[MadAsAHatter]

The DSL is a lot of amp for the money and capable of some very good sounds, but since you have that Naylor imho the DSL or Jubilee would just get humiliated by it and be a waste of time imo. If you go Marshall I'd not mess around and just a get a good vintage NVM superlead or a good example of a vintage 2203/4. The superleads will have unmatched punch with how hard they hit, while the good 2203/4's have more growl on powerchords and not as light on the lows. The Jubilee's sound good, but imo sound too smooth & polite vs a good vintage 2203/4

Some guys find those Marshall's I'd suggest to be too fatiguing on the ears or harsh (imo they either have wimpy ears or don't know how to set them up well), but try them yourself and you'll know if they're your thing or not. For my taste, they are among my favorite amps of all the stuff I've been through and with my real klon boosting it, it can get some really amazing sounds

I agree a DSL can get some great tones, but yeah the Naylor would slaughter it. If I do end up getting a Marshall I'd probably lean to a 2203/04 since that's the tones I grew up listening to. Unless they're dialed in like dog shit they don't sound harsh to me, just raw which is a good thing.

 

[MadAsAHatter]

Those old Marshall's are so fucking loud though, and they don't deliver the goods until they're at mind numbing volumes. Very unpractical for most situations. Then there's the issues that come up with those amps, most notably caps. They're a waiting disaster. Plus you gotta sift through a bunch of subpar Marshall's before you find a good one cause they aren't all created equal.

I say go find something different for your tone needs if you got the Marshally tones covered.

Yeah, that kind of volume is impractical. But fuck the neighbors and who needs to hear anyway LOL!

 

[BeZo]

You know, the correct answer is both.

Buy a Marshall.
Buy a Rectifier.
Play both at the same time.
Ejaculate.

 

[braintheory]

I agree a DSL can get some great tones, but yeah the Naylor would slaughter it. If I do end up getting a Marshall I'd probably lean to a 2203/04 since that's the tones I grew up listening to. Unless they're dialed in like dog shit they don't sound harsh to me, just raw which is a good thing.

The Naylor is ime is gonna be a tough amp to rival. Yes the rawness is a big part of what makes them special and an even bigger part of why I've found most non-vintage gear is so uninspiring/boring to play, but Naylor's are among the few that still have much of that rawness in their tone

 

[braintheory]

You know, the correct answer is both.

Buy a Marshall.
Buy a Rectifier.
Play both at the same time.
Ejaculate.

Couldn't have said it any better lol. 2 amps without anything else to rival what they do. Early Rev Recto's with their unmatched throaty low mid growl and Marshall's with the raw upper mid grind

 

[Briman24]

 

[anomaly]

I thought the DSL held it's own and didn't compare badly at all to the plexi. The DSL had way more gain on tap, more low end, was capable of more modern tones as well, while the plexi just sounded like the 1970's and didn't really have any versatility at all... Sounded good though in that VERY old school way. It also goes to show how much that Marshall tone is in the 1960 cab with greenbacks.

 

[Briman24]

I thought the DSL held it's own and didn't compare badly at all to the plexi. The DSL had way more gain on tap, more low end, was capable of more modern tones as well, while the plexi just sounded like the 1970's and didn't really have any versatility at all... Sounded good though in that VERY old school way. It also goes to show how much that Marshall tone is in the 1960 cab with greenbacks.

Yeah speakers play and played huge part.

 

[anomaly]

Sounds exactly like a Marshall should. A tone I've heard and yawned over a million times now. It's literally the most overused tone ever. Did I say it sounds bad?? No, I didn't. If that's what you want, then a DSL has the Marshall tone... don't let the plexi owners tell you otherwise.

 

[RaceU4her]

they are close. i bet the 100w would be even closer. they both sound like proper marshalls. would i be wanting to sell an amp to fund the plexi over keeping what i have and getting a DSL? based on this clip, no

 

[Briman24]

they are close. i bet the 100w would be even closer. they both sound like proper marshalls. would i be wanting to sell an amp to fund the plexi over keeping what i have and getting a DSL? based on this clip, no

As EVH said.....just play man! He would melt your face through any amp!

 

[Racerxrated]

Those old Marshall's are so fucking loud though, and they don't deliver the goods until they're at mind numbing volumes. Very unpractical for most situations. Then there's the issues that come up with those amps, most notably caps. They're a waiting disaster. Plus you gotta sift through a bunch of subpar Marshall's before you find a good one cause they aren't all created equal.

I say go find something different for your tone needs if you got the Marshally tones covered.

Not my experience at all, after 60+ of them. All pre 1990. Most had the original caps(bias caps changed not Filter caps), only 2 out of that number did I change the caps and 1 was because I hate F&T caps, so it didn't NEED it. The other one, had big bulges and powder leaking from one. That was an 83 2203 and those caps weren't LCR. They were the green ones that sometimes went in the early 80s versions. I get a GREAT low volume apartment/sleeping baby type tone with the volumes on 0. But after that, it jumps dramatically.
2203/4s are much better for manageable volumes....but they don't approach the raw bulldozer tone of a NMV Marshall..if you want the true Marshall bulldozer tone you have to go NMV. Vintage versions only.

 

[Racerxrated]

they are close. i bet the 100w would be even closer. they both sound like proper marshalls. would i be wanting to sell an amp to fund the plexi over keeping what i have and getting a DSL? based on this clip, no

...again proving that clips are a fucking joke. I've played many DSLs at backline gigs 20+ yrs ago...they are decent Marshalls sure but they can't even compare in the room, at all, to a vintage NMV Marshall + a pedal or two. Kinda like a 2203 eats any DSL, a vintage stock Superlead eats a 2203.

 

[Spaceboy]

I have not played a single amp that truly beats a boosted JCM800 2203 at doing what a 2203 does. There's hundreds of clones, inspired by designs, etc out there and nothing I've played does the thing. If you want the Marshall sound, go get a Marshall.

 

[braintheory]

Good tone is all in the fingers

Highly disagree. I’ve heard great players with awful tone and bad players with great tone, but they rarely get recognition for it since the playing isn’t good. Most guys don’t bother to distinguish between quality of tone & quality of playing and just view it as a singular package. I say playing is in the fingers. Tone is in the fingers to a much smaller degree (unless we’re talking classical guitar where it’s completely different). Anyone who can play a basic powerchord (and literally not know how to play anything else) can get an impressive sound with just that on a loud Marshall or early revision recto

 

[311boogieman]

They pair well together. Get a Boogie,VHT or a Diezel and enjoy recording them layered.

This is what I came to say.

This is sort of what's rolling through my head. I have a couple of non-Marshall type amps that I really like and will never part with. But most of my amps are Marshall-esq because that seems to be what my ears like best. I'm not hyper anal about precise tone so any of them could well enough substitute for the real deal to me. So a Marshall would likely be a bit redundant. Then again, no matter how close nothing fully sounds 100% like the real thing.

This kind of answers it. You have marshally amps already and you just confirmed you are not hyper anal about precise tone so a old Marshall (as awesome as that would be) may just be redundant. Again, not trying to talk you out of a Marshall but face it....not all Marshalls are created equally. There are bad ones out there too.

You know, the correct answer is both.

Buy a Marshall.
Buy a Rectifier.
Play both at the same time.
Ejaculate.

So this