Wangs 1987HW (handwired 50w Plexi)

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UPDATE:
I wanted to see how far I could push this amp and how versatile it is:



I got a new amp to play with! Yay! Wangs was kind enough to send me their 1987HW amp for some videos, which is basically a handwired 50w 4-hole non master volume "Marshall" Plexi. As with all the other "HW" Wangs amps it's handwired and made with great care in the Wangs shop in China. This is a good example of a high-quality product from China. Not mass produced but made with a lot of love by human hands. I've only had good experiences with my Wangs amps (currently HD-15, 2204HW and 1987HW).

I'm primarily a heavy rock and metal player but I've grown to like more vintage style amps. I have the Marshall studio series amps for example. The SV20H or mini Plexi comes close to the 1987HW in terms of the core tone although the Wangs has a warmer and 'bigger' sound. The plexi-style amps have been interesting to me, especially since those types of amps are relatively new to me. So it's always fun and interesting to dial in tones and to see how everything interacts.

With the SV20H I've noticed that it can get a little bright and tinny with certain settings but with the 1987HW for some reason it's much easier to get beefy tones. The 4-hole/jumpering possibilities really help with getting the perfect blend between fatness and brightness but funnily enough I got some really cool tones by just using single outputs. That doesn't match my experience with the SV20H. I guess I'll have to make a comparison at some point.

Anyway, here's a little demo/review video with some tones:

 
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Racerxrated said:
NMV amps have the best tone available imo. Pure, raw and with the right boosts can get nice n heavy.
I thought my 83 2203 was a beast until I played my 72 Tremolo next to it. The 800 went and hid in a closet until I sold it.
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It's a very cool sound indeed! Still a little new to me but the best way to describe it for me is "untamed". So raw pure and big sounding!
 
Guitarjon said:
It's a very cool sound indeed! Still a little new to me but the best way to describe it for me is "untamed". So raw pure and big sounding!
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This exactly. I kid a little when I talk about that 83 2203; great amp of course. But I was blown away when I was able to put my 72 through its paces without any volume restraints. There is a reason so many pro players used these amps stock, boosted to record with. I can’t imagine anything sounding better than what I get out of my tremolo + a boost. Perfect rock tone.
 
Racerxrated said:
This exactly. I kid a little when I talk about that 83 2203; great amp of course. But I was blown away when I was able to put my 72 through its paces without any volume restraints. There is a reason so many pro players used these amps stock, boosted to record with. I can’t imagine anything sounding better than what I get out of my tremolo + a boost. Perfect rock tone.
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How do you boost your SLP ?
 
blackie13 said:
How do you boost your SLP ?
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The best combination ended up being a Boss OD1X and a Joyo Ultimate Drive. Both pedals with all knobs at around 11am, tone at noon. Funny thing is, I tried some spendy pedals like Thorpy, Wizard Leopard and VFE and they didn’t sound as good as the Boss and Joyo. I also used an 80s SD1 at first with the OD1X and it too sounded good. But on a whim I pulled the Joyo out of the mothballs and it was the winner.
With the pedals engaged my treble vol is barely cracked; maybe at 1. Anything higher and it saturates in a bad way. Rhythm vol is at 4.
 
I was just playing through my SV20H again and while it's a cool sound it's still pretty different. As I said I will compare them soon. The SV20H has a more narrow sound frequency wise. The low palm mutes just get squashed pretty fast. Don't know if that's the case with the big Plexi's from Marshall as I've never played one. The 1987HW just retains more thump when it's cranked... Both are cool though and it will be interesting to hear them side by side...
 
Here's a little comparison of the 2204HW vs the 1987HW:
 
Guitarjon said:
Thanks for warning us based on your personal experience!
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My personal experience with low priced amps is that they have absolute crap components.

I don't know if they are being built better now, or if this model uses better components.

But since you say they "built using high quality components" please elaborate.
 
Geo said:
My personal experience with low priced amps is that they have absolute crap components.

I don't know if they are being built better now, or if this model uses better components.

But since you say they "built using high quality components" please elaborate.
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From the gut shots it looks like they are using orange drop caps, carbon comp resistors, Dale resistors. But truthfully caps, and resistors are cheap af especially when you buy quantity. I would be more interested in how the transformers are. But also they use those plastic-y tube sockets that I'm not a fan of. Jon if they ever ask you for some feedback I would mention getting them to switch to belton for the tube sockets. Personally I would prefer Belton Tube sockets over having the cost of Orange drops.

I don't understand why Wangs never rebadged their amps for the English speaking market. I mean if your amp company was named Cock surely you would change it right?

I have looked at their site a few times but that guy they get to push their amps on all the forums gets a bit annoying. $850 for a 50 watt plexi is a good deal. I think a ceriatone runs for $1100 these days. Although Nik has always been awesome to me so I would pay the little bit extra to know that I could get support easily if I ever needed it. Would love to see a comparison between a Marshall, Wang, and Ceriatone though.
 
ClintN667 said:
From the gut shots it looks like they are using orange drop caps, carbon comp resistors, Dale resistors. But truthfully caps, and resistors are cheap af especially when you buy quantity. I would be more interested in how the transformers are. But also they use those plastic-y tube sockets that I'm not a fan of. Jon if they ever ask you for some feedback I would mention getting them to switch to belton for the tube sockets. Personally I would prefer Belton Tube sockets over having the cost of Orange drops.

I don't understand why Wangs never rebadged their amps for the English speaking market. I mean if your amp company was named Cock surely you would change it right?

I have looked at their site a few times but that guy they get to push their amps on all the forums gets a bit annoying. $850 for a 50 watt plexi is a good deal. I think a ceriatone runs for $1100 these days. Although Nik has always been awesome to me so I would pay the little bit extra to know that I could get support easily if I ever needed it. Would love to see a comparison between a Marshall, Wang, and Ceriatone though.
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Those tube sockets are dubious.
 
I wanted to see how far I could push this amp and how versatile it is:

 
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