1969 Marshall Plexi vs. 1978 MKII 50W Metalpanel

  • Thread starter Thread starter EddyLenz
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EddyLenz

EddyLenz

Well-known member
Hi Guys,

I'm lucky to have two vintage 50W Marshalls with me at the moment.
One is a 1969 Marshall JMP 50W that I've restored to pretty much stock specs (V2a has the .68 cap, V1b has 2n2 CC, 47k 4Ohm NFB).

The other one is a 1978 JMP MKII 50W that had a PPIMV added on the front, which I removed. It has the same preamp specs as the plexi, but has some differences in the power amp (bias feed resistors, NFB 4Ohm 100k).

I'm really interested in what you guys think!
I definitely prefer the sound and feel of the plexi. The MKII has less gain, is more grainy/uneven in the distortion, slightly harsher and thinner.

The MKII will get a full Jose 3in1 mod with different Jose voicing options. I think for that purpose, it's a better fit than the Plexi (which will stay stock of course).

 
jeez that 69 is THE tone for me!! as far as the 79 I thought it sounded good too! I would get a SD-1, various tubescreamers and have some fun with it stock
 
dstroud said:
jeez that 69 is THE tone for me!! as far as the 79 I thought it sounded good too! I would get a SD-1, various tubescreamers and have some fun with it stock
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Yeah, the 69 is awesome, it feels so good to play as well. I'm doing the MKII mod for someone else, who bought it for that purpose.
 
Sounds great! Both these amps sounds good, but man, that plexi!! I just checked out your you tube page. Holy cow! Your mods and playing are both next level awesome!
 
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i think the jmp sounds better by a pretty wide margin here. the plexi sounds a little muffled to me and getting stepped on by the bass a little, jmp sounds crispy and clear and sits better with the bass
 
Sounds great.

I’m more curious about using an attenuator with the 69! I’ve tried a few attenuators over the years and after a few minutes they all get crazy hot and I just don’t trust them. My 67 Plexi isn’t replaceable.
 
That 69 ? I’d forgotten how much I loved that style of amp. The 78 sounded quite thin by comparison. I don’t know if it’s the natural EQ or the mixing process but the 69 sat way better in the mix and didn’t get in the way of the vocals.
 
Jdub said:
Sounds great! Both these amps sounds good, but man, that plexi!! I just checked out your you tube page. Holy cow! Your mods and playing are both next level awesome!
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Thank you! I've got a big reveal coming in the next few weeks.
 
psychodave said:
Sounds great.

I’m more curious about using an attenuator with the 69! I’ve tried a few attenuators over the years and after a few minutes they all get crazy hot and I just don’t trust them. My 67 Plexi isn’t replaceable.
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The Rockcrusher can handle quite a bit more than a 50W amp, so I don't have to worry.
 
Classic said:
That 69 ? I’d forgotten how much I loved that style of amp. The 78 sounded quite thin by comparison. I don’t know if it’s the natural EQ or the mixing process but the 69 sat way better in the mix and didn’t get in the way of the vocals.
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It's just how the 78 sounds. They are both mixed exactly the same, without any post EQ and just a little reverb.
 
Spectacular vid and impressive sounds as always Eddy, it really gives no relief to my old Shall gas.
 
The '69 sound more mellow to me, while the JMP have more mid-highs and attack. I had a '77 50 watt but not had that amount of gain.
 
Both sound great, I like the plexi voice better but I can see how some might like the '78.

I have a Mini RockRec which I think is the same load as the Rockcrusher and it's allegedly good for 300W. I run my 100W amps thru it all the time and it does get quite hot but that's what it is supposed to do. But I'm not risking a $10K amp either, just homebrews.
 
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