How loud should a Marshall Origin 50 be?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MadAsAHatter
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MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
I just got the Origin 50 I bought today, but I'm not sure if something is wrong with it or not.

It's not loud at all. I don't mean that as I'm not getting any saturation, I mean actual volume. Tone wise it's what I was expecting; not a lot of preamp saturation and I'd have to crank the master to get power tube saturation. It does sound plexi-ish. But I was on 50 watt mode, literally had everything at 10, and it wasn't really that loud. My 5 watt home brew amp is louder. The Origin wouldn't have enough volume to get over a loud drummer.

I flipped through the power settings. I could hear a difference in saturation, but volume levels across 50/10/5 watt mode were pretty much the same. I should mention I was playing through a 412 cab. I would expect that a 50 watt amp at full bore would blow my ears out. My other 50 watt amps will do that. The Origin didn't even get my ears ringing. Don't get me wrong it's not like it's whisper quiet at full volume, it's just not as loud as I would have expected. It's probably about as loud as my push mower when cutting grass.

I did a quick google search on it. Most of what I found came from TGP or Marshall forum. Everyone is all like this thing is super loud. But I also know a lot of those guys are puss bags when it comes to cranking an amp; that 20 watts is all you'll ever need mentality. So I don't really trust what they're saying.

So tone was spot on, but actual volume was not what I would expect from a 50 watt amp. Is this how these amps are meant to operate? Is it throttled back or something because it was made for bedroom players? Or is something possibly wrong with the amp?
 
My son's old band ,the other guitarist played a Origin 50 head and used it live and it was pretty loud. They have a heavy drummer also (y)
 
Mine was modded by monomyth, and while it sounds amazing, “wall shaking” loud isn’t exactly how I would describe it, certainly not the loudest amp I’ve played
 
I didn't own one, but I was with a friend that picked up the 50W at GC. That thing was stupid loud dimed on 10 through his peavey 4x12 cab. I didn't care for it, but volume didn't seem like its problem. :dunno:
 
So I did a little more digging on this and may have figured out the base problem. From what I'm experiencing, the power scaling may be stuck in low mode.

I tried it out a little more after my initial post. The volume and saturation doesn't change at all regardless of which power mode it's set in. I found a handful of threads where people were experiencing the same issue. Either that or it would jump around between the power modes on its own. Best guess would be either a faulty switch or bad relays; something along those lines.

I've planned to do the drop in replacement board mod that Jason sells (already ordered the board) and it looks like this mod removes the power scaling thing. So it may end up being a moot point. I'll think about it for a bit and decide if I want to return the amp or not. In the meantime I'll contact Jason and get his thoughts on it.
 
Sounds like it was sold to you in a defective state. I'd return it.
 
VonBonfire said:
Sounds like it was sold to you in a defective state. I'd return it.
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I'm going to return it.

If it were a small issue that would be resolved by doing the drop-in board mod then I wouldn't worry about it. I got with Jason Tong. He said it's a full fledged 50 watt amp and should be wake the neighbors loud. He also mentioned there could be possible issue with the PT. I'm not set up to diagnose something like that. It'll be easier to go to Guitar Center and return/exchange the amp than deal with that. So back it goes. :(
 
I have the Origin 20w combo. It is loud AF!!! House shaking loud!
IMG_0316.jpeg
 
50 watts is 50 fuckin watts..
More speaker = more loud..
 
My DSL50 head and my Traynor 40w combo were both extremely loud. @MadAsAHatter best to return it as you wrote above. Keep us posted.
 
I also owned a Monomyth modded Origin 50 head. It was loud enough for me with two 4x12's, but I wouldn't say it was a loud 50 watter.
 
bubbastain said:
I also owned a Monomyth modded Origin 50 head. It was loud enough for me with two 4x12's, but I wouldn't say it was a loud 50 watter.
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12.5W/12” speaker isn’t going to be very loud, as that’s not enough power to move the amount of air required for “loud”.
 
Quick update...

I haven't returned the amp yet, I'll go down to the local GC tomorrow to do that. I have ordered another Origin 50 for an even better price. I called the GC store about another one they had online. The sales dude said there was a tear in the tolex that wasn't shown in the pictures and discounted it down to $300 for me. I'm not worried about the cosmetics since I'd likely recover it anyway. (I'm thinking either all cream or tuxedo). As long as this one come in functioning properly I'll be happy.
 
MadAsAHatter said:
Quick update...

I haven't returned the amp yet, I'll go down to the local GC tomorrow to do that. I have ordered another Origin 50 for an even better price. I called the GC store about another one they had online. The sales dude said there was a tear in the tolex that wasn't shown in the pictures and discounted it down to $300 for me. I'm not worried about the cosmetics since I'd likely recover it anyway. (I'm thinking either all cream or tuxedo). As long as this one come in functioning properly I'll be happy.
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I’m hoping you’re not looking for that classic Marshall mid-high gain tone in this amp because it ain’t it!!!
A very low/no gain amp, and not the good cleans like a Fender either. If you don’t have good dirt pedal consider investing in one, and a reverb pedal too as this thing is as dry Maxine Waters crotch.
IMG_1108.jpeg
 
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TheBiggestJerk said:
I’m hoping you’re not looking for that classic Marshall mid-high gain tone in this amp because it ain’t it!!!
A very low/no gain amp, and not the good cleans like a Fender either. If you don’t have good dirt pedal consider investing in one, and a reverb pedal as a this is as dry Maxine Water crotch.
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Damn, that’s desert dry!!
 
I'm not trying to sound like too obvious but did you switch out the v1 tube, and just give all the tubes a little reseat wiggle?
 
TheBiggestJerk said:
I’m hoping you’re not looking for that classic Marshall mid-high gain tone in this amp because it ain’t it!!!
A very low/no gain amp, and not the good cleans like a Fender either. If you don’t have good dirt pedal consider investing in one, and a reverb pedal too as this thing is as dry Maxine Waters crotch.View attachment 393958
Click to expand...

I know what this amp would be as stock. I'm actually getting it specifically to do a good overhaul mod and turn it into a high gain beast. I've bought the drop-in replacement boards for this. This fully replaces the main board and board the pots are mounted on. The only things that are kept from the original amp are the transformers, board with the speaker jacks, and chassis/hardware.
 
TheBiggestJerk said:
I’m hoping you’re not looking for that classic Marshall mid-high gain tone in this amp because it ain’t it!!!
A very low/no gain amp, and not the good cleans like a Fender either. If you don’t have good dirt pedal consider investing in one, and a reverb pedal too as this thing is as dry Maxine Waters crotch.View attachment 393958
Click to expand...
Dont scare me like that!!
 
japetus said:
I'm not trying to sound like too obvious but did you switch out the v1 tube, and just give all the tubes a little reseat wiggle?
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I tested all the tubes and they read within the "good" range. So I don't think that's the issue. Jason messaged me again with what the voltages should be coming off pins 3 & 4 of the power tubes in 50 watt mode; @ 440V DC. In the lower watt modes the voltage from pin 4 would be lower. I haven't tested that yet since I've already had a few shots of whisky this evening. Don't want to drunkenly electrocute myself. :D I'll check that out tomorrow before I return the amp.

Since I don't have the knowledge or equipment to fully diagnose the problem I'm returning the amp I've also bought another one for a better price. As long as that one arrives fully operational I'll be happy.
 
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