Marshall MA50

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shawn w

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Hi,
I have an opportunity to get a Marshall MA50 and 4x12 cab really cheap ($100). I've tried to find some info on them and opinions vary from "worst amp ever" to "killer". Like most amps, lol. General consensus is they need tubes swapped and cranked up to sound good. Most videos are 10+ years old. Anyone here actually have one before? Do they sound similar to anything else?
Thanks
Shawn
 
RaceU4her said:
ive never played one but im gonna guess it probably leans towards worst ever and tubes arent gonna help lol, its still worth $100 though as long as its in decent enough shape to trade in somewhere
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Kind of what I figured. I can't seem to find anyone that's actually owned one for any length of time. I hadn't read about any reliability issues, though so that's a plus I guess lol.
 
The matching cabinet for that is particle board too. I mean a $100 is a $100 but it might end up being a not so great sounding boat anchor. What amp are you using now and what are your guitar tone influences?
 
311splawndude said:
The matching cabinet for that is particle board too. I mean a $100 is a $100 but it might end up being a not so great sounding boat anchor. What amp are you using now and what are your guitar tone influences?
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I can't even find what speakers are in it for sure, either? Eminence? Who knows.
I've had all kinds of amps in the past. SLO 100, JCM800, JCM900, Peavey's, Vox, Crate's, Orange. I forget them all. Currently i play through a Helix mostly. I like to fiddle around with amps, but I don't want a lost cause either.
Thanks for the input ?
Shawn
 
Do you have another speaker cabinet to pair it with? IMO a tube swap is going to have less impact on the tone than the cab and speakers.

it's a tube preamp and power amp, doesn't make it good. there's a reason they were discontinued while other models continue to survive.

that said, if it works and is in good condition, $100 isn't much for even a low-end all tube Marshall. It may be acceptable or good enough with a better cab/speakers, if not you're out of what you'd spend on a first date with a hot girl who's there for the free food and drinks, not you. :D

IMO


edit: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MA50H--marshall-ma50h-50-watt-tube-amp-head-amp-head

maybe some of the amp techs here will weigh in, perhaps there are easy/cheap mods to improve it? Could be as easy as putting an EQ pedal in the effects loop (I had to do this for a digital Vox amp, and it made the amp usable IMO; cutting the woofy muddiness of the low end, and boosting the mids and treble)
 
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rsm said:
Do you have another speaker cabinet to pair it with? IMO a tube swap is going to have less impact on the tone than the cab and speakers.

it's a tube preamp and power amp, doesn't make it good. there's a reason they were discontinued while other models continue to survive.

that said, if it works and is in good condition, $100 isn't much for even a low-end all tube Marshall. It may be acceptable or good enough with a better cab/speakers, if not you're out of what you'd spend on a first date with a hot girl who's there for the free food and drinks, not you. :D

IMO


edit: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MA50H--marshall-ma50h-50-watt-tube-amp-head-amp-head

maybe some of the amp techs here will weigh in, perhaps there are easy/cheap mods to improve it? Could be as easy as putting an EQ pedal in the effects loop (I had to do this for a digital Vox amp, and it made the amp usable IMO; cutting the woofy muddiness of the low end, and boosting the mids and treble)
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I figured I could sell the junk can for the $100 and recoup my initial investment. I'm usually a greenback guy, so I thought maybe a 2x12 or something I scrounge up somewhere. That's a good idea on the eq in the loop, too. I may just give it a shot and see. I don't think I'll get hurt on the deal at all.
Thanks again
Shawn
 
I've actually heard some decent clips of these before, but never even saw one in person.

For $100 you don't have much to lose; if nothing else you could plug a preamp in to the fx return and use it as a tube power amp
 
I don't know anything at all about that circuit, but for $100 it may make for a decent (and cheap) mod platform.
I'm thinking along the lines of the Marshall Origin. Lackluster as stock but a couple of key mods can make it sound stellar.
 
shawn w said:
I can't even find what speakers are in it for sure, either? Eminence? Who knows.
I've had all kinds of amps in the past. SLO 100, JCM800, JCM900, Peavey's, Vox, Crate's, Orange. I forget them all. Currently i play through a Helix mostly. I like to fiddle around with amps, but I don't want a lost cause either.
Thanks for the input ?
Shawn
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Yes, I read that the cab has Eminence speakers but it was not a model# I recognized. Sounds like you have owned some excellent amps so you must have a good ear for tone. My general fear is that for $100 for the whole halfstack, there 'could' be something wrong with it. It seems they are selling used from $269 - $600 for just the amp. Flipping an amp like this wouldn't be something I personally would be interested in doing. 'Could' be a good modding platform but no one talks about modding these (like the Origin). Lastly, I can't find any internal Gut Shots of this amp.

Good luck either way. Not trying to be negative.
 
100 bucks for a good way to amplify a pre amp or some pedals…hell yeah….
 
shawn w said:
Hi,
I have an opportunity to get a Marshall MA50 and 4x12 cab really cheap ($100). I've tried to find some info on them and opinions vary from "worst amp ever" to "killer". Like most amps, lol. General consensus is they need tubes swapped and cranked up to sound good. Most videos are 10+ years old. Anyone here actually have one before? Do they sound similar to anything else?
Thanks
Shawn
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Probably one of, (of not the), WORST P.O.S. Marshall ever made. You'd have to PAY me $200 to take it to the dump.
 
I had one for about a month and really disliked it. It just didn't do anything particularly well in my opinion, it was just OK, but at the same time a good player could make it sound stellar, just like any amp really.

For 100 bucks though, cab included, you can't really lose if you have the space for it. The only drawback is it might be hard to sell, even if theoretically you could sell it for more than you paid, the hard part is actually finding someone who wants to buy it. There aren't exactly tons of people out there looking to buy a Marshall MA series amp, probably the same reason the shop is trying to dump it for $100 on you.
 
TotallyRadGuitars said:
I had one for about a month and really disliked it. It just didn't do anything particularly well in my opinion, it was just OK, but at the same time a good player could make it sound stellar, just like any amp really.

For 100 bucks though, cab included, you can't really lose if you have the space for it. The only drawback is it might be hard to sell, even if theoretically you could sell it for more than you paid, the hard part is actually finding someone who wants to buy it. There aren't exactly tons of people out there looking to buy a Marshall MA series amp, probably the same reason the shop is trying to dump it for $100 on you.
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Exactly. Your time is worth something too. Dealing with all the kids and parents tire kicking would get old fast.

"Knock off another $5 and I'll buy it for my son....blah bla blah"
 
I appreciate all the input. I think I'll take a swing at it. I mean its $100, right? I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe there's a sleeper mod for it. ?
Shawn
 
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