cragginshred
Well-known member
So every 'marshall clone' has left me wanting more exact Marshall tone -Friedman Slo Bogner all great but still not raw and open mids like a real Marshall. Ok, Slo is a little too raw, but still not a Marsahaftqw5ll
Watching Jason's videos where he points out Marshall circuits and mods done to them, and his playing is very killer too. ?All this makes me think he can build an amp that is pretty much a Marshall circuit?? @MadAsAHatter you've owned marshalls and think the Alta is spot on? Also did you have one shipped from Aus or is there a US dealer you got it from?
Watching Jason's videos where he points out Marshall circuits and mods done to them, and his playing is very killer too. ?All this makes me think he can build an amp that is pretty much a Marshall circuit?? @MadAsAHatter you've owned marshalls and think the Alta is spot on? Also did you have one shipped from Aus or is there a US dealer you got it from?
LPMojoGL
Well-known member
I eventually came to the conclusion that it's best to find and KEEP an old Marshall in the house, then have the other amps like SLO, Friedman, etc.
It's there when I want it. Then I go back to playing the other amps, some of which come and go. But, no matter how long it's been since I've plugged in, the Marshall stays. Because if I don't have one, I always end up wanting one back. Think that's where I'm at with the SLO as well.
cragginshred
Well-known member
That's where I'm at at least owning the JMP 2203. Not so sure i wan tto go back to the slo -owned 2 100's and 30's Gigged with the 30 for a couple of summers. SD-1 into front delivers but can make the crunch sound thin. I need to try a different OD if I ever get another one
What is it about the Slo you like over the Marshall? Just that it is like a Marshall but way more gain on tap?
This was some of my best tone ever
311boogieman
Well-known member
Not sure how I missed this thread but congrats 
I think I was on a Caribbean cruise?
Do you still have this @MadAsAHatter and how did you do the headshell face swap exactly?
Now I know what you guys were talking about when someone said Jason in AUS in that other thread
I think I was on a Caribbean cruise?
Do you still have this @MadAsAHatter and how did you do the headshell face swap exactly?
Now I know what you guys were talking about when someone said Jason in AUS in that other thread
MadAsAHatter
Well-known member
One quick disclaimer, I've had Marshall's readily available to me, and played them pretty much whenever I wanted, but I've never actually owned a Marshall myself. That said, Jason 100% knows his Marshall tones and designed an amp that hits them spot on. The only thing a true vintage Marshall has over the Alta is that rawness that's near impossible to fully duplicate. Other than that it destroys everything else that's aiming for Marshall tone.
Mine is US serial #2 (2 Awesome) from the first run when Jason was doing an AUS production and Shea (Monomyth) was doing a US build. For that US run Jason built the board and a few other things then shipped to Shea to finish up the build and ship. I'm pretty sure Jason is building everything in AUS and I think Shea is just distributing now. I'm not 100% on that, you'd have to ask @burger how he's doing it now.
Not sure how I missed this thread but congrats
I think I was on a Caribbean cruise?
Do you still have this @MadAsAHatter and how did you do the headshell face swap exactly?
Now I know what you guys were talking about when someone said Jason in AUS in that other thread
I still have the Alta. It's a "you can bury it with me" amp. As far as channel switchers it's at the top of the pack and ties for first place of my all time favorites. My GZ Hellion & Monomyth Skeleton Key are the other two tied for first with my Naylor SD at 1.5.
The shell face swap is pretty easy to do. I made a new one in case I ever wanted to put the original black one back on. If you wanted you could pull the tolex off the original and recover that.
- The face screws in from the inside. If you have a long enough screwdriver you don't even need to remove the chassis. I have one and just took the tubes out so I didn't accidentally smack them.
- From there it's getting the measurements from the original face and cutting a wood rectangle to the appropriate dimensions. Just remember to trim a hair bit more off if the vinyl you're using is thicker. Easiest is with a table saw, but a hand saw, sandpaper and elbow grease will work too.
- Then round over the bottom edge and smooth the other edges with sandpaper. Router makes quick work of the bottom round over, but again sandpaper and elbow grease will work too. Alternately you can do a chamfer instead of round over with a router or hand plane. Round over vs chamfer is just aesthetics.
- Then cover the face with your fabric of choice using spray glue or contact cement. I like Gorilla extra strength spray glue the best. Glue the fabric completely to the front then work on wrapping it around the sides and a little on the back. you'll need trim the fabric in the corners and back so it all sits flat and doesn't overlap itself. Lastly I like to put a couple of staples in back side to hold everything in place.
- Optional step is adding piping (the one with a lip) around the edges. This is also an aesthetic choice but can hide some inconsistencies where corners meet. Just use a butt ton of staples and keep the piping straight as you staple it down.
- Uncle Doug has a good video on youtube of how to wrap an amp shell.
- To attach the new face put the screws back in the shell with the points sticking out a bit. Like the new face up and push it into the screws enough to make a dent you can see. This is so you can see where to drill pilot holes. Drill the pilot holes and screw the new face in. Put the chassis back in if you removed it and you're done.