Plexi Paralysis, need feedback please

[charvel1984]

Longtime reader, infrequent poster here. I find myself in an enviable position of having too many Marshall style amps (for me at least) and there's a war in my head over what amps should stay and which should go. Plexi and Marshall tones vary greatly and everyone's concepts of great Marshall tone is equally wide-ranging I know. I want to have a good overall classic rock 70's tone, then some modded modern sounds as well. Basically looking to have tones from Page, Hendrix, Gibbons, EVH through modern stuff like Adam Jones, James Hetfield's '73 SL and the Jerry Cantrell Bogner sound as well.

I currently own a Bogner Shiva 20th anniversary head (desert island amp never selling), Ceriatone King Kong (covers 60's warm Plexi cleans and into 80s Jose territory and with switchable tonestacks on two channels), Fender Brownface 6G3 clone for that early ZZ Top grease, a Marshall SV20H plexi, a Friedman Smallbox and I now have a Metropoulos Metroplex MKii in the mail. I have a 4x12 Marshall 1960B cab with the UK made greenbacks (rare cab is seems) as well as a couple of 2x12's, one with V30s and the other with a V30 and a Creamback 65 for flavors and I do have a Fryette Powerstation to tame the beasts when playing at home.

I have a lot of overlap within all of those amps. Enough overlap that I even sold my '74 Marshall JMP 50w four holer since it had a switchable gain mod, was crazy loud even attenuated and just wasn't getting me the tone in my head. I feel pretty confident that the Metroplex is gonna nail the EVH thing better than anything I've ever owned and therefore should also have the Gibbons and Adam Jones thing going on because, hey...'68 Superlead. What I don't know is how the Metro will sound with a single coil strat as far as those big bassy neck tones ala Hendrix, Gilmour even.

The Ceriatone is super versatile as is the Bogner so they seem like keepers to me. Can anyone offer opinions or justifications on what to ditch because of this overlap? I'm leaning towards the Marshall SV20H and the Friedman Smallbox going away but I need to hear from other guitarists on this one. I've been through a ton of Plexi inspired amps so I'm definitely not looking for MORE amp recommendations. The rabbit hole has become maddening lol.

I need to free up space for other amps, love to get some cash back out of this gear so what are the weak links in your opinions here. G.C. offering $550 on the Marshall and $1200 on the Smallbox which I know are low, but Reverb is a hassle with shipping and because of the taxes forcing me to file as a small business owner for selling on the web over $600.

Thanks in advance

 

[BackCrack]

If you live in the PNW, I'll give you $1201 for the SB. That's a buck's worth of satisfaction knowing that you hosed GC out of an amp.

 

[charvel1984]

If you live in the PNW, I'll give you $1201 for the SB. That's a buck's worth of satisfaction knowing that you hosed GC out of an amp.

Nope I'm in the Northeast unfortunately and I would probably take you up on that otherwise lol. I paid nowhere near full price for my SB so my feelings aren't really hurt by the 1200

 

[marvcus]

Let us know if you sell to GC. At least we will have a number to start the negotiations

 

[Racerxrated]

If Marshall is the sound in your head, get a Marshall. Sell the rest. Well, except for that Shiva since it's your fav. I've had a Ceriatone with a Fortin mod, it's an ok platform but still not a Marshall.
If I had the amps you have, and wanted a Marshall I'd get rid of all except the Shiva and grab a JMP 2203...or, if you have the coin bide your time for a deal on an early 70s SL or better yet a 68/69 Plexi SL. Mini Marshalls won't do...Ceriatones aren't real Marshalls...
Get a 100w vintage Marshall. Then, a Fryette PS2 to control the vol, add a loop, or as a slave power amp. For what the Metroplex will cost, you should be able to find a good hand wired 71-72 SL.

 

[mentoneman]

i’d love to check out that metroplex mk II!
sounds like a killer amp that would check all the vintage plexi rock boxes with nice cleans to boot:







that being said i just had a grand ole evening hunched over the Tonex pedal dialing in 78/79 Brown presets into my Peacemaker/Mesa half stack for those sounds with a modern flair



yet if you bypass the pedal the PM is very capable of great plexi + strat cleans too, especially with the right speakers (tone tubbies H-Bomb cab below)

 

[Greazygeo]

The Smallbox I played thru was great for all those tones you mentioned.
The Metroplex if you want VH tone seems like it will do it. It’s on the way, maybe play it and see what it does.
A friend has the SV20 as well as a 72 50watt and mid 70’s 100 watt Marshalls. He loves the SV20.
Sounds like you already have what you need.

 

[Greazygeo]

that being said i just had a grand ole evening hunched over the Tonex pedal dialing in 78/79 Brown presets into my Peacemaker/Mesa half stack for those sounds with a modern flair

I’ve been doing something similar with my Tonex pedal. Captured three of my Marshalls and Wizard. Put the Tonex in a small pedalboard and running it into my Blackface Fender Princeton Reverb for band practice. Surprised it sounds good.

 

[charvel1984]

If Marshall is the sound in your head, get a Marshall. Sell the rest. Well, except for that Shiva since it's your fav. I've had a Ceriatone with a Fortin mod, it's an ok platform but still not a Marshall.
If I had the amps you have, and wanted a Marshall I'd get rid of all except the Shiva and grab a JMP 2203...or, if you have the coin bide your time for a deal on an early 70s SL or better yet a 68/69 Plexi SL. Mini Marshalls won't do...Ceriatones aren't real Marshalls...
Get a 100w vintage Marshall. Then, a Fryette PS2 to control the vol, add a loop, or as a slave power amp. For what the Metroplex will cost, you should be able to find a good hand wired 71-72 SL.

I sold the Marshall, holding off on selling the Friedman until I receive the Metroplex tomorrow and can do a side by side A/B comparison. Also going to sit with the Ceriatone again and determine if it's worth keeping as it gets good sounds (not really Marshally) but it also takes a LOT of fiddling with knobs and switches to pull those great tones. I had a '74 4 hole JMP (50 watter) which had a gain mod that was switchable back to stock. It sounded good, but it was giving me fits. Even with my Fryette Powerstation it didn't get the sound in my mind, it was going to cost too much to be shipped back and forth to David Bray to mod/restore, I have zero amp techs nearby to work on vintage tube amps and with the mods it didn't retain any value to be able to resell it. I bought it for a great price already modded but ultimately I wanted to get something newer that would be reliable. Thinking this Metroplex is going to end the quest for me *fingers crossed*

 

[charvel1984]

i’d love to check out that metroplex mk II!
sounds like a killer amp that would check all the vintage plexi rock boxes with nice cleans to boot:







that being said i just had a grand ole evening hunched over the Tonex pedal dialing in 78/79 Brown presets into my Peacemaker/Mesa half stack for those sounds with a modern flair



yet if you bypass the pedal the PM is very capable of great plexi + strat cleans too, especially with the right speakers (tone tubbies H-Bomb cab below)

Can't wait to fire up the Metro, should arrive tomorrow hopefully. Funny enough I've had GAS for the Mojave PM for years and I've had a few pop up locally but there's pros and cons to them (like everything) and given their relative scarcity I've been leery to buy one and then find I didn't care for it and end up taking a huge loss to G.C. (again lol)

 

[Racerxrated]

I sold the Marshall, holding off on selling the Friedman until I receive the Metroplex tomorrow and can do a side by side A/B comparison. Also going to sit with the Ceriatone again and determine if it's worth keeping as it gets good sounds (not really Marshally) but it also takes a LOT of fiddling with knobs and switches to pull those great tones. I had a '74 4 hole JMP (50 watter) which had a gain mod that was switchable back to stock. It sounded good, but it was giving me fits. Even with my Fryette Powerstation it didn't get the sound in my mind, it was going to cost too much to be shipped back and forth to David Bray to mod/restore, I have zero amp techs nearby to work on vintage tube amps and with the mods it didn't retain any value to be able to resell it. I bought it for a great price already modded but ultimately I wanted to get something newer that would be reliable. Thinking this Metroplex is going to end the quest for me *fingers crossed*

I'm sure the metroplex will be killer for what you want. There's arguably no better Marshall circuit clone on the market.

 

[MGL AmpWorks]

I'm sure the metroplex will be killer for what you want. There's arguably no better Marshall circuit clone on the market.

I’d strongly argue that point. George builds great amps with all modern parts to emulate vintage tones. Our MGL100 & 50 are being built with real NOS mustard caps throughout the whole circuit and they are the real vintage Marshall voice. I don’t think there is a more authentic Marshall voiced amp.

 

[cragginshred]

Jose -your welcome! Seriously, I've owned every major brand and this thing is the ultrist!!

 

[rsm]

Classic Rock '70s Marshall tones --> Engl Artist Edition E651

Modded Marshall tones --> Bogner Helios Eclipse.

IMO

(My Super Twin, customized by UPS, is just a stand for the Bogner)

 

[tallcoolone]

Longtime reader, infrequent poster here. I find myself in an enviable position of having too many Marshall style amps (for me at least) and there's a war in my head over what amps should stay and which should go. Plexi and Marshall tones vary greatly and everyone's concepts of great Marshall tone is equally wide-ranging I know. I want to have a good overall classic rock 70's tone, then some modded modern sounds as well. Basically looking to have tones from Page, Hendrix, Gibbons, EVH through modern stuff like Adam Jones, James Hetfield's '73 SL and the Jerry Cantrell Bogner sound as well.

I currently own a Bogner Shiva 20th anniversary head (desert island amp never selling), Ceriatone King Kong (covers 60's warm Plexi cleans and into 80s Jose territory and with switchable tonestacks on two channels), Fender Brownface 6G3 clone for that early ZZ Top grease, a Marshall SV20H plexi, a Friedman Smallbox and I now have a Metropoulos Metroplex MKii in the mail. I have a 4x12 Marshall 1960B cab with the UK made greenbacks (rare cab is seems) as well as a couple of 2x12's, one with V30s and the other with a V30 and a Creamback 65 for flavors and I do have a Fryette Powerstation to tame the beasts when playing at home.

I have a lot of overlap within all of those amps. Enough overlap that I even sold my '74 Marshall JMP 50w four holer since it had a switchable gain mod, was crazy loud even attenuated and just wasn't getting me the tone in my head. I feel pretty confident that the Metroplex is gonna nail the EVH thing better than anything I've ever owned and therefore should also have the Gibbons and Adam Jones thing going on because, hey...'68 Superlead. What I don't know is how the Metro will sound with a single coil strat as far as those big bassy neck tones ala Hendrix, Gilmour even.

The Ceriatone is super versatile as is the Bogner so they seem like keepers to me. Can anyone offer opinions or justifications on what to ditch because of this overlap? I'm leaning towards the Marshall SV20H and the Friedman Smallbox going away but I need to hear from other guitarists on this one. I've been through a ton of Plexi inspired amps so I'm definitely not looking for MORE amp recommendations. The rabbit hole has become maddening lol.

I need to free up space for other amps, love to get some cash back out of this gear so what are the weak links in your opinions here. G.C. offering $550 on the Marshall and $1200 on the Smallbox which I know are low, but Reverb is a hassle with shipping and because of the taxes forcing me to file as a small business owner for selling on the web over $600.

Thanks in advance

I'm where you are and just let a Friedman Plex go last weekend. I love my XTC 20th the way you do your Shiva. and I gotta throw in the SLO100 just because. Sell the SV20--I had one too and loved it but in the end it was never going to compete for my time vs my other amps. Personally I'd sell the Ceriatone as well and get one of Mark's new MGL heads...but I don't have a Metroplex either, nor have I played one. Seems like a pretty cool amp

 

[tallcoolone]

I’d strongly argue that point. George builds great amps with all modern parts to emulate vintage tones. Our MGL100 & 50 are being built with real NOS mustard caps throughout the whole circuit and they are the real vintage Marshall voice. I don’t think there is a more authentic Marshall voiced amp.

Didn't see this but obviously I vouch for the MGL...with the bright and voicing switches it is damn versatile

 

[Racerxrated]

I’d strongly argue that point. George builds great amps with all modern parts to emulate vintage tones. Our MGL100 & 50 are being built with real NOS mustard caps throughout the whole circuit and they are the real vintage Marshall voice. I don’t think there is a more authentic Marshall voiced amp.

Well, I DID say arguably. Yes...you, Germino, Morris etc all make great Marshall clones. Kudos to you for using the right stuff btw.