Trade opinions

[itsgoodnow]

Hey all,

I have a 1970 Marshall Super PA listed. It has a super lead and 2203 mod. It sounds great. It’s in very good shape for its age. Someone offered me a Mesa rev F that’s mechanically in good shape. Tolex is meh on it. I have a lot of Marshall style amps and a hermansson modded recto and a JT modded one. Anyone have any thoughts on this trade?

 

[SpiderWars]

I wouldn't but I love Marshalls and would probably not play the Rev F very much. And TBH I would really want a Mesa that old to have been semi-recently serviced by Mike B. Even then, just from a vintage amp standpoint I wouldn't do the trade unless there was significant cash added.

 

[itsgoodnow]

I wouldn't but I love Marshalls and would probably not play the Rev F very much. And TBH I would really want a Mesa that old to have been semi-recently serviced by Mike B. Even then, just from a vintage amp standpoint I wouldn't do the trade unless there was significant cash added.

Thats a fair point. I am a Marshall guy usually so the F may not get play time. Also the vintage iron with those circuits would be hard to replace at any price point. And I would pay out the ass for a 1970 super lead haha

 

[japetus]

I would keep the Super PA. You can always find a recto floating around, but the Marshall is a rare and sweet bird.

 

[creep66]

I wouldn't do it based on value.

 

[braintheory]

Haven’t played any PA models, so not sure how they sound or what they’re value is, but I at least know Rev F’s sound great, so depending on how the PA actually sounds I may possibly do that trade if I were you as long you do it for whatever is fair value on your end. If you listed it FS I’d imagine you probably think other Marshall’s sound better, so might be worth a shot

 

[itsgoodnow]

Haven’t played any PA models, so not sure how they sound or what they’re value is, but I at least know Rev F’s sound great, so depending on how the PA actually sounds I may possibly do that trade if I were you as long you do it for whatever is fair value on your end. If you listed it FS I’d imagine you probably think other Marshall’s sound better, so might be worth a shot

The Marshall sounds good. Honestly the only reason I had it up was overcrowding of amps and I was afraid I might find it vanilla in the gain department next to some of my other stuff. I plugged into it the other day and it sounded great. The power section is basically identical to a super lead of that time. It just sounds like a really nice EL 34 2203 or really nice super lead depending on the input. The F are obviously highly sought after and people like them. I’m wondering if it would still have a place between my 2 modded rectos now

 

[harddriver]

1970 is a great year for Marshall Transformer Iron and construction. Whatever they were doing from 1968 to 1972 seemed to impart mojo to these amps. I'm not saying post 1972 can't sound great but there seems to be some little extra pertaining to these years.

With that said... if you already have Marshalls out the ying yang and found an early two channel Mesa Boogie those also seem to have the lots of mojo by all accounts as well. So...it's a tough decision on your part!

 

[itsgoodnow]

1970 is a great year for Marshall Transformer Iron and construction. Whatever they were doing from 1968 to 1972 seemed to impart mojo to these amps. I'm not saying post 1972 can't sound great but there seems to be some little extra pertaining to these years.

With that said... if you already have Marshalls out the ying yang and found an early two channel Mesa Boogie those also seem to have the lots of mojo by all accounts as well. So...it's a tough decision on your part!

All solid points. If it were a Rev C I would probably do it. I’m on the fence now and wonder how much an F really differs from a G. It’s been so long since I played one

 

[japetus]

All solid points. If it were a Rev C I would probably do it. I’m on the fence now and wonder how much an F really differs from a G. It’s been so long since I played one

As your lawyer, I want to point out that the majority of tonal differences between the revs are easily compensated by EQ and Tube changes. Nothing will slay like an old Marshall.

 

[itsgoodnow]

As your lawyer, I want to point out that the majority of tonal differences between the revs are easily compensated by EQ and Tube changes. Nothing will slay like an old Marshall.

Advice noted, counselor

I think I’ll keep the Marshall and just keep an eye out for an old C

 

[Geo]

Absolutely no.

 

[braintheory]

1970 is a great year for Marshall Transformer Iron and construction. Whatever they were doing from 1968 to 1972 seemed to impart mojo to these amps. I'm not saying post 1972 can't sound great but there seems to be some little extra pertaining to these years.

With that said... if you already have Marshalls out the ying yang and found an early two channel Mesa Boogie those also seem to have the lots of mojo by all accounts as well. So...it's a tough decision on your part!

Maybe that they were ptp up till that year

 

[DanTravis62]

I wouldn't.

 

[braintheory]

The Marshall sounds good. Honestly the only reason I had it up was overcrowding of amps and I was afraid I might find it vanilla in the gain department next to some of my other stuff. I plugged into it the other day and it sounded great. The power section is basically identical to a super lead of that time. It just sounds like a really nice EL 34 2203 or really nice super lead depending on the input. The F are obviously highly sought after and people like them. I’m wondering if it would still have a place between my 2 modded rectos now

Yeah I’m not sure since I’ve not tried those mods, but since those are newer Recto’s as donor amps, the Rev F or earlier should at least have an inherently more raw, organic sound if nothing else, but those mods may have a voicing you’d like more. The F would still imo need a boost if you need a tighter sound

 

[Racerxrated]

I have a Rev C. I also have a 1972 Supertrem. The Rev C is amazing, and more my speed than even any of the C+ I owned. After owning the 72 and the Rev C, the first to sell would be the Mesa. But I'm a Marshall guy. Even at apartment volumes, super quiet the 72 just has this midrange and feel that is truly addictive. I sold a 67 Plexi and kept the 72..that's how awesome it is to my ears.
If you can duplicate what your PA does, with another Marshall I'd do the trade. But, if it is a rare sound then I'd keep the PA.

 

[itsgoodnow]

I have a Rev C. I also have a 1972 Supertrem. The Rev C is amazing, and more my speed than even any of the C+ I owned. After owning the 72 and the Rev C, the first to sell would be the Mesa. But I'm a Marshall guy. Even at apartment volumes, super quiet the 72 just has this midrange and feel that is truly addictive. I sold a 67 Plexi and kept the 72..that's how awesome it is to my ears.
If you can duplicate what your PA does, with another Marshall I'd do the trade. But, if it is a rare sound then I'd keep the PA.

That's really interesting insight. Thanks for that. I have a lot of other Marshalls or M style amps. The interesting part about the PA is it has that addictive midrange you talk about. Also a very inspiring amp to play. My other M amps are all hot rodded and all of them can get similar tones to a stock 1959 or 2203. But, what I did notice is that the super PA seems to have a little something the others do not and also be very very open. Open in a similar manner to my Hiwatt DR103. Which is not exactly how the others are.