Hand Wired Bluesbreaker Vs PCB

ChaosJunky135

To put it simply i have been asked to join my friends band as his guitarist ditched them at the last gig they played, they are mainly rock and blues and play some quite big venues but being the metal head i am im not sure my 100w ENGL will quite work for their sound haha. 
Looking at picking up a Marshall 1962 Bluesbreaker and was just wondering if anyone has had the opportunity to play both the hand wired and the pcb and in you opinion is the Hand wired worth splashing out the extra £1000 for?
Thanks in Advance   

soma1975

I asked this exact question in the MARSHALL FORUMS recently.

http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/marshall-1962-bluesbreaker-reissues-any-good.100660/#post-1694793

timmysoft

It’s more expensive so it will be better 

robinbowes

Personally, I'd save your money and get something cheaper/more manageable/ligher/more portable.

longjaw

robinbowes said:

Personally, I'd save your money and get something cheaper/more manageable/ligher/more portable.

This - get something like a JTM-45 head and Zilla 2 x 12 cab.

hywelg

Me, I'd go for a 1987/6. Bit more versatile,  tighter bass. And don't be wedded to Marshall. Plenty of decent clones out there. 

Indeed give @martinw , MJW amps a shout and talk about a superbass/lead with powerscaling . 

soma1975

My dream is to have a setup like Marc Ford's Satellite. A JTM 45 1x12 combo with 1x12" extension. But for under £1,000 and with power scaling

Plectrum

soma1975 said:

My dream is to have a setup like Marc Ford's Satellite. A JTM 45 1x12 combo with 1x12" extension. But for under £1,000 and with power scaling

Try the Marshall Origins when they come out. A bit more Plexi than JTM45 but still very vintage sounding.

ChaosJunky135

Thanks for the info guys, size isn't really the issue as I run a 100w head and 4x12 at the moment anyway. Was just wondering would the PCB hold up to being cranked for most of its life like a hand wired haha

ChaosJunky135

hywelg said:

Me, I'd go for a 1987/6. Bit more versatile,  tighter bass. And don't be wedded to Marshall. Plenty of decent clones out there. 

Indeed give @martinw , MJW amps a shout and talk about a superbass/lead with powerscaling . 

I have been looking around for someone who makes clones but have really fallen for the pure size and looks of an original 

jpfamps

ChaosJunky135 said:

Thanks for the info guys, size isn't really the issue as I run a 100w head and 4x12 at the moment anyway. Was just wondering would the PCB hold up to being cranked for most of its life like a hand wired haha

I've worked on tons of 60s and 70s Marshalls.

From memory I can't think of any repairs I've had to do because the amp was made made with a PCB rather than tirret board.

soma1975

Plectrum said:

soma1975 said:

My dream is to have a setup like Marc Ford's Satellite. A JTM 45 1x12 combo with 1x12" extension. But for under £1,000 and with power scaling

Try the Marshall Origins when they come out. A bit more Plexi than JTM45 but still very vintage sounding.

Yep they are on my radar for sure. 

ICBM

jpfamps said:

I've worked on tons of 60s and 70s Marshalls.

From memory I can't think of any repairs I've had to do because the amp was made made with a PCB rather than tirret board.

Me neither. In fact, the later JMP PCB Marshalls are extremely well-made and reliable in general, with the exception of the appalling pull/fall-out voltage and impedance selectors, which were finally changed near the end of the series. The PCB is done exactly correctly - with no large, heavy or heat-generating components mounted on it (apart from a couple of resistors, but they're well-spaced off the board) and with flying leads connecting the pots and jacks so no stress is transferred to the board.

The reissues are built in the same way, and with better quality selectors. I haven't worked on a hand-wired Bluesbreaker reissue, but I can't see any inherent reason they would be any more reliable.

TTBZ

I'd rather move a 100w head and 4x12 around than a bluesbreaker, they're heavy old buggers and awkward to carry.

The Origin will probably work well for you and save a load of money, they're great amps

clarkefan

Why would the Engl not do the job? I'd be thinking, better to use gear I'm really familiar with than something I'm not, and finding out on the gig it doesn't do .... I saw a 9 piece reggae band a while ago, guitarist played through a 100w TSL and 4x12 in a small place, sounded great

p90fool

I was thinking the same, I used a JCA100HDM for country blues for two years, it was excellent. 

ICBM

I used a Mesa DC-5 with a 50s rock'n'roll band too. 'Pushed' clean channel, sounded excellent... but did look pretty wrong on stage - although no worse than the bass player's Peavey.

Punters don't notice or care though.

simonk

I used an Engl Powerball and Marshall 2x12 in a Blues Brothers tribute band... all kinds of wrong!