What happened to the Marshall Handwired series?

victorludorum

There used to be quite a selection of hand wired amps, but now there only seem to be 2, the 1959 and the 1974x. When did they chop that range?

GoldenEraGuitars

If it’s definitely down to those two models it’s possibly due to the fact that you could buy them as the non handwired models used for half the money... 

The market has shifted, people want lower and more manageable power/volumes to work with at home and live. Not to mention that there are other companies making handwired plexi style amps for less money. I’d be curious to know why (if) they’ve stopped making the JTM45. I’d have assumed the JTM45 HW would have been the better seller of the range.

These are rich boys toys with no market place. What’s the point in selling a 59SLP HW for £2000+ when you could get an actual original for the same money.

hywelg

You still have plenty of options, they just don't have a Marshall badge on them. Ceriatone and Metropoulos give you true unmodded original 1986/7 and 1959 circuits and Friedman et al will give you all sorts of hotrodded Marshall styles.

gordiji

lonestar said:

 What’s the point in selling a 59SLP HW for £2000+ when you could get an actual original for the same money.

Because it'll be new with decades of problem free service, (hopefully), unlike a tatty old amp thats already been serving for half a century !

victorludorum

I'm not interested in buying, but I'm curious as to why Marshall suddenly chopped them. I guess they weren't selling.

ICBM

victorludorum said:

I'm not interested in buying, but I'm curious as to why Marshall suddenly chopped them. I guess they weren't selling.

Why would they, when the PCB versions are half the price and sound as good, and for people who care about that sort of thing the Marshall name probably isn't boutiquey enough anyway?

victorludorum

I guess the model that surprises me is the Bluesbreaker reissue, because I was always under the impression that it's quite far removed from the originals. I'm sure that there was a hand wired version in that line up that raved about it being an exact replica, but now it's not an option.

ICBM

victorludorum said:

I guess the model that surprises me is the Bluesbreaker reissue, because I was always under the impression that it's quite far removed from the originals. I'm sure that there was a hand wired version in that line up that raved about it being an exact replica, but now it's not an option.

Given how ropey the originals are, an exact replica would never be possible for Marshall to sell now, so would never be close enough to satisfy purists. As long as it has the deeper cab so it can take KT66s, the standard reissue is fine.

DrJazzTap

Friedman happened

Modulus_Amps

gordiji said:

lonestar said:

 What’s the point in selling a 59SLP HW for £2000+ when you could get an actual original for the same money.

Because it'll be new with decades of problem free service, (hopefully), unlike a tatty old amp thats already been serving for half a century !

and butchered by multiple techs along the way

Maybe they have removed them to work on the handwired fridge range......

p90fool

DrJazzTap said:

Friedman happened

Yeah, why have a boring old JTM45 when you can have a Hairy Clopper or whatever it is. 

Moe_Zambeek

DrJazzTap said:

Friedman happened

If only they sounded like Marshalls!

The ones ive tried were awful - i didnt get it at all - boring, lifeless, and compressed sounding with none of the aggressive snarl and dynamics of a 1987 or 1959 or 2204, and three times the price to boot!

ICBM

Moe_Zambeek said:

The ones ive tried were awful - i didnt get it at all - boring, lifeless, and compressed sounding with none of the aggressive snarl and dynamics of a 1987 or 1959 or 2204, and three times the price to boot!

I’ve only played one, and it did do the ‘Van Halen in a box’ thing pretty well, but that was all it did - very compressed, it wasn’t responsive or dynamic at all.

It was also with me for repair due to a poor choice of cap type in a circuit position where that’s known to be a problem. Not impressed, at that price.

WindmillGuitars

Wish I'd never sold my 1974x .. bloody lovely amp 

victorludorum

Well the 1974x is still available...

DrJazzTap

p90fool said:

DrJazzTap said:

Friedman happened

Yeah, why have a boring old JTM45 when you can have a Hairy Clopper or whatever it is. 

Come on the hairy clopper is a great amp! I admit the juvenile monikers are wince inducing.

Moe_Zambeek said:

DrJazzTap said:

Friedman happened

If only they sounded like Marshalls!

The ones ive tried were awful - i didnt get it at all - boring, lifeless, and compressed sounding with none of the aggressive snarl and dynamics of a 1987 or 1959 or 2204, and three times the price to boot!

I have to confess I'm not a Friedman guy. I just get the impression marshall has lost a lot of potential sales because Friedman have given the market what they want . And it's something marshall should have picked up on years ago. 
I think Friedman are just the flavour of the month at the moment. We all want marshall to be the company we know they can be. It's just frustrating that it takes another company to come in and steal some of the market share. Although budda and splawn have done it before. 

Plectrum

DrJazzTap said:

I have to confess I'm not a Friedman guy. I just get the impression marshall has lost a lot of potential sales because Friedman have given the market what they want .

There's no such thing as "the market" though. Just lots of people wanting different things. Marshall very wisely don't try to cover it all.

p90fool

Plectrum said:

DrJazzTap said:

I have to confess I'm not a Friedman guy. I just get the impression marshall has lost a lot of potential sales because Friedman have given the market what they want .

There's no such thing as "the market" though. Just lots of people wanting different things. Marshall very wisely don't try to cover it all.

No, but it would be nice if they tried to cover the Marshall bit.