New amp incoming - can you guess? Now with pics on page 2

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM said:

Interesting! That version of the G12H-100 doesn't have a vented magnet, but it also has a smooth cone, which is more normally found on PA-model Celestions rather than guitar ones. That will give it a smoother sound and help tame any 'solid state buzz'.

Also, at the input end of the reverb tank, is the black wire that goes to the RCA jack broken where it joins the terminal? If it is that would explain why the reverb isn't working apart from faint speaker pick-up.

The speaker is really nice, I'd love to hear it with a valve jcm800 - it really does sound great. I didn't realise there were two versions!

It looks pretty unused for the most part. I do need to look at the effects loop - it has the classic "I need a patch lead in me to work" issue but I can usually sort that by spraying switch cleaner and popping the jack in and out a few times. 

Regarding reverb, I didn't notice a break and I'm sure I checked but it was a bit dark at the time, I'll take it out and check it again...! It was such a ballache to remove though, and more so getting it back in. I'll check it out tonight though, with proper light! 

Edit: don't have a soldering iron at the moment so I'll not worry right now, but if I can pick one up next weekend I'll open it back up. 

monquixote

ThePrettyDamned said:

Marshall, if you're reading this, please please please make them like this again. Solid state doesn't need to be budget - just a good amp, good cab and good speaker. Forget including reverb, everyone has one anyway! 

The problem is the DSL20CR is only £379.

It would be very hard to make a decent solid state amp for much less than that.

Even a Bandit is £299.

ThePrettyDamned

monquixote said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Marshall, if you're reading this, please please please make them like this again. Solid state doesn't need to be budget - just a good amp, good cab and good speaker. Forget including reverb, everyone has one anyway! 

The problem is the DSL20CR is only £379.

It would be very hard to make a decent solid state amp for much less than that.

Even a Bandit is £299.

That's true, but it needn't be budget - I suppose it's a reflection on the market though, no one will buy an expensive solid state amp...

ThePrettyDamned

@icbm reverb looks connected in a different pic I took sadly...

 

monquixote

ThePrettyDamned said:

monquixote said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Marshall, if you're reading this, please please please make them like this again. Solid state doesn't need to be budget - just a good amp, good cab and good speaker. Forget including reverb, everyone has one anyway! 

The problem is the DSL20CR is only £379.

It would be very hard to make a decent solid state amp for much less than that.

Even a Bandit is £299.

That's true, but it needn't be budget - I suppose it's a reflection on the market though, no one will buy an expensive solid state amp...

I think there is a market for solid state heads as demonstrated by Friedman.

ICBM

ThePrettyDamned said:

@icbm reverb looks connected in a different pic I took sadly... 

I can see the green one connected to the centre terminal, but I can't see the black one connected to the top left terminal. If it is, could the insulation be stripped back too far and it actually touching the centre terminal as well? That would short it and also stop it working.

See if you can blow the pic up large enough to see for sure (you don't need to post if it's too big).

ThePrettyDamned

monquixote said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

monquixote said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Marshall, if you're reading this, please please please make them like this again. Solid state doesn't need to be budget - just a good amp, good cab and good speaker. Forget including reverb, everyone has one anyway! 

The problem is the DSL20CR is only £379.

It would be very hard to make a decent solid state amp for much less than that.

Even a Bandit is £299.

That's true, but it needn't be budget - I suppose it's a reflection on the market though, no one will buy an expensive solid state amp...

I think there is a market for solid state heads as demonstrated by Friedman.

True! And there is a head version of this already so I'm sure Marshall could dig out the paperwork... With modern techniques it could be shrunk considerably I'm sure. 

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

@icbm reverb looks connected in a different pic I took sadly... 

I can see the green one connected to the centre terminal, but I can't see the black one connected to the top left terminal. If it is, could the insulation be stripped back too far and it actually touching the centre terminal as well? That would short it and also stop it working.

See if you can blow the pic up large enough to see for sure (you don't need to post if it's too big).

I think it is, but connected to the underside of the terminal - I can see the wire go there, but it does look like it's resting on the centre terminal so it could be a short...

Investigation pending! 

ThePrettyDamned

@ICBM I think I love you.

One very tiny stray piece of wire, going to the centre, barely visible in good light. I snipped it, reassembled and now I have a perfectly usable spring reverb - not too washy or overly clangy or present, but a nice basic ambience.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a gorgeous modulated cathedral reverb, but it's nice to have I also bought that footswitch you spotted so I can switch it out as well. Nifty!

Next weekend will be cleaning the effects loop jacks with switch cleaner.

Also, I cannot for the life of me find anything about the speaker! It sounds fantastic, big, round, smooth and plenty of clarity without any buzziness, but I cannot find any info about it! Is it a rare speaker? It seems it's a "ce" model? Very odd stuff.

ICBM

ThePrettyDamned said:

One very tiny stray piece of wire, going to the centre, barely visible in good light. I snipped it, reassembled and now I have a perfectly usable spring reverb - not too washy or overly clangy or present, but a nice basic ambience.

Sometimes you just get a feeling, when something doesn't look quite right .

ThePrettyDamned said:

Also, I cannot for the life of me find anything about the speaker! It sounds fantastic, big, round, smooth and plenty of clarity without any buzziness, but I cannot find any info about it! Is it a rare speaker? It seems it's a "ce" model? Very odd stuff.

I've never seen them other than in this amp and a couple more in pics online. 'CE' might stand for Custom Equipment possibly? ie specific to Marshall. Marshall actually use a lot of custom-spec Celestions so it wouldn't surprise me.

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

One very tiny stray piece of wire, going to the centre, barely visible in good light. I snipped it, reassembled and now I have a perfectly usable spring reverb - not too washy or overly clangy or present, but a nice basic ambience.

Sometimes you just get a feeling, when something doesn't look quite right .

ThePrettyDamned said:

Also, I cannot for the life of me find anything about the speaker! It sounds fantastic, big, round, smooth and plenty of clarity without any buzziness, but I cannot find any info about it! Is it a rare speaker? It seems it's a "ce" model? Very odd stuff.

I've never seen them other than in this amp and a couple more in pics online. 'CE' might stand for Custom Equipment possibly? ie specific to Marshall. Marshall actually use a lot of custom-spec Celestions so it wouldn't surprise me.

Maybe. I've also seen reference to "cloth edge" which may indicate it's not a guitar speaker, but maybe bass or even a PA version.

Bloody big magnet on this thing, though, and the most important thing is it sounds good - not boomy or harsh. 

ICBM

ThePrettyDamned said:

Maybe. I've also seen reference to "cloth edge" which may indicate it's not a guitar speaker, but maybe bass or even a PA version.

Bloody big magnet on this thing, though, and the most important thing is it sounds good - not boomy or harsh. 

That would fit too - unfortunately the pic is slightly blurred on that part of it because the camera has focused on the centre cap, but it could be. If so that and the smooth cone do definitely make it a bass or PA driver, not guitar. That may be just what you want in a solid-state amp though - Eminence Delta 12As sound amazing in them for the same reason.

ThePrettyDamned

ICBM said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

Maybe. I've also seen reference to "cloth edge" which may indicate it's not a guitar speaker, but maybe bass or even a PA version.

Bloody big magnet on this thing, though, and the most important thing is it sounds good - not boomy or harsh. 

That would fit too - unfortunately the pic is slightly blurred on that part of it because the camera has focused on the centre cap, but it could be. If so that and the smooth cone do definitely make it a bass or PA driver, not guitar. That may be just what you want in a solid-state amp though - Eminence Delta 12As sound amazing in them for the same reason.

Best I have...

 
 I'm thinking bass/pa speaker - no bad thing to my ears! 

Jetfire

Happy new gear day! 

I had one of these for about a day.. I wasnt impressed at all 

ThePrettyDamned

Jetfire said:

Happy new gear day! 

I had one of these for about a day.. I wasnt impressed at all 

Really?! I really like it! It definitely sounds every bit classic Marshall to my ears. 

Although, it's fair to say I really like solid state amps in general - Orange Crush Pro, peavey bandit, transtube bandit, Roland JC... I don't know, I like how direct they are and how easy it is to control how much drive I get from picking dynamics. I think solid state amps are generally polarising in this way. 

ThePrettyDamned

I've spent a fair bit of time with the amp in the last week and I'm still really impressed.

I love the gain range on both the clean and boost channels - the clean goes up to a nice, warm, fat overdrive - puts me in mind of a jtm 45 style amp, although that's the gain level rather than the tone (I love jtm45s but my tonal memory is poor!).

The boost channel goes from really clean up to a classic 80s level drive, randy rhoads level of gain. The sweet spot is at about 7 or 8, regardless of guitar, for me - strat sounds sweet, tele sounds bright and the les paul sounds fat and rocky. One minor criticism is the whole gain range is a lovely transition from low to high gain, until you reach 9 - between 9 and 10 the gain seems to increase a fair bit.

That's not limited to this amp though, I've found the same is true on all analogue amps and seems to be something digital sims manage better. Not sure why!

The reverb is nice, I leave it on almost all the time for a bit of ambience. It's not very splashy or over-the-top, which is my usual problem with spring reverbs, so top marks here! Some will feel there is not enough of it, however.

Looks the nuts. Such a cool looking amp.

Eq is typically Marshall - the tone control on the boost I leave at about... Full it's fine there. Only on the tele do I bring it down to about 8/10. The clean channel is set bass up full, mids at 4, treble at 8 (treble at 7 for the tele). Just sounds great. Can't wait to get it up really loud. 

ThePrettyDamned

Well, I played it loud when the neighbours (upstairs and next door!) were out.

Awesome fun. The clean channel is much better than I thought too, has a nice crunch available, warm fat rhythm and cleans up well.

The boost channel is what it is - a wound up Marshall. Not especially refined but it sounds a lot like a jcm800, I'd say more so than any pedal I've tried that claims it does a Marshall tone (although we all know how aural memory is...).

I think the pots need a bit of switch cleaner in them - the master volume crackles a bit. But bar that, it seems to be a bulletproof amp that looks the part.