I'm in a bit of a quandary. I'm after a smallish valve amp for rocky stuff. It will be used in the house, but I'd like it to be giggable too. I'd like something with switchable power reduction and a series effects loop. Not necessarily fussed about 1 or 2 channels; I have plenty of options for clean/gain. I have a Blues Deluxe and could run a 2 amp type setup with the Fender for cleans and the new amp just for dirt. I also have plenty of pedals so could use OD/distortion pedals for the dirty sounds.
I'm currently 'settled' on either the DSL 20W head or the Origin 20W head. They both seem to tick the boxes that I need to be ticked. I have owned an older type DSL head and combo in the past and liked them. The combo had a parallel effects loop that I didn't like, so modded it but they seem to have sorted this with the new models. The lower power mode is a welcome addition, but I see that the Origin has the ability to go lower than the DSL (~0.5W v 10W). I realise that amp power and volume isn't a linear relationship, so in practice, how much more is the Origin "crankable" at bedroom levels?
I love GnR, Whitesnake, ACDC, Van Halen, etc, so if one is more suited to that type of stuff then it could be a deciding factor.
Second question is what speaker/cab to put the amp through? I have been looking at these as they look pretty good value:
Peavey 1x12 Black Guitar Cab with Celestion GreenbackPeavey 1x12 Tweed Guitar Cab with Celestion Vintage 30I feel like a Greenback or V30 are the obvious options, but probably for good reason. I'd be interested to hear any other thoughts though. (Same with the amps. I'm not
completely married to a Marshall, so other recommendations received gratefully.)
Budgetwise, I'd like the upper limit to be around £700 for the head and cab.
Comments
It’s a Rocker 15 Terror revoiced to be more ‘Marshally’, 15W or 7W, 1W or 1/2W (done with ‘virtual’ power reduction as I think most of these are), series FX loop.
I would avoid a V30 for very low-volume playing, they’re one of the speakers that needs to be pushed a bit harder or they sound stiff and nasal. A Greenback or a G12H-30, or one of the Creambacks, would be better.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
He uses Marshall 2x12”s with either Greenback/G12H-30 or Creamback M65/H75s.
It comes with a nice padded gig bag too.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
https://www.thomann.de/gb/palmer_pcab112gbk.htm?ref=prod_rel_286453_0
EDIT: Ah, it doesn't say in the description, but in the equivalent V30 model, it says it's Chipboard construction with MDF soundboard. Presumably that will have some negative effect on the sound over the ply construction of the Peavey cab. Looks like the Peavey also has panels so you can convert between open/closed back.
I agree about the styling... I much prefer heads with wooden shells, not least for protection - the most common non-valve problem on any Orange Terror is broken switches - and I think they look a bit ugly. But it does make them small and light.
The build quality is a bit better than the Marshalls - although the new DSLs are by no means bad, there are still a few component choice let-downs - the pots particularly. The Origin appears to use better ones.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I struggled to dial my mini Jubilee in at home at first, but once I since I set it right I’ve never had to change the settings other than adjust presence for different guitars and volume.
With a Les Paul it sounds just like the GNR Use Your Illusion tones.
I also spent about £50 on an old digitech unit just for a bit of reverb.
At first I thought it was a bit too bright and fizzy at low volume, but using the digitech as a master volume control in the loop works much better than the amp’s master volumes for home practice. I don’t know why. Technically it makes no sense
I had the old 40W combo and loved it at the time. I'm definitely intending on head/cab this time though.
I tried it through the standard Jubilee cab and speaker. It was an A/B test with the Jubilee, but I’m forgetting I’ve probably formed my Jubilee opinion from my personal use since then and that involves an oversized 2x12 with vintage greenbacks in it and the DSL would probably sound great through that.
either way, with an MJW for clean too, I’m done amp shopping
I would never trust the standard speaker in any modern Marshall amp to bring out the best in it - every single one I've ever heard is poor compared to any of the standard classic Celestion models or the best new ones.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
This is pretty much why I wanted to go the head/cab route after reason you post something similar in another thread.
It’s not too far off a single channel with multiple volume controls really.