Marshall Champ amp equivalent?

newatthis · 3rd January 2005, 03:37 AM

I'm looking for a smaller Marshall with that great Marshall tone. Something like what an Old Tube Champ is to Fender. Anything out there?

MarkS · 3rd January 2005, 03:46 AM

I like the marshall bluesbraker a lot - classic brithish tone, easy to record, small, good sounding, full tube and a little bit more "gentleman" than the hendrix heads due to the greenbacks etc. when not driven too hard it has more in common with the fender bassman, higher driven with a humbucker guitar it has that classic marshall tone. it goes very well with all kinds of roger mayer guitar effect pedals and the fulltone booster. i also tried it with an dunlop fuzz face (clown face), and although the mayer stuff sounds better, it was still instant 60s/70s rock.

according to marshall it is an "faithfull" re issue (whatever that means) of the model that was used in the 60-70s by clapton and peter green. however, i think it is good amp . look here for more infos:http://www.marshallamps.com/images/p...tage/1962.html

the more modern route is jcm 800 and 900 , wich have definitly more meatal-rock character, but i assume you are not looking for that, are you ?

brownmouse · 3rd January 2005, 04:17 AM

if you're talking low wattage then the thd univalve (w/ a el-34) may be a good thing to check out.
joshua

toledo3 · 3rd January 2005, 06:17 AM

Well, if you are looking for low wattage Marshall amps, I have some recommendations....

There was a JCM800 grey tolex combo amp that had one 12" and could be switched from 25 to 50 watts...I believe it was an anniversary edition? That amp has an amazing variety of very convincing tones. I borrow one from a friend of mine quite often, and it has always struck me as a Marshall version of a Champ, and then some.

The Marshall 18 watt head is also comparable to a Champ type amp... of course you would have to get a speaker cab. There were also amps manufactured under the Park name, that were made by Jim Marshall... I am not talking about ones manufactured during the 90's though. I am not sure of the exact story there, but I know the older Park amps are every bit the same as actual Marshalls.

The "bluesbreaker" and jcm800's are good, but a good deal louder than what it seems like you are looking for.

biggator6 · 3rd January 2005, 06:52 AM

18 watter probably.. was also made in a combo.

damn near impossible to get - easy to get a clone though..

try
http://www.18watt.com

"-)

HudHudson · 3rd January 2005, 05:43 PM

You should check out the PA-20 heads made in the late 60s - early 70s. 20 watts, two EL-84s, sounds like a cross between a Plexi and an AC-15. They aren't cheap ($1,000-$1,200 when you can find one) but they smoke, especially thru a 4x12.

sysexguy · 3rd January 2005, 09:15 PM

Cornford Harlequin!!! 6 watts

jbuntz · 3rd January 2005, 11:31 PM

The fender champ had a single ended power section which isn't too terribly common. I don't think marshall ever made an amp like that. The THD univalve is one of the few modern single-ended amps around. EL84's or EL34's in the power secion with ecc83's in the preamp section would give you a british flavor.

sysexguy · 4th January 2005, 01:05 AM

The Harlequin is just that....single ended pure class A single EL84, pine cab, full size speaker. But if that doesn't float your boat......

Reeves and Savage also have recently come out with glorious combo low watters and there are others as well. Peters Amps up here makes great low wattage amps (10w) in the Marshall camp http://www.petersamps.com/ ....

Greenback lovers may want to check out http://www.alienxfmr.com/index.html

and then there's http://www.dividedby13.com/jrt915.html which I will unfortunately

be forced to buy next

Andy

nasty · 4th January 2005, 05:00 AM

The silver amp mentioned above is the marshall jubilee.I've owned an 18 watt,jcm 900,a 74 super lead,and several jubilees. The jubilee loaded with good jj tubes through celestion vintage 30's is a dream amp.Extremely versatile and easily recordable.It doesn't have to be cranked either to sound good.On the other hand,the 18 watt could be the most hyped generic marshall tone around.

Gregg Sartiano · 4th January 2005, 07:07 AM

Are you looking for "small" in relation to:

WATTAGE: Try an attenuator or the PA 20 mentioned above -- awesome (tried a vintage one at GC Hollywood)

SPACE: Any 1x12 is about as small as they'll get, anyway. There are 1x12 JCM 800's and 900's that sound great. The Jubilee is KILLER if you can find one -- I just played a 1x12 Jubilee at GC Hollywood in November -- it may still be there.

But, of course, a head + a 1x12 cab (to mike up) isn't that much bigger, and it allows you to keep the controls in the control room, while the live room (or closet!) is...ummm...louder!

PRICE: Wow...that's a little tougher...how much are you spending? Are you looking for the Clapton/Bluesbreaker 'thing,' the EVH 'brown sound,' the raunchy gutsy 80's metal thing, the '90's rawer & louder thing, or the new millenium drop tuned new metal thing? A head & 1x12 cab or a 1x12 combo should be between $500 and $750 (ballpark) used if you look around -- there are deals to be had!

ALSO CONSIDER: Tube replacement, biasing maintenance -- maybe budget in a distortion/overdrive.

waxnsteel · 4th January 2005, 10:11 PM

Try this one. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1974X/
I used to use my keyboard player's ORIGINAL one at rehearsals. It was AWESOME. It LOVED Les Pauls, Liked strats, very lackluster with PRS's, though.

newatthis · 5th January 2005, 08:23 PM

Thanks, lots of interesting comments. I'm looking for both a low wattage amp and something smaller in size- for recording. The 18 watt Marshall head or combo seems to be worth a look if it covers the Marshall Distortion sound well. Anything that is being sold new?

5th January 2005, 08:32 PM

Oh yeah!

Check out the Zinky Blue Velvet.
They go new for about $850.
EL84 based I believe.

I am not an amp guy but, I love this one.

It does a nice AC30 on clean and the Marshalli brown on distortion. It has a weird tone control but, once you get used to it you realise it smokes the eq on most amps.

Best of luck!!

David

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
60's (pre-CBS) Champ vs 70's Champ	James Guitar	So much gear, so little time!	8	21st August 2006 01:17 AM
Price on Marshall amp	rowdy322	So much gear, so little time!	13	6th July 2006 06:52 PM
EL-84 Tubes for marshall amp	rowdy322	So much gear, so little time!	5	6th July 2006 02:43 PM
fender vibro-champ(champ) users,please help	lowswing	Geekslutz forum	22	18th March 2006 04:47 PM
marshall mystery amp	martin brummy	So much gear, so little time!	2	21st March 2005 09:24 PM

3rd January 2005, 03:37 AM	#1
newatthis Gear Head Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 64	Marshall Champ amp equivalent? I'm looking for a smaller Marshall with that great Marshall tone. Something like what an Old Tube Champ is to Fender. Anything out there?

3rd January 2005, 03:46 AM	#2
MarkS Gear maniac Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 159	I like the marshall bluesbraker a lot - classic brithish tone, easy to record, small, good sounding, full tube and a little bit more "gentleman" than the hendrix heads due to the greenbacks etc. when not driven too hard it has more in common with the fender bassman, higher driven with a humbucker guitar it has that classic marshall tone. it goes very well with all kinds of roger mayer guitar effect pedals and the fulltone booster. i also tried it with an dunlop fuzz face (clown face), and although the mayer stuff sounds better, it was still instant 60s/70s rock. according to marshall it is an "faithfull" re issue (whatever that means) of the model that was used in the 60-70s by clapton and peter green. however, i think it is good amp . look here for more infos:http://www.marshallamps.com/images/p...tage/1962.html the more modern route is jcm 800 and 900 , wich have definitly more meatal-rock character, but i assume you are not looking for that, are you ? __________________ ...and , yes, I am sorry for my bad English. Please be gentle ...

3rd January 2005, 05:43 PM	#6
HudHudson Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Austin, Texas USofA Posts: 1,183	You should check out the PA-20 heads made in the late 60s - early 70s. 20 watts, two EL-84s, sounds like a cross between a Plexi and an AC-15. They aren't cheap ($1,000-$1,200 when you can find one) but they smoke, especially thru a 4x12. __________________ "The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson www.myspace.com/steventoddhudson

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes	Rate This Thread
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode	Rate This Thread:

3rd January 2005, 04:17 AM	#3
brownmouse Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,241	if you're talking low wattage then the thd univalve (w/ a el-34) may be a good thing to check out. joshua

3rd January 2005, 06:17 AM	#4
toledo3 Lives for gear Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Funky Town FL Posts: 1,190	Well, if you are looking for low wattage Marshall amps, I have some recommendations.... There was a JCM800 grey tolex combo amp that had one 12" and could be switched from 25 to 50 watts...I believe it was an anniversary edition? That amp has an amazing variety of very convincing tones. I borrow one from a friend of mine quite often, and it has always struck me as a Marshall version of a Champ, and then some. The Marshall 18 watt head is also comparable to a Champ type amp... of course you would have to get a speaker cab. There were also amps manufactured under the Park name, that were made by Jim Marshall... I am not talking about ones manufactured during the 90's though. I am not sure of the exact story there, but I know the older Park amps are every bit the same as actual Marshalls. The "bluesbreaker" and jcm800's are good, but a good deal louder than what it seems like you are looking for.

3rd January 2005, 06:52 AM	#5
biggator6 Lives for gear Join Date: May 2004 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 881	18 watter probably.. was also made in a combo. damn near impossible to get - easy to get a clone though.. try http://www.18watt.com "-)

3rd January 2005, 09:15 PM	#7
sysexguy Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St-Sauveur, QC, Canada Posts: 478	Cornford Harlequin!!! 6 watts

3rd January 2005, 11:31 PM	#8
jbuntz Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 1,650	The fender champ had a single ended power section which isn't too terribly common. I don't think marshall ever made an amp like that. The THD univalve is one of the few modern single-ended amps around. EL84's or EL34's in the power secion with ecc83's in the preamp section would give you a british flavor.

4th January 2005, 01:05 AM	#9
sysexguy Gear addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St-Sauveur, QC, Canada Posts: 478	The Harlequin is just that....single ended pure class A single EL84, pine cab, full size speaker. But if that doesn't float your boat...... Reeves and Savage also have recently come out with glorious combo low watters and there are others as well. Peters Amps up here makes great low wattage amps (10w) in the Marshall camp http://www.petersamps.com/ .... Greenback lovers may want to check out http://www.alienxfmr.com/index.html and then there's http://www.dividedby13.com/jrt915.html which I will unfortunately be forced to buy next Andy

4th January 2005, 05:00 AM	#10
nasty Gear nut Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 141	The silver amp mentioned above is the marshall jubilee.I've owned an 18 watt,jcm 900,a 74 super lead,and several jubilees. The jubilee loaded with good jj tubes through celestion vintage 30's is a dream amp.Extremely versatile and easily recordable.It doesn't have to be cranked either to sound good.On the other hand,the 18 watt could be the most hyped generic marshall tone around.

4th January 2005, 07:07 AM	#11
Gregg Sartiano Lives for gear Join Date: May 2004 Location: Lost Angeles Posts: 1,781	Are you looking for "small" in relation to: WATTAGE: Try an attenuator or the PA 20 mentioned above -- awesome (tried a vintage one at GC Hollywood) SPACE: Any 1x12 is about as small as they'll get, anyway. There are 1x12 JCM 800's and 900's that sound great. The Jubilee is KILLER if you can find one -- I just played a 1x12 Jubilee at GC Hollywood in November -- it may still be there. But, of course, a head + a 1x12 cab (to mike up) isn't that much bigger, and it allows you to keep the controls in the control room, while the live room (or closet!) is...ummm...louder! PRICE: Wow...that's a little tougher...how much are you spending? Are you looking for the Clapton/Bluesbreaker 'thing,' the EVH 'brown sound,' the raunchy gutsy 80's metal thing, the '90's rawer & louder thing, or the new millenium drop tuned new metal thing? A head & 1x12 cab or a 1x12 combo should be between $500 and $750 (ballpark) used if you look around -- there are deals to be had! ALSO CONSIDER: Tube replacement, biasing maintenance -- maybe budget in a distortion/overdrive.

4th January 2005, 10:11 PM	#12
waxnsteel Gear nut Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 128	Try this one. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1974X/ I used to use my keyboard player's ORIGINAL one at rehearsals. It was AWESOME. It LOVED Les Pauls, Liked strats, very lackluster with PRS's, though.

5th January 2005, 08:23 PM	#13
newatthis Gear Head Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: NJ Posts: 64	Thanks, lots of interesting comments. I'm looking for both a low wattage amp and something smaller in size- for recording. The 18 watt Marshall head or combo seems to be worth a look if it covers the Marshall Distortion sound well. Anything that is being sold new?

5th January 2005, 08:32 PM	#14
Guest Guest Posts: n/a	Oh yeah! Check out the Zinky Blue Velvet. They go new for about $850. EL84 based I believe. I am not an amp guy but, I love this one. It does a nice AC30 on clean and the Marshalli brown on distortion. It has a weird tone control but, once you get used to it you realise it smokes the eq on most amps. Best of luck!! David