MARSHALL PLEXI INCOMING (It's Here!!!)

toomanycats · Sat Jul 23, 2022 11:57 am

Yesterday I ordered a Marshall SV20H from my Sweetwater sales rep. It's a 20 watt, EL34 powered, made in England Plexi head. It should be here on Tuesday and I can't wait to give it the test run though a 2X12 and a 4X12 cab.

These are supposedly a very loud 20 watts, which is good, because I bought it expressly for gigging purposes and I need the ability to authoritatively push some air while still having headroom (albeit, at bar and small club volume, not arena volume).

Anyone here own one?

Rollin Hand · Sat Jul 23, 2022 3:23 pm

I'll just put this here....

LancerTheGreat · Sat Jul 23, 2022 9:10 pm

Fuck yeah! I've been drooling over those and the Studio Classics since they came out

toomanycats · Sun Jul 24, 2022 7:50 am

Rollin Hand wrote: ↑Sat Jul 23, 2022 3:23 pm I'll just put this here....

Cool video. In the comments somebody asks if the amp is attenuated. Seems like everyone is emphasizing how loud this thing is for 20 watts. I'm actually worried about it not being loud enough.

My gig last night is an example of why I have that concern. We played a rowdy biker bar, which, though it is not a huge venue, has very raucous and enthusiastic patrons. I was playing an 18 watt, non master volume, JTM45 type, el84 powered head running to a 2X12 and a 4X12 cabinet. The amp was set at about 8, which is the sweet spot. I was also slamming the front end of the amp with an OD pedal to get more gain and volume. As the night wore on and things got crazier, the room got louder, and the band got even louder. I felt like I was just hanging in there volume wise, with nothing held in reserve. I don't like it when I don't have any headroom and my tone has to be compressed just to be heard.

But the problem with a 50 watt Plexi would likely be the opposite. It would have probably been too loud at it's sweet spot of 7-8, likely requiring an attenuator.

So like I said, I'm really hoping this a very loud and rude 20 watt Marshall. The fact that it's powered by two EL34 power tubes is a good sign.

LancerTheGreat · Sun Jul 24, 2022 7:25 pm

I absolutely dwarfed my old death metal bandmates 100 watt Fender half stack with my OR15 through my EVH112, he was at the cusp of being cranked and I was barely over 2 or 3 (numerically, not o'clock). So I'd wager that you should be fine volume wise.

toomanycats · Mon Jul 25, 2022 8:08 am

Tracking says that the amp was at my local UPS facility as of 6:14 this morning, but the estimated delivery time is tomorrow. This is just torturous! I know the damn thing is right down the road. I'm left wondering whether its going to be delivered today . . . or will it sit in the processing facility for another whole day?

Either way, my neighbors will most certainly know when it has arrived, because as we all know a proper test of a Plexi involves setting everything at 10.

EDIT: Newest UPS tracking info says, "Out for delivery today." Whoooaaa!!!!

toomanycats · Mon Jul 25, 2022 12:44 pm

IT'S HERE!

This was slightly alarming. I purchased the amp as a demo model, so they had to re-box it to send it to me. Got a great deal on it too thanks to my Sweetwater rep Perry being such a cool dude.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Looks so cute on top of a 4X12.

Gotta jump those channels. This little SOB is loud, rude, and nasty, and I mean that in the best possible way. The one thing I'm questioning is whether the presence knob should be hissing the way it does when turned to the right of about 2 o'clock when the amp is dimed and the channels jumped. It's starts to squelch out of control and has to be backed off. Not that I'd want the presence set that high, as a Super Lead is an inherently bright amp . . . but should it be doing that at all?

bleys21 · Mon Jul 25, 2022 10:14 pm

I want to see video of you hitting a power chord on that thing while kitty is using your 4x12 stack as a scratching post. In slow motion, as cats have insane panic jumping ability.

toomanycats · Tue Jul 26, 2022 7:19 am

bleys21 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 25, 2022 10:14 pm I want to see video of you hitting a power chord on that thing while kitty is using your 4x12 stack as a scratching post. In slow motion, as cats have insane panic jumping ability.

That would probably be my first Youtube video to generate royalties.

tonebender · Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:08 am

It is hard to beat that Plexi brown sound for rock music. It is the standard. Congrats on the NAD.

glasshand · Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:57 am

How gainy is it? I had the Origin 20 for a while, and I liked some things about it, but it wasn't gainy enough for my taste, had no onboard reverb, and the effects loop only worked if you had the footswitch plugged in, so that was kind of three strikes against it for me, but it looks like the SV20 solves some of those issues.

Mr. Leyvatone · Tue Jul 26, 2022 10:24 am

I have the little Silver Jubilee. 20 watts move plenty of air for gigging!
Remember to go with lots of output (main volume), then adjust everything else.

toomanycats · Tue Jul 26, 2022 10:32 am

glasshand wrote: ↑Tue Jul 26, 2022 9:57 am How gainy is it? I had the Origin 20 for a while, and I liked some things about it, but it wasn't gainy enough for my taste, had no onboard reverb, and the effects loop only worked if you had the footswitch plugged in, so that was kind of three strikes against it for me, but it looks like the SV20 solves some of those issues.

I haven't played the Origin 20, so I can't compare it directly to the SV20. I have read that the Origin 20 is better as a pedal platform.

My impression of the SV20 is that it's perfect for that Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Free/Bad Co, AC/DC, 70s guitar sound. If you really push it you're getting into VH 1 territory, but we all know that Eddie did other things to get that particular sound (voltage drop of the Variac, etc.). But I'd imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to get the full on early VH sound using the SV20 as a starting point.

The amp does start to fart out with both volumes set above 8 and the channels jumped. It doesn't get louder, just more compressed and mushier. This is probably the lack of headroom people speak about when comparing the 50 and 100 watt tops to the SV20. That being said, with both volumes at 8 the SV20 is DAMN LOUD! If you need more volume than that then you probably do need a 50 or 100 watt head for your application.

The SV20 has no onboard reverb, though there is an effects loop and a DI out.

I'm not sure how it takes pedals, as I haven't tried that yet. I'm not a big pedal guy. When using the SV20 I already anticipate that I'll probably drop the OD pedal from my board. It just won't be necessary to achieve the gain level I require. I'll probably be able to get by with just my tuner, wah, Phase 90, and Echoplex pre-amp clone, in that order. I'll set everything to wide open throttle and then ride the gain level from my guitar's volume knob.

andrewsrea · Tue Jul 26, 2022 12:36 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Sun Jul 24, 2022 7:50 am I was playing an 18 watt, non master volume, JTM45 type, el84 powered head running to a 2X12 and a 4X12 cabinet. The amp was set at about 8, which is the sweet spot. I was also slamming the front end of the amp with an OD pedal to get more gain and volume. As the night wore on and things got crazier, the room got louder, and the band got even louder. I felt like I was just hanging in there volume wise, with nothing held in reserve. I don't like it when I don't have any headroom and my tone has to be compressed just to be heard.

So like I said, I'm really hoping this a very loud and rude 20 watt Marshall. The fact that it's powered by two EL34 power tubes is a good sign.

I'd say you are spot on with 20w to 25w being the nice balance for a band application. I did about 8 years playing mostly rhythm in a popular local cover band, using an 18w (EL84s) with a 1x12" Celestion Classic Lead 80 speaker and always needed to mic it through the PA FOH. That worked for the situation, as it kept the stage volume wars to a minimum (and probably saved my hearing).

However, my AMI-20 (6V6 or KT-66) through a 4x10 (2-Weber Blue Pups and 2- Weber P10 clones) could always compete with the loudest of drummers. My AMI 'Lil Giant' (50w) became my weapon of choice later in my gigging, to which I could easily get great tones and volumes. Again, for a cover band to which there was a variety of tones required and I played about 1/3 of the solos in that band.

glasshand · Tue Jul 26, 2022 5:43 pm

toomanycats wrote: ↑Tue Jul 26, 2022 10:32 am I haven't played the Origin 20, so I can't compare it directly to the SV20. I have read that the Origin 20 is better as a pedal platform.

My impression of the SV20 is that it's perfect for that Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Free/Bad Co, AC/DC, 70s guitar sound. If you really push it you're getting into VH 1 territory, but we all know that Eddie did other things to get that particular sound (voltage drop of the Variac, etc.). But I'd imagine it wouldn't be too difficult to get the full on early VH sound using the SV20 as a starting point.

Thanks! That pretty much jibes with my experience and what I've seen from YouTube videos. The Origin 20 had to be pretty much dimed to get into AC/DC territory, at which point you obviously had no headroom available.

toomanycats · Fri Jul 29, 2022 8:03 am

Last night at a band rehearsal I paired the Marshall SV20 with an open back Orange 2x12 loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s. Here's some observations:

I only had to run the amp at 5 watts. The 20 watt setting was simply too loud for a small room with no ambient noise.

The bright channel of the Marshall is exactly that, very "bright;" likewise when the channels are jumped. Running the Marshall at 5 watts, and at lower volume, doesn't allow all the low end it's capable of. The Orange cabinet is also inherently bright. I backed it up against the wall to try to approximate the sound of a closed back cab. Pairing this Marshall and Orange together, at this volume, required that I adjust the tone down on both the amp and my guitar to roll off the piercing highs.

When running wide open at 20 watts in a loud room, with a closed back 4X12 added to the mix, I believe that this brightness won't be an issue.

These observations underscore many of the things I've read about the SV20. It wants to be unleashed and it sounds best when run wide open.

That's the perennial rub of all non-master volume tube amps that produce their highly coveted break up tone only when pushed to their max: It's going to be loud! Even at 20 watts it's going to be DAMN LOUD! I'm looking forward to fully unleashing the loudness in a live gig setting.

One other observation, and this took me by surprise, is how full, lush, and pleasingly musical the cleans are on a Plexi when the amp in not pushed into breakup. Granted, they're Marshall cleans, which are totally unlike the pristine sparkle of a Fender, though they're beautiful in their own right.