Haha glad to help! Rock on

Thanks so much! I need to do some more of these!

Not with a PPIMV Ken Fischer Type 2.

Thank you! I appreciate that - I'll do my best to keep them coming 😄

Thanks!

Thanks! I'm working on them but it's been a very busy few months (new job). I have a Hiwatt on the way I can't wait to cover as well.

@@totallyradguitars959 More history, reviews, AND comparisons (1v1), please... With insights on where you think each shines, in a given category, or situation... Euge Valovirta (you might want to check him out, if you haven't) uses impulse response, and little monitors to crank his amps... He has his favorite (jcm800) that he invariably compares, atleast shortly, with almost any amp he features... If nothing else, his jcm800 serves as a baseline sound, by which the viewer can form his/her own opinion/mental picture of what we're hearing... Sorry if my suggestions come off as bossy; thanks for the cool content.

@@estebangarcia102 No problem! I love Euge's channel, he gets amazing tones. I'm trying to avoid using the impulse response for now but they do sound good in the right application. Too bad I'm not as good of a player as he is, he could make anything sound great I think!

@@totallyradguitars959 I like/subscribe to both of you guys. Rock on, bro.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks!

thanks!

I own a '75 SLP that has a PPIMV. And I totally agree with you on the fact that you still gotta turn it up pretty loud to get that magic going.

Totally agreed! It’s a must have in any studio and there’s no substitute

Even though i like the 1959 Fender Bassman as the best tone i've ever heard.. i agree the Plexi 1959 SLO/1987X 50W have to be the holy grails because...well they just cut through! Where as the Bassman has this unending amber magic at it's core, the Plexi has this glassy crystal shine that sizzles and chimes at the same time. But then, the VOX AC30 is ringing a bell in my head. And just when you think you have it all cut and dried, i heard a '68 Bassman do ALL those tones, somewhere??. i will have to get back to you on that .actually i've allways wondered why they never got a Vox AC30 to sound like a Plexi?

@@starcloud4959 Great reply! Haha! Looking back, I think that a lot of us growing up didn’t understand that the sounds we were hearing were not coming from the guitar alone. Deep Purple for instance has a heavy organ and bass, The Who has a giant fuzzy bass, and every band has at least a bass. Thin little guitar sounds are pretty underwhelming in isolation. Especially a Strat. But the 1987x is so great!

Thanks! I'm still around, just super busy. Trying to find some more time because I have lots of other amps I want to cover (like a new Orange OR50 I snagged a few months ago!)

@@totallyradguitars959 Sweet. Cant wait to hear it! Take care man!

Thank you!

Back at you! I love your video on the MXR EQ, I've been thinking about something along those lines with amp EQ's but can't wrap my head around how to make it work accurately.

@@totallyradguitars959 thanks! I have had similar thoughts to do that with my SV20; ie run noise through it, connect it to a loadbox, demonstrate how the eq changes as volume is increased etc

It's true haha, part of the reason I started this channel was because my girlfriend was tired of me explaining all of this stuff to her (she's not even a guitar player). Cheers

Thanks! I was surprised myself, it's a very full sounding amp but I expected it to be "too bright" because that is the reputation they have. This one still has the factory bright cap in place, I've heard of people snipping/reducing this value too but it doesn't seem necessary, at least on mine. Prices have gone a bit wild lately but if you keep your eyes peeled I'm sure I'll find something good.

Thanks glad you like it! And yes - prices have gone up quite a bit on them - hard to argue with the classic sound they produce so it’s well worth getting and since they are so simple, easy to mod a bit too if you don’t love it stock.

They shouldn't be too expensive. Worth the money though. I have a 1959 but one of these is tempting too.

Hey! The FX loop is pre phase inverter, right before the presence control. The volume knob I put across the loop here would be the same result as using a volume pedal in the loop. Even if it were post phase inverter though, you'd only be saturating one more preamp tube, not the power tubes. I still think it sounds great but the 130 decibel power tube crowd would say otherwise no matter how you do it (besides cranking the amp up in a soundproof room, which most of us can't do). Thanks for watching!

Yep - adds gain, compression .. lots of feedback, and love from your neighbors :))

Interesting, I was waiting to reply until I had a chance to test that on mine and there's no audible difference. If I plug into input 2 and strum a few notes while raising and lowering vol 1 I don't hear any change at all. Maybe the channel bleed gets a little worse over time as components wear out and such? This plexi is a reissue so it's probably newer than the "average" one so that may be part of it too.

@@totallyradguitars959 Yeah, i imagine so, could very well be that! Thanks! :D

@@totallyradguitars959 Depends on whether the cathode is shared or split between channels. My 1987x has been modded for a shared cathode and both volumes interact regardless of which input you plug into. I believe this is also how the Marshall super bass is wired.

@@johnsmusicchannel5409 Might have to give that a try just to see how it sounds. I was pretty happy with how it stands now so I haven't opened it up in a while but I'm sure I will again.

Haha, came in the mail the day I filmed this and figured I had to wear it :)

That tone has to be one of the best and most iconic of all time. It’s also hard to argue that the majority of modern high gain tones can trace their dna right back to that high treble channel.

Hey, since this is an RI with an FX loop, I did it very simply - I used a 500k pot, with a wire from W3 on the FX loop PCB to the center lug, then the other lug has a wire that goes to ground (the same common ground all the other pots use). Effectively, it's the same thing as if I'd just put a volume pedal in the FX loop. If the FX loop is bypassed, so is my volume control. It's pre-PI - there's probably better sounding or more elegant ways to do it but this worked well enough for me and it was super easy. Cheers

@@totallyradguitars959 thank you very much for the explanation.

Hey, it's a 1986 Marshall 1960A with the same year G12-T75's. They do not sound like modern G12-T75's and have a slightly different construction. Some of my favorite speakers for sure - I have some 2014 G12T75's and they are not nearly as good.

Thanks! And no - one wire mod is definitely gainier than stock but it's not like a 2204 or 2203 type of gain. Those amps both have a cold clipper V2 gain stage, which essentially causes asymmetric distortion (top half of the signal is clipped differently from the bottom half), which is what gives those amps that trademark grittiness and cutting tone. You could theoretically do the one wire mode AND rebias V1B (or V1A, whichever comes second, depends on how you do the mod) to be cold (change cathode resistor to something like 10k or 33k), which would be a lot closer but not exact. I mean, technically speaking, you could convert a 1987x to a 2204 exactly 1:1 if you changed enough components over, they aren't drastically different, but you'll lose some of the 1987x magic by doing so - how much you're ok with converting is up to your personal taste. Making V1B a cold clipper for example will probably make the 1-wire mod sound more badass, but it might ruin what you liked about the high treble channel in regular plexi mode (1-wire not active). Congrats on the 2500 Mk III btw. One of my all time favorite amps. I've had 4 or 5 of them - finally settled on a nice 2100 head, and it's a keeper. I only sold the others for money reasons, never because I didn't love the tone. That's also similar to a 2204 but also lacks the cold clipper, but adds a diode clipper stage which you control separately with the "sensitivity" control. I love it myself, some prefer the standard 2204 style design. My best advice: Get all 3 (1987x, 2204, 2500). Cheers

Hey thanks and thanks for the thorough replies :) yeah I figured I must as I’ve got a 1960a 900 cab I got at a pawnshop years ago for $200.. so you know… it says 900 but isn’t the sound most would associate with 900.. and you know I’ve got a rectoverb 25, 50 caliber +, (Windsor I got at same pawnshop for $200), the twin, 5e3 copy, 68 bronco amp, and badger 18 I just got last month .. most I love but don’t do.. that sound you know lol plus I feel the mark iii is in line to be the vintage ish Marshall to have as 800s are way more than can justify paying lol

Yeah they are great! The black one is an older 2 channel EH, which I got first and loved. I got the EH3 later and didn't get along with it at first, it has less gain than the original EH and it was a lot brighter. Then I discovered that the NFB knob on the EH3 has about double the range as the older one, so tweaking that a bit I could make it as bright or as dull as I wanted, so I found a nice balance. Throw a tubescreamer in front if I want more gain and now I love it just as much. My only complaint so far is it seems on the EH3 if you use really high output pickups, like EMG's, it overloads the input stage and it farts out. Kind of like a ProCo Rat if you've ever used one of those turned up really high. I think it's just not filtering a lot of bass in that first stage, because it sounds fine with an overdrive pedal (which usually cut bass first). Just an odd quirk I haven't seen on any other amps.

@@totallyradguitars959 yeah I liked the EH2 I had vs the EH3 I currently have. That 2nd channel sounds great.

I prefer the phase 90 in front, at least for overdriven EVH style stuff. As for echos/delays like the Belle Epoch, most of the time I use it in the loop. That sounds better to my ears and is a little closer to an echo added at the board back in the pre-Fx loop era of amps. However if I’m using it for a short, single repeat “slap back” type delay, I’d put it in front instead. Enjoy the new amp!

@@totallyradguitars959 thank you! I did purchase a brand new 75th anniversary 59 Bassman two months ago, I will also Be playing the Bassman and the 1987x in stereo. I’m looking forward to that, two more days.

@@williamnapolitano1550 Wow! I'd love to get my hands on a bassman. That'll be an absolutely killer sound I'm sure.

@@totallyradguitars959 the 1978X came in this afternoon. its a great Amp, I ran out , got the Boss SD-1, sounds fantastic. Thank you for your video and your time! Bill

@@totallyradguitars959 Stereo with both Amps is incredible

It sounds great to me personally, but I'm not too heavy on the effects. I have a digital reverb and digital delay - haven't tried anything else in there. I have heard modulation effects are more picky (chorus, etc).

Hey, there is a thread I posted over on the Marshall forums about it: www.marshallforum.com/threads/1987x-re-modded.117485/ In short, you put the pot across R6 on the effects loop board, or as I did, on the signal wires coming out of the fx loop (not as elegant). If you put it across R6 the "bypass fx loop" button also bypasses the master volume, which is cool. The one wire mod see here: www.marshallforum.com/threads/for-more-gain-the-one-wire-mod.97/ In short for that one, you put a resistor across the center lug of one of the channel volume pots, and then the other end goes to the input of the opposite channel to cascade the gain together.

@@totallyradguitars959 thanks so much!

I do notice it sounds really great through a greenback I have, but I have to keep the volume low since I only have one (rated at 25w) so I don't blow it up. In this video, I'm playing through 1986 G12T-75's, which are awesome sounding speakers, and much different sounding than the current production G12T-75's. Closer to the current G12-65 Heritage. I agree, the speaker is probably the 2nd most important part of the tone besides the amp itself, it plays a huge part in the sound. I do think the isolated cab would be a great way to get the best out of this amp. I've thought about putting one together but the plan is to move sometime in the next year so I haven't started on anything like that until I see what the new living situation is like. I'm hoping to find a place where I can just crank it without having to do any extra work... we'll see what happens.

@@totallyradguitars959 While I totally agree with your plans to move to a more volume friendly location I would like to also add that considering the amplifiers you're working with a good isolation cab/system would never collect dust on it. Something like an isolation cab is good to have no matter what your studio situation is. Just saying, it might be a good project as well as content for your channel. When I first got my 1987x up and running I was running the Vintage 30s. I really wanted to like those speakers however I was trying to get the classic/vintage Marshall tone. I switched to the Greenbacks are was amazed at the difference in volume/sound pressure levels. With the V30s I could barely stand to be in the same room with the 1987x cranked up. Changing to the Greenbacks the volume/sound pressure levels became much more manageable/tolerable. I think the Greenback's rated efficiency are 97db @ 1W while the V30s are upwards of 100db @1W. The difference of 3db is startlingly noticeable.

Wooo! Rock on!

The introduction of a Master Volume into the circuit would change some of the tone and playing characteristics as compared to the original. Some people would most likely not even notice the difference however die-hard amplifier enthusiasts most certainly would. I think omitting the Master Volume on this model shows Marshall's dedication to their original design/sound. I will agree with you though that on an amplifier like this that can potentially produce pretty intense sound pressure levels a Master Volume only makes sense. The flip side of that coin is that if this amplifier is too loud for your use perhaps you need to choose a different amp!

I do think it's strange they don't just put a master volume knob on the effects loop like I've done. Then if you bypass the effects loop, you have your non-master glory because it's out of the circuit. But if you need to practice at home, you have that ability too. It took me probably 20 minutes, a pot, and 2 wires to do it. It does seem strange to me but I think Marshall has to cater to a crowd who want an exact replica of the original including all of its flaws. That at least applies to the 1987x and 1959x, but they added the effects loops to those anyway... So some strange decision making going on there. As for the SV20H though, since it's not technically a replica/reissue of anything, I'm completely surprised that they wouldn't put a master volume on the back panel that can be bypassed. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Absolutely. I’m very very behind... filmed some material but haven’t had a chance to put it together yet. It’s coming though - that’s a hell of an amp too. Thanks for watching!

Not on this amp, but the light on my JCM900 SLX stays off even when the amp is on, until it gets heated up a bit then it pops on. It is likely just a small lamp or LED diode, so if it’s not behaving for you it should be a simple fix. Might not even need a new part, just touch up the solder connections to the current part, they crack and loose connection over time

@@totallyradguitars959 you were right, the only think that bothered me is that it was a new amp. I opened it and indeed, there was a false contact with one end of the led. Just needed a small solder point.

How would these odd order harmonics be more present in the reissues?

I had a THD Hotplate a while ago and didn't think it sounded that great, although that was before I had this NMV amp. I found that I'm able to play loud enough that amps with a decent MV sounded better without the attenuator and assumed the same would apply here. Of course, attenuator technology has improved a lot since then so I may check out the Two Notes Captor for example and see if I like that better. In this video, my dB meter was reading 105-110db, so it's not like I'm playing it quietly... I should definitely get some ear plugs though.

@@totallyradguitars959 hey I’ve tried Fryette PS and rivera rockcrusher - they are equally good but rivera is better choice for the money Plus it doesn’t have any extra options - just great attenuation, compensating equalization and nice line outs (incl. balanced) for recording The unit itself is well built, nice and sturdy

@@qirico thanks! I’m going to get one soon I think, just need to sell a few things. It’d be nice to have the attenuator as an option especially now that I have neighbors (I didn’t before so I could really blast it)

@@totallyradguitars959 i really recommend you to try recording with this using balanced out and IRS at the end of the chain. Quite impressive BTW thanks for the informative and well thought out videos, cheers from Russia

I'm swamped but I'd love to try a few of the different MV's out. Just need time to sit down and break out the soldering iron.

I totally agree. Lots of people say they never use the normal channel and I think it sounds great too. It probably depends on the type of music being played, I wouldn't use that sludgy tone for prog metal for example but it'd be perfect for stoner/doom stuff.

Thanks! I think it sounds pretty beefy too - it's completely stock besides the master volume though. I know these notoriously sound different based on the year and individual component changes and so on - mine has a 4700pf bright cap installed (stock value for RI's). It is definitely brighter "in the room" than in this video, maybe you could try swapping in a lower bright cap value, or even temporarily clipping one leg just to see if that is beefy enough for you? It's C5 on the PCB (be careful if you do this, make sure you don't hurt yourself). Also my settings - P/B/M/T are 4/8/6/4 so it's skewed towards the bassy side and played through vintage G12T75's which are a bit muted at the high end. Through my V30's it's absolutely piercing and I have to lower the presence/treble even further to compensate when using those speakers.

You technically can, but it'd require rebiasing. I'm not sure if there's enough in the pot, if there isn't you'd have to swap a resistor in the bias circuit to give it more range... something I haven't tried yet. Either way, it won't sound like a JTM45 but it would be closer. For KT66's, I picked up a Vintage Modern. Not ready to review that one yet but they sound great in there.

Hey, sure thing email anytime at totallyradguitars@gmail.com I don’t have a schematic but I could send you pictures or draw something up… it was all based on a forum post which I’ll link here which will set you on the right track, the only thing I did differently was tie in a push-pull pot across the fx loop so I could have a pre-PI master so I could use the mod at lower volumes and switch it on or off (so I could still use it as a regular plexi) www.marshallforum.com/threads/for-more-gain-the-one-wire-mod.97/ Cheers

I'm sure you'll love it, but my attitude is that when buying used amps for a fair price, you can almost always sell it on and break even or close to it. I think you'd be missing out not to give it a shot!

No - usually a master volume is a pot wired into the amp circuit itself, usually just before the phase inverter but there are post-PI circuits that do it too. You're essentially reducing the amplitude of the signal within the preamp before it gets to the power amp. No extra device goes between the power amp and the speakers in this setup. An attenuator is a separate device that goes between the power amp and the speakers themselves. For example, you'd run the speaker cable out of your amp, into the attenuator where volume is reduced/burned off as heat, then another speaker cable from the attenuator to your speakers carrying a reduced signal. Both have slightly different variations on the sound and different types of master volumes and/or attenuators can affect the tone in different ways.

@@totallyradguitars959 Thanks for the explanation.

While the 1987x isn’t a reissue/replica of a specific year, it does indeed have a plexiglass front panel and has the tones I think most players would consider to be plexi tones. I would argue that it is indeed a plexi - same circuit, same physical construction, a few minor value differences doesn’t mean it isn’t a plexi anymore. If it bothers you, swap a few values to 68 or 69 spec - I’m not one to believe in mojo magic in circuits, the values add up directly to the sound we hear. Cheers

@@totallyradguitars959 1968 and 1971 (and later) 1987s are a world of difference when you play them side by side through the same speakers. Feel, gain structure.. very different amps. The circuits differ quite a bit, different NFB from different tabs to begin with. Theres more than just from a quick glimpse on schematics .. But yes, "Plexi" sure is more "sexi" moniker than just Metal panel.. it sells better ;) Not trying to convince you... I know what I hear, and reasons behind it.. Cheers ;)

Sure, but people still commonly refer to 4-input Marshalls as "plexis" or "plexi-like" even if they are metal faced JMP models for example.

lol that's your takeaway from this whole video? One time where I accidentally said "pickup" instead of "position?"

Thanks! I had the volumes maxed out, I guess mine isn't as gain-y. I hear there are a lot of circuit variations and component values shift etc so I've played some that felt much more intense and others more on the clean side, like this one.

@@totallyradguitars959 yeye my friend owned one (no master volume mod) and with the high treble on about 3 and everything on noon through a 4x12 it was ac dc level gain Haha

Haha well, I have to try to appeal to all audiences ;)

You’re not wrong! I’ve been working on a playlist that is just tones, no talking. Keep an eye out for that coming up - I’m just a bit delayed getting them finished and uploaded. Thanks!