The fact that Johan has gone sv20 crazy is making me feel so good as an sv20 owner :-)

The differences are slight enough to be equivalent to differences between two Plexis, and could easily be compensated with slight tone and volume adjustments. Nice!

Honestly I did not expect them to be THAT close. I thought the 1987X would have a lot more body and space, but the difference seems to be minimal. The SV20H is really impressive.

After watching this a few times I think most people, excluding many pros, wouldn’t want to have a loud 50 watt Marshall to get an almost identical tone. The SV20 can be modded to remove the harshness and then it’s even closer. The SV20 is a winner and and makes a lot of sense for most who want that Plexi tone.

Marshall did a great job with that little 20W plexi, it sounds great and almost identical to both the 1959 and 1987. Well done Marshall.👍

Really close in sound, as you said. Slight more punch in the lower register with the 1987X. Gigging musicians playing without PA could still benefit from the 50 W. I also trust you regarding single note fullness for recording. That is probably a value. Still, both amps sounds really great, particularly through those cabs. You're more than welcome to spend more videos exploring these details. Yes, we are interested!

Thanks for doing this for so long, with so much enthusiasm!

These videos are one of the best sources of information for me in order to find out which Marshall cab or head I should go for. Thanks!

The 1987 has slightly more thump on the attack and lower notes on my speakers. On the clean it was imperceptible. Marshall Nailed it.

To my ears, on studio monitors, I did not hear any significant difference between the two and I would likely fail the blindfold test. I have the SV20 and the whole Studio series trifecta and I can only say that I am getting some serious tones with these little beasts! In my opinion, Marshall nailed it with the Studio series...and great job Johan as always! I look forward to the comparison of SV20 with DSL20...as you say the layout and components are very similar, although the circuit is a whole another animal. Once again incredible stuff from the High Priest of Marshall - Johan Segeborn!

Your videos are always entertaining, thanks for sharing Johan! You have a genuine enthusiasm and love for music that is evident. I'm really looking forward to the DSL/SV video to come, I am an owner and big fan of the DSL20 (and Origin 20) amps. Thus far I have been reluctant to spend more money on the higher end amps and instead have extensively tested most of the popular speaker choices in different cabinets that fit my playing style and venues. Thanks again buddy!

Both sound amazing. They are so similar sounding that I can't distinguish them. Great video Johan!

Love this deep dive into the Studio Vintage. Awesome job! Keep it up. Cheers!

They both sound great. They really nailed it with the Studio Series. I hope the SC20H is next

Excellent comparison, thanks Johan! Minimal differences between these two. The importance of the right cab is again in full display! Cheers, M.

Loving this series of comparison videos with the SV20H. Your riff's sound great Johan! I have this amp combo version, and love hearing the sounds you're getting out of it. Makes me want a 2x12" cab!

I think your videos are great, they show interesting comparisons & tricks that allow us to choose the best combination and achieve the Holy Grail tone!

Loved this video. Really looking forward to Wednesday as well!

your videos really helps alot...keep posting great content

Personally I prefer the accented mids and reduced bass of the SV20H, less thumpy and more chewy how delightful, but I do like the treble zing of 1987X and even moreso an original 50w Mk2 for the best possible high end.

These demos are the benchmark against which all others are judged. Well done!

Wow, that is really impressive. I am really interested to hear the comparison with the DSL next! Great video Johan!

Wow, Im surprised the Studio Vintage sounded so good. I couldn't hear much difference at all. Thanks Johan!

Thanks to your tests of these great amps I’m gonna buy a 20w plexi combo I know there is a slight difference but it’s nominal also I’ve got some “THROBAK” vintage PAFs around 7.4K neck 8.7k bridge so I can’t wait keep the great content coming bro.

Very interesting. I also looking forward to see your next comparison with DSL 20. Nice job Johan;)

Maybe not huge differences here, but to me, the 1987x consistently sound more open, present, dynamic chimey and sparkling.

1987X sounded very noticeably clearer/livelier/‘sparklier’. 😎👍🏼

Excellent comparison as always

Thanks for demoing the cleans as well.

All I can say is that if you’re trying to buy the mini plexi now, the search just got even harder!! (Glad I got mine last month lol!)

I have both amps and your test is spot on. The difference between both amps (on the same cab of course) is that the 1987X sounds a bit deeper and fat, but not much! The SV20 could even be easier to place in a mix if there's other guitars.

Great job on the comparison. Its exactly what I expexted it to be.

The SV20 really nails the early metal panel sound, it's very very close indeed to the reissue. I'll be excited to see how close the SC20 can get to your 1977 2204.

I like them both, I say have one of each. Depending on the gig or the recording situation both could come in handy. Also one should also buy 1959 SLP, JCM 800, JCM 800 studio, Silver Jubilee, and Mini Jubilee. It’s always best to come prepared 😂

The SV is very close indeed which is very good news for everyone. But I can quite clearly hear the different dynamic range, bass response and extra treble of the 1987x, the cleans sound more lively, too. So soundwise the winner is clear for me, but the value and practicality of the SV is a whole another story... Looking forward to the single note comparison! Cheers Johan.

Wow, they sound similar! Both sound fantastic and hard to distinguish unless you've got proper speakers to listen carefully. I'm still hoping that one day, the master will decide to make IR's of his best cabinets. The micing technique and the tone you'd get would be greatly appreciated by your disciples of all things Johan. God bless and rock on 👍😎🎸

Gracias por este video!!! como lo esperaba en la practica las diferencias son muy sutiles, en el contexto de una banda o grabacion creo que dificilmente se notarian, (excepto del volumen final obvio). Saludos!

Really looking forward to the DSL20 vs SV20 - the DSL20 is such good value.

So close. For my own SV20H changing the stock tubes to a full compliment of Millards gave me what I hear to be almost exactly the big boy vintage version. Please test some different tube compliments as well

I intentionally didn’t look at what you were playing when, I really couldn’t hear a difference that mattered. They both sound really really good. Unless I needed that volume, I could see myself being very happy with the SV-20

The SV20H sounds so close to the 1987X, I don’t think most people could tell them apart in a blind test. I’m a bit surprised you said the SV20H was much quieter, I got the impression when I played one that it was very loud and perhaps put out more than the 20 nominal watts. I’ve never played a 1987X so maybe it’s quite loud for 50 watts as well! Great video, Johan! Cheers!

I had the jcm 2000 tsl602. Nice amp but just wasnt the sound that was in my head..i sold it and got the studio vintage and couldnt be happier. It does sooo many of the classic tones i was after and what i thinknof as the marshall sound. I put the little bugera load box between it and the speakers though because even at the 5 watt setting this litgle amp COOKS!!

I've had both amps, I still have the SV20. 1987x kills and has a lot of energy but man I want my ears intact lmao so I returned the amp, SV20 is still pretty loud too but it is somewhat manageable with some good earplugs. For those of you who thinks they sound similar, yes possibly to your ears through your computer speakers but the difference in what you feel in person is entirely different.

Nice job Johan!

Your videos are excellent Johan. The sound you get from all of your Plexi videos is the sound i think of in my head. What i love about the sound is the crispy / compression of the higher frequencies. I find a lot of other demos on youtube struggle to dial that sound using the high treble channel. Do you put this down to the cabs / mic you're using?

You bring up a great point about the low end honestly most sound guys shelve it anyway.😉

I agree that the 1987 has more low end response. The SV models are cathode biased instead of adjustable bias. That allowed. for the lower output wattage.

great test, the 1987X makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up just a little bit more!!

Very excellent video! I myself normally cut the electric gtr lows out in the recording process. I would really like to try the SV20H into a new Marshall 1960AHW 412 cabinet.

Great video! I have both the SV20h and SC20h. Both are equally impressive and I’m not sure which I prefer. Hopefully, you can get your hands on the mini JCM in the future. Thanks Johan!

The 1987X has that bit more full spectrum sound. The SV20 lacked a little up top and a little down low but same sweet marshall low-mid to hi-mid. Reminds me of comparing my 1959 SLP to a friends 1987X 20 yrs ago. Recording wise you can work with them all but live there's a significant difference in feel and output. Makes me realize I just need to bite the bullet and pick up a used SV20H as I only play at home and record these days. Pairing it with the right speaker(s) and cab would be a must.

87 all the way. I was surprised it sounded so much better. Does kinda make sense, both use the same set of tubes so if the studio has the same kind of plate voltages they must be taping the power off with the whole power scaling thing and leave the top 3db left off as an option so that they can get away with using smaller iron, and with output transformers being in such short supply, must help economically quite a bit.

Both sound awesome, the sv20 sounds a little more trebly. I always watch your videos, why do you get such a good sound with such rich overtones? What pickups are you using?

The right tool for the job is what your thinking should be. That 50 or 100 watt Marshall head is always going to draw you in because it’s the amp of many of our heroes it’s a sound we know and love. The reason 50 and 100 and even 200 watt amps were made was for head room volume. If your the who, Floyd, stones etc and you are playing outdoor festivals or arenas and you have a limited PA well you need power. If you can’t get that 50 watt amp to its sweet spot than you have wasted that amp. Buy the 20 watt amp and truly dial in plexi tones without blowing out your ear drums

I have both and I love both. Would be hard to pick for me. I use the 1987x through a Marshall 1960TV for rehearsals and the SV20H through a Zilla 2x12" cab with a Greenbrack M and 70th Anni H for recording. Tame both of them with a Tone King Ironman II if needed. They're just awesome!

in the SV20H I hear a slight sponginess in the low range when playing for example the E at the 12th fret on the bottom string compared to the 1987x. But they both sound good

Thanks for the video! They are really close. The SV20H has smoother mids but that could be down to the taper of the pots. Now, the construction and the quality of the parts: the 1987X will most probably outlast the SV20H by a significant margin. Only time will tell.

Great job both amps sound great, the 20 watt one needs to be connected to the bass channel and everything will be great!!!

Without looking the only way I could tell them apart was the low end was more predominant in the bigger amp but not a necessary thing other ways around that.I think it's a great sounding amp

Recorded, the differences are not huge, but the 1987X sounds bigger, more open, more clarity/presence. It's very apparent when you are playing crunchy chord stuff, less so for the lead work. That said, the SV20 is again showing it can hang with it's big brothers. Great job, enjoying the series.

I have the SV20H and it's the perfect candidate for a reamping live rig. The power tubes are run very conservatively and should last very long and going into a reactive load and on to a poweramp (or a fryette power station/boss tae/black cat) you get your fx's where they're supposed to go and can keep level where it needs to be...

great vid. thanks!

I think the difference is the speaker distorting at pushing more air, that's why its a tiny bit more lively

Love that SV20H,

You can't go wrong with either one. The studio 20 has the plexi sound but if I had to choose I would go with the 1987x it's hard to beat the punch in the chest power of the 1987x!! More is more!!

Interesting comparison. I think the amps sound very similar in your recording...maybe different in person? The 1987x has a little more harmonic content and dynamic breadth than the SV. Everyone knows that the 1987x is a great amp, but the SV is really surprising though. Marshall did a fantastic job with the Studio amps, especially incorporating EL34's rather than resorting to EL84's like you'd expect in a 20w amp.

I think that Marshall didn't sell amps as good as those since the Vintage Modern. That remains my favourite because it is cheap, it has a kinda plexi tone, and it is really dynamic. Anyway really good comparison!! Thank you

This comparison is a lot closer to each other in sound than the last one you did. Thanks johan, I’ve been trying to decide between the two and the price difference is not there in my opinion.

They really sound similar to me. I think the days of big iron transformers are over. I use an 18 watt (JTM45 Marshall type circuit) that I built with my band and it works just fine.

Great point about cutting the low end out so as not to trespass on the base eq, in a full mix you probably wouldn't be able to distinguish between the two, maybe a slight difference in the mids.

Sounds great! Looks like they did a good job - thoughts on the combo version? Cheers

Great vid--would love to see the "in the mix" comparison.

They both sound great. I haven't been watching a lot lately, but I wonder if you have tried a universal audio OX yet? I have one, and it's been an awesome tool for dialing in my tones with precise consistency. I think it would be a great too for your shootouts. Just a thought. Cheers.

I think the 'sparkle' difference you mention will just be a difference in presence settings as the amount of NFB will be different - so the same knob positions on the presence controls will also be different between the two.

Hi, Johan! I like 1987, but they are both great! For telecaster its great! See you! Siegfried

Having the extra low end is useful. When using an overdrive pedal. Because most overdrive peddles cut the low end out.

As a bedroom player I love the sv20h with an attenuator because they are all too loud to play at home with a new baby 👶 next door and some retirees who I appreciate thankyou marshall

Thanks for comparing! Hey do you know where the phase inverter coupling caps are located on the SV20’s circuit? I’ve essentially modded it mostly to super bass specs and these caps are the only parts I need to change!

Great comparison! They both sound very similar. Just curious, are you running the settings the same for each amp, and if so, what are the settings? Thanks!

I liked the video editing.amp shaking.did you put a light above the ceiling fan for the other effect?

I liked the sound from my Jext Telez White Pedal so much that I bought a Conqueror and a Pep Box to try and simulate the tone. Sounds pretty good, but ultimately inadequate. I have a Defiant, but I get the best tone from my similarly-designed Super Foundation amplifiers. I reckon if I put a Supreme up against the Conqueror, it would be as I think that I am hearing on this experiment. The little ones just don't quite do it for me. 🎸

Been putting out great stuff Johan! The 50w is 3 times as loud you say, what can I expect volume wise?

Wonderful video. Purchased an SV20H and waiting for it to arrive. As you said, great bang for the buck. The 1987x sounds fuller, and in honesty I would prefer it, but it’s also more expensive.. and I’m just a hobbyist. The SV20H gets you close, I believe. Thanks for a great video!

Nice job. I could tell by the camera shake that the 50watt, as expected, pushed higher SPL"s. But exactly how much I would love to know. I do know that a 20watt[22watt] Fender Deluxe Reverb is not quite loud enough for me to gig with an two guitars, bass, drummer, and keyboard band. An AC-30 is even with a single 12". As well as the DSL-40CR. Would the SV20H with a single 12" cab get the job done ? Hard to believe a dual EL-34 amp from Marshall only touts 20watts when compared to the DSL-40 using the same power tube pair. I am guessing the input and output tranny's on the SV20H are such that the design was limited to that output. Also, I've always wondered why low wattage amps seem to be "studio" amps where you can crank your amp to no end if need be. You can get what's called "room compression" and it's my favorite type compression...lol.

Da SOUND of RAWK! \m/

Hello, thank you so much for your work/channel. I have a big request for you - could you please compare Marshall SC20H against JCM800 2203 (the big one) on the same cab?? It could be great and useful for many players. Thank you in advance. Martin

First thought: They sound the same. In the long run, the 1987 has a little more balls, but that's literally peanuts. My son owns a JCM 800 Studio and it's areal deal, too. Thanks for Q.E.D.

Great comparison. Are you still using your Pure Tone Offset? How does it compare with these?

The missing low-mid is fairly broad and might lend itself to successful compensation by a recording console’s EQ. Pretty damned impressive.

Thanks! LESS Watts but less headroom roundness and Low end! Little transformer 1959>1987>sv20. Sound similar but not the same. SV sound great, more like a mini plexi.

Is this 55hz or 75hz speakers ? Sounds great as usual buddy

Wow! I must say I did like the SV20 more! (And I'm a 1987x owner!). It felt punchier and tighter, more responsive maybe. more focused. Thanks as always for the comparison!

Sv20 has the tiniest bit of highs to my ears. Other than that.....pretty damn identical.

I hear it just as you described. I own both but am in the process of selling the SV. The SV is definitely as close as you can get. It will be interesting watching your next vid. I have a DSL20HR as well. Have you ever done a vid with an original JCM 2000 DSL?

The smaller output transformer and lower voltage on the output tubes contribute to its lack of thump in the low end.

Have you ever done a video plugging in a combo to a 4x12? I really wanted to hear the differences between the Combo 1x12 against it plugged to a 4x12!

I preferred the 1987X,but the SV20 is almost half the price and did great...for the money,I think I'd grab a Ceriatone 50 watter...I really do prefer the fullness of bigger glass and transformers

Hmm like a very few others, I hear the limited dynamics of the treble on the SV as the major diff..(the diff in bass is less noticeable, and less of an issue-a differnt speaker could cure that). SV is quite a bit more compressed in treble and dynamics in every setting- even the cleanest. And predictably, the more ctanked and overdriven the examples are, then both are compessed more and the dynamics are less notceable, but it's still there---the SV doesn't need mods for less treble - i it needs a more open and dynamic treble-and there's no easy mod for that , it's the basic character of most low-power amps..... but all in all it's not bad.. and for the folks that just don't hear much diff, that's really good news- , right? folks can enjoy the smaller ,lighter, more-full mids Sv, -and save a lot of weight and money...

Both sound great ! Virtually identical tone. I wonder how the SV20 will stack up against the Friedman JJjr or Dirty Shirley mini ?

I bought the SV20H when it came out, and I absolutely love it. Takes fuzz (and most fx) like a champ, as it should. Definitely has that Plexi tone I could never find in a pedal. I'm surprised how closely these two amps sound. Thought there would be a bigger difference. Looking forward to the DSL shootout.