I made a shocking discovery working on a brand new 2023 year 2203X JCM800 reissue. headfirst.amplification@gmail.com headfirstamplification.com / headfirst.amplification / 225949122469679 / headfirstamps.jason
Marshall retained the same part codes - but not the same part cost. It's one thing to use lower-cost components in an amp at a lower price point but it seems more than a little disingenuous to load up a $3k+ flagship product with a cheap part. This kind of bean-counter logic makes sense on paper right up to the point where they squander years of good will afforded to Marshall and hollow out the brand.
It’s everywhere. I am an industrial electrician and every company I have worked for has cheaped out since the early 90’s. These are international and national brands, the top of the heap. I saw kids right out of college get put in management positions and they had no clue about anything- a lot of them majored in something totally different. It spread through upper management and the bean counters controlled everything. Once great top quality products were now the same as the cheap knockoff/copycat products because cheap ingredients and poor quality control, along with untrained workers due to lack of company interest. It’s throw them with someone for 1-2 weeks and you are on your own. How you turn out is how you were trained and if you want to learn. In my field it’s usually just throw you out there and have at it. I think the younger generations are used to overseas products at a cheaper price because manufacturing in the US is not what it used to be - innovation and quality. It seems that a percentage of startup companies start with a quality product but then offer a cheaper version after awhile to compete with prices of overseas goods. This is bad for business in my opinion. I feel a company should offer the best possible product. Period. Time will tell if this hurts Marshall. If it’s corporate profits over quality products, then it will probably turn out bad for them.
@@daveb9370 People have clamored for cheaper products forever. It's how Walmart started getting suppliers to build in Asia and then dictating price points.
This is a common tale in manufacturing, and particularly in the guitar world. Little things change, allegedly without impact, and five or ten years later the product drifted, and a “reissue” is introduced: Gibson, Fender, Seymour Duncan, etc. everybody is doing it. … and Guitar players don’t like change.
Since Zound acquired Marshall, more & more of the kit's being made with inferior components sourced cheaply from Vietnam & the far east. It's ruining the brand's reputation.
I was toying with the idea of getting a hand wired Vox, until i found out that the entire thing is made in Vietnam. If i'm going to pay a premium for a hand wired amp, i would have expected it to be hand made by people employed in the originating country of that brand, England in the case of Vox.
@@arkplate9536Have you come across Cornell Amps? Lovely people, hand built in Essex England. Not a rep, not a shill, just tried their gear and think they're great.
Keep in mind that Marshall is no longer a British company. Marshall has been sold to Swedish speaker company Zound. Like many other companies the legacy company was sold off. This also happened to Mesa which is now owned by Gibson. TC Electronics is now part of Behringer and so on. What you are seeing is the original company being diluted as it gets absorbed by another company.
Many legacy/pedigree companies went that route. Now Moog synthesizers same thing unfortunately. Often times cutting corners unacceptable to the buyers of yesteryear and no bond with buyers of today.
Luckily the old Marshall has a decent back catalogue of good amps from many years ago that we can still buy used. I was tempted to just buy a new 2203X recently as they are only around €1600 near me, but I decided to go for a 1977 JMP 2203 instead. So glad I did.
I've got an Astoria Dual and it's a fantastic amplifier. It's starting to become evident that these may be the last great amplifiers ever built by Marshall.
thanks for the video Jason, it gives a solid indication of the direction which the new owners of the company plan to take it, theres two ways they could go, one would be to show respect for a time honoured brand by maintaining the quality in parts and manufacture or you could just use cheaper components and go for a cash grab, your video shows the choice they seem to have made especially considering the amp which is as you say an iconic model.
Marshall stopped making great amps decades ago. There are a dozen or more companies out there building better sounding, better constructed, better component marshalls for less money than Marshall. Also for $3500, you can buy a friedman made with the best of the best components and a tone that will not only cop the 800 perfectly but numerous other types of sounds... hell for $1500, you can buy a used Runt 50 which is the most perfect hot rod 2 channel 800 distilled down with no frills. I loved mine.
What's all this noise about a space heater that makes music louder? Maybe y'all should see if the EU allows production of this transformer, or if that Supplier is fulfilling orders for Military Contractors. With energy pipelines refusing to stay intact in this part of the World, I think your priorities are out of tune. There are oscilloscopes and a few old farts that can discern Tube Amps from Clones and Miracles can be performed in Post. If you have one, keep the chrome polished and your greasy mits off. If you are in the EU, stay warm and keep your earbuds charged, if you can. Best wishes.
Much appreciated video Jason. Your content here is crucial so thanks for informing us. Seeing this in 2023, I’m not shocked or surprised. Jim would be rolling in his grave.
Lets not forget that the Marshalls Made in England Studio Series amps ( $2000 US dlls ) and the Made in Vietnam Origin series ( $ 650 - $ 750 US Dlls ) share exactly the same transformers, caps, resistors, circuit boards, pots, cabling, and so on, even same Chinesse Vintage Type Celestion Speakers.... so if the parts in both series are made in the UK and just put together in different factories, then buying an Origin makes a fantastic value in having an amp with UK made parts just assembled in Vietnam, but if they are putting parts made in Vietnam in the Studio Series (UK), thats just ..........
You know what's really crazy to me is that Marshall could HAVE come up with a reason to raise the price and keep the build the same, and I think a lot of people would be okay with it. That said, to make an under-handed change like this when your in the boutique price range of Friedman, Suhr, Victory, various DIY JCM kits and several other JCM like amplifiers along with the widespread availability of modeling and a healthy used market, they really must think no body is noticing. Overall this seems a little penny smart, dollar stupid.
Exactly there’s too many options from people who’ve made their careers fixing and modding Marshalls to spend that kind of money and get lesser components but I bet the shareholders loved the Vietnamese transformers and if they have cut costs and quality on such a major component you can bet the pots , jacks, caps , and resistors are the cheapest they can find. I’m not hating on Vietnamese production I’ve got a DSL20cr that I love it’s a great box of Marshall for around 500 bucks back when I got mine, but I knew sacrifices were made and it was built in Vietnam to save costs and maximize profits it’s obvious the wood is particle board and the tolex looks kinda cheap but Marshalls made in England don’t have the finest tolex either. It’s a real shame I’ve always been a Marshall guy but they are slipping soon to become the Gibson of Amplifiers.
Really enjoy your content! I agree, in that, Marshall is cutting corners. I remember you suggesting the small studio versions of the plexi, JCM800 were also using MAV pcb's and probably MAV OT and PTs. So yeah, take away msg - if you want a Marshall, go used market.
@@markntexas8265 seems as though any Marshall with a Dagnall OT and PT or Drake. However I've had a JCM900 SLX need repair because of poor use of a rectifier that shorted out. I really like my JVM 210 head. Really get some great variety there!
I was recently at a local music store where I live in Nashville, Tennessee. The sales associate told me that he had received a brand new Marshall Head with no tubes. Unbelievable! this type of quality control is unacceptable. Marshall better get it together if they want to stay in business.
Companies need to learn something very basic... when you have a good product and the quality is there.... people are willing to pay the extra $$ for it.... so why take the chance to fk it up by going with cheaper made components especially nowadays when one slip up and the whole world will know about it !! thanks for showing this !! It will definitely make a difference when people are looking to buy !! cheers !
I think you are right to raise this issue. Anyone wanting to purchase a 2203 reissue is going to expect it to be a Marshall through and through. That includes the correct spec transformers that are a critical component of the tone.
They are likely the correct "spec" of inferior quality. You can put in an EL34 Tube from anywhere and it's "spec" but it's not a vintage Millard or GEC or other quality tube. None of their amps come with the tubes they were designed for. Just ones with the right part number.
I'm not convinced that the OT is super critical provided it is in the ballpark for spec. Aside from the name does any know how close the new Dagnall's are to the old ones? I'm surte there will be differences due to changes in safety regulations and probably general manufacturing practice and likely cost cutting too. Same with other components on the board, they are extremely unlikely to be the "same" as Marshall used back in the day - caps, pots and resistor tolerances and generally much better than they were - which is generally a good thing for consistency. The sound should be the first consideration - it doesn''t matter how good the components are or who made them if it doesn't sound good. After that it all starts to get a bit corksniffer.
@@auntjenifer7774 then why did it stop when he touched it? You don't understand what you're saying. The cover was vibrating and producing a ringing sound. All transformers vibrate. It shouldn't have done that, but it doesn't prove anything.
So they got bought out and instead of getting better , they got worse. If things couldn’t get worse at Marshall. Yeah I’m 100% shocked as well. Pathetic and makes me kinda mad. Thank god for you man bringing this knowledge to everyone. Cheers!
I’ve got a two year old jcm800 and I like the sound of it. It sucks how they are starting to use cheaper parts. But I’m not about to go checking my transformers and then second guessing myself and telling myself that I can suddenly hear things I don’t like in my amp because now I know they were sourced from Vietnam. I like the sound of my amp, it’s running well, and that’s what it’s important. 🎶
😂 my Marshall DSL 40 is like 2014 and runs great, sounds killer, especially with the 70th annv celestion and has Vietnamese transformers that don't squelch like that jcm800 in the video😮 so I'm happy with that ! But then. Again I'm very happy with my old Marshall jcm600 head unit that the internet said will catch on fire or burn out your filter caps or both😂 But I've had it for years and years, played hundred of shows and it only now has a 12ax7 that is slightly microphonic but doesn't start squelch until master volume is over 7 so I haven't bother to change it out because I've only needed the volume once at a loud show and that's where I figured it was a microphonic tube😅 but the Dagnal transformers in my jcm600 work great at even 4 ohms even though they are setup for 8 and 16 . I'm happy with the old jcm600 head and DSL 40 , they are really all the Marshall I need. That and the fact I only paid $450 total for the head and the combo there's no reason for myself spend $4200 on. Jcm800 😅 because that's what they cost after state tax😮
I just bought an Origin 20 made in Vietnam. Stock 10 inch speaker, run an OCD through it, and it sounds amazing. I use it more than my top of the line amps. Sometimes you just have to forget about components etc. and where it's made and just play the thing.
@@jacksonmarshallkramer5087 so, if it's not about playability, reliability, and SOUND, what is the point? What do you own that doesn't have components built in Mexico, China, Viet Nam, Taiwan, Malaysia, or Indonesia? Pretty much nothing.
It all began when Jim Marshall died. He was someone who respected quality and musicians, and put them first. He would never give an amp to an artist because of advertising, but now that he's gone, so many artists are being given stuff to advertise. Corporate greed is causing many different brands in all areas of consumerism to cheapen their products and their brand. I thought about going with Laney since their stuff still seems well made and costs a lot less. A few Marshall artists have also left the company and gone to others that are a lot less well known. No idea why, but it's happening. I think Marshall became too popular and is suffering the consequences of that and another company controlling too many things that it doesn't understand.
My first "Marshall" about 20 years ago was a home-made clone by myself because I could not afford a Marshall-made tube amp. Now I own a small DSL for home use (which came with the cheapest Celestion speaker so I had to upgrade to get rid of the unpleasant fizz). My next "Marshall" probably will be an other home-made clone because THEY cannot afford quality parts.
Awesome vid, reminds me of how Peavey declined, they moved everything cheap Asian, but kept same prices. Just goes to show you gotta be careful and do research.
Agreed. Defo a poor decision to cut corners in that way. Kinda shady also to scrap Dagnell as it’s like breaking tradition that makes a big part of what a 2203 has always been.
Awesome video Jason! Just another reason to go with a true vintage 2203 than blow your money on a new one. Cost would be the same or less and be better quality.
Now I wanna check the transformers in my 2020 2555x Jubilee 100w reissue lol. I haven't had any issues with it, but its definitely the heaviest amp I own. Whatever transformers are in it weigh a ton.
You don't need to, that was before the buy out. The only thing you have to look for is rushed work to get them out as the market was crazy then. Maybe some misplaced errors in parts ect.
Great video. Wealth of information! I know I’m never buying Marshall thanks to this. Lots of other builders today exist anyways that do the sound better than Marshall. It’s just a name: they were bought out too and don’t carry the same heritage anymore. I still love a good JCM800 tone though!
Only you Jason, would notice such an important and critical detail. Us mere mortals would continue to simply plug in and wonder why it sounds ever so slightly different. Thank you for bringing this up. I will keep my vintage Marshall amps a little longer until the company either gets back on the proper path, or until they dig deeper into the cost cutting measures at which point my amps will increase in value. Keep up the great work!
Definitely a shady move, thanks for pointing this out Jason! At the prices they are charging and then putting cheap transformers and other stuff in the amps I'd much rather pay for a Friedman or other high end brand. Dumb move Marshall!! SMH
Just the fact that these amps cost over $3 grand here in the U.S.has always baffled me…now,even more so…but you can buy a brand new Jubilee re-issue for $2300??….over $1000 more for the simpler design?…..you know those Vietnamese X-Formers are cheaper,or they wouldn’t have switched,and to not tell anybody or pass the savings along to the consumer is pretty shitty….if Marshall is going to focus on their Legacy amps,and charge a premium for them,at least use the best components..It would be cheaper,and better quality to just build your own 2203…I really wanted one of the Studio Series amps until I saw the insides,and the price increase…almost $2 grand for one now…
The jubilee reissues had good transformers in them. Mine is dead quiet. I suspect that they are using the Vietnam transformers in all the new products though.
Man..I love Marshall for their Plexis and 800’s “back in the day” but you’re spot on, charging a premium price for dogs#*t components… If you want the Marshall flavour at top shelf buy a Suhr, Germino, Metropolous, Friedman, Wizard!, MGL, the list goes on Purchased a BE100 deluxe and I ain’t looking back
Hello. You probably don’t remember me but I first contacted you this year when a client brought a Marshall to me with instructions allegedly from your US counterpart. My customer made a mistake and found out that his advice came from a source that wasn’t your us source. Anyway. You were so kind to me and you were so helpful to me. That same friend just told me that Marshall isn’t going to worry about distribution anymore. A store told me that USA won’t get anymore Marshall’s for the time being. Anyway, your content is always good. I love it. I also like your content. I’m glad you’re around and showing how to do your mods and work. You’re good people bud. Take care.
Marshall has not gone away in the US. Marshall dealer here. Zound/Marshall USA just decided to take KMC/US Music out of the distribution loop and handle distribution themselves. I talked to my new rep this week and most paperwork for dealers and such should be ready in a week or so, and dealers will start getting product again shortly thereafter. Some big things coming from Marshall. For one, many of the models like the Vietnam manufactured DSL series are going to see price reductions, and big ones at that. They just have to get over the hurdle of getting on top of all of the distribution and such, but handling it themselves will allow them to lower pricing and still let dealers have a decent margin even with the better pricing.
Marshall is owned by a headphone company now . A “ lifestyle “ brand who bought it for the name not the amp history itself. Just so they can sell more Marshall headphones and Bluetooth speakers . Say goodbye to Marshall as it was .
i completely agree with you when you mentioned keeping the same price tag and not telling consumers. that seems shady. other than that is everything else up to usual standards?
Thanks for this video.. I'm making a JCM800 50watts 2xEL34 right now...half way done soldering it together when writing this. I winded both transformers myself and the power transformer is not humming/brooming when tested. They are both made using core plates and wires that are a bit oversized so the stress level on them and the heat developing are not very high when the tubes are pushed to the limit.
Now I've only done two amp builds, one being a 18 Watt TMB with a JCM800ish front end, but assembling a proper 2203 doesn't really seem like a steep feat. I feel confident in thinking that parting out a 2203 build with some good research will get a much better amp at a much lower price. The fact that someone would pay 3.5k for something like this is definitely insane, and markets like this prey on those who put a lot of trust in established brand names. Unfortunately a lot of the guitar gear market is stuck in the past, and willing to put up with these shenanigans just to have that coveted name on their gear.
Here's a tip for you if in Australia, buy a 68 to 73 Eminar bass head, damn near Plexi circuit, you can easy mod to precise Plexi/2203 circuit. Last one I bought was 500.
Well Jason that is pretty sad too see that! I tell you i'm not buying a Marshall amp! I would buy your amp or Friedman amp any day! You know what you are getting. Man Jason that's wrong what they are doing.
I have a Herbert either MK1 or MkII that has a Xformer that hums like crazy. Different frequency than that Marshall but mine doesn’t stop or change when being tapped or touched. Also goes through the speaker a little bit too. Does this sound like a serious issue that I should get looked at ASAP or not so much?? My amp repair ability is very limited. Thanks
I've talked to Peter Diezel about this as my VH4 hums as well. It's completely normal on Diezels to have mechanical hum and I was told by the man himself that it is a non issue. Hope this helps
@@sanchezlabro3177 Hell yeah it does! My observation and common sense told me it wasn’t anything more than annoying. But I didn’t know that it was a known thing from Peter 👍
I've owned a number of Marshalls, rocked the Sunset Strip in Hollywood with Marshalls, Boogies, Laneys, Randalls and many other amps in the 80s. I love the Marshall sound. But when it comes to reliability and build quality, they often leave something to be desired. This keeps the door open for other companies to sweep in and cut into the market. Given the choice between a JVM and a Friedman, I'd go for the latter. Suhr is also making fine amps. JCMs were not the world's most reliable, well-designed amps in the 80s, so in building in this design flaw, Marshall is keeping with tradition, at least in spirit.
I own the contender for the most unreliable amp ever made by Marshall, the JCM 600. Yet I love that amp and it is the only one that I use for recording. For playing I prefer the Marshall Vintage Modern or Laney Cub 12.
For recording Marshalls can be great. I just don't trust them on the road. I wouldn't trust a Laney AOR either, as they were terribly built. Laney has since upped their game and build much better amps that I would call roadworthy. Marshall is building crap. @@love_it_to_death
A lot of players simply haven't' experienced the dark side of Marshall. I have. I had a JMP that ate tubes like popcorn, that I was always having worked on. One day it took a little fall when the head fell off the slant cab and the back chassis got dented in when it hit a coffee table corner. It was almost destroyed. The chassis was dented in, and half the tubes were destroyed. I took it to a local shop, and they were able to fix it, but it was close. I spent more money getting it repaired than I did purchasing entire amp, meaning head and both cabs combined when I bought it in 1988. And that's not considering how much I paid for all the other services and tube replacements, which alone was over a thousand bucks. That's a lot of money now. It was more than in 1989-90 when I was rocking clubs on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. I eventually sold off a couple guitars including a '61 strat and bought a Boogie 50 Cal + combo. That amp was plenty loud to handle clubs and built like a tank. I know this from experience because I saw it take several spills when roadies or friends mishandled it and it fell down staircases or off the back of a truck in one case. Boogies are not cheap but very worth it for build quality. Whether or not they have the right tone you're looking for is another issue.@@whatilearnttoday5295
i just bought the new jtm studio 20 combo new for 650$ on sale, no hum whatsoever. it probably has the same vietnamese transformers ,i wish all the parts were made in england as well and it should be illegal to have imported parts.
Hi @Jason, I am an amateur guitar player and I have basic notions of electronics so I would have never picked up the difference in transformers between the EU and Vietnam made at a glance. Thanks for your observation and it is important information for us as consumers to make more informed decisions. But I can hear and recognise the 1khz noise and I would have probably sent the amp for a service check or back for warranty considering is brand new and the cost of the amp because I would not expect that background noise as part of a fully functional amp because I still own other 10+ tube amps and 6 of them of the same/higher quality and price. Nowadays most parts get replaced with cheaper counterparts and sometimes will not probably last 10 years without proper care and maintenance under consistent usage, while older versions of the same amps could be used in tours around the world for 20 years on road cases. I am not surprised that also Marshall is following partially this trend. I think that these amps sound good and they are consistently built, but the guitarists who buy them are I think mostly middle-aged amateur musicians (like myself) who can afford this price tag and they will not need/expect the resilience and serviceability of the product because most professional musicians nowadays are moving to more practical digital solutions.
Every Marshall that I have ever owned and toured with was heavily modded by Mike Morin (the Amp Wizard) as were most every Marshall amp that were used on stage during the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Marshall has never been known for their utilization of great transformers and those were quite commonly the very first things to be replaced
I have a SC20H despite knowing it’s later consist not mainly MADE IN UK as claimed. So far the amp is serving its purpose. But definitely, the next amp I’m getting is from Ceriatone. One of the reason is because Marshall has increased the price here in Singapore by $200! WTH. Good bye and thanks Marshall.
Ceriatone and other similar companies are one of the very reasons companies like Marshall are under immense pressure to cut costs. Maybe to put things in perspective it's worth remembering that CT basically ripped off every popular amp design to the last detail, made cheap kits *with cheap transformers* and leveraged their super tight operating costs / low labor rates. 15 years later they are making more original and advanced designs but this whole market upheaval and disruption is a common process. The moral of the story is when a company gets to a certain size (big) and are making significant global sales but have become less agile -> be afraid because you are a prime candidate to be disrupted.
Its only because your love for tube amps that those of us cherish these is why this video is made, i do believe . that said thx for the news, i hope you can quiet this issue with this amp. Victory Had a Black Friday special on NOS sheriff 22wts buried in their warehouse 50% off $787US & free shipping~to all (Northern California-me, in only 5days) I grabbed one, they come with "Demeter" PT/OT part#S25 bolted at Mid point as well
As an old tech, and guitar slinger I enjoy your videos mate. Cost cutting has been going on for years sadly. I bought a new Marshall JTM combo back in the late 90s/early 2000s from memory- the power transformer hummed annoyingly, so I tightened up the transformer case bolts and that reduced the physical hum- not sure where the transformers were made though. I noticed a lot of manufacturing cost-cutting going on when I inspected the amp. The power transformers fried in two Marshal 50w 2x12 combos I used back in the '70s- probably had more transformer issues with Marshall's than any other brand of amp I've owned and used for 40 years. Mind you, I've had some wonderful tones out of Marshall amps! Keep up the good work- your amps look great.
100% not informing the potential buyer of the transformer change is super lame. Hopefully, there is a backlash and Marshall publicly states going back to the original iron on the more expensive models. Either way it’s sneaky and any company should fiscally suffer for such lame tactics and essentially disrespecting their amazingly loyal base. But hey at least Marshall are mounting 5-10 watt resistors Up Off the board now…. Fender, where u at..:
When EVH left Marshall, I think that was the beginning of the end. I think the 5150 / Soldano / and all the other modded Marshalls just obliterate anything made by marshall
My EVH stealth is the best amp I've ever played ! It's not Eddie's vintage Marshall tone but I can get so close by running the line out into a Marshall jcm600 clean channel or the clean channel on my peavey usa 6534+ head unit and then it is just un worldly !
Buying a marshall for an amp these days is like buying protools to record on a pc . For the price of a new Marshall you can get a custom point to point clone with quality parts
Hi. Interesting. I checked my 2021 JVM 205H out of interest and can confirm it has Dagnall transformers. Although one was replaced under warranty because the plates were rattling. Awesome amp. Regards.
Marshall is irrelevant when it comes to new production. Their vintage amps were great; however, there are many current manufacturers producing better amps based on their old designs.
The ONLY factory built amps I buy are 40+ years old anymore. If I want a new amp, I build it with the parts I want. High gain, low gain and anything in between. Tube amps are NOT rocket science. Jason has excellent PCB’s for sale. Use them!
Great info! On my hand built amp I actually asked for Heyboer but I didn't get those. I've got hum on standby & with the amp tubes on, then the hum doubles, it's hard to hear when playing though
Good, this makes my 1986 JCM 800 more desirable. 😁 First, I'd want to try to determine if that is even a Marshall. There is a lot of fake music gear out there these days - I haven't heard of fake Marshalls, but somewhere I'll bet someone is doing it.
@@johnbriggs3916 Buy off an employee, for one thing. I don't know. I'm just saying, check out your products nowadays. Are those all Marshall parts, though? I don't know. I missed it if he said who made the transformers. If the trannies are not normal then I'd want to check every single part, and call Marshall, just to get clear on it - but also to tell Marshall that they are screwing themselves over in tarnishing their reputation.
My less than 1 year old SV20H has developed an intermittent contact on the mid pot. It's still under warranty but man, it's brand new! I never abused it, studio work only...
Seems like yesterday....in the mid '90's here in the New Orleans area (Kenner to be exact) I passed on a 1972 50 watt Superlead in great condition. 500 dollars! I didn't have the extra money. But I have enough Superleads all bought the same price (500 dollars)...that was common for used Superleads in the '90's! Buy used amps people...especially now pop music is popular now! Should be lots of guitar amps flooding the market in my humble opinion
I'm commenting just to give this an algorithmic boost in RU-vid, because this should be known. It is alarming if they are sneakily changing out parts with cheaper made ones. I'm sure their plan is to replace them part by part and essentially sell you a €3000 Bugera
I had to replace a transformer in my JVC. I contacted the folks in Malta and had a replacement sent. The spade connectors were all bent up from shipping, but what surprised me was the lack of solder on the connectors. They were all just hand wrapped but missed the soldering station. I soldered the connectors myself and the transformer works fine now.
Interesting that you should post this. Was considering buying one and putting replacement transformers in anyway. Good to know Dagnall still do drop ins. Please do a video on any other potential optimizations.
I bought a Marshall combo amp. I ended up changing out all the capacitors, the speaker, the tubes and added an effects loop and I think we changed out the power transformer as well. Now it's the best sounding amp I have ever heard. Point is, if you are not modding your Marshall, expect a generic response.
Fair play Jason much respect for pointing this out I love my old Marshalls but this is unacceptable at these the prices Marshall needs a major re shuffling just like gibson
Thank you so much for the heads up on this! I have nearly always wanted one of their 1 watt heads since they came about, but have held out "in case" they re-release those mini stacks from about 20-odd years ago. I buy a Marshall for keeps, because "it's a Marshall". But if they take the reasons away, what choice is there but to look elsewhere? Sad day.
I wrote a post way back when you were showing the studio series amp that you had modded. I stated that the Transformers were the same as those on the DSL20 and if not the same, they were from the same manufacturer. Crazy that they are charging as much as they are for these amps and getting their PCB and transformers from Vietnam .
As much as i love Marshalls, their modern amps just are disappointing. For the money they charge for their reissue flagship amps they should be top quality. I don't mind paying 3.5k US for an amp but it better be proper, it takes me a long time to save up for things, a very long time. So if i were to buy a brand new Marshall I'd be extremely upset. I'll likely never buy a new Marshall, I'd rather buy an amp from someone like you who puts love and care into them and blows away Marshall while you're at it. This on top of the disappointment of my Origin 20 will probably keep me away from anything they currently produce. I fell for the marketing and reviews saying that amp was a budget Plexi, unfortunately i didn't know anything about amps at the time and hadn't discovered your channel. Thank you for sharing this news with us Jason, keep up the excellent work
The transformers are the heart and soul of a tube amplifier. At this price point, I would expect high-quality UK-made transformers. They are key to the amp's sound and reliability, they need to be the highest quality. At this price, I would buy a Friedman amp.
Having saved up for years and finally purchasing my first tube amp, a Marshall DSL20, about 3 months ago, this is not the video I was hoping to find on ytube. 😞
I wouldn't worry about your DSL20. You know up front that it is manufactured in Vietnam. The DSL series is basically a budget series anyway. I just bought a DSL20hr knowing fully that it was made in Vietnam. Not a big issue for a $650.00 amp. And it seems to be well made.
Happy New Year, Australian . THANKS FOR YOUR HONEST CONTENT. I USE MARSHALL AMPLIFIERS. MY SCREEN SAVER IS MY : JCM900 SL-X 100 WATT HEAD & MARSHALL 4×12 CAB BY NOT INFORMING PUBLIC IT BECOMES DECEPTION. SOME YRS BACK I WAS READING THE BACK OF A NEW LOW WATT HEAD & SAW VIETNAM MADE & THAT WAS MY WAKE UP CALL WITH MARSHALL. BUYERS: READ THE FINE PRINT.
It's a scandal! I bought one of those brand new 2203X for $3500. I also assumed these were built in the UK. After just a few hours of playing, the amp started cutting out and started making popping sounds. I brought it in to my local amp tech for warranty repairs. I about fell over when he told me that Marshall had moved some of its production to Vietnam. The bias was way off from the factory and a few sloppy quality control issues were cleaned up, one of them being a clipped wire end that had melted to the circuit board. I own some vintage Marshalls and bought a couple of new ones in the 1990s and 2000s. Such fantastic sounding, reliable pieces of equipment. I wouldn't take this new Marshall down to the local club for a gig for fear of it failing. It's unfortunate that the people in charge of this iconic company are basically destroying the brands reputation.
damn, I have a 2022 bolts are through the middle like your 2017. Had me scared a dodged a bullet! damn good sounding amp. Im going to have to get a headfirst amp sometime, so don't die On me before then.
It’s an unfortunate reality that many companies are now ripping off the consumer. Like Jackson guitars selling premium price “American series” guitars that have cheap garbage low end Floyd Rose 1000 series trems and shoddy components. Or with auto companies putting the cheapest transmissions and engine components just to maximize profits. Sickening
100 watt tsl is said to have better overdrive than the TSL60. I love my tsl100
20 дней назад
@@richardpryor2981 The TSL100 and TSL60 are both fantastic amps! After diving into their schematics, I found they're essentially the same. The main differences are the TSL100 has separate controls for OD1 and OD2, plus two extra EL34 power tubes. Basically, the biggest difference in sound is that the TSL100 is louder. Which coincidentally is what you want from a Marshall haha. Never sell it, my friend!
I recently bought an ENGL Artist Edition 50 watt head, and love it. It cost me $2,200 in Australia 🇦🇺. It is the best amp I have ever used. And, it's made in Germany 🇩🇪. Shame on you, Marshall.
Gen Xer here, always loved Marshalls over the years. But the current company and products make me think the best thing for the Marshall legacy is for them to just fail quickly and go away...
Hi mate, uk amp tech here. I must admit, I haven't seen a marshall with Vietnamese transformers yet, they must be lousy though! Power transformer with a 1khz resonance.. they must have worked hard to make it that bad! Looks like the Swedish takeover is even more disastrous than we feared. I think quality control at marshall has been slipping for some time though, I had an older jcm 800 in a couple of months ago with intermittent volume drop off, pre amp valve heater had wire soldered (badly!) to pin 5 with just plastic insulation and one strand of wire resting against pin 4! Another one was a brand new 18 watt 1974x that has been back to the factory twice under warranty, sounded dead. Pulled the chassis and was greeted by the sight of the screen grid wire that should have gone to one of the EL84s dangling in the breeze! Quick fix and happy owner "its all good mate, just get me a beer".. but he had paid over 2 grand uk for it. I think marshall lost the plot quite some time ago if im honest. Great video, just subscribed to your channel.
When i had my Orange OR50. It hummed a little. Not sure if it were the transformers but i chocked it up to the terrible electricity in my home. It wasn't like this but i never thought to just touch the transformers to check. I will be getting another in the future and I'm upgrading the transformers. That amp was half the price of the this Marshall and.. Sounded better arguably. I remember the JCM800 costing much less when i was amp shopping. I almost got a 1987x because it was $1800 at the time. I checked the prices early this year and could'nt believe the markups. Orange actually kept their prices the same in the last 9 years which is insane. It is crazy anyone would buy a new Marshall. Buy used until the company gets its head screwed on right.
