dmnall

Well I have my own questions about a 1971 Marshall Major amp that I have owned for almost 12 years now. The funny thing is the the tag inside the amp has the following Printed on it 200 Watt Bass M416. I cannot find any information about whether or not there was a Bass version of the Marshall or is this just a Guitar Amp??

Now I am looking for Filter Caps for it because 4 out of the 5 you can tell are leaking which is why a friend of mine a few years back said it needed Powersupply Caps as he called them. I am planning on replacing all the tubes in January but I want to play through this amp again with out the nasty as hell hum it produces?? I am also looking for a power switch and for cosmetics the back cover.... I know once I get it back to playable again, I might keep it or trade it for a 100 watt JCM800 or JCM900 *not picky* and seeing the originals are holding their value and from what I have seen the Majors are demanding some insane prices *compared to when I bought the amp in 97 for practically nothing*.....

Thank you,
Charlie

fkh

Hi dmnall

There was 3 versions of the Major :
Model 1967 = Lead
Model 1976 = PA
Model 1978 = Bass

Here are some pics of my 1978 : http://www.fkh.dk/major/

and here are some pics of my 1967 : http://www.fkh.dk/71major/

dmnall

Thank you fkh.. Now the question did the 71 Majors have the Polarity Switch?? I know mine does, but the Filter Caps the 2 Large ones are Gold on mine and the smaller ones are Blue.. Where Can I get those to replace mine???

Thank you again,
Charlie

Wally Dow

When you replace the caps and the tubes, the hum should go away. The filter caps in the power supply are there to filter out the hums and to help convert the AC power to DC for the tube biasing, etc.

Check the condition of all of the electrolytic caps in the amp. Paper disc caps very rarely go bad, and when they do it is obvious.

Just do a quick look through at all of the components in it (resistors, etc) and make sure none of them have a burned look. They are usually inexpensive to replace, and you can generally find a replacement that looks exactly like the original. Always pay attention to the power/wattage/amp rating of any part you replace and make sure it is the correct rating.

You would be crazy to trade that amp off.

I remember seeing the Major Bass amp in 1970 at either Bringe & Wilsey Music or Preston Music in St Petersburg, FL. That is the time period when I bought my Super Lead 100 that ended up being stolen form my house (That story is elsewhere in this forum).

Just maintain it, restore it with the right parts, and you will have one ball breaking butt kicking bass amp from the great years of Marshalls.

__________________

Wally Dow

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