theflyingmat

Hi,

I really like this forum, however it does get me confused sometimes. I was looking through previous posts on the 'stickys' and found an entry regarding Marshall amp models etc. The thread went from JTM45 onwards stating the models specs etc. I came across this:

'1959: 1966-1981 (the real ones boys and girls)'

Does this mean that all 1959's between 66-81 are seen as the same whether plexi or metalface? If so, does this go for 1987's as well. Can metalface 1959/1987's be classed the same as plexis as regards sound etc? Is it just the low numbers of plexis that make them worth so much more than metalfaced ones.

Cheers
B

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PaoloJM

I can appreciate your confusion!!

Here's my take:
The term "Plexi" refers to the Plexiglass plates that were used on models up to '69 I think. After that Marshall moved to metal plate as you know.

During this time of manufacturing the comonants varied widely even with the same models and year of manufacture. The result is that most models sound slightly different.

The 60's Marshalls were seen by many as having the desireable "Marshall tone" (which in itself is a bit silly as we already mentioned these models didn't sound the same either) and so people selling their 70s version of the same amp began using the term "Plexi" to help their items sell. The term seems to have stuck and here we are today.

To me the Van Halen 1 tone is the "Plexi" tone, which I believe is an unmodded 1968 Super Lead. Others may well dissagree and that's the point here. There is no Plexi tone, it's genuinely like the holy grail....

To be fair most so called Plexis do share common tonal traits, crunchy, mid heavy, sweet yet punchy tones but then again so do many other non Marshall amps.

Well that's my take, I'm sure some will agree, others will strongly disagree and others like to play guitar through amps with great tone and don't let such details bother them.

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janarn

1987 and 1959 changed from shared cathode to split cathode on V1 in '69.
Other changes were also made, and a '72 1987 is a very different amp
from a '68 1987.
Bass and PA models stayed the same. So a Bass or PA metalface will
sound much closer to a Plexi than a Lead model.

theflyingmat

Excellent reply. I agree with you on most respects. To make matters worse here's another snippet from this forum which makes it more confusing as to what that 'plexi tone' is.

'It is as if a time machine dropped a new 60's Marshall cab in the shop. Eric Collins painstakingly duplicated the original grill cloth thread by thread. Sound wise the cloth smooths out the highs of the cab perfectly. Making is warm and full.'

So even if I owned a plexi from the 60's, playing it through my 70's cab, I would not get that true plexi tone.

It's dawned on me lately that all this talk of 'tone' etc is in ones own ears, just as you have stated in your last paragraph.
Are we chasing something that maybe does not exsist (I should know about such things as I come from the land of the Lochness Monster)?

It reminds me of a story I read in a hifi mag years ago. This guy was always trying to get a great sounding hifi. His passion was violin music. One of hifi guru friends was always saying that the sound of his friends hifi was lacking something or another. Until one day the guy blindfolded his friend and let him hear another piece of music. Once again the guy said that the highs were too high, or mids not clear...blah blah! when the blindfold was taken off, there sitting in front of the guru was an actual classical violin player.

We can kid oursevles into anything sometimes.

__________________
DSL 50watt Head
JMP MII 50watt Head
JCM900 SL-X 50watt Head
JCM900 4x12 Angled Cab
60's/70's 4x12 Base & Angled Cabs
70's 2x12 Checkerboard Cab
Artiste 2x12 combo
30th 6101 & Ext cab
JCM 800 4221 combo
Guitars:
Gibson LP G/Top 56RI, Gibson LP Custom 80, Gibson LP L/Burst, Gibson SG Jnr 63, Gibson M/Maker P90, Fender Bullet USA, Fender Tele 62RI MIJ, Robin Artisan, Moon Rhubard&Custard