Any fans of the Marshall origin series ??

riffpowers

I was talking to someone who gigs the 50 watt one last night , and it got me thinking. 

Couple of 50watt combos 2nd hand near me that are great value , and I thought it might work for my punk rock club band and possibly my action rock band too. 

Does anyone like em ? Anyone tried or owned one ?

Yorkie

I tried 5 and 20, didn’t find them useful. In the end, I got a DSL40 for chips and that has covered most bases for me. 

ryanverbena

I didn’t really love mine.

You’re correct they can be had for a bargain, but so can a lot of the Marshall range. 

ICBM

I haven’t tried the 50, but I did try the 20 combo - horrible amp. Quite large and ridiculously heavy for something so weak-sounding and underpowered - probably partly due to having a 10” V-Type Junior speaker when almost any other option would be better. Even worse, if that’s possible, in the 5W mode - just sounded constipated. It also had almost no gain, which admittedly is more like an old Marshall than most people realise, but generally isn’t the reason you would buy a modern one - also not helped by the ‘boost’ mode actually being the *normal* gain and being artificially reduced when turned off.

I can only hope the 50 would be better, but I’d be amazed if it sounded anything like a proper 50W Marshall.

andyman

God, some people really hate these. I've heard techs say it's because they're basically a giant pedal and can't handle gigging very well; that said, me and a few others really do like the sound of them regardless of durability. They definitely don't have gain unless you turn the volume right up; if you can it sounds great.

But, hey, I'm not a Marshall guy; I don't have others to compare it to nor a specific Marshall sound I'm trying to achieve.

ICBM

andyman said:

God, some people really hate these.

Yes, guilty as charged - I really hated it, and couldn't get what I think of as the 'Marshall sound' I love out of it. It was also remarkably quiet for a 20W Marshall.

andyman said:

I've heard techs say it's because they're basically a giant pedal and can't handle gigging very well; that said, me and a few others really do like the sound of them regardless of durability.

But I didn't think it was badly made - it's no worse than any of their other modern (non-reissue) amps.

andyman

Yeah, and no shade your way for the record. I just remember comparing YT demos and thinking the Origin series sounded distinctly better to me (i.e. like other classic 70s amps) than "modern" Marshalls, which I don't really like.

Aren't people often disappointed by 1978xs for the same reasons - they sound great, however distinctly different to 'that' Marshall sound?

ICBM

andyman said:

Aren't people often disappointed by 1978xs for the same reasons - they sound great, however distinctly different to 'that' Marshall sound?

I think people are disappointed by the 1987x because it *does* sound exactly like a classic Marshall . But that means it has less gain than they expect - although still more than the Origin - and is quite shrill, especially at lower volume. You need to jumper the channels to get the best out of them, and attenuate if you can't turn them up high where the sound thickens - not just to get the distortion. Even then, I always preferred the Bass and PA models (you need to add a bright cap to the PA, which effectively makes it a Bass anyway), they have more of the roar and bottom-end thump that was completely missing from the Origin 20. I haven't played the Origin 50, but just the difference in volume between the Origin and a 2061x is astounding - the Origin was so weedy I thought it wasn't working properly at first.

monquixote

I had an Origin 20 head for a while and I didn't mind it, but you have to know how to get the best out of it which is absolutely slam the front end with a clean boost because it seems to have a very underpowered preamp and the "boost" seems to just be a notch on the master volume. The 5W mode sounds rubbish so if you want to play it at sensible volumes. and have it sound decent an attenuator is a good idea. 

The DSL (which is what I have now) is about the same price and a hugely better amp.

andyman

I had my years wrong - I meant the 1974x which was basically a Wem Dominator(?)

But I suppose your point still stands. Horses for courses.

ICBM

andyman said:

I had my years wrong - I meant the 1974x which was basically a Wem Dominator(?)

Yes, if you meant the 1974x then it’s quite a different thing to the classic Marshall head and 4x12” sound - or even a Bluesbreaker, which I think a lot of people expect them to sound like… they don’t, they’re much more midrangy. The circuit is basically a Dominator, yes - the different transformers and speakers make it sound a bit different, but it’s still got the small-amp sound and dynamics.

InactiveX

Love my 50W Origin (head with a vertical 212 Vintage 30). You have to use it like a NMV amp, turn everything up to max.

AntonHunter

I had an Origin 20 as a house backline amp a few years ago, fully expecting to hate it as I've never really got on with Marshall amps, but I really enjoyed it as a clean-ish platform for my pedals. So make of that what you will!

Fez

I like my 20 Head but you need a drive pedal. I just bought a Behringer Zentara and that works well better still a Thorpy Gunshot FTW. 
If anything it lacks a bit of low end works well in a mix at gig level.

gubble

Had an gigged an Origin 20 Head for a couple of years. Paired with the right cab of choice i thought it sounded pretty good. 

I also had the DSL20HR so was able to compare the 2. Whilst i didn't enjoy the high gain channel on the DSL the rest of the amp ultimately sounded better and was more versatile - however the Origin looked way better and we all listen with our eyes as we know  

I always thought of my Origin as the HRD of Marshall Heads.......

TTBZ

I don't mind them but they need to be cranked and ideally boosted a bit (SD1, Rat or treble booster works) to tighten up and give a nicer feel. Or they work well with pedals. And they sound better through a decent cab with Greenbacks or Creambacks, I don't really rate the stock speakers in either of the combos. 

To me the tone is kinda JTM45ish but a bit tighter/stiffer and grainier. I prefer the 20, the 50 feels quite stiff and unforgiving, like a classic Marshall tbh. Works well with a compressor/boost to give it a bit of squish. 

GoFish

I've tried a mate's one many times. Echoing the above, it really benefits by being turned up, maybe that's why it sounds quiet? As in, it needs to be on 11 to get the best out of it? It was perfect on paper for me. I wanted a Marshall flavoured neutral sound in that JTM 45 vein to run pedals into but I did find it had a very small sweet spot despite many controls. There were many ways to get it sounding shrill. 

I think  nowadays many people want their idea of the Marshall sound but at much lower volumes, even lower than 20w. I was hoping for the Origin to be a poor man's Studio 20 vintage but with a master volume. It's not a bad amp, far from it, just not right for my circumstances. My mate sold his a while later too but maintains he did like it, I too ended up with a DSL 40 which I use less than half of. It's spongier sounding than the Origin and it the clean channel stays clean all the way. The crunch channel is great when I want that thing but I've moved to Fender style  clean sounds + pedals as a base. Just less faff. 

mudslide73

I gigged a 20w head for a bit - I used a Marshall 1922 with V30s with it. I'll echo a few comments above - it needs a drive pedal. You'd think that a 20w head would break up at band volume but it doesn't. I've since gone 4cm with my Helix and find myself thinking that the Origin would have been perfect for it.

Plectrum

I tried a 20W combo and liked it. Not much gain so you'd need to use pedals if you want to it to break up but lots of people use pedals into a clean amp and no-one criticises them for doing so or slagging off their amps. No it's not a heavy rock/metal amp but there's far more to music than heavy rock or metal.

Here's a couple of videos showing what you can do with Origin

andyman

This is the comparison that sold me on the origin 20: 



The origin is less up-front sounding and has more of that scooped "classic rock" sound.

Edit: whoops, I misunderstood "scooped"

Yorkie

Scooped? Marshall?