Marshall Valvestate 8100 head + 4x12

Lez325

I have been offered one of these amps plus a 4x12 Cab for around £250 collected from a place 100 miles away from my home

Are these Amps any good & what should I look out for prior to parting with some hard earned??

Cheers guy's

Les

gubble

They are great amps but In the current environment I'd say that's quite a lot of money.

The heads usually go for under £100 and a valvestate 4x12 is as cheap as they come - I only got £50 for mine when I sold my valvestate 4x12.

fretmeister

A great amp, but that is over priced.

Lez325

Thanks guys - I thought it was a nice Cheap Marshall Rig

I'll stick with my current set up of a Marshall DSL 15c combo and a 1x12 cab- he did want a straight swop for this set up lol

Les 

ICBM

As already said - great amp, and 'worth' at least that in function terms, but more than the market rate. If you were specifically looking for one and it was in perfect condition - and closer - I'd maybe think about it, but otherwise I wouldn't bother... they're not that rare. As gubble said, around £150 for the stack in average condition is much closer to the mark.

The heads also do often need some maintenance now too - they're very reliable when serviced, but not always if they've not been looked at since they were made 20+ years ago.

Lez325

I have declined the deal - I see now on Gumtree he has dropped the stack to a more reasonable £180

I am looking for a giggable set up ( 50w + head and cab) and using my Marshall DSL 15w combo + 1x12 cab as part of the deal process

The  Marshall combo set me back £485 the 1 x 12 Marshall cab £190  ( £675)  so I'm not into a swap for a £180 set up

Les 

ICBM

This might not be much fun to read, but you can get a Jet City JCA50 head for £263 and a 2x12" cab for £133 - or the arguably better Harley Benton G212V, which has a pair of V30s, for £171 - brand new. They're definitely better-built than the Marshall, and most people would say better-sounding. The only real disadvantage - if you use it - is no reverb.

Even though it doesn't sound like a good swap financially, it would be an upgrade in quality and volume terms.

You may be better to simply sell the Marshall set-up, if you can get £400 for it. You could then even buy the Jet City rig new, and not be out of pocket.

ThePrettyDamned

Keep an eye out for blackheart amps, too. They're supposed to be decent build, solid pcb and half decent transformers in a far eastern amp.

They're mostly old school Marshall style circuits, and can be had for a very reasonable price.

gubble

As @ICBM says the Jet City is the way to go - it's a no brainer. I loved mine and with the Harley Benton 212 it was the best high gain set up I've ever had.