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They also have surprisingly little gain by modern standards, even fully cranked - you will not get effortless smooth sustain without either using feedback (ie high volume) or a boost or overdrive pedal of some sort in front.
That said, the clean sound at lower volume is also wonderful - much richer and more vibrant than the typical Fender clean sound, and yet almost totally overlooked - and they take pedals very well.
You need a fairly big cabinet for them to sound right - anything smaller than a large 2x12" won't.
If you can deal with the size, weight, volume and the need to use a couple of other bits of kit to get them to work at lower volume, go for it... there's nothing else like one.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
For some, NOT pushing the power section into brain-numbingly loud overdrive is "missing the point" but it really isn't, they're a high-quality, rich and complex clean amp too.
Put a deep, spacious reverb in front of one, put the master on about 2 and be lost to the world for hours.
Is a PPIMV mod the way to go? Or is a plexi with a MV just not a plexi ?
As ever, attenuators will only reduce volume by about half before losing character, same with Powerscaling . Speaker choice can help keep.colune under control but unfortunately you do need Celestions for a vintage vibe and they don't tend to be as inefficient as some Jensens for example.
Oddly, mine does have some serious gain available as the clean volume tops out at about 9 o clock, the rest of the dial is added filth.
A PPIMV works better than power scaling but not as well as an attenuator, to me.
If you're trying to keep the volume down, the old G12S-20 speakers are worth looking for - they didn't used to be popular, and aren't very valuable, but they have the nice vintage Celestion tone, although with less bass and lower sensitivity.
That's largely due to the oversized bright cap, which is really a 'metal panel' feature - I don't know why they did that. If you replace the 4n7 cap with a 470pF it will get a lot more controllable, better-sounding at lower volume and with a more usable volume taper.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The biggest issue i can see with a plexi is the size and weight of a 100 or 50w head and large cab if you taking to gigs and rehearsals...but that's never bothered me that much...but each to their own.
for the record my Superbass had a PPIMV mod done to it...i rarely used it, but then again i never went for the amp overdrive. I ran mine clean and used pedals, and it took everything i threw at it better than any amp (except the two i own now)
Feedback
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
Holy can of worms batman. The Marshall historians and aficionados amongst us will soon be out to state the model numbers and production years of the plexi amp.
But for the purpose of my OP and as a jumping off point into the abyss of the plexi sound (right or wrong - as I love a good learning curve), I had basically been looking at anything lower wattage/lower gain with plexi in it's name or with the words "plexi" contained within the marketing hype that sounded great in demo's.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
So maybe I am not drawn towards plexi amps after all?... especially as I have been looking and listening to review of amps <18w ?
The new Origin amps are the only modern Marshall offerings that I have given any kind of second look in the last 20 years, and I keenly await the reviews on TFB from those whose pre-order waiting times are very nearly over.
R.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
Fwiw someone on TGP is saying he prefers it to his HRDx as a clean pedal platform as well.