Class 5 Marshall Amp (Page 1 of 2)

I totally agree!  I want something that would get somewhere close to JB's sound, I know I will never get it unless I buy his exact stuff and then I still wont get it because I don't play like him.  But I would like to find a good amp, Marshall or not, that would be in my price range that would get some good sounds.

I haven't tried it by myself yet, but I read some reviews on a french forum. They all say it's a great little amp, worth its price. They also say it gets better with time (and playing, of course).

My guitar store is supposed to call me when they receive it, but it's been a month and I'm still waiting. I hope to try it soon, it looks like a mini-Bluesbreaker. I'm sure my wallet won't agree...

Not true man, you can get very close with a lot of different alternatives.  I was messing around the other day with my Super Reverb, Les Paul, Fulldrive 2, and Line 6 DL4...just NAILED the "Stop" tone.  Yes the technique and chops help but you surely don't need $40,000 worth of gear to get the tone.  I'm also pretty sure that you wouldn't buy Joe's exact rig if you had that kind of money to spend either.  Even being a huge Joe fan myself, I know I wouldn't.  Joe greatly admires Eric Johnson but he's not gigging with 2 Superleads, echoplexes, a tube driver, 2 Twin Reverbs w/ chorus delay and verb etc... That vid of Joe rocking on the Class 5 should be proof enough, just a couple amps, a delay pedal, and likely a tubescreamer.  Joe still sounds like Joe. 

        Honestly the Class 5 would be an excellent affordable low-wattage platform to build a JB like tone from.  Some other alternatives are the Fender Blues Jr. or HRD amps.  I bet a Princeton RI (or Blues Jr.) and Class 5 in stereo would be a killer little "mini Bonamassa" rig!

stratpaulguy86

I agree with you.  I wouldn't spend the money either.  Just having a hard time trying to find something close that might also fit my budget.  I have a princeton chorus amp now.  I just didn't know if the Class 5 would be worth buying to use as a lead amp.  I am sure that its a good amp for the price...just not sure waht I need to get the sound I want.  I know that on the video that Joe plays he has like 3 or 4 it looks like.  I'm thinking getting the Class 5 or another small marshall and having an a/b switch.  Is that a good idea?  I like the Fender PC amp for my strats, but it doesn't give quite the crunch with my Les Paul.  Right now I am using a digitech RP150 to get a marshall amp sound, and its ok, but I think an actual Marshall is the way to go.

I totally understand man everyone's budget for gear is different.  I just don't want you to lose hope and think you need big $$$ to get the tone of the legends.  There are a lot of sleeper amps, pedals, and guitars that you can get on the cheap.  I'm a firm believer in the early Silverface era Fenders and they are readily available at great prices.  Old '60s Blackface Fender heads can be had cheap STILL, which I don't get.  Joe cut a large portion of his new album on a few old Fender amps.  The old Traynors, Sovteck Migs, Laney Pro Tube Leads, Blackface/Silverface Bassmans, etc are GREAT Marshall Plexi alternatives.  You just have to know what to look for.

For a small, low wattage, but really NICE Marshall style combo I would try to find a Fargen Mini Plex MK1 (not Mark 2 more gain and too expensive) on the cheap.  You can find them on Ebay or The Gear Page for around $800 which IMO is a steal for what you get.  You can put whatever tubes in them to increase or decrease wattage and tonality.  It's a 1x12 amp that comes with an Eminence Red Fang ($150 Speaker).  12 managable watts...

I actually really like the class 5..  I have one of the first three ever built and use it a lot at home/ dressing room / ect///////.  It sounds straight away like a mini bluesbreaker combo. It has the same voicing and darkness to it.  I was really impressed.  Is it THOR the giant uber rig from a planet far away? no.. Its 5 watts. Now if you link 8 of em up like I did at Ronnie Scotts.. Yeah you ll get there.   It is a good 5 watts with lots of headroom. You guys know me by now I would never say it if I didnt think it was good.  $400 is a good price for it too..  its built in the UK. Anyway my two cents..
Joe B

Joe,

Thanks for the help!  I got a chance to meet you when you were in Indianapolis!  Thanks again for taking the time out to talk to your fans.  I have a Fender Princeton Chorus Amp but have wanted a tube amp for some time now.  I did some research and saw that you used them at Ronnie Scott's.  I did also notice that you had them strung together, which I figured would be the case.  I haven't had a chance to try one yet, hoping to soon.  I've been hooked on them since I saw that you were at the showcase playing them and the sound was incredible!  How does one amp sound by itself?  I am thinking of an A/B switch and using the Fender for the clean chorus and using the Marshall for the Gritty sound.  What are the settings you used?  And, can I do something to where both amps will be on together so I can have the reverb, or do I need a reverb pedal for the Marshall?

Thanks again!

Great, thanks. I too found that being one setting that works great. Also volume at 3 and all tonecontrols on 10, using pedals for overdrive. Volume on more than 6 makes the Class 5 sound extremely muddy.