Marshall 1986 Bass

[Dmoney]

I've been tidying up a Marshall 1986 Bass head for a friend so he can sell it. It's dated on the chassis 1969. The Power and Output Transformers are not original. I've swapped the bias caps, cleaned up the wiring a bit (it was full of spliced wires duct tape and insulation tape), added some screen grid resistors and grid stops to the output valves, and installed EL34's back in it instead of the 6L6GC's it had in it.

It's the first non master volume Marshall I've played and sounds wicked. Luckily I have a hotplate so I can push it up to breakup without annoying the neighbors too much. Still, I probably did annoy them. I did play it LOUD! Great rock tone. I imagine the 'guitar' version (1987) is voiced a little better than this but its still a nice sounding amp. It's nicely reactive to pick attack even though I've been using A-Bombs into it.

Now I get the appeal of these things.

[hunter]

If the original OT is gone, one could argue if there is still much special value to a vintage amp like this. But I'm sure it still sounded damn fine with the replacement.

[Dmoney]

I don't think it's a particularly modern replacement OT. That sticker mark on the side, though I admit could be anything, looks suspiciously similar in size to the Drake stickers. If definitely not a museum piece but it does sound good.

Interesting that you picked up on the OT and not the PT. The original PT would have been a lay down type. The plate voltage in this is 512v more or less. I wouldn't be suprised if that is a little higher than it was originally, which would probably make an audiable impact. Much like how certain after market PT's offered as 'upgrades' on current production amps actually change the voltages in the amp to give a different tone, I mean, its not sounding different because the PT is better quality, its sounding different because the new PT has a different voltage spec.

At least its a big OT, not like the ones you might mistake for a small choke that appear in some current amps apparently rated for the same output power.

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I've always wanted to play one of those babies pushed. I've tried an SLP once but no attenuator and even worse, in Guitar Center. Nice cleans though!