Dumb question about my new Marshall.

G

GuitarDemon666

New member
So I bought an amp off of some dude yesterday.

100 watt Marshall plexi reissue thingamajig. I don't know what it is, but it sounds good.

Here's the question:

4 inputs. I plug into the top Input 1... and there's a short patch cord connected from the bottom Input 1 to the top Input 2.

What's up with that? It's like all diagonal and stuff. To make matters worse... he wouldn't sell me that short cord. Now I gotta go find one and I don't even know what it is!!!

I feel like Twilight Zone.
 
it's just a short cord ..... that's all. You could use any guitar cord but it's short so you don't have all that cord hanging down.
And all it's for is so that you're playing thru both channels.
 
Ok one more question...

Is it typical to be using both channels like that? The guy who sold me the amp plays Moody Blues covers. But my style is more Ramones.
 
It's fairly normal. Although I've never had a Plexi I've seen the jumper used quite often by various players.
I believe the two channels have somewhat different tonalities so the reason to do it would be if say, one channel had lots of bass and no treble and the other had lots of treble and no bass ..... by using both you'd have plenty of each.
That may not be the specific reason on that amp ...... but it's something of that nature.
So I'd just use a regular cable to jump the channels and play around with it both ways and see how you like it. You won't hurt anything so just experiment. You may keep using the jumper or you might prefer one of the channels without a jumper ...... trust your own ears.
 
ok im not EXACTLY sure, but i beleive that do that to overdrive the amp more. hendrix used to do it, and ive seen a few other guitarists do it, the guitarist to braid and the guitarist of the mile after. i could be wrong, but im pretty sure they just do that and have a "dummy" plug into all of the outputs, because it "fools" the amp in a sense and since theres sumthing plugged into all the outputs, it makes the amp output higher. etc etc. i think. im not exactly sure... i could be wrong... but i think thats what it does.
 
I just plugged this amp in at practice... it's the greatest amp I've ever had.

I've heard that the reissues aren't as good, this amp is more than enough. I paid $800 and could've paid $1500 for an old one on Ebay. I guess i'm not rich enough to tell the difference in sound.

My only problem is, it's so loud... I'm deaf. I've still gotta work with it, to find my sound and still have a lower volume.

No response needed, just wanted to vent and cheer.
 
There are two reasons for the extra cable. (it's just a patch cable, like the ones you use to go between stomp boxes)
1. Like Lt. Bob said, the two channels have different tones. The combination of the two is pretty sweet.

2. One channel goes through half of the first preamp tube and the other channel goes through the other half. You don't get more gain, you get a little more sag. That helps the sustain.
 
GuitarDemon666 said:
I just plugged this amp in at practice... it's the greatest amp I've ever had.

I've heard that the reissues aren't as good, this amp is more than enough. I paid $800 and could've paid $1500 for an old one on Ebay. I guess i'm not rich enough to tell the difference in sound.

My only problem is, it's so loud... I'm deaf. I've still gotta work with it, to find my sound and still have a lower volume.

No response needed, just wanted to vent and cheer.
Click to expand...

I had problems with an amp that was too loud. Problem with tube-amps is that you have to turn them up to hit that sweet-spot.

I ended up getting a power attenuator - not cheap, but man I love the sound of my amp now!
 
The two popular models are called the "Marshall power break" and the "power soak". (can't recall who makes the power soak)
 
GuitarDemon666 said:
My only problem is, it's so loud... I'm deaf. I've still gotta work with it, to find my sound and still have a lower volume.
Click to expand...
That thing doesn't have a master volume i suppose so try a power attenuator, best one i've used is the thd hot plate. Look it up.
 
Farview said:
The two popular models are called the "Marshall power break" and the "power soak". (can't recall who makes the power soak)
Click to expand...

I got a generic loudspeaker volume control with heat vents for $25 from a DIY speaker catalouge, it works great for my tube amp (that lacks any preamplification stage...) I don't see what's so great about the power break for the cash they want for it.
 
nukeitout said:
I got a generic loudspeaker volume control with heat vents for $25 from a DIY speaker catalouge, it works great for my tube amp (that lacks any preamplification stage...) I don't see what's so great about the power break for the cash they want for it.
Click to expand...
I've never used any of them. I always just modified those amps (when I had them a long tim ago) with a master volume.
 
nukeitout said:
I got a generic loudspeaker volume control with heat vents for $25 from a DIY speaker catalouge, it works great for my tube amp (that lacks any preamplification stage...) I don't see what's so great about the power break for the cash they want for it.
Click to expand...

cant say for sure here but ya might want to rethink this... most of these type of attenuators simply add some extra resistence to "drop" some voltage across... and since tube amps dont like impedences they aren't designed for you could concievably roach your amp...
 
dementedchord said:
cant say for sure here but ya might want to rethink this... most of these type of attenuators simply add some extra resistence to "drop" some voltage across... and since tube amps dont like impedences they aren't designed for you could concievably roach your amp...
Click to expand...

This is true, and if you don't understand impedance matching then you should consult a professional before connecting anything other than the recommended stock speaker to your amplifier.
 
nukeitout said:
This is true, and if you don't understand impedance matching then you should consult a professional before connecting anything other than the recommended stock speaker to your amplifier.
Click to expand...

That includes commercial attenuators like the hotplate, powersoak, and powerbrake...
 
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