Marshall 2555 amp thoughts?

pikingrin

pikingrin

what is this?
I have just been offered dibs on a Marshall 2555 amp head; not a reissue but the original from the 80's. Fully functional and well taken care of for $950. Same shop has a JCM800 from the same owner for $1899 but that's a little more than I care to spend at the moment.

Has anyone ever used the 2555, I'd really like to hear thoughts on this before making the decision. Wish Greg was back; he knows all about these damn things haha.
 
If memory serves, that should be a 100 watt jubilee. If I'm right, that is an awesome amp.
 
Farview said:
If memory serves, that should be a 100 watt jubilee. If I'm right, that is an awesome amp.
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That's what I've found, too, just never had heard much about the original - seen plenty on the reissue though. I'm pretty stoked if I can work around the finances to make it fit in the budget; it'll be my first amp head since I used to gig with a crappy tech21 solid state back in the day. I think this one has a 100/50 watt switch on the front panel, too.
 
Those things were the Holy grail at the time. But they were pretty expensive and there weren't that many of them. .
 
Turns out that it is awesome enough for UAD to come out with an amp simulation of that very head...
 
Loud is not a bad thing; I've got 4 days until I get to actually plug in and try it (and the JCM800) out but I think I may be coming home with a new (to me) Marshall head (2555, for the sake of the budget) if I play my cards right. Thanks to everyone who responded; I really appreciate it!!!

Now on to DIY cab designs and speaker choices...when the time comes.
 
"Now on to DIY cab designs and speaker choices...when the time comes"

Ummm... you can get an old Marshall cabinet for less than it would cost to build and load a cabinet of your own making.
 
Ths got me to wondering what it would cost to get a used Marshall 4x12. Jeez, people are proud of their cabinets! A quick search showed people asking ridiculous prices...$750 up to over $1000 for some of them. Actual sales show more like $350-$550. Looks like people way over-value their cabinets!

That 2555 should be pretty sweet. I remember Greg saying that he used one in a band for a while and was pretty mild about it. Of course he's comparing it to some of the all-time great heads ever made. My 2204S was made in '86, so it's kind of a contemporary to the 2555 that you mentioned ('87 was it?). It has a kind of mid-scooped sound to it. It's not quite as mid-range nasty and a little more compressed than other Marshalls I've heard. I have to wonder if that's just how they were voiced in that era, considering the trends of the time. Or if somebody swapped out a component or two in the 30 years since it was made.

But the Silver Jubilee is a sought-after head nowadays. Even if you don't get along with it long-term, for that price you stand to make a little profit should you decide to flip it.
 
Tadpui said:
Ths got me to wondering what it would cost to get a used Marshall 4x12. Jeez, people are proud of their cabinets! A quick search showed people asking ridiculous prices...$750 up to over $1000 for some of them. Actual sales show more like $350-$550. Looks like people way over-value their cabinets!
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I bought my 4x12 for $350 shipped from a GC in Texas. It was loaded with Celestion G12-T75's (which I still have), the "stock" speaker for a Marshall 4x12. So that's not a terrible price (shipping was like $50), but if you figure in a speaker swap, then the price can go way up, depending on what you put in the cab....I think a lot of the "vintage" cabs are ridiculously overpriced myself, but a lot of folks are paying top-dollar for 'em, but I'm not one of 'em...

Tadpui said:
That 2555 should be pretty sweet. I remember Greg saying that he used one in a band for a while and was pretty mild about it. Of course he's comparing it to some of the all-time great heads ever made. My 2204S was made in '86, so it's kind of a contemporary to the 2555 that you mentioned ('87 was it?). It has a kind of mid-scooped sound to it. It's not quite as mid-range nasty and a little more compressed than other Marshalls I've heard. I have to wonder if that's just how they were voiced in that era, considering the trends of the time. Or if somebody swapped out a component or two in the 30 years since it was made.
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Not talking for Greg because he's not here, but I e-mailed him & will copy/paste what he thinks of the Jubilee (if he wants me to, that is)...But it'll be a while before I can do that, because it sometimes takes him a while to respond to me, & it depends on whether or not he wants me to do that or not...

Tadpui said:
But the Silver Jubilee is a sought-after head nowadays. Even if you don't get along with it long-term, for that price you stand to make a little profit should you decide to flip it.
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A lot of guys think the SJ is the holy grail of tone, dunno myself, I've never tried one...And on the flip-side of that coin, a lot of folks don't care for the SJ's tone at all, YMMV....
 
New speakers tend to be $100+, so getting a used cabinet for $500 or less is a great deal compared to building and loading your own.
 
Farview said:
New speakers tend to be $100+, so getting a used cabinet for $500 or less is a great deal compared to building and loading your own.
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Exactly, I put different speakers in my 4x12, & it ended up costing me more for the speakers than I paid for the cab, but it was worth it because the speakers I have in that cab now absolutely kill the T-75's....IMO of course....:D.
 
Ok, so I e-mailed Greg, & asked him if I could copy/paste/quote his response, & here's the answer....

I asked him "Would you care if I copy/pasted your thoughts on the Marshall Silver Jubilee" (basically what I asked anyway)...

Here's what the Gerg has to say:

"Sure. Lol. It's only IMO the most overrated, overhyped amp in Marshall's history. Unless of course you're an 80s shred wanker, then it's great, because that's the only sound it does. It's valuable for it's collectibility because an actual 87 Silver Jubilee is rare. It could be a good flip. It's tone is not "classic Marshall" if that's what he's after. It's all hype from the cork-sniffer nostalgia crowd....which is funny considering it has solid state clipping built in. I have tons of first hand experience with a true Jubilee. I can get it back here at my house tomorrow night. Give him my email address an tell him to email me if he has any questions. I saw that thread as a guest, and to see people chiming in with no experience has me face palming."

So, pikingrin, if you're interested in Greg's e-mail, shoot me a pm & I'll send it to you. He can probably answer more questions you may have about the amp than anyone I know....He's actually helped me with quite a few gear purchases, & IMHO, he'd never steer anyone wrong...




 
Whether or not it's a good amp for you depends on what you think a good guitar tone is and/or what is appropriate for the style of music you play.

It was designed as a special edition, with popular modifications built in. It was really cool at the time because of what else was out and the prevailing styles of music. But getting a lot of gain out of a tube amp isn't a big deal anymore and Marshall isn't the only amp a serious rock musician can choose.

Play the thing. If you like it, buy it. It is special enough that it probably won't lose value, so you can always get rid of it for at least the same price you paid for it.
 
Farview said:
Whether or not it's a good amp for you depends on what you think a good guitar tone is and/or what is appropriate for the style of music you play.
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This ^ x 1,000,000,000

Farview said:
Play the thing. If you like it, buy it. It is special enough that it probably won't lose value, so you can always get rid of it for at least the same price you paid for it.
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Exactly, even if you don't like it after the "honeymoon" is over, you can still probably flip it & get your money back...
 
Farview said:
Whether or not it's a good amp for you depends on what you think a good guitar tone is and/or what is appropriate for the style of music you play.

It was designed as a special edition, with popular modifications built in. It was really cool at the time because of what else was out and the prevailing styles of music. But getting a lot of gain out of a tube amp isn't a big deal anymore and Marshall isn't the only amp a serious rock musician can choose.

Play the thing. If you like it, buy it. It is special enough that it probably won't lose value, so you can always get rid of it for at least the same price you paid for it.
Click to expand...

Well, I had a chance to do that this afternoon. It's a small shop so I wasn't able to crank it but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind... Like Greg said, through miner's post, it wasn't the "classic" marshall sound. So, I didn't get it. I really want that JCM800 but I won't be able to swing that kind of change around for another year or two...
 
pikingrin said:
Well, I had a chance to do that this afternoon. It's a small shop so I wasn't able to crank it but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind... Like Greg said, through miner's post, it wasn't the "classic" marshall sound. So, I didn't get it. I really want that JCM800 but I won't be able to swing that kind of change around for another year or two...
Click to expand...

That's a shame. I hope you weren't put off by adverse opinions.
 
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