This trend in added brightness continued as the ‘70s rolled onward – my personal theory behind this refinement is two-fold: 1) There was no such thing as a THD Hot Plate or other type of attenuation device at the time and with added brightening to the circuit came a sense of more gain – certainly desired for the time. These amplifiers are also noted for being slightly brighter in tone then plexi amplifiers, making them sonically more aggressive. Plate voltages were reduced during this early metal panel era, resulting in a circuit that was somewhat easier on the power tubes. Again, the additional gain from these amplifiers make them desirable for hard rock applications, but the distortion of course still came from both the preamp and power amp stages, creating a rich tone full of warm tube harmonics and of course a wonderful dynamic sense. From 1969 through early 1973, the Marshall circuit and construction elements were also essentially the same as the plexis that preceded them, with all hand-wired circuits with components loaded on turret boards. I’ve played stock plexis from 1969 that didn’t sound like the late plexis and early metal panel amplifiers that are typically associated as having additional gain. I say “essentially” because as was often the case, Marshall circuits varied.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |