Akselrud Amplification 50 watt plexi

Update on the above review.

I mentioned above that the amp was a bit hummy. When I put it in the box I didn't shield the underneath. Because I'm stupid. Anyway I put a sheet of aluminium under the chassis and lo - major reduction in hum. While I was messing around in there I put a nice set of tubes in that I had kicking around - ruby select power and preamp and it's better again. Almost unbelievably.
The wisdom of the ages states that with these amps you run everything flat out to get 'the sound'. I've decided that this is rubbish and at the moment I've got the channels patched together from the bottom socket on the treble side to the top socket on the bass side, the treble channel is flat out and the bass channel is at 3 o'clock. The presence is at 12 0'clock, the bass is all the way off, the middle is at 12 o'clock and so is the treble. I run through a Marshall bluesbreaker pedal set to clean boost with the volume set to about 10 o'clock which seem a bit lo tech but works just fine to give it a just a bit of clean boost.
The result is devastating. This is the best amp tone I've ever heard ever and my playing has just got better. Instead of having to 'dig' the notes out of the guitar they just flow. I can't put the darn thing down - ask my wife....

Ok this is a clone of the legendary 50 watt Plexi Marshall head from the 1960???s as used by everyone from that era and regarded by many as the holy grail of Marshall tone. I didn???t buy a Marshall re-issue because the 50watt is a PCB design and the 100 watt is just too darned loud. I didn???t buy an original because they???re scarce, collectible, expensive and 40 years old ??? I need a player not something to put in a glass case and admire. So this is a point to point handwired clone using the latest quality components but faithfully following the original schematics. It???s beautifully made, if I could solder like that I???d be a happy man. I wouldn???t mind to have another one to keep just so I can look at it. Oh no, what am I saying? In keeping with the style there???s no reverb and it doesn???t need it, no channel switching and it doesn???t need it and certainly no digital effects. Thank the Lord. It does have, and much more importantly, external bias points ??? one for each power tube, a post phase inverter master volume for that cranked up tone in the house and like the originals two channels that can be patched together. The beauty of this is that one channel is bright and one is normal, patching them together allows you to use the channel volume controls to shape the sound to your taste. This is why your fave guitarists from the 60???s and 70???s all have a signature tone that is still recognisably ???plexi??? and why you can get so many different sounds from one quite basic looking amp. So for someone like me that loves classic rock and plays in a Led Zep tribute act it???s just the job. I score it 8 because although it doesn???t have all the bells and whistles it does everything I want.

There is a Marshall sound and to me it is the sound of Rock. I don???t want to sound like Marshall???s publicity dept but it is true. However, somewhere along the line what people think is the sound has become harsh, overly distorted and over e.q.ed. THE SOUND was made by Jimi and Koss and Page and Duane Allman and many others. Listen to them and the sound is hot and edgey but that???s just part of it. The main part of the sound is sweet and musical, the ???distortion??? is only round the edges.
My Main squeeze is an Orville by Gibson long tenon Les Paul with Sprague caps and pickups by Jim Rolph and a thing of great beauty it is. I run the amp into a Marshall 2061 2 x 12 cab because I don???t want to tote a 4 x 12 (or two) around. When I see guys with full 100 watt stacks playing small venues that can only ever get the volume up to two so they???ve got a pedal board to get what they think is a cranked Marshall sound I laugh my ass off. These days all the bigger venues will mike you up so what???s the point? Previously I used a TSL602 which I???d re-speakered and put good tubes in and it???s a good modern Marshall. Trouble is they only sound good with the gain up and they start to get muddy. Turn up the treble to compensate and it gets ice-picky. The plexi is a revelation. It???s so sweet and hot and defined and the treble is never harsh ??? it just wails. I???m currently listening to Free Live in the car and if I plug my LP into the plexi that???s exactly the sound that comes out ??? it???s so expressive and musical. The other thing is if I get a nice lead sound on the modern amp chords are a mush. With the plexi you can get a crunchy rhythm sound and play lead lines that come through ??? no channel footswitch, you don???t even have to roll the volume on the guitar. OK for full on solos you need the guitar flat out but even then you can stroke the strings and get clean sounds. It???s so touch sensitive ??? it knows what you want. I also own a POS made in China Strat that I bought on a whim but I never could get it to sound good through the TSL. Through the plexi I can easily get yer popular Strat tones ??? Hendrix, Vaughn, etc. It even does a sort of Hank Marvin. I???m no Strat expert so I don???t try to nail these sounds but I can hear something very close without much bother. I keep thinking I???ll put a pedal in front of it just to see what happens but it???s so good on it???s own I haven???t bothered yet. If I had to mark it down for anything it???s a bit more hummy than the TSL but it???s vintage hum so I don???t mind. I???ve scored it 10 because they don???t go up to 11???..

I haven???t had it long enough to wring it out reliability wise but because of its simplicity if it breaks there are heaps of people that can fix it real easy with a soldering iron and some tape. You don???t have to send off for circuit boards and stuff.

I can email or phone the guy that made it which is more than you can do with most amps but I don???t expect it to be unreliable. I have a notion that I will learn all about hand wired tube amps so that if it ever goes wrong in 10 years time I can fix it at home but I???m probably kidding myself.

I was in my first band in 1974 playing bass. Classic rock was just rock then and kit like Marshall amps and Gibson guitars was beyond our wildest financial dreams. Nowadays even a bedroom player can get the same kit as the pros if he???s prepared to sign on the line but somehow it???s all gone a bit wrong. To me we???ve lost what music is about under a welter of digital effects, huge pedalboards and racks of keyboards. In the (probably misquoted) words of the great Duane Allman there are bands spending a fortune on equipment and hours of stagetime to get the same feeling that Little Richard can get in 5 minutes with a piano. If that were true then it???s much more true today. Give me a player that plugs a guitar straight into a simple amp and blows your mind. These days that would be Derek Trucks. OK I know Jimi Hendrix used every effect known to man and invented the rest but he was Jimi and he did it with unique style that???s oft imitated but never equalled. I started taking guitar playing seriously about 5 years ago. Before the TSL I had an original JCM800 but I never could get the sound I wanted from it and before that I had a POS S.State thing that sucked. I???ve tried or considered amps from all the major companies but I never heard my sound until I plugged into this one. I can???t imagine selling it and if it disappeared for any other reason I???d just get another. Also it looks fabulous with it???s purple tolex and gold plexi panel.