Marshall 1962 Bluesbreaker

Its a Reissue Bluesbreaker and was made in 1995. I like things easy to use. And it is. Just like my Fender Esquire ... No master volume, no fx loop, no headphone jack, no switching. Just plug in, set the controls, crank it up and play. Colour the sound with the controls of your guitar. The perfect amp for me. And it got the look plus cool. Thats why I give it a 10.

I use my Bluesbreaker for some kind of Britrock - alike Charlatans, Oasis etc.

The amp is - in my oppinion - very versatile. It simply reacts on your playing. You do what you do. No excuses.

I play my Bluesbreaker "patched" and use the first channel to add some bass to the signal. The volume control of channel 1 ist set to 2-3, the control of channel 2 to 9-10. For rythm parts and small licks the overdrive of the amp is quite enough. To get a little bit more gain for the solo parts, I use a boost. Then the sound varies from mild crunch to creamy overdrive. It is very warm, harmonic and delivers a lot of punch.

I play a Fender Esquire, made in Japan. Just one pick-up, a volume control, a sound control.

I replaced the GZ 34. That's all.

Never used the customer support.

As mentioned before: perfect amp. Versatile, easy to use and loud enough for small gigs and rehearsal. I would buy it again - ever and ever. The best amp I've ever played - and heard.

This is the re-issue of a legendary amplifier first time manufactured in the early 1960'es and it can't really be compared to a lot of other amps of today regarding features, it has two channels and tremolo. but the main feature is the classic sound. whom can be rated high, very high

Well this is the point where taste becomes a driving factor, but having tested all kinds of other amplifiers and owned a lot of them too, I would say that this amp can with a little tweaking give you the guitar sound of your life if you play blues or 60's 70's rock music. It has that classical sound but the marshall touch.

I use a TS808 re-issue tubescremer on it, to get a bit more "bite", but I also have purchased an attenuator from Imported Instruments in Scotland, and this gives you a new specter of possibilites. Thoug I use this only for rehearsals, live I use only the tube screamer.

I also have other amps, but this one is the one I use most now. It sounds very nice. I use gibson Les Paul , Fender Strat, and gibson Firebird.

I dont know, it is brand new, but I have 30 yrs experience with the brand, and most problems are normally worn tubes or a blown fuse caused by tubes. allways work.

Fairly good I think, they allways answer E-mails, and are helpful to ship things trhough their Norwegian or scandinavian suppliers if I need something.

I think this one is a keeper, it is very heavy to carry. But that is most of the 2x12" combos of this quality in the market.

Compared to toher re-issues from that epoke I liked this best. I also like Vox AC30, but preffer this.

It has what you expect from an amp designed in that epoke.

Very good amp, I would replace it with a similar I guess. they still make them. Valuable amp even the high price.

Made in 2002.

This amp has two channels, a 4-band EQ (including presence) and a two-knob tremolo that only works on channel 2.

It is not very versatile, but it keeps you playing with your hands, not your feet!

Mine came with some 12AX7s for the preamp, a pair of 5881s for the power section and a 5AU4 rectifier.

It's a little noisy, but as you turn it up, the noise becomes less and less of a worry.

I play a '71 SG Special through it with P90s, and it just screams. I typically jump the channels and have the volumes at 3 o'clock and everything else dimed, except I dial the bass back some to keep it from muddying out. It's quite easy to control the tone and amount of distortion this way.

Even with its lower power output, it's a very efficient amp. It's plenty loud and feedback sustain is always around the corner. It's very controllable in this way.

I don't know. Haven't had any issues, and I think my warranty ran out.

I'm not very worried about it though, as it seems to like being driven hard.

Not sure.

I would buy this amp again, despite the fact that it's heavy. I have been playing for 15 years and have had a myriad of old tube amps, mostly Traynors and Garnets. As an amp technician, I have had the opportunity to try even more out, and like I keep telling everyone: this is the amp I've been hearing in my head all these years.

I say throw away your pedals and your reverbs and your compressors and buy one of these. Then start playing music and stop tap-dancing.

it does what an amp should do... sound amazing

only minus for me would be the lack of an FX-loop.. even though the need is'nt to big, because almost all of the distortion comes from the power-amp section

i use this amp with a Gibson SG.. but mainly my ibanez JS-2000 split-coils)

i play mainly hard rock like Van halen AC/DC and some Ozzy
of course a bit of blues too
personaly i think it's amazing for that. i sounds a lot like a plexi, just less treble and volume. of course i use pedals for distortion. my chain is. dunlop Cry baby, boss NS-2, Mxr ZW44, Xotic BB preamp, T-rex Michael Angelo distortion, Mxr EVH phaser, T-rex Replica delay. i would deffiniatly buy an attenuator, so you can crank it.. it seems to distort on very low settings on the low input(1-2) and around 4 on the high input. i usualy patches the 2 channels to create my sound. the key to my sound is loudness

no problems so far

as said,, no problems

I love it, it's that simple, only thing to hate about it, is it's weight

if it was stolen, i would buy another,or maybe af 1959rr

This amp is from 1962. Old, maybe, but amazing.
The amp is very limited when it comes to features, but it makes up for that in the amazing quality of what it does give. I'm 16 and I listen to Tool, Korn, and Nine Inch Nails. It doesn't seem like this would be my type of amp to suit these styles, but I would have no other (except for maybe a mesa/boogie stack). There's no overdrive, but turn it up and you blues players have got it made. I use a couple of pedals and I've got a near perfect setup, even for my modern sound.

This amp is loud. I brag to all of my friends, even the one with the Line 6 SpiderIII stack. I know no one whose amp sounds better than mine. I brag to metal players, industrial players, classical rock players, and especially blues players. It doesn't get much better than this Marshall if you want real, good tube power.
My friend's dad is big on blues and even though he didn't know me at the time, once he saw this amp, he immediately started issuing death threats to me if I didn't let him play it.
Only thing for me is that the bass doesn't deliver quite as much for a distorted, A-tuned 7-string guitar (well...not enough to punch through a 5-piece band anyway), but I didn't expect it to. I doubt anyone even considered playing that low when this amp was made. It's still unbeatable for just about every other situation.

I've had it for about a year now and it obviously hasn't given me any trouble. It's hard as a rock and heavy as a boulder. This thing is a tank among combo amps.

Never dealt with any support.

If this thing was a full stack and delivered the bass and distortion I crave, I would never need to even glance at another amp.
I already know I'm keeping this for live. It's just so awesome.

Pretty simple. 4 inputs three band eq trem etc. Very vintage affair.

I brought this amp used. It was the 50watt version. For many years i really loved the sound of Paul Weller's Bluesbreaker. Trouble was that mine sounded nothing like his. The overdrive was ok but needed to blow the roof off to get it going. Even with my Les Paul it sounded pretty bland.

I think as a clean amp it sounded very good however the driven tone just did'nt cut it for me. I've been a pro player for a few years now and i love the look of the amp but it did'nt reach my high expectations. Used with an OD pedal it sounds much better.

I sold mine and got a DR Z. Much better tone (more expensive though).

Very very solid.

N/A

I sold mine. It's a good amp but the sound is a little hard, mild and tight. I think the little Marshall 18watt is much better sounding.
Looks very very cool but quite a large combo.

Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence and volume, it's all you should ever need. If you need more features then there's a pedal for everything. Or just buy a line 6 or something.
It is vesatile enough to do most styles because it just has a great inherent sound, but to do metal or whatever (which it actually does pretty well)you will need a pedal.

GREAT sound for rock/blues (as the name suggests) It is clean up to about 3/4 with a les paul, but about 5/6 with a strat or tele, after that it turns into fantastic blues overdrive, I then use a Boss OD-3 to boost it for heavy rock. All the stuff peaple say about wattage is complete bolocks, it's how loud it is, not what it's rated at this is the LOUDEST 30 watter I have ever heard and knock the head off of solid state 30 wattters. However, it is only a small amp, so anything louder than smallish clubs/pubs and you will have to mike it up.

It is a common myth that the les paul sounds best with this amp, i personally think that a strat or tele sounds just as good.

The amp has a powerful, warm sound with lots of bass and smooth highs, I think it's the best half-way point between a fender and a marshall.

It doesn't have much distortion, but it's not meant to. It's just a nice mild overdrive. Can I just say that it doesn't sound anything like a JTM45 head and cab (only two preamp valves, the other one is for the tremelo) so dont expect any AC DC sounds out of it.

I have only had it about 3/4 months but it has never failed me. I even accidentally turned it strait off at the plug and it didn't have any effect.

Havent dealt with them

It's just great.

4 inputs, 2 channels, sharing 3 band eq plus presence. Tremelo, depth and speed. No effects loop.

In the beginning, this is all we had. 40 or so years later, it is still all we need.

I understand that this is Jim Marshall's original amp design. He borrowed heavily from the Fender Bassman.

Used with a 2 humbucker type guitar, a mild overdrive unit to push the front end a little, and optional analog delay.

Unbelievably complex tone, clean to dirty.

It uses 6L6's, not EL34's, so it's got a Fender hi-fi type quality, rich low end, but Marshall attitude.

The best of both worlds. In my estimation, the absolute best amp ever made.

The amp is remarkably quiet.

Used without a backup for 12 years. Simple circuit. Any problem is likely going to be a tube.

Never needed them.

At this price, why not get two?

Amp made in 1999. Great for classic rock and blues, even a little country. This is strictly old-school... no effects loops or channel switching. Just keep cranking the volume until it starts breaking up around 5 to 7 based on guitar/pickup combination. The tremolo isn't really that good compared to Fender. You can bridge the inputs with a patch cable and that really opens up a number of tonal options. The amp doesn't have reverb - and you don't really notice it that much. Take that from a guy who lives off reverb, too!!! I do run a small reverb pedal in front of the amp for some situations. Sounds good either way. Lots of people liken this amp to early Eric Clapton Bluesbreaker sounds. I think it's closer to SRV's "Can't Stand the Weather" vibe/tone!!

I use Strats and various LP copies. I always mod my guitars with better pickups than necessarily come as stock. This amp works perfectly for me whether at home or on a small stage. There's always plenty of volume. The amp sounds really warm about 2 to 3 vol. It can shake the walls and peel paint when dimed. Best to open the amp and use the guitar volume control for coloring the sound. The overdrive is good-old fashioned breakup - not the typical Marshall crunch given this amp runs the 6L6 setup in the power section but something close to Fender Super Reverb breakup, albeit with more harmonally complexed mids. This amp doesn't have the high shrill of a newer Fender blackface but you can dial in a bunch of treble with the presence control. Only bad thing is that this amp has a little too much bass with the stock speakers. Best to turn down the bass to 0 or 1. There's still plenty of thump left.

I've owned this amp for a week and playing the living stuffings out of it. This is a little better than the typical Marshall production stuff, not quite as good as boutique quality. I'd expect it to do as well as other current production models.

Amp is no longer under warranty but the Internet has tons of forums with people knowledgable about this amp. I have no qualms about getting advice or finding someone to help with a problem.

I've been playing 25 years in small bands and as a hobbyist. I own several of the newer Fender reissue amps and play through a 68 Super Reverb (in excellent condition) on most occasions. The Marshall Bluesbreaker is excellent. You don't have any apologies with this amp. It can run with the best of amps for a small/mid-sized club gig. You'll have to turn things down considerably if mic'ed thru a PA. There's a lot of air coming out of this amp. My bottom line - This amp is a cross between the traditional Marshall "crunch" and the Fender "blackface" sound. Maybe 75 percent Marshall, 25 percent Fender - but you can get the best of both worlds - especially with the right reverb pedal.

I think it has enough features, after all we are not looking for a DSp filled with tons things that a real guitarist or an amatuer needs to be befuddled with.

If your are not a clapton fiend then you will still really appreciate this beast. It has THE sound for hard rock and blues and you can almoist smell the fish and chips on it, British indeed. It is loud but not nearly as loud as my 60 watt and it starts to break up at about 4 and 1/2, Yes no Master volume So crank the son of a B%$#H. As the saleperson at the guitar store said it sounds like god, and if you are willing to hear god then it is amazing. I am very Glad ther is no master volume because that take the sound away and replaces it with thin-sounding slop!But Do wear ear plugs because it is loud! Lets just say i have learned from my mistakes with sound!

By the way i usae a '97 les paul classic goldtop through and it sound some what like angus young, i haven't fool with it much but it sounded like god right out of the box, so why mess with a good thing.
also used my strat, it sounds hendrixy. Both were used through a fulltone Full-drive 2, but i cranked it first, the full drive is perfect when operating at lower volumes.

I instantly notice the difference bettween my solid state junkfest and this baby, IT IS THE TONE IT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY!

just got it so it's a marshall it should stand up pretty well with certain amounts of babying that it crys out for. It is delicate so you can't and wont be able to throw it around, it is very heavy. I gave it seven because as all expensive amps it is delicate and that doesn't mean it isn't realiable its just very presious and could easily be broken unlike solid state that take a licking and keep on ticking. BUt otherwise for the craftmanship it would be a 10

never had to yet and hopefully i won't

IT is the classic sound and it is damn If ever lose it i will most definitely replace it!

Its My dream amp and I definitely am a convert to Marshall!