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!

The features are standard Marshall of this era, no more no less, and it didn't seem to matter to Page, Beck, Green, Clapton, and a zillion other rock gods.

I use a variety of reissue strats from the 80's or frankenstrats. Pickups are Van Zandts, Lindy Fralin, Custom Shop Fat 54's, Custom Shop 'AY' 69, and Orville by Gibson 58 reissue stocked with WCR Coils
(www.crcoils.com) darkburst. I use a tube screamer for crunch when needed. I use it for recording mainly. Style wise I am grounded in early british blues, ala Green, Beck, Clapton and Page. At least with this amp. I have jumped it to two channel but prefer channel 1 for the LP. I have really played with this amp converting it over to G.E.C. KT66's and dropping the voltage by changing out the rectifier to a GZ32 to get a browned out sound. All stock preamp tubes have been switched out as well. The original tube compliment sounded nasty to my ears and I have been using valves for 35 years. Volume is usually cranked between 5 and 10, relying on the guitar pots to bring down the volume. Bass is usually set low around 2, midrange and treble usually somewhere between 5 & 6, nor more than 7. Pres is down to 0. The sound is quite good though I am in the process of doing a PtP conversion and switching out to alnico speakers. The greenbacks are nice but to get into that creamy distortion you are going to need those little alnico magnets. Changing out to a Mercury Magnetics transformer may be in the works. We'll see when I get the other components installed. The cabinet is stock. Now if you want to go to a full size cabinet then MOJO was making them. I don't know if they still are. The true test of tone that I was looking for was on John Mayall's "It's a Hard Road" with Peter Green. On the song "Someday After Awhile Green has this incredible sound and tone thing going on. Also, there was a song recorded by Rod Stuart, Ansley Dunsbar, Jack Bruce and Jeff Beck, called "Stone Cold Crazy" If you have never heard this song look for it on Rod Stuart 64 - 69 cd compilation. Beck has this incredible solo and tone that will not quit, not to mention that Rod's vocals are simply the best recording I have ever heard of him. This Japanese Orville and BB capture that tone to a T.

I would use this amp anywhere, until I found out it was a load of crap, which I am sure that it is not. I have never had an issue with any marshall that I have owned, except for the 73 50 watter that I purchased new. That era amp had a real difficult time with the tube sockets becoming unstable and shorting out the amp.

I have been playing since I was 13 and that was in 1969. I have let slip through my fingers far too many, now big money amps and guitars. My amplification consists of the BB around a 92, 66 Super Reverb(no those RI amps by fender do not sound the same, trust me on this one), 1970 Dual Showman Reverb head, 1969 Deluxe Reverb loaded with a JBL D120,(again the reissue eats crabgrass.)I would purchase this amp again What I love about it is that I can throw almost any type of music at it, with the right gear, and come up with an amazing array of sounds. Each guitar that I use has different color and tones and the marshall articulates them very clearly and with authority. I am rating this as fantastic value considering that you are going to pay the same price or more for just a reissue marshall head. In fact I just saw a BB guts taken and stuck into a head cabinet and it sold for more than I paid for the hole thing.

Mine is a 1999/2000? I play Rock/Punk Rock. This is the perfect Amp for me. I've had Hiwatt, Mesa, Fender, Sovtek - just about everything. For a 30 watt Amp this thing is loud with killer tone. I play medium to larger size rooms & I've yet to get this Amp above 3 with the channels bridged. I run a DOD 250 preamp or a DOD YJM 308 preamp in front of the Amp. It's like those pedals were made with this Amp in mind - Beyond transparent tone. This is a one channel Amp. If you want great tone instead of a couple channels with average tone, you can't go wrong with this Amp.

I play Teles & Strats w/Humbuckers. This Amp is great for cutting through live. If you don't run a pedal in front of the Amp & you want some dirt, then you'd better get a hot plate or something like it. The DOD pedals I mention before are the best to run in front of this Amp. It takes a bit of volume for this Amp to break up. You'd piss off many-a sound man if you ran the Amp at a volume hot enough to deliver the gain/dirt you may desire. I don't care for the tremolo so I had my Amp tech disconnect it. Marshall is not known for their tremolo.

The Amp is built like an older Marshall, nice and solid.
I only use the Amp for recording & live shows. I probably won't take it out on tour, only because it's still in good shape. And I have a great rehearsal set-up I can use.

I've never dealt with Marshall.

I've been playing 27 years and running. This is one incredible Amp.
It's almost like a Fender Bassman meets an AC30 with all the great Marshall tone in one combo. If you want total killer tone, then find one of these re-issues & Let there be Rock.

this amp has got just the right amount features for me. The tremelo system is fun tio muck around with but i hate effects so i never use it anyway. It's just a really simple no nonsense amp

i play old school rock (kind of led zeppelin meets ac/dc) and with the bridge humbucker on my strat selected i can those hard driven clean channel sound which made these bands famous , but when i select the neck pickup and put the temelo on i can get cool pink floyd / dire straits tone.i have been reading some of the other reviews and some say that the have changed quite alot about thier amps , I WOULDN'T CANGE A THING , i've got all the tone that i need , you can never improve an already great amp . i was originaly going to get a plexi but after reving myself from the heart attack that i endured after looking at the price i realised it was way too big so i went for , what i think , is an even smaller brother to the mighty plexi. this amp , when i looked at the cosmetics and the control panel on this amp it reminded me of an ac30 but this is a very different beast , its more crunchy , its more bluesy , its more 'rock'! its basicly JUST PLAIN BETTER

valves have always been dodgy in my book but as long as your extra careful you should be ok. and of course its got that valve rectifier so that increses your fears of a sudden amp explosion at your gig. but as ever marshall are always ready to help and the usual reliabilty you can expect from good old marshall

Marshall realy know how to deal with customers theyr're fast and efficent and very nice to all of thier customers.authorized marshall repairers are everywhere and always ready to listen to amp related problems. my amp is regestered on the 3 year warranty (for free i might add)

i have been playing for 2 years and am about to buy a gibson les paul (huge jimmy page fan , hence the gear)and own a fender standard fat strat.if it were lost or stolen then i would most certainly buy another one (but who would be able to steal anyway it weighs a tone , and you would be able to lose an amp that size anyway).its cranked up 'just dirty' tone suits me dwn to the ground. i considered an ac30 , a mesa nomad,an orange rockoverb and a fender twin but this was inexpensive and lets face it ITS A MARSHALL

This amp is really nice , one big key here is to not sit it down on the floor, keep it off the floor if just an inch or 2, it will sound alot better, Ive had no problems and its pretty quiet with a Gibson. Features, not many which is great to me, theres a tremelo that runs pretty slow without depth but its a Marshall not a Tremolux, I didnt buy this thing to play Ventures tunes.

I use this with Les Pauls and SG's sounds great, classic situation, it breaks up nice and smooth and gets real loud, and fills out real well.

Ive played it everyday or a year, its 2 years old, Ive had no problems I run it on 8 every time.

Never dealt with them and wouldnt anyway, there are guys out there that really know amps.

playing for 8 years, also own a 66 and 64 bassman, an ampeg, and other stuff. I would replace it in a week if lost or stolen. I love everything about it, even love that it weighs 78lbs, and is awkward.

I bought this for half what the RRP is so I think I've done quite well. 30 watts with 2 celestion greenback speakers. Apparently this is the most expensive combo that Marshall make. Features? Well I guess you all know this really. Not much is the simple answer. It does have a tremelo but its not a very good one, in fact mine had to go back to Marshall twice with a ticking tremelo circuit. It then subsequently got damaged in the post (I actually saw the delivery guy throw it in the back of his van!) but Marshall promptly repaced it with a new one. Great service but shame it ticked in the first place. It has four inputs, 2 for the normal channel and 2 for the bass channel. Most people run this with the normal channel jumpered into the bass channel so that you can use both volume controls. IMHO less knobs to twiddle is good thing though, simplicity is the key here. I wish it had a preamp drive though.

With the stock 5881 valves I think it sounds uncannily like an old Fender bassman. Fantastic clean sound, probably the best I've ever heard, but don't think this baby is gonna overdrive. I've had it up to 10 in the studio and it still didn't break up. We all suffered terminal hearing damage though as this baby is LOUD! I use it for blues and rock and the only way to make it crunch is to stick a pedal in front of it. I've used a vintage OD-1 and a tube screamer and a bluesbreaker 2 pedal through this and they all sound fantastic. I can get any clean blues or rock tone I want with this setup but I always felt it could be better. You've probably read about how you can revert this thing back to the clapton bluesbreaker by repacing just about every component and installing GEC KT66 power amp valves but I just couldn't be bothered with all that. What I have done is to buy myself some THD Yellowjackets and install el84 valves. It now runs in class A at half the volume (still bloody LOUD) and sounds like a cross between a VOX AC30 and a marshall Bluesbreaker. Best of all it breaks up beautifully at around 6. You get that great, clean but dirty sound we all want. Can't give it 10 as I had to mod it first.

Had the ticking tremelo circuit to start with but fine for the last two years. I would never gig a valve amp without a backup. This thing is built like a tank so is virtually unbreakable. Its also the heaviest mother to cart around because of it though.

Can't fault Marshall here, they picked it up for free and gave me a new one when it trashed in the post by the Royal fail

I've been playing for over 30 years now. I own amps by marshall, fender and cornford. Sometimes my amps sound shit and sometimes they sound great. Who knows why? You just have to accept that thats the way it is. I have to admit it but I have grown to love it along the way. My guitars are a 70's USA strat with texas specials, a USA tele and a ltd edition gibson es335 with ebony fretboard. I bought this amp to try and get the ultimate blues sound and I think I'm pretty close as I'm ever gonna get. If it were lost or stolen I'd probably replace it with a Cornford Hurricane as the Bluesbreaker is a bitch to carry with only one handle and no wheels. I did put my shoulder out once when I had to carry it about 500 yards and up 2 flights! It looks great though and has a serious pro vibe about it. Every one wants to see it and talk about it and I've had many complimentary comments on the tone. I once saw Robbie Williams guitarist and he had a wall of these things! Awesome.

I believe mine is a 2002 or 2003. Acquired used in near-mint condition. I am very impressed with the functionality of the tone controls, presence, and even the differences between the two channels. There's a whole spectrum of tones here. As has been stated before, the tremelo is a bit chintzy, but who uses that anyways?

I DO wish it had reverb, if only for living-room doodling purposes. If anyone knows of some mod to maybe yank the tremelo circuitry and throw in a Fender reverb unit, please contact me! That would be great, but I don't know if it can be done.

I give it an 8 for features - it doesn't have many, but the ones it does have are very useful.

I got this thinking it would scream with my Les Paul Deluxe, but I actually prefer the sounds I get with my very lightweight swamp-ash Warmoth Tele with Lindy Fralin Broadcaster pickups. Very gritty and snarky, without the flabby/mushy gain. I took out the junky Sovteks and 'Marshall' brand tubes (that's funny!) and put in all JJs, which are the BEST.

I used this amp in a rehearsal with a blues band (drums, Hammond through a Leslie, bass, etc), and my volume was literally on 1.5 (with a Chile Picoso Clean Boost). When I gigged, I had it on 5-ish, and had plenty of room to spare. Like the previous reviewer, I also have a Fender Super Reverb Reissue. Long story short, Fenders have that nice tight low-end, but sometimes piercing highs. Marshalls can get a little flabby on the low notes, but the highs are never too sharp. These two amps provide great tonal contrast, and just like the previous reviewer also said, for less than the price of a boutique amp you can get both of these (I paid $675 for the Marshall and $700 for the Super).

I don't use a lot of gain, but this thing gives PLENTY more than my old 50w Super Lead. I get singing sustain with my Paul on the neck pickup and the volume around 8. I didn't get this amp for the "Clapton Tone" (I mean seriously, find your OWN tone - you might be glad you did), but I did feel the need to bust out that Amin arpeggio lick from "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)".

Only had it for about a month, but one big difference between this and the Super Reverb is how heavy and solid it is. I think that's why it performs so much better at high volumes. Once the Super gets past 6, things start rattling and shaking - it seems happiest around 5 (I'm always afraid I'm gonna snap that wood sheet that goes across the bottom of the back with my leg as I carry it). But the Bluesbreaker loves nothing more than being turned up to 10. It just sits there solidly. In fact, it sounds like garbage at apartment-level volume. The Super definitely smokes it there, but if I could only bring one amp to a gig, it would undoubtably be the Marshall.

I wouldn't even bother. If you buy a tube amp, you should have the understanding that things will inevitably crap out, and you'll need to pay for repairs. Just like any car.

This amp is nothing short of the answer to my prayers. I had to dig in so hard to get the Super Reverb to do what I wanted. This is not a knock on the Super Reverb -- it's terrific for jazz, clean stuff, practicing, etc. But the Bluesbreaker gives me the option to lay back on the volume a bit, and still have tons of headroom. As a result, my picking can be much more dynamic. It's heavy, but if my keyboard player can haul a B3 and a Leslie everywhere, an 80lb amp isn't going to kill me. With the Bluesbreaker and the Super Reverb ($1,375 together), I can't imagine being in the market for another amp anytime soon (if ever).

And oh yeah, this thing looks great - very simple and classy. Just plain elegant. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Oh wait, yeah they do. It's a re-issue.

If you are looking for an amp with a lot of features, get a modeling amp. If you actually play guitar, then get something like this amp which will essentially give you a sound that you can build on for blues, jazz, rock, pop, etc.

The tremelo is a gimmicky little thing that I like sometimes but for the most part is not worth much to me. I certainly didn't buy this amp for that.

If you want to know the specifics just read the reviews below.

I play a '68 Telecaster through way too many pedals already:

EH Qtron+ =>
Boss Compression/Sustainer CS-3=>
Ibanez Turbo Tube Screamer=>
ProCo Vintage Rat =>
EB Volume Pedal=>
Boss Noise Suppresor NS-2 =>
CatalinBread Chile Picoso 35 DB boost=>
Boss DD-5
Line6 DL4 =>
into my Mesa Boogie Maverick (Dual Rect.)
and Marshall Bluesbreaker
(stereo rig for delays and such)

I play mainly rock and pop in a pro band as the only guitarist in a three pice and this amp has enough 'tone' for me to do just about anything I want to do.

One of the few amps I'd want to play just by itself for hours at a time. I did so at Emerald City Guitars just before I bought it.

Not sure, but looks solid so far. In great condition used from a collector it has been dependable.

N/A

Played for about 7 years. Love it as my new workhorse, hate the weight, but it's a trade off, right?

Went to the shop looking for an AC30 and left with this.

Just enough...

2002 built so it has the 10.5" deep cab. Superb combo amp, really. I have a 1987x that I run somewhat detuned?5751 in V1, 12Au7 in V2 to make it sound more JTMish. I run the JTM floored with the channels jumpered. There is some common ground, sort of, between these amps. The JTM is more subtle as has been said before in prior reviews.
If you visit various web bulletin boards you'll swear that you have to completely rebuild the Bluesbreaker reissue for it to be useful. Long story short, you can use this thing with great results completely stock. I would recommend changing the valves and turning the output selector to 16ohms. I run 5751 in V1, JJ 12AX7s in V2, V3, V4(though I don't;use the trem), GTKT66HPs in the output and a JJ rectifier. This combo sounds huge, plays loud and has incredible bass response. I run my bass and pres at 0 and mids and treble at 10.Volume 2 at 6 and volume 1 all the way up. Set-up thusly I never run my guitars flat out, unless for a put-the-smack-down solo! The overdrive is such a big, velvety chunk with an alnico-pickuped Gibson Les Paul it's analogous to being knocked down with a 200 pound pillow. Never harsh, it has air and complexity that other amps can't generate. I don't think I'll sell my plexi, but it will go before this one. With my tele, I can get a sparkley chime at lower guitar volume settings and Led Zepp 1 sounds with the volume rolled up high?very versatile.
I have a Fender Super Reverb reissue that I use for the first part of our shows. I go to this amp and never look back for the second set forward. I love the greenback reissues in this thing. I know some guys swear by the Celestion Alnico blues but given they are 3-4 db more efficient, I don't think I'm going there (let alone the $300 a piece sticker price). This thing is plenty loud. I sure don't want any more stage volume and usually I don't mike it! (Which shows the size of clubs I play in)

So far so good. I've played marshall rigs for years without incident.

Hugh was great when I talked to him about specs.

If I could only have 1 amp, I'd flip a coin between this one and the Fender Super reissue. Both are great amps?so why choose?get them both. This Marshall is a beautiful piece of gear. It's so good looking I'd buy it a ring if it could cook. I love what my Fender guitars sound like through this amp, but Gibsons are incredible with this thing?plenty of gain and overdrive with my rig for the stuff I play. The tremolo is no Fender by any stretch of the keyboard. I don't use it. If I want cleanish to light overdrive I use the Fender. Light overdrive to heavy overdrive, it has to be a Marshall. The quality of this piece is great. True some of the parts are sort of questionable but I can depend on it. I'm proud to have this in my backline?to the point I'm going to start hanging the Union Jack behind me : )
At $1300 this amp is not cheap. Having said that, this amp and $1189 worth of Fender Super Reverb reissue, you're still under most boutique amps and you'll have a sound palate that shows all the one-stop-shopping amps up for what they are?mediocre at best.

30 Watts RMS = loud enough for medium clubs, no more. Heavy (77 pounds!), wide, no protectors on the edges so tolex scratches easily. Excellent manufacturing regarding screws, wood, parts placement.

I use a tele and effects - sounds great, not a specialized sound, just the sound of big transformers driving efficient speakers - lots of response, plays beautifully. Cabling normal and bright inputs helps to dial in tones. Tremelo not very great, but OK. Tube springs rattled on mine.

Looks very durable. Excellent wormanship. Grill cloth looks weak, and speakers might get punched with a falling cymbal stand or wet with a beer thrown on it, so I would stand in front of the amp in the back if I were you. Or drape a thicker cloth over it.

The web site is difficult to find things. Stock tubes really are crappy, so call Lord Valve about the KT-66s. Bonus : The guy below mentions using this at low volumes as a bass amp - AND HE IS RIGHT THE MONEY.

This is not a spectacular amp, or a holy grail, but it is great quality amp from a supported well known manufacturer. It is a workable simple circuit and well made inside. This is about as much amp as I care to invest in, about as much hassle as I can deal with - I don't want to be tweaking 50's Fenders or 60's Marshalls anymore - I've had it with the waste of time.

What people say about the Beano tone is really hard for me to believe. Put KT_66s in there, MAYBE replace the transformer and you DO have about 90 % of classic rock acheivable. That is maybe not very cool to a musician's musician, but as a musician also I have to please the drunks that come see us play, and they respond to that sound immediately, and club owners are happy, and they ask you to return... etc.

Before you read my review, scroll down to the bottom of this page (or use "control" + "end" to shortcut to the bottom). See that review by Tom Quinn? That's my amp. I bought it off him back about a year ago or so. It's a standard 1962 Marshall Bluebreaker Combo. When I received it from Tom it was completely stock. Sovtek 5881's, Celestion Greenbacks, etc. etc. I have since changed all that (more about that later). It was a one trick pony...but a nice trick at that. Very limited on features. From what I have read, it's rated lower than 45 watts. I've read accounts where it's been rated as low as 30 watts.

I use my 74' Les Paul and my 99' MIA Tele with a Keely modded Sparkle Drive. I play bluesy rock most of the time. However, due to my love of classic rock I needed more out of this amp and by doing a bit of research I knew it was possible. I decided to take the plunge. Since I have purchased it I have completely modified it back to Clapton's "Beano" amp and now it's wonderful. I have replaced the Output Transformer (Mercury Magnetics), the power tubes are now Valley Art's KT66s, changed out the preamp tubes, the filter caps, tone caps and changed out the speakers to Weber Alnico 15 watt Blue Dogs (P12BT). The tremelo didn't work from the beginning so I had my tech mod this to a master volume for additional versatility. It's a whole other monster now. It has MAD tone. I can cop a very nice light OD tone up to a serious crunch. The speakers in combination with bridging the channels in addition to the master volume can land me straight into a Jimmy Page/Malcom Young dream. Punchy, precise and clear rock tone that is SOOOOOOOOO satisfying!

So far, so good. Mr. Quinn was very honest with me about the amp but I haven't had a single problem with it.

n/a

I've been playing for over 20 years and I have had my share of amps good and bad. I'm happy with what I got finally. I did have to sink 400 bucks into it to get me there but I can't imagine wanting something else for what I play. I'm really fickle about that too. This is it for me. It cuts through like a dream in band situations and I really have nothing to complain about.

If it were stolen, I probably would buy one again only this time I would buy one that has already been modded to save me the effort of tracking everything down. Of course, I'm not under oath or anything because I would be VERY tempted into buying a Dr. Z or other type of Bluesbreaker Clone because some of these companies simply pay more attention to detail in producing a quality clone than Marshall.

The only thing I really wish it had would be some reverb or an effects loop but to be honest, it has so much juicy tone that it's fine by me with what it offers.

The 2 seperate channels on this amp offer a plethora of different tones, which when complemented by the dynamic eq, cover every spectrum of the rock/blues genre. Many different sounds can be achieved by either linking the 2 channels via a pactch lead or using the channels seperately and using a channel switching box.

Using the amp raw, gives clear defined notes and barking chords that ring true. The amp works well on its own, but adds character to an overdrive pedal such as the mesa v-twin. Using the channel switching with a mesa in 1 channel with low amp gain and the second channel cranked full gives you in theroy a 4 channel amp full of every gain stage. Amp used to get a little muddy when cranked over 3/4. However a recent full valve change - Electro Harmonix 6L6 power, 12AX7's preamp and a sovtek Mullard equivalent GZ34 gave it a supreme bottom end tightness and high end punch. I use this amp with an 8ohm THD hotplate to have full valve power at any volume. The deep and bright switches on this attenuator give extra clarity to compensate for the lower volume.

When I bough the amp 6 years ago the rectifyer valve was faulty. Marshall posted me one which arrived the next day. Been rockin' ever since. This is the only Marshall I have owned that hasn't broken down.

Any questions I had regarding impedance or valve selection were answered very well by their technical dept. Very helpful. Years ago I wrote to Marshall telling them of my amps breaking down, after trying many amps in the Marshall range. In response, Mr Marshall invited me to his factory, gave me a tour and bought me lunch. Can't really beat that.

Tried every single Marshall amp there is. Can't beat the original design. My only gripe is that Marshall should put better valves in there to start with. I wish it had an effects loop so that chorus, flange, delay etc can be clearly defined.

I have a reissue, made about 1992 or so. Even though it was built fairly recently, it's still a copy of a 1965-era amp. There aren't many features, other than the somewhat cheesy tremelo.

I only use my 1985 3-pickup Les Paul Custom (a Custom Shop axe) with this amp. Turning up the volume and using a humbucker-equipped Les Paul is the only way to go here. I've tried my Strat and Tele through this amp, and they sound like shit.

With my Les Paul, volume cranked, and my .11-.52 strings, I pretty much have the Clapton "Beano" tone nailed.

Never had a problem, but since it's not my only amp, I always have spares (Peavey Deuce, Roland JC-120) ready.

Never had to deal with Marshall customer support.

I've been playing for 21 years. Besides the aforementioned Marshall BB and Les Paul, I own a 1978 Fender Stratocaster, a 1962-reissue Telecaster, a 1970's-era Gibson SG Custom, a Custom Shop Rickenbacker 325 "Lennon" w/a full scale neck, an Ibanez Roadstar II, and an Epiphone Emperor jazz box. I'm currently negotiating the purchase of a Gibson L5-S (my Holy Grail).

IMO, this amp is a one-trick pony. If you crank the volume and use a Les Paul, you'll get a fantastic, fat, blues tone. If you turn down the volume or use a single-coil guitar, it becomes just another amplifier.

If it was lost or stolen, I'd buy another one in a second.

Bought it used second owner,owner said he purchased around 95 or so,simple controls,as prevoius reviews,2-12 greenbacks 5881,s Also has a nice tremolo.

I use ES-335 gibson.56 Custom shop,63SG,Hamer arch Top,G&L bluesBoy and other strats and teles.So humbuckers,single coils,and amp is farly quiet.The tone on this amp is what is all about,just great blues or Rock tones that is great with anyone of my guitars.If you look to get the early Clapton with cream tone humbuckers will get it,Ive heard guys say whats the big deal with early clapton tone,they have their heads up their Butts,then they go on to dig AC/DC guitar tones,so cant trust them,If SRV tones just grab strat and put a nice overdrive in primery and thats good,Clean country can also be had on this monster amp,just play with controls,I also chain the channels.

Had it for about two months very reliable.But its actually retained the original tubes that came with this amp,so I dint see where it had been serviced and its 7yrs old,so soon I will be doing tube replacement,the sound is very good so I dint see any need yet!

no deals with the outfit,checked there web site and some info.

Been playing for 30yrs+,I have 57 tweed bassman,67SR,topHat KingRoyle,Blues JR,I like everything about the JTM,I have been using it pretty steady since I recieved it,As stated above I will be changing Valves in near Future,so I can Only assume that it will even sound better.

Bought the amp new on 1995. An all valve amp. The amp consists 2 channels with individual volume. Channel 1 is Bright and chnnel 2 is mellower with added vibrato. Shared EQ for both channels with the exeption of speed & intensity for channel 2. The amp has a pair of Celestion G12M 'Greenback' speakers rated at 25W each. The amp was modifed recently, so more about the features later.
This amp comes from the 'utility school of thoughts' as it doesn't have effect loop, built in distortion, reverb etc.

The amp was modifed recently. so the review will be splitted in 2. My main guitar is Rickenbacker 330. I mainly use the amp clean. The amp have a great bright tone almoust like a Fender until you push it to overdrive at around '4'. Than the amp looses control. It sometimes sounds a little bit muddy. To avoid it, I replaces the stock Celestion G12M speakers with a pair of Celestion G12H 70th Anniversary speakers, rated at 30W each. The stock Sovtek 5881 valves were changed to JJ/Tesla 6L6GC as well as all the preamp valves and rectifire (JJ/Tesla ECC83S for the former and Sovtek GZ34 for the later). The sound was greatly improved. It sounds much tighter with pronounced mids and smoother treble. It really nails that 60's sound we all love. Think about The Who on "The Kids Are Alright" or The Small Faces on "All Or Nothing".
For the original sound, I give it '9'. After the modifications, I give it '10'.

I own the amp for more than 7 years. I had to service it once when 1 of the valves was blown and I needed to change a transformer. Other than that, I never had to service it again.

I never dealt with Marshall.
I only had 1 year warranty and the amp blown a couple of monthes later (bummer!!).
I had to service the amp at the shop were I bought it. They weren't very helpful & in fact it really sucked big time.

I've been playing 10 years. I own some vintage reissue effects that I use like: EHX Stereo Memory Man, Colorsound Pro. Mk II Tonebender, Marshall Bluesbreaker Overdrive Pedal (UK made 1st version) etc. etc. I like my amp plain and simple and this amp fills the bill.
I compared the amp to Crate Vintage Club, Peavey Classic 50 and Vox AC30. I didn't wanted the Marshall at first but after seeing it, hearing it at the store and compairing it to the Vox, I bought it in no time.
This is not a high gain or metal amp. It doesn't have a built in distortion. Just crank up the volume and leave it there.
You may never want to turn it off (especialy after the modifications).

note that i'm talkink about a 1993 reissue model.
blah blah 2 chans with a separate volume, shared eq, and a tube tremolo for the 2nd chan.
2 Celestion Greenback reissue speaker.
killer look ...

i only give it a 5 because it's a very simple amp compared to a 3 chan Boogie (for example) ...

Wooooo pure tone heaven !! I've played many tube amps but this one is the best !!
Pure rocknroll/blues tone. Very complex tone, you can hear evey note you play. This is very clean and bassy if you dont set the volume higher than 4. At 5 it starts to distort in a beautifull warm overdrive ... very vintage. Lot of headroom ...
I use it with a std. Telecaster and a Fulltone FD2 and everytime i play it's a new dream.

Mine is 9 years old and is still like in good condition.

Best amp i've ever had.
It produces the sound i was looking for.
If it were stolen i think i'll try to find an other one ... or buy a SLP Head.
Can't say enough good things about it ...

Well, i gues the features are known by now.Marshall BluesBreaker RI amp,with volume and tone controls with a tremelo as a bonus.
For my kind of style it fits the bill perfectly, mainly blues/rock .
Its an amp i,m enyoing very much but i wish it had an effects send/return.

Aahh....the sound,
Well i sold my Marshall TSL100 with 4x12 to get me an amp like this and although i had some regrets in the beginning ,finally i,m beginning to discover the sounds that are hidden in this thing.
I changed all the tubes with ENGL tubes (these were the ones y could get),y dont know excactly what kind they are , y believe sovteks, but they sound so very good.First the overdrive sound you get when the amp is pushed (after setting 5)was a bit muddy, no open sound . After changing the cheap small 6l6 power tubes with the ENGL big 6l6 tubes the sound was completly different,fat open drive sounds.Then i changed all the preamp tubes and the rectifier tube with ENGL 12ax7 and a Ruby GZ34 , man this made antother change in sound for the better.
Y play mostley with my fender strat with ssl5 SD pickups and use a TS9 or a Marshall BB2 pedal in front of the amp to get my tone.It sounds so sweet with both pedals although the BB2 has a bit more bottom .When the amp is cranked to the max you get a sound so fat, round and warm it will make you weep.
When y use my EPI Sheraton with Dimarzio PAF Classics i,m ready to go talk with my shrink ;-), i read before that some say that the Bluesbreaker combo gives the best sounds with humbuckers, well i must say that it sure sounds better with humbuckers. Incredible fat sounds you wouldn,t believe.
It gives me that warm old drive sounds from the 60,s and 70,s .
Y sold my TSL100 stack for this one and i,m glad i did that, although the TSL is a great amp i found it to sterile sounding for my style.
Y was looking for that older sound and wanted an old amp in 2x12"format, now i got it.You wont get heavy metal sounds out of this one although you could use a distortion pedal in front of it.My experience is that the amp sounds best with overdrive or a boost pedal.Y tried my Boss GT6 with the amp aand also different distortion pedals,it was like raping the amp iow NO GO!! Keep it simple, just a overdrive or boost pedal , let the amp do the ovedrive and then help it along a bit with a pedal. The Marshall Bluesbreaker2 pedal has an option to switch it in boost mode, this way it wont colour youre sound but just boost the signal, when you cranck the amp to 10 and hit the boostpedal,.....be aware!!Njamm Njamm.

No complaints, y bought the amp second hand and changed the tubes just because y wanted to beter the sound.

Not needed .

Overall: Great amp , wont leave my house , will not sell it ,love it, great tone,lovely vintage tone!!! (tried to avoid to use the word vintage).Wont sell it because of certain reasons the amp is no longer availble here in Europe, has something to do with saffety rules y dont know.
Y have this amp for an year now and still discovering the sounds that are hidden in it and although i like to play search and destroy music sometimes and although taht is not possible with this amp , i dont want another modern amp with gain controlls etc.
What y do want is to get some other basic amps like VOX AC30 , Fender Twin reverb . Just youre basic amp that clips the guitar signal when the volume is turned up and a overdrive pedal to boost things a little.
Just beautifull blues/rock sounds not chainsaw sounds( thats what i call the modern Mesa sounds with gain on 20 ).

For me : perfect amp, i,m a happy puppy now.

2 volumes and shared treb, mid, bass, presence. This is all you need because the tone is so amazing and complex. These simple controls provide infinite possibilities. There is tremolo which I will never use.

I've never played an amp I've liked more than this. The clean sound is amazingly deep and complex. It's almost like there is a chorus on, really. Turning up the volume gives you a chunky, thick, punchy and equally complex overdrive. An endless tonal palette controlled with picking dynamics and/or guitar volume. It is amazing.

Bring extra tubes and fuses. Internaly the amp is solid. The exterior is kind of crappy, just like the original. Who cares. That said, the amp has as much visual presence as it does tonal. It's a huge 2-12" combo.

Excellent. Out of the box one of the tubes was kind of noisy. I called the factory and they sent me a whole new set plus a schematic.

Best sounding amp I've ever had and a great value. Boutique sound at a Kmart price.

This is a 1990 reissue. It has four inputs, a normal and a bright channel, with low and high input jacks. It has a tremolo that only works on the normal channel. There is no master volume, reverb or effects loops. This is basically a vintage amp with lots of tone. It has a great blues and classic rock tone. Yet, with the right distortion pedal it can crank out some pretty good modern rock sounds. Even though it is only rated at 45 watts, this amp is loud and can be heard loud and proud in a small club with a loud drummer and bassist. Its tremolo is not the greatest, but still decent enough to be used. I have it set up with a pair of NOS phillips 6L6WGB, 4 sovtek 12AX7WA and a NOS phillips GZ34.

I am currently using a stock Fender Telecaster with single coils. I play modern rock music and also some jazz, blues, pop, etc. To get the modern rock sound I have to use a distortion pedal. For the other styles that I have mentioned, I use it straight with a Fender reissue reverb unit, and it sounds great. The amp sounds pretty clean up to about 8 on the volume, this I think can be attributed to the Philips 6L6WGB, which give a sound similar to the old TungSols 5881's. There is a Fenderish sound to this amp, but fully cranked up it sounds like Peter Green, early Clapton and Led Zeppelin. This amp has a strong bass response, therefore I set it the following way: Bass on 2, middle on 5, treble on 10 and presence on 5. With the distortion box it sounds like the latest modern rock bands, Rage Against the Machine comes to mind.

The amp is well built, but heavy. The workmanship is solid. I have used it for club gigs and it worked just fine. The only problem that I had with it, has been with its cheap alpha potentiometers.

I bought this amp in 1994 and took it once to repair a potentiometer. The daler put the wrong value potentiometer, which made the amp sound bad. The warranty was only for three months. By the time I found out what was making the amp sound bad the warranty had expired. Ever since then I have learned to repair it myself. Aspen Pittman's book is a good source for those who want to understand tube amps.

I have been playing for 13 years. I also own a Silverface Fender Princeton Reverb amp. It sounds great, but it lacks the power and fatness that the Marshall has. The Fender is sweet and sounds great for blues, rock, and surf music. The Marshall is nastier and fatter when played loud and it is not as sweet as the Fender when played low. With a reverb unit the Marshall captures a bit of the Fender's low volume sweetness. I treasure this amp, because it has the tone that have always wanted, good old British Rock sound. If it were to be stolen I would buy another one. I love this amp, what else can I say, it was always my dream amp. The tone is awesome, the only thing bad about it is that one is limited to a blues and classic rock sound. If one wants to get a more modern sound, a distortion box, such as the Metal Zone pedal is recomended. For those who love pure sounds a reverb unit in front of it would do just fine.

this amp has four sounds: clean and bright, dirty and bright, clean and full, and dirty and full. that's about it, and you shouldn't need more than that if you can play. i had the tremelo disconnected because i believe the more knobs an amp has.......either the worse it sounds or the worse the user can make it sound. use this amp as a basic platform and just buy some pedals.

DISCLAIMER!!!! all work inside of tube amps should be performed by a qualified tech who is familier with the bad things that can happen to your heart when you touch 450volts!!! it's a nine now.....but it started as a seven, i massaged the circuit values to sound closer to a real 65 bluesbreaker, just very small things, less than $300.00 worth of parts, in order of importance (imo) 1: i installed valve art kt66's as powertubes, 2:i also changed the filter sections to 32x32uf in the power amp and 16x16uf in the preamp, 3: i removed the the treble channel volume control bypass cap, 4: you should change the impedance selecter from 8 to 16 on this amp, please do not due this to every amp and you could permenantly harm other amp,s but due to design specs you aren't familiar with, you MAY do that to THIS AMP ONLY, it will cause the sound to open up. i own a used guitar shop so i have played every guitar thru this amp and it is just a fantastic amp, it has a buttery distortion and is very touch sensitive. if you need a million sounds buy a pod6 or dod pedals to stick in front of it the when you change bands or whatever style you play goes out of style then throw them away and you still have a great amp. a great sounding amp for the money you'd pay used. if you can't or won't buy matchless/tophat/drZ/nedsel/or sampson then i think this is a great basic rock amp to own, it's cleaner than it should be out of the box, but that's good for alot of sounds. if you like bluesrock then stick kt66s in it and have it biased and you've got the basic component of every rock song ever recorded.

compared to the new crate and new fender junk that i must fix on a daily basis this amp is a tank, it is not as solid as a pre84 marshall, it is not as tough as a drZ or TOPHAT, but is alot tougher than anything else that you'd buy at the music store. i only worry about the cheap alpha pots they use, but then again everyone BUT boutique builders like tophat/drz use them.

i emailed them and asked them if the transformer mismatch thing is still an issue or if it has been resolved. no answer to date(2 weeks)
i once bought a brand new jcm 900 2channel 2x12 combo that i played three times in my bedroom during the speaker warranty period (90days) before i left for tour, 180days. the amp stopped working soon after i got back so i was forced to take it in. the local dealer would not servoce it since i had bought the amp in california, he explained that since he hadn't sold it he wouldn't look at it. i explained that he was the local warranty station and he was supposed to help me, to which he replied that he wouldn't because i'd bought it somewhere else. i proceeded to point out that he did not have any marshall amps in stock when i was looking for this amp (they never had any marshalls in stock) so i had purchased it from the first dealer that had one in stock that i could play before purchasing. basically he told me to get screwed! the factory was of no help at all. finally an engineer freind found a defective solder joint between the preamp board and power amp board(factory defect) and it was up and running for a week, then it lost half volume. this time a speaker had gone bad, the same local warranty station here in louisiana 70815 told me a little more bluntly to go get f***ed, so at my wits end i had them watch as i cut the speaker open,, WOW! the speaker voice coil was only glued 1/3rd of the diameter ( it was loose and scrubbing around till it fried itself)of the cone, i said, "is this, in your opinion, a gross defect in workmanship?" they said "yes". now i asked if they would just simply verify this on the phone to marshall which they agreed to do. so marshall asked to see it and if that was true then they'd take care of it, except they lost the speaker at the factory. but they took care of it and sent me a replacement speaker! except that the defective speaker ate my crappy jcm900 output trans which I had to pay 80.00 wholesale forand replace myself..... but they were nice and most companies wouldn't have listened past the 90 day point.

i've been playing 17 years, i have had or played every amp on the planet,no really, i've played tweed/black/silver fenders, hiwatt,sound city, plexi/metal/jtm/jmp/jcm800/900/2000 marshalls, magnatone,supro,vox,watkins,selmer,matchless,dr z,tophat,jamison,musicman,standel,soldano,sampson, and even dumble. i have a used guitar store and we see everything! the worst amp we've ever had was a fender hotrod deluxe which could not be fixed due to design flaws, the second worse that i had was a marshall jcm900 two channel two 12combo which had two cold solder joints from the factory, ate a defective speaker, then ate the output trans...and it was never even taken to a gig!!! it was a terrible amp! but i can recommend this marshall bluesbreaker reissue, marshall makes alot of amps, some good , and some bad, this one's good.

45 watts, 2channels,bassically this is a JTM 45 in a 2X12 combo cabinet, supplied with 2 12 inch Celestion Greenback Reissuespeakers. Usual array of standard tone/volume controls, bass,mid,treble,presence.

I play blues,jazz,rock,roots music via a '68 Gibson SG Standard, '67 ES 335,'69 ES 355, '95 Les Paul Standard, '68 Telecaster, '66 Strat.
All guitars are stock, unmodified.I love the way the Gibsons "mate" to this amp. The humbuckers seem to be made for this amp.Great, thick, warm clean sounds.Almost Fenderish, say a Blackfaced Pro or Twin, but thicker and heavier sound. Very powerful, I can't beleive its only 45 watts. Much quieter than I expected from a Marshall.I run a Dan-echo(excellent) and an old Fender reverb unit(excellent plus), and playing Stormy Monday , Hot 'Lanta or Elizabeth Reed, people just go nuts. I cascade the 2 channels and blend the volumes to obtain the right levels depending upon whether I'm in studio or playing live. By raising the volume, especially on the SG & Les Paul, or using the Tele or Strat I can get to a Billy F. Gibbons situation, which I also love. The tone is solid,warm, rich, creamy. I'd love to try some real Greenbacks or Vintage 30's or even the Celestion made for Vox Blue Bulldogs in this amp. Depending on the venue I could see driving a half stack speaker cabinet with this amp.For slide playing I switch to a different open tuned '71 3bolt Strat or minihumbuckered '72 Les Paul Deluxe.Great clean slide tones that are thick,but I have not attained a more distorted slide sound that I'm happy about...yet

The amp is heavy, and cumbersome to move,once out of a road case.I'm a bit concerned about the grille being torn by the speaker's 4 baffle mounts.As with any amp,when playing out,spare tubes are always on hand.I'd certainly recommend a road case for any studio or touring player.

Mitch Colby @MArshall USA is the best.The rest of the company in the US,especially on the phone should learn about his excellent attitude and PR with people.

I have been playing for over 30 years.I own an array of acoustic, electric, dobro guitars and tweed Deluxe, Blackfaced Princeton Reverb, Deluxe Reverb, Mesa-Boogie Studio 22,VOX AC-15TBX,SF Princeton Reverb,Brownface Princetion Amp, and a great Super Reverb.
I love this amps warmth, power , clean and sustain tones.It really fits with my bluesier side and works well live, in studio or at home.This and the SUper Reverb could be the ultimate club amps.I bought this amp for its sonic quality although I did also consider a half stack Marshall 1987x reisssue, which also sounded awesome,but not as smooth or warm as this combo.I think the tubes should move to KT 66's, NOS even though they are expensive..for tone its worth it.

This is a mid to late 90's RI of the fabled Beano era Clapton combo amp. A 2X12 combo of 45Watts, Non-Master volume, two channels (jumper-able)are a low and high, tremolo (channel 2 only), presence, bass, mid, treble tone controls. Your basic classic Marshall (abeit with tremolo) setup that is simple and effective. Not switchable, but I didn't by it for that. I give it a 7 because its effective but not fancy, but a range of good tone can be had via jumpering channels. I measured my cab from cloth to back and its only about 7". So either Marshall has been shrinking them or nobody else reviewing has been measuring. EVEN so, it fits those big-assed Chinese coke bottle KT66s in with a ridiculously simple process of adding some (2) washers as spacers between the chassis and the 4 mounting screw holes, so that you gain about an extra 1/4 inch necessary for the tube clearance. Speakers are two Celestion 12" greenbacks. ALL tube, including rectifier, comes with Marshall labeled sovteks, GZ34 rect, ECC83 preamps an trem, 5881/6L6 power tubes

I'll review as STOCK, because that's how its delivered, and otherwise there would be no reference point. I'll describe the mods I've done, but the sound comments are as stock (except mismatching the impedance-see below).

One thing you can do that helps alot is to set the impedance setting one 'high'. The speakers' impedance is 8 ohms and I have selected 16 ohms on the amp. This really makes the amp sound bigger and more 'open' sounding, I love it.

I have outfitted mine with KT66s (and 1K screen resistors) and replaced all the Sovtek tubes with much better NOS and other misc tubes. This helps alot too.

I give the sound a 8 1/2 because while close to awesome, its noisy. Keep in mind that I haven't played thru any other amps personally that I'd rate higher than this...

I play a '95 Les Paul std and a '99 Am Std strat, and this amp does them both EXCELLENTLY! This was an important thing for me, as I love my strat too. People tend to think of this as a humbucker amp, but damn it does single coils well too. In short, if you like your sound British, then this is tone heaven. British is how I love my tone! Clapton, Hendrix, even Zep can both be approximated convincingly. It IS a Fendery Marshall, and less agressive than a plexi and plenty warm. I'd love to be able to do jazz through this amp but its too noisy for that IMO.

With a strat, the clean and quieter settings are ideal and dreamy, with lots of complexity and space, cranked, the breakup is vintage but a little too boomy and bottom-heavy. I think with more fiddling with eq you could fix this up a bit.

With a 'Paul, lower volumes are quite nice and jazzy, and cranked we're talking sweet and beautiful power tube distortion. Add a rangemaster in front and get in some lovely preamp distortion too! Cranked up this gives you some great sweet crunch and some great Zeppelin II sounding powerchords.

Note: The sovtek 12AX7-LPS is good for more agressive stuff, but I feel the tone of the lower volume settings (especially strat) suffers from decreased complexity. So I'm using NOS JAN 12AX7WA, a great compromise between gain and sweet tone.

I DO consider this amp a bit noisy, but techs that have heard it have assured me that what I hear is "Marshall hum". I still don't know if I believe that or not, I think some of them didn't want to open that can of worms. It is a little quieter in my new house, but you can hear the hum even while playing softly like 'Wind Cries Mary' stuff.

One more thing, this tremolo is not as bad as I read everywhere. I found that (FOR TECHNICALLY INCLINED AND HIGH-VOLTAGE SAFETY MINDED PEOPLE) if I tweaked the bias pot for the trem there is a "sweet spot" that really sounds nice. Just adjust the pot while playing and you'll find it. There is a narrow range tho, everywhere else its like an on-off switch. People should give the trem another shot.

My amp has not been on the road, but has been lugged around a lot. It has never crapped out or anything. It stands up to cat scratching well- so far so good. My biggest complaint is that the damn carrying handle keeps coming loose, even after taking it apart and tightening. Then it rattles when I'm cranked. This is annoying but understandable for such a little handle and a heavy SOB of a combo. Anyone fix this? apoxy?

I have only dealt with the support when I took it to the local Marshall tech for being noisy. That was when they gave me the "Marshall hum" runaround explanation. So they did nothing for me. No other complaints

I've been playing for about 16 years and this amp is one of the pieces I've been wanting for my tonal arsonal. The only way I'd ever consider selling is if I got an origional. When I find and add an Early SF or BF Fender Pro Reverb, and maybe a real plexi and a vintage cab, I'll be DONE. Also this amp is pretty enough to sleep with! :) Its gorgeous, black and has that pretty logo....

This is a 1990 model. Essentially, it's the JTM-45 reissue with tremolo added, and mounted in an open back 2x12" cabinet. I'm giving this a relatively low rating for features because I feel the amp could be more a accurate reproduction of an original Model 1962 than how it comes from the factory. While the cosmetics are generally pretty good, the cabinet depth is not as deep as the originals (9" vs. 12"), and this effects the bass response. Also, the 5881 tubes that come stock do not produce the classic, vintage Marshall tone that you hear on the old "Bluesbreakers with Clapton" record. I understand that KT-66 tubes were not available when Marshall first introduced this amp, but they are currently being made by Russian and Chinese companies and I feel that Marshall should look into fitting these into their new reissue Bluesbreaker and JTM-45 amps. Also, the potentiometers (Alpha- made in Taiwan) are very cheap and feel shoddy. I replaced mine with CTS/Fender steel shaft pots of appropriate values.

Despite the above noted dificiencies, the amp sounds very good stock. My reference guitar is a '93 Gibson Classic Plus with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups. I have owned the 1987X reissue and an original JMP 50, and this amp has a spongier, looser sound that is better suited to the Blues or possibly Jazz. When pushed to higher volume levels it produces as smooth, singing overdrive. Still, it didn't sound much like Clapton's amp on the Bluesbreakers album. So... after about a year of playing the amp in its stock condition I decided to modify it closer to "vintage" specs. The first thing was to replace the 5881 output tubes with a pair of Valve Art KT-66s (about $50 a pair). I replaced the rectifier tube with an old Amperex GZ-34 and the preamp tubes with JJ/Teslas. Next, I lowered the values of the filter capacitors from 50uF down to 32uF. Lastly, I replaced the reissue Celestion Greenback speakers with Weber VST Blue Dogs (about $300 a pair). The Blue Dogs are alnico speakers and come close to replicating the sound of the early Celestion G12 that was fitted into the Marshall cabinets until about 1966. The Greenbacks sound good, but the alnico Blue Dogs have more of a sweet chime to them. After these changes, the amp has a very different voice and sounds much closer to the original Bluesbreakers album from which it gets it's name. In short, there's nothing wrong with the sound of the stock amp, but if you specifically want the "Bluesbrekers" sound, be prepared to at least replace the output tubes. I consider the other mods optional, but if you want that early Clapton tone they will get you there.

I got mine used in mint condition. I play it with a THD 8 ohm Hotplate. No problems in the 1 and 1/2 years I've owned it.

I wanted a vinyl cover for this amp, but the local dealers said they didn't exist. I called Korg USA and after waiting several minutes I was able to talk to a representative who told me they DID make a cover for the Bluesbreaker, and he gave me the part number and retail price. Not bad!

Before the changes, I would rate it as an 8. After the few modifications metioned above, I would bump it up to a 9. Unfortunately, like most people I don't have access to an original "Style 2" 1962 combo to do a side-by-side comparison. But, using the "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton" CD as a sonic refernce, I can say that the newly modded Bluesbreaker is about 90% accurate to the sound on the record. Total cost, including the mods, was about $1,100, which is still less than a brand new one would cost from a dealer. By buying used and spending the saved cash on the modifications I now have an amp that is "better" than a stock amp, and for roughly the same price. In any case, it's cheaper than a $5,000 vintage original!

just 4inputs and two channels, no reverb, no fx loop and no channel switching. You change timbre by altering pick attack or change pickup volume. The eq works just enough to adjust the tone for the acoustics of the club your in.

For blues this is it. It sings and stings better than the reissue tweed bassman. The responce of the tube rectifier is really noticeble with violin type singing harmonics. This is the most touch sensitive amp I've ever played. The most impressive aspect of the amp is how deep and pentrating the bass responce is. SRV would have loved it. I tryed running it through a 4x12 with vintage 30's and the effect was even more noticable. The upper midrange was also sweeter without any of that edgyness it seems to get from the RI greenbacks. I think Marshall should use Vintage 30's instead. Although it may make the amp too loud to crank up in clubs. I've already got a Jubille combo so I'm going to hold out for a JTM 45 RI head instead. I would like to try it out with EL-34
's also.

It should be good but I was only test driving it

I talked to Marshall only once about 7 years ago about cosmectly repairing an old amp and they were really nice and made me feel real comfortable. They want their amps to look and sound good. They are a long ways away from the states however.

For classic blues playing in clubs this may be the ultimate amp. It has THAT sound. You can crank it and have enough power without blowing away your bandmates. The tremolo is usfull for SRV vibroverb chords. It wieghs a ton but it is easier to lug around than a 1/2 stack and really no worse than a Twin. I would have this amp before a Twin or a 4-10 bassman

My bluesbreaker is dated 27/7/89 of course you know in england they reverse the day & the date so this is a almost an 11 year old amp already. I am actually lucky to have scored this amp it is actually from the 1st shipment of them from England it has 3 Drake transformers which are now insane money and is hand wired. According to my amp tech after 1989-90 Marshall switched to cheaper transformers and mounted the pots right on the the circut board. So the 1989-1990 models are the ones to own if you are considering buying one of these please note this. The controls are straight forward. Like an old marshall 4 inputs 2 seperate volumes. None of the bells and whistles you get on all these new fangles amps. But considering this is the only amp I own thats been built after 1973 - this is the way I like it !!! It has more than enough power from a bar to a medium hall this sucker is LOUD !! I did the 4 input set up I also have a 1973 50 watt superlead and a 69 plexi - so I am used to it. Tubes that came were a cheap grade 6L6 totally unappropriate I did use a different tube as you will see below. The only thing I hate about this amp it the weight - it is very very heavy -- the shipping weight to my front door was 79 pounds so I guess the actual amp wieghs 75 pounds - the cabinet is a modified version of the original the original bluesbreaker had an 11 1/2 depth when i first heard marshall modified the cabinet I said why did they do that now I know why the reissue is 9 so I can't imagine what a real one must weigh !! This would make it hard to gig with lugging this amp at 3:00 am in the morning after playing for 3 hours would kill me. The cabinet is made from baltic birch - my amp teck also told me that on the newer ones they are using praticle board ( which is probably heavier ) so beware. Over all I think the features are excellent - if this is what your looking for.

I use a Les Paul 1959 reissue which I loaded with a set of real gibson PAF's from the 50's I bough them from Hi-Test guitars in the vintage news for $ 900 a pair 4 years ago they sound amazing with the amp. I can almost get claptons bluesbreaker tone - the amp was just not "nasty" enough if that is a usable sonic term. I put a pair of Sylvania 63A7 which is a Mesa Boogie american EL34 - and it added to the volume and power - and gave the amp a little more bite. The amp is very quiet you stop playing and it stops making noise ( unlike vintage marshalls ) I was actually very impressed with the amps CLEAN sound more than anything I have never owned a Marshall that is so Warm sounding. You can really nail that Fender Twin Reverb/Super Reverb tone ( minus the reverb of course) The clean sound is live and punchy - Steve Ray Vaugh Licks work well - I have not tried it with an outboard Fender Reverb Unit but I will - I think you can nail that 'crossfire' tone. The 2 greenbacks are good but I think they have trouble handling the power of the amp - when you really crank it they get kind of fuzzy sounding - like they are overloading. I think this amp comes alive with a closed back marshall greenback 4 - 12. I have also added a marshall 2-12 speaker cabinet with greenbacks which is also a closed back cabinet running this along with the speakers in the mp add a nice balance to the tone. The distorted tones are right there - I use both channels with a chord atatching both channels this seems to balance the tone better. I set the amps volumes between 6 - 8 and use the guitars volume to adjust the amount of distortion I want. This amp rocks I am very happy with the tones. It does not give you the mesa-boogie insane distortion - thats not what it's made for. But with the addition of an amazing Tech 21 XXL pedal which gives natural distortion that sound like real amp distortion, With this pedal I was able to get the tone of any amp on the market - very impressive. A very small price to pay for such a versatile set up I got the pedal used for $ 45 dollars I think new they cost around 95.

This amp came with installed wheels on it I was told the amp came with the wheel holders installed and you could purchase the wheels seperatly - I was also told it came with the wheel holders and the wheels - even Korg did not know - sooo your guess is as good as mine. Mine came with wheel holders installed at the factory - WHAT A SHIT JOB THEY DID. the holes were not drilled properly the split the board that hold the baffle. I had to remove the broken wood and reglue and clamp all of it back. Don't really know about reliability - Marshall does not have the reputation of being "indistructable" I have only had it for 3 weeks - it's an old amp and is all original - so I guess that says something - the tubes in the amp were all original - hard to believe !!!! But the were and they worked.

I called Korg ( the US marshall distributor ) they were fast & friendly - though they did not know about the wheels - but I think Marshall itself is to blame for this. They just do and change things without informing anyone - sooo I like the people at Korg +10. But Marshall need some kind of info link with there people (-5) The price I paid includes shipping to my door (shipping was $ 85.00)

I have been playing guitar for 20 years I am happy to have this amp in my arsenal. I would definitely look to replace it if it was lost or stolen but it would have to be a 1989-1990 model!!

This amp has been already described as above so i won't go into the details here. The amp i own is a stocker. It is equiped with 6L6 tubes in the power amp section, and the same pre-amp tubes as supplied.

The sounds that this unit is capable of is really quite good. I have been playing since 1963 and it is a good amp. I currently use a Sheridan that has had the pickups replaced with Gibson Classic series and it does a very good job for Blues, jazz..jump and anything inbetween. With a good ground,this is a quite amp. This suits my musical tastes very well. I would use this amp without a backup as long as i had some spare tubes with me..not that it has been a problem, but things happen. It is limited to the types of music that i have mentioned and that should be expected. But, you can throw away any peddles that you have..or you should be shot at sunup for using them..this thing has a sound that everyone has been looking for for some 30 years..thats why they make all those stomp boxes..to try and capture that sound..forget them. I also play a 65 Hofner bass through this thing up to about 3 or 4 and it gets the most incredible compressed bass that one could desire. I record with this..and there is not a base amp, sans a bassman, that can touch this sound..infact, if it could be turned up..I'd rather play the bass through it than the guitar..but, be advised..the green backs are not bass speakers..use your head. I have a cabinet in the works that i will use 2X15's and unplug my speakers, and use the JTM to power that cabinet for recording and jaming lightly..it is incredible..but, it is only a component in the system..a slab body bass(gross)..will probably not give the wonderful sound that i get from my Hofner. Wanna hear that sound?..listen to McCartney on the first few early albums..especially "I saw her standing there"..you can here that nice compressed base sound there. The amp breaks up at about five and a half..it can be bridged..it is for you to try and decide what you like..it is a good amp..bomb proof really.

I don't play out anymore..so i can't say if i would gig with this without a backup..things happen..but so far, it has been a really dependable amp. I record allot of original music, and i use it for bass and guitar..the bass this thing will generate for that purpose can't be matched by any other combination that i hear..no one can touch the sounds that i am getting here..but, it is not a bass amp..use your head..be conservative..i use it on no more than 3, or with it bridged both on 2..and man..what a sound.

Don't know..they are awfully far away..lets just say that i feel i can trust it..if it goes down, I'll try and have it fixed locally..send it to England??..yeah..right. To the east coast??..he he..yeah right.this thing isn't leaving town.

as i said, i have been playing since the Beatles came here..if you don't know..don't ask. I have many instruments. A lifetime of them..many i see now that are made by Epiphone..Gibsons? i won't pay what they want anymore. I have them. I could throw a gernade in that music room and straighten it up. I currently play with a Sheridan II that i have replaced the pickups on with Gibson's Classic series..that makes it a 335 in anyone's book. I also have a 65 Left handed Hofner that i have played since i bought that new in 65. I have a Gibson SG with the old fold away vibrato bar on it..bought that in 66 i think..humm..have an old Gibson Les Paul Jr. with soap bars that i got in 72?..can't remember that one either. I have an LGO Gibson acustic that still sees the light of day..so, i have a few. There is only one thing i don't like about this amp..its weight..it isn't exactly light..especially up and down stairs..but this one has never left my home..so that isn't a real problem. It doesn't need anymore than what it has on it now..it is a blues, jazz amp pure and simple. But one more thing..i see where some young fella at the begining..say that he has the big coke bottle KT66's in his amp..that is not possible demensional wise. These are only 9 inches deep..that does not leave enough room for these giant tubes in there..so, unless he is drunk, or has cut holes in the front of it..it is not possible. The older ones were like 11 inches deep which did leave room for the big tubes..but, if one could get them in there..it would effect tone for the better..much better in fact. Keep in mind, what an Eric Clapton or someone can do with this equipment, and what myself, or the average guy can get out of it are two different things..all things must pass..execpt it for what it is..a reissue, and a good one at that. have fun with it, be yourself..not someone else..and you'll be happy with this amp.

I bought the reissue used and I think it is maybe four years old or so. There is nothing to this amp. 4 inputs and 2 channels. No reverb. Vibrato. The vibrato was deactivated when I got it because it was uneven and poor sounding. It was modified for use with the big bottle KT-66 tubes and that I love to no end. It came with reissue Greenbacks which are not everyone's cup of tea but I am digging them more and more each time I play.

I use nothing but Strats with this one but i do wish to get a Les Paul because it sounds so good with them. I play Blues and Rock and the amp is perfect for my style. The amp breaks up at about 5 or 6 (it is a Marshall) and it has that lovely Clapton "woman" tone. The channels are bridgable and give it even more possibilities. It sounds fat and very creamy smooth. Kind of like the top of a cup of cafe latte. Another note is that I replaced the harsh SOVTEK preamp tubes and got some NOS ones. This made the amp more round and warm. I felt almost a state of Nirvana when my friend and I did this. It changed the voice of the amp closer to an original 60's Bluesbreaker. I don't think this amp is for the metal player but it is plenty for anyone playing rock and blues.

The one thing I dislike about the amp is the way the chassis is mounted onto the flimsy back panel. The wood where the screws go in to anchor the plate onto the amp split so had to get very creative with the super glue. I guess if the amp was engineered a bit differently it wouldn't look so cool. Seems very strong otherwise.

I don't know but wouldn't hold my breath. Long way to send it back to England.

I have sought one of these for quite awhile and am glad to have one. I have grown up listening to the music that was recorded through amps like there and have a blast playing it. It has great tone and reccomend the KT-66 mod for any fellow owners. I would definitly freak and buy a new one if it were lost or stolen.

2 channel with tremelo.

This amp is good for clean to mild overdrive with Humbuckers or single coil P/U. I think it gets woofy and loose as the volume is increased.

I gigged for two years in a fifties band . I had no problems

Had no problems but Marshall has been around for years.

Good utility amp. Nothing special though

The point is it does not have everything that opens and shuts just everything that is needed to capture great tone and adjust sound to there taste, so I give it a nine and -2 points for the lack of reverb and +1 because that's the way it should be its a re-issue and 1 for the tremolo. Aside from that bass, treble and mid. Two channels not switchable so really good on useable and practical features.

Wow for a one sound amp it so versatile its just got the right sound for 95% of tastes maybe 100%! You see you start of with a great sound and you can mould it how you like and retain the warm clean sound. Also when you turn it past 4 or 5 it breaks up how an amp should note to all other amps. Its just the sound you chase for a life time. It does fender while still doing Marshall but not like boogie!!!It also sounds great with reverb if you add it with a reverb device. You start of with a great sound and work from there.

Yes well mine was ok but I have seen others blow as a matter of routine beware even my brand new one seem to run into problems with the tremolo it was cool because it was like a power soaker but it was not meant to be that way.

Great Amp came form a boogie DC-5 and before that a fender hot rod blue deluxe each move has been for the better, I just sold the Marshall because it was toooooooooo heavy I think I will look for a Fender Vibrolux I am not sure if I can top the Marshall but it will be lighter and add reverb so I guess it may end up a compromise we will see till next time folks! BYE

This is a used 1990 re-issue. No frills control panel( 2 inputs per channel, 2 volumes, treble, middle, bass, presence, tremelo and speed).There is no channel switching but channels can be bridged to get tone quality of other channel. No reverb - so add a stompbox or other reverb/echo accessory to get that Peter Green reverb drenched color. The sound is very British blues oriented. The cabinet depth is 9". The 1965/66 originals were 12" - a big difference in vol/tone. I also own a white 1997 ltd ed. Bluesbreaker which is a little more than 10 1/2" cabinet depth - the ltd ed is louder and bassier. This is a one dimensional amp - not for everyone.If you want that early Clapton sound - look no further.

Creamy distortions emit from this tube combo. The 2 25 watt 12" greenbacks sound superb. Just turn up the volume and adjust the tones(my favs bridge both vols between 6&8- treble on 6- middle cranked- bass on 4- presence between 4&8). I'm using a 56 Les Paul Jr and a 72 Les Paul P90 wrap around gold top and they sound awesome through this British blues combo. I also use a stock 74 rosewood neck Fender Tele and it can peel the skin off a grape with this baby(very warm and cutting).

This is a used and not abused amp when I bought it. Still has the buttery kick ass attitude.
Very well maintained. Will continue to coddle this gem.

Don't know. I have 3 competent amp techs to visit when need to. This is a used amp.

Love this amp. I bought this soon after I bought a 1997 Ltd Ed. white one. Traded a Crate 50 watt Blue Voodoo w/12" vintage Celestion cab for this beauty.($375.00!!!!!!!!!! for the Crate stuff and added $314.00 cash!) I talked the dealer down from his orig price of $899.99 to $650.00 - then the trade + cash.I love those guys at Sam Ash Edison, NJ. Don't want to think of anyone stealing this. Would have to kill the thief. I currently own 2 Bluesbreakers - so that tells you how much I love em.

This is a reissue made in -89 it have 2 channels with its own volume (2 input/channel high and low)Tremolo speed and Tremolo volume and Bass,Treble Middle,Precense. What else do you need. I play rock and blues, this amp has all I need for my style of music, and it's loud. All tube amp even the rectifier is a tube. 2 Greenback speaker 25W each.

I play with a handmade LES PAUL modell.The middle cranked, bass at 3 or 4 Treble and Precense at 3 or 4 Volume 1 at 8, volume 2 at 6,5. jumper Ch 1 low to Ch 2 High input and the Guitar to Ch 1 High input. With this settings the amp will sing. I have installed a mastervolume before the power Tube's so I can decrease the output level. Even at lower output volumes the amp sounds great. If I decrease Volume 1 to 5 and volume 2 to 3 it will be close to AC/DC and Angus Young's sound.

The warranty are for 3 month, I have about 1 month left of the warranty I hope it want break down. There are not a scratch on the amp it's in mint condition even though it's 10 years old

I would by this amp again, The amp has the sound I allways been looking for.

When you see me giving this amp a "4" on features, don't think that I think they shoud've put more features on this amp. This is the type of amp that isn't supposed to have a lot of bells and whistles. That's one of the charms of the amp. It's more "old-skool" that way. The only complaint I have about the availability of features is the fact that there's no effects loop. Since the amp has no reverb built-in, I like to use my Midiverb 4 to get some wetness. When you turn the amp up, however, it breaks up (and very nicely at that) and the reverb gets bad sounding b/c it's distorting the reverb. So that's my only big complaint about the features. Otherwise, this humble little amp has just as many as one needs. Here's what it does come with: four-band EQ, two non-footswitchable channels, tube rectifier, two 5881 (6L6) power tubes, and tremalo. I'm not sure what the pre-amp tubes were. I only tried it out in the store.

This amp is really killer. It is not a very versitile amp, though. For jazz and blues it sounds the best. Here's how it sounds. The first channel is pretty bright, but not harsh. It is nice and warm sounding, but still has that 'ol Marshall bite. It sounds very Marshally overall, but the 6L6 tubes give is kind of more warmth. I really dig the way the amp sounds when it's bieng pushed at about 8 on the volume. It REALLY breaks up great. Especially on channel one. Channel two is darker, slightly more "Fenderish", and just a little too muddy for my tastes. The tremalo only works on that channel for some reason. Speaking of the trem, I think that this is the only part of the amp's sound that needs a lot of improvement. It's just not very quality-sounding. The amp responds like a Marshall, but with more warmth. Just a very cool amp all around.

Since I never owned the amp, I don't have an opinion. My expierience with other Marshalls has not been very promising, though. They seem to be a very breakable amp, even when you baby it. Maybe this one is different somehow.

Marshall's c.s. sucks. The amp comes with a one-year warranty, but I'm sure it would take FOREVER to get your amp back if it had to be fixed.

I have been playing for 35 years. I own other Marshalls and some old Fenders and Stuff. I play through a Les Paul mainly, and that's what I'd be using this amp for most of the time. I think if I were to get it stolen, I'd buy it again b/c this amp is so killer. Just a really kickin' sound. The only thing I hate about the amp is it doesn't have an FX loop. The main thing I love about it is the sound. It looks good, too. I'd compare this amp to a 59 bassman but with that 'ol Marshall bite and influence. I just wish the amp had an FX loop!! IF I buy it (which I probably will), I'll have to get one put on, and that's another $200. I really love the way this amp breaks up. Sounds really nice low, but when you get down to about two, the amp loses flavor. I'll probably end up buying the thing.

Two channels accessible via input only, the footswitch is for the tremolo, which only functions with Channel 2, for some reason. The tremolo is pretty basic, not like Fender "vibrato". There is no reverb, although this amp would sound great with a stand alone spring-and-tube outfit. However, you can bridge the two inputs with a patch cord, and that's when things get interesting. The Volume controls are very interactive with the channels bridged, and there are a LOT of tones here. If the tremolo were better, and functioned on both channels when bridged, then it would rate a 10, I think.

This is my favorite sounding amp of any that I've owned, and one of the best I've heard, ever, at any price. That's a bold statement, but this is one excellent tone, here. The best way to run it is to bridge the channels, crank everything to 10, control your volume from the guitar, and just adjust to taste. Single coil tones seem just, uh, cream-y, and humbucked sounds range from plump fatness, to ruthless, resonant Angus Young-type barkiness. This amp really changes character with your picking dynamics, too. The thing is to make sure you really like this sound before you buy it, because there's real distinction, here. It only gets a 9 because the tremolo could be better.

If you are familiar with tube amp maintenance, this is a very reliable unit. Tubes do necessitate a little more hands-on involvement with the amp, though. Hasn't so much as hiccoughed in 6 months. I'm stoked. I give it a 9 only because the reissue uses PCBs, and I don't understand how they are mantained, so this may be the weak area in reliability for me.

Bought it used. Haven't needed support, yet.

This is no do-all amp, although it is much more tonally versatile than I thought. I have been playing for 20 years, and this is the first amp I've ever used that I really thought made me sound better. Really. Not a bunch of knobs, switches, and loops, but a very complex sound that I feel I can build something around. It's a 10 for me, but this isn't for everybody.

This amp has two channels that are not switch able. 1 is a more treble channel that some like to use with humbucker pickups. 2 is a bassier channel that I like to use with my strat. The channels may be jumped to get more gain. This means you can run a guitar cable from the secound input of the #2 channel and go into the first input of the #1 channel or any other variation you can come up with. There are t two volumns. One for each channel and they effect each other. If you are in channel two and you want to tighten up the gain turn channel one volumn down. If your in channel 2 and want a looser gain turn the volumn for channel 1 up. It has presence, treble, bass, and midrange. Two 12" 25 watt celestrian green back reissue speakers. It's a all tube 45 watt amp. Tube rectifier, two 5881/6L6 power tubes, and three preamp tubes. It also has tremalo but I never use it. The only feature I wish it had is wheels. This is a heavy amp. I play in a blues band with a bass player that uses a Ampeg with 8 10" speakers and a 400 watt head. This amp holds up in the volumn department. The bass player and I do not mic. our amp.s. I turn the volumn on my "Bluesbreaker" to 9 and use my guitar volumn to go from clean to crunch. I rate this as very versatile because it can do it all easier than using switching channels. All I have to do is use my guitar volumn adjustment. This is a hand wired amp. It's built like an old Marshall except the fiber board circut is a Printed Circut Board circut which has wide spacing between the circuts. The tube sockets are not mounted to the PCB. The control knobs are not mounted on the PCB. The controls and the tubes are hand wired to the PCB.

I play blues, jazz, funk, alternative, and rock music through this amp. Mainly blues and jazz and it is a amp with TONE. I've been told it sounds like a Fender twin at times and like a Marshall at other times. I play a strat and I turn the volumn off on the guitar in between songs but I don't consider the amp noisy. The distortion is not Metallica. It's more like Cream. The amp only has what most would call a clean channel but when you turn the volumn up it breaks up nicely. Again listen to old live Cream or John Mayall records for a idea of the sound/tone.

I've had alot of amp.s and this has been the most reliable tube amp I've ever had. I use it at all my shows without a backup. I've played outdoor shows alot this passed summer and it never has given me a problem. It has never broke down on me. All I do is plug in and play. I have changed tubes but that was just last week to check out the tone difference of tubes not because the ones that came in the amp were wearing out.

I've had other Marshalls that were not the reissues that broke down on me all the time and the customer support stinks. I think most of the Marshall products are crap.

I'd buy this amp again. I'm looking for a Marshall JTM - 45 reissue head to go with a speaker cabinet I have now. I don't like the weight. I love the tone, versatility, the way it breaks up at high volumns. But even at low volumn it has great tone. It has the most midrange of any amp you can find. I think because of the way these amps are made (hand wiring, wood cabinets) and the tone these are the best kept secret out there. It's as good as any hand wired specialty amp at three times the price. Get one before the quit making them. The low midrange on this amp is what makes it sound so good. I've played good sounding Fenders and got my sound swallowed up by the band. This is something about a amp you won't know until you play with a band.

This is the reissue of Marshall's first combo as featured on John Mayall's Bluesbreakers album with Eric Clapton. It is a two channel amp with vibrato and four inputs. Think of a '59 Bassman with vibrato and you've got the picture. The original featured two KT66s for output tubes, the reissue has the ever popular Sovtek 5881s. The reissue cabinet is not as deep as the original, about the same as a Fender Super Reverb. The amp has four 12AX7s (EC 83s) and a rectifier tube (yes!).
The cabinet is plywood, not particle board and fit and finish is excellent. This is the type of amp that gets lost in a big guitar store but looks real classy on stage. The plexi contol face is a nice feature and the knobs have a quality feel to them. A far cry from my '66 Triumph Bonneville that I had as a young man.
Seems like everyone gives 10s on this bulletin board. I give it a "9" 'cause it has a printed circuit board. But the tubes are chassis mounted and it is super easy to access the amp.

I played almost every night in some honky tonk in Northern California for twenty years. Those days are over and I live in Tokyo now. I play blues, but I played a sackful of country as a boy. This amp is a gas. It looks cool as hell and it really delivers. It is NOT your amp if you are a shredder and to put a pedal between it and a Les Paul would be a sin. But, if you are sure of what you want to play, and are confident in your chops, just crank it up to your lead tone, then back off the guitar for a rhythm tone. You're set for the night. Let'r rip! The vibrato has just the right texture to play down and dirty.
This is a "short throw" amp unlike, say, a Boogie Mk II. In other words, the tone develops at the speaker cloth so you can hear yourself on stage instead of fifteen feet into the audience. The speakers give great sound dispersion so that you don't deafen anyone, including the club owner. Folks, this is a great amp. I have six other amps including a '59 Bassman, a '66 Super Reverb, and a '50 Pro. This amp fits right between the Bassman and the Super Reverb. It has the Bassman tone but cleans up like a Super. Can't beat that...

Its blown three fuses so I called Marshall in Merry Olde and talked to Phil in the Service Department who told me ... (see below)

Phil was as helpful as anyone I have ever talked to. He said it might be the rectifier tube. But wait there's more. We spent twenty minutes going over the history of Bluesbreakers, how they work, and how to make them better. Phil, you're great and thanks alot. Service is an 11, just like Spinal Tap.

I woulds buy it again. And, if you are a blues or roots rocking kinda person I would say check this amp out. Its the way to go if you are playng clubs. Or, if you just want a soulful friend to play some Peter Green songs with.