Marshall 1974X

it was good before the OT broke down but it sounds even better with another transformer than their crappy ones !

i update the review i did 3 or 4 months ago.
after my 1974X broke down 3 times and changed under warranty already 2 times , it appears the output transformaser was the problem for the 3rd time.
i replaced it with a vintage 1974 transformer that seems to work and sound good.
the bad point is that after a few hours of work, the power transformer broke down today, blowing fuses while it was on but on stand by for a few hours.

i think they have one of the worst customer support, at least in France ! it impossible to reach them and i have to deal with the shop i bought it from.

not good due to the time and money lost with the transformers problems !

2005 handwired 1X12" aged Celestion greenback and 18 watts via el-84's and ecc83's. Two channels with two inputs each (high and low). Vibrato and non-vibrato channels each offer volume and tone - that's it! The vibrato channel adds speed and depth controls. The vibrato is activated via the included footswitch. If you like "features" you might have to look elsewhere. If you like simplicity, you are on the right track.

I have to rate the features at 5 to avoid confusing anyone.

In spite of reading numerous reviews about the reliability (or lack there) of the 1974X, I ultimately ended up buying the amp anyway based on one important thing TONE. The local guitar shop has had several of these on the floor for sometime. During my weekly visits I always found myself grabbing a guitar and heading for the 1974X. I played strats, teles, les pauls, and sg's through the 1974X and all did well. I most enjoyed the humbuckers, with the tele second, and the strat third.

The tone is just fantastic, at least to my ears. Maybe even the best tone I have acheived in my 30+ years at the craft. The strong midrange seems tailored to the electric guitar. The notes remain individual but blend just as well. Put the amp on 4 and you get a nice clean (but snarly) signal. Get up to 6-8 on the dial and enter the beautiful marshall breakup / overdrive. Dime the amp and all is well! Rock on man!

Throughout the entire volume range the tone remains constantly good. The amp can be bright but not brittle (based on the tone control setting). You can cut through the crowd without annyoing the dogs!! The bottom is great too (comming from a bass player using Ampeg tube amps).

Repeating, as a classic rock, blues, contemporary christian, and country musician, I could survive with this amp alone. Put the volume on 10 and work the drive with your guitar controls. That simple.

From the factory, ZERO is the rating. The factory power transformers are highly unreliable. Like many reviewers, my PT blew early on. Stunk up the house too! With that said, I am giving Marshall the chance to make it right. I consider this amp to be a high maintenance child. I love the tone so much that I will make it work in the end. See below for the remedy.

5 year transferable warranty with the local repair guy in the neighborhood. Think twice if you are close to warranty expiration or far from the amp repair guy. I am going to ride it out.

Like I said earlier, I have been playing for 30+ years. I play a variety of guitars including fender Cunetto relics / custom shop, gibson historics, and some vintage pieces. I love the tone of the 1974X and will work to make it right.

Enter Mercury Magnetics. The solution may lie in the purchase of MM upgraded PT, OT, and choke. Retail at about $500 for the set, plus installation, I see this as the probable solution. The MM's will make the amp most reliable and allow me to enjoy the amp until it self destructs! Really, it sounds that good...

This is a very close reproduction of a mid-60's Marshall 18 watt combo. I owned an original '65 Marshall 18 watt 2X12, which I sold ($$$$$) but missed, so I was very curious about this handwired reissue. Like the original, the new 1974X has two channels, which sound pretty similar. The tremolo on the new amp sounds very nice and in fact better than on my old original. I personally feel that the fewer features and the simpler the circuit, the better the tone. Therefore, since this amp is very simple and has almost no features I'll give it a 10. Any amp that just has a volume and tone knob is my kind of gear.

My old '65 18 watter did one thing--it nailed Clapton's tone on the Bluesbreaker album--and I was prepared to be ecstatic if the new one just did that. Well, it does do that--and a lot more. Using my PRS Custom 22, bridge humbucker, and turning it up to 8 or so, you are instantly transported to Bluesbreaker territory. The great thing is that, unlike my old one, this amp also sounds great with a Strat and absolutely to die for with my Suhr Tele with Lollars. And in addition to its outrageous Marshall crunch, the clean tone on it is also very nice and useable. (The clean tone on the vintage '65 was useless.) Keep the volume down on the 1974X and you can even dial in a nice (really!) jazz tone with humbuckers. But, be forewarned, this amp is not really about the clean tone and there is not a lot of headroom. The aged 20 watt Celestion speaker that Marshall has developed for this amp sounds absolutely fantastic and I can't imagine why anyone would want to change really anything on this amp. My one quibble is that it's fairly noisy with single coils, but that's the nature of the beast, and the tone is so good that I don't really care. I just drown it out by playing my guitar--loud. And that's what this amp is about--loud Marshall crunch. You don't really need any pedals. Just plug in, turn it up and you've got tone that no pedal can even approach. Oh, I bought the 1974CX extension cab to use with it. I recommend that, too.

I have read the horror stories about blown power transformers about this amp. I've had mine for 6 months. It's a 2005. I have not babied it. In fact I usually have it turned up to 8/9. But I haven't gigged with it either. All I can say is I have not had the slightest problem. (Famous last words.) I know what it's like to have an awful Marshall. My '71 Super Lead (bought new at Manny's) was a nightmare. So I would not be nice to Marshall if this amp did not work properly. It does, at least so far.

Haven't needed any.

I've been playing since 1964, I've owned every kind of amp under the sun--at one point I had over 80 amps--and in my opinion, this is one of the best amps I've ever played. It's especially wonderful for blues and rock. If you want a loud gnarly 60's Marshall crunch, this one will do it in spades. Frankly, I think it's one of the best amps Marshall has ever made, and at least thus far, it's been completely reliable. So I'm a very happy camper.

The features are a basic as it gets: volume and tone. Oh yeah---there's tremolo, as well. Two channels, one voiced bright, the other, dark.

Here's where things get good: it sounds superb, if old, pre-master-volume tone is where you live. This is how I remember Marshalls sounding from the late sixties and early seventies, and only at 18 watts, it doesn't hurt. You can drive this amp just using the guitar's volume knob, which is a real eye-opener if you've been tap-dancing on pedals.

And here's where things get bad: the output transformer cooked after just 4 months. That was under warranty. The tubes it took with it were not under warranty. Bill: $86.00. Wow. Thank God it didn't happen at a gig. I think I would have set it on fire.

The repair took a week. But the bill for the tubes really rankles me, so . . .

This is a tough call . . . the amp sounds absolutely fantastic, but if it's in the shop, that ain't no good! I'm hoping that the new O.T. will make the amp reliable, but that remains to be seen. Supposedly, Marshall has cured this problem on the production line, so the new ones should be OK. I say should be . . .

Marshall has made one very helpful change from the original--instead of a hardwired speaker lead, there are two speaker outputs with switchable impedance.

The tremolo is one of the best sounding and most usable units that I have ever heard.

The two channels are voiced slightly different. Channel one is darker; channel two has hi and low inputs. It has a definite bite in the highs, but it never gets harsh.

The tone controls have quite a bit of range, from dark and brooding to bright and chimey, almost like a Vox AC15 with the volume 1/2 way up.

I short, this amp has a lot going for it in terms of features, even though it is based on a forty year old design. There is more to it than meets the eye.

This little 18 watter is a living, breathing creature that goes from incredibly detailed and complex cleans to the signature Marshall distortion with a twist of the volume knob. It's no wonder the originals go for multiple thousands of dollars. Marshall spent a lot of time researching and developing the version of the Celestion Greenback that comes OEM on this amp, and it absolutely floors me that anyone would even entertain the thought of changing the loudspeaker--especially since it has an additional speaker output.

I use a Radial Tonebone Hot British Overdrive in front of my 1974 for high gain tones. The amp loves that pedal. I'm sure that just about any good OD or distortion will work great, but the Tonebone gives you an authentic sounding Marshall preamp so that you have a master volume-equipped amp.

Without any pedals and using a Les Paul r8 with 57 Classics, the amp starts to break up at around 4. The best way to play this amp is to set the volume just past half-way on both of the channels, use a short cable to jump the two channels, plug a guitar into Channel Two, set the tones to around 3/4, and use the guitars volume and tone controls to get an infinite variety of clean, blues, and rock textures.

This amp is NOT a one trick pony, but you have to understand how to "play" a vintage amp.

No problems whatsoever after 7 months of heavy use at high volume levels.

I find it absurd that people would buy this amp and then change tubes, speakers, output transformers, and perform mods. It simply makes no sense unless the changes are made to repair a defective part.

This is the ultimate British voiced studio and small gig blues and rock amp. It's perfect the way it is (except for the early units with the defective power transformers).

The amp is handsome and lightweight; moreover, it sounds like a Marshall Plexi at reasonable volume levels for small gigs and recording. The 1974x has everything that you need, and nothing that you don't. You can turn it into a modern sounding channel switcher with the addition of a good OD pedal (check out the Radial Hot Brit), and you can connect a Y cable and switch between Channels One and Two. Set one of the channels to a nice grind and the other to a "just past clean" and then use your guitar's controls to dial in a whole bunch more. There are not many amps that respond to your guitar's controls or to your playing dynamics as well as this one.

At around $2000, you are getting boutique quality and features. Check the prices of the boutique 18 watters, and then look at the pains that Marshall has taken to make this authentic. It's an excellent value.

Its all been said. This is an update

Exceptionally good....when the amp is working

The Mains (Power) transformers are the issue. My amps blown its 3rd now! Virtually nothing else goes wrong. The circut is so simple! Its just the poor quality power trans that lets this package down!

Once I thought Marshall were good. The first two times my amp failed I had it back and running within about 2 months. I've been waiting about 9 months now for a replacement amp, still no joy.

i bought this amp when it was first released in France a few years ago.
i had already 3 of them as they always break down !!
this week, my third 1974x combo broke down again (as did the 4x 2061 lead & bass 20w head i had !!!!).
usualy, i play about a few weeks on them and they break down !!
other than that, the amp is good for the 60's 70's tone i'm after , blues, rock, funk, so it's versatile ennough even if it doesn't compete with modern multi channel amps

the overdriven tones are good , more squashy than the 20w head .
the clean tones are great, better than the lead and bass head .
the tone depends on the speaker you use as with many amps

it's the most unreliable amp i have with the 2061x lead and bass 20w head ( i have about 30 amps, most of them 60's and 70's amps) .
the third i have (after it was replaced two times but i had to wait months and months) broke down again this week.
don't know what it is but it lost half it's output volume and don't sound as good as before .
it seems those amps are not getting their problems fixed since they were released.

very slow customer support in france to say the least and not easy to deal with !!

i can't give more than 4 seeing all the problems i have with these amps !!

The amp is basically the same as the orignal except for two speaker jacks, an ohm switch for 4/8/16, a cover over the power tubes to protect them from damage, the fuses are placed differently for easy access, and the speaker is aged. The amp is pretty versatile. It has great response and you can crank it to get that signature marshall sound or you can turn is down and get a warms clean tone. You can also bridge the channels to combine tones. Being that the amp is only 18 watts is a small problem for me because I love the tone but it doesn't get loud enough for me. So I just mic the cab. I also purchased the extension cab for it and it filled the sound out a bit more.

I use a Les Paul with p90's, a custom ESP, strat style, with hot rails, a harmony rocket and a hand-built strat. I also use, for coloring, a Boss Super overdrive and a Big Muff Pi. As far overdriving, this amp loves it. Once you overdrive it you can't really get out of that classic marshall distortion, but this thing sings. The amp acts different with every guitar I use. So since I play rock/blues/jazz/indie music it is easy for the amp to adapt. There is a lot of background noises but that is expected when overdriving.

I've had this amp for about a month and gigged with it. I had heard about the power transformer blowing but I have also heard that marshall had fixed it. All I take to my gigs are me guitars, the 1974x and it's cab.

Never had a problem

I've been playing for almost 8 years now and this is one of my favorite amps in my collection. It was a pretty penny t get but I think get tone is worth it and I'm going to get this insured incase anything happens.

Basically a copy of an original version.

Good sound but not like the real thing I have in my collection. This reissue has aged speaker. Maybe they left it too long at the cheese factory and it aged too much. It just don't sound the same.
Like I said the sound is good but for the money their asking for a basic amp...no way.

Seems that half of them endup blowing up transformers. Made in China perhaps?

Good amp too high price to make it worth it.

A pretty basic amp on features and with an amp that really only sounds at its best with the volume cranked, it is a one trick pony. But having said that the one trick that it does so effectively is to create the classic sounds of early rock/blues to perfection. There is no other new amp out there at this time that truly recreates the sound of a classic predecessor to perfection. The tone from this little combo is to die for. It is revealing and sensitive, with a warm sound that breaks up perfectly when cranked up.

The sound of this amp is quite unique in the maketplace. It captures the early marshall version of bluesy/rock crunch to perfection, and is completely reminiscent of the early Marshall combo amps (all of which I have or have owned) in tone. It has a warmth of tone that adds flavor to the sound and is wonderful at picking up every element of the guitar's output. Adds a nice sustain and wonderful distortion when cranked. The clean sound is decent but that is not what this amp excels at. However to get the great tones out of this amp it needs to be turned up, and for the most part I run it at close to max volume. And therein lies the potential for problems as I will note below.

I really wanted to put this review out there to add yet another tale of a blown power supply transformer to the many others that describe this amp. I paid full price at a GC and almost exactly at 150 hours of playing time the Mains transformer blew. It took 4 months to get the problem resolved. I took it to the local service center and they tested it and called Marshalls for a replacement transformer. Marshalls told them 2 months, 2 months came, went and then another month, then another. Finally the transformer had taken so long to procure that after calling New York and complaining bitterly about the meaning of the word warranty they agreed to send out a replacement amp. The replacement has remained unplayed as somehow I feel that I need to be careful in using up the 10-150 hours that this product is capable of producing. Such a shame, as it is the only amp that I have found that truly captures the greatness of Marshall's early days. As a kid I used to hang out at their store in Ealing in London and I owned several of the classic early Marshalls back in the day. This is the first factory made version that truly recaptures their past glory. As such it is wonderful. When it comes to reliability, the toilet comes to mind. They clearly have not bothered over several years now to come to a resolution of this defective transformer - shame on you Marshall. It overheats and the winding insulation fails shorting it out.

This model has a good warranty 5 years I believe, but be careful that you buy it new from a dealer as I do not believe the warranty is transferable, and when it comes to this amp you NEED the Warranty. I suppose if you really like this amp the best thing to do is to buy 2 (only $4000 from GC) so that when one is in the shop you can use the other. In fairness Marshall's gave me a new one when they were unable to procure the part (after waiting over 4 Months!). No doubt they couldn't get the part because they need one or more for every amp sold and since they only last a few months, the demand for the part exceeds their ability to produce it.

I have played guitar for over 38 years now and have owned many many guitars '59 gibsons 60's strats newer les pauls etc. etc. Guitar players in general I believe pay much too much attention and too much of their money on guitars instead of amplifiers which are equally important, in achieving a great tone. If its worth paying 4K for a new les paul, 4K for 2 of these amps may not be as outrageous as it sounds. A real 59 les paul sounds crappy through a bad rig, and to get classic tones you need a classic amp to create a truly expressive medium. I used this amp in my studio at home and connected it's speaker output to a celestion greenback in a modified to 12"(Smart Sound Direct no longer makes this sadly) Hermit cab isolation cabinet wih a sennheiser e609. After a couple of hours of set up time tweaking the mike placement which is critical with iso cabs I got the mike perfectly placed and the sound from this combo was to die for. Awesome tone at bedroom sound levels. Add a little reverb from the mix board and the tone was unbeatable at any price. So insane as this might sound I give this amp a 10, because its cheaper than buying original vintage Marshalls that are the only things I know of that can compare to this factory new model (with new caps pots etc). It deserves a 10 because getting guitar tone perfection does not come cheap these days. Most classic gibsons now run 30k and up, and 60's marshalls are NOT cheap, and tend to be a bit unreliable due to their age and have many replaced parts which affect their tone. Just buy 2 of these amps and be prepared to have one in the shop most of the time. Or perhaps just replace the factory transformer from the start with another more reliable one. I would also cite the current bluesbreaker amp as a comparison. That amp sounds NOTHING like the original and yet sells for about the same price currently at GC. So when your warranty finally expires on your 1974x sell it and buy another new one! I soooo wish that the mains transformer was more reliable!