Marshall 1974X

I knew what this amp offered when I tried it out...Marshall sound to the core. It does classic Marshall better than any other amp I have ever played, so I bought it. This is THE classic rock amp. If you want to play gigs and dont want to have soundmen yelling at you to turn down and/or looking stupid bringing a plexi stack to a small club gig...bullseye double! It has a reputation for a "one trick pony". But I say if you are versed in the lost art of using your volume and tone knobs (ESPECIALLY with a Les Paul) there is a large selections of tones to be had here. This amp is the Les Paul's soulmate, straight up.

You cant make this amp sound bad. The only amp I have ever played that comes close is my friend's vintage 50 watt Marshall 1987 plexi. But it was 10X louder to get it to the point where it started to sound good. Before that, it was pins and needles. The 1974x starts clean, which last until you turn to 2, after that its all gain and compression. None of that eye piecing trebly unusable clean. If you use your volume knob as a boost, there are nice clean tones to be had. Not like CLEAN clean, but nice. That doenst bother me in the least. Thats what Blackfaces are for. If you want an amp that does both BADLY, go buy a Meso' Poopie. this is a REAL amp. Get a wah pedal, a boost, maybe a external EQ, and you are set.

The problems with the old transformers are well documented. Makes me wish I saw one used. But I never did. Guess that says something about reliability AND sound. Ive only had it for a few weeks, no problems so far, none on the horizon.

If you want to sound like all your favorite classic rock records...this is the one. I have a rattle I am battling from the rectifier tube and the spring holding it in. I WILL figure that out because it is louder than any spring rattle I have ever encountered. But this amp sounds so good, little things that would normal drive me crazy, dont. stop reading forums and buy this amp. It will make you want to play more.

Well you'll already know the features if you're reading this, hand wired 18 watt amp, 12" celestion aged speaker, comes with a trem, no trimmings. I have no use for the trem so I cannot comment on it. Used it once or twice, wasn't really my bag.

Not scoring this because if you look at, say a line6, the features list is a mile long, and if that's what you want then you wouldn't be looking here. This is a reproduction of an amp made in the late 60's, it's not likely to have built in effects, different amp modelling etc.

Well, what a weapon. It might be a one trick pony, but it's one hell of a trick. I'm usually playing blues or rock and for a change I sometimes play a bit of blues/rock. The sound you get out of this is immense.

A word to people who want to play this in the house...It's fierce...I had a 10watt solid state before this and thought 18watts on full chat wouldn't be much louder. I, and half my street, were in for a bit of a surprise. The problem is, on bedroom levels, the amp sounds shrill and thin and, well, crap. On anything past about 6 sounds awesome. With the vol set to 8 I had next door but 2 around complaining and I was in a detached house at the time.

So if the sound you're looking for is that distorted Marshall tone at bedroom levels, this probably isn't for you. As mentioned, that sort of amazing sound that can only be got from driving the jacobs off a tube when it's cranked can only be done when it's cranked.

I spent a lot of time thinking I'd made a right balls up, I had an amp repair guy in a guitar shop call me a ****** and tell me to put a duvet over it, AS IF, definitely the most useless advice I've ever had, unless this guy has a 1,000 tog duvet on his bed he was clearly being a tool.

The only way to do it is to fit an attenuator, you're getting that ace sound at whatever vol you want. Before this the amp was unusable in the house for me because it was just so loud.

My fault, not the amp.

I don't gig with this. It only ever moved from house to house, so it's had a fairly easy life in that respect.

I do have the attenuator between 8-10 most of the time, so it's getting a good workout every time I use it.

Worked perfectly for a couple of years continuous use. Fired it up one night recently to warm, came back to it 5 mins later, dead.

No lights, nothing. No fuses blown, just nothing. Transformer knackered.

The attenuator doesn't put any extra strain on the amp anymore that playing at those volumes would normally, so this should not be the cause.

I'm giving this 5 because, in spite of this well known issue, it is a solid cab and well put together.

This is where it all turns a bit sour unfortunately. Given the amount I'd been bigging this amp up to mates, you'd think I was on the Marshall payroll, but unfortunately I'm not, I'm just another name embossed on the front of a credit card.

Phoned them and, well, they offered to check it out for free to tell me what was wrong with it, then let me know how much it'd cost to put right. Problem with that is the factory is miles away, I don't have the original box and it aint cheap sending a 3 stone parcel. The person on the phone conceded that it was likely the transformer that has been so problematic for fellow 1974x users, and even said that they didn't use that transformer any more because of the problems they've had.

So would they replace the known defective transformer gratis if that turned out to be the problem? - No. I'd have to buy one. But that was okay because it would be the new transformer and they've not had the same issue with that according to the guy, which a quick search on the internet for this issue would suggest otherwise.

I'm not really going to pay to have this sent to them to put another component in it to then send it back, all of which at my expense without being 110% confident that this issue is fixed...and I'm not convinced one bit by what I have read on this issue.

Although it sickens me to spend even more money on this amp, I'll be putting a 3rd party transformer in because I've already had issues with the factory fitted ones and stubbornly, I'm not paying Marshall to put something right they should be doing anyway on an amp of this calibre.

Very disappointed. A real shame.

Played for around 6 years, Les Paul Classic (P'ups are SD Hotrodded set), Home Made Les Paul (don't ask), Ibanez RG350DX. Just have to love the combination of the Les Paul and this amp.

I love the fact I have it, I'm bitter about it dying, felt stupid about having to shell out for an attenuator, but it is ace, and it's what I want and I wouldn't want to be without it.

Buy it again if it was nicked? hmm, tricky. Consider it came with a 5 year guarantee for naff parts, and I'd still say no (I think).

For the money you could by 2-3 similar sounding amps that don't have Marshall written on the front, there are lots of copies out there, and if the Marshall isn't reliable, what are you paying for apart from the logo?

I'd buy a clone or a 18watt kit and with the money left over buy an island in the Caribbean.

Most said already, but to stress that this Class A/B and not A as some think. The circuit is based upon a Watkins Dominator amp.

Two "channels" - two identical inputs into normal channel and two inputs into tremolo channel, the top one very bright and the lower one much darker - something to do with sensitivity of the source. But, forget the tremolo channel as both inputs sound inferior to the normal channel. Also, on mine the tremolo is unstable and speeds up as the amp warms up. So, if you're playing for half an hour plus, the tremolo becomes much too fast on the slowest speed setting and therefore is unfit for purpose. Apparently there is a mod for this if you're up to tampering with ??1,200 worth of amp. I bought my amp secondhand, but almost new, so no transferrable guarantee.

The tone control is pretty ineffective, but make sure that you set it at 12 o'clock as anything else sucks out the natural tone.

This may sound all a bit negative, but I auditioned the amp against a new Blackstar Artisan 15 and fell in love with normal channel of the 1974X. (Also, I liked the fact that is was hand wired in the UK and had a Union Jack on the rear plate.)

The main features are: stunning tone, wonderful looks and vibe and British made. If you want more - look elsewhere.

Guitars used - Yamaha Pacifica 312 and AEX 510 (I think - the singlecut semi with dogear P90s), plus a Westone Thunder IA.

The amp is absolutely stunning with the 312. The alnico single coils really bring out the shimmer when clean (up to about 2/3 on the dial). Beyond, the break up is wonderfully smooth. The amp reaches its maximum volume at about half way and beyond just adds distortion.

This is a wonderfully tactile amp for playing clean, on the edge of distortion and Marshallesque rock. I'm not into the heavy stuff, but there are probably better amps for metal.

In summary, a one sound amp that is truly stunning. Just consider it as having one channel and a volume control only and you won't be disappointed.

It's till working, but tremolo useless when warm.

Marshall very unhelpful, particularly as the tremolo problem is a latent defect in my opinion.

I've been playing for about 45 years.

If stolen, I'd probably go for a Brown Note or similar. I'm hooked on a pair of EL84s, but don't need a tremolo and would prefer the money put into improvements in the circuit and better transformers.

I love the tone and nostalgic vibe.

I compared it to a Blackstar - see earlier comments.

simple to use

sounds great for any guitar

not.. bought used a month ago and the power transformer went on this one too.

i left it on by mistake for a few hours and returned to find the power fuse blown.. replaced blows in a second.. .. reading reviews that this is common but sure is frustrating

did not try..

not much now

This amp is very very very simple, it has two channels, a normal channel (1 volume 1 tone control) and a tremolo channel (same as normal but with speed and intensity controls for the tremolo, there is also a footswitch to turn the trem on and off)
both channels have 2 inputs, on the normal channel they are exactly the same, and on the trem channel they are like other high/low inputs.

The way I see it there are two outlooks on the features of this amp
1. "Simplicity RULES!!!"
2. "No EQ? That's cute now get me a real amp"
When I first got mine, I has the first outlook, but as I play an EQless amp I realize how important they are, nothing that a pedal doesn't fix.
18 watts is perfect for cranked Marshall tone in your bedroom, plays over a drummer easy, and if you gig you can mic it up and it's as loud as any full stack.

I use a 2007 Les Paul Standard and a 2005 '52 Hot Rod Tele
Both sound Incredible!
I play a lot of blues, classic rock and GnR/Van Halen higher gain stuff
I pretty much always keep the amp dimed and make adjustments on my guitar.
the distortion level with the amp and guitar at 10 is somewhere between Eric Clapton in Creme and early Slash. If you need more dirt then a MXR distortion + or a Boss DS-1 will push you into hard rock/metal territory.
Both my guitars have relatively low output pickups so I am not sure how hotter pickups would sound, I imagine that if you have higher output pickups you want a higher gain amp though.

Keep in mind I don't gig.
But the closest thing to breaking down this amp has ever done is one of the tube covers came off, and I didn't even notice.
I haven't needed to replace the tubes yet and I push them pretty hard daily.
But I haven't had it for that long, hence the 8/10 rating

Never dealt with them

This amp is perfect for what I want it to do, the ONLY flaw is the lack of an EQ
When I was looking to buy it was between this and a 100W Plexi, I chose this because it sounded as good and was easier on my ears.
I would buy this amp a million time over if god forbid it was stolen or lost.

I write only to clear up the class A or class AB subject (hopefully). The folks who claim that most push/pull (double ended, not single ended) amps are class AB are correct. It is not a matter of the "inventor" (which this amp and others like it were not even invented by Jim Marshall, but rather by Charles Watkins of WEM amps and music equipment fame, see the Watkins Dominator) claiming it is class A or AB or whatever. It is a matter of operating conditions for the power tubes generally. And, in general, push/pull guitar amps will be running the majority of the time in class AB mode which means that current is not conducting through one tube to the plate 100% of the time,but rather is on and off to some degree as the signal switches largely from one tube to the other during each cycle of the signal waveform. Many of these smaller 2 tube amps will be cathode biased and some will generalize this as a requirement for being called Class A operation. It is and it isn't. Owing to the overdriven conditions and operation of these amps they are really operating in class AB but they are commonly called Class A amps. The preamp tubes being triodes are running in class A mode, so to some extent, class A operation is shaping the signal a good deal, the power section is still probably running AB at any real volumes.

I have built dozens of 18 watt and 36 watt variations. They all have classic Marshall tone but I tend to voice them with my own choice of bypass elytics and other components I deem worthy.

These amps are reliable as modern components and with regard to how they are treated. If abused enough, anything can be made to fail.

Playing 35 years, playing rock and hard rock. These would be nice if they had a good reverb instead of tremolo IMO.

2004 18w Hand wired all valve combo, 2 channel with tremolo 1x 12 celestion aged vintage greenback speaker. Vol& Tone on each channel with speed and intensity for the tremolo. That's it.

It's everything you want and more. Stunning Amp. Makes you want to play all day.

Only have the amp.After I bought the amp I read some of the reviews and was worried about the reliabity of the transformes as my amp was one of the first proudction run. I contacted Marshall and they explained that not all of the amps had the problem just some of the first ones and they have the problem sorted. So dont let any of the reviews put you off buying one as Marshall will stand over their products. I have to give it a 10 as it was made in 2004 and is still going strong.

The best customer support that I have ever had. I contacted Marshall about the transformer issue and explained that I had bought the amp second hand. I did'nt think that they would want to know. Got a reply in one hour and the contact info for the local Marshall engineer in case I ever had any problems with the Amp. Also got an email from the engineer.

I have owned lots of Amps and this is the best one ever in it's price range.

2007 beand new model. Scores high as I dial in my tone in 1 second with just 2 knobs. No other amps this simple sound this great!

Sound is just fabulous! However I took out the 20watt greenback and through in a celstion Gold! Big digfference.

Built like a tank like all UK amps.

Spoke to marshall with regards to transformer issues. They said that was a problem on the first run and so far mine is holding up nicely.

Going to buy another one! Love this amp too much!

Love the simplicity of this amp. It scores big with me as it's straight forward 2 knobs which is difficult to get your hands on anymore. If it was up to me they can do away with the vibrato and make the circuit even less complicated!

AMAZING!!! Just crank it up and play. One of the best sounding class A amps out there. I have had monay and really like this one. I must admit I swapped out the speaker and had to try an Alnico Gold. Hey it even looks like it should have came with the thing. Allot more bite and some extra headroom. A Les Paul is doable now!

I have heard of the transformers problems on the earlier ones. It must be solved on this new one as I have been playing the hell out of the thing and everything seems just fine!

Never used them, hopefully I never will.

I would have to replace this asap if it wass stolen. It sure would be interesting if they released a JTM-45 in this series. Overall this ampo is not cheap but worth every penny in my opinion. If you have a few extra bucks throw in a celestion gold, you won't be disappointed.

for Cap'n Pugwash, from the aforementioned 18watt website, courtesy of Zaphod Phil, one of the moderators there.....

he 18W is Class AB, not Class A
The Vox AC30 is Class AB, not Class A Ditto for the AC15
All those Matchless amps are Class AB, and not Class A
All those Black Cat amps (except the Mini Cat) are Class AB, and not Class A
And ditto for many others...

Not flamin' ya matey, just repeating what I read....... in the remainder of this thread on the 18watt.com forum, the salient fact is this......it doesn't matter if it's class A, or A/B......if it sounds great, it's great!!!

Cheers!

Marshall puts this amp out for 2 years 1966-1968, and then some 38 years later, they bring it out again. All the time it was a Class A amp; was then, is now.
A whole league of knowledgeable experts build clones of the original, and they know damn well that it??s a Class A amp, (try 18watt dot com mate); but then Duccy comes along and tells us all that it??s not a Class A like we??ve all been believing all along, but a Class A/B... hmmm, I wonder if he??s told the inventors; Marshall/Watkins about this??

So don??t don??t worry folks, it is a Class A amp, and is probably one of the best ever made. Only a Class A amp can sound this way. Been lovin mine for years now, had the PT problem too, was replaced, been howlin?? since.

Don??t fret Duccy, whoever told you the 1974 is a Class A/B amp was pullin?? yer leg mate!
Turn it up!

2004 1974X, purchased new December 2004....
As indicated in most of the other reviews, very simple, quite straighforward......turn it on, play.....
Contrary to what a lot of other users seem to think, this is a conventional class A/B amp...
It is plenty loud for playing any gigs I can imagine, I rarely turn it up past 4.....doesn't really get much louder beyond that point, just more saturated & sweeter........

I'm usuing this amp with a Les Paul Special & a Tele.......... Great for getting a plexi sound at a somewhat more manageable volume level.

Since this was an early one, I did have the transformer issue...... took a break at rehearsal, put it on standby, came back & it was dead......replacement took about a month at my selling dealer, since then it's been perfect!

5 year warranty, aside from the time required to get the replacement transformer set, everything has gone smoothly. Marshall has owner manuals, etc. available on their website.

I use this with the above mentioned guitars, occasionally with an A/B box & either an Ampeg Gemini or a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+. Without a doubt it is the best sounding amp for what I do than anything else I've ever owned......a list which includes a JMI Vox AC-30, blackface Fender Showman, Ampeg VT-22, a Marshall 2104 (1979), JTM45 reissue & a gaggle of others over 44 years.
I'd replace immediately if stolen/lost......perish the thought!
I love the simplicity......in an era of channel switching/modelling/400 knob monsters, it's a delight to play an amp that sounds this good with TWO knobs.......

2006 brand new out of the box. Extremely straight forward 2 seperate channel amp with just volume and tone. Possible to daist chain the channels to get different sounds. Vibrato on one channel. I really appreciate the simplicity of this amp! I do like the removeable power cord, authentic vibrato footswitch, speaker ohm selector switch for additional speaker cabs. These of course not to the original specs of the original but nice modern improvements. I am going to score this amp a 9 as it's sometimes nice as a feature not to have many!!!

KILLER, AWESOME TONE! This is what this little beast is all about. There's a reason why class A amps sell for as much as mega watt A/B amps. There super loud and have a unique compressed sound of there own. This amp posses all that. Sounds great with my relic strats but I thought it broke up a little to soon with my les pauls-definitely missing head room to gig with. So I went all out and had to experiment with the new Celestion Alnico Gold. I have always had Blues so either way I wanted to try a Gold because I would always use it in the furure. And let me tell you-O My God! No problem gigging out now-pedal in front and your ready to go!

No problems so far. I have heard the new ones are trouble free. Built like a tank, solid limber. However tubes run hot so we will always have a backup pair of JJ's on hand!

I would definitely replace this if it got stolen! As well I would put in the Celestion Gold and JJ EL84's and Tung-Sol EC83's tubes.

bought new from dallas guitar center december 2007

this is a one trick pony amp. but it's the best trick in the book.

not alot of headroom.....

this amp is gorgeous sounding. the clean sound from 1-4 is so crysalline and dynamic.

from 4-10, as yngwie says, "you've unleashed the fury"

with my les paul standard (burstbuckers 1 & 2), the jimmy page sound is right there

sounds great with other pickup types......

jumpering between the 2 channels gives you some really wild tones....all sorts of phase-cancellation pockets as you move the 2 volumes and tones from 0-10....

each channel sounds great on it's own

i've heard the horror stories on this amp, i always have a 2nd amp in my rig, so i'm crossing my fingers that i have a new type OT.

i've been gigging w/ it for 3 months with no problems

hopefully i'll never have to update this part

i love this amp like a brother.

i'll never go to a gig without it.

cheers

2006, brand new. No extra features. Super simple, with no frills with just a tone knob-boy did i miss having a simple amp where you just plug in and concentrate on your playing. Fantastic trem but honestly i don't even use it. But cool effect to have on board. No reverb but for some reason with this little amp you don't even want it!!!! My holy grail is back in the box!!! Love the straight forwardness no frills of this amp!

Awesome!!! Makes for a killer recording amp and small gigs. Breaks up really nice. This is what this amp is all about. You pay for the handwired board and you hear it!

I heard of all the horror stories of the first run with the bad transformers. Hence the bad reviews. That didn't stop me. These sound sooooo god. I just figure if it ever goes I will invest in a a set of mercury magnetics and never worry about things in the future. However I was told this problem was resolved after the first run! I have been beating the hell out of mine and so far so good. Love everything about this amo including the greenback. However I have always had alnico's so I am going to try one of the new Alnico Gold's and see how that sounds. Who knows I may even get a little more headroom gor giogs which wouldn't be bad!

Called to ask some questions and service was quite good and very fast!!!

I love the look, anf of course the sound of this amp. Don't get a clone for the same price or more money get the real thing!!! I would definitely by another one!!!

No features butt i like that it's very sraight forward!

AWESOME!

I keep hearing about the transformer problems but i gig with mine and have never had a problem. I heard they resolved this issue as soon as first yeasrs production line!!!

Very good and kind people.

Brand new, made in 2005. No features but that's what I like abiut this amp-the SIMPLICITY. 2 knobs, volume tone. Wish the tremolo wasn't even there to muck up the circuit like the 2061 head. I will give this a high rating for actually having No features for the simplicity.

Just sounds absolutely KILLER! What ever you plug in-les paul or strat sounds fabulous.

Well I have waited a few months to make my review waiting for the transformers to go and they yet to do that. As far as I can see I have decided this amp sounds so killer I cannot part with it. Plus it looks way cooler then the clones. nSo if it goes I have decided to invest in better Mercury Magnetic transformers or something like that. I won't even bother putting in the Dagnals even if they are under warranty. This amp is just to good and it will make it better! As I said so far so good!

Called Marshall once to ask a few questions they called me right back.

If it was stolen I would have to purchase another one asap. This is the best class A amp I have ever heard!!! And again I love the simplicity it works for me. Just a pedal in front!

you can check the feats from Marshall Homepage.
Does everything from clean to killer plexi crunch. Sounds especially good with humbuckers, but performs good with single coils as well.

It has perfect power for studio and small gigs... on large stages use PA.

My Les Paul and SG love it... from the first 5 seconds you play it, you underestand that THIS IS IT. Yeah baby, It really has that classic marshall warm yet brutal crunch. Sounds better than vintage modern line and eats all kinds of DSL/TSL models for lunch.

There is only one issue... It longs to be cranked up!

I mean this is really REAL THING. I am happy that marshall is making AMPS again. A bit pricey (they should make a cheaper non handwired version of this amp for more budget oriented players).

PS! THIS IS THE FIRST PRODUCT I HAVE EVER RATED WITH MAXIMUM POINTS! Because it is not good for it's price, it is not reminding some classic amp... Ihis IS IT, THE HOLY GRAIL OF MARSHALLNESS!!!

no problems yet. stinks a bit but it's kinda natural for a brand new tube amp.

I am not rich and this amp costs in my country around 2200USD. On the same day i tried it in local store, i sold my pedalboard filled with boutique stomps. I really dont need them anymore.

This amp redefined a "good tone" for me.

Thank you, Marshall, for doing that!!!

****Product: Marshall 1974X
Price Paid: #999.00 (pounds sterling)
Submitted 02/08/2005 at 04:15pm by bruce
Email: brucebody at ntlworld<dot>com ****

/\ /\ /\ \/ \/ \/

this is and update on my original review of this amp.
i brought it new february 2005(thats when i reviewed it here), so now its nearly 3 years old.

well....the tranny finally followed lots of others.
ive been reading about them going and thinking my ones near enough 3 years old, not to bad. LoL

so the tranny went, so i took it back to the shop i brought it from.
7 days, yes SEVEN days later, its back in the shop for me to pick up.
sweet.
i took the amp out of the case to check it out.
all the valves are now replaced(2006 dates on them)and the new transformer looks longer?? than the old one??
the amp chasis still carries my original test sticker with the same serial number, and a few other things on the case make me sure its my amp, not a new unit.

anyway, it still sounds superb.
maybe i was lucky to get 3 years out ot the transformer, or maybe i was unlucky it packed up at all??

love this amp.

7 days turn around = thanks marshall.

Very straight forward amp, not many features but all you need for a great sound! 2 channels (can be jumpered to widen the sound palette), normal ch. with Vol & Tone, Tremolo ch. with Vol & Tone plus the Speed and Intensity controls for the footswtchable tremelo.
As for the number of features should be a 1, but for their effectiveness it deserves an 8, so I rate it midfield...

This is where this amp really shines! The sound is amazingly full, thick, expressive and touch responsive; harmonically rich and full of sustain. For the first time in my 35 years of playing I listen to my sound while I'm playing and think "Wow, what a beautyful sound!!! This is what I've been looking for so many years". It's really loud, don't let the low wattage fool you: 18w in pure class A is more than enough even with a loud drummer!

I've had it for less than 4 months so far; it blew the main fuse after 2 months; the tech said it was caused by the club's AC and not the amp. It blew again last night during a rehearsal with my band and there ain't any problem in that room AC sockets as there were other tube amps plugged and none had problems even when plugged in the same socket of my 1974x, so it's gonna get back to the tech and hope he will fix it, otherways I'd never dare to gig without a backup as I used to do in the last 30 years...

The amp came with a 2 years warranty (standard in Italy) and the authorized service centre is quite near my home, so I'm kind of a lucky guy... I never dealt with the company, but I don't think big companies can be responsive to customers for matter of time.
The warranty period is more than satisfactory but I want my amp fixed the right way to be sure it won't blow fuses any more: I don't really think I'm asking too much for a 1.500 Euros amp!

Been playing 35 years, more than a decade professionally. This is hands off the best sounding amp I've ever owned, but it's also the most unreliable... I have to make a decision: my mind tells me to sell it out ASAP, my heart tells me to give it another chance. I'll decide when I get it back from the tech. I really don't know how to rate it...

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.