Marshall Valvestate 8040

Bought it new in 1994. 40W. Two channels, clean (gain, bass, middle, treble) and boost (gain, contour, bass, treble, volume) master reverb and a singel power tube in the boost channel.

i have used a strat, never anything else(i think). The clean have always been a disapointment, sound flat and soul-less, like a very cheap amp, but the volume is good and its clean all the way up.

The boost is better, you can get a really warm and fat distortion or a classic rock overdrive. The countour control is useless under 12 o??clock, the sound becomes weak but over that you can change from blues to heavy rock (or maby the tube does its job!)

I play punk and 70th rock and this amp handle it well. I??ve never used it on stage only for practice but it is loud, you could easily use this in a small club gig.

I didnt use it for a couple of years and the controls was in need for a good cleaning after that. It sometimes just dies and need to cool down for a few minutes, dont know why, it never did that the first ten years or so.

I have a feeling that if i carried it around it would break down soon.

Dont know.

Been playing on and off for 18 years, this amp fits me but i dont love it and I have played dozens of amp better than this. I??m not gonna buy a new one if its stolen and will probably not fix it when it breaks down.

I bought the amp used in 1995, I don't know when it was made.

The amp is versatile enough considering it is solid state and relatively cheap as amplifiers go. It has 2 switchable channels and an effects loop with no switching. It has no headphone jack (i wish it did). As has been mentioned several times, the clean channel and reverb leave much to be desired.

I use this amp around the house and at jam sessions when I can get out to one. It has plenty of power for around the house or keeping up with a drum set in a small setting. Anything larger and it needs to be miked.

I use this amp with a Gibson SG with PAF+(neck) and Tony Iommi(bridge) pickups. I also use it with an American Deluxe Strat with EMG pickups.

The amp suits my style perfectly. I play jazz/rock fusion, blues, progressive rock, progressive metal and classic rock.

The pots - all of them - get noisy. I clean them but the noise comes back. It is only really a problem on the gain and master volume controls. Everything else I just leave set where I like them.

The clean channel is made to start breaking up aver 12:00. This is intentional by design, poorly executed, but not the real problem. The real problem with the clean channel is that it is very flat and lifeless. The only acceptable uses I have found for it is a really dry, hard jazz sound with the tone and volume rolled off the guitar, or as a mute switch for the boost channel.

The boost channel is awesome. It easily makes up for the lame clean channel, the goofy reverb (I'll get to that) and the noisy pots. Using the boost channel for distortion, it is a low to mid volume firecracker. It gets the very gutsy Marshall high gain sounds and moderate crunchy blues and classic rock sounds. Although, if you take the master over about 5 with the gain set over 5, it starts to lose some of its magic.

The boost channel also gets a beautiful glassy clean sound with the gain on 0 to 3 and the master on 10. It is a very nice clean channel that rivals my vintage Fender Twin. The problem with using the boost channel for a clean channel is that you no longer have the switchable amp distortion. This is not a problem for practicing or recording at home but playing with other musicians it can be a hassle. It just means using one of the many distortion or overdrive devices I have in my trunk, but it is a drag because that Marshall distortion is very sweet.

The reverb: The tank on this thing is plastic, about the size of a stick of butter, and soldered right to the pcb. It adds enough color to be acceptable up to about 1 or 2. Any higher than that and it just starts sounding ridiculous. It is not useless, it's just so far over the top and foamy that it is not practical for most of the people that would be buying a Marshall. I have an Accusonic reverb tank that I'm going to try to wire into it. Until then, it sounds fine on 1 or 2 or off.

It has not failed me in 14 years. The pots are noisy.

I've never called them.

I have been playing guitar since 1979 and I own a lot of gear. In amplification, I have a Roland GP-100/Marshall stereo rack mount rig, a Fender Twin, a Peavey Special and this little Marshall.

I bought this amp as something I could use around the house and quickly grab and run out the door to a friends house. I went to the music store that day with $500 burning a hole in my pocket looking for a really great sounding, light practice amp. I tried some Peaveys, some Fenders, a Vox, and a Roland. Some of these were over $500, and the little Marshall sounded much better to my ears. And it was $200 cheaper.

If this were lost or stolen I would look around for a cheap one on eBay or Craigslist. If I couldn't find one cheap I'd probably sell some other stuff and buy an all tube Marshall Combo.

I bought the Marshall 8040 used in 1994. Guess it was built aprox. in 1992-1993. Bought it as a practice and small venue/club amp.

For more features, read the older reviews. It's the same amp.

I have always been using a Les paul on this amp. First an Epiphone, and later a Gibson Les Paul Standard Vintage with Alnico Pro II pickups.

I've always played with a deep warm tone, and the overdrive does this very well. But I've always used an EQ pedal for shaping the tone a bit more, and to give it a bit more sustain and power.

The clean channel is ok at low volumes but semi-crap at high.

I loved this amp for years, but it is basically a solid-state compared to a "real" tube amp.

It worked perfectly from 1994 - 2004. In 2004 is started having problems, and after 5 - 10 minutes it needed to cool down for 20 min.. I bough a Marshall MG15DFX instead, and the MG15DFX is almost as good for practicing at low volumes.

None

7. Great amp from the early 90' :-)

Mine is a 1994 model that I got new in early '95. I bought it as a practice amp, I thought it gave a pretty good version of the 'Marshall' sound on the cheap. It's got two channels, clean and distortion. I think Marshall introduced the 'Contour' control on this amp and it is a cool feature. It's got reverb that's useful up to about 2 but above that sounds kinda crappy. As far as features go for this amp it met my only requirement: Good distortion.

This amp was my next step up in practice amps from the Marshall 'Lead 12' that my mom got me in the mid '80's. I liked the idea of having a tube pre amp. You can get some amazingly good sounds out of this amp. Just don't get one expecting it to be or cover a half stack type sound. At 40 watts it is loud enough to play with drums. I wouldn't use it in a full live situation but it could probably do it. I don't really use the clean channel. The distortion works for me on the classic rock stuff that I play. I play it mostly with a strat. The amp can be dialed in to get a wide variety of tones, I can usually find what I want in it. That goes for the last 12 years of use. I give it a 10 because it met and exceeded any initial expectation I might have had for a 'solid state' amp.

This amp is very dependable. It was in the for service once in the late 90's to get the scratchy pots cleaned. It is still on it's original tube and, I think, it sounds better now than when I got it. The amp is built like a cinderblock. If I want to check out the sound of a new guitar I take this amp to the store with me. This gives me a good indication of how the guitar will 'scale up' to my full sized rig. I had the amp in the back of my truck and had to stop in a hurry, this caused the the amp to slide forward and slam hard into the cab end of the bed. I thought this would kill it..nope. This thing rocks on. I used it for a while when practicing with the band. It handled that fine, cranked up, month after month.

Never used.

30 plus years of playing. Two Statocasters, JCM 2000 DSL 100 half stack. MG100HDFX full stack..I like Marshall. If it were lost/stolen I might try to get another but only for the excellent sound it makes at really low volume. You can practice with complete privacy with this amp and still get a really excellent sound coming out of it. Thats the thing I like the best about it. Love the tonal versatility/Hate the reverb at any high setting. I don't remember what I compared it to. I knock off one point for the reverb

I bought this amp used in 2006. Payed 1100 DKK = 200 USD.

The amp is perfect for my needs: I don't play guitar in a band. I only use at home in my studio. But I'm sure it's loud enough for a small gig. I play Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, The Band and some blues. My guitar is a Fender Highway One Texas Tele.

The sound controls does not really help you, if you want to change the sound. It's Marshall-sound - and that's what you get. However the distortion channel has a quite useful "contour".

As I wrote above: This amp gives me the sounds, that I want.

But let me give you some advice: Change the crappy Celestion G12L that comes from the factory. You can have a problem getting a 4 ohm 12 inch speaker, but just look for an 8 ohm speaker with a sensitivity around 100 db. The Celestion G12L is around 95-96 db.

I've just changed the speaker to a Celestion Vintage 30 - and it really improved the sound. Before the trebles could be terrible and the lows not existing. The new speaker (USD 145) really changed that.

When I bought the amp I had some problem for a while. The sound from the distortion channel suddenly died. I changed the tube (USD 30) and have had no problem after that. I've read a Danish review on this amp. An engineer wrote, that the problem not is the tube but the "power amp in" plug. It should be cleaned, if the sound suddenly dies.

Some of the controls are a bit noisy - and I've tried to clean them.

I wrote to Marshall, when I was looking for at new speaker. The never answered my questions.

I've been playing guitar for 30 years. I've owned many amps (and many guitars). This is the most versalite amp I've owned. Offcourse you can get better (and more expensive) amps. But the Marshall 8040 really offers you value for money. But look for the noisy controls - and let the amp stay switched on for a while, before you decide to buy one.

Made Around 1998. I play alot of Neil Young and obviously he doesnt use a Marshall but I play alot of other classic rock and this amp really does justice for most Rock Bands of that era. With this amp you really havto get warm with it. I found I spent about an hour trying to find just how I like it. Once you find that happy sound your looking for then you're well on your way. Haven't played a gigs a long time but is great for jamming with a band or whatnot. Great pre amp tube amp.

This amp has an alright clean sound nothing great in a previous review said it would of been better with a master knob that would be a great addition to the amp. The boost channel is the one I use most. The settings I use most on the boost channel is quarter gain and more volume. If you crank the volume loud enough you can play the gain/distortion off of that. My pedals are Ibanez TS10, NADY PS-013(chorus), solid gold soundlabs custom formula 69'(fuzz face) and cry baby wah modded GCB-95. If your looking to hit those crazy tones that can only be heard from barn animals this is a sweet set up and a great amp to reach it.

The footswitch jack just cacked out on me a bit back. Doesnt really matter to me I didnt use it much anyways. The gain pot had been fixed by previous owner. Thats about it though.

Ive been playing for a quite a while and have had my fare share of happenings in my life time. I normally plug in my telecaster which is a real beauty out of the amp. Believe it or not I prefer the sound of the Tele out of the amp as supposed to my Les Paul. Im not going to lie im more of a fender amp guy. This marshall for the price I payed is something special and ive really had time to connect to it. When writing this review ive realized this amp is a keeper and a great home amp for jam sessions and would advise anyone who likes the classic rock era to purchase it.

I've owned this for over 10 years.
Gear is a MIM Fat Strat with a Dimarzio Air Zone HB into a Marshall Jackhammer pedal, EQ (recent), chorus, delay.
The boost channel has a tube pre-amp, the clean channel doesn't. solid state power amp. The clean channel coulda done with a master volume so as to get more versatility out of the gain control, otherwise a basic all-you-need type of setup.....just realised it has an effects loop, will check if it works....
Not really loud enough for jamming, it struggles at volumes above half for both channels. Suitable for mic to PA.
The clean channel is meant to get crunchy above half, not so good if you already have a sound dialed in on your pedal, so you need to figure out two different settings for your pedal, one low volume, one high volume.
That said, never been happy with the clean channel.

The "Boost" channel can produce some really good sounds, Deep Purple, Bad Religion, Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc, but doesn't really have the bottom end for anything more extreme. These sounds are achieved by having the Contour on Low and adjusting volume/gain to suit, depends on how bright and trebly you like it.
I've used the obvious EQ set up on both channels for all this time (Bass up, treble mid to high, contour low, etc).
After being unhappy with the 'flatness' of the clean channel (at low volumes, harshness at high volumes) for a decade I decided to completely rethink my set-up. Now I'm not really talking about the amp itself anymore, more of what you can do to tweak a sound out of it....
The boost channel always sounded good because of the added warmth of the tube in the pre-amp, but it couldn't give me the bottom end I wanted so I never used it for anything except those listed above.
So I thought about spending a lot of money for a new all tube practice amp.......but what about the EQ pedal?
Instead of using the clean channel for my clean sound I've started to use the boost channel. Reduce the Gain (9pm), increase the volume, brighten up the Contour (12pm), Bass up, treble up and voila! A whole new way of looking at it. A nice bluesy clean sound , the Marshall Jackhammer set to achieve a fairly classic rock sound and then the EQ pedal as the bass boost and tone shaper to get more of that Metallica Load era (ie. Trouble) type sound.
Now I have to fiddle with the effects loop to see if that provides any other options.
For the clean channel I reduced the Bass and mids to zero and the treble to half. The reduced volume meant I could increase the gain/volume to get more of a crunchy bright sound from this channel at low volumes, still not great but ok.
Time will tell if I am happy with this new setup....

I think I replaced a tube once, the pots also go scratchy but I fixed that with some lubricant.

Playing for 20 years if you include all the months/years when I don't even touch the guitar or when I want to give the neighbours a break. Can't stop playing Iron Maiden or blues though...
I picked this over a JCM 50W all tube because I preferred the overdrive sound and it was cheaper. I'd probably rethink that now.
The clean channel just sounds harsh or dead, even with the new settings.
Use the boost channel, it works good.

2 channels: one Normal (Clean), one Boost (British for "Over Drive"). Clean channel has Gain, Bass/Middle/Treble EQ controls. Boost channel has Gain, Bass/Treble...and Contour (which is a Mid scoop control), Volume (output volume for the Boost channel only). It also has a spring reverb. Preamp out, Power amp in (which together work as an Effects Send/Return loop), Line Out, and finally a Footswitch input for the channel switching pedal. Single tube in the preamp (EXX 83/12 AX7)--where it gets its GREAT sound from! The sound is made in the preamp (not the power amp)--especially in THIS unit. Solid state power amp (making it lighter weight, less expensive, and more reliable).

I have owned this amp for 8 years and have used it for bar gigs and for home practice. It is very versatile (if you know what to expect from it). I have played smooth jazz, blues, and rock...all the way up to Heavy Metal.

The Reverb is 'global' so that you cannot have different reverb settings for each channel. There is only one reverb for the entire amp. It does NOT have a headphone output which I would have appreciated. Because of these 2 faults, I give it a lower feature score.

Reading the other reviews, it's OBVIOUS that most of the other guys didn't bother to download the Handbook (owner's manual) off the Internet. If they had, their reviews probably wouldn't have been so negative--and wouldn't have made the look so silly.

The clean channel DOES overdrive and get a LITTLE BIT crunchy when the Gain is at higher volumes. IT'S DESIGNED TO DO THAT...READ THE HANDBOOK! And if you want to lessen that, replace the tube with a lower gain tube--just realize that you only have ONE tube in this amp so you'll be messing up your overdrive channel too! Or you could simply read the book and learn how to use this amp!
By controlling the volume of your guitar going into the amp--with the guitar's volume knob AND the Normal channel Gain--you can get a good clean sound for Jazz (George Benson/Norman Brown-like). THEN, you can add as little or as much dirt as you like to your clean (if you want a 60's Jazz sound or a Blues sound, for example).

The Boost channel is just AWESOME! It's a Marshall with a tube preamp for crying out loud! It sounds like a Marshall! All that nasty, distorted overdrive tone that your guitar heros had...you can dial up! Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Eric Clapton, Zepplin, Guns & Roses (Slash), whoever! The real magical secret to the Boost channel is the Contour dial--THAT'S where you can REALLY shape your crunch from the lighter Santana/blues sound to a thick '80s Heavy Metal or whatever.
But keep in mind that you don't get your tone from ONE piece of gear. They all work together: guitar, amp, and effects. If you have a peace of shit guitar or piece of shit pickups in it...well...you're going to sound like your playing a piece of shit! A Marshall amp isn't going to rescue you if the rest of your set up is shit...sorry.

I've had it for 8 years. I've gigged with it. I carry it out every weekend to teach guitar lessons. I don't abuse it. I have the cover for it. I think as long as you don't act like Pete Townsend, it should last you long enough

I've never had to deal with Marshall. I bought this amp used. I hope I never had to deal with them. Since they're based in England, I imagine resolving any issues could take awhile--but I don't know.

I think this amp has gotten a bad rap because too many people didn't bother to find out that the clean channel is DESIGNED to overdrive. It's too bad...this is a great little amp.

I use a Fender Strat through this thing and it sounds marvelous. I can play smooth jazz, rock, whatever...but with my Strat (being what it is), it really sounds best if I'm playing Blues or Santana-style.

You can only get these used now. The 'newer' version of this is the Marshall AVT50. It's a 50 watt Valvestate amp with some much needed features (like headphone jack, etc.). Even so, if you can find one of these and you buy it, you'll be glad you did.

Get the owner's manual for it (online) and take your time experimenting with it and you will be surprised at what you can pull out of this 40 watter.

Too many people just want things to be Plug & Play. Musical instruments just aren't that way! Take your time, read the book, mess with the amp for awhile and you'll find it has MANY sweet spots!

Made in 90's, with two channel. Has a two channel switch pedals, effect loop insert, and a line out. I would like a headphone output for playing at home. It has a reverb, a tube for preamp.

Clean: Not very good but it is ok for playing in a band

Overdrive: Very good, typically Marsall sound especially when I changed the tube from Marshall to Mesa Boogie. With my Ibanez S 470, i can have sound from Clapton (cocaine...) to Metallica.

It had to be repaired because the solder were not very well done. But Since no problem

I must say that is my amp to play live and it does its work well. Plug and Play!!!

Dual Channel Amp - Clean and Boost Channel; Reverb and footswitch; Tube preamp.

Ok, I had the some other best amps in the world (Mesa Boogie, other models of Marshall, Roland Jazz Chorus and Fender) and none has the versatility and the sound of this little bastard. I play everything from rock to fusion, and I can get any sound from it. The boost channel is amazing and you can get any kind of distortion sound from it. It has that Larry Carlton oriented guitar sound, with lots of sustain, and when used at middle gain settings with single coils, you get that hot strat blues sound, like Scott Henderson. The other guys, the ones who didn't like it, probably are using the wrong guitars or the wrong pickups, because it is hard to get a bad sound from it (sorry guys).

Even when I play jazz, it sounds great too. It is not noisy, but the clean channel at high volumes get a little bit crunchy, which I think that is good in some cases.

My guitars are: luthier guitar called WOOD/EMG pickups, modified Ibanez 540 Saber and Cort LC-1500.

Effects: pedal board; Pod XT and DG Stomp are used only for recording.

OK, mine had a cicuitry problem few years ago, but after fixing it has the same sound. I took it to Authorized Repair Services here in BRAZIL, and thanks GOD, it survived!

I used it in two big gigs without a backup (my Mesa Boogie is heavy and you know, its all tube and very fragile) and I had no problem. As today it is very difficult to find one of them in good conditions to buy, I use mine only at home, together with my Mesa. For gigs I use a POD XT or a DG Stomp.

Mid 90s Marshall. Amp has Clean and Gain channels. Channel switching. For a practice amp it doe sthe job with furvur. I use the amp when I dont want to lug my 1981 Marshall JCM800/Bogner Ubercab/Klon rig and my Marshall 1959HW/Marshall G12H30HW matching cab/Valvedriver rigs racks, pedals and the rest simply to my Bass Playuers house to work on tunes or when im playing at home i dont have to constently burn the tubes out in $10K in amps and gear! I was gonna get a Marshall 1x12" 50 watt tube amp but this actually has a great overdrive to it. THe reverb is prtetty good too. Clean works.

I have toured nationally and currently own a 81 Marshall JCM800 2203 and a Marshall Handwired 1959HW I run alongside each other for rehearsals and gigs with the band. When Im jamming alone or with my Bass player writing songs this amp gets the job done and it makes me feel good playing it! And this comes from a guy who hates Solid State anything! I think its because it has the preamp tube(s) in it that give it the nice wet midrange. It actually has an inspiring (did I just say that?) tone for the high gain channel. I play old school funk, aggressive blues, odd meter time stuff, egyptian, flamenco, Tool and Sabbath type heavy stuff to Chili Peppers and Brothers Johnson funk and shred music ala Vai and Satriani. For these styles the ampo can definitely hold its own and wont dissapoint. I only use the amp at low or moderate volumes for I cant imagine it sounding to good at higher volumes but thats not why i got it.

Well, This is where im not sure really. I got the amp after it had some repairs done to it. I guess the pots were dirty and it had a problem with a jck . But these were addressed. Once in a while the gain kicks in and out but it is rare. Who care for $150! It is reliable for rehearsing with my Bass Player and for quaint home jamming.

I dont call them

Ive been playing for 20 years. I teach guitar and have over 40+ students. I sell many high end boutique amps at the Music Center and I still picked this little sleeper all beat up for a practice rig. I it were stolen id buy a Marshall 1x12" all tube 50 watt amp for rehearsing only because I like tubes. This amp just happened to be sitting in my store and wanted me to try it and im glad I did. I like it! If your a professional recording and touring artist or were one at one time and are used to owning $10's of $1,000's of gear as i do I would still look into saving some cash and getting this amp for at home play and rehearsing with your individual players in your bans and stop lugging your stacks around ! This amp can sound really good for a solid state / preamp tube hybrid!

this is an upgrade to my last review. i've finished the mods now...

i bought a used combo, that was really cheap, just to get a good speaker, it had a celestion G12M-70 @ 8 ohm, 70 whatt rms. now it has really really killer tone. with the mods i've done, and with this speaker, it cuts trough the mix, as really sweet mids, simply put, killer tone. the clean chanel needs more sparkle, i'm goin to build some circuit with a "bright boost". and i know it will become perfect. with my mods finished - except on clean channel - i'll give it a 9,5. it sounds loud, warm, fat, and with a very sweet midrange.

note: in my other review, i said i liked most the asymetrical configuration with the two leds, but what i meant was that i liked more - and it's whatt i have - the asymetrical configuration with the two 1N4148's (NOT the leds).

please view my review below

please view my review below

please view my review below

the tipycal two channel amp. it has the mormal features, but it lacks presence control on both channels, and mid control on the overdrive channel.

it sounds really like crap. clean sounds, make damage to my ears, it's really thin, with agressive highs. distortion channell is better than clean one, but lacks some mids (for my tastes), and has that fizzy highs sound. i'll give it a 5 the way it cames from factory.

mine is heavilly modified by myself (i'm an electronics student).

1)- i have several amps. this was my first amp, a lot of years ago when i start playing. today i have a plexi, with a 4x12 green backs equiped cab. i conected this amp to that cab, and sounds really good. many people say that the fact that this amp is a celestion equiped speaker, is a good point, to me don't. this is a really crapy celestion with no bottom end, and agressive highs; the model is a celestion G12L 4 ohm 40 whatt rms... but, what speaker is this? did you ever try googling on it?? this is a crapy, cheap speaker from celestion... I'm going to order a celestion vintage 30 speaker - 60 whatt rms... Always remember, 50% of the sound of an amp is done by the speakers. try conecting any other amp to this crapy celestion, and you will see what i'm talking about.
when i conect it to the cab, it has a lack of highs!!! try it!

note: vintage 30 speaker has a high efficiency. your amp will sound at least twice as louder... the stock speaker has really low efficiency, it sucks. i choosed this speaker (vintage 30), coz it sounds louder than any other, and coz the green backs (vintage 25) only have 25 whatt rms, but i do prefer them...

2)- there's a tube in it. the tube acts like a buffer ( a la chandler tube driver)on, and only on, the overdriven channel. distortion is made on an ic chip (opamp), identical to a tube screamer, super overdrive,and has a soft clip configuration with two leds... their names in the circuit are led3, led4. open the amp conect your guitar, gain to max and look at the leds flashing... well this sounds like crap... i replaced the leds with 1N4148 diodes, and it as a good tone, with sweet mids as i like it... i've also tried an asymetrical configuration (with 3 1N4148s) but i prefer the symetrical one(using two leds). I've also changed the tube an put a decent one. I didn't yeat tried the 12AU7 to see how it sounds like, but i'm going to try...

I haven't done nothing yet with the clean channel, but i'm going to try some ideas...

So I'll give it a 5 for factory default sound, and a 9 for mine (a decent speaker really changes everything).but i still have to "work" on the clean channel.

ahahhaha when my father bought it to me, a lot of years ago, it was second hand, and maked a lot of strange noise. it was my only amp, and i had to crank it to ear myself playing in my band( uffff that was horrible, believe me...) :D

well one day, a lot of years ago, i nedeed power and crank the thing up... all the power section burned out... i've changed some capacitors, and the power IC - Philips TDA1514 - and spent something like 20?. power section is also moded, but nothing important.

i never played with it ever since ( like 6 or 7 years).
now i have it, near my notebook as i write these, with the circuit in my desk, making the mods... trying a lot of things, etc...

if your tda1514 blows, coz you pushed it to hard, just replace it, and everything should work well.

almost forgot, reverb isn't working, but i don't miss it, and i wont repair it. this reverb sucks.

never contacted marshall.

from factory it sucks! don't buy one, unless you find a used one really cheap. it sounds like crap, the highs are pain to my ears, both channels suck. if you have already one, try making the mods i did - the most important is the speaker - and youll get a good sound. i'm going to use it as a practice amp, and for reharsal.

Two channels, footswitchable, what more do you need?

Clean is a bit thin sounding, but the distortion channel is quite 'chuggy' on palm muted chords.... kinda like 'black album' Metallica. Can sound a bit chintzy, so go easy on the contour control! Heaps of bite with an SG and more full sounding with a Les Paul. A cheap way to get that Marshall tone... it is there, just play hard and crank it up a bit....

It fell out of my truck and it still works.... I read a lot of complaints about build quality but mine has been fine since day one!

Whay contact Marshall? they don't make these... call China instead : )

I added a few mods like an extension cab output and some castors and now it's pretty cool. Has a thicker tone with a closed back cabinet and now i can mix and match speakers till the cows come home...overall i think this amp is a gem for the price!

I bought this amp 4 years ago, but it had just 3 or 4 years.
This amplifier is a valvestate: it has one valve (ecc83/12ax7) in the preamp section; power amp is a solid-state. It has 2 channels, clean & boost. Clean channel has 3 band eq.; boost channel has bass, treble, contour and gain. It has also reverb, footswitch, line out, send-return. The speaker is a 12" Celestion (G12L).
It has 40 watt and it is basically a solid-state amp.

Clean channel is nice, but the one boost is awful, colourless & empty. This amp discharges much of its volume soon. I use a Fender strat with Di Marzio YJM & HS3 pick up and a Gibson SG with Di Marzio evolution. I play neoclassical rock, but this amp not helps me with its tones. The contour knob can go from mellow blues to screamin' metal (this is the definition that gives the handbook!); really with a low contour sounds becomes so closed & with a high contour it screeches like a mosquito. Dynamics is really at low levels. I try to play my guitars with a Mesa Boogie F30 and a Peavey Classic 30. There is no compare. Sounds is hot, coloured and so, so big. For these reasons I give to my Marshall a 5!

I had to change the input jack two months ago, but is quite normal if I consider the age of the amp.

I give it a 5 because it' s a quite good amp for beginners, but some its tones are awful! Don' t buy a valvestate; there is no compare with all-tube amps! Totally different...


ps: Excuse-me for my english, but I' m Italian

Well, the features are quite well declared for already. Solid state, 2 channels, reverb, 40 watts etc... I give it 7. Cause basically it got everything one needs.

It's really nice finding this amp here. The Marshall 8040 is my first amp. I bought in June 1994 and it is still going strong. I was 15 years old and had been playing guitar for about two years. Oh, those were the days *a very sentimental snuffel*. This is obviously NOT a pro-amp, but I think everybody knows that. Therefore I'll judge it with that in mind. I don't use this as my main amp. Nowadays I mostly use an Fender Pro Reverb and a few pedals in front (Budda Phatman,Line 6 DL4,Crybaby 535q etc). This amp is a longlasting friend and servant. I still play it on a daily basis in my bedroom. Ask my grilfriend ;)SO MANY great songs have been composed and arranged on this amp. Oh my God! I have so many good memories...Well this is a review and not a lifestory...

Well, it's basically a solid state amplifier (Even though it's formally a hybrid, tubepreamp and solid state poweramp). I think it is well worth the money. The clean channel is very nice. I have recorded some really nice licks. most people think it was my Pro Reverb in action. The distchannel is really nice when you match the channel with the character of your guitar. The tricky part is the countour switch. I would rather see a normal mid-eq. The MOST IMPORTANT is that you have to play on low sound levels. As soon as you crank this amp it sounds like shit. But that goes for all small solid state amplifiers. In other words. On moderate levels this amp is amazing. I give it a six because there of course are a lot of MUCH BETTER amps out there. I have to be honest. But hey really!! Who the heck would even compare this amp with a Budda Twin or any other expensive boutique amplifier. We are talking different leagues here. In it's own class for it's own purposes on moderate sound levels its a REALLY AMAZING amp. I just fuckin' love it. Like a partner.

Well, heck! 10 years of joy and sorrow. Me and my 8040 have been through hell as well as heaven. He even was around when I lost my innocence a late November night long ago. Girlfriends have come and gone but this baby stays with me. He has never failed me. Period!! Damn, I really don't know what I'm going to do when the final day comes. I think I have a funeral or something... But really! This amp is built to last. I've done some serious gigging with it for many years (Believe me, you do not always need 1000Db). I still occasionally bring it with me as a backup on small gigs. Quite amazing isn't it. Like a tank! But this one is kind like a puppy and do not go round shooting people.

I wouldn't know...

YES,YES,YES!! If you're able to find one buy it. At a reasonable price of course. I mean for a beginner this one is perfect. For others it is a perfect bedroom amp. Well I'm really tricky with the scores. But a nine is apropriate. It might be colored by my long relationship, but I really think this is a very nice amplifier.

If it were lost I think I would by something else. It would be now use changing it out. I mean would you consider taking the twin sister if your girlfriends was "lost". If you are a bit more serious amature-player I would recommend a line 6. But NOT a spider. They are crap.

well , this amp is old , very ninetees , but sound totally eighties (makes any sence?) , versatile? , i dont think soo...it has 2 channels , the clean is boring , dull , lifeless , just like my old Samick 15 watts SS amp , sound like trash...and the dist channel , i bit better i'm gonna talk more about this in the sounds section , got also FX loops , kinda noisy , no Headphone jacks in this old warrior..
i use this amp in my house , ahh , forgot to tell thsi is a hybrid amp (the tube is almost for nothing) i cant say that is just for cosmetically stuff , coz you cant even see it! , at least Marshall , put the tube in front , guard by a transparent plastic or something!

i use a early Japanese Les(s) Paul with some powerfull pick ups , with some pedals for spice...suits my style? , not much today , prefer combos with a great clean and use fuzzes and OD for my distorted sounds , but it used to suit me some years ago , when i heard for first time those Valvestate amps..
like i said , this amp have one of the dullest cleans tones i everd heard , the dist seccion is a bit better , most suited for 80' type rock , got for sure the classic Marshall tone , but in a Lo-fi kinda way , very raspy when you have the highs on , the contourn knob contribute to this raspy , fuzzy (in a bad way , coz a Marshall cant sound fuzzy , you dont buy Marshall for fuzzy sounds , get a crate instead..) , this amp feature also a 1x12 celestion that provide one of the few stand out points.

well , this amp sounds better with the highs in a minimal position , in that way sounds more warm , but not in a bright sence obviously..

can sound too in a metal setting , but i dont recomended..

i change te tube one time and did nothing to the overall tone...dont believe in this amps..

deal with Marshall here? , stop kidding me...

well i'm tired to writte this review , get it if you like unidimentional sounds and huge raspy sound...i just want to sell mine..

Discussed well enough below. Its your basic combo designed for versatility and utility. FX loop could do with a wet-dry pot. Wish it had a headphone out. Overall though, very easy to use and quite versatile.

I use a Yamaha RGX121D (H-S-H stock pick ups) straight into this when I first bought it. What I like about it is that all the combinations for my pick ups give me a unique tone. The round warm sound of the neck humbuckers to the grinding shreddiness of the bridge ones and everything in between. Maybe its down to the guitar, but Ive used other amps and it doesn't give me this much variety, and when I say variety I mean distinctly different tones. There is a little humming on any combination that utilizes the single coil, but there's a reason why single coils are not humbuckers. Other than that, this thing is not noisy at all.

The Clean channel is OK. Its dull compared to a Fender but Im not complaining. The Dirty Channel however is nothing short of OUTSTANDING. I set the the gain around 11 o clock and contour at about the same with both bass and treble at 12... absolutely awesome classic to hard rock tone that nails the old Iron Maiden stuff everytime. All the settings for gain and contour are usable, but if I might suggest, I would put a Boss GE-7 in the FX loop in order to cut some hi-end when you go to the higher contour settings as it can sound a little harsh. Anything below 12 o clock on that setting IMO sounds "tubey" warm and very organic. As said, all the settings are usable. Even at very very low gain levels I can still get that singing lead tone. Sustain is very nice and I dont think this needs any augmentation with compressors... maybe its because of that single tube in the pre-amp stage. Projects string attack very well and is very good even at high volumes. The sound stays true and defined even at high volumes. Did I say this thing was loud? I can keep up with a drummer at volume settings from 11-12 o clock. Reverb is nothing to write home about, but is usable and as far as Im concerned, augments my tones well enough. The way I look at it its better to have it than not since you can turn it off and use a pedal if you really cant stand it.

Very solid for rock music. Personally I would never use a stompbox distortion with this since I absolutely adore the dirty tone. Besides, with the setting I prefer to use it with, there's still plenty of gain to spare if I ever wanted to play Slayer again. I would however as I said earlier get an equalizer if only to give me more options. Maybe a delay unit to get some variety on the leads... thats it.

Oh yeah... Celestion speaker. Now I remember why I bought this older model even when someone was offering me a VS65R...

Bought it used. I hear these things were made in the early 90's so I believe mine is over 10 years old. Its from the first incarnation of the Marshall Valvestates and if I remember correctly there have been around three incarnations since. It has a tube. The old owner says he's never replaced it, but I reckon he's bought it second-hand as well and doesn't even know it has one. On the look of things however, it looks like its roadworthy. The pots are a little suspect so I better be careful with those. Looks bloody good for an old amp though.

I phoned the local Marshall dealer here about service and parts and I was glad to hear that they do have both here. Just wondering how much it will cost me if it ever comes to that. As with most things I'll cross the bridge when I get there and Im assuming the walk there will take me one to two years from now.

I've been playing on and off for the last 15 years. Its more of a hobby now than a means of making a living and its only in the last few years that I've rekindled the habit with some friends and now we are delving into Home Recording. Overall, this is a very good amp. Its old, so one can only buy it second-hand from here on in. Is it worth the risk buying a phased out model? For tone alone in this price range, if you want hard rock with the good old fashioned sound then this is the one for you. Also, the really sensitive parts like the tube (12AX7) is still very much available so it isn't that much of a risk at all. If it were stolen I'd be really pissed, but Im at a point now that I will probably get an all-tube amp (Marshall of course) if that were to happen. Nonetheless Im still raving about the 8040. Its just one of those things that you CAN'T possibly pass up... especially if you find one on the cheap. Great value for money.

This amp features the bitchin' overdrive switch which i have turned into the sweetest tone........ever. The reverb is perfect for me. I literally play every type of music there is and the amp is a great help. If you want a bedroom amp for the rest of your life. This is that amp.

I've got the Steve Vai signature and this amp suits my music styles in every instance. The amp is never noisy unless kicked and/or knocked over. This amplifier can make any sound i beat out of it. The clean channel is distorted but i'm almost certain the factory made it that way. The distortion is only sweet.

I have a "secret sound" that assaults any amplifier i use. I have not changed ONE thing on this amp since i bought it many years ago. I literally have a giant tear in the speaker itself and continue to play with it. This amp has broken down and i've gotten some transistors replaced or something.

N/A

As i stated above, i've used this workhorse for a loooong time and it seems to take beatings that would fell a champion. I combine this amplifier with the Digitech RP-6 and i have never needed another component to my setup. I love my setup and it kicks alot of ass. My personal "sweet tone" is achieved with the overdrive switch on and a clean channel on the RP, it.....is......heavenly. If lost or stolen i'd take a major hit and try to move on..i suppose. I hate that the damnable handle broke off after 8 years. damn handle. Oh, BTW....buy this amplifier.

Features, well, I mean , I knew what it had on it when I bought it so no suprises here. I guess my point is, it does what it does well. It's got a useable clean channel (that probably would benifit from a light chrous pedal or something) and an absolutely fantastic distortion channel that I still can't get over. Reverb is adequate.

Oh c'mon! If this amp doesn't blow you away, your're using the wrong kind of guitar or playing the wrong kind of music (don't play "Burl Ives" through a Marshall & then bitch about the way it sounds). For Rock & Roll it's incredible. I play a 1970 Gibson Les Paul Custom with a Dimarzio X2n at the bridge. It a breathtaking. Period. If you're playing some lamo guitar, it's not Jim Marshall's fault.
I'm not currently playing in a band, but it seems plenty loud for most gig settings.
It does everything from smooth-bluesy to full-on roar. Damn well.
The clean channel is a purpose server as far as I'm concerned; Plain-Jane solid state clean.

So far, so good. I bought it used and have had it for couple of months. Mo problems so far. I'd play out with it, but I'd never play anything with a tube in it without at least some plan "b".

No Idea.

Playing about 20 years, I've got about 8 different guitars both acoustic and electric (The 1970 Black LP Custom being my baby). I've got maybe 4 or five amps. An old Peavey, an old Fender, 'bought my kid one of those little MD solid state Marshall's, 'couple other's hanging around in the basement. I'n buy this amp over and over again. I love it. Especially for $250.00.

I bought it as new in 1995.
I play blues, rock, hard rock and country, and this amp do all styles very well.
It has two channels, clean and overdrive. It has a serial fx loop and a line out jack. The amp comes with a foot switch that switches between the two channels. It also has a build in spring reverb.
I use this amp for both practising and gigs. It is very loud and if I were to play in a concert hall, I would just mike it up.

The clean channel sounds very good. It distorts a little when I turn the gain knob all the way up, but I think it is the power IC rather than the preamp. The OD channel is awesome. It can go from clean to screaming overdrive, and it does everything perfectly. Thanks to the contour knob, this channel is very versatile. Regarding noise this amp is very quiet, especially when grounded.

Once the power IC broke down, and I had a hard time finding a new one since the IC is now obsolete. Except from that I think it is very dependable.

I've been playing for 20 years. I use a TC 2290 and a Roland RSP-550 together with it, and I play a Fender std. Strat.
I bought the 8040 for practising as I bought a JCM 900 Hi Gain Dual Reverb for gigs, but I like the 8040 better.
If you can't get this thing to sound great, it has nothing to do with the amp.

This is the Marshall Valvestate 40V model 8040.
I bought this amp in the mid/early 90's, and played through it untill 10/03.
It could've used a headphone jack, considering it seems like it was made specifically to be as versatile as it could. Good amount of power for practice/playing at home, but struggles to keep up with a loud drummer in a rock band.
The tube is only used on the "Boost "Channel.

'83 Strat, and '98 LP Standard. Tried plenty of friends guitars.
The amp was kind of buzzy when plugged in near other electrical devices.
I did not like the "Boom" when swithing channels. Not a pop, but, more of a sound pressure change when the tube engages.
The "clean" channel was a little flat and dull, but totaly adequate for occasional use, or use with pedals, at low volume. When you turn it up about halfway, the "Blues Crunch" comes in, which is the clean channel just breaking up. This is what I really did not like about this amp. It was not able to do clean and loud. There probably is a nice slightly distorted sweet spot in there somewhere in between clean and the Dist. Channel, but I never played it that loud to find it.
The Dist. channel, has a very '80s hard rock sound. Very harsh and raspy. I used it with the volume up and the gain down to acheive a much brighter, crispier clean than the clean channel could . Sounds pretty good this way, but you could easily find another amp with a nice clean channel better suited for this purpose. The reverb was not great.

I purchased this new in the mid 90's when they first came out. I had to have it serviced a few times before a good tech figured out what was really wrong with it, and fixed it, until something else would go wrong. You could use it at a gig if if was working before the gig. It usually gave some warning that it was going to crap out. It was not abused or neglected in any way.

I've never dealt with them

I've been playing for 20 years. I have one main amp and this was it for about 9 years, I was never really excited about it, but it was an amp. It sounded OK generally but did not shine like the 1987x head I replaced it with . If you want tubes, just buy tubes. There is really no reason to mess around with these hybrid things.

Lots of features, 2 channels, efeects loop, etc. Just read the other reviews :-)

I play it with a '99 Ibanez rg505 with powerfull humbuckers. Sounds great!... I usually push the gain to a crunchy sound, about 1/5 the knob's range, and let the distortion pedals do the rest. Ok, it's not 100% fair, but the amp doesn't reach the kind of distortions I want. Sounds great with a wah pedal, both clean and distorted. Let's say it's a quiet amp with great distortion, with it you can play from jazz to heavy metal.

Remember I said it had 2 channels? Well, mine now has one. The normal channel got tired of living and waved goodbye with massive amount of feedback. I don't know what happened, the thing just crancked the volume up and almost blew my ears away. Fortunatly, I wasn't playing live. Anyway, the other channel still works and never gave me problems.

I never tried to solve the problem with that channel, it would probably be too expensive... So, I got no opinion.

I've playing it for about 2 years, I guess, and I can say it's a versatile and powerfull combo, not exactly reliable but trustworthy. If it was only for the sound I would give it a round 10...

Do you know what year the amp was made in?
1990's sometime

Is the amp versatile enough for you and the styles of music you play? What are those styles?
Stick the right Stompboxes infront of the boost channel with gain set to a REALLY low setting u get a valve sounding overdrive from what ever pedal you are using but in effect this turns the amp into single channel.. I cant stand the solidstate clean channel and it has no sparkle at all.

How many channels? Does it have channel switching? Effects loops? Headphone jack?
2, yes, yes, no

What features do you wish it had? Why? Are there features you never use?
Wish I had a mid range control on the boost channel other than the contour control.. and I also wish it had a way to disable the crunch on the clean channel.

Where do you use this amp? Does it have enough power for you?
It's never left my bedroom and it farts when it's cranked.. it doesnt even cut band rehershals unless I turn the distortion really down..

This amp does not sound like a full tube amp but it sure as hell sounds better than a full solidstate combo.. I am replacing this amp tommorow with a Laney LC15R Full Valve little combo.. cranking heaven.

What guitar and pickup styles are you using it with?
Fender MIJ 1984 Contempory Standard Strat with DiMarzio Superdistortion humbucker in the bridge and 2 Jap Strat stock single coils.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?
I mainly play Satriani,Vai style music.. It suits it pretty well can handle it all within reason.. but doesnt nail the tones quite as much as I'd like.

Is it noisy? On what settings, and in what environments?
Quiet amp.

What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety?
Blues, Jazz, Metal, Rock it's done it all.. but with average sounds.

Is the clean channel distorted at high volumes? In what settings?
after 12'o'clock it distorts.. really gay wish it wouldnt.. but I know it's a built in feature.

How brutal is the distortion?
I can get just short of the metallica early album tones from this amp but dont be expecting anything like Santana or Clapton.. this amp just wont go that smooth.. but it can do the gritty stuff ok.

Can you depend on it? Would you use it on a gig without a backup?
It's 101% reliable.

Has the amp ever broken down? Because of neglect of
regular servicing (as in tubes), or just plain neglect?
nope it's worked pretty much fine all the time.

N/A

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
9 years, only amp I have but soon to be replaced.

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
get something else.

what do you love about it? What do you hate?
I love the one tone I can get out of it with a Boss-DS1 for lead it really does shine but I cant get anything else I like out of the piece of crap.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
I bought it ages ago was young and nieve I just wanted something with the marshall logo.. this time Im going to pick something worth my money.

Anything you wish it had?
Full valve power amp at the same price.. then it would rock.

Anything else you'd like to share?
Alround good amp for people who are just starting small club gigs and very good practice amp.. generally an ok amp I might be harsh on it but if your serious about tone.. save your cash for a full valve amp.. dont go Hybrid or Solidstate.. it's not worth it.

2 channels, Clean with simple corrections and Boost with parametric corrections - controls are Gain, Contour, Bass, Treble, Volume. Reverb control is one for both channels. Pretty loud for 40 Watt combo amp, it is enough for home practice and for playing with my wedding band. It has simple effect loop (Preamp out and Power amp in). Channels are footswitchable. Hybrid design. It has tube preamp and solid state power amp. Classic Marshall sound. Great amp, if you play stuff from blues to 80's instrumental pieces. If you play NU metal, is isn't your amp.

Sorry for my poor English.
I use this amp with my Kramer XL-2 (home modified, with installed Floyd Rose bridge, neck and bridge pickups are replaced with humbuckers) without any effects, only with volume pedal Proel.

Warning - when you want to get from this amp original Marshall tone, this amp requires guitar with powerfull pickups!! It isn't suitable for playing with cheap Strat type single pickups! With weak pickups it sounds like S***.

Before replacing pickups, it was very annoying hum, when I play on Boost channels, and gain was a bit weak for me for some advanced playing techniques (hammering, tapping, artificial harmonics). After replacing I plug my guitar into amp, dial gain to max - and i get typical tube high gain sound, sweet, warm, very close to sound of Y. Malmsteeen, R. Blackmore, G. Moore with bridge pickup, when I switch to neck pickup, it's instant Santana, Zeck Wylde and Slash sound. Sensitivity is fantastic, amp now reproducing all, what you doing on fretboard. Cool sustain! Simply Marshall sound! And little trick -distortion channel has typical tube sound only on lower settings of treble and contour controls. With high values of these controls it sounding too harsh, buzzing and solid-statish. Reverb has standard quality, is useable from 1/2 to 2/3, on higher settings is too "metallic", but it giving "vintage feelig" to sound. Clean is not crystallic "Fender clean", but is usable and O.K. for me.

This isn't modeling amp with number of sounds. It produce sweet tone from crunch to high gain tube-sounding distortion, but sound of this amp is very depending from type of your guitar and mainly from your pickups.

This amp is not very noisy, but it depending from type of used pickups, and remember for good grounding, when you plug it to AC mains.

Summary - This amp is great for Gary Moore type blues, rock, Deep Purple type hardrock, 80's classic metal and progressive instrumental leads. I don't recommended it for jazzmans, country players, for these purposes is better to buy some Fender. And for death and NU metal guitarist is this amp too much "musically" sounding, but with some stompbox like Metalzone ...

I use it without backup amp, but for backup i have Boss ME-10 for direct playing to P.A.
Never broken down. It's Marshall!

Some pots starting after time scratching, but i fix it with pot cleaning spray.

Never deal with Marshall.

Good loud combo amp, quite powerfull for home, recording and small stage, ideal for players of 80's classic rock guitar styles, classic analog warm Marshall sound for low price.