Marshall Class 5, first tube amp?

[EooN_PL]

Mate, I just got my HT-20 combo and I can tell you that:
1) There are some sweet clean tones in this amp. Fender-ish so to say
2) There's SHITLOAD OF GAIN on tap. And I mean it. But the nice thing is that you can set the gain on let's say 50% (brutal!) and then back off your guitar's volume to get some lovely tones.
3) Digital reverb is an awesome thing to have.
4) Two channels with included footswitch is a very convinient thing.
5) It has an effects loop (good thing to have).
6) It looks very classy.

The only drawback I think there is, is the speaker. I have the impression that something is not allowing this amp to show its full potential and I'm guessing it's that Celestion 70/80 that's inside. But hey, it might be just the case of the speaker breaking in, right?

Oh, and another VERY important thing. This amp has a marvelous master volume circuit.
In conjunction with two separate channel volumes you can get very natural sounding tones at very nice, apratament friendly volumes. I think this makes it the ultimate home practice amp. Forget Blues Junior, forget AC15 - modern approach of Blackstar lets it work better at lower volumes.

Those are mine impressions after about 40 minutes spent on noodling around. I'm not sure if I really like the amp though, but i think my heart is saying "yes" while the mind is looking for any drawbacks.

I'll give you more impressions after I mess around with the amp some more.

 

[MagPel]

I don't get why everybody keeps saying the really low watt (1-10w) amps are so loud. I run my 15w tube amp flat out at band practice through a 1x12 cab and i have a hard time getting through enough sometimes. And we're not a really loud band at all. The drummer hits fairly conservatively.

Maby im getting old and deaf...

 

[Chop'emDown]

I don't get why everybody keeps saying the really low watt (1-10w) amps are so loud. I run my 15w tube amp flat out at band practice through a 1x12 cab and i have a hard time getting through enough sometimes. And we're not a really loud band at all. The drummer hits fairly conservatively.

Maby im getting old and deaf...

It depends on the size of room. 5w in a small room can blow the doors off.

 

[Rhust]

not only that, but a 1x12 cab isn't going to be pushing as much air as a 2x12 for the same wattage... if I was playing with a full band, I'm taking my tremolux(40 watts) and 2x12 cabinet, and ear plugs... I already have ringing in my ears, I don't need more...

also, depending on the room, a drummer might sound louder even when he's playing softer... still, I'm not packing the peavey for a drummer, bass, sure.

 

[ANEAS]

It depends on the size of room. 5w in a small room can blow the doors off.

Low wattage amps can be quite loud when played through very efficient speakers...the end result has more to do what efficiency of speaker not the watts being powered by....5W into a 103 DB speaker is the same as 10W into a 100 Db speaker....So if your playing through a cab of 90 DB speaker you will need more power to reach the same audio level......JIM

 

[Chop'emDown]

Low wattage amps can be quite loud when played through very efficient speakers...the end result has more to do what efficiency of speaker not the watts being powered by....5W into a 103 DB speaker is the same as 10W into a 100 Db speaker....So if your playing through a cab of 90 DB speaker you will need more power to reach the same audio level......JIM

+1.

Excellent advice.

 

[MagPel]

Low wattage amps can be quite loud when played through very efficient speakers...the end result has more to do what efficiency of speaker not the watts being powered by....5W into a 103 DB speaker is the same as 10W into a 100 Db speaker....So if your playing through a cab of 90 DB speaker you will need more power to reach the same audio level......JIM

I got as sensitive of a speaker i could find for the price i could afford to make the most of the watts. My 1x12 sports a celestion g12h30 and it's got a 100dB sensitivity.

Maby i should try it through a good 2x12 and see.


I just had to comment since i have seen so many people commenting on small amps being so LOUD and that's not my experience. My MLP35 on the other hand, when it gets here, that i do expect to be LOOOUUUD.

 

[rjwilson37]

I don't get why everybody keeps saying the really low watt (1-10w) amps are so loud. I run my 15w tube amp flat out at band practice through a 1x12 cab and i have a hard time getting through enough sometimes. And we're not a really loud band at all. The drummer hits fairly conservatively.

Maby im getting old and deaf...

What 15w amp do you have?

I am pretty sure your problem is that you only have a 1x12 cabinet, where a 30w Peavy Classic 30 combo can push enough air through a 1x12 for band practice and small gigs and a 15w 1x12 sometimes can't. I have the Blackheart Handsome Devil combo and had to add an extra 1x12 cabinet for gigs and band practice, pushing more air by using a 2x12 or 4x12 will most likely solve your problem.

 

[MagPel]

What 15w amp do you have?

I am pretty sure your problem is that you only have a 1x12 cabinet, where a 30w Peavy Classic 30 combo can push enough air through a 1x12 for band practice and small gigs and a 15w 1x12 sometimes can't. I have the Blackheart Handsome Devil combo and had to add an extra 1x12 cabinet for gigs and band practice, pushing more air by using a 2x12 or 4x12 will most likely solve your problem.

It's sort of a homebrewn thing. An old 50's hi-fi amp that i modified for guitar. It's fairly close to an AC15. It'll probably see more home use soon, but upgrading the cab is a good idea if i want to use it in a band setting again. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[rjwilson37]

I can't believe they are going to raise the price on the Class 5, it was not worth it before at $399 and now they want to sell it for $499. If they put a seperate volume and gain as well as a 12" speaker, then it may be worth $399, but not the way it is currently. The Blackstar HT-5R is $449, which has 2 channels, foot switchable and reverb to boot, now that is really worth $449 and when you buy from Musicians Friend at 15% discount, it is under $400 which is totally sweet.

 

[eaglewolf]

My MLP35 on the other hand, when it gets here, that i do expect to be LOOOUUUD.

It definitely will be! The MLP-35 has a great master volume on it, but once you crank it you will bummed when you can't. I use mine primarily at home in a small room, and it doesn't get enough time at higher volume settings.

David

 

[budg]

I tried one and was underwhelmed .I think the Fender pro jr or even a blues jr would be more versatile. A used classic 30 or ac15 would be even better.I cant imagine gigging with a 5 watt amp .You would have to have absolutely no use for cleans in your setlist.I need both.

 

[mdubya]

I tried one and was underwhelmed .I think the Fender pro jr or even a blues jr would be more versatile. A used classic 30 or ac15 would be even better.I cant imagine gigging with a 5 watt amp .You would have to have absolutely no use for cleans in your setlist.I need both.

How do you like your Jet City, budg?

 

[budg]

How do you like your Jet City, budg?

Its one of the nicest sounding higher gain amps in that pice range .Well made.Sounds much better with a tube change.The quality of the build is really solid.

 

[JCM900MkIII]

I just popped my Class 5's cherry, playing it out for the first time tonight in a bar, and it was definitely loud enough. I mean, not if you're expecting Fender Twin cleans. But if that's what you want, buy a Blackface Fender. Classic Marshall tone (screw that master volume preamp-gainy JCM900 shit) at volumes that filled the club without melting everyone's face off. Several people came up afterwards and asked me a million and one questions about what kind of Marshall it was, how old it was, and dropped their jaws when I said it was 5 watts! I absolutely disagree about it being "farty" or whatever, maybe a little when I first got it, but it only sounds better and better as the speaker breaks in.

I have one of the newer ones with the non-rattly rear panel and low-output mode. I actually find myself practicing along with the stereo all the time in the low power mode, and it's actually loud enough to sound good without getting the cops instantly called (that happens to me enough as it is). I think it would be a great first tube amp; I picked mine up for $350 right before they jacked the price up. There may be some brand snobbery here, but honestly it for that price, or even a bit more, I think it's a great deal. It sounds like a real Marshall in a package that allows those of us who want the classic Plexi tone but don't need to fill Wembley Stadium to really get that cranked Marshall sound.

What I do? (I have both b.t.w., Class 5 and a 900MkIII)

And my C5 has a MV...

 

[Danno1985]

I don't get why everybody keeps saying the really low watt (1-10w) amps are so loud. I run my 15w tube amp flat out at band practice through a 1x12 cab and i have a hard time getting through enough sometimes. And we're not a really loud band at all. The drummer hits fairly conservatively.

This may not be the case in your particular scenario, but I've found that small rooms (like the carpeted, acoustic tile-ceilinged finished basements many people use for band practice) tend to suck clarity, making it seem like you're not as loud as you really are. I used to have a Peavey Classic 50 4X10, actually that was my only amp back when I was in high school. It was stupid loud when cranked. Way louder than anything I needed at that time. We used to have band practice at our drummer's house, which had a carpeted room in their basement dedicated to music. Part of it was the drummer not being the most sensitive player, but that amp never seemed loud enough to keep up with the drums. Between the treble getting sucked up by the carpet, and the fact that the sound waves had nowhere to travel and were just refracted back to you by the walls, it was like the sound just was magically getting sucked into a black hole. Every band practice, me and my brother (playing out of an also-way-too-loud 1970's Acoustic bass stack) would both be reaching for the volume knob every 5 minutes while playing. Then afterwards we'd wonder why our ears were ringing so badly when we couldn't hear a single thing we were playing. And of course the drummer was just oblivious (f*ckin' drummers, lol). "I thought we (I) sounded grrreat, gdduurrhh." Anyways, long story short, I hate playing in rooms like that, and with drummers like that. That combination can make any amp sound like it's never enough.

 

[Rhust]

I can't believe they are going to raise the price on the Class 5, it was not worth it before at $399 and now they want to sell it for $499. If they put a seperate volume and gain as well as a 12" speaker, then it may be worth $399, but not the way it is currently. The Blackstar HT-5R is $449, which has 2 channels, foot switchable and reverb to boot, now that is really worth $449 and when you buy from Musicians Friend at 15% discount, it is under $400 which is totally sweet.

I couldn't agree more... the marshall nameplate is causing an average amp to be way over priced! there are a ton of better tube amps for less.

 

[Iron Broadsword]

It's worth it, imho. For one, it is submitted to the same quality control as their flagship amps. That alone is worth more money to me. Secondly, it's just a fantastic amp. If you want headroom, get a fender. Otherwise this thing has fantastic power section crunch at very useable volumes, is lightweight, looks great, and even has a bedroom setting which is a resistor-based attenuator built in.

As far as having too few features, I wouldn't want anything else on it. There are other amps for delay, reverb, and other fx. That's not what this amp is about.

IMHO it's pretty well priced. I even paid retail, which I don't normally do. If I were to have built an amp for myself it would have been far far more expensive and wouldn't have looked as nice.

 

[rjwilson37]

It's worth it, imho. For one, it is submitted to the same quality control as their flagship amps. That alone is worth more money to me. Secondly, it's just a fantastic amp. If you want headroom, get a fender. Otherwise this thing has fantastic power section crunch at very useable volumes, is lightweight, looks great, and even has a bedroom setting which is a resistor-based attenuator built in.

As far as having too few features, I wouldn't want anything else on it. There are other amps for delay, reverb, and other fx. That's not what this amp is about.

IMHO it's pretty well priced. I even paid retail, which I don't normally do. If I were to have built an amp for myself it would have been far far more expensive and wouldn't have looked as nice.

The lower wattage setting is to low to get a feel for any kind of tone, and the regular setting is too loud to start getting a good crunch. It really needs a master volume to be truly usable for anything I do.

 

[YugoDaWolf]

seems like the thread slowed down a little now, thanks everybody for all the opinions, i think i know what i want now