Marshall Origin 20C

[whatshisname]

GAS got the best of me, and I pulled the trigger today. Now that these have been out for a few years, what's the consensus? I'm hoping for an early, first album, Billy Gibbons tone... well as close as I can get with a small affordable tube Marshall without blowing down the neighborhood.

 

[JaxLPGuy]

I really like mine. I've been happy with the purchase. Enjoy!

 

[rich85]

Overall vibe is a great early Marshall tone at a bargain price. A local punk/rock/metal bar uses 2 of the 20 watt heads as backline and they are still going strong. And if any amp can survive that, its a good amp.

 

[whatshisname]

Thanks guys! I should have mine on Friday. I'm excited!

 

[Deftone]

Really good choice, IMHO. Congratulations.

 

[davestp1]

I bought mine 2nd hand. I had a Celestion Gold in reserve so after about a week swapped it in and a week or so later a set of xf2 Mullards, a bugle boy in v1, an unknown phillips in v2 and a GE in v3.

I think the speaker swap gave the more noticeable improvement. It was not subtle. The tubes gave a slight improvement, mostly in the noise floor and a slight bit of clarity.

The tubes it comes with are serviceable but the speaker is the weak link. Not a bad speaker mind you but just that like many other things, it can be improved on.

 

[Axis39]

Sorry to be so late in popping in...

I've had mine a couple of years and love it. Early ZZ Top? Maybe not that much gain straight outta the amp, but probably close. The 20C definitely cops that JTM45 sound, not the SL tone Gibbons had going on. It's more like late 60's Beck or Page, with some early AC/DC thrown in.

I'm guessing @whatshisname has had the amp a little while now. How do you like it?

 

[whatshisname]

Thanks for the input guys! I'm loving it, but have a Celestion Greenback 10 on the way, to get closer to what I'm looking for. Unfortunately it's on backorder, so it'll be a little while... I'm finding that, for the early ZZ tones, I'm able to get enough gain from it already. Anything beyond that, I'll throw in an overdrive. Getting Zeppelin, and Beano, is easy as well. It's a cracking little amp!

 

[north east al]

I have had mine for 2 years as a home amp. Lowered Master volume, higher gain level and a 10 Greenback from the get go. I keep it on 20 watt mode to get the best sparkle. Still has original valves. Best amp in price range imho. Enjoy it. I am hankering for a Supro Delta Blues 10 tho for some US vibe. Oh, the Origin loves pedals.

 

[speyfly]

Welcome to the Origin's club. I have the O20 head and have several 1X12 cab's with Celestion and Eminence speakers and I really love the amp. Owning several other low wattage hi quality amps I've found the Origin is what Marshall has needed in the mix, Marshall at an affordable price! That said, the amp is loud it likes to the added gain to get that Marshall sound.

I'm going to roll some tube, haven't decided on which ones but very pleased with the stock tubes so far. I just can't leave things alone.

Congrats, you'll love the amp if your looking for a modestly priced amp to get that Marshall tone!

 

[rich85]

My only complaint with this amp is the Wattage selector should be a knob and not fixed settings.

If you are only using a TS as a boost in front of it, the master volume position is crucial to the amount of drive. The volume jump from 10 to 20 watts is too much IMO and I found 10 watts it wouldn't get over a kit and at 20 watts I had to turn the master volume down and TS pedal gain up to get it in the sweet spot I liked.

Its not a huge complaint. But it is kinda annoying.

 

[speyfly]

My only complaint with this amp is the Wattage selector should be a knob and not fixed settings.

If you are only using a TS as a boost in front of it, the master volume position is crucial to the amount of drive. The volume jump from 10 to 20 watts is too much IMO and I found 10 watts it wouldn't get over a kit and at 20 watts I had to turn the master volume down and TS pedal gain up to get it in the sweet spot I liked.

Its not a huge complaint. But it is kinda annoying.

Absolutely agree with your analysis, you have to crank it to get there and that doesn't work for me. I've added a JHS black box to my pedalboard to tame the beast so to speak. I'm running it through the fx loop and I can dial back the final speaker volume and not loose the tone. Short of attenuator, the black box is what I've gone with and happy with it.

 

[whatshisname]

I was thinking of grabbing a JHS Black box the other day. Good to know it's working for you. Hmmm... Part of me says "stop spending money". The rest of me says "it's only $45." LMAO

 

[speyfly]

I was thinking of grabbing a JHS Black box the other day. Good to know it's working for you. Hmmm... Part of me says "stop spending money". The rest of me says "it's only $45." LMAO

Some times it requires a little bit more to achieve the objective. Kinda like having various extra tubes on hand to roll to different amps. IT NEVER ENDS!

But that's the fun of it all isn't it?

 

[rich85]

Absolutely agree with your analysis, you have to crank it to get there and that doesn't work for me. I've added a JHS black box to my pedalboard to tame the beast so to speak. I'm running it through the fx loop and I can dial back the final speaker volume and not loose the tone. Short of attenuator, the black box is what I've gone with and happy with it.

Oh true that's an easy fix. I think its why 15 watts was decided on as the industry standard for gigging lunchbox amps. It really is the perfect volume. And I find Marshall amps love having the master volume on 6 which is Max volume and just some power amp breakup.

 

[Classicplayer]

For those who are looking at the Origin 20, and already have an Orange 15 watt head, what would the volume differences be? I can use the Orange at home on both 7 and 15 watt modes (without an attenuator), but the Origin @ 20 and the 3 settings may be borderline useable, is my guess.

Classicplayer

 

[north east al]

JHS black box??? I see one of these on my horizon, popped into the effects loop with my hall of fame mini. Get the tubes cooking!!!

 

[ChrisH]

For those who are looking at the Origin 20, and already have an Orange 15 watt head, what would the volume differences be? I can use the Orange at home on both 7 and 15 watt modes (without an attenuator), but the Origin @ 20 and the 3 settings may be borderline useable, is my guess.

Classicplayer

i have played terrors and have a sv20h. i also have an 18 watt trinity kit amp i built. the sv sounds a little "bigger" than the other two but isnt too much louder. i think this difference comes mainly from the el34 vs el84 tubes.

theory says you have to double the watts to pick up 3db. so 5 watts isnt going to move the db much. but i will say those wattage numbers dont always add up. i have an OR50 and a rockerverb 50. the OR is noticeably louder than the rockerverb. both are 50 watts.

my opinion is the marshal 20 watt amps have the volume i would expect from their power rating.
my opinion is the terror 15 is a little lower on perceived volume i would expect. For instance, i have a Burriss bluesman amp that is 15 watts and it is louder than the terror.

if 15 watts is doable for you then 20 would be as well. my guess is the origin will seem louder though due to how quickly the terror compresses with its numerous gain stages (3 or 4 if memory serves).

but the reality is we are only talking a couple decibels at most.

 

[Classicplayer]

ChrisH: Some of the differences that you mention may be also due to transformers and voicing. The Dark Terror has 4 gain stages, but I'm never operating over stage 2, and Orange emphasis on the lower midrange voicings make it seem “heavier” but not brighter sounding. You are correct; not a big decibel difference, but more so, a perceived volume difference.

Even though the Dark Terror has 15 watts, I usually am found at the 7watt side, because it's a bit lower in volume.. to my ears, and I still get the tone I want. There is a bit more headroom at 15 watts, but I keep thinking that I don't hear a shortage of headroom at 7 watts; at least at the volume I play at around hone.

Thanks for your input on my question....it's appreciated.

Classicplayer