Charlie asked me to start a series of "Amp Of The Month" threads, so here goes.
As ever, luck plays a big part in finding old gear. In this case, I was at home in London last week with Joe B (PBUH), Roy and Clay, gear geeking as you do. My computer pinged to tell me an email had arrived. A forum member, Rob L, had dropped me a message telling to urgently call a small music shop that had just got a walk-in from an old boy, an early Marshall. Needless to say, conversation stopped while I made the call. Pictures arrived, and it looked very promising. So, a deal was done during that five minute chat. I drove the 3 hours on Saturday, arriving in rain of monsoonal proportions. A quick coffee and a bacon sandwich to fortify me while waiting for the shop to open, screwdrivers et al in hand, the anticipation killing me.
The amp and cabs turned out to be better than I had hoped, and the "old boy" turned out the be the original owner. They're very early 1965, and were purchased new as a set directly from Marshall. When ordering them, the owner asked Marshall to install a 8/15 ohm tap on the back panel, which they duly did. I've never seen another like this. The original owner said that he would sometimes use the head as a true PA, so needed the flexibility.
The OT is the early version of the RS Deluxe, and this will be one of the very last amps with that iron. It shares some hardware with the earlier metal badge amps, with particular tells that are unique, although totally correct for that period. The board is untouched, with caps dating to 1964.
The cabs are equally clean. It's very unusual to see gold block logos on white front cabs. These cabs are untouched, and house T0652's with the early silver Hanwell factory stickers (pre gold sticker era). The cones are original. The input sockets are the recessed metal cup type, as used on the metal badge cabs.
It's been a really good month on the vintage Marshall front, and I'm still pinching myself that I managed to get to this before anybody else.
Thanks again Rob.
Note the 8/15 ohm slide switch on the back, factor original per original owner's request.
A photo of the ohm tap from the inside. Original solder joints, and original spec wire all support the original owner's claim, which I had doubted at first.
Original fuse.
This is the earliest inspection tag I've seen, by quite some way.
As ever, luck plays a big part in finding old gear. In this case, I was at home in London last week with Joe B (PBUH), Roy and Clay, gear geeking as you do. My computer pinged to tell me an email had arrived. A forum member, Rob L, had dropped me a message telling to urgently call a small music shop that had just got a walk-in from an old boy, an early Marshall. Needless to say, conversation stopped while I made the call. Pictures arrived, and it looked very promising. So, a deal was done during that five minute chat. I drove the 3 hours on Saturday, arriving in rain of monsoonal proportions. A quick coffee and a bacon sandwich to fortify me while waiting for the shop to open, screwdrivers et al in hand, the anticipation killing me.
The amp and cabs turned out to be better than I had hoped, and the "old boy" turned out the be the original owner. They're very early 1965, and were purchased new as a set directly from Marshall. When ordering them, the owner asked Marshall to install a 8/15 ohm tap on the back panel, which they duly did. I've never seen another like this. The original owner said that he would sometimes use the head as a true PA, so needed the flexibility.
The OT is the early version of the RS Deluxe, and this will be one of the very last amps with that iron. It shares some hardware with the earlier metal badge amps, with particular tells that are unique, although totally correct for that period. The board is untouched, with caps dating to 1964.
The cabs are equally clean. It's very unusual to see gold block logos on white front cabs. These cabs are untouched, and house T0652's with the early silver Hanwell factory stickers (pre gold sticker era). The cones are original. The input sockets are the recessed metal cup type, as used on the metal badge cabs.
It's been a really good month on the vintage Marshall front, and I'm still pinching myself that I managed to get to this before anybody else.
Thanks again Rob.
Note the 8/15 ohm slide switch on the back, factor original per original owner's request.
A photo of the ohm tap from the inside. Original solder joints, and original spec wire all support the original owner's claim, which I had doubted at first.
Original fuse.
This is the earliest inspection tag I've seen, by quite some way.
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