• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

Eric's Bluesbreaker Marshall Combo: new pictures.

goldtop0

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
8,931
I hear some of the qualities in here:


A single 12" Celestion in that combo Eric?
And I can't ever remember seeing another amp with tremolo like that one other than the 1962 and 1974 combo etc.........a very rare beast??
 

Wilko

All Access/Backstage Pass
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,853
A single 12" Celestion in that combo Eric?
And I can't ever remember seeing another amp with tremolo like that one other than the 1962 and 1974 combo etc.........a very rare beast??

I only know the video says. Based on what we know of Marshall combos,it's a 2 x 12 (and note the mic position).
 

F-Hole

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
2,171
It might exist, or rather it might be real...........but again, I've never seen, nor know anybody who's seen, a genuine 2x12 JTM45 Series II combo.

Dozens of fakes out there, and some real JMP combos in pinstripe............but never with a JTM45 chassis. A friend has been dealing only vintage Marshall and Vox as a living for >30 years, and he's never seen one either.
 

rob livesey

Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
655
It might exist, or rather it might be real...........but again, I've never seen, nor know anybody who's seen, a genuine 2x12 JTM45 Series II combo.

Dozens of fakes out there, and some real JMP combos in pinstripe............but never with a JTM45 chassis. A friend has been dealing only vintage Marshall and Vox as a living for >30 years, and he's never seen one either.

I've seen quite a few JTM45 series 1's with the thick cabinet edges, in 2x12 and 4x10 format, but like you say, never one like the one in the video above.

If they were supposedly made later, also when production was picking up, then I would expect to see more series 2's than series 1's knocking around.........if they ever made them.......

Hmmm

Rob.
 

Wilko

All Access/Backstage Pass
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,853
So he put a JTM45 chassis in a combo cab. Gets a great sound. Isn't that what rumors of Clapton's amp was?
 

Wilko

All Access/Backstage Pass
Joined
Mar 11, 2002
Messages
20,853
Maybe. But what of the dozens of others in circulation?



As pointed out by some of the experts here, there aren't any in circulation. Well, there are people who put the JTM45s into combo cabs.

I guess Marshall didn't make any.

I just posted a link to a video that I found of an example of a period amp so we could hear what it would have sounded like.
 

F-Hole

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
2,171
I just posted a link to a video that I found of an example of a period amp so we could hear what it would have sounded like.

......and we come full circle.........was it ceramics or alnicos?
 

goldtop0

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 19, 2003
Messages
8,931
......and we come full circle.........was it ceramics or alnicos?


Yes........and on it goes......
Good to get the info re these put together amps....good stuff fellas:salude
Looks like the 1973X cab to me.
 
Last edited:

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
Has anyone noticed that the new Gold Lion KT-66's have a slightly brighter tone/sound to them than the M.O.Valve(original) KT-66's? I have about a dozen sets of original's and the Gold Lion's sound brighter in a side by side comparison..
 

shakti

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
494
That color pic is fantastic. It confirms what Eric told me in 2005...that his amp was a "one-off" that Jim made for him to fit in the trunk (boot) of his car. The dimensions clearly aren't the same as a 2-12 18 watt or a style 2 BB combo.
It looks closer to a Style 1 size cab, but with a flat front, and a tad narrower....

I think blewsbreaker nailed it with his comment about the size.... If you take a style 1 cab and look at the baffle from the front, but just remove the thick lips, then it looks very close in size and proportions.

I keep returning to this subject because I am going to put together a replica and want to get as close as I can. I made a style 1 repro amp several years ago but sold it to slim down the collection. Also, that style 1 cab is a bit too big, heavy and slightly boxy sounding. Fast forward to the present, and I now have a pair of original T652s to use, and am about to buy back the chassis I built (Merren transformers, all mustard, RS silver mica and Piher resistors per the originals), so I need to figure out the cab. I am going with something as close as possible to Clapton's original combo, just for fun...so any help in establishing the specs as close as we can will be appreciated.

Did anyone save the photos from the start of the thread? They're gone from the hosting server.
 

shakti

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
494
P7080003.JPG


If you take the amp on the right and imagine it as a style 2 cab, without the thick flanges, the proportions seem very close to Clapton's amp.

I think that would make it about 72 cm wide...somewhere in between a standard style 1 (75 cm) and 18w 2x12 (70 cm).
 

F-Hole

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 2, 2015
Messages
2,171
.....and Piher resistors per the originals.....

Early ones had an eclectic mix of CC and CF resistors, with the CF being Piher until late '66.....then a mix of Piher and Iskra.....then onto Iskra only.

FWIW, having built chassis of all Piher and all Iskra, I was shocked at how much better the Iskra sounded. So much so that the Piher only chassis is being changed out to Iskra.
 

shakti

Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
494
Early ones had an eclectic mix of CC and CF resistors, with the CF being Piher until late '66.....then a mix of Piher and Iskra.....then onto Iskra only.

FWIW, having built chassis of all Piher and all Iskra, I was shocked at how much better the Iskra sounded. So much so that the Piher only chassis is being changed out to Iskra.

I am a bit surprised at your finding. I've used both types extensively and while I thought the Pihers tended perhaps to sound a touch more "coloured" for lack of a better description, I didn't notice such a dramatic difference. I have two 50w/EL34 builds, same circuit and same transformers, one has all Pihers (and just a few CC), the other all Iskras. I actually prefer the Piher one, but that is probably just due to chance (and just slightly lower filtering in the Piher one).

BTW, my 65/66 era chassis build did use mostly Piher, but I followed original specs so a few are CC, typically the cathode resistors and the 27k negative feedback resistor.

In any case, any tips on the size of the cab?
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
Cheers John! Nice to have that resistor info. The one I built in 2007 has almost all CC resistors. I need to find some Iskra's then...
Has anyone done a side by side comparison of an original RS O/P vs the Mercury O/P?
 

TM1

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
Messages
8,349
So John, I guess the £1,000. question is what new resistors sound the closest to the Piher's and/or Iskra's?
 
Top