Hey Everyone,
This is my 2005 Marshall Bluesbreaker reissue. I absolutely love this amp. I used to own a completely stock bluesbreaker that I couldnt sell fast enough. The stock reissue was very boomy, even with the bass at 1 mind you, and would completely fart out at high volumes with almost zero articulation. I had it for about 2 weeks before I sold it.
I started reading about how some guys make a few changes that really bring out a whole new character to the bluesbreaker and gets it to sound a lot closer to the originals. So I decided to give it another go. I found a used bluesbreaker on ebay that was already converted to fit KT66's. It came with JJ power and pre amp tubes, even came with a Mullard tube but I'm not sure if it's NOS or not. I'm no expert when it comes to tubes but I read somewhere that these arent real KT66's so im eager to try out some gold lions or valve art KT66's at some point but these are fine for now. About a week after receiving the amp I took it to "The Tone Man" Don Butler who replaced all the iron with Mercury Magnetics transformers along with changing some of the signal caps to Sozo's. Also the stock 50x50 caps were switched to 16x16 and 32x32 caps.
The day that I dropped my amp of at Don's (chasis only) he mentioned how the grill cloth can also effect the tone and cut me a swatch of EC Collins bluesbreaker grill cloth. I took it home to compare against the stock and was instantly sold. As you can see in the pics it kind of makes you wonder what Marshall was thinking with using the grill cloth they do. The feel of the EC Collins grill cloth is rubbery in comparison to the stock material, which feels like cheap lawn furniture at best, in comparison. By putting your lips and blowing against the back of the stock and EC Collins grill gloth you can tell the difference. The stock stuff feels like you're blowing against a fly swatter where as the EC Collins stuff doesnt let the air flow through as easily which I feel really adds to the sweet compression I get from this amp. And as you can see in the pics the stock grill is see through and kinda feels like a potato sack. So again I made the hour and half trip back to Don's with the cab to be re-grilled as well.
Before I made the trip back I decided to go with a set of Celestion Alnico Blue speakers. I have always used greenbacks with all of my other Marshalls but decided to go with the blues to try and get closer to the Clapton bluesbreakers tone, and i'm happy I did. I couldnt resist the earlier breakup of the 15 watt Blues.
A few weeks later my amp was done and I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am with this amp. It sounds nothing like it did stock. The sound is much more clear and way more articulate. I know Marshalls arent know for their cleans but with this amp the cleans are exrtremely clear and have a rounder/softer more saturated feel.
This is my first amp with KT66's and it might be to early to say but I think I might even like them more than EL34's. Now for the good stuff. I was worried how the Alnico Blues would handle this amp being cranked up to 10. I know Vox AC30's are rated at 30 watts just like my Bluesbreaker and they don't have a problem being dimed but I also read that the Bluesbreaker puts out about 40-45 watts when at max volume. But I figured, "what the hell" and over the course of a few days kept playing the amp louder and louder. I wanted to make sure the speakers could handle it as I bought them brand new and wanted to give them some sort of a break in time.
The breakup on this amp is awesome. Between 1-3 the sound stays pretty clean. Between 4-7 is where the fun starts. Depending on how soft you pick the sound stays clean with a tiny bit of hair on it but the harder you dig in, the dirtier it gets. Really awesome for blues and kinda gives you a cool AC/DC tone. I noticed on the volume knob between 8-10 doesnt really get that much louder but gives you a very sweet natural compression and more sustain/gain. Even on 10 the amp stays clear and touch responsive. Definetly doesnt fart out or get boomy like my stock one did.
After all the changes/mods I did I'm totally satisfied and couldnt be happier with my tone. Whats also really cool is that im in it for a little less than what a new one costs. This Bluesbreaker aint goin nowhere!!!
This is my 2005 Marshall Bluesbreaker reissue. I absolutely love this amp. I used to own a completely stock bluesbreaker that I couldnt sell fast enough. The stock reissue was very boomy, even with the bass at 1 mind you, and would completely fart out at high volumes with almost zero articulation. I had it for about 2 weeks before I sold it.
I started reading about how some guys make a few changes that really bring out a whole new character to the bluesbreaker and gets it to sound a lot closer to the originals. So I decided to give it another go. I found a used bluesbreaker on ebay that was already converted to fit KT66's. It came with JJ power and pre amp tubes, even came with a Mullard tube but I'm not sure if it's NOS or not. I'm no expert when it comes to tubes but I read somewhere that these arent real KT66's so im eager to try out some gold lions or valve art KT66's at some point but these are fine for now. About a week after receiving the amp I took it to "The Tone Man" Don Butler who replaced all the iron with Mercury Magnetics transformers along with changing some of the signal caps to Sozo's. Also the stock 50x50 caps were switched to 16x16 and 32x32 caps.
The day that I dropped my amp of at Don's (chasis only) he mentioned how the grill cloth can also effect the tone and cut me a swatch of EC Collins bluesbreaker grill cloth. I took it home to compare against the stock and was instantly sold. As you can see in the pics it kind of makes you wonder what Marshall was thinking with using the grill cloth they do. The feel of the EC Collins grill cloth is rubbery in comparison to the stock material, which feels like cheap lawn furniture at best, in comparison. By putting your lips and blowing against the back of the stock and EC Collins grill gloth you can tell the difference. The stock stuff feels like you're blowing against a fly swatter where as the EC Collins stuff doesnt let the air flow through as easily which I feel really adds to the sweet compression I get from this amp. And as you can see in the pics the stock grill is see through and kinda feels like a potato sack. So again I made the hour and half trip back to Don's with the cab to be re-grilled as well.
Before I made the trip back I decided to go with a set of Celestion Alnico Blue speakers. I have always used greenbacks with all of my other Marshalls but decided to go with the blues to try and get closer to the Clapton bluesbreakers tone, and i'm happy I did. I couldnt resist the earlier breakup of the 15 watt Blues.
A few weeks later my amp was done and I can't begin to tell you how pleased I am with this amp. It sounds nothing like it did stock. The sound is much more clear and way more articulate. I know Marshalls arent know for their cleans but with this amp the cleans are exrtremely clear and have a rounder/softer more saturated feel.
This is my first amp with KT66's and it might be to early to say but I think I might even like them more than EL34's. Now for the good stuff. I was worried how the Alnico Blues would handle this amp being cranked up to 10. I know Vox AC30's are rated at 30 watts just like my Bluesbreaker and they don't have a problem being dimed but I also read that the Bluesbreaker puts out about 40-45 watts when at max volume. But I figured, "what the hell" and over the course of a few days kept playing the amp louder and louder. I wanted to make sure the speakers could handle it as I bought them brand new and wanted to give them some sort of a break in time.
The breakup on this amp is awesome. Between 1-3 the sound stays pretty clean. Between 4-7 is where the fun starts. Depending on how soft you pick the sound stays clean with a tiny bit of hair on it but the harder you dig in, the dirtier it gets. Really awesome for blues and kinda gives you a cool AC/DC tone. I noticed on the volume knob between 8-10 doesnt really get that much louder but gives you a very sweet natural compression and more sustain/gain. Even on 10 the amp stays clear and touch responsive. Definetly doesnt fart out or get boomy like my stock one did.
After all the changes/mods I did I'm totally satisfied and couldnt be happier with my tone. Whats also really cool is that im in it for a little less than what a new one costs. This Bluesbreaker aint goin nowhere!!!
