NAD: Marshall Origin 20 Head

[Jonesie]

Well, this was unexpected. I bought this yesterday on Sweetwater (and sprung for the strangely inexpensive next day shipping) and it delivered about an hour ago.

I wasn't even really in the market for a new amp, but I've had a Marshall in the back of my mind for a while. This popped up for a pretty solid "demo deal", so I asked my wife for permission to buy and she said sure. There we go. Baby's first Marshall (or Marshall style) amp. I've had Ampeg, Vox and Fender amps in the past, and I worked at a studio that had a JTM45 and a couple of Plexi's, but never one of my own.

I got to play it a little bit, and initial impressions are VERY positive. I don't like JCM800/900/2000s, there's just way too much gain on those. So while I understand people being disappointed that this doesn't get that kind of gain, it's actually a positive for me. Does the old school Marshall edge of breakup / just past breakup crunch, and so far it seems to love my gain pedals (Double Hotcake clone, Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster and a EQD Special Cranker.)

I look forward to tooling around with this more this weekend. I'm actually auditioning / jamming with a band for the first time in 15 years on Monday, so I guess that'll be the real test of this thing.

[Unicorn Warrior]

Dude! These are great. My band mate has the combo version of this. As you said, it sounds super great with his pedals. In addition, the cleans sound phenomenal to me. It has its own character. I think Marshall got this series right. Both in terms of feel, sound and look.

Congratulations and enjoy it. As you saw from my thread yesterday, I sold my amp and will likely be in the market again for another “toob” amp soon. It may not be out of the question to grab one of these even though I’m a diehard Vox boy.

[Jonesie]

Dude! These are great. My band mate has the combo version of this. As you said, it sounds super great with his pedals. In addition, the cleans sound phenomenal to me. It has its own character. I think Marshall got this series right. Both in terms of feel, sound and look.

Congratulations and enjoy it. As you saw from my thread yesterday, I sold my amp and will likely be in the market again for another “toob” amp soon. It may not be out of the question to grab one of these even though I’m a diehard Vox boy.

Just sayin', it sounds killer with my Yamaha Studio Lord (Lawsuit LP clone.)

I'll say those magic words:

YOU WON'T DO IT.

[Unicorn Warrior]

Dude! These are great. My band mate has the combo version of this. As you said, it sounds super great with his pedals. In addition, the cleans sound phenomenal to me. It has its own character. I think Marshall got this series right. Both in terms of feel, sound and look.

Congratulations and enjoy it. As you saw from my thread yesterday, I sold my amp and will likely be in the market again for another “toob” amp soon. It may not be out of the question to grab one of these even though I’m a diehard Vox boy.

Just sayin', it sounds killer with my Yamaha Studio Lord (Lawsuit LP clone.)

I'll say those magic words:

YOU WON'T DO IT.

Haha..I’ll have to spend some time with my band mate’s a little more. Idk how it would work in our band context. I’m typically the single coil player and he plays LPs. If he and I are both playing LPs with the same amp it might be too much in those frequencies. Then again, I usually play the higher register while he is lower so it may work.

[Surfysonic]

Congrats & enjoy, Jonesie! How heavy is that beastie?

[Jonesie]

Congrats & enjoy, Jonesie! How heavy is that beastie?

The shipping box was 31 pounds, so maybe 22? 25? It’s very reasonable.

[Surfysonic]

Nice! I've never owned a Marshall - I'll have to check out some demos on that one for sure.

[Jonesie]

Got to try this out at band practice on Monday (my first band that I've played guitar in in 15 years), and I have to say, it sounded pretty great. I was playing my Les Paul through it and it was nice and beefy, but chimey in the middle position. Still getting it dialed in with single coils though. Sounds nice, but I know it can sound nicer.

[JVG]

These are great amps, and excellent value for money in the current market.

I’ve got the combo version, and love it (although admittedly i’m eyeing off a Studio Classic).

Enjoy!