Interesting use of a Marshall 100W

[jay mitchell]

I shot this video of the Noel Johnston Trio night before last at Triumph's Espresso and Whiskey here in Dallas.

Noel is playing a stereo rig, with a Standel amp with a JBL 15 on his right and a Marshall Super Lead with a Mesa 4x12 w/V30s on his left. The only pedal he's using is a stereo delay.
Noel is an incredible player. He's comfortable in a huge variety of styles and tones. This gig featured mostly his arrangements of Bach sonatas and partitas, with one Chopin piece, a few originals, and his incredible arrangement of Caravan in this clip. In addition to being on the faculty at University of North Texas in Denton, he has authored several excellent instructional texts. Check out his website: NOEL JOHNSTON GUITARIST. I have no financial interest, I'm just an enthusiastic fan and acquaintance.

 

[Chocol8]

Nice, but why is your glass still full?

 

[jay mitchell]

Nice, but why is your glass still full?

Not my glass.

 

[metropolis_4]

I love Marshalls for these type of tones! I remember hearing Tom Bukovac talking about recording a Burt Bacharach album with one and saying you’ll never wish you were playing through a Fender when you’ve got a 100w Plexi

 

[2112]

Very tasty.

@jay mitchell didn't realise you were in Dallas. My in-laws live in Oak Cliff so I'll drop you a line next time I'm over. I can provide vegemite and Tim-Tams.

 

[Chocol8]

I can provide vegemite and Tim-Tams.

Is that meant to be a threat?

 

[Chocol8]

I love Marshalls for these type of tones! I remember hearing Tom Bukovac talking about recording a Burt Bacharach album with one and saying you’ll never wish you were playing through a Fender when you’ve got a 100w Plexi

Especially the early JTM 45-100's. They are a far better clean amp than people realize. If it weren't for the issues getting quality KT66's than can handle the high B+ voltages, I would definitely own one. I keep toying with the idea of building a lower voltage version that can handle new production tubes.

The funny thing is so many people will use a Tweed Bassman or high powered Tweed Twin for cleans but not think of a Marshall. They have a lot in common including great clean tones and making great pedal platforms.

 

[jay mitchell]

I love Marshalls for these type of tones!

I played a 100W Super Lead through a 2x12 cab loaded with JBL K120s in a horn band in 1979-80. It was excellent for clean tones, especially for funk vamps. I never had any difficulty keeping up with the horns.

 

[Chocol8]

I never had any difficulty keeping up with the horns.

LOL! I would be really worried if you did!

 

[jay mitchell]

LOL! I would be really worried if you did!

True story: At the end of my time playing the 100W Super Lead, I decided to go for a more compact rig and traded it for a 50W Marshall combo. It was an excellent amp for most of my gigs, even more so after I did some preamp mods. The one exception to that was a few performances I did with the Georgia Tech Jazz Ensemble. One of them was a half-time concert on the field at a football game in Grant Field. I had to max the amp out. It was (at least almost) loud enough, but it was anything but clean. The tone was appropriate for my solo in one of the tunes we played, somewhat less so for the others. OTOH, the horn players all said they liked the sound.

 

[Chocol8]

traded it for a 50W Marshall combo.

Is it safe to assume a single 12" and not a JBL, EV, or other high sensitivity speaker? A few db here and there eventually adds it to a real difference!

 

[metropolis_4]

True story: At the end of my time playing the 100W Super Lead, I decided to go for a more compact rig and traded it for a 50W Marshall combo. It was an excellent amp for most of my gigs, even more so after I did some preamp mods. The one exception to that was a few performances I did with the Georgia Tech Jazz Ensemble. One of them was a half-time concert on the field at a football game in Grant Field. I had to max the amp out. It was (at least almost) loud enough, but it was anything but clean. The tone was appropriate for my solo in one of the tunes we played, somewhat less so for the others. OTOH, the horn players all said they liked the sound.

I’ve measured even small horn sections I’ve played with peaking at ~116db from where I sit. Some guys can blow some serious volume! I’ve played with some who take great pride in that, haha

 

[Chocol8]

I’ve measured even small horn sections I’ve played with peaking at ~116db from where I sit. Some guys can blow some serious volume! I’ve played with some who take great pride in that, haha

That's right about where I would expect to find the clean limit on a 50w Marshall 1x12 combo depending on speaker choice. A 100w into a JBL loaded 2x12 I would expect to be 5-10 db louder, but that's still not very loud by time you get to the upper rows of a large college football stadium!

 

[jay mitchell]

Is it safe to assume a single 12" and not a JBL, EV, or other high sensitivity speaker?

No. Two greenbacks. That's what came in 50W Marshall combos back then. The 1x12 stuff came quite a bit later.

 

[jay mitchell]

I’ve measured even small horn sections I’ve played with peaking at ~116db from where I sit. Some guys can blow some serious volume! I’ve played with some who take great pride in that, haha

When you're playing on the 50-yard line to a crowd of ca. 50k - well, facing half of them - a group of horn players, almost all of whom also played in the marching band, can easily exceed that SPL. I wouldn't swear that the 100W with K120s would have been clean in that scenario, but the 50W with greenbacks was anything but. It really didn't sound bad for fusiony stuff, though.