My ears are ringing after finishing an unproductive, yet extremely enjoyable experience with my recently acquired Marshall SL-X 100w head from 1994.
It's a different animal compared to the other Marshalls we have in the Axe for several reasons. It has a 5881 power section (I put 6L6GC's in mine), four ECC83 preamp tubes (I put four Mullard 12ax7's in mine), it has an all-tube path (no diode clipping), and dual gain controls that are incredibly useful and give the amp incredible control over the feel and response of the distortion. This is my dream Marshall tone.
The closest I got to matching it with the Axe was using the Brit 800 or the FAS Brown, which the SL-X was initially designed to be a factory-modded JCM 800. I can get the SL-X to sound like the 800 model, but not the other way around. The 800 can't get nearly as beefy or aggressive as the SL-X, but the SL-X can get VERY close to the Brit 800 model. The two gain controls are "Preamp Volume" and "Gain Sensitivity," and interact with each other to sculpt the amp's distortion level and feel and really let you dial in how the strings feel under your fingers. Some Marshalls flub out when you drive them hard and some have no body to them at all. This amp doesn't have either of those problems.
The best way I can describe it is the Preamp control adjusts the guitar's input level and low end going into the amp, and the Sensitivity control adjusts the amount of gain. Setting the Preamp higher gives a thickness and weight to single notes and loosens pick attack response. Setting it lower makes the overall tone tighter and thins out the low end as you turn it down. The Sensitivity control acts as your main gain knob to set your distortion level after you've dialed in the feel you want.
Anyway, it's an incredibly fun amp to play and think it would be a great addition to the Axe.
I've attached schematics I found online. And if it looks like something Cliff would be interested in, I'd happily send him my amp.
It's a different animal compared to the other Marshalls we have in the Axe for several reasons. It has a 5881 power section (I put 6L6GC's in mine), four ECC83 preamp tubes (I put four Mullard 12ax7's in mine), it has an all-tube path (no diode clipping), and dual gain controls that are incredibly useful and give the amp incredible control over the feel and response of the distortion. This is my dream Marshall tone.
The closest I got to matching it with the Axe was using the Brit 800 or the FAS Brown, which the SL-X was initially designed to be a factory-modded JCM 800. I can get the SL-X to sound like the 800 model, but not the other way around. The 800 can't get nearly as beefy or aggressive as the SL-X, but the SL-X can get VERY close to the Brit 800 model. The two gain controls are "Preamp Volume" and "Gain Sensitivity," and interact with each other to sculpt the amp's distortion level and feel and really let you dial in how the strings feel under your fingers. Some Marshalls flub out when you drive them hard and some have no body to them at all. This amp doesn't have either of those problems.
The best way I can describe it is the Preamp control adjusts the guitar's input level and low end going into the amp, and the Sensitivity control adjusts the amount of gain. Setting the Preamp higher gives a thickness and weight to single notes and loosens pick attack response. Setting it lower makes the overall tone tighter and thins out the low end as you turn it down. The Sensitivity control acts as your main gain knob to set your distortion level after you've dialed in the feel you want.
Anyway, it's an incredibly fun amp to play and think it would be a great addition to the Axe.
I've attached schematics I found online. And if it looks like something Cliff would be interested in, I'd happily send him my amp.
