Marshall 6100 30th Anniversary Video Walkthough

[MikeLivesley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtDmvnZw8aI

I think it sounds a little bright on teh overdrive channels due to the 10" speaker that I could have EQ'd better but you get the idea.

On youtube but audio is from an SM57, not the crappy videocam mic.

[1973Marshall]

Solid tone

Yes, a tad bright but sounds just like the one I owned which was a Blue 1992 model.

Soooooooo yeah, I almost regret selling it but damn it had too many gizmos. Easily one of the best MArshalls I ever owned or played - could do everything from hard rock to blues and jazz - and it had a GREAT FX LOOP and MIDI!

So why do Brits always sound so gentile and dry? You need to be more animated and hyper like your American counterparts. =)

[MikeLivesley]

haha.. I'd just finished a days work - I was pretty tired and mellow :-)

Yeah it's a great amp. I have a JVM too which I'm using primarily because I can footswitch between a nice clean, full on crunch and an inbetween breakup sound as well as a gainy solo tone.

[The Pup]

Nicely done.

[strangec]

I can't see the video here at work, but I'll cehck it out later. I've got one of the blue/brass 6100LE's with matching 4x12. Definately a very cool amp with a lot of Marshall (and some not-so-Marshall) tones in it.

[MikeLivesley]

Thanks for listening pup, and cheers strangec. Mine is a standard Black 6100 which I've modded to take EL34s.

[MikeLivesley]

Blimey. 117 views and 3 people reply.

This really is a hard community to break into, huh? I guess I'll not bother next time.

[The Pup]

Blimey. 117 views and 3 people reply.

This really is a hard community to break into, huh? I guess I'll not bother next time.

Well don't get too bothered about it...the amp has some nice clean tones but the dirty stuff should be taxed heavily. :)

[MikeLivesley]

Erm.. what?

I think not, personally. The Crunch Channel is superb.

[The Pup]

Fair enough...the Crunch channel is superb.

[jtindle]

I have the 6101 combo and I really like the clean channel and the crunch is pretty good with the gain on the low side.

Jeff

[Bo Faulkner]

I like that!... That is a lot of amp in one box. How much are they going for?

[seajay]

Thanks for sharing Mike...I dig your video demos. The amp sounds good.

:AOK

[The Pup]

Thanks for sharing Mike...I dig your video demos. The amp sounds good.

:AOK

Mike's video walkthroughs are some of the best demos I've seen to date. He's got a very cost effective way of making the demo sound very good and realistic given his production constraints.

Very good indeed.

[jezzzz2003]

We converted one of these blue 6100's from EL-34 to 6550 last week... What an idiot!!! it sounded really great before, still pretty darn good after too I must admit but that bass was through the roof, it just wasnt as Marshally after that, we tried to talk him out of performing the mod but he wanted "more head room" I say "get a different amp"..

so thats how you wreck a perfectly good sounding amp, dont try this at home.:p

[The Pup]

:eek::jo:confused::nono:crazy:bkw

[TNJ]

Since I heard JohnnyA play through one on his CD's, I've always had an interest in the 6100...or a combo.

Nice tones.
S>
j

[MikeLivesley]

Thanks for listening guys.

Mine actually has EL34s too, it has since i bought it second hand.

Bo - they go for around £300-£350 here in teh UK so $600-$700 though the fact they were only made for a few years means they're a little thin on the ground but not altogether rare.

Yeah I make my demos with a regular webcam capturing video/audio and then an SM57 which I connect to my audio interface and record the audio from that with Goldwave, a shareware audio editor.

Then I convert the .wmv from my webcam video into .avi and import the .avi and audio .wav from teh SM57 into Sonar, where i line up audio with the video and silence the webcam audio when I'm playing and vice versa the SM57 when I'm talking.

Then I stitch together in Windows Movie Maker and add titles and stuff, I haven't got into wipes and fancy video edits because WMM is really sketchy and I don't want to stress it out anymore!

:D

[The Pup]

Thanks for listening guys.

Mine actually has EL34s too, it has since i bought it second hand.

Bo - they go for around £300-£350 here in teh UK so $600-$700 though the fact they were only made for a few years means they're a little thin on the ground but not altogether rare.

Yeah I make my demos with a regular webcam capturing video/audio and then an SM57 which I connect to my audio interface and record the audio from that with Goldwave, a shareware audio editor.

Then I convert the .wmv from my webcam video into .avi and import the .avi and audio .wav from teh SM57 into Sonar, where i line up audio with the video and silence the webcam audio when I'm playing and vice versa the SM57 when I'm talking.

Then I stitch together in Windows Movie Maker and add titles and stuff, I haven't got into wipes and fancy video edits because WMM is really sketchy and I don't want to stress it out anymore!

:D

It's really good...well done.

There's another guy here who does a new YouTube video every time he gets a new boutique overdrive pedal...his demos aren't helping to sell any of those pedals! The worst tone I've had to suffer through while watching a demo. Your setup seems to work well though.

[1973Marshall]

We converted one of these blue 6100's from EL-34 to 6550 last week... What an idiot!!! it sounded really great before, still pretty darn good after too I must admit but that bass was through the roof, it just wasnt as Marshally after that, we tried to talk him out of performing the mod but he wanted "more head room" I say "get a different amp"..

so thats how you wreck a perfectly good sounding amp, dont try this at home.:p


Yeah, Marshall really got certain amps spot on - the 6100, Jubilee, and early 2203/2204 JCM800s were amazing from the start!

[Hamer95USA]

Since I heard JohnnyA play through one on his CD's, I've always had an interest in the 6100...or a combo.

Nice tones.
S>
j

Hey TNJ,

Like this one?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/GuitarGeorge/Guitar%20Gear/Pic082.jpg

I've had mine since 1994. One of the best combo amps that Marshall ever made. I like the multi-channels and all the features this amp has.

Hey Mike,

Thanks for sharing the video of your 6100 amp. Some folks might get inspired enough to go buy one.:cool:

Guitar George

[conundrum]

How's teh reliability on these things? I've always wanted one, but I've seen teh guts, and I dread ever having to fix it.

[MikeLivesley]

It's really good...well done.

There's another guy here who does a new YouTube video every time he gets a new boutique overdrive pedal...his demos aren't helping to sell any of those pedals! The worst tone I've had to suffer through while watching a demo. Your setup seems to work well though.

Thanks again, you're very kind :). It can be a real minefield - mic placement in particular can be make or break. I just try and play within my means and style when I can.

Hey TNJ,

Like this one?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/GuitarGeorge/Guitar%20Gear/Pic082.jpg

I've had mine since 1994. One of the best combo amps that Marshall ever made. I like the multi-channels and all the features this amp has.

Hey Mike,

Thanks for sharing the video of your 6100 amp. Some folks might get inspired enough to go buy one.:cool:

Guitar George

Nice, I imagine if I had a combo version that would be perfect for practise/small gigs. I tried to find a good combo I got on with but after being spoiled by 2x12"/4x12" and the 6100 I've realised I'm just a head and cab guy, my poor back!

Thanks.

How's teh reliability on these things? I've always wanted one, but I've seen teh guts, and I dread ever having to fix it.

I've owned this from second hand for over 10 years and had one thing go wrong, and that was a bad power tube that took out the HT fuse. I have heard bad stories from some but I've been playing it regularly and gigging for 10 years and had no worries. When the fuse went i sent it to Marshall to get it fixed and retubed/biased. They also serviced the jacks and pots at no extra charge - reallty great service, definitely a great level of support here in the UK - not sure about elsewhere, althuog hthe schematics are available online.

[John Phillips]

We converted one of these blue 6100's from EL-34 to 6550 last week... What an idiot!!! it sounded really great before, still pretty darn good after too I must admit but that bass was through the roof, it just wasnt as Marshally after that, we tried to talk him out of performing the mod but he wanted "more head room" I say "get a different amp"..

so thats how you wreck a perfectly good sounding amp, dont try this at home.:p
Don't try that at all. It might really be how to wreck it. Fitting 6550s will put more load on the transformers (especially if you bias it hotter as well, which many people will), and this amp is already has heat-related reliability problems - the combo much worse than the head.

No, they are not nice to work on (again the combo worse than the head) - like Mike, I've actually sent a few of them back to Marshall for repair rather than do it myself, especially for faults involving the switching - their service is excellent in the UK, and then it's someone else's problem if it breaks again :). Though they're not that unreliable... just not as good as some other Marshalls.

I'm personally not a big fan of this amp, but Mike has done a great job of the recording, that's pretty much how I think of them as sounding too.

[TNJ]

Hey TNJ,

Like this one?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v610/GuitarGeorge/Guitar%20Gear/Pic082.jpg

I've had mine since 1994. One of the best combo amps that Marshall ever made. I like the multi-channels and all the features this amp has.

Hey Mike,

Thanks for sharing the video of your 6100 amp. Some folks might get inspired enough to go buy one.:cool:

Guitar George

Yeah,
Like that one...you DAWG! :D

Anytime you wanna let that one go, $$$ or trade for one of my harem, let me know.

:cool:

S>j

[Hamer95USA]

Yeah,
Like that one...you DAWG! :D

Anytime you wanna let that one go, $$$ or trade for one of my harem, let me know.

:cool:

S>j

Hey TNJ,

Thanks for the good words. I also have the matching blue 1912 1x12 guitar cab underneath it. It's covered up with the Tuki cab cover. I won't be selling this amp though since it's my main guitar rig for small clubs. I would look around on E-bay or Craig's List. I've seen a few 6100 amp heads for $1,000 to $1,500 used in my local Craig's List. The combos are harder to come by. The black vinyl 6100/6101 command a somewhat lower price and usually have to be converted from 5881 power tubes to EL-34 power tubes to get the authentic Marshall tone.

Guitar George

[MikeLivesley]

That's what my amp is - a black tolex converted to EL34s (before I got it).

The blues are much more rare and expensive second hand.

[bwalde]

I bought my standard black head (dated 1993) via eBay last year. So far it is a very versatile amp and never left me alone. It has the 5880 tubes in it and after limiting the highs I'm very happy with it. I'm always fighting with myself to make it as my mainamp (which is a Bogner Shiva so far)...

[MikeLivesley]

I have the same thing with my JVM because I still love the 6100 too..

[wombat66]

I have the 6101 combo and I really like the clean channel and the crunch is pretty good with the gain on the low side.

Jeff

likewise

I never use the lead channel, usually stay on the crunch channel mode A or B with the gain turned way low. Or the clean channel (maybe with an OD).

I appreciate the video, but I tend to voice mine a bit differently. Each to their own.

[MikeLivesley]

Indeed, variation makes the world go round. I love the low gain sounds out of the amp, but I think Crunch mode B where I have it (gain at 1 o clock) is heaven for aggressive Marshall crunch a la JCM800.