5 watt-ish Marshall for Blues Jams

[Gallery]

I have a Vibro Champ (5 watts) that I bring to the blues jam at my local dive. The size is super portable and wattage is perfect for the venue. However, I'm more of a Marshall player (My main amps are a JTM45 and Friedman JJ100) and the Vibro Champ needs pedals to get me into Marshall territory. So, I'm looking at 5-ish watt options for a Marshall sound.

Criteria:

• Light weight and easily portable
• Combo (no head + cab)
• Doesn't require pedals
• Anything from JTM to JCM tone
• No need for more than JCM level gain
• Master volume preferred
• 10" or 12" speaker preferred (no more 8")

Options:

• DSL5C
• 2525C Mini Jub
• SL5 Slash
• Runt 20
• ????

Any thoughts suggestions?


I'm not comfortable with plugging into someone else's amp so I need to bring my own and I'd like to travel guitar in one hand, amp in the other, and no pedals.

 

[ggwwbb]

Marshall Class 5

 

[Gallery]

Marshall Class 5

I really dig the Class 5 idea, but I was hoping for a master volume. I do have a Swart Night Light I could use if needed.

 

[ggwwbb]

My brother, @Wolfgangsta has a Class 5 that he had a MV put in and it is great. I tagged him, so hopefully he'll jump in and tell about what MV he bought. As I recall, it didn't cost much at all.....and it works great IMO.

 

[Dr.Picklebottom]

class 5 doesnt really get into the gain levels youre looking for.

MV? this is for live use right? is 5 watts really too loud? it reacts well w the guitar volume.

 

[Gallery]

My brother, @Wolfgangsta has a Class 5 that he had a MV put in and it is great. I tagged him, so hopefully he'll jump in and tell about what MV he bought. As I recall, it didn't cost much at all.....and it works great IMO.

Thanks. Would love to hear about that.

 

[Gallery]

class 5 doesnt really get into the gain levels youre looking for.

MV? this is for live use right? is 5 watts really too loud? it reacts well w the guitar volume.

Live use yes, but it's a small bar. 5 watt is MORE than enough. I'm usually on about 6-7 max on the Vibro Champ. If I want to dime my VC I need to use the Swart Night Light. The bar is a speakeasy from prohibition, so it's a little hole in the wall.

Anything from JTM45 to JCM800 works for me. So if the Class 5 can get as much gain as a dimed JTM45 then it's enough for me. I tried one a long time ago in a shop, but I couldn't get it up to max volume to see how much gain it actually had.

 

[Vibroluxman]

Live use yes, but it's a small bar. 5 watt is MORE than enough. I'm usually on about 6-7 max on the Vibro Champ. If I want to dime my VC I need to use the Swart Night Light. The bar is a speakeasy from prohibition, so it's a little hole in the wall.

Anything from JTM45 to JCM800 works for me. So if the Class 5 can get as much gain as a dimed JTM45 then it's enough for me. I tried one a long time ago in a shop, but I couldn't get it up to max volume to see how much gain it actually had.

Acdc levels and more at max volume. The lyle mods really bring the amp alive though many like it as is. Mine loves the THD hotplate as well.

 

[bgmacaw]

Hotone Purple Wind Nano Head with an Orange 8" cabinet.

 

[Gallery]

Hotone Purple Wind Nano Head with an Orange 8" cabinet.

Interesting. I'm a bit of a tube snob, but that looks intriguing.

 

[dju]

I have and like the SL5 but it's pretty heavy for what it is so it might not meet your first criteria of being light weight.
it has 2 channels and i always thought of the distortion channel as sounding like a slightly hot rodded jcm800.
you can always turn down the gain some which is what I usually do. I usually set it around 1:00~2:00.
and for 5 watts it get's pretty loud
good luck with your search.

 

[ajoep]

What about a Fender Bassbreaker 7watts combo ?

 

[PatrickE_FenderADV]

I love the Class 5... I think it has plenty of gain even with single coil pups. I've been wanting one for so long but don't really have a need for it. They sound AMAZING with P90s IMHO.

 

[Lance]

I second the SL5.

 

[72Telecaster]

It's not pure Marshall, but the little Reeves Custom line (6 and 12) are great sounding, portable (light weight!) and don't get super loud. If you get one with power scaling you should be able to get some good crunch at manageable volumes.

 

[AD1982]

It's not pure Marshall, but the little Reeves Custom line (6 and 12) are great sounding, portable (light weight!) and don't get super loud. If you get one with power scaling you should be able to get some good crunch at manageable volumes.

There's a Reeves Custom 12 on Reverb for $650 + $50 shipping. No power scaling, but they are killer amps. And you could use you Night Light to tame the volume if you need.

 

[1224 Lee]

Cornell plexi 7 sounds excellent. Get a 12 inch version if you like but the 10 I have sounds huge.

 

[bigben55]

Here's a non marshall (but can sound very marshally) option, that you can use on small OR medium stages. The Savage Macht12x. Watch the few videos that are out there. It's a loud screaming 12 watts of true class A power, but has a studio/stage switch which is basically a preset attenuator that halves the dBs (knocks it down to 3 or 4 watts or so). It still sounds great at the lower level, may need to up the tone knof just a tad. It's got high and low inputs for more volume options. It's not a clean machine though, but cleans up amazingly with the guitar volume knob.

 

[p.mo]

I own a Marshall DSL5 and I've taken it to exactly 1 jam. For some reason I thought it'd be fine. It's a great studio amp and that's it. The poor thing was so lost in the mix it was a wasted night. Went back to my Fender Tweed BJ for jam nights and it's perfect.

 

[Wolfgangsta]

My brother, @Wolfgangsta has a Class 5 that he had a MV put in and it is great. I tagged him, so hopefully he'll jump in and tell about what MV he bought. As I recall, it didn't cost much at all.....and it works great IMO.

I have a Hall Amplification VVR3 installed in my Class 5. I love it. Unfortunately, it appears that Hall is no longer in business. After a little looking on the net, it sounds like its not a difficult thing, for someone with the proper skills, to build and install in an amp.