marshall class 5 vs. Gibson Lpjr RI amp

[Devin]

Would it be redundant to buy the marshall (c5 head) if i already have the gibson amp. Specifically im interested in the marshall bc its a head and can be run through a cab. Im interested in a larger sound at lower volumes. Would it be different/unique enough not to warrant a modification to the GA-5 *(oops). (no speaker out jack) in order to run through my cab (2x12 closed back w/tone tubs) just for fun?

 

[pgissi]

No, similar but not redundant imo. Similar in that they are both single ended class a low watt but circuit differences tend to make the marshall a bit brighter in the upper mids.

I dont own the Gibson (have heard some clips) but have 2 C5's and they are distinctly marshall but if the subtle differences dont mean anything to you then adding an ext speaker jack to the gibson should not be too hard or expensive

also if you test drive the marshall, imo you have to turn it up past at least noon on the volume. I prefer to run them at a minimum of 2:00 on the volume and guitar vol pot is used to dial in clean to OD, quiet to LOUD

I just dont like the tone or feel when the volume is not pushed like that, sounds splatty but since I use them for rehearsals and live performance I need them run for max output/headroom

Also I predict the Class 5 will be much louder, the loudest little amp ever

 

[Telecaster62]

I have the Gibson and I'm interested in this comparison as well. Anyone else have experience with both amps?

 

[Telecaster62]

Just fyi, you can get an adapter at Radio Shack that goes from RCA to 1/4 inch to run an extension speaker from the Gibson. Just unplug the internal speaker, plug in the adapter and plug the speaker cable from the cabinet into the adapter. I've done it and it works well although I didn't notice a ton of difference.

 

[svenhoek]

I have a Gibson GA5 in the USA and recently bought a Marshall Class 5 combo in red, here in London. I haven't had much of a chance to crank it up yet, but from what I've heard so far, the Marshall is a very different amp. The Gibson has it's own tone and vibe, while the Marshall is very, well, Marshally. Which is a good thing.

Both are amazing little amps, definitely not a bad thing to have one of each...

 

[Telecaster62]

Which amp has more clean headroom? Which is louder? Is the gain different?

 

[pgissi]

Which amp has more clean headroom? Which is louder? Is the gain different?

Combo for combo, my gut says the Class 5 is louder with more headroom of course since louder means more power and more power means more headroom. If comparing heads, use the same cab so the speaker efficiency factor is eliminated.

Tonally the Class 5 sounds like its plexi roots, more midrange kerrang and crunch than what I hear in the GA series as a cool saturated grind.

And I am fairly certain the Class 5 is louder since I bought 1 for home use only and realized the dang thing is loud, loudest little 24lb box I ever heard actually. I used 1 C5 combo with my band for a year at rehearsal and then in low volume situations at clubs and decided to add a second box for more clean headroom and volume overall and now have a nice scaled down dimed plexi like rig.

The designer at Marshall, I think Steve D said it puts out 12watts at idle and when properly dialed in, the single ended class a compression and slight sag is sweet, overtones for days and a volume friendly plexi tone

100 watts is twice as loud as 10watts and think about how loud a dimed 100 watt nmv plexi is and reason that half of that volume would do fine in many situations

that is what you get with just 1 class 5

Check it out when he plays it as a combo and then into a 4x12, best clip out there showing the amps tone without any post treatment. In this clip I think he has too much bass dialed into the amp when he plays it as a combo but then he plugs it into a 4x12...SOLD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtFRmlPw3cY


If you can audition it proper, use a humbucker equiped axe and try these settings which sets the volume up for max power and headroom potential being sure to use the guitar pot for clean/quiet to dirty/loud but before the point of too much saturation, treble to suit, mids set up high since plexi is all about mids and bass rolled back since a low watt amp is not gonna push that much low end anyway and this prevents swamping the combo speaker but on a cab you could add more of course

its all about plexi mids and once the speaker breaks in, it just gets better

vol- 2:00
Treb- 1:00 to 2:00
Mid- 4:00
Bass- 7:00 to 8:00

 

[Telecaster62]

Thanks pgissi. I'm currently using the GA-5 on some of my small gigs. I just set it wide open and use my guitar volume knob to clean it up. Works great but in some rooms I'd like a little more headroom and a little more sustain which I think the Marshall would have in spades as that is what the Plexi does.

 

[Devin]

hey, cool info guys. Telecaster62, i had the exact same concerns when i used mine for gigs as well. Its almost perfect for small venues but it needs more headroom. I think the GA5 is a great sounding amp and im happy to see its more popular now than before. I have some NOS el-84's as well which i would like to take advantage of. Is the class 5 only for HB guitars or can it do things for us single coil oriented folk?

 

[svenhoek]

I'm using it with a G&L ASAT Special, which has p-90ish pickups. Sounds great. It's pretty much just a scaled down plexi, so depending on what pickups you're running, any guitar could work.

It definitely feels louder than the GA5, though I'd love to have them side by side one day...

 

[lefty kwan]

I bought a used GA5 last summer, what a fanatastic little amp. I play it daily. Yesterday I tried a 12ay7 in it insted of the 12ax7 and it sounded really good. Less gain and overall output but I could turn it all the way up and get a super fat overdrive without any fizz. To my ears it was much closer to the old 50's tweed sound. In this case it is definately not a Class 5 sound.

 

[pgissi]

I bought a used GA5 last summer, what a fanatastic little amp. I play it daily. Yesterday I tried a 12ay7 in it insted of the 12ax7 and it sounded really good. Less gain and overall output but I could turn it all the way up and get a super fat overdrive without any fizz. To my ears it was much closer to the old 50's tweed sound. In this case it is definately not a Class 5 sound.

that is a good way to describe the gibson, old tweed tone

the Marshall is truly sporting its Plexi genes which is still audible in this EL84 single ended class a design, its a nice trick, plexi tone with class a feel and overtones

I would like to see a single ended EL34/6CA7 version, it would be marginally louder (12 to 15 watts max dissipation from an EL84 versus the 17 to 25 max from an EL34) I could then have my EL84 tandem stack and an EL34 tandem stack that is just a bit louder

I prefer using low power amp('s) over attenuators or power scaling

It definitely feels louder than the GA5, though I'd love to have them side by side one day...

max power depends to some degree on how hard you drive the input so a more powerful pup be it SC or Hum will drive the amp to be a bit louder

 

[puls]

if you do a search here there are quite a few mods for the ga5, including using the unused 8ohm tap from the op tranny for a quarter inch external cab jack.

good luck

jwp

 

[Tread]

Great info ...

 

[19181911]

I would just get a switchcraft 1/4" phone jack and replace the rca jack on the chassis, then use the GA-5 with the 2X12... You can also use an adapter.

The C5 has more gain.