Marshall Did Something RIGHT With the 8100 Valvestate

  • Thread starter Thread starter dead-pan
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dead-pan

dead-pan

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Needed to set this up for a project.

It really is pretty damn good!

Beat to hell but it works.

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griff10672 said:
My first ever Marshall !!! Bought it the year they came out .

Love me some Prong !!! Tommy victor is bad ass !! He used one for quite awhile
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Really liked Prong back in the day.

They came here for a show. Had like twenty people show up.

They played a handful of songs and left haha
 
Honestly those sound killer and way better than an MG.



They were budge but pretty quality and a sleeper in that sense for what they were.
 
Also overlooked fact they are Made in the UK...... and the Celestion GoldBacks on the combos aren't bad either......




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That was my first Marshall halfstack! Bought new as a noob. Picked that over the 900's that were out back then as well in a side by side shootout in the store. Had no idea how to get a tone back then.
 
Devin said:
I don't really like them as-is but with a boost up front it turns in to a completely different animal (an awesome one)
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I like them as is, but I also like them boosted, personally.

They're kinda picky about boosts, though. The low-end is not particularly deep on them, so if the boost is not right, they might end up thinning out too much, I feel.
 
These and the ValveTronix Amps were actually pretty damn good especially the Blue Cloth grill ones. Overall even the regular Metal grill ones. Both solid budget amps of their times.


The Boutique Clean and OD were great and the Vox Amp models were solid. The UK 80s which was their take on a Marshall was solid too and the Fender 410 Bassman tones weren't bad.


These also used a 12AX7 but it was in the power amp somehow. The New ValveTronix are good but aren't the same and use the 12AX7 in the preamp.
 
Bought one and played it next to a Wizard MC2 100w, Ampeg VH140c, Rev Blue Uber, Splawn QR, KSR Ares, and Fryette D60 I had at that time...the Marshall VS boosted held its own. Not saying it rivaled any of those or had as good a tone, but it was no slouch. And for the $200 I paid for it, was definitely the best value in the room.
 
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An old buddy and band mate back in high school had one. We both had shitty SS half stacks back then and he just happened to buy the much cooler Valvestate than whatever awful SS half stack I had. Every now and then he’d leave his setup at my house and when he’d leave I’d plug both 4x12’s into his amp, sit between the cabs, and become a metal god for a while with that sick ass guitar tone sounding like it was coming “from everywhere” all around me.

And yeah you better believe idiot high schooler me used that Contour knob to scoop every bit of mids out back then. Boomy fizzy metal madness all night long baby.
 
Rex Rocker said:
I like them as is, but I also like them boosted, personally.

They're kinda picky about boosts, though. The low-end is not particularly deep on them, so if the boost is not right, they might end up thinning out too much, I feel.
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To be fair mine was the 8200, though I always assumed they were essentially the same thing
 
Devin said:
To be fair mine was the 8200, though I always assumed they were essentially the same thing
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Interesting, I thought they were the same also but search says the 8100 is more aggressive and tight where the 8200 is warmer and more bass.
 
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