Seems Marshall new ownership starting the downward slide to make more money.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tone Junkie
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Objectively, the new transformers are probably fine. The guy that took delivery of the modded amp hasn't stopped raving to me about how much he loves it. However I think it's more complex. The issue for Marshall is that gear purchases are an emotional buy, and becuase of history and tradition people have an expectation of 'Made in England' behind the flagship products of that most British of brands.
 
burger said:
Objectively, the new transformers are probably fine. The guy that took delivery of the modded amp hasn't stopped raving to me about how much he loves it. However I think it's more complex. The issue for Marshall is that gear purchases are an emotional buy, and becuase of history and tradition people have an expectation of 'Made in England' behind the flagship products of that most British of brands.
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That's exactly right, the decision to change a traditional part of that magnitude is really a pathetic one. It's like dropping Celestion speakers because they can make a knock off that's "just as good" in our vietnam factory. My girlfriend is from vietnam and she thinks its fucking dumb...
 
Has anybody actually done a fair shootout of the old vs new transformers in the same amp? Or are we all doing the standard musician thing where we blindly shout into the clouds about how any change that's ever happened is horrible just because?
 
A shootout/comparison doesn’t matter. They could sound identical and probably do. Quality/reliability may be the same too.

The problem is that the cost to produce them keeps going down yet the prices keep going up. Greed is the reason.
 
If I were a rich man I’d buy Dagnal’s tooling just to troll Marshall.
It’s amazing how stupid and out of touch PE ownership can be, the only edge Marshall had on cloners was their transformers. But hey, we saved 3% on unit costs!
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Has anybody actually done a fair shootout of the old vs new transformers in the same amp? Or are we all doing the standard musician thing where we blindly shout into the clouds about how any change that's ever happened is horrible just because?
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someone did a comparo on the marshall forum.. its hard to tell is the difference is tubes, transformers, both? Friedman needs to put these on his tranny tester for a tone talk episode.. would be fun.
 
So now the amps that no one wants wanted 3 years ago anyway, are going to be sort after “Dagnall” versions and worth a fortune.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Has anybody actually done a fair shootout of the old vs new transformers in the same amp? Or are we all doing the standard musician thing where we blindly shout into the clouds about how any change that's ever happened is horrible just because?
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Well, whether or not they are in the same ballpark, tone-wise, they absolutely should reflect that change in the prices. Prices on JCM800's are ridiculous new. And people selling them used think they're gold too. There's others out there that make them better, (by hand), and cheaper. Fuck Marshall. The only one I find of any value is a DSL50. One without bias drift, of course..
 
burger said:
Objectively, the new transformers are probably fine. The guy that took delivery of the modded amp hasn't stopped raving to me about how much he loves it. However I think it's more complex. The issue for Marshall is that gear purchases are an emotional buy, and becuase of history and tradition people have an expectation of 'Made in England' behind the flagship products of that most British of brands.
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Which is hilarious given the transformers haven't been made in England in quite some time.
 
napalmdeath said:
Well, whether or not they are in the same ballpark, tone-wise, they absolutely should reflect that change in the prices. Prices on JCM800's are ridiculous new. And people selling them used think they're gold too. There's others out there that make them better, (by hand), and cheaper. Fuck Marshall. The only one I find of any value is a DSL50. One without bias drift, of course..
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That I can agree with. The last Marshall I've really had a blast with was the JCM 2000 DSL 100.
 
I missed this thread and actually made a duplicate thread because of the title. "starting the downward slide to make more money"? That's their job and why any company exists...to make money. So in a general sense I don't mind the change.

And it's just transformers which are pretty basic components so there's no reason they can't make great transformers in Vietnam or Malta.

But they aren't UK-made Dagnalls.

Most people know that getting things manufactured in places like Vietnam sometimes involve things like child-labor, horrible working conditions, and environmental neglect/abuse. Getting things built super cheap doesn't happen by magic. And some people want no part of items built that way.

So I have no problem with them trying to make more money but by changing the one part (or parts since there is more than one transformer) that is exclusive to them just seems like it cheapens the brand. It's almost like you paid for a Lexus and got a Toyota.

People freaked when Celestion went to China but apparently we all got over it...mostly. Same will probably happen here.
 
I don’t know about y’all, but to me Marshall hasn’t been a viable entity since some time in the 80s.

There are just way too many other builders doing it “right.” Germino, Metro, Bray, Morris, Dr Dan and on and on.

Personally, I see no reason to buy a new (post 80s) Marshall—no matter where the parts come from. Not when you could go with one of the builders listed above, and they’re just a few examples.

“Marshall” as a company, is resting on their laurels, milking the name. Have been for years. IMHO.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
That I can agree with. The last Marshall I've really had a blast with was the JCM 2000 DSL 100.
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It's actually a great amp. I've owned several, (no surprise there).. I love the UK DSL's, (though I thought the TSL was garbage, and plagued with problems).
 
…I find myself buying used for most things these days. Old 80s guitars from kijiji with OFR and great pups go for great prices in comparison to offshored new guitars. …also almost bought a brand new Mark series. …Bought a used Mark IV instead. Sign of the times. Higher input costs are causing manufacturers to pay for cheaper labour and parts. I like the old world, and can only get it with used items.

…Marshall’s swap doesn’t bring me joy. Put it that way.
 
denialist said:
…At least not when they don’t something unique to add (Other than the name).
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The name, I think that’s it: Marshall is operating on the premise that their “Marshall” logo justifies the bloated price.

Because seriously; put a new Marshall next a new Germino and scrutinize their tone, craftsmanship, durability etc. Wouldn’t even be close.
 
Guys, sorry to necro this thread.

The new Marshall JVMs sound awesome. I was used to only relying on my old JVM, which I sold, for the OD1 orange channel.

But what I realised after buying a new one is that the new red channel in orange mode sounds even more brutal.

No fooling, my recording methods suck, but I’ll try to get it a mic recording done in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, here is the orange OD1 channel that everyone raves about. Sounds awesome imho.

 
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