Marshall amp for tele?

[squirrel]

How many of you guys play regularly thru a Marshall? I like the unique sound of a tele thru a non-master Marshall, it is a sound to be reckoned with as much as the "Les Paul + Marshall" formula(I have one of those too). I'm just curious to see how many others have stumbled on the formula also. For technical purposes, my Marshall is a 1971 50watt 1987 head on top of a Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks and my tele is a 52RI.

 

[Tim Swartz]

I've got a few old 4 holers (20s, 50s, 100s circa '68-'71) and a reissue JTM45, they all sound just fine w/ Teles. My main tele is a parts thing w/ 1 piece ash, Mary Kay finish body (see through cream) w/ old lawsuite one-piece Chandler maple neck w/ light amber nitro. Old style bridge w/ compensated brass saddles. The Duncan Alnico Pro II in the bridge gets 90% of the playing time...rich, fat and samoootthhh. My other Tele is a blonde (more yellow) 3 P90 thing w/ Allparts rosewood neck. Doesn't sound like a tele, but does a good Mississippi Queen!

 

[e-merlin]

I'm not what you'd call a Marshall fan, but one of my favorites, Dan Baird, uses a 100 watt non-master volume Marshall. Sounds good to me.

 

[Ben Harmless]

There are some recipes for tone that are classic. The Tele through a Marshall is not really among them - but it should be.

The interaction of a highly responsive Tele single-coil and the unique character of a cranked Marshall is a special thing indeed. I personally feel that those using high-output humbuckers into Marhshalls are really missing most of the tonal spectrum that Marshalls can produce. Yes, I've done it myself, but I mainly play a Tele, and I like it.

My style is loud rocknroll that rolls freely between blues and punk - or as I like to put it, "life sucks music."

My Marshall is a 50w '82 JCM800 (2204). Master volume, single channel - and I plug straight in. I use the MV all the time at home, but when I get to the practice space, the volume goes way up. I rarely need to put the gain above 2 or 3 to get a great big crunch going on.

It's that sort of thing that has me lusting after a nice non-MV 4-holer...

 

[e-merlin]

I personally feel that those using high-output humbuckers into Marhshalls are really missing most of the tonal spectrum that Marshalls can produce.

I tend to agree. High output humbuckers give more distortion at the expense of the guitar's fundamental tone. I like to use a pickup that gives a full tone without giving up the highs, then get the distortion at the amp.

 

[Marshall Thinline]

I love the sound of a 69 thinline thru my Marshall DSL2000 into a 4 x 12 1960 cab. The only thing I like between the guitar and the amp is a Tube Screamer. I use it for a boost, not for distortion.
The only thing that is getting annoying about this amp, is lugging the thing around.

I have been looking into a Black Cat Hot Cat but have yet to play one. I have yet to read a bad review on any of the Black Cats. Can they replicate the sound of a Marshall very well?

 

[halouis]

I agree with all the above. a Tele into a Marshall just sounds great. That said, i've not used my Tele live for a little while now. for one thing its all apart right now. secondly, I've just been digging my Les Paul and Hamer P90 Special with teh Marshall. But I may start to use the Tele more with my other band which has 2 guitarists. May stand out more with his ES335/Marshall setup

BUT on all my recordings including a soon to be released EP, I do 2 rhythm tracks. 1 side is my LP into the Marshall. the other side is the Tele into the Marshall. It gives a very big 3D mix. the 2 tracks aren't aping each other. usually chord inversions or harmony stuff so it really sounds huge.

 

[Red Planet]

Nothing Better

Me digs a Tele through a Marshall. It is the tone I've stumbled onto that got me to buy a Tele in the fist place.

I've got two Teles and I play em through a Tweaked out 1987 reissue 50 watter head that I put into a 1x12 18 watt combo cab. I also use a 68 Fender Pro Reverb at the same time. The Marshall has been Modded to have a really brown sound and for the extra brightness on clean sounds I use the Fender with the Marshall.

I've got it set up on the B side of my AB Box to go into a Vintage Ibanez Stereo Chorous and out of the stereo outs to the Clean channel of the Marshall and two the Reverb channel of the Fender. Then the A side out of my AB Box goes to the Dirty channel of my Marshall.

(What I mean by clean and dirty channels in the Marshall is I took the bright cap off the High Trebile Channel and cloned the Normal channel to sound just like it minus the bright cap. One channel is turned down for clean and the other is wide open for dirty.

When I really want to kick it up a notch I use both A and B of my AB Box and step on a Ibanez Turbo Tube Screamer. Nuclear Explosion!

My Teles are American Standards. One I put a middle pickup and 5 way switch in that is not wired like a Strat. One of my Teles is Purple so I found it fitting to buy the 1x12 18 watt combo cab in Purple Levant.

I'd love to put up pics of my rig but havent figured out how to do it. I wish someone here would let me Email them a Pic and put it up here. The combo turned out real good.

 

[Tonedrip]

I play a Tele through a Marshall quite often and love it.

Anyone who thinks this is not a classic combination might want to listen to the first 3-4 Zepplin albums. (Jimmy also used an old Supro amp) Tele/Marshall was Jimmy's combo on the Stairway to Heaven solo as well I believe.

Anyway my 1984 MIJ Squire has a custom overwound vintage style bridge p/u that helps achieve beefy crunch tones. And I play through a Marshall JCM 600 2x12 that has a surprisingly nice clean channel, so bases are covered.

I was really surprised when I put these two together.

 

[Unburst]

I play a Tele through a Marshall quite often and love it.

Anyone who thinks this is not a classic combination might want to listen to the first 3-4 Zepplin albums. (Jimmy also used an old Supro amp) Tele/Marshall was Jimmy's combo on the Stairway to Heaven solo as well I believe.

I agree the Tele/Marshall combo is a great recipe for tone.
I use mine through a JMP or Super Lead and it sounds good to me.

Jimmy usually used a Supro with his Tele because it was a dark sounding amp that suited his style.
From the second album on he used a LP more than a Tele but the first album is all Tele.

 

[bek]

I'm with Ben (more or less); I use a US Washburn Laredo (swamp ash/maple) with a Rio Big Bottom set into a Marshall 4210 (50-Watt Lead 1x12 master-volume combo). It's really hard to believe; flip the switch, turn the tone knob, you can get almost anything, and all of it HUGE! Ya gotta turn it up to get the big stuff, though. Then the police come and it's embarassing. (I don't normally use any effects)

 

[sjaak]

I totally agree with Ben and I even play the same music style .
BUT.......I'm not playing a Marshall but an old (1968) Laney pre-supergroup (60 watt non-mater volume). However, they say it almost sounds like an old non-MV Marshall (only slightly different because of the partridge tranny's). A poor man's plexi .

Yesterday I finally had the change to turn my Laney to 10! I just stopped with playing in a band (temporary) and brought my amp to my parents, who live on the countryside (no neighbours). Wow! what a sound! I was standing in another room then the amp (otherwise I would be deaf by now) and the sound was incredible. Really responsive to my attack, very raw but warm sounding. Instant 70's rock sound! Unfortunately my parents came back too soon

 

[squirrel]

nothing better than...

sustaining an open chord on a cranked Marshall amplifier as the sustain starts to feed back and, well hopefully you know what it is!! Magic! The more aggressive bridge PU than a strat just makes it work more for me. Don't get me wrong, I love the LP in front too, but this is just as good for me.
Call me demented, but I like my LP in front of my Super Reverb an awful lot also.

 

[Big Cookie]

I'm with Ben & Merlin

I love my four hole non-master Marshalls, and I agree 100% on the overwound humbucker thing. All my buckers measure under 7.6k and my Tele Bridge is an ole Seymour prototype from the late 70's that is about a 7.2. It just cranks thru an old Marshall circuit.