Marshall Artist 3203 Head...Anyone?

[stormsedge]

Yeah, I'm still wandering around in the land of lost amps. The shop across the river has a Marshall Artist 3203 head sitting on the floor in a corner gathering dust. Anyone have experience with them? Are they repairable/worth repairing? Thanks in advance.

 

[gridlock]

Yeah, I'm still wandering around in the land of lost amps. The shop across the river has a Marshall Artist 3203 head sitting on the floor in a corner gathering dust. Anyone have experience with them? Are they repairable/worth repairing? Thanks in advance.

I believe that the Marshall Artist is a hybrid amp. Not absolutely certain. I’d check out the Marshall Amp Forum and search out that amp. I recall seeing quite a few threads there on that amp and I recall it getting good tone reviews.

I owned a ‘72 Marshall Artiste, but a totally different amp than a Marshall Artist.

 

[Dacious]

Try it. Many people find them to be good amps. I have a 4501 Hi Gain Dual Reverb with similar topology. Regardless of the first two solid state states it's a good sounding amp. As long as it's cheapish - make them an offer.

 

[mexicanyella]

I used one briefly at a gig (main act’s guitarist let me use it) years ago and thought it was pretty cool. I recall it being a 30-watt 1 x 12 combo with a solid state preamp driving a tube power section. Can’t remember if it was EL84s or EL34s though.

If memory serves it was in the JCM800 crunch tonal neighborhood. I do remember liking it at the time.

 

[Wildeman]

I have a 4203, the combo version, and love the thing, it's a monster.

 

[Jakedog]

I’ve owned four different 3203 heads. Which is pretty crazy considering most sources cite only around 400 ever being made.

If I’m ever lucky enough to own another one, I will not part with it. I’ve learned my lesson.

They’re killer amps. With a couple real simple mods they’re out of this world.

They sport a single preamp tube (PI), the rest of the pre is SS feeding a 2 X EL34 output section for about 30 watts RMS at 8 ohms.

They’re built every bit as robustly as any other 80’s Marshall. The gain channels are very, very good for 80’s era rock and metal. I used mine for the clean channel. Great as a pedal platform for just about any kind of music.

Simple mod to greatly improve the clean channel- pull the chassis, find C13, and clip one leg. It’s a night and day difference. I also liked to run the GT E34L power tubes in mine. More headroom and girth.

The weak spot is really the reverb, but a better tank will cure that as well. All in all they’re some of my favorite Marshalls. Real sleepers.

If I remember right, there’s something weird with the channel switching. Like I think you can only access the dirt channel by footswitch. You can’t manually switch it on the amp panel. Lots of the rock guys I knew that only used the dirty channels would just jam a dummy plug in the footswitch jack and that would turn on the dirt channel.

 

[stormsedge]

Thanks all! Great info. I'll check it out the next time I'm over there. It didn't look like it was going anywhere fast.

 

[mexicanyella]

I’ve owned four different 3203 heads. Which is pretty crazy considering most sources cite only around 400 ever being made.

Really, only 400 of the head version? That is weird; I’ve seen two of the head version for sale used at different stores and was tempted to try them but never did. With that few produced it surprises me that I would cross paths with any at all.

 

[uriah1]

Saw Kim Simmonds sporting one once. Nice amp!
Combo version

 

[Jakedog]

Really, only 400 of the head version? That is weird; I’ve seen two of the head version for sale used at different stores and was tempted to try them but never did. With that few produced it surprises me that I would cross paths with any at all.

I could have it wrong. But I swear I’ve read it was somewhere in that neighborhood. I remember being very surprised by the number.

 

[Caffiend]

The dummy jack trick is pretty par for course with 80s Marshalls iirc. I'm sure my old JCM800 spch/rev had something that you needed to do that for (or use foot switch). I'd totally buy it if Marshall crunch is what you want. They're good amps, I've shared stage with players running these before too.

 

[Neptical]

Always wanted to try the 3203. I have a few 3210s ( lead 100 ) and 3315 ( 150w sibling). They're my favorite SS amps! Those amps absolutely go head to head with my tube amps... easily.

 

[knizek4]

I recently picked one up and I'm very satisfied. Similar to what Jakedog said, the gain channel does that marshall thing, and the clean channel on its own or as a pedal platform is wonderful. I wanted one because I have the matching 4x10 cab (which is also fantastic). Real happy with the purchase of the 3203. The foot switch jack on the front panel is annoying but that's the only fault I have with it so far.

 

[Lucybaby]

I’m Late to this gig but what the hell. Got one for anyone interested in acquiring on the bay. For 550

 

[rizender]

I haven't had hands-on experience with the Marshall Artist 3203 head, but I’ve heard mixed things. It's a solid amp if it’s in good condition, but like with any older gear, repairs can get expensive, especially if parts are hard to find. It might be worth checking with a tech first to see if the issues are minor or if it's something that’ll cost more than it's worth to fix

 

[Lucybaby]

Have had this for about 3 years. Best tones are with pretty much any thing with humbuckers. My amp addiction has brought me to the tipping point at 10 right now. So your right about older amps and potential nightmare repairs, but I’d have to say this ones a safe bet at the listed price. Then again, I’m the one selling it!

 

[fender4life]

I had one briefly because i couldn't wait to sell it. Not the head, bu the artist combo. Maybe it had an issue i wasnt aware of, i dunno. But at the time i was gigging a lot with JCM900s and JCM 800s and i also loved some of those solid state 80s marshalls. I swear some sounded more marshall like than the 800/900 amps. So i figured a artist with it;s SS preamp section would be like those SS 80s marshalls, and the tube section, which i always believed is where a lot of the marshall magic happens, would be a great combination of tubes and SS. Boy was i wrong. Worse marshall i ever owned. Looking back they were one of the least popular marshalls of that era so i tend to think mine didn't have an issue, just wasn't a good design.

 

[VeeMcwiththeRobin]

I believe that the Marshall Artist is a hybrid amp. Not absolutely certain. I’d check out the Marshall Amp Forum and search out that amp. I recall seeing quite a few threads there on that amp and I recall it getting good tone reviews.

I owned a ‘72 Marshall Artiste, but a totally different amp than a Marshall Artist.

Noel Gallagher used an Artist series hybrid for 1st 2 Oasis records- combined it with a F-style combo. Many hate those fellas but the guitars sounds are pretty great