SOLD! - Marshall Handwired 2061X 20WATT "Lead & Bass 20" reissue Upgr
UPGRADED with a Hammond Power Transformer for more warmth and "chime", NOS Siemens ECC83 preamp tubes, NOS Russian matched EL84 power tubes and NOS 60's Philips Mustard and Hunts caps - NOW it sounds as it should!!
This 2-channel Marshall 2061X has been built and hand wired in Marshall's Milton Keynes factory in England. It is a nice compact all-valve 20WATT guitar amp head and a reissue of the original and famous 2061 "Lead & Bass 20" which was made between 1968 and 1973.
It has been built as close to the highly sought after original as possible and just like the original it produces that highly desirable, hand-wired, vintage, all-valve sound in a compact small box design. The 2061X’s classic tone of this example is produced by two NOS ECC83 valves in the preamp, a pair of NOS Russian matched EL84 tubes in the power stage and a silicon diode rectifier. The solid-state rectifier gives the 2061X a very hairy edge and the upgradede Mustard caps give it a true vintage sound!
Marshall have gone to enormous lengths to seek out and/or reproduce all of the original components and materials, plus revisit the original methods of construction they used back in the late 1960s/early 1970s. From the handwired tag-board circuit, to the custom-manufactured Dagnall output and mains transformers. But to make things even better, we have replaced the Dagnall power transformer for a bigger and warmer sounding Hammond!
It sounds at its best when cranked, and because of its lower power, the 2061X’s EL84's will overdrive at a relatively low volume, making it incredibly flexible, whether in the studio or for live performance. Having said that, at full tilt the 2061X is pretty loud, while remaining sensitive to playing dynamics. The Marshall 2061X’s sweetly distorted, harmonically rich, thick, musical tones result from the power valves being overdriven. As a result, when ‘cranked’ the 2061X is incredibly touch-sensitive, cleaning up or, if desired, sitting right on the edge of distortion when the guitar’s volume is turned down. It responds well to picking dynamics too.
The Marshall 2061X features two channels each with its own high and low input. Channel one is known as the lead channel and has the classic Marshall tone. The second channel know as the bass channel is much darker sounding and is voiced for a tighter low-end. Of course both channels can be linked together using a cable to bridge an input from the lead channel over to an input from the bass channel. There are plenty of tonal variations to be had out of the 2061X, which is a very cool little rocker indeed!!
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You think the amp is too loud? Here's a volume trick that is hidden in these amps:
- Plug into the upper input of the bass side of the amp.
- Dime the lead and bass side tone controls.
- Raise the volume of the lead side until you hear a very fizzy, very faint sound.
- Raise the volume of the bass side just enough to balance out the fizz.
- You should now be enjoying your 2061x at or slightly above speaking voice level.
- Play around with the tone controls and the low inputs for more tonal options.
And here's the recipe for the best sparkling clean sound out of the Marshall 2061x:
- Plug into the upper input of the bass side of the amp.
- Dime the bass side tone controls.
- set the tone and volume controls of the lead side to almost 8.
- Raise the volume on the bass side to taste.... and enjoy.