Marshall SV20 Snarl!

[@stricknine8623]

A quintessential example of Classic, Hard Rock tone at its very best !

[@howabouthetruth2157]

I agree 100%. This little amp is so much warmer & dynamic vs my 50w JCM 800. In order to get my JCM sounding anywhere close to this, the master volume was way too loud for real working situations in most clubs. With the master backed down to usable levels, the JCM loses most of it's headroom. For real working guitarists performing local clubs, I believe this little Plexi is the best amp Marshall has ever made. 100% manufactured in their England factory, and much of the circuitry is hand-wired.

[@vespass225]

Best tone and attitude I ever heard. Heard dozens and dozens of demos of the SV20, but none ever touched even the slightest what you do. Phenomenal.

[@mattrobinson]

Thanks a lot mate. Very kind of you

[@vespass225]

@@mattrobinson You are very welcome.

[@vespass225]

@@mattrobinson Looking at this again, and yes, smokin'... This time around I am considering the SV20H or maybe a used 1987x... The 1987x possibly has a slight edge in fullness and dynamics in tone, but the SV20H is pleasingly convenient when it comes to size and weight.

[@mattrobinson]

@@vespass225 I have come to the same conclusion as you in my research too. I’m looking at the 1987x for my next amp

[@vespass225]

@@mattrobinson OK, interesting ! Have you by the way ever listened to our finnish rock guitarist Euge Valovirta and his channel? He demoes a 1987x vs JCM800 2203, and is really enjoyable to listen to.- Classic 70's rock, more Van Halenish stuff and metal, but rather skilled and sympathetic fellow. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooKUioGDrNV-Zrc&ab_channel=EugeValovirta and kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaWwemaZZbypr80&ab_channel=EugeValovirta

[@TIGER6505]

The Best I have heard! Incredible sound! And I think the power station does the incredible job with this amp because it leaves sound as it should! Many other brands not let the amp tone breath in this way!

[@curtpozzi5527]

Great demo, great playing. I could relate a bit with these mini lower watt heads. I got the EVH LBX 1 awhile ago. Sounds real close to the bigger 50w combo I have.

[@barneywewer954]

Wow. What a Sound

[@massimos6863]

Awesome playing Awesome Tone ❤ guitar 🎸

[@sglee4708]

Damn man I like your style and I love your amp I just got one headed a few days and just learning to dial it in I'm loving your videos thanks a lot

[@zippy61]

Killer all just killer !!

[@ahof1985]

This sounds pretty awesome, especially considering you're running through an attenuator. That Power Station makes my Rockcrusher sound cheap!

[@vespass225]

Yes.... I have an Aracom attenuator in price range 900$ which has been considered among the absolute best, but it does not leave the tone and dynamics this open and fresh. Awesome.

[@jademartin1982]

Amazing tone and playing

[@78thandSynth]

Really incredible. I settled on Boss Waza TAE with the SV20H and am still searching.

[@johnmarshall3903]

Should have bought the Fryette!

[@78thandSynth]

@@johnmarshall3903 DOH! Wanted the studio functions of TAE. The tone journey is never over though. this is hot.

[@cbiltz75]

I already have a twin brother who plays guitar but I think you may be my twin ha ha ha!!! Same rig man!!! Its the best setup for recording and live gigs. The Fryette opens that amp up so much. I run mine into two evh 2x12's live. Its gold.

[@mattrobinson]

Ha ha, it’s funny because my wife overheard me listening to a video of yours and thought it was me playing 😂 Your video has made me want a fender to crank through the fryette too now

[@cbiltz75]

@@mattrobinson that’s awesome 😂

[@cbiltz75]

@@mattrobinson it’s probably the most versatile tone there is with just a tube screamer and a delay and chorus in the loop of the fryette. It’s actually kinda scary how simple it is. And Eddie knew it and used the same principles 🤘🏼🇺🇸🦅🎸

[@howabouthetruth2157]

This video, along with your video description, is exactly what it's all about. This is exactly what I love about this little Plexi: It's got plenty of SWEET gain..........yet it's so touch sensitive, it cleans up SO nicely with your pick attack. The amp is plenty loud enough.....as a matter of fact, for medium sized venues, it's loud as hell. It can hang with the loudest drummer. Yet it won't sheer the enamel off the teeth of the crowd & kill small animals. The ONLY way I could get somewhat close to this ability with my JCM 800 ( 50 w ).........was with the master volume set too damned loud. But the little Plexi does it perfectly. It ain't no bedroom amp.....that's for sure. But it stomps my JCM 800 for all of the above.

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers mate, yeah I think Marshall definitely nailed it with this one. I can’t stop playing the thing ha ha

[@howabouthetruth2157]

And I can't stop posting comments under your videos, lol. I'm being totally serious when I say I believe you are doing more justice with this little Plexi than anyone else on youtube. Your demonstrations along with your taste & approach to guitar & how to get the right tones via pick attack, are spot on, in my opinion. This amp is so touch responsive & reacts so well to various pick attack, with the warmest & most authentic tones. All at real world usable volume levels. Damn.......if only they made this amp back when I was performing. My JCM 800 was only "authentic" when cranked, and at 50 watts rms, it was just too damned loud for the building. I always tell the young, fledgling guitarists: You can always add gain to an amp, but if that amp doesn't already have the ability to clean up nicely WITH headroom........ya just can't put that in it. Sure, there are small tube amps that clean up even better, but they have nowhere near the medium to higher gain warmth & tone as this little Plexi. Subscribed. Rock on young Brother.

[@mattrobinson]

@@howabouthetruth2157 cheers mate, very kind of you. I’m thinking of doing a future video on the dynamics that can be had with just pick attack on this amp. If you set the amp right you can literally go from clean to overdrive with just how hard or soft you hit the strings. It can be very expressive especially for blues/rock tones.

[@howabouthetruth2157]

@@mattrobinson Exactly! That's a great idea! ( You have already demonstrated that quite a bit with your playing in some of these videos. But new guitarists need such things pointed out to them. ) I immediately discovered this quality while demo'ing this amp myself. Both the head with cab and the combo were equally impressive. Of course the head with cab has more bottom end, but for guys who really dig the sound of the old original studio recordings of classic rock albums will certainly love the combo. Many guitarists don't realize that the majority of those great studio albums were indeed recorded using small tube amp combo's. Joe Walsh used an old Fender Champ sometimes in the studio. Jimmy Page used the old Supro combo's for the first 2 Zep albums. The open back cabinet sound is noticeable. Lots of guys really wish that Marshall went with a 12" speaker instead of the 10", but Marshall claims via extensive testing, the 10" speaker delivers a more authentic overall sound, much like those old studio albums. I guess it's down to personal preference. But hell, the combo version has an auxilliary speaker jack, so most any speaker combination could be used with the right ohm's. The only other modern small tube amp that is as dynamic & touch responsive to my knowledge, is the Friedman Pink Taco, but it costs so much more. Dollar for dollar, I believe I would rather buy the SV20. The money saved could go towards other gear.

[@robertmazurowski5974]

He is using ther power station so this is probably bedroom volume...

[@DesDeNova-USA]

Ferocious!

[@turbofabio]

Great tone, and hands! :) Cab and Mic, or IR from the output of the Fryette?

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers mate, 4x12 with greenbacks and mic’d with an sm57

[@skyemoz6559]

Awesome 🤩

[@AstralToneworx]

Pure rock tone!!!! Are you still using Tone rider pickups? Love your videos Matt. Keep them coming.

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers man, yeah I’m still in love with the alnico ii classics ha ha

[@donmcdonald4874]

Sounds great! I want a Power Station! How do you think it would be with a variac dialed in on the power of the Marshall?

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers mate, I’d like to try a variac for that brown sound. Sounds great from what I’ve heard of other guys on KZbin doing it with their Marshall’s.

[@KelsterVonShredster]

sounds awesome man!

[@AngelMartinez-qs3cf]

Sweet!

[@rickoleary]

awesome! what cabinet are you playing through?

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers, it’s just a Marshall MG 4x12 with greenbacks

[@KauffeyBean]

Loving your videos! For the overdrive tones, were you taking the signal from the attenuator to feed the reverb?

[@mattrobinson]

Thanks, yeah the attenuator has its own fx loop so I always put my delays, choruses and reverbs in there and it keeps them all crystal clean

[@KauffeyBean]

@@mattrobinson Thank you!

[@BlackWolfgang70]

Except for the phaser i am seeing ( but not connected ) wich pedals are you using ? The tone is amazing

[@mattrobinson]

Thanks man, it’s just guitar straight into amp.

[@BlackWolfgang70]

@@mattrobinson it's pretty good tone

[@mattrobinson]

@@BlackWolfgang70 cheers, it’s definitely the best tone I’ve ever had from an amp

[@totc6196]

Killer tone. What level would you say that this is at bedroom ?

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers, yeah all my vids are recorded at bedroom volume.

[@DelReiRock]

Excellent! Did you use any booster or just the Power Station?

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers, no pedals except reverb in the loop, just guitar into amp into attenuator into cab

[@DelReiRock]

@@mattrobinson I have the SC20 and I'm seriously considering a SV20 as well... Your tone is awesome 👏🏼

[@mattrobinson]

@@DelReiRock thanks mate congrats on the sc20

[@JakobSlash]

Did you use any pedals for this one? Sounds AWESOME!

[@mattrobinson]

Hi, no guitar straight into amp on this one, cheers

[@littlechrisvanhalen8783]

Matt do you have a good Van Halen 1 brown sound setting with effects please? Thanks sooooo much CHRIS!🤟🔥

[@mattrobinson]

Hi mate, the best van halen 1 tone I got was with a strat with low output humbucker plugged straight in to the high treble channel with everything on 10. From there, just a good splash of reverb in the fryette fx loop. I’m going to a video on it soon 🤟

[@littlechrisvanhalen8783]

@@mattrobinson 💪💪💪💪💪🤟🤟🤟🤟⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@littlechrisvanhalen8783]

@@mattrobinson Thanks buddy!

[@flaneursong78]

Awesome tone, congrats! Are you able to reach very low volume with the Fryette? (like late night volume with people sleeping in the house :)) I have several more traditional attenuators, including the Captor X, and found out that for some amps to be cranked it would still need a bit less volume... Thank you!

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers. This video was recorded at loud conversation ish volume but I usually have it lower. Yeah late at night I have it whisper quiet and it still sounds great. Really no difference in tone other than what you normally get when turning anything down, like a hi-fi

[@flaneursong78]

@@mattrobinson that’s really great to know, thanks a lot!

[@KitaristChannel]

What kind of interface and preamps are you using to record :)

[@mattrobinson]

Hi, just straight in to a scarlet 2i2

[@gregggiomi7122]

Perfect snarly tone 👍 I WANT ONE...!!! I had a jcm 2000 dsl with a carl martin plexitone that got similar tones, loved it!! Had to sell last year (big bummers!) This sounds even better!!! Thanks for the demos, Please keep it up 🤙 Hey are you using the tonerider burminghams on this??

[@mattrobinson]

Hi, thanks I’m using the alnico ii classics

[@gregggiomi7122]

@@mattrobinson thanks for the reply. I'm torn between the alnico ii's & the Birmingham's... Seems like if you already have the "Snarly" marshall, the alnico are good to go... On the other hand.., If you need more "Snarl" .. The Birmingham's are the ticket..., yes?

[@mattrobinson]

@@gregggiomi7122 I’d say the classics are better for this kind of tone. The Birmingham’s are more dry and less classic sounding

[@gregggiomi7122]

@@mattrobinson Nice! Thanks for your opinion! I play like you do... And (Always searching for tone) I appreciate & trust your opinion...🤙 Keep on.... Brother!!!

[@libor0711]

Thx. Straight to the point video and - my oh my - that tone :-). I think I'll be getting this exact combination - SV20 with PS2... saw your other video, but does it really sound this good and at a "survivable" home volume? Ie. 80-84db? Thx again, great playing.

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers mate. Yeah all my videos are at ‘home’ volume level that you can still have a conversation over. It really does sound the same at all volumes. Even very low like 2am with the family asleep. It doesn’t really work like a normal attenuator where the tone changes with more attenuation. The attenuation is already done before you choose a volume. The volume you choose is just how loud you want to ‘re amp’ with the built in 50w tube amp. It makes the amp act as the ‘pre amp’ and the fryette is the power amp. So it’s like using the volume as a gain knob in a way. It really is simple to use and just feels like you’re playing an amp into speakers. There is no attenuator feel to the sound at all to me.

[@libor0711]

@@mattrobinson Thxalot! Sure sounds great. Gonna give it a shot. Not cheap, but that sound’s totally worth it. Cheers!

[@rottarot4750]

@@mattrobinson great tone and playing . I have a question what does the device the station on top of the amp do ?

[@mattrobinson]

@@rottarot4750 hi, thanks. It’s a reactive load and re amplifier. Let’s you run the amp volume as high as you want to get the big cranked amp sound while keeping the actual volume as low as you want

[@Kjetil_MB]

Razor sharp tone. Love it 🤩 what cab are you using?

[@mattrobinson]

Cheers mate, it’s a Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks

[@qwertpain]

What for is that power station ? Amp is bad without it ?

[@mattrobinson]

Hi, It’s an attenuator. It lets you crank up the amp to where it sounds good without having to have the amp loud. This amp needs to be turned up loud to get the classic sound it’s famous for. Without the power station it would be far to loud for me to use. Hope this helps, cheers

[@yearginclarke]

Aside from the reverb and whatnot, is this just the sound of the amp with no overdrive pedals?

[@mattrobinson]

Yeah just guitar into amp

[@yearginclarke]

@@mattrobinson Thanks for the reply. I have this amp with the matching SV212 cab, stock speakers. Also use a Rivera Rockcrusher for an attenuator. I use a Gibson SG with a 57' classic pickup in the bridge and another Dean guitar, but my stuff doesn't sound anywhere near this good.

[@mattrobinson]

@@yearginclarke I’m not sure without hearing your set up but the fryette powerstation can’t be be underestimated for how good it makes the Marshall sound at low volumes. I’ve tried other attenuators and hated them as they ruined the tone in my opinion. The fryette preserves the tone perfectly and if anything adds to it.

[@yearginclarke]

@@mattrobinson I'm interested in the Fryette now. I had never heard of it until today, but it seems to get really good reviews from what I'm reading, and it sounds amazing on your videos. So that's probably next on my list of gear. I don't have the option of playing the amp unattenuated, the thing is WAY too loud for where I live.

[@andrewjeff]

Very nice tone, what guitar? 🎉🎉🎉😊

[@mattrobinson]

Thanks mate, it’s just a Harley Benton les Paul copy.

[@andrewjeff]

@@mattrobinson wow! I’ve same amp about a few days and i’m trying to figure out how to make it sound good as you. Thanks

[@mattrobinson]

@@andrewjeff I can give you my usual settings as a starting point. Presence: 2 Bass: 5 Middle: 5 Treble: 2 Loudness1: between 4 and 8 Loudness2: 0 I change it depending on the style I’m playing but that is my default way of setting it

[@andrewjeff]

@@mattrobinson thank you so much for these tips! I am waiting for more videos from you. Cheers.

[@fionn8057]

What pedals were you using?

[@mattrobinson]

None in front, just guitar straight into the amp and a reverb in the loop of the fryette (tc electronic h.o.f)

[@fionn8057]

​@@mattrobinsonClass. Great tone

[@fionn8057]

@@mattrobinson do you reckon the head would be loud enough through a 2 x 12 for a loud drummer? Set at a distorted tone similar to the video. Thanks

[@mattrobinson]

@@fionn8057 definitely loud enough with a loud drummer in my opinion. Especially cranked up.

[@fionn8057]

@mattrobinson good to know, thanks!

[@chanceterrill5346]

Any pedals or is this straight in?

[@chanceterrill5346]

Also what guitar n pickups...... Sounds great btw

[@mattrobinson]

@@chanceterrill5346 cheers, it’s just guitar straight in. It’s a Harley Benton les Paul copy with Tonerider alnico ii classic pickups, they are low output P.A.F types

[@richardpryor2981]

@@mattrobinsonsounds great! Do you remember what speakers you were using?

[@mattrobinson]

@@richardpryor2981 cheers, yeah g12m greenbacks

[@incitatus634]

Is it possible to install a master volume instead of a Fryette PS2?

[@mattrobinson]

I’m sure you could get one installed but with the Fryette you can use it with any amp you want

[@Zorin1990]

Ну обычный классный Снарл, что. Только щас на Дисторшне все почему то играно