Rare Marshall Class 5 Amplifier Review - Inside and Out - Played

[@twlowe19]

thanks for the vid! Just recently saw one of these (regular black one) at my favorite hock shop, and I had to go look the model up! Interesting, and it has the advantage of having more than just a volume knob!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Pretty rare amp I think and always worth looking at closely. Thanks.

[@twlowe19]

@@tonymckenzieofficial I went back a day or 2 after my first post and bought it for about 200USD. Its....well....Marshalls very own take on the Fender Champ...and it's great, not trading this one. I think it went for so little because its so poorly known around the states.

[@soapboxearth2]

I recently built a 5 watt amp. I used the 5f2a Tweed princeton circuit, but I added a tmb tone stack with marshall jtm values. I added a raw switch and bright switch. Also, I used a 100k pot for a variable negative feedback control. I am very happy with the result. It definitely has the marshall sound. Huge amounts of vintage gain on tap and some beutiful cleans. I use an attenuator with it. I used a 12ax7, 6v6gt and a 5y3 . The donor amp was a black heart little giant which had a marshall style cab.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Sounds a good project to have a go at... thanks for the post and for watching...

[@aipsong]

Thanks for the video - your guitar playing could make any amp sound good - and your in depth exploration is always an education.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks aipsong.... for those kind words...

[@cucarachavengadora]

Glad you are back! Nice review as usual. Greetings from Mexico City.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I bet its warmer there than it is here :) Yes been hard work different things of late but I'm around just a bit slower for now. More presently... and thanks for watching.

[@Thomasdgolden]

I like the fact that the board is actually made in the UK. It’s a cheap build but hey, it’s small. Nice work all around. The board mounted pots, I wasn’t expecting any miracles there. It’s a Marshall. Nice video man. Keep on keeping on.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes and you know how many amps I have showed with questionable origins from other companies - there are many. I liked to see the board from the UK too. Not a bad amp at all - my guess is the series are very similar which is something Marshall seem to be doing these days. There are a few Marshall low wattage coming with similar/same internals and there seems a drive towards different looking(aesthetics) amps. One coming soon ;-)

[@Thomasdgolden]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Yea a lot of fluff comes out of the branding. A good company makes a good product then sends it overseas. Not many compare. Celestion did a nice job though. Chinese celestions are on par with UK.

[@rickycompton2610]

Great video Tony as always what a sweet little Marshall Head people seem to have lost there love for Marshall but not me I’ve always played them the ones made in the UK are great amps.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Oh I don't know, I also still think Marshall make the originals, and the 'others' make what they might call custom amps, but in reality are Marshall amp designs with a few extra bells and whistles of comparable types of amps... I mean, take a look at most 20w amp heads and the copiers are rife with 'their' mods that could even have come from other Marshall amps :) I have had the 'odd' Marshall made in Vietnam (I think it was) and I could not really tell much difference except that it said it on the tin so to speak. I like that because they don't 'hide' behind the 'Made in *****' and Marshall tell the truth. It's always been a bone of contention when I see companies do that - IMO some of them basically mislead people. I can name many of them. Thanks...

[@eharmicar]

I own a Class 5 head and 2 Marshall C-10 cabs.Bought years ago when they first came out.Never had the amp past half volume.Seriously loud 5 watt head.Gets very close to the sound of a Plexi.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I liked the Class 5 and it certainly does deliver on the volume :) Thanks for watching.

[@MrRandali]

NIce to see you again!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Sloooow Sloooooow Sllloooooooooow Sloooooooooooooow :)

[@clovergrass9439]

Big fan of the class 5...I have 2 heads, 1 combo and 4 cabs.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

A very good amp... hang on to them and thanks for watching.

[@josephpickard3108]

Fun fact about this amp. The Class 5 circuit is practically identical to the tube era Roland Cube.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Interesting. Thanks for watching.

[@ducacalainho]

I have one exactly like that and don’t plan to the rid of it. It’s a great amp.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

These amps really are pretty rare these days and as limited amp a nice one if you can find one. Good stuff. Thanks.

[@davidstorm4015]

I owned a head exactly the same as this one and modded it with the 'Lyle Caldwell' mods as the sound from stock was underwhelming. I added a master volume and made some other mods to resistors etc to give the amp a more usable sound and more flexibility. Sold it after a year for the same price as I paid for it.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I don't know, I do think it's all subjective though and what one guy might like another would not. I like driven amps a lot and they are a preferred choice, but some of the less driven stuff is cool too. Thanks for the post and for watching.

[@josephpickard3108]

I think people expected a lot for the price point. Best thing for this amp is a proper cab.

[@vainestlamb5917]

It's a beautiful little Marshall

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes I think so too.

[@Bluejeanmusic1984]

Ive been offered one of these in this colour, with matching cab! And also a Marshall jtm 60 3x10" combo. I play in the usual classic rock bands,pub gigs etc. Both same price amps £400 . Which would you suggest ?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Personally I would get the separate amp and cab and that way you can easily use different cabs if you want to . Thanks for watching.

[@DetroitWrecker666]

This is kind of a neat little amp! The first thing I'm impressed with is the board. They could have made it a LOT smaller and over populated. It's nice to have room in between resistors and capacitors, in the case you have to work on it. I'm not exactly impressed with potentiometers mounted to the board, and many other things.... But, it really doesn't look like a bad build. Very organized and neat.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Yes I thought so too - and EASY to remove that main board really. I am not particularly a fan of the open ends on the chassis (seems a little lame but I understand the reasoning) and the pots... although as I said I have never had a problem with those type. The amp actually feels like quality overall as a product and was particularly well finished on the outside. Thanks for watching.

[@davidstorm4015]

The board is really flimsy and poor quality, it's extremely difficult to remove and re-solder components without breaking pads and traces, even for someone experienced with soldering work

[@bluesingmusic3443]

Sounds pretty good.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

It's pretty cool for the money really...

[@Robinallenyukon]

I've got the original style head and cab ... the combo model has a low power setting and the speaker is directly connected to two pins on the board marked +/- ... I put in an extra 1/4 in jack wired to the pins and you then get the low power from the head ... it's a great amp I will never part with it !!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for that info Paul very useful and thanks for watching.

[@Crunchifyable2]

Is the speaker it came with in the cab the key to getting a good sound out of it? I was never really happy with mine, made a few modifications. I guess it's no JCM.

[@thelonetwangster]

Great little amps - I have the "standard" black and gold version with the cab. One thing I will say is the 'headphone out' is absolutely appalling - no idea why they bothered.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I have to say I did not plug that in... an omission for sure on my part and thanks for pointing it out too....

[@Crunchifyable2]

It's basically a built-in attenuator. But definitely was a product that was outdated in its time.

[@supermanwhereareyounow3081]

I like the amp but i really need fx loop...is this the same as the regular C 5 amp?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I get that. I have not checked the regular one though... it could be... not too much info sorry.

[@davescupper5789]

Great vid, ive got a class5 combo,it sounds good but its got a bit of a rattle at high volume but who cares. That guitar playing at the end is very good, it sounds like rory gallaghers 'shadow play',check that out if you have not heard it before. Dont go nicking any of his licks mind.😊

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Ha I wish I could be like Rory... that's very unlikely. :) In any case thanks for watching.

[@davescupper5789]

You got your own style stick with it. Thanks for replying

[@philipTOMPSETT]

Hi Tony Just read your article on the Orange Valve tester. Are there any other ones you’d recommend for an electronics novice? Thanks

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Not that I know of I have onlyy had little practice with them. The orange one is questionable... thanks

[@hailmaryrecordings8255]

Love it.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks for watching...

[@Velranius_Ghodrim]

Hey Tony nice video as always :) Do you still have Engl E670? Can you, plz show it´s inside? thx.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Sorry I sold it a while back... a very great amp sadly now discontinued... and VERY complex inside... I do have some footage so I'll look if theres enough for a video.

[@Velranius_Ghodrim]

@@tonymckenzieofficial Thank you! I have E570, but want to buy 670 too, so I looking forward to see it's guts :)

[@Andrew-ry7iw]

The board says issue 4. Must have been an experimental project considering they only made 50.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

I think the board is likely from other versions...

[@allanmacuser]

Nice job Tony when l saw its just 5 wats l thought this is not going to be loud enough,,,,,,,, wrong again well done

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Trust you're OK Allan and yes a not bad little amp...

[@vinceruland9236]

A 5 watt tube amp is equivalent to about 20-30 watts of solid state as far as volume goes. I have this amp in a head and combo both and they are LOUD.

[@santiagomoreno696]

Is that one preamp tube, a phase inverter and a power tube?

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Good question read here: 300guitars.com/articles/article-demystifying-the-phase-inverter/

[@ElcanaldeReyesManuel]

Un gran vídeo

[@johnwebb2562]

Hi Tony 👋 Love your playing, amp sounds great as well. just was wondering about the control of the volume on the amp, does the gain kick in more when you raise the volume or are you using a pedal to get your overdrive sound. I remember trying an amp out called a subway blue's MESA in a big shop in Manchester and you had to floor it to get a drive Tone at the expense of bleeding ears all because it had no master volume control. Any all the best . John.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

It drives more louder... good that its 5 watts... I have also used the floor pedals off and on. Think Plexi but more drive nearing JCM800 without the master gain. It is quite reasonable... not metal :)

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Thanks.... and for watching...

[@NathanHassall]

Its a decent amp for the price but Id still rather get a Katana because its more versatile & far better bang for the buck

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

Depends what the buyer wants. If you want out and out Marshall, the class 5 is very nice for the price. The katana is very versatile but it ain't a valve Marshall!

[@Velranius_Ghodrim]

solid state kakana better than all tube real amp? wow

[@rgbplumbinghilton]

@@Velranius_Ghodrim no one said it was better!

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Both different beasts I think... we all like different solutions I guess...

[@johnmiller9219]

cheap pcb, cheap components. Open a Soldano and see what a real amp looks like.

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Oh I agree... BUT... I can buy 20 of these for ONE Soldano SLO... Even if the Marshalls failed my guess is that the 20 probably would outlast the single SLO. :) Thanks for the post and BTW the BEST amp build out there is the Mezzabarba M Zero One shown on the review I completed on my channel - you should see it if you have not....

[@PainterDans]

I have one going on 15 years old, still works and sounds great

[@chickenlickin3820]

your room sounds terrible, needs acoustic treatment : )

[@tonymckenzieofficial]

Not the room... I think that's the effects on the lead guitar...