Last weekend, I picked up one of the brand new Marshall Origin amps from the friendly folks at AStrings.co.uk. One week in, how am I getting on with it? Let’s find out.
What Did You Get?
I bought the Marshall Origin 20W head.
It’s a one-channel valve amplifier, featuring a 3-band EQ (bass, middle and treble), plus a tilt control to simulate mixing the two channels on old Marshall plexi-style amps. Preamp gain and volume are controlled by a single gain control (which features a pull-out 20db clean boost). The power amp has its own master volume control, and I believe that the presence control affects the power amp and not the preamp.
This amp also comes with a FX loop (more about that later on), and 3 levels of built-in power soak / attenuation.
Why Did You Get It?
There’s three aspects to this: why I bought an Origin at all, why I went for the 20W head, and why I picked the head over the combo.
Why Origin At All?
Friends and folks who know me through Twitter sometimes ask me advice about guitars and gear. They’re not always in a position where they can – or want – to spend what it costs to get boutique-priced gear. So I’ve decided to put together a rig that’s much more available to my friends. That way, I can feel more confident that any advice I give is going to be useful to them.
Marshall’s Origin is one of the few valve amps around the £500 price point that you’re going to be able to find in your local guitar store (here in the UK). Which means you can go and try it for yourself before buying one. That’s great, because not only can you avoid the hassle of sending the amp back if you don’t like it, I get to recommend something that’ll help and support your local guitar store.
I’m also very much into guitar pedals, and Marshall’s Origin has the potential to be the de facto pedal platform amp for a whole generation. I kid you not. Right now, there’s nothing in that price point that is the undisputed King of Pedal Platform Amps. Will the Origin take that crown? My thoughts on that are at the end 🙂
Why Pick The 20W Head?
I actually went to buy the 50W head, and if it had been in stock, I would have bought one there and then. Sadly, even though Marshall had told me that they were sending out a 50W head to the shop, it didn’t arrive. That (for me) turned out to be a happy accident.
For home use, the 20W head is more than loud enough. I’ve got the master somewhere between 2 or 3 at the most, and I’m surprised that my neighbours haven’t come round and complained yet. If I’d bought the 50W head, I think I’d be struggling to keep it quiet enough for home use.
It isn’t just that this amp is loud. You know how live guitar always seems to travel through walls a lot more than if you’re listening to a recording at the same volume? That’s exactly what this amp is like. It’s got a very cutting edge to it.
The brightness of this amp is going to be running theme throughout this article.
The only difference between the 20W and the 50W head (as far as I know) is the volume that it puts out. There’s no extra features on the 50W head. If you’re gigging, the 20W may be loud enough. The 50W certainly will be.
Why Buy The Head Over The Combo?
I don’t have the space at home for combo amps. They’re much bulkier than separate head and speaker cabs.
The weight of a combo amp can be a problem for me too. I was the victim of a careless driver some years ago, and my injuries limit how much I can physically lift in one go. With separate head and cab, I can split the weight. It’s the difference between me being able to own the amp or not.
And finally, I personally prefer the flexibility of separate heads and cabs. Speakers – and the cab that they’re in – are a big part of the overall sound of a guitar rig. It’s interesting and fun to mix and match, and explore the different possibilities.
You can do that with a combo using extension cabinets – and it’s very easy to do with the Marshall Origin combos. You just need the space at home for it.
What Speaker Are You Using?
I’m running the head through a 16 ohm Celestion G12M-65 Creamback speaker in an open-backed 1×12 cab. (It’s a stock Victory V112-CB). I’ve had it a few years, and the speaker is nicely broken in.
Historically, this style of Marshall amp is associated with both G12H Greenback and G12M Creamback speakers. There’s a lot of variety in how these speakers sound, as Johan Segeborn shows us in this video:
There’s no “best” speaker choice. It’s all personal preference. The G12M-65 Creamback has been my favourite in recent years, which was handy when I got my Metropoulos Metro Plex at the start of the year.
What Does It Sound Like?
The amp is ‘vintage voiced’. By that, I mean it is an amp where most of the output is in the mid frequencies. If you want to play metal or anything else that uses a mid-scooped tone (often referred to as ‘modern voiced’), this isn’t the amp for you.
If you like classic rock or blues, keep on reading 🙂
This is a bright and cutting amp. Well, mine is at any rate, and so are the other ones that I’ve heard in person. Most of the perceived volume from this amp is in the upper mids and treble.
You can test this for yourself. Take a Strat, plug it into a Marshall Origin, and roll the tone control down to zero. It won’t just sound like a blanket has been thrown over the amp – you’ll hear the volume drop substantially too. Repeat the exercise with a different amp, and you won’t hear the same volume drop.
My choice of G12M-65 plays a big part in taming the brightness. Being a 16 ohm speaker, it’s a little darker than the 8 ohm equivalent. It smooths off the highs just enough, and pushes the mids nicely.
I think the Origin 20W head works really well with a Creamback speaker. Let me know in the comments below what speaker you pair yours with.
How Do The Combos Compare?
The combos ship with a Celestion Midnight 60 speaker. I don’t know for sure what that is, as I can’t find it anywhere on Celestion’s website. I believe it’s a 16 ohm G12N-60, known as a Neo Creamback.
It may (or may not) be slightly revoiced over the stock design. Folks are reporting that it sounds closer to a Vintage 30 than a normal Creamback. These things are very subjective though, so keep that in mind until Marshall or Celestion publish something official about this speaker 🙂
When I was buying my Origin amp, I took my cab into the shop and ran the 50W combo both through its own speaker and into my cab for a great A/B comparison.
I found the stock combo speakers to be a little brighter, and have slightly reduced mids, compared to the G12M-65 in my cab. It isn’t a dramatic difference, and hopefully the combo speakers will mellow out as they break in.
If the combo amp is just too bright for you when you try one, you might want to budget for a speaker change. Or just get the head and a separate cab instead, like I did.
Can We Hear The Amp For Ourselves?
I’m going to make some sound clips over the weekend and post them up onto Soundcloud for you. Keep an eye out for them on the blog 🙂
Which Guitars Does It Suit?
For me personally, this amp suits instruments that are heavy on the mids, such as a Les Paul or a Telecaster with hotter pickups. This thing sounds lush with a Gibson Custom Shop Historic Reissue.
Plug in something with reduced mids – like your average single-coil Strat – and the amp’s too cutting for me. Maybe you can EQ it out. I didn’t try.
The Origin is fine with the bridge humbucker on an H-S-S Strat too.
What’s It Like To Play Through?
I really enjoy playing through it.
Even on the lowest power setting, the amp doesn’t feel compressed at all. There’s plenty of responsiveness to pick dynamics (how hard or how soft you pick). It’s forgiving without feeling lifeless. I don’t think it’ll be too revealing for beginner or intermediate players.
If you dig in hard and strike the strings at the wrong angle, the amp will produce sharp transients. They can be very ice-picky. After a week with the amp, they’re not happening very often, but I haven’t eliminated them completely from my technique yet.
Playing hard doesn’t really increase how dirty the amp sounds. This is not a dirty amp.
How Dirty Does The Amp Get?
Not very.
The amp gets most of its gain from the preamp tubes (unless you really crank it). You have to run the preamp gain on max to get much breakup, and even that is not always enough. If you’ve got low-output pickups in your guitar, the amp is still going to sound cleanish.
I say cleanish, because this amp never gets super clean (unless you turn it down so much that it becomes anaemic and usable!) The amp tone always has a little bit of a gritty edge to it.
If you want super-clean tones (for example, for your pedals), you probably want a Marshall DSL instead. I have one on order, and I’ll do a side-by-side comparison once I’ve got it.
With some amps, you can slam the frontend to get more overdrive from the amp by running a boost, compression or drive pedal (with the pedal’s volume way up) into the amp’s input. This doesn’t work with the Marshall Origin.
This thing has tonnes of headroom on the input circuit and preamp. I’ve run an MXR Micro Amp (which has +26 db of gain) into the front of the amp, and it has stayed cleanish. That’s impressive.
Engage the amp’s built-in clean boost, set the amp’s gain to 8 (I find this amp gets harsh if you dime any of the controls, but that’s just personal preference), run the Micro Amp at about the same, and there’s a nice amount of crunchy rhythm overdrive to be had. It’s quite a soft crunch, not quite your classic AC/DC tone. You might have to get the power tubes cooking to give you a harder crunch.
If you’re using this amp in a 2 guitar band, I think you’ll want to use pedals for your overdrive, and to switch between rhythm and lead tones.
How Well Does The Marshall Origin Take Pedals?
Very well – with one caveat.
Let’s get the caveat out of the way. It’s not a negative, it’s just the nature of the amp. And it’s a characteristic that many folks actively want.
Because this amp is cleanish, you’re running pedals into an amp that’s on the verge of breakup. For many people, that’s the holy grail amp setup. Watch any of the great YouTube pedal demo community, and they’re always setting their amps up like this for pedals.
There’s one consequence to that. The resulting tone is heavily flavoured by the sound of the amp. The drive pedal adds character mostly in the form of texture. There’s some colour added by the pedal, but (imho) at least half the colour of the tone comes from the amp itself.
If you’re buying pedals – especially expensive boutique pedals – and you want them to be the main source of colour in your tone, you might be happier with the clean channel on a Marshall DSL instead. Or you might need to be looking at something like the Victory V40, Fender Deluxe Reverb, or a.n.other high-end clean platform.
Now that’s out the way …
If you’re looking for a pedal amp that’s on the edge of breakup, you need to check out the Marshall Origin. Thanks to that edge of breakup tone, and the huge input headroom, this amp takes drive pedals really well.
Especially affordable pedals from Boss.
Let’s not beat around the bush on this. Run a Boss DS-1 into a 3 grand boutique amp that’s set super clean, and the results are just awful. It’s asking the pedal to do all the work, whilst showcasing it with an amp that’ll let you hear every flaw in the resulting tone. Wrong pedal, wrong platform.
Now, run a Boss DS-1 into the Marshall Origin, and you’ll hear why the DS-1 is one of the best selling pedals of all time. The DS-1 adds that hard-clipping attack to the Origin’s colour, and the result works really well. Instead of pedal and amp competing with each other, the two circuits complement each other.
It’s not just the DS-1. It’s the same story with the BD-2 Blues Driver. And with every drive pedal I’ve tried so far that didn’t play nice with the super clean boutique amp.
I’m so impressed with the results that I’ve picked up some more affordable pedals to try. I’m excited by the possibilities – and surprised that Marshall aren’t making more of this.
The pedals arrived while I was writing this article. Give me a couple of days to play with them, and I’ll get some sound clips up so that you can hear them for yourself.
Drive Pedals And The Power Modes
Many drive pedals have a bass cut in their circuits. If you run such pedals into the Origin 20W head on low power mode, the bass cut is very noticeable. Probably sounds great in a mix, but not as much fun when noodling on your own at home.
Flip the power mode up to medium, and the tone shifts. The perceived highs are less emphasised, and the effect of the pedal’s bass cut is reduced too. There’s more mids, and the amp feels more open and dynamic.
The downside is that – at home volumes – you need very understanding neighbours to crank the amp up enough to get the power tubes cooking. Or you need to run it through an external attenuator like the Two Notes Torpedo Captor to throttle the output volume back a bit.
Would It Benefit From Changing The Values?
I’ve been wondering about this. I don’t know yet.
I haven’t had mine apart to see what Marshall have shipped it with. I also don’t know very much about the differences between different brands of 12ax7 preamp valves.
Depending on what’s in my amp, a preamp valve swap could make a difference. A different brand of valves might address the amp’s brightness a bit, thicken up the mids a bit more, and maybe add a bit more natural gain to the amp.
I foresee some experimentation in my future. I’ll also be keeping an eye on the Marshall forums to see how other people get on with this.
How Plexi Is This Amp?
A plexi amp is simply any Marshall amp made with a plexi-glass front instead of a brushed metal front. These amps were made between 1965 and 1969. There has never been a single Marshall ‘Plexi’ amp model. When someone talks about a plexi amp, they often mean a 100W Marshall Super-Lead, but they can sometimes mean a Marshall JTM 45.
There’s folks out there who have been hoping that this amp would turn out to be an affordable Marshall plexi-style amp. Wouldn’t it be nice to go and take an affordable Origin to a gig instead of a vintage Marshall or an expensive reissue or clone?
The only experience I have with plexi-style amps is with the Metropoulos Metro Plex module for the Synergy amp. In my opinion, that’s a special amp. If I ever had to downsize to just 1 amp and no pedals, it’d be the Metro Plex. It’s my desert island amp.
The Metro Plex is a reproduction of a specific 1968 Marshall Super-Lead amp. The Synergy module has two channels with a shared EQ. They’re basically filth and more filth. It does not clean up with the amp controls, and it is not an amp to run pedals into.
Even dimed, the Origin 20W head is much cleaner than the Metro Plex module will go. There’s no overlap there at all. Which means (for me) that the Origin plugs a huge tone gap. That’s a big win.
I haven’t yet done an A/B comparison with the two amps. (I’ll add that to the list of sound clips that I’m promising you!) Until then …
For me, both amps are in the same territory, but the different levels of gain make comparison tricky. A lot of people like plexi amps for the amp’s overdrive. The Origin just doesn’t have that kind of gain.
At the moment, I’d say that the Origin has much more top-end, and the mids are not as thick as the Metro Plex. Throw a pedal in front of the Origin, and I think you can get into the same ball park, as long as you’re not after an identical tone.
For me, that’s the key point in the Origin-vs-plexi debate. If you want to get your gain from the amp, like you can with a Marshall Super Lead, then the Origin isn’t what you’re looking for. If you’re happy to pair it with pedals, then it’s a much cheaper option than a vintage Marshall plexi-style amp, or any of the reissues or clones. I imagine its much lighter too!
One last word on this debate (for now). Marshall Super Leads were originally very bright amps, and it was common for them to be modified by their owners to tame that brightness. At this stage, we don’t know how mod-able the Origin amps are. Will we see equivalent mods appear for Origin amps, to reduce their brightness, I wonder?
Any Problems So Far?
The only problem I’ve had so far has been with the FX loop.
The FX loop only works if the (included) footswitch is plugged in. Unplug the footswitch, and the FX loop switches off. There’s no switch anywhere else on the amp to switch the FX loop back on. I’m not aware of any switch inside the amp’s chassis to change this behaviour.
There’s nothing about this in the manual (or on Marshall’s website), so I contacted Marshall directly about it on Monday. They’ve confirmed that my Origin amp’s FX loop is meant to work like this. It’s not a fault.
To be clear – the FX loop works. I just have to leave the footswitch plugged in to use it. It’s annoying. It stops me using the gain pull knob on the front panel, and it adds to the clutter in the room a bit.
It’s a bit weird, isn’t it? Was the FX loop always meant to work that way, or is it actually a screw-up of some kind that wasn’t caught early enough to rectify?
I haven’t had any other problems with my amp at all. Everything works, it isn’t noisy, and I think it sounds great.
Final Thoughts
I’m only a week in. This is very much still the honeymoon period. I haven’t yet done any recording with this amp. There’s a lot still to explore.
I’m very happy that I bought this amp. I’m getting more out of it than I expected. It gives me something I don’t already have.
I’m already covered for pristine cleans and crazy pedal platforms for the best in boutique drive pedals. I’m already covered for that quintessential Marshall amp gain tone. This amp nicely slots in alongside all of that.
I love how well this amp takes drive pedals, and I love that affordable pedals work great with this amp. It’s given me access to a whole bunch of tones and textures that I didn’t have before.
Is it going to take the crown of undisputed King of Affordable Pedal Platform amps? No. It colours the tone a little too much for that. But I tell you what – it might well end up sharing that crown with the 2018 version of the Marshall DSL amps. I’ll let you know once I’ve got my hands on both amps to compare.
Hello, I wanted to ask for help: I also have a marsh origin 20h just bought and I’m a fan of ac / dc and angus young. I wanted to ask you for help on how to set up the headboard to reach its tone. I also have pedals: Wampler plexidrive, Schaffer replica storm and ods 1 of the boss. How do I set it all up? thanks bye!
Hello. Here’s what I would do:
With the amp, set treble at 6, mids at 4, bass at 6, tilt at 4, gain at 7, gain boost off. Presence at 4. Power soak in middle or high position (low power mode cuts too much bass for my liking). These are good default settings for the Origin.
After that, the Wampler plexi drive should be easy to dial in. Start with the EQ around noon, then up the treble and slightly lower the mids to taste. Keep the gain quite low. AC/DC is about a sharp crunch, not a thick saturated sound.
Hope that helps!
Keep the master high, plenty of gain in this amp. I dont think it is a good pedalplatform at all, not clean enough. My settings on my 20head is: presence at one o’clock, master 3 o’clock, treble full, mids full, bass 9 o’clock, gain full. Tilt 7 o’clock. Just ride the volume and tone controll and you’re ready to rock. I have a delay, tremolo and eq in the loop. Great amp for the buck?
Great tips…not all of us can crank the Master unfortunately…This pedal takes drive pedals great…I used my Rat with my 20c, and it sound incredible. Drive pedals are where its at with the origin
This Amp takes..Lol..God Bless
This is a really great review of the Marshall Origin serie. I got the Origin 20 and started to be pissed because of the FX Loop that wasn’t working. By chance I found your review and didn’t send my amp to aftersale when I read that the FX Loop doesn’t work without the switch. Who does that ? Why ? Anyway it’s really a great amp and an awesome plateform for pedals.
I’m guessing here, but if you plug an FX chain into the FX loop, then you’ll use the footswitch to bypass the FX chain if you want to. But if you don’t plug in the footswitch, then maybe the presumption is that you can just run your FX chain straight into the single 1/16 input. That’s just a guess.
Anyway, I’ve got my Origin 20c on order, should arrive on Tuesday.
Hi, excellent review. Only have 2 questions:
1. In a live situation How do you manage clean/dist changes? With the footswitch?
2. Always the same question….20 watts is enough for a club without mic?
thanks a lot!
Hi Willy! I don’t play live with the Origin. If I was, I’d be getting distortion/overdrive from pedals, not from this amp. The 20W probably isn’t loud enough to play a club without a mic, if you’re using pedals. The 50W would be a much safer bet.
Any good settings for a jimmy page live sound?
I’m sorry, I’m not very good at re-creating other people’s tones.
Jimmy Page had a lot of different rigs over the years – different amps, and different guitars. If you want dirt from an amp, Marshall’s new Studio Vintage amps are probably the place to start. From pedals, through the Origin, I’d maybe go for the JRAD Animal?
I have an origin 20c and when I plug my 16ohm extension speaker in it doesn’t work. Anyone know why?
The Origin series has had its share of manufacturing issues. Have a look on the Marshall forums, or get in touch with your local Marshall stockist (or Marshall themselves, if you’re in the UK). Could be that it’s something that they’ll repair for free for you.
Hi Stuart,
Mi name is Eli, I appreciate the information on the Origin20H.
I’m just purchased one my self, I always loved Marshall and Fender Amps.
I played bass when I was a teenager (I’m 65 now).
I decided to take up the bass again after 45 years of not playing and on top of this, I decided to learn to play properly (I played by ear) and to learn to play the electric guitar.
I would appreciate some advise as I am a beginner.
I’m not experienced with guitar amps and pedals.
I do own 3 Strats, 1 is a Jimy Hendrix Tribute and the other a Gilmore tribute, both were built for me.
These are 2 of my 3 favorite guitarist.
I will number my questions to make it easier on you.
1. When connecting the Wah, Delay, Trem pedals, should I connect them in the back of the amp through the effects loop.
Should I connect the Fuzz and other Distortion pedals in the front.
2. I own a Tone Bone Plexi Tube Pedal, do you think this will help me in getting more of a Plexi/Hendrix Sound?
3. I’m running the Marshall through a Fender Super Champ XD (the speaker)
for now.
I’m thinking of buying the Marshall Origin 212 later, what do you think?
4. What settings do you recommend for the Marshall Origin20 in order for me to get the closest to a Hendrix type sound?
I think that’s it for now.
Thanks!!
Eli
Congrats on coming back to bass after such a long lay-off from it! I hope you find a lot of joy in playing electric guitar too.
To try and answer your questions …
1. you can run everything into the front input of an amp, as long as the amp is pretty clean. If you search for ‘That Pedal Show’ on YouTube, they’ve got lots of great videos on what order to put pedals into, and why.
2. I don’t have any experience with the Tonebone Plexitube, sorry. In theory, if you put your fuzz before it, you’re in with a shouting chance of getting into Hendrix territory.
3. The Marshall cabinets are fantastic to look at. I haven’t tried my Origin through Celestion Seventy-80 speakers. I’ve settled on a Celestion Blue / A-Type pairing. I’ll grab Celestion’s impulse response of the Seventy-80 and see what the Origin is like with it, and report back!
4. I’m not the best person to offer advice on that. I’ve never tried chasing a Hendrix tone. There seems to be a lot of different opinions online too about how he got the tone he did.
Maybe start with the gain boost enabled, and the gain set to around 3 o’clock, to get the amp itself breaking up? Drop the presence back to 4, treble back to 4, and then dial in the bass and mid controls to suit? When you dial in the amp, make sure the fuzz pedal is already on, and dial the volume on your Strat back to 7 or 8 first.
That’s what I’d try. Let me know how you get on, and good luck with it!
Thanks, I’ll try out your advise and get back.
Eli
It’s funny you recommend the current DSL series for their clean tone, while I’m considering switching from a DLS20 head to an Origin 20 head for less “breakup.” For convenience and flexibility in my cover band, I use a Nu-X Cerberus multieffect in 4-cable method. I’ve found that with this pedal (with its analog boost, overdrive, and distortion circuits), the DSL tends to be too bright and gritty. I get the best results on 20W modes using the Classic Gain channel with Tone Shift ON, Gain at 3.5, Presence on 2, and EQ to taste. The Cerberus’s “British-style” distortion is bright, but its overdrive mirrors a TubeScreamer. My problem is that to enjoy a true clean tone on the DSL, I have to lower its Gain to 1, where the tone becomes so thin that it’s unusable. With the Cerberus providing the high-gain tones, I have no need for the DSL20’s second channel. Part of my “problem” could be that I primarily use humbucker pickups in my guitars at 100% output. Rolling back the volume knob on the guitar does a lot to clean up the DSL’s Classic Gain channel.
Unfortunately, my local stockist has been unable to get in a DSL20 head, so I haven’t been able to play with one in anger.
I’m surprised that the DSL20H’s clean channel has so little headroom. I’m going to go out on a limb, and guess that at gig volume, the power amp is the source of a lot of the breakup you’re getting?
For gigging, I’d recommend the Origin 50H over the 20H. My Origin head is pretty clean until cranked; from what I’ve seen said on forums, I suspect most examples get dirtier sooner than mine does. The Origin 50H will give you plenty of headroom for the Nu-X Cerberus at gigging volume.
If you find the DSL to be too bright, the Origin may take your head off. It’s a really bright amp, which you can tame by your speaker choice. I’ve settled on a Celestion Blue / A-Type speaker combination in a pair of 1x12s, and I think that works really well for me. Through a V-Type speaker (as comes in the combos), it’s so bright it causes me real pain.
Nice review, I just picked up the 20H too. One little trick for the brightness of this amp is to run the mids flat out with the bass and tops on 0
Here’s a little tip for all players who claim they get a good dirty sound out of the origin or a metal tone,try this,first in line from the amp plug in a noise gate i use a boss model 2nd,MXR micro amp last,an eq I use the boss ge7 or whatever which one you prefer try it and I believe you’ll be happy if you like the sounds of quiet riot or 80s metal tones ,check it out.Mark ,guitarist 40 years experience all styles.
I tried running the DI out to a Fender Twin… very good sound with interesting results with power scaling and interaction with the Orgin 50 head and Cab! The volume reacts the same and the tone was desirable. Hard to explain but an interesting result.
Had my Twin volume on 3 to achieve a matching perceived level. No fiddling just used the Orgin head for additional tweaks.
I was surprised how the fx is ineffective as a boosting option with pedals. Something to do with the placement before the phase inverter (just saturates and compresses). A “tone sucker” in my opinion from my experience so far.
I’ve only had it a couple days so time will tell…
This is the best review I read about the 20H. I am looking for this amp over the Peavey Classic 20H that I have. I want to use it like vintage-pedal platform but I usually use the fx-loop and the issue that you mentioned make me got in doubt. I heard too that with the single-coil picks is not possible get any breakup.
If you’re looking to get a Marshall amp that will give you breakup, take a look at the Studio series. They give you that classic overdriven amp sound that the Marshall Origin doesn’t. Just be aware that they’re not very home volume-friendly!
Thanks Stuart for that great review.
I have the 50h, which I can use at home through a Torpedo Captor, then a Mooer Radar IR simulator, then my DI and finally my HiFi system. I can thus crank the amp without shaking the walls.
Anyway, here’s my question, about the effects loop.
Whenever there’s significant overdrive coming from the amp (either gain or master or both), the effects in the loop also get distorted. Sounds like I was running a reverb or delay pedal BEFORE the preamp. Never had that with other amps I own or played.
I haven’t yet found any plausible explanation on forums/FB.
Would you have any?
Many thanks,
JB
Hi JB!
I’m not sure what is causing it. Here’s my best guess, if your Origin 50H works anything like my 20H does:
My Origin’s preamp has more clean(ish) headroom than anything else I’ve ever played. Whether I’ve got the preamp cranked or the master cranked, most (if not all) of the distortion is actually coming from the power amp. A cranked Origin preamp remains pretty clean, and just hits the power amp with a hotter signal to make it overdrive. That hot signal goes through the effects loop first, before hitting the power amp.
It’s just one theory. It’s always possible that your particular amp has a faulty effects loop. Have you tried contacting Marshall at all, to get their advice?
Hi Stuart,
As I am only playing guitar for one year now (I am 50) I have first upgraded my guitar to an Ibanez RG Prestige as I like mostly metal and hard rock. I have been using this with an 90’s Korg AX-1500 multi-effect pedal on a solid state Roland 40Watt amp. I am thinking of upgrading to a tube amp and the Origin 50Combo has my interest. My only worries is that, after reading your article, this is not the best combination with my multi-effect pedal and style of music. (upgrade to boss gt-100/1000 is next on my list).
I have tested the Origin in my local store with only my guitar connected to the input but not with my multi-effect pedal in between. Would this be a fair/good combination or not at all?
with kind regards,
Johan
Hi Johan,
Hope you’re enjoying that guitar! Does your local store have any Marshall DSL amps? I think that one of the DSL combos would be a better choice for hard rock and metal tones.
I recommend that you take your multi-effect pedal along to try out the amp. Every amp adds its own colour. You need to hear how your multi-effect pedal sounds through the amp of your choice to see if they work well together or not.
Best of luck with your choice!
Hi, I have ordered the origin 20h and the origin 4×12 cab .
I will be using pedals I have like the ds-1 ,ds-2 (on setting 2) and proco rat etc.
Would you suggest running the pedals with boost off, then engaging boost for leads ? Or setting the pedals up with boost on and using a ds-2 or overdrive pedal for leads ?
I also have a AC tone pedal to emulate a vox so same question again for that , should I use that into the boosted or not boosted channel for rythym or leads?
For home practice which setting for not being evicted ? Low mid or high?
And one final question if I may , im also getting a hotone heart attack micro amp if I’m running the 20h into the 16 ohm speaker jack can I then run the hotone into the 8 ohm speaker jack and use a line selector to switch between amps ?
Thanks Mark F
Hi Mark,
Congrats on your new amp and cab. Do let us all know how the Origin sounds through the 4×12 cab. I’ve never had mine hooked up to one.
The boost adds a fixed 20 db volume boost. That’s a lot for a solo boost. I don’t gig with electrics; I imagine that’s far too much of a volume increase to be practical? It’s a clean boost. On my amp, it doesn’t increase the amount of overdrive. It just makes it louder.
I prefer the sound of my Origin with the boost off. Do try it both ways, and see what you like the most. I’d suggest using one of your overdrive pedals for leads, or even better something like the Boss GE-7 graphic equaliser pedal.
For the first year or so, I ran my Origin on the Mid power setting. I don’t like the sound of the Low power setting. These days, I run it on the High power setting. I prefer how open that sounds with pedals. I am running it into a Two Notes Captor, and using that as a -20db attenuator – but sometimes I forget to.
I don’t know the answer about running both amps into the same speaker stack, sorry. My 1×12 cabs only have the one input. I’d be cautious about trying it. You can fry your valve amp if it can’t see the load that it needs from the speakers.
Hello! I also have the Origin. I’m having some issues when using with my Boss GT100: I can’t boost the amplifier even using its own pedal as you said. Any tips?
Hi Zanini!
If the boost feature of your Origin isn’t working, it could be one of three things:
The last one is how the Origin is meant to work: the footswitch overrides the front-panel control at all times. It’s an easy mistake to make at first. Lord knows it took me long enough to get used to it.
If the first and/or second scenario describes what is happening, you need to contact the shop you bought the amp from, and see if they’ll put things right for you.
Hope that helps.
Have you tried using it with the built in dummy load. Per Marshall forum , unplug the speaker (with amp off, VERY IMPORTANT,). This activates the internal resistive load so you can use the DI out for silent recording. My plan is to get the torpedo cab m for this set up. Your thoughts.
I haven’t tried the DI out at all. It appears to be coloured (ie have Marshall’s own speaker emulation on it), which would reduce how useful it is.
When I record my Origin 20H, I run the speaker out straight into a Two Notes CAB M, and the CAB M into a Two Notes Captor. That allows me to get the amp properly cooking, and I can still use different speaker emulations on the CAB M to suit.
Hi Stuart,
I thought I would join in here be it late in the day as I have just taken receipt of a Marshall 20H myself after internally debating over weather it better to go for the larger 50H or not despite only wanting it for home use .
The only difference between the 20H and 50H (wattage aside) is the 20H is fixed biased and the 50H is not! Quite simply this means that every time you want to change the power valves (or tubes if you are American) you don’t need to take the amp (20H) to a specialist to have it biased unlike the 50H. Which no doubt will save a lot of money in the long run and before someone cares to pipe in with the pitfalls of fixed vs biased amps , yes we know but this is the compromise we all make when choosing such an amp! And on the basis you like what you are hearing it does not matter what’s going on inside as long as it sounds good and has an expectable level of reliability.
I have to be honest there is a lot more clean head room than I expected given all the online chatter which pleases me no end as I do like a good clean sound.
Turning to volume this amp certainly does have the capacity to get loud, don’t be fooled by all the online chatter that the 20H is not going to be loud enough for home use or otherwise as it is. I also have a PRS MT15 that I run clean and it is loud and gets incredibly more louder if you choose to use the distortion channel which I don’t as it is not pleasing to my ear unlike the clean channel which I Fenderish to draw a rough comparative!
I am
I literally watched EVERY YouTube video, good or bad, before buying this amp. I read as many reviews and forums on this amp as well. Everyone claimed that this was a phenomenal pedal platform amp, which sounded perfect for what I needed. I just need a baseline decent sounding amp because I get the majority of my tone from pedals. This amp simply doesn’t take pedals well at all.
Imagine plugging a fuzz pedal into a clean amp. That’s the best way I can describe it. Instead of boosting and overdriving, it clips, over compresses and sounds thin, tinny and fizzy.
Very disappointing.
Hi. Just a clarification on fx loop.
It’s not clear if the inserted footswitch disables all the front panel controls or just the gain knob.
Ty in advance.
It disables the gain pull-out. All other front panel controls continue to work.