This month, I’ve mostly been looking at gear to solve problems I’ve run into (or questions that I want to answer) for my upcoming Marshall Origin 20H long-term review.
Palmer PCABM Passive Cab Merger / Junction Box
Earlier in the month, I wrote about my worries when switching between physical amps. Eventually, I’ll get the KHE ACS 8×4 amp switcher, so that I don’t have to worry any more.
Until then, I’ve picked up a Palmer PCABM to be the place where I plug in all of my active speaker cables. It’s not a cable switcher, and it doesn’t offer automatic load protection for my amps. It’s simply a signal splitter that I’m using as a basic junction box.
It sounds good (as in, I can’t hear it changing my guitar tone at all). And, for some reason, my brain is less worried that I’m going to make a mistake when I switch amps.
Celestion 100 Alnico Open-backed 1×12 Impulse Responses
I was watching a recent demo that compared a modern 5e3 Tweed Deluxe amp (built from a kit) with a vintage Tweed Deluxe amp. To make the comparison fair, Tanner demoed both amps in the same cab and with the same speaker: a Celestion 100 Alnico.
I don’t recall ever hearing of the Celestion 100 Alnico before. Didn’t know it existed. But I do use Celestion Blue IRs with my Tweed Deluxe amp; and my bucket-list Lazy J 10LC amp uses a Celestion Blue speaker too.
As official Celestion impulse responses are incredibly affordable, I decided to grab a pack of Celestion 100 Alnico IRs to try with my Tweed Deluxe amp.
I’ve only had time to try them with my Marshall Origin 20H. I was pleasantly surprised by how well this speaker works with the Origin 20H for both clean Strat tones and dirty Strat lead tones.
A very positive first impression.
Celestion G12M-50 Hempback Open-backed 1×12 Impulse Responses
Seeing as I was already on the store for official Celestion impulse responses, I thought I’d take a look and see what else is currently available. And the G12M-50 Hempback caught my eye.
I couldn’t find all that many real-world reviews of this speaker. So this one is a bit of a punt. But that this price, why not? I’ve been really enjoying my old collection of Celestion IRs in the last few months. Maybe I’ll find a use for this one too somewhere along the way.
I have quickly tried it with my Marshall Origin 20H. It’s immediately obvious that this speaker is voiced for mid-scooped Fender blackface tones. It seems to blend very nicely with either the Celestion 100 Alnico (or the G12T-75) to produce a rounded, mid-focused lead tone.
I think I’m going to have a lot of fun experimenting with this one.
Celestion G12T-75 Open-backed 1×12 Impulse Responses
Celestion Plus offer a Pick n Mix bundle: three impulse response collections for less than the price of two. That’s not a typo. It costs more to buy two collections individually. So it was a no-brainer to get something to make up the full bundle.
Why the G12T-75 impulse responses? At best, this is a marmite speaker in a 4×12 speaker cab. So why in an open-backed 1×12 cabinet?
Professional guitarist John Wesley recently picked up one of his bucket list amps: a Marshall JCM 800 1×12 combo. He’s just published his first demo of the amp, and it sounds pretty good with its original stock speaker. That speaker? A Celestion G12T-75.
I’m going to be publishing some Synergy 800 audio demos as part of my Marshall Origin 20H long-term review. (The Synergy 800 is a JCM 800-voiced amp.) So why not try it with a Celestion G12T-75 IR?
I’ve spent about an hour with it and my Marshall Origin 20H … and it wasn’t horrible. I don’t mean “it wasn’t as horrible as I expected”, I mean that it actually sounded quite interesting. I’ll have to make some time to dig into this some more.
Marshall JMP Synergy Preamp Module
For my upcoming Marshall Origin 20H long-term review, I need a plexi amp to compare it against. You can’t get more plexi than an actual Marshall JMP amp. A vintage JMP amp would be wasted on me, but Marshall’s official JMP module for the Synergy system? That’s exactly what I need for this.
I was very surprised to see this being sold off at a very nice discount in the January sales. It was Synergy’s big release for the second half of 2025. (I could have paid even less for it if I’d bundled it in with a Synergy SYN20IR amp.)
Right out of the box, it has that classic Marshall sound. Unlike with the Origin, there’s no doubt or debate at all. It’s immediately there. I don’t think of myself as a plexi amp guy, but I must admit: it’s a very addictive sound!
I’m really looking forward to using this in my updated “Is it plexi enough?” comparison piece.
Marshall 1959 Super Lead Distortion Pedal
This is another purchase for my upcoming Marshall Origin 20H long-term review. I want to know whether I can make my Marshall Origin 20H sound like a plexi amp by using it with a plexi pedal.
This pedal is part of the new “gold enclosure” series of pedals that Marshall released at the start of 2025. It doesn’t cost as much as a typical boutique plexi pedal does, which makes it an obvious choice to pair with the low-cost Marshall Origin 20H.
And if it doesn’t turn a Marshall Origin 20H into a plexi amp, who knows, maybe it’ll sound really good into a typical pedal platform amp anyways?