Marshall 8040 ValveState 40V

Hybrid with one 12AX7 for a bit more warmth
1 input => 2 channels + effects loop
Output power between 35 and 40 watts
Lots of settings, but it has a stack tone that demands to be modified.

UTILIZATION

Easy to dial in. It's a pretty versatile amp in terms of sound.
Here are some tips for people who like to mess with the electronics:
Check the solder joints and change the chemicals because the quality decreases with age. The easiest mod to rediscover the amp is to replace the TL072 (OP amp) with a 5532 ($1 per piece): The sound turns clearer, much more detailed and with more breadth.
Replace the ceramic capacitors with polypropylene for the tone controls and, especially, don't heat the PCB like a madman because Marshall used a somewhat cheap build.
After all that you end up with a very brilliant clean channel and a dynamic distortion.
NB: Change the original 12AX7, which isn't the best; a 12AU7 does a pretty good job, too. Also change the reverb link capacitor, it isn't great.

SOUNDS

It's very good for country, rock, jazz, blues.
It's an amp I lend a lot, and I can only say that it has always come back safe, despite the age and the power amp being solid-state.
Personally, I don't think it's that good for metal and its 40W aren't enough.
The speaker quality is not so bad compared to other amps at the same price point.
I like the clean sound but not so much the distortion (although that's very subjective).
Also note that the reverb isn't bad at all.

OVERALL OPINION

I've used it for over 10 years.
What I like best is that it's easy to use, lightweight and has a nice look.
What I like least are the pots, which are really lousy and need to be replaced regularly (3 times in 10 years).
Back then I didn't test many other amps. I bought this one secondhand.
If I had to, I'd buy it again but I would also make the changes earlier.

40w solid-state amp with tube preamp and one Valvestate 8040 speaker

Manufactured in the '90s in the UK. That's where it gets its charm from.
On the other hand, like with many other amps at this price point, the sound starts to "leak" after several years.
So you effectively get less output signal and less sound.

You can resolder the output capacitors, but it's always the same problem.

So, the only solution is to bridge the input and the output (of the preamp) and the sound comes miraculously back!

In short, it's a good amp for beginners with a quality clean sound and a nice, not-too-distorted boost.
It simply can't be compared to an all-tube amp, but it's a good compromise and, given its price, it's a safe bet.

I recommend it to people starting out.

UTILIZATION

Not many buttons, which makes dialing in easier, interesting reverb.

SOUNDS

The clean sound is all right, it's better than an mg50 I have. The tube is not there for nothing!!!

The boost is all right.

OVERALL OPINION

Nice size, not too big. I use it at home but not live, for that I use a 100W tube Peavey that is more aggressive.

Tube preamp with one 12 ax 7
Solid-state amp
40 watts of output power
Spring reverb
Clean channel + boost channel, nothing could be simpler, EQ for both channels.

UTILIZATION

Extremely easy to use: Plug in, dial in and it works...

SOUNDS

Magical sound, I've had a hard time getting the same sound with other amps (even with a more powerful Marshall). I use it for all my recordings.

OVERALL OPINION

Very good hybrid amp, but the pots are pretty fragile and must be replaced often.

Other than that, you won't be disappointed by the good old Marshall sound.

40W amp with tube preamp and solid-state power amp.

2 channels: clean and boost with EQ each (bass/mid/treb for clean and bass/treb for boost)

1 gain control on each channel (which works as a volume control on the clean channel)

1 Contour control on the boost channel, and I don't really know which characteristics of the signal it actually affects (I'm no sound engineer, but it's something between EQ and compression), but it allows you to have a wider sound palette ranging from fat distortions to dryer sounds (think of a howling fuzz).

1 volume on the boost channel

1 12" Celestion G12L speaker

1 spring reverb

Limited connections: line and preamp outputs, power amp input, footwitch.

UTILIZATION

It's very easy to use, since it doesn't have too many controls.
The only tricky part is the Contour control, since you have to fiddle with it to find out what it does (there's no word about it in the manual). But, hey, music is trial and error, isn't it?

SOUNDS

The sound is perfect for me. I have a Leduc D2 (with a Seymour Duncan Invader) and I play mainly rock.

The clean channel is completely transparent and the EQ is very effective. I use it with only a bit of reverb (that of the amp) and even a light Chorus (taken from my Zoom MRS-8).
A negative point is that increasing the volume on the clean channel makes it crunch, so it's impossible to play clean at high volumes without a PA system, or to play with a crunch in an apartment...

The boost channel is very rich: You only need for the right combination between gain and contour, but it offers plenty of possibilities. I play almost all the time with the gain set to 6 and contour to 4. The sound I get is dirty enough and not very precise when paying rhythm guitar (I was looking for a way to come close to the deluging OD of Pixies and Placebo), while always having a fat tone for solos (the sound is powerful enough to toggle between rhythm and solo without the need of more gain).

The reverb is very warm. Surely due to it not being digital. But don't overuse it or it will drown your sound. I only use it with clean sounds because it doesn't fit my playing style with the boost channel.

OVERALL OPINION

I have used it since 1995 with only one accident: The connection between preamp and amp started giving some signs of struggle after several years, which resulted in a not very stable volume. But that's a known defect of the amp, you only need to connect a plug between the preamp output and the amp input and all is fine. Or you can always have it repaired, which is more expensive .

What I like best: The very rich boost channel with "tube" sound, the sturdiness.
What I like least: The clean channel doesn't have enough controls (although you don't buy a Marshall for the clean sound).

With hindsight, I would buy it again, it's an excellent value for money and it''s easy to use.