Marshall 4001 Studio 15 [1985-1992]

I'm primarily a rock and blues guitarist, and my co-guitarist and I maintain what you'd call a "roving line of trade credit," but I ended up trading him about $600 worth of gear for it (don't worry, he knew the amp's value!) and I can say, quite literally, this is the amp I'll shuffle off this mortal coil with.

I usually play a '63 Strat through it, but I also use a telecaster and an SG, and it makes everything sound amazing. The mid control is really the key to this amp. I've kept the bass at 10 for 5 years now because, well, it's a Marshall, but I always fiddle with the treble and mids. Want a clean tone? Put the mids around 2, the treble to taste, and crank the gain. Want a Vox tone? Mid around 6, treble to taste (for me it's around 6), and the gain at 4 or 5. Full-on Marshall your style? Crank everything to 10. Even that sounds amazing.

I realize I'm gushing about this amp like I built the thing, but I spent almost 2 decades chasing a tone like this. No matter your style, if you find this amp and can afford it GET IT! You won't regret a single note.

Single-channel 15W amp
Tubes: 2 x 6V6GT for the power stage and 2 x ECC83 /12AX7 for the preamp.
Speaker: Marshall Celestion Vintage 30 (12 inches) 60W / 8Ohms, specially developed for this combo.
Gain, treble, middle, bass, output level controls.
Switches: standby/power
1w and 2w modes
Balanced direct XLR output

USE

The amp is easy to use, you get a good sound right away. The middle control is somewhat special since it allows you to change the amp's tone.

SOUND

This amp has a very nice clean sound and a JCM800-like distortion, even if the distortion is a bit less "brutal" than that of its 50w and 100w siblings.
You can get lots of different crunch sounds, despite the few controls available.
An amp conceived for rock, blues, punk, hard rock.

OVERALL OPINION

I switched from a 100W JCM800 to this amp a year ago and I don't regret it, because like every good tube amp you really need to crank up the volume, at least to 12 o'clock, to get a pure sound (which was impossible with the 100w). This combo can really be driven.
This amp is more than enough to play in a pub, unless you only play clean sounds (it crunches as soon as you drive it). Personally, I'm not a fan of the attenuator, which chokes sound a bit, I prefer to increase the gain and lower the volume.
Is it the ideal amp? Yes, in 95% of the cases, I only miss my big JCM800 in large venues (but I don't play such venues frequently), because the projection of a X4 cab is in a whole different league.
Anyway, I intend to keep this amp, it follows me everywhere

One of the most highly sought after Marshall in history. This amp was a modern marvel at the time. It had features that Marshall guys put in it that put it above anything they have ever done at the time. This thing was a tone monster and the features were out of this world. Today you can still find them in the classifieds and online but you'll pay a lot of money for a 15 watt combo. These amps sounded more like Vox amps then they did a Marshall. Most likely because they used 6v6 power tubes instead of El34 or 6l6's. This was the first and only amp from the fellas at Marshall to feature these tubes.

UTILIZATION

# 15 watts, all tube. 2 6V6 power tubes. The first and only Marshall to use 6V6's.
# Built-in attenuator: 25 watt, 10 ohm, wire-wound power resistor. The "speaker emulator" [one user's term] is "nice for headphone use or for recording use". The first and only Marshall amp to include a built-in attenuator.
# Balanced direct XLR Out - the only guitar amp in the brochure to have this.
# Headphone jack on the back. The first valve amp that had a headphone jack.
# To use the attenuator, you unplug the cable of the built-in speaker from the Speaker Out jack, and plug it into the Headphone Out jack instead.
# Made 1986-1992.
# Controls on the front: From left to right: Input / Gain / Treble / Middle/ Bass / Output Level / Standby / Power.
# Controls on the back: Left to right: Power cable connector / Fuse / Balanced Direct Out (Floating Ground) / Speaker Out 8 ohm (disconnect speaker jack for muted or h'phone use) / Headphone Out / Line Out (unbalanced).
# 1x12 combo.
# 1 channel.
# 12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker - the first Marshall amp to use this speaker.
# DC preamp tube filaments to minimize hum and noise.

SOUNDS

The tone is fairly Marshal-esque. The ton sounds more like a Vox Ac15 than anything else. The distortion is mild and not as hotrodded as other amps they have done. It has a good breakup but the voicing sounds more of a milder Marshall instead of the angry distortion we have come to know from Marshall.

Like all Marshall's Gibson Les Paul's work best in my opinion. I just prefer this tone of a Les Paul over anything else when dealing with a Marshall amp. I also like a Charvel or a Superstrat of some kind to get that alder body wood tone and still have some beefy humbucker pickups installed.

OVERALL OPINION

These amps have been discontinued in the early 90's. You can find them on evilbay for about $850. That is a bit high for what you would think the used price for an amp like this. I think it is the 6v6 power tubes and the built in attenuator than make this amp unique and more of a collector's piece.