Marshall 2550 Silver Jubilee [1987]

Note: I'm writing this review about the Marshall 25/53 Jubilee, which is a smaller box version.

The Marshall Silver Jubilee came about in 1987 as the flagship amplifier to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary. It was based on a hot-rodded Marshall circuit with cascading gain controls, but it also had a clean channel and was available in a very cool silver tolex. It delivers 50 watts of power (powered by EL34s of course) and has two channels. The EQ is shared between the two channels and it consists of bass, middle, treble, and presence. On the back of the amp are the requisite speaker outputs, footswitch jacks and the send/return plugs for the effects loop. The first gain knob is a push/pull that toggles between the two channels. As I stated before, the two gain controls are cascading and a bit of tweaking is required to get the right balance between gain levels for both channels.

UTILIZATION

Getting a good sound out of this amp is easy and difficult at the same time. Dialing up a great tone on one channel is easy and straightforward, but getting the two channels to balance can be a tempered nightmare. Because the dual channels share gain and EQ controls, plus the gains are cascading, it can be a chore to get a gain level that suits both channels and there is definitely a bit of patience involved in dialing it in! If you think of it as a one channel high gain amp (or as a high gain amp with a really gritty sounding "clean" channel as a bonus) then you might fare better, but for those looking for sonic versatility, you aren't going to get it with this amp without some tweaking.

SOUNDS

I've tried this guitar with various Les Pauls, Strats, and the odd superstrat here and there. In my opinion it offers one of the best (if not the best) high gain tone that I've ever heard from a stock, non-modified Marshall. All the traits of a good Jose, Friedman, or Cameron mod are here... tight and responsive low end, a subdued but still punchy midrange and a snarling, vicious top end that screams with harmonics and perfect overtones. It's great for everything from Van Halen/Ratt/Dokken of the early/mid eighties all the way up to modern shred tones. If you back the gains down you can get a nice classic rock tone for stuff like Michael Schecker Group or Deep Purple with ease.

The clean tones are good as well when set right and I would say they work well for jazz/blues type things quite well. You can't really switch on the fly like I stated before, but when the amp is setup for good clean tones, it can produce some great unique clean tones that remind me of a goosed up old Fender or VOX.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Marshall Silver Jubilee is a great amp for anyone looking for an awesome hot-rodded Marshall amp who doesn't want to get something that's been modified. It has all the traits of a killer sounding Marshall. Sure the functionality isn't great, but there are other amps for that. If you take the Jubilee for what it is, it's probably the best stock Marshall ever produced for high gain. They're getting harder to find and more expensive so snap one up while you can!

Amplify lamps with 2 EL34 and 3 12AX7
Effects loop
Switch to switch faade 25w 50w
1 Push Pull faade to activate or not Diod Clipping
2 channels (1 clear and 1 saturated) + the clipping

Gray Tolex as the whole SERIES Silver Jubilee

UTILIZATION

So not rocket science for the configuration c childish, they branch and it works!
The sound you get simple c ben c marshall sound !!!!! This amp is low on the famous JCM800 2203 and 2204 which are vritables legends (if not the best Marshall ever made!)

So here is the preview to close trs sound of Slash in Apetite for destruction ....

SOUNDS

I myself will rev well even if I have not yet baffle marshall .... I use a Epi Les Paul Custom flametop is a team of SD alnico pro2 to easel, so that's a config c among many others but hard!

OVERALL OPINION

I've had a year. Scratch bought a professional in Canada (Pinto Crystal Pistol). Rve is the scratch of baucoup of his original followers of Marshall and reputable of this jewel is widely MRIT!

Any takers .. BMOL small, so it's a Vintage relative cost of in between 900 and 1500 euros OCCAZ course and according to the State.

See other reviews.

Warning: There is no reverb on this amp. You will have to invest in an external pedal (EH Holy Grail for me) to place in the effects loop. Too bad then (but at the same time, the Holy Grail is better than that available if many amps).

UTILIZATION

Very simple configuration:
a button to switch from 25 to 50W.
Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Gain (push-pull button, which switches to the crunch channel), a master volume knob that manages the volume of the clear channel and is the master on channel saturated (note that s 'acts in a push-pull button that switches to the boosted channel, a passage which is also done very well through the footswitch).

The settings are fairly easy, as in what Marshall.

SOUNDS

I play with a Gibson Les Paul Standard. Plugged into a Marshall 2x12 1936.

The clean sounds are really nice, I played with a lot of reverb, and it gives a fat sound when I play with the neck pickup, and sounds pretty flashy with the bridge pickup (it is better the highs down a bit in this if there).

The crunch sounds are very nice too: you can get sound to AC / DC, or sounds very rock 1970s.

The saturation is very hard rock in the spirit Guns N 'Roses. I play in these cases with the bridge pickup, and I have a great sound, you can go out to the sounds of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden carefree. on the other hand, no black metal with this amp: for cons, with a pedal, it's something else.

In short, this amp is quite versatile.

ATTENTION: you have to really push the volume high to get the sound: if not, the distorted sounds are not good: personal, I play with the lead channel volume at 3 / 4 master and half (all in 25W) . I have almost never been able to do because I play in a room and there I am well aware that the lights in your room is not manageable (by the way, I just sell it because believe me, it makes noise, and it is impossible to get Marshall sound without pushing the amp: I can not push my amp unless I want to have located the famous sound)! However, if you play in groups, in a room, you will make you happy

OVERALL OPINION

I played with for a year. I thought it was manageable in a room but I was wrong. We must push hard enough for sound. The few times I pushed him (in the middle of the afternoon, as little as possible to annoy the neighbors), I too liked the sound ... Perhaps with an attenuator could have been better, but I doubt it.

Cons:
no reverb (compulsory purchase in my opinion)
like all tube amps, obligation to push hard

Assets:
25/50W switch that allows you to push without making too much noise (but that enormous mouth anyway, believe me!)
The famous Marshall's, Guns N 'Roses (especially with a Les Paul): hard rock attitude
Ease of use
No breath of noise, it is perfectly silent when you release the ropes

For specifications see the other view.

Brief remark in passing, not to play with the reverb is pretty good too. The effects loop is parallel I added for effect against a rack that allows me to have a real chorus, not a chorus in series ... with the defects inherent in this ...

It's really easy to use, with one reglagle tone to make it clear to the channel or channel saturated. on the other hand I quickly abandoned the original roland pedal as not strong enough for my taste and not long enough to use it on stage.

UTILIZATION

Scene repeated in rooms quite spacious, home studio rooms and forget

SOUNDS

I too agree that when you leave you can not have a big metal type sound today, it's just a matter of adjustment. Personal For more than four years since I played it and I did not get any better in terms of presence. For sound it is true that if you use mode as the 25 W to throw away, it is useless, where this amp will give the full measure of its capacity mode is at least 50 watts third volume of masters or you're dead.

OVERALL OPINION

I love this amp but it has the biggest problem of all that is Marshall a flagrant lack of gain. As against the level of fine grain it is just very clever, nothing to do with the Mesa which is a larger grain, but let's say the dirtiest. Finally I have the 2555 model namely the two combo HP ... it's heavy and there's very heavy it is super boring for transportation but against the advantage of having two speakers is just the presence. I jous on my PRS or my gibson Les Paul I have never been disappointed with my sound.