I think my Origin-20 is pulling ahead of my SV-20 in my preference list!

[Goober23]

I have had both for several months now. I love them both dearly.
Lately I've come to really jell with the tone of the Origin when cranked up loud.
It brings it! The SV is amazing but right now I'd say if you don't want to part with
such serious coin don't be hesitant to get the Origin. One caveat is that I put a 12AU7
in v-1 of the origin. I never used the original tube with the amp turned up so loud so I don't
know how that sounds.

 

[scozz]

That’s pretty interesting, you’re not the first to say something like this. I’m sure that’s not something Marshall wants to hear, lol!

What specifically are you hearing that is leaning you towards the Origin?

12au7 preamp tubes have quite a lot less gain than a 12ax7, is there a specific reason for putting one in V1?

 

[fitz]

I almost put my O20H back in the box when I first got it.
Then I tried some 803S log plates.
Not really lower gain, but thicker, beefier tone.
Pass that signal on to a pair of big bottle 6CA7 power tubes and out through a pair of 112 greenback cabs.
My O20H lil' stack rivals the tones from my Ceriatone JTM45 through the 1965 A&B (L-35s & M-30s).

 

[Goober23]

That’s pretty interesting, you’re not the first to say something like this. I’m sure that’s not something Marshall wants to hear, lol!

What specifically are you hearing that is leaning you towards the Origin?

12au7 preamp tubes have quite a lot less gain than a 12ax7, is there a specific reason for putting one in V1?

For me the 12AU7 seems to strike a good balance between Pre and power tube clipping.
As For the SV-20: Don't get me wrong it is a spectacular amp. The SV has that capability to "mush out"
and is a little more difficult to control. It also needs to be turned up to 7.5 or higher to reduce the shrillness on the high treble
input. Thus you need to roll back you guitar volume a lot to get it to clean up a bit. This creates a challenge to get the tones I crave out of the guitar.
As a "screaming Plexi", I find it to be one of Marshall's better amps though.

 

[TXOldRedRocker]

You, @Mitchell Pearrow and @Gene Ballzz could sit down over a drink and have a very interesting conversation about this.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

There are a number of us who have the Origin’s and love them.
Glad that you found a combination of tubes that work for your preference @Goober23 @fitz

 

[Neptical]

Right on OP!

I love my O50 heads as much as my 50w Plexi and my JCMs. Hard to have just one take on a Marshall as they ALL offer something unique in their own way - and I will add the SS amps as I'll always praise them just the same.

Of course, I'm still looking at what other options are next.

 

[scozz]

There are a number of us who have the Origin’s and love them.
Glad that you found a combination of tubes that work for your preference @Goober23 @fitz

And that number grows every day bro!

 

[J.LaGrassa]

Origin 20 head is an awesome amp imo, I do like the amps tone when cranked but I prefer to hit it pedals and being able to use the fx loop just gives me more options.
Digging this amp more than the DSLs I've had over the years.

 

[Cal Nevari]

I have had both for several months now. I love them both dearly.
Lately I've come to really jell with the tone of the Origin when cranked up loud.
It brings it! The SV is amazing but right now I'd say if you don't want to part with
such serious coin don't be hesitant to get the Origin. One caveat is that I put a 12AU7
in v-1 of the origin. I never used the original tube with the amp turned up so loud so I don't
know how that sounds.

Great post! I love my Origin 20C and recently sold my SV20C. The latter needed to be cranked too loud to get a decent tone. Even with an attenuator (Bugera PS1) I could never get a tone I really liked. Too brittle. Anyway, my Origin has the stock tubes and sounds wonderful to me. It seems the best all-around low-cost Marshall around. I also have a DSL-40CR, which I leave in our practice space for rehearsals. The Origin works great for home practice at low volumes, and for small gigs it's got more than enough power. For larger gigs, we usually mic the amps, so it's perfect for my purposes. The SV20C is pretty amazing and might be perfect for some players, but it just did not work out for me.

 

[Cal Nevari]

Origin 20 head is an awesome amp imo, I do like the amps tone when cranked but I prefer to hit it pedals and being able to use the fx loop just gives me more options.
Digging this amp more than the DSLs I've had over the years.

Definitely a great pedal amp. There is another thread where the question of whether the designation "good pedal amp" is actually a sly denigration, but IME this is not the case. The Origin is both a solid amp on its own and a good pedal amp. My DSL is a good amp as well, but the whole reason I got it was for the 2 channels and 4 modes. Unfortunately, I have never been able to embrace to OD channel. The Clean Crunch mode, however, is gold. Love it. The amp is just too heavy (over 50 pounds) for my older back to lug to gigs, so it lives in our rehearsal studio. The Origin 20C at 30 pounds is just right.

 

[speyfly]

I have had both for several months now. I love them both dearly.
Lately I've come to really jell with the tone of the Origin when cranked up loud.
It brings it! The SV is amazing but right now I'd say if you don't want to part with
such serious coin don't be hesitant to get the Origin. One caveat is that I put a 12AU7
in v-1 of the origin. I never used the original tube with the amp turned up so loud so I don't
know how that sounds.

Haven't bought any gear in quite a while and been thinking about the Studio 20, glad I saw your thread, the G.A.S. is gone now...

Thx Goober23 for your honest opinion, always have loved my OR20H, great amp.

 

[vivanchenko]

I am playing my 50 W Origin with just a reverb and I am loving it this way. This makes power chords sound clear, punchy and solid as rocks.

Not sure why everyone is fixated on pedals. The Origin sounds fantastic without them. I am thinking of ditching the reverb, because reverbs tend to make amps sound thinner.

The Origin also has probably the best power attenuation on the market. The best home amp I ever tried. The 50 W version sounds fantastic at 10 W.

Another huge plus is that unlike the 20 W Studio amps, the 50 W version has great cleans. The boost function was meant to add more dirt for solos, but with single coils it actually greatly increases clean headroom.

Why am I comparing a 50W amp with 20W Studios? Because it costs less and it brings a lot more to the table.

 

[Cal Nevari]

I am playing my 50 W Origin with just a reverb and I am loving it this way. This makes power chords sound clear, punchy and solid as rocks.

Not sure why everyone is fixated on pedals. The Origin sounds fantastic without them. I am thinking of ditching the reverb, because reverbs tend to make amps sound thinner.

The Origin also has probably the best power attenuation on the market. The best home amp I ever tried. The 50 W version sounds fantastic at 10 W.

Another huge plus is that unlike the 20 W Studio amps, the 50 W version has great cleans. The boost function was meant to add more dirt for solos, but with single coils it actually greatly increases clean headroom.

Why am I comparing a 50W amp with 20W Studios? Because it costs less and it brings a lot more to the table.

Great post! In re pedals, to my ear the Origin 20C cleans boosted by a blues driver sound better than the 20C dirty tones. Just my preference. Also, in live situations it would be tricky to dial in the clean and dirty tones on the fly, so my approach is to get a good clean sound and then boost or dirty it up. Furthermore, for home practice it is too loud when properly dirtied up. All of the above IMHO.

 

[vivanchenko]

Thank you and yes, I see what you mean.

 

[speyfly]

I am playing my 50 W Origin with just a reverb and I am loving it this way. This makes power chords sound clear, punchy and solid as rocks.

Not sure why everyone is fixated on pedals. The Origin sounds fantastic without them. I am thinking of ditching the reverb, because reverbs tend to make amps sound thinner.

The Origin also has probably the best power attenuation on the market. The best home amp I ever tried. The 50 W version sounds fantastic at 10 W.

Another huge plus is that unlike the 20 W Studio amps, the 50 W version has great cleans. The boost function was meant to add more dirt for solos, but with single coils it actually greatly increases clean headroom.

Why am I comparing a 50W amp with 20W Studios? Because it costs less and it brings a lot more to the table.

I will second your assessment of the Origin not really needing OD's. My go to pedals are a Engager Boost (onboard boost is OK but have much more control with the pedal boost) in the front if I want to drive the preamp a little harder, fx loop- delay, reverb and a chorus once in a while. From rock to blues, the Origin line of amps does get the job done!

Regarding pedals, I think it's more about having fun, trying new stuff and learning. I have a drawer full of pedals, someday I'll get around to putting them on CL.

Great thread vivanchenko!

 

[Neptical]

Not sure why everyone is fixated on pedals. The Origin sounds fantastic without them

Different horses, different courses.

For me, my Origin 50s are my clean base tone in which it HIGHLY excels at making it a fantastic pedal platform. I use a lot of cleans ( coming as a big Fender fan). If I have a great base to work from, I know my ODs and modulation are going to sound pretty superb.

Also, for the gain I play (more JCM-ish), ODs are absolutely necessary. If we're talking more classic rock stuff, I'm sure it's great.

 

[BRMarshall]

Before buying my O20H several years ago I watched/listened to a lot of videos. This was through small computer speakers. To me there were differences between the Origin20H and SV20H, but for my purposes the price difference didn’t make sense. My Origin seems to have a more open sound than my other (small collection) of amps. I do run 3 different ODs in front (Archer Ikon, Fulltone OCD-ge, Behringer TO800) with EQ, chorus, reverb & Ditto through the loop. The Origin tone and 3 distinct overdrive tones makes me happy. Funny, but the Behringer ($20 on sale) is my favorite tone for late 70ish tones. I thought at the time I’d compliment it with a DSL20HR, but the price increase has aggravated me - $500-> $800… really? I’m happy enough my Origin set up to not pay the new DSL price.

 

[Pipe dreamer]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I have an origin20h and love it. I want a second amp for stereo and considering another origin 20/50 or the sv20h

As OP has both, have you run the two together in stereo?

 

[speyfly]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I have an origin20h and love it. I want a second amp for stereo and considering another origin 20/50 or the sv20h

As OP has both, have you run the two together in stereo?

The SV20 is where I would be going, it adds a diminution that only a Plexi can cover and combined with the OR20, be prepared for a BIG GRIN to develop. The two amps really compliment one another.