ORI20H?

[rmlevasseur]

I can pick one up used local for $300, minty. I've never owned a lower wattage amp, and still use mostly my SLO and AC30 at home. I've heard some nice youtube clips. Just kinda bored and would like to try something new. Do people still like this amp? I am confused if the sv20 kinda replaced it or what happened there in the product line. Thanks for any input, and any tube suggestions for it welcome.

 

[fitz]

I can pick one up used local for $300, minty. I've never owned a lower wattage amp, and still use mostly my SLO and AC30 at home. I've heard some nice youtube clips. Just kinda bored and would like to try something new. Do people still like this amp? I am confused if the sv20 kinda replaced it or what happened there in the product line. Thanks for any input, and any tube suggestions for it welcome.

HNAD!
I have the Origin 20H and the 50H - both great amps.
Power scaling works well and the Tilt knob kinda emulates the channel blending of a 4 hole.
I use a "few" pedals with mine and can get just about anything I want out of them.
I have a TRS adapter in the FS jack that just leaves the loop and boost always on.

As far as tubes go, the O20H is cathode biased, so just about any octal based power tubes will work - no need to set the bias.
I like 6CA7's the better than the stock EL34's, and KT-66's can get the amp close to JTM45 tone.
Big bottle tubes will keep the amp cleaner, and little 6V6's can get cranked into overdrive at relatively low volumes.
Not sure what sort of tones you're after, but I like long plate JJ 803's in the preamp.

 

[Cal Nevari]

I can pick one up used local for $300, minty. I've never owned a lower wattage amp, and still use mostly my SLO and AC30 at home. I've heard some nice youtube clips. Just kinda bored and would like to try something new. Do people still like this amp? I am confused if the sv20 kinda replaced it or what happened there in the product line. Thanks for any input, and any tube suggestions for it welcome.

It's a great little amp and that's a great price! Go for it! You won't be disappointed. The Origin 20 is a wonderfully versatile amp. It is not an SV20. They are quite different. Best to try it out to see for yourself.

 

[speyfly]

I've had my Origin 20H for quite a while and I don't think I'll ever get rid of it. It's one of the most versatile amps I've ever owned, 60+ years and will cover so much territory depending on the pedals and tubes you choose to use. It did take me a while to figure the amp out and dial it in but since then, never looked back!

Note: it's not a hi-gain amp, has classic Marshall cleans and it will roar if you need it too.

For $300, that's nothing for a great amp, you really can't go wrong and there are plenty players that can help you dial it in if you need the help.

 

[jeffb]

Ive had one for 6 years now. Its a like/hate affair for me.

As long as you can get the volume up on, it's a good amp for classic themed Marshall gain sounds at a reasonable price. It's sort of a half mix of JTM45 and 1959 tonally. 80% there, but that last 20% is where the magic of the classic amps put them in another league.

I find the ORI20H extremely disappointing at low volumes and the lower power settings trying to get a "cranked sound" out of it. It absolutely needs proper speaker interaction to be in its element, IME, and certainly more than some other Marshalls like say a DSL, Jooby, or 2203/4 which can be dialed in quite well at low volume.

I use my ORI20H these days at full power, set for edge of breakup, attenuated, and use MIAB pedals to provide the bulk of my distortion sound. I'm volume limited where I live now, and that's the only (moderately) satisfying solution for me with the ORI20H.

I'd hesitate to recommend one unless you can get a healthy volume on it. Unless you just want a cleaner pedal platform, which it does well.

 

[ByrdmanFL]

IMO, you cant get hurt at that price. When/if you get ready to take it to the next level, check out @burger Headfirst Amplification YT videos to see his mods on that amp.

 

[vivanchenko]

Strange, one of the key reasons I like the Origin is because it has one of the best low power modes on the market. It's simply brilliant. Sounds better than the full power mode, because at 10 W the 50 Watter has more saturation. I am not sure about the 3 Watt mode, which the Ori 20 has, though.

 

[rmlevasseur]

IMO, you cant get hurt at that price. When/if you get ready to take it to the next level, check out @burger Headfirst Amplification YT videos to see his mods on that amp.

oh hell yea, that sounds great. Hope to pick up the amp today. At $300 I may take a shot at doing the mods myself. Any idea if the mods affects that clean sound negatively? Didnt see much info on that but need to watch more.

 

[vivanchenko]

Any idea if the mods affects that clean sound negatively? Didnt see much info on that but need to watch more.

Yes. You'd be much better off with pedals.

 

[kysrsoze]

I've owned both, and still have the SV20H... only because I wanted to have a made-in-England, more-or-less "real" Plexi. I still love the Origin 20H, and at some point, i'll probably buy one again... MAYBE to mod, but not necessarily. It does sound somewhat different than the SV, like JeffB said... more JTM. They're dirt-cheap, sound great and work very well with pedals, and the 3-watt mode does sound very good (the SV to me is MUCH louder when cranked too, and absolutely needs an attenuator if you close neighbors).

The only negative I could give the Origin is that I found the effects loop not very usable. But I was fine to run everything into the front-end, which people have done for decades with these types of amps.

 

[jeffb]

50 an

Strange, one of the key reasons I like the Origin is because it has one of the best low power modes on the market. It's simply brilliant. Sounds better than the full power mode, because at 10 W the 50 Watter has more saturation. I am not sure about the 3 Watt mode, which the Ori 20 has, though.

50 and 20 are not the same animal. 20 w is already starving voltage to the el34s at full power. At medium and low power it's castrating the 20w.

 

[rmlevasseur]

So I got this guy and I gotta say I am impressed! I dont gig anymore, but if I did I would have no problem taking this thing on the road. This is a very cool amp for $300!! With my protein pedal I can really get anywhere I need to be with it. The DI out lets me add it to my w/d/w with ease. The clean is beautiful and the wattage switch really works great. I was afraid this wouldnt impart an authentic Marshall tone but it really does. Gets a lovely "kerrang" tone. Very happy I picked this up. It adds a nice tonal option I wasnt getting through much more expensive amps in my current stable. This amp really should have been highly successful.

 

[rmlevasseur]

HNAD!
I have the Origin 20H and the 50H - both great amps.
Power scaling works well and the Tilt knob kinda emulates the channel blending of a 4 hole.
I use a "few" pedals with mine and can get just about anything I want out of them.
I have a TRS adapter in the FS jack that just leaves the loop and boost always on.

As far as tubes go, the O20H is cathode biased, so just about any octal based power tubes will work - no need to set the bias.
I like 6CA7's the better than the stock EL34's, and KT-66's can get the amp close to JTM45 tone.
Big bottle tubes will keep the amp cleaner, and little 6V6's can get cranked into overdrive at relatively low volumes.
Not sure what sort of tones you're after, but I like long plate JJ 803's in the preamp.

so what kind of tone do the jj's get? Interested in trying some different stuff.

 

[fitz]

so what kind of tone do the jj's get? Interested in trying some different stuff.

I think JJ's have a warmer tone than Russian and Chinese tubes.
Some people think they are too dark, but I have tried a lot of tubes in my Origins and for the tones I like, they seem to work best for me.
I also like them because they are usually less expensive - and they're not made in Russia or China...

If you have some tubes on hand (any brand), give them all a try.
Different tubes can make some surprising tone changes with the Origin amps, so see what works best for you.
Power tubes definitely come into play when you have the volume up, so try some different tubes there too.

Speakers are another rabbit hole to dive down with these amps and may also affect your tube preferences.

 

[rmlevasseur]

I tried some Mesa branded EL's I had...those sucked but might not have had a lot of life in them. I put a tong-sol in V1. That made the amp much more articulate and clear with still good gain. With that said, the marshall branded tube did add some warmth which might sound better with a strat. JJ tubes are weird. Can never decide if I love them or hate them. I have JJEL84s in the AC30 and I like those well enough, but their preamp tubes always seems to add a muddiness. Not sure if it is warmth or mud.