Rare 1979 Marshall 2144 50w - A Tale of Two Speakers

[8bit Barry]

Thought I would share this - It’s a lovely clean example of a more unusual Marshall JMP era 2x12 combo. I used to gig with it in a ska band believe it or not, despite weighing a ton and not being the right match for ska, but it worked well. I made sure no one ever moved it when we gigged, so it’s super clean without any rips or tears.

- it’s 50w, master volume
- it has a switchable 6db boost
- it has a switchable reverb (Accutronics)
- sounds quite different to my 2204.
- only 100 / 200 ever made (apparently) depending on who you speak to…!
- Famous UK blues player Ainsley Lister has a thing for them. I saw him at he Birmingham Guitar Show and he said he has two of them but they are quite different from each other. No idea how this compares.
- I bought it tor £400 in 2003 from Electric Ladyland a quirky guitar store like no other in Bristol UK. I was looking for a Les Paul which I tried through this amp and left with the Marshall.


Speakers
A good twenty years ago for some reason I put some 55hz G12H30 speakers into it (which I’m sure were green when I first bought them, I’m totally confused). I sold one of the 1979 Marshall logo G12-65’s when I moved home, with the intention of selling them both as I didn’t care for them at the time - then I though that was rather silly considering the Marshall logo Celestion’s are almost year specific to 1979.


So yesterday after two years of FBM / EBay searches, someone was finally selling one - same year which I got for £160. I bit expensive, but I’m happy to get the original speakers back in there for prosperity.


It’s very clean, some light staining which I have managed to remove with isopropyl alcohol.



The transformers etc are all stock (as far as I know) if a little rusty for some reason. Does anyone know if it’s possible to clean it up? Or is it not worth bothering?




It’s looks like a 2204 but everything is labelled upside down when it’s out of the cab…


You can see the controls are all running in the wrong direction… (for those who haven’t seen a combo control panel in detail)


Speakers now installed and rewired.

When I fired it up there was an awful humming from the reverb pot, so I worked out the RCA terminals were round the wrong way.



Not sure if this is the original switch? Does the job.

Sound
It’s quite different to a 2204 - it sounds smoother and more bluesy if anything. With the G12-65’s in there it has a delightful smooth bass end that’s starts to get rather Fender like but without the super detailed treble.

On full Premp gain, it’s got some roar but I have to say I prefer it more mellow. With the black backs installed, it seemed to be a bit more biting, the G12-65’s are a better match than I first thought.

I tried it with a Custom Shop 59 and a Boss SD1 - it’s not really what it wants you to do with it. It seems to prefer more laid back vibes, unlike its 2204 brother. I think it’s the reverb telling you to slow down brother.

The 6db boost seems better when it’s on all the time. I’m going to experiment with this.

I’ve put a rack of Groove Tubes in there, again not sure why but it sounds great and also quiet.

I have to say I’ve thought about selling it a few times now the gigs have stopped, but I realise as with all things, you sometimes forget there as so many ways you can play these amplifiers.

Im glad I got the speakers back in there. They new what they were doing when they built it.

Anyway thought you would like to see it. I’m not sure it’s that valuable, but it’s certainly a very different Marshall.

 

[Georgiatec]

Nice. As you said it's basically a 2204 in a combo with added boost and reverb. A mate of mine had one. He offered to sell it to me for £600 around 12 years ago now. That was too much at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if you realised a grand or maybe a little more these days though.
I would have left the Blackbacks in there (They are from '79 also). G12H-30 55htz are my faves with a Marshall. The previous model (non MV) would have had G12M-25 Blackbacks in as the 65w speakers weren't available until late '78 (IIRC).
Your Blackbacks would probably make a couple of hundred each, should you decide to sell them.

 

[8bit Barry]

Nice. As you said it's basically a 2204 in a combo with added boost and reverb. A mate of mine had one. He offered to sell it to me for £600 around 12 years ago now. That was too much at the time. I wouldn't be surprised if you realised a grand or maybe a little more these days though.
I would have left the Blackbacks in there (They are from '79 also). G12H-30 55htz are my faves with a Marshall. The previous model (non MV) would have had G12M-25 Blackbacks in as the 65w speakers weren't available until late '78 (IIRC).
Your Blackbacks would probably make a couple of hundred each, should you decide to sell them.

Yeah the standard 2104 combo (lots of them heavily used) seems to go for at least £1200 and this is a really clean one.

The good thing is I have the two sets so I could swap them in and out. I intend on keeping both sets this time! It was more about keeping it period correct. I must admit I really liked the sound of the G12-65’s last night.

 

[BlueX]

Very nice amp, thanks for sharing! Interesting with the tone difference compared to 2204.

I've got a '79 2104 myself, with stock -65 speakers, and I think it's a perfect match. Wonderful sound!

Your amp has choke and 3rd filter cap can between PT and OT. On my amp PT and OT are tight together and choke and cap can on the other side of OT. Maybe because of reverb?

 

[8bit Barry]

Very nice amp, thanks for sharing! Interesting with the tone difference compared to 2204.

I've got a '79 2104 myself, with stock -65 speakers, and I think it's a perfect match. Wonderful sound!

Your amp has choke and 3rd filter cap can between PT and OT. On my amp PT and OT are tight together and choke and cap can on the other side of OT. Maybe because of reverb?

I will take it out again tonight and take some photos of the insides so those like you (with a far better understanding than me) could let me know what the difference is between this amp and a 2204. I was playing it last night and it sounds really happy with less gain.

I saw this thread in the forum - a new owner notices some differences. Its a shame no one answered him.
>>> https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/marshall-jmp-2144-1980-info.95314/

 

[8bit Barry]

I have put the original 2204 and 2144 schematics side by side here - if anyone has any knowledge of these circuits can tell me / us less electrically minded the differences I would be very grateful.

 

[BlueX]

I saw this thread in the forum - a new owner notices some differences. Its a shame no one answered him.
>>> https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/marshall-jmp-2144-1980-info.95314/

Sometimes it's just a shout in the dark. One of just very few of his posts. Good that you bring it up!

 

[BlueX]

I have put the original 2204 and 2144 schematics side by side here - if anyone has any knowledge of these circuits can tell me / us less electrically minded the differences I would be very grateful.

By 1979 these amps were cascaded (non-cascaded earlier in the '70-ies). I had some confusion which schematics to follow when I bought my 2104 last year.

 

[8bit Barry]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/11610698...ATBce_6SzO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

One on eBay right now for £1899

 

[Kuga]

Really interesting amp. I like It. Would be nice a head with an extra gain stage and a serial FXloop like this JMP. Marshall did It already on the Astoria Custom but It's not the same I guess.

 

[8bit Barry]

I’ve been playing it tonight and it has a superb voicing. Really pulls the tone out of your guitar. It can be quite Fender like (not as bright) and can make the guitar really chime.

I’m convinced the +6db boost feature is the amp running at full throttle - when it’s switched off it reduces the gain. With the boost on, it sounds like a standard 2204. This makes it’s a lot more usable as the ‘off’ setting makes it much more bluesy.

 

[Sir Don]

The 2144 was only produced for the year 1978 so it is quite rare. In terms of numbers produced I can't seem to find any reference at all but I would suggest you are close when you think about 100 - 200 produced.

Looks like a keeper to me.

 

[Georgiatec]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/11610698...ATBce_6SzO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

One on eBay right now for £1899

What they're asking and what they get could be two entirely different things. Music Locker tend to ask above top end....but you never know, you could get close to £2k if you sold yours.

 

[Jaguarguy]

Here's my 2144 - not as pristine as the OP's but it still sounds great!