So, What's The Consensus On The Marshall Origin? Owners, Chime In!

[tmaycock]

The Origins had largely dropped off my radar, and yet I was hanging my nose over a couple of used Astoria Classics. But from doing Black Friday research (results not that great) I came across the Origin 20H being pushed out at £299 by Fair Deal Music, with the 50 going for £364.
Ordered a 20, as I'll probably only play this at home and it'll fit nicely on the 2x12, so will chime in shortly.

 

[jericbrazier]

The green channel always sounded the best to me on that amp.

I use the green channel and a Bogner Red for my drive tone almost as much as I use the amp’s.

 

[shooto]

The Origins had largely dropped off my radar, and yet I was hanging my nose over a couple of used Astoria Classics. But from doing Black Friday research (results not that great) I came across the Origin 20H being pushed out at £299 by Fair Deal Music, with the 50 going for £364.
Ordered a 20, as I'll probably only play this at home and it'll fit nicely on the 2x12, so will chime in shortly.

It’s not quite kt66ish like the Astoria (I have a VM 2466 to compare) but it does have the sag when pushed...its fun...you’ll see the vintage tones are there...but it really is it’s own animal...not quite Plexi..not quite JTM45...but a cool mix of the two

 

[Dean Swindell]

They hold their value better; being that their assembled in England. I’ve got to say though that I much prefer my DSL40C to the jcm2000 dsl I used to have, obviously ymmv. I also thought it (JCM) was too bright. The dsl40c’s bright, but I find it much more manageable. I also like the dedicated resonance control, and although people bitch about the reverb, who buys a Marshall for it’s reverb? If you went deep, ambient reverb, get a Twin. IMO, the reverb’s perfect for adding some space.

Yes before the AC30 I used my Twin all the time and got used to a small "set and forget" touch of verb. Still do it with the vox. Had to get a Keeley pedal for my 2204 and dug it out later for my Flexi-50. That amp was a disappointment. Hoping to have verb on my next head.

 

[FennRx]

Better for you.
I’ve had a JCM2000, and have a ‘15 DSL40C. I’d take the DSL all day. IMO, the lead channel sounds way better (after a speaker swap). I play heavy rock like Tool, AIC, GnR, etc, and the Origin wont get close gain wise, but I can get close to Origin on my DSL’s crunch channel.

Not sure why you want to be on the wrong side of history but cool

 

[Jason Fieldhouseespk]

Well here's a novel concept; I got off my arse and went out and tried one. Not the amp for me. Tried a 50C. With a strat I was immediately met with beautiful Marshall clean tone - something Marshall doesn't get nearly enough credit for. Gorgeous. But most of the overdrive lies in the master volume. So unlike my AC30C2 I can't walk into a bar and plow through Outa Mind Outa Sight by Wilko for example, with the right amount of OD and overall Volume. The 1987x is just too expensive. Hmmmm.......maybe a DSL?

Your bars are probably bigger than our pubs here in the UK.... but still... one thing the AC30 is notorious for(other than been heavy and big and bulky) is been stupid loud, far too loud for many occasions, bars been one venue that comes up often in that conversation.....

tbh I cannot imagine a bar that my AC15 wouldn't be able to handle, the only reason they made the AC30 was because Hank Marvin couldn't hear himself over teenage girls screaming at Cliff Richard, but they were using them in bigger venues than bars and pubs, in concert halls and theatres and auditoriums, and if it hadn't been for those teenage girls screaming, they would have never need ask for the 30 watter....

Now.... I don't know about you, maybe you do have 5000 screaming girls at your gigs, but really I don't so much, I might start playing some vamps or ed sheeran to see if that works, but they definitely don't seem to like Led Zep, Free or ACDC any more, don't think they ever did.... so...

What I do with pretty much all my amps is put the master on max from the start anyway, as if it didn't have one, as if it was a proper amp... bring the gain up to where I like it, on the edge of breakup for me, with the guitar volume down a little, so when I turn it up there's crunchy goodness, want any more than that and I have pedals for boosts and fuzz and distortion.... how hard can it really be?

I think it's a strange comment about 'if the amp needs pedals it sucks' ? Yeah, cos your AC30 can do a Mesa yeah?
I've used AC30s, love em, and they're very versatile, but also has it's limitations.... The Origin I have, the 20w version, has another sound, I think it's versatile as well, and can get quite gainy, but just as with the AC30 (or 15) a nice overdrive or distortion pedal pushes it further, a boost is nice for things, and a fuzz into it is mega....

it doesn't NEED pedals though and worked very well for me at practices, cutting through better than the other lads Blackstar, which he had set as a higher gain Marshall sound, bordering on Mesa Boogie, but more bass.... mine cut through better, easy, could hear me clear as day above the mud....

In fact I've been wondering wether I should even bother with my pedal board at all, I made a new one up, but can't find a bag to fit it, but don't think I really need it if I'm honest.... just needs a little reverb maybe sometimes....

Anyway this lad explains the wattage issue, he's dead on ya know!

 

[Axis39]

(I haven't read this thread much, just the last couple of pages of guys knocking the Origin amps... But, here's my take)


Not traditionally a Marshall guy... Nor am I a higher gain Rocker guy.

I'm just an old Blues guy who likes to add a little rockiness to his Blues. I had interest in the Origin series when they came out, but had a tough time finding one to try. I needed a new solution because my living situation was changing... I am living with some grandchildren temporarily and will not be able to leave pedals laying about, or cranking my 4x10 Bassman.

I stumbled across the 50C at a Sam Ash and loved the tone instantly! Not high gain, but that Classic Rock kinda sound from my youth in the 70's. They didn't have a 20 around for me to try, but I knew the 5 watt setting would be too much. A couple weeks later I came across a 20C in Guitar Center and tried it out... It sounded weird in GC, so Ii tested the 50 C right next to it and it sounded weird. It was that GC's acoustics... Very strange. But, since they compared, I took a chance on the 20C, knowing I had a return window.

I love this amp. Period.

I get enough gain at gig volumes, I get a nice hairy clean (which is really where I live). The cleans are nice and warm, fat really. But, I can push it into higher gain stuff too... Not always quietly, but not screamingly loud either (1/2 watt mode is fun... Ya just gotta turn up the bass or tilt left a little to get that lower mid warmth back). It's the perfect amount of gain for me and my music.

As for louder stuff? I've been using the amp on 3 watts to get decent stage volume, with a good bit of break up and running it through the PA, using the DI Out. What a great set up!

I even like the stock speaker!

I've had mine for about a month, month and a half now and gigged it a few times. I play it a lot at home and really, really love it.

 

[jericbrazier]

Not sure why you want to be on the wrong side of history but cool

What a strange response. Wrong side of history? Huh? I don’t think my opinion regarding tube amps is going to go down in history, wrong side or right side.

 

[Dean Swindell]

Your bars are probably bigger than our pubs here in the UK.... but still... one thing the AC30 is notorious for(other than been heavy and big and bulky) is been stupid loud, far too loud for many occasions, bars been one venue that comes up often in that conversation.....

tbh I cannot imagine a bar that my AC15 wouldn't be able to handle, the only reason they made the AC30 was because Hank Marvin couldn't hear himself over teenage girls screaming at Cliff Richard, but they were using them in bigger venues than bars and pubs, in concert halls and theatres and auditoriums, and if it hadn't been for those teenage girls screaming, they would have never need ask for the 30 watter....

Now.... I don't know about you, maybe you do have 5000 screaming girls at your gigs, but really I don't so much, I might start playing some vamps or ed sheeran to see if that works, but they definitely don't seem to like Led Zep, Free or ACDC any more, don't think they ever did.... so...

What I do with pretty much all my amps is put the master on max from the start anyway, as if it didn't have one, as if it was a proper amp... bring the gain up to where I like it, on the edge of breakup for me, with the guitar volume down a little, so when I turn it up there's crunchy goodness, want any more than that and I have pedals for boosts and fuzz and distortion.... how hard can it really be?

I think it's a strange comment about 'if the amp needs pedals it sucks' ? Yeah, cos your AC30 can do a Mesa yeah?
I've used AC30s, love em, and they're very versatile, but also has it's limitations.... The Origin I have, the 20w version, has another sound, I think it's versatile as well, and can get quite gainy, but just as with the AC30 (or 15) a nice overdrive or distortion pedal pushes it further, a boost is nice for things, and a fuzz into it is mega....

it doesn't NEED pedals though and worked very well for me at practices, cutting through better than the other lads Blackstar, which he had set as a higher gain Marshall sound, bordering on Mesa Boogie, but more bass.... mine cut through better, easy, could hear me clear as day above the mud....

In fact I've been wondering wether I should even bother with my pedal board at all, I made a new one up, but can't find a bag to fit it, but don't think I really need it if I'm honest.... just needs a little reverb maybe sometimes....

Anyway this lad explains the wattage issue, he's dead on ya know!

I said if it NEEDS pedals. I had to do that when I was with a band that used a lot of provided back lines. Got by, but felt weird. Not a reflection on the players. The bars I play aren't (usually) large but the people in California don't seem to care whether the songs are old or new, just if they're good rock. And I'm an audience member too. We like our rock bands to move some air, but not be stupid loud. My AC30 is the modern mass produced one and the master doesn't hurt the sound as much as some amps. The weight problem comes from the mdf cabinet, greenbacks and the fact that class A amps have much larger output transformers than AB. That's why I'm going with the cab/head idea. And there's room for a Marshall in most guitar players life.

 

[ken361]

 

[K2JLX]

Watched that earlier, IMO the Origin sounded killer.

 

[ken361]

Watched that earlier, IMO the Origin sounded killer.

yeah!

 

[mAx___]

Origin all the way. It also looks much better.

 

[jeffb]

I'm biased towards the Origin 20 as I own the head- however both of those amps in Johan's vid suffer from sub-par speakers, IMO. They would both be improved greatly with a low wattage 12" speaker. G12M, H30, etc.

I'm not sure what Marshall is thinking anymore when it comes to combos. 10" speakers, 70/80s, etc. I guess they figure with the extra materials cost of the cab, they need to skimp on speakers.

Never skimp on your speakers.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Not the greatest sounding amp in my opinion. Have to have the gain knob pulled out and on maximum to get any depth or warmth out of it and at that stage it muddies up the sound. It does have a flat response and a clear tone the tone just isn’t good. Here is my demo video

I don’t know exactly what you did not like about it, but your demo sounds fine to me, if you think you still need more saturation, then a pedal is a must, I use an SD1 as a clean boost, and in my opinion it does the job quite well of course yor mileage may vary, and welcome to the forum!! Cheers Mitch

 

[bacardi]

to me something don't sound right just my 2 cent

 

[ken361]

I don’t know exactly what you did not like about it, but your demo sounds fine to me, if you think you still need more saturation, then a pedal is a must, I use an SD1 as a clean boost, and in my opinion it does the job quite well of course yor mileage may vary, and welcome to the forum!! Cheers Mitch

all those pedals are tone suckers and loose warmth and those preamp tubes. It does sound totally fine though. i used a few pedals before and theres always some tone loss even with the best cables something's always missing. I use a delay in the loop and a soul food up front. His recorded well for live playing

 

[ken361]

bedroom levels amateur recording

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

I don’t hear much tone suck with the SD1, I believe it colors the amp in the direction I am going with it but of course ymmv!! Cheers Mitch

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

bedroom levels amateur recording

That is pretty damn good Ken nice playing as well brother