Spcv
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2023
- Messages
- 44
- Reaction score
- 120
One is not enough.
In fact, it may be addictive.
Story time. Long story, be warned. Based on real events.
So, just when I was happy being a potato couch dad, forcing everyone out of the room to be alone and playing with my monstruous sonic creation while watching endless episodes of mind-numbing TV shows for days ― yeah, I was on Xmas vacation and really know how to make my time worth ― I make the mistake to check the app for OLX ― let’s call it the Portuguese Craigslist ― and I’m hit right in the face with an add for a Marshall Origin 20c. Relatively cheap.
I kept it under watch, even though I wasn’t gonna buy it obviously, I mean I just had my DSL1CR upgraded with a 12” Greenback, and it was still the honeymoon phase, of course I wouldn’t buy it!
So why did I messaged the seller and made an offer, one would ask? Just to check the waters, I would never buy another amp. Not for nothing, but I have plenty to be grateful for. I have an original Peavey 5150 combo, a Mesa Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt, a Vox VBM1, a Fender Champion 600, a PSA-1 Sansamp, and like I said, I just upgraded my latest acquisition! It made no sense whatsoever to buy another Marshall, I said to myself…
As I told about it to my precious dearest wife, the sweetest budget troll ever, she asked what the seller had replied to the offer, to which I said he had accepted it. “You have some money on the side”, she replied, “that your parents gave you this Christmas”. (Yeah, old folks, as they get older, have no patience for getting present for their natural children, “just take this and buy whatever you want”, and instead spend their time and resources with their children’s children ― and I have three of those!) That reaction, although not entirely unexpected (precious, dearest and sweetest, remember?), did make me wonder and out came those fatidic words “Hmmm, what if…?”
So, I spent a bit of time reading this forum searching for opinions about the Origin20, just for educational purposes, as it made no sense to buy another amp.
The opinions were favourable, obviously, and I contacted to seller to check the amp ― I have never seen or played an Origin. It was just curiosity that drove out of town the 31st of December. It was safe to do so, because it made no sense…
Ok, so I bought it.
I didn’t even try it. “Does it power on? Good, I’ll take it. Bye, have a nice day. Oh yeah, Happy New Year. Cheers.”
I came home and felt ashamed of my weakness… for less than half a second, feeling pretty darn good since then, because I really like the amp! Like I said, I play in an apartment and I’m very self-conscious. I like to play for my own enjoyment and one of my favourite things is to get a tone I like and just listen to it for ours, chugging new riffs and solos, while I’m watching TV. I’m passed my mid-forties, I’m not going to be a rockstar or a sports champion anymore, just like I’ll never be as thin as I was. I have a desk job, a wife, three girls and a dog, so sitting on the couch is the national sport in my life. So I like to set the amp volume low enough to (barely) listen to the TV of to have a polite conversation while keeping a good tone. Of course I like to feel speakers moving air, but by the time I get home, doing that would be offensive to my neighbours and those around me. So, with the low power setting, boost on, gain on 10, master on 1 I managed to get a slight crunch with the Origin, very slight but non the less very pleasant. Not gain territory as the DSL, mostly clean at those volumes, but it sounds good. I tried it with the 12" Greenback and liked it better. Not that the 10" V-Type is bad, like many said, but different, more... compressed? Can't really explain. It kind of makes the amp sound old, in a good way, and maybe that was Marshall's intetion when they chose it. I read that a 12" fits there, so maybe I'll upgrade it. Or maybe I make a cab for the chassis and 12"+10" and keep them both, who knows? For now I'm enjoying it as it is, it just needs an OD.
So now, I am presented with a new problem. Everyone mentions the Origin as a great pedal platform. So, I tried it with the Maxon OD808 and it came out pretty good. I also read lots of people mentioning the Boss SD-1. Opinions? I’d like a little more saturation without compromising the amp’s natural tone. I don’t intent to go into Van Halen or even GnR’s Appetite For Destruction distortion levels, but something… plexiesque. Cliché, I know. Don’t judge.
Anyway, I read lots of threads about what pedals works well, but came to no consensus, as the choice of a pedal is obviously a personal preference. I’d start a new thread about it, but I fear it may be redundant… Still, any help is appreciated.
Cheers, guys!
In fact, it may be addictive.
Story time. Long story, be warned. Based on real events.
So, just when I was happy being a potato couch dad, forcing everyone out of the room to be alone and playing with my monstruous sonic creation while watching endless episodes of mind-numbing TV shows for days ― yeah, I was on Xmas vacation and really know how to make my time worth ― I make the mistake to check the app for OLX ― let’s call it the Portuguese Craigslist ― and I’m hit right in the face with an add for a Marshall Origin 20c. Relatively cheap.
I kept it under watch, even though I wasn’t gonna buy it obviously, I mean I just had my DSL1CR upgraded with a 12” Greenback, and it was still the honeymoon phase, of course I wouldn’t buy it!
So why did I messaged the seller and made an offer, one would ask? Just to check the waters, I would never buy another amp. Not for nothing, but I have plenty to be grateful for. I have an original Peavey 5150 combo, a Mesa Dual Rectifier Multi-Watt, a Vox VBM1, a Fender Champion 600, a PSA-1 Sansamp, and like I said, I just upgraded my latest acquisition! It made no sense whatsoever to buy another Marshall, I said to myself…
As I told about it to my precious dearest wife, the sweetest budget troll ever, she asked what the seller had replied to the offer, to which I said he had accepted it. “You have some money on the side”, she replied, “that your parents gave you this Christmas”. (Yeah, old folks, as they get older, have no patience for getting present for their natural children, “just take this and buy whatever you want”, and instead spend their time and resources with their children’s children ― and I have three of those!) That reaction, although not entirely unexpected (precious, dearest and sweetest, remember?), did make me wonder and out came those fatidic words “Hmmm, what if…?”
So, I spent a bit of time reading this forum searching for opinions about the Origin20, just for educational purposes, as it made no sense to buy another amp.
The opinions were favourable, obviously, and I contacted to seller to check the amp ― I have never seen or played an Origin. It was just curiosity that drove out of town the 31st of December. It was safe to do so, because it made no sense…
Ok, so I bought it.
I didn’t even try it. “Does it power on? Good, I’ll take it. Bye, have a nice day. Oh yeah, Happy New Year. Cheers.”
I came home and felt ashamed of my weakness… for less than half a second, feeling pretty darn good since then, because I really like the amp! Like I said, I play in an apartment and I’m very self-conscious. I like to play for my own enjoyment and one of my favourite things is to get a tone I like and just listen to it for ours, chugging new riffs and solos, while I’m watching TV. I’m passed my mid-forties, I’m not going to be a rockstar or a sports champion anymore, just like I’ll never be as thin as I was. I have a desk job, a wife, three girls and a dog, so sitting on the couch is the national sport in my life. So I like to set the amp volume low enough to (barely) listen to the TV of to have a polite conversation while keeping a good tone. Of course I like to feel speakers moving air, but by the time I get home, doing that would be offensive to my neighbours and those around me. So, with the low power setting, boost on, gain on 10, master on 1 I managed to get a slight crunch with the Origin, very slight but non the less very pleasant. Not gain territory as the DSL, mostly clean at those volumes, but it sounds good. I tried it with the 12" Greenback and liked it better. Not that the 10" V-Type is bad, like many said, but different, more... compressed? Can't really explain. It kind of makes the amp sound old, in a good way, and maybe that was Marshall's intetion when they chose it. I read that a 12" fits there, so maybe I'll upgrade it. Or maybe I make a cab for the chassis and 12"+10" and keep them both, who knows? For now I'm enjoying it as it is, it just needs an OD.
So now, I am presented with a new problem. Everyone mentions the Origin as a great pedal platform. So, I tried it with the Maxon OD808 and it came out pretty good. I also read lots of people mentioning the Boss SD-1. Opinions? I’d like a little more saturation without compromising the amp’s natural tone. I don’t intent to go into Van Halen or even GnR’s Appetite For Destruction distortion levels, but something… plexiesque. Cliché, I know. Don’t judge.
Anyway, I read lots of threads about what pedals works well, but came to no consensus, as the choice of a pedal is obviously a personal preference. I’d start a new thread about it, but I fear it may be redundant… Still, any help is appreciated.
Cheers, guys!
