Marshall 1974X, 1958X, 1973X, 1962HW, 2061X Owner`s Manual

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Congratulations on your purchase of this all-valve, hand-wired ampliﬁer – part of

Marshall’s revered Handwired Series.

Every head and combo in this expertly-crafted range has been designed, engineered and constructed to the highest possible standards at the Marshall factory in the heart of England. Based on original vintage Marshall amps produced in the ‘60s and early ‘70s, the Handwired Series has been created to be both sonically and visually as authentic as possible. But why did Marshall founder, the late, great Jim Marshall OBE, want to produce such a range?

The reason Jim decided to create the Handwired Series was simple – public demand. One of the things Jim loved was meeting with and talking to guitarists at the many trade shows, music fairs and shop appearances he attended all over the world. A subject that almost always seemed to come up in conversation at such events was hand-wiring. Jim realised that, even in this mass-produced digital age, there was still a demand for authentically hand-crafted guitar ampliﬁers. The continuing success of the Marshall Handwired Series is testament to Jim’s thinking.

In order to recreate the look, feel and tone of those much sought-after originals, the Marshall team of designers have gone to enormous lengths to seek out and/ or reproduce all of the original components and materials, whilst also revisiting the original methods of construction. From the hand-wired tag-board circuit to the custom-manufactured Dagnall output and mains transformers, we are extremely proud of the incredible accuracy and authenticity of these re-issued ampliﬁers.

We sincerely hope that this hand-wired piece of Marshall history will provide you with countless hours of playing pleasure.

Yours Sincerely,

The Marshall Team

Follow all instructions and heed all warnings

KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS !

EUROPE ONLY - Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the requirements of the EMC Directive (Environments E1, E2 and E3 EN 55103-1/2) and the Low Voltage Directive in the E.U. EUROPE ONLY - Note: The Peak Inrush current for the 1974X is 10 amps. The Peak Inrush current for the 1958X is XX amps. The Peak Inrush current for the 1973X is XX amps. The Peak Inrush current for the 1962HW is 26 amps. The Peak Inrush current for the 2061X is 11 amps. The Peak Inrush current for the 2245THW is XX amps. The Peak Inrush current for the 1959HW is 76 amps.

Handwired Series Overview

Our goal when designing the UK made Handwired Series was both obvious and simple: to make all the models in the range as close to the originals as possible in terms of components, circuitry, constructional methods, materials, speciﬁcations, aesthetics, signal path, performance, tonal characteristics and feel. We’ve gone to incredible lengths to achieve maximum authenticity and are delighted to report that our suppliers were equally as exacting in their tasks.

Every model in the Handwired range possesses it’s own unique tonal identity and yet they all share a common sonic ‘DNA’. Namely those aggressive yet sweetly distorted, harmonically rich, musical tones resulting from perfectly crafted circuitry and overdriven power valves. When ‘cranked’ the amps and combos deliver pure vintage crunch and become incredibly touch-sensitive, cleaning up or, if desired, sitting right on the edge of distortion when the guitar’s volume is turned down. Not surprisingly, all the Handwired models respond extremely well to picking dynamics, indefatigably ‘in-your-face’ when you play like you really mean it and cleaning up as you pull back on your picking attack.

1959HW

As is now rock folklore, the 1959 came to be when The Who’s guitarist, Pete Townshend, approached Marshall in the mid ’60s and asked Jim to build him a ‘weapon’ that would allow him to play so loud that he wouldn’t be able to hear what the members of the audience were saying, should they have the sheer audacity to talk whilst he was performing! Jim and his team obliged and within weeks of Pete’s request one of rock’s most instantly recognisable icons was born - the 100 Watt Marshall stack.

The 1959 head ﬁrst saw the light of day in late 1965 and was affectionately dubbed the Plexi because of the material used for its front panel. Although we continued to build 1959s, the now legendary Plexiera came to an end in July 1969 when we started using gold anodised aluminium panels instead of Plexiglas. While all original Plexi 1959s are held in the highest esteem, several subtly different but tonally signiﬁcant circuit variations existed - the most celebrated and revered versions being those made between 1967 and 1969.

The 1959HW is a Class-A/B, all-valve, 100 Watt, twochannel head. The circuit we have revisited for the 1959HW boasts several ‘tonally signiﬁcant’ variants when compared to the slightly later circuit we use for our critically acclaimed, standard-production Plexi re-issue - the 1959SLP. The most sonically relevant technical departures in question lie in the negative feedback circuit.

As you can see from its front panel layout, the 1959HW is an extremely straightforward ampliﬁer. Its two channels - Channel I and Channel II - each have two inputs (High and Low sensitivity) and separate Volume controls, while sharing the ampliﬁer’s four tone controls: Presence, Bass, Middle and Treble. Like all Marshall, all-valve ampliﬁers, the 1959 sounds at its very best when turned up full and because of its conservative power rating and astonishing projection, is a formidable live ampliﬁer in even the largest of venues.

1962HW

The 1962HW is an all-valve, 30 Watt, two channel, 2x12” combo and is a faithful recreation of the legendary ‘Bluesbreaker’, harkening back to the original format and circuit topology of the ﬁrst production run back in 1965. Both channels feature high and low sensitivity inputs with separate Volume controls and a shared an EQ section containing Presence, Bass, Middle and Treble. The 1962HW’s Tremolo circuit is governed by Speed and Intensity controls.

Over the years the Tremolo circuit has been the main target for many design improvements. However, despite the Tremolo being reconﬁgured to give an undoubtedly superior effect, its connection to the signal path was also changed which, in turn, had a sonic inﬂuence. For this tonal reason, we’ve reverted back to the original valve Tremolo circuit as it’s undeniably part of the 1962’s “mojo”.

The transformers are supplied by our long-time partners at Drake who manufactured the originals all those years ago. To add to the authenticity of these all important components, the Drake engineers used the original designs and worked meticulously to duplicate the originals. Needless to say, with the exception of a few necessary adjustments to satisfy strict modern safety standards, the resulting transformers are as close as humanly possible to the originals.

The 15 Ohm, G12 T652 Alnico magnet speakers used in the original Series II model 1962 have been

painstakingly revisited by our friends at Celestion – right the way down to recreating the original “Ampliﬁcation by Marshall” gold label and also painting the back of the magnet silver. The speakers obviously play a vital sonic role as well as a cosmetic one so Celestion’s meticulous nature is greatly appreciated.

2245THW

The 2245THW can be thought of as either the original 2245 with added tremolo (hence the ‘T’ in the model name), or as a head version of the 1962HW. Either way, all the features and components (minus the speakers of course) are identical to the 1962HW.

2061X

The 2061X is an all-valve, 20 Watt, two-channel head with no negative feedback in its cathode-biased output stage. As you can see from its front panel layout, the 2061X is an extremely straightforward ampliﬁer with both of its channels only boasting a Volume and Tone control each.

Unlike its 18 Watt predecessors which boasted an EZ81 rectiﬁer, the 2061X features a solid-state, silicon diode rectifying device, and is a much more aggressive and surprisingly modern sounding ampliﬁer, while still possessing that unmistakable and highly desirable, vintage all-valve tone.

1974X

The 1974X is an all-valve, 18 Watt, two-channel, 1x12” combo with valve driven tremolo and, just like the 2061X, no negative feedback in its cathodebiased output stage. Channel 1 (the non-tremolo channel) only boasts two, self-explanatory controls: Volume and Tone; while Channel 2, the Tremolo Channel, boasts four – namely Volume and Tone, plus Speed and Intensity for the valve driven tremolo circuit.

A deﬁnite contributing factor in the sound of the vintage 1974 ampliﬁers is the way the Celestion Greenback loudspeaker sound softens with age. Celestion revisited the 1967 recipe for the original 20 Watt, ceramic magnet, 15 Ohm, Greenback T1221 speaker used in the 1974 and supply it to us exclusively. They meticulously duplicated every critical vintage parameter from winding lengths, coil former dimensions and edge treatment to using the original dustcap material and adhesive. In sound tests these speakers were close, but still lacked something of the sonic signature of the originals.

1958X and 1973X

Both of these combos are variants of the 1974X; the 1958X features 2 x 10” Celestion aged Greenbacks while the 1973X house the same quantity of 12” Celestion ‘Greenbacks’. All other features, components and construction are identical to the 1974X.

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1974X Front Panel 1974X Rear Panel

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1. INDICATOR

This ﬁlament bulb indicator will light up when your ampliﬁer is switched on. It will not be lit when the ampliﬁer is switched off and/or is not receiving mains power.

2. STANDBY SWITCH

The Standby Switch is used in conjunction with the Power Switch (item 3) to ‘warm up’ the ampliﬁer before use and to prolong the life of the output valves. When powering up the ampliﬁer always engage the Power Switch ﬁrst, leaving the Standby switch on ‘Standby’. This allows the application of the voltage required to heat the valves to their correct operating temperature – hence the switch’s name. After approximately two minutes the valves will have reached the correct operating temperature and the Standby Switch can be engaged. Upon doing this the H.T. (High Tension) voltage required by the two EL84 output valves to pass signal (and hence produce sound) is applied. In order to prolong valve life, the Standby Switch alone should also be used to turn the ampliﬁer ‘on’ and ‘off’ during breaks in a performance. Also, upon full power down, always disengage the Standby Switch prior to the main Power Switch.

3. POWER SWITCH

This is the On/Off switch for mains power to the ampliﬁer. Note: Please ensure the ampliﬁer is switched off and unplugged from the mains electricity supply whenever it is moved.

CHANNEL 2 - THE TREMOLO CHANNEL

4. TREMOLO SPEED CONTROL

This controls the speed of tremolo oscillation when this effect (which can be switched on/off via the supplied footswitch) is being used. Oscillation speed increases when the Speed control is turned clockwise and decreases when it is turned anticlockwise.

5. TREMOLO INTENSITY CONTROL

This controls the intensity or depth of the tremolo oscillation when the effect is being used. The effect depth increases when the Intensity control is turned clockwise and decreases when it is turned

6. TONE CONTROL

This adjusts the tonal character of the Tremolo Channel. Turning this control clockwise increases the amount of high frequencies (treble) present in the sound.

7. VOLUME CONTROL

This controls the volume of the Tremolo Channel. Turning it clockwise increases the volume level of the channel.

8. CHANNEL 2 INPUTS

These are the guitar inputs for the Tremolo Channel. The top one is the ‘high sensitivity’ input for this channel, the bottom one is the ‘low sensitivity’ input which is 6dB lower (i.e. half) than the ‘high sensitivity’ input and has a darker sound. Always use a high quality screened guitar lead.

CHANNEL 1 - THE NON-TREMOLO CHANNEL

9. TONE CONTROL

This controls the tonal character of Channel 1. Turning the tone control clockwise increases the amount of high frequencies (treble) present in the sound.

10. VOLUME CONTROL

This controls the volume of Channel 1. Turning it clockwise increases the volume level of the channel.

11. CHANNEL 1 INPUTS

These are the guitar inputs for this Channel and both are identical.

1. TREMOLO FOOTSWITCH JACK

This is where the supplied Tremolo on/off footswitch is plugged in.

2. LOUDSPEAKER OUTPUTS

There are two parallel loudspeaker output jacks provided for connection to the internal speaker and/ or an external load, i.e. speaker extension cabinet(s). When connecting speaker(s) please always ensure that the ampliﬁer’s output impedance is set correctly (item 3). WARNING! Never use the combo without a load attached! Always use a non-screened Marshall approved speaker lead when connecting an extension cabinet to these units.

3. OUTPUT IMPEDANCE SELECTOR

Matches the ampliﬁer’s output to the load (speaker) impedance. As is the case with any Marshall all-valve ampliﬁer it is imperative that: a) the ampliﬁer is connected to a load whilst in operation and b) the impedance selected on the ampliﬁer matches the total impedance of the internal speaker and/or extension speaker cabinets. The combo’s internal speaker is 15 Ohms so when it is being used by itself the Impedance Selector must be set to 16 Ohms. If an additional 16 Ohm extension speaker cabinet is used in conjunction with the internal speaker the Impedance Selector should be set to 8 Ohms.

WARNING! An extension speaker cabinet with an impedance of less than 16 Ohms should NOT be used in conjunction with the internal speaker. The amp should be completely powered down before the Output Impedance Selector is turned. Failure to comply with any of the points raised in this section will result in damage to the ampliﬁer.

4. MAINS FUSE

The correct value of mains fuse is speciﬁed on the rear panel of the ampliﬁer. NEVER attempt to bypass the fuse or ﬁt one of the incorrect value.

5. H.T. FUSE

The correct value of H.T. fuse is speciﬁed on the rear panel of the ampliﬁer. NEVER attempt to bypass the fuse or ﬁt one of the incorrect value.

6. MAINS INPUT

Your amp is provided with a detachable mains (power) lead, which is connected here. The speciﬁc mains input voltage rating that your ampliﬁer has been built for is shown on the back panel. Before connecting for the ﬁrst time, please ensure that your ampliﬁer is compatible with your electricity supply. If you have any doubt, please get advice from a qualiﬁed technician. Your Marshall dealer will help you in this respect.

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