Plexi Tone..

[ICBM]

I much prefer an attenuator on a full-size Plexi. To go from 50W to 20W you only need 4dB of attenuation, and at that level they don't significantly affect the tone - it just sounds the same but quieter... you keep the dynamics, crunch and wide bandwidth that you lose with the little amp. It may depend on what you're trying to get out of it though - if you usually run your Plexi with mostly mid and treble up it might sound closer than if you use more bass and presence. (I always run a Plexi with the bass up full.)

I really wanted to like the 20W heads, they really are cute... that's why I had three of them! I just couldn't get the right sound out of them, which is why I kept selling them...

[relic245]

Hope I'm not hijacking but what is the general oppinion on the reissue plexis the 1987x etc?

[matone]

Read that the Orange AD 15 was designed to sound like a JTM 45 if you run the master volume at
full and add the gain to taste.Just a thought I had !
They`re a great sounding amp anyway.
HTH.

[ICBM]

Hope I'm not hijacking but what is the general oppinion on the reissue plexis the 1987x etc?

They're pretty good, but don't quite have the warmth of the originals. (Even with NOS valves in.) Whether you can really tell the difference in a stage mix, I don't know - they're also less noisy and probably more reliable than the originals, so I'd be inclined to use one for gigs in preference to an old one.

Read that the Orange AD 15 was designed to sound like a JTM 45 if you run the master volume at
full and add the gain to taste.

If it was they failed completely...

[matone]

Oh well....

[John_A]

While this is true, the Marshall 2061x is the closest thing I've heard to a cranked plexi 50 watt but at useable volumes.
Have you tried one? They are really quite surprising, really shouldn't have sold mine.

Yes I still have one. Great amps and do sound marshlly, but not like a plexi. The plexi sound is a very complex (for a marhshall) one with really nice cleans that you just.don't get on other marshalls

As IBCM says thee best route may be a jtm with 6v6 valves

[Si.]

Just need to find one for sale at a reasonable price...

[ICBM]

You could possibly try one with THD Yellowjackets as well - avoids the need to rebias, and will reduce the power a bit further. It might tilt it more in the Plexi (50/100 JMP - what Plexi means to me) direction than the JTM too, since EL84s sound more like small EL34s than 6V6s do, I think.

Remember that with either of these you need to set the amp to half the impedance of the cab as well.

[John_A]

Built a few jtm and 1987 plexi sryle amps using 18 watt transformers and they really do sound like a quieter version of tge real deal. I've used el84s and 6v6s and found the 6v6 to be more like an el34. The circuit is the most important thing though the valve choice makes only a small difference
As a side note jtm45so do get a bit farty when you turn them up loud and dirty a jmp or plexi circuit is a better choice for higher gain rock sounds

[hywelg]

I've used el84s and 6v6s and found the 6v6 to be more like an el34.

Indeed, however neither sound quite like an EL34. The '84 is quite a bit too chimey. 6v6's in my Plexi clone were only OK'ish, but they did lower the output which was what was required.