Class 5

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crgfrench
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Class 5

Post by crgfrench »

Today I picked up a used Marshall Class 5 combo for less than the price of the GDS 18W transformer set. It's the first Class A amp I've ever owned and i like it a lot -- similar tones as the 18 Watters and its louder than i expected it would be. Nice Plexi growl with the volume up.

It's odd that Marshall would call it "Class 5", as though somehow conflating operating class and output Wattage would clarify anything at all. But whatever, it sounds great and for $200 was a nice bargain.
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Daviedawg
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Re: Class 5

Post by Daviedawg »

That is a good buy at that price. I intended to get one when they first came out but it was too loud for what I wanted. Sounded good though.

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geoff 1965
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Re: Class 5

Post by geoff 1965 »

good deal!
i like those little class 5's,studied the schematic and it's quite complex compared to the 18W. the "slash" SL-5 single ended el34 look's a cool amp as well,only heard youtube demo's though.
can you add some pics?
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Re: Class 5

Post by crgfrench »

Couple of pix, top shot of the panel and front shot between my Denim Deluxe 18 Watter and my Hellhound 18 Watter.
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fenderbass39uk
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Re: Class 5

Post by fenderbass39uk »

geoff 1965 wrote:
Wed 11/06/19 10:38 am
good deal!
i like those little class 5's,studied the schematic and it's quite complex compared to the 18W. the "slash" SL-5 single ended el34 look's a cool amp as well,only heard youtube demo's though.
can you add some pics?
Just taken a look at the schematic Geoff and I was surprised too how complex it is, especially compared to my Ampmaker SE-5a. Class 5 is a great sounding little amp and a bargain in that condition. Nice pics!
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crgfrench
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Re: Class 5

Post by crgfrench »

20200204_223613.jpg
Here it is with my Egnater Rebel 20.
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zaphod_phil
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Re: Class 5

Post by zaphod_phil »

fenderbass39uk wrote:
Fri 02/14/20 4:01 am
i like those little class 5's,studied the schematic and it's quite complex compared to the 18W. the "slash" SL-5 single ended el34 look's a cool amp as well,only heard youtube demo's though.
can you add some pics?
geoff 1965 wrote:
Wed 11/06/19 10:38 am
Just taken a look at the schematic Geoff and I was surprised too how complex it is, especially compared to my Ampmaker SE-5a. Class 5 is a great sounding little amp and a bargain in that condition. Nice pics!
Here's a background story. I had one of Marshall's design engineers visit me at my home in London, England, to discuss ideas about this small amp. He was keen to see a working example of my P1 eXtreme SE amp design, itself a beefed-up derivative of AX84's P1. Unfortunately, I had been making some changes to my prototype earlier that day, and had done it wrong, so the tone pretty much sucked :( It's no surprise that Marshall then went in a whole different direction with their amp design.

Footnote: I also based the 18W SuperLite TMB's preamp design on the P1-eX's preamp. I still have my prototype P1 eXtreme with me here in Toronto:)
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