1974x serial number help
Posted: Mon 01/17/22 2:39 pm
Hi, glad to be here. I wonder if anyone could help me identify the year this amp was made and how rare it might be? Thanks in advance folks.
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Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Mon 01/17/22 11:10 pm
I'm no expert, but doesn't that look like a 1958 rather than a 1974? And it looks old, rather than a reissue. No idea if it's original or parts-bin. Where is it?
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Tue 01/18/22 7:09 am
I agree, it looks old, not reissue. X denotes reissue. Either way, that speaker wire needs to be fixed before powering it on.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Wed 01/26/22 10:40 am
Yes, it’s old. I have it. It sounds great and I think it’s all original. Although I replaced the logo because there wasn’t one and some knobs. 1974 is the model number but I can’t trace how old it is.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Wed 01/26/22 10:44 am
Thanks, I didn’t realise that’s what x meant. I play the amp regularly and the speakers sound great. I’m no boffin though! Any idea how I can trace how old it is? It has a serial number but I couldn’t find anything matching it.JMPGuitars wrote: ↑Tue 01/18/22 7:09 amI agree, it looks old, not reissue. X denotes reissue. Either way, that speaker wire needs to be fixed before powering it on.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Wed 01/26/22 11:15 am
Have you tried emailing Marshall and sending them pics?
Josh was referring to the loose speaker wire,you must have been playing through one speaker,you need to be careful with the match between your output transformer and speaker impedence.they are 15 ohm so if you wire them parallel you want the 8 ohm tap on the output transformer.
Can you add some pics of the back panel and transformers?
Josh was referring to the loose speaker wire,you must have been playing through one speaker,you need to be careful with the match between your output transformer and speaker impedence.they are 15 ohm so if you wire them parallel you want the 8 ohm tap on the output transformer.
Can you add some pics of the back panel and transformers?
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Wed 01/26/22 8:00 pm
IIRC, the 1974 is the 1X12 combo version, which this one clearly isn't. The 1958 was a 2X10 combo, which it looks like this one may well be. Looks like you've got a really valuable amp there,which probably also sounds awesome! 
Please post some sound clips 
If you e-mail pictures and serial numbers to Marshall, I have found in my experience that they're usually very helpful with identification requests.
Please post some sound clips If you e-mail pictures and serial numbers to Marshall, I have found in my experience that they're usually very helpful with identification requests.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Wed 01/26/22 10:39 pm
May I ask where you for this from and how much you paid for it?
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 2:23 am
I've always liked 2x10 configurations in amps, I actually built one a while ago. But I like it more with a single 12 for some reason...zaphod_phil wrote: ↑Wed 01/26/22 8:00 pmIIRC, the 1974 is the 1X12 combo version, which this one clearly isn't. The 1958 was a 2X10 combo, which it looks like this one may well be. Looks like you've got a really valuable amp there,which probably also sounds awesome!
If you e-mail pictures and serial numbers to Marshall, I have found they're usually very helpful with identification, in my experience.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 3:35 pm
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 3:37 pm
Hi mate, yes it does sound awesome. If it’s the ‘58, would you have any idea how valuable it is?zaphod_phil wrote: ↑Wed 01/26/22 8:00 pmIIRC, the 1974 is the 1X12 combo version, which this one clearly isn't. The 1958 was a 2X10 combo, which it looks like this one may well be. Looks like you've got a really valuable amp there,which probably also sounds awesome!
If you e-mail pictures and serial numbers to Marshall, I have found in my experience that they're usually very helpful with identification requests.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 3:53 pm
Some picsgeoff 1965 wrote: ↑Wed 01/26/22 11:15 amHave you tried emailing Marshall and sending them pics?
Josh was referring to the loose speaker wire,you must have been playing through one speaker,you need to be careful with the match between your output transformer and speaker impedence.they are 15 ohm so if you wire them parallel you want the 8 ohm tap on the output transformer.
Can you add some pics of the back panel and transformers?
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 4:06 pm
Cool! Thanks for posting those pics,look at the Iskra resistors and mustard caps,RS transformer,I wonder what year it is? obviously very early amp,keep us posted on your findings.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 4:20 pm
Fix the red speaker wire!
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Thu 01/27/22 5:18 pm
Yeah take care you wire them in parallel not series,the soldering on the terminals looks awful,put a piece of card under the terminal to stop any bits dropping inside onto the cone.
I recently got a pair of 50 year old G12H’s and the first thing I did was remove the old solder on the terminals and reflowed them with new solder.
Good luck,wish I had an old uncles amp like that!
I recently got a pair of 50 year old G12H’s and the first thing I did was remove the old solder on the terminals and reflowed them with new solder.
Good luck,wish I had an old uncles amp like that!
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Fri 01/28/22 3:10 pm
Good score. My uncles gave me nothing but cheap beer and improbable sex stories.
Re: 1974x serial number help
Posted: Fri 01/28/22 3:12 pm
Again, no expert but I think the 1958 is pretty rare. There's none being sold online at the moment, only the reissues. Asking prices look to have been around USD$5000, but variable.