Unique Marshall Factory Tour as you have NEVER seen it before - tonymckenzie.com

[32spitzer]

Great Video! Thanks Alot for sharing all the "Behind the scenes" with us!. Looks like you had a BLAST!

[tonymckenziecom]

@32spitzer Yes it was great to see exactly how they did it all... very enlightening really... especially when Phil 'broke' that pcb in half :-)

[Xanaduswells]

Does anyone know how the plexi controls work as in the gain? there isnt a gain knob but how would i get to not crank it and get the desired gain. and also, what is the deal with the 4 inputs?

[tonymckenziecom]

@Xanaduswells TS808 front end it and use the two inputs on the channels to BALANCE a better tone out of the amp :-)

[ray7469]

Anybody notice the amp at 22:09, one off the JVM logo is upside down

[bornburied]

I noticed Mr. Wells amusement about the handwired components. Consumer perception.

He suggests that the custom vintage components are exactly the same functionally as a modern ones, just the casing is different.

Is there any difference?

Personally I just perfer that the components be over rated and the tolerance tight.

I like seeing 1 watt diodes and 2 watt resistors on board where they would be typically 1/4 watt.Components that handle power such screen grid resistors even more so.

[tonymckenziecom]

@bornburied I noticed that too and it surprised me. But he will be right. Actually I really liked Phil.. a great guy..

[bornburied]

@tonymckenziecom Oh I'm sure he is.Electrical component manufacturers arent the only industry that panders to the laymans  perception. Technically it will be the same ,but I do suspect the rating is higher.

Yes the "Sozo" caps have had a few rolling eyeballs from builders.

[nznaturopath]

WoW! That was a fantastic vid. It was nice to see it all done. A long time coming in a sense. Answers a lot of questions. Its still hard to stomach their prices though. The end product, no matter how sort of good it is, what went into creating it, its all so cheap to build, and the retail in many countries is rude. The JYM looks real cheap eh. Those pots that are used in it. Horrid. I have a Marshall super100JH and love it. HAd a JVM and it was real inconsistent tone wise. What to say?????

[tonymckenziecom]

@nznaturopath Yes I thought the JVM was not the best, but that YJM is good...

[gurishka]

I just love looking at Phil showing off the circuit boards; the turret board and the PCB. It's really amazing how far we've come in 50 years of manafacture.

The stigma attached to PCBs was that the tracks couldn't handle the extremes of touring and would hair crack and fail as they couldn't flex, thus why turret boards and eyelet boards were used as they were far more robust and could flex. These days companies are using thicker boards and tracks to combat this.

I'm still a fan of handwired.

[tonymckenziecom]

@gurishka I have a handwired JCM45 (I made it) and have no real issues with either. But frankly, they do sound the same to me and I think your comments are valid. But other than some minor bad designs where connectors are on the PCB and not fixed properly they are no issue at all in my view.

[gurishka]

@tonymckenziecom A lot more people are willing to tinker with amps these days as well, be it with turret or eyelet boards or even PCB design. Of course PCB design is far easier to tinker with for a novice as they read which resistor or capacitor they need to change as R** or C** and go ahead and unsolder and change out the part.

There are minute changes in tone from a PCB to a handwired board. Variations occur and that's what made each amp special. It does still occur but to a lesser extent.

[tonymckenziecom]

@gurishka Im not sure that either is more difficult - the diagrams are there and like you say the pcb is usually but not always marked. I made a JCM45 p2p and a Dumble hrm (which is pcb but difficult amp really) and had not too much trouble. The Mesa PCB's tracks are actually hand drawn without harsh bends to simulate the other style of board and you can actually see how they are hand drawn tracks. Awesome for mass production.

[bornburied]

@gurishka Companies like Peavey VHT(Fryette) Bogner have been making excellent PCB products for decades.

Marshall has struggled BADLY with it The DSL/TSL series had so many problems

The same for Fender while it had its issues a few years earlier than Marshall particularly with its SS series of products.

For this reason I've stopped purchasing marshall and Fender valve products.

[tonymckenziecom]

@bornburied I know what you mean. I have not as yet though had any actual failures :-)

[willeng84]

This shit is weak as balls and SHOWS why I and YOU should NEVER EVER buy a Marshall!!!! What did you see in the video within the first 4:00 that would make me say this?................. Well times up, First off he started out talking about theyre TERRIBLE shitty made chinese PC boards which in my world PC BOARDS ONLY GO IN THE CHEAPEST AMPS ON THE MARKET!!! All marshalls are PC boards and if they aren't its made with terrible tinned solder. With they're horrid wave solder its tinned solder.

[tonymckenziecom]

@willeng84 Thats an impressive argument about boards. But unfortunately that is a minority view. For example my Engl E670 which I rate as one of the finest amps in the world, AND my Mesa Road King II are both PCB. Frankly, it matters less these days where they are made, but all manufacturers aim for low cost external source if possible. If you step back a little and see the bigger picture the majority of amps have PCB's.

[bornburied]

@tonymckenziecom Yes Mesa and ENGL are other great examples of manufacturers employing PCB construction.

Construction method to me is irrelevant Steve Fryette taught me that design is what it's all about.

[tonymckenziecom]

@bornburied I think the pcb thing is largely less relevent too. I dont hear the difference but some say they can. I have not seen PCB particularly less reliable either - on the contrary the point to point gave me trouble...

[tonymckenziecom]

@willeng84 I removed your second entry because of the language you used. If you want to post again by using reasonable descriptors thats no problem.

[WayMoreGuitar]

Still no info on the satriani amp release?

[tonymckenziecom]

@WayMoreGuitar I am still looking :-)

[UWALKENTERTAINMENT]

great stuff Tony very informative

[5150VanAlien]

Tony, did Marshall make any mention of limited edition 50th Anniversary models being released?

[tonymckenziecom]

@5150VanAlien Im afraid they did not. Phil did seem like he said the odd thing once every while, but I put those down to a slip of the tongue... When I asked very specific questions he advised me he could not expand... well Phil is a really great guy and I guess he was doing what he is paid to do. In any case, there was no mention of a 50w anniversary. We did discuss some other stuff... but I'm not telling either ;-)

[5150VanAlien]

@tonymckenziecom No problem and can understand. It would've been nice if they could release modern amps in vintage boxes e.g. a JVM model in the YJM box, albeit with a new front to accommodate the wider array of dials. I think that would look awesome. Better still with 6550 power valves. Not only would it look great however, sound even better. That's just my opinion. I had the pleasure of having gone through a Marshall factory tour and the guys were friendly.

[5150VanAlien]

@tonymckenziecom Fair enough and I can appreciate that. It would be awesome if Marshall released a limited addition old with new in that say, a JVM model in the same BIG head as the YJM100, albeit with a slightly different front to accommodate for a larger array of dials and push knobs. I think it would look awesome.

[tonymckenziecom]

@5150VanAlien We shall see ....

[WayMoreGuitar]

They only sent 3 YJM100s to the USA? No wonder I can't find one to try out! :D

Hey, THAT was impressive! I watched 1 & 2. He really knows his stuff. Not good for Marshall whenever he retires! Tons of knowledge, great attitude & obvious pride in working for Jim & the Marshall company. I feel even better about being a Marshall user. Did he say anything about the ship date & NAME OF the Satriani JVM?

[tonymckenziecom]

@WayMoreGuitar About the Satch head... I managed to get him to wink... that was it. He's not allowed to tell you I'm afraid. Don't worry too much - he dodn't tell me much about that one except for a few things I told him ;-)

So I guess Phil does what he should when on camera... But those pesky YJM's are on the way I saw plenty for USA export... they just go by sea ecause of the shipping costs. Glad you liked the vid - I liked making it too...

[rich360a]

Nice video Tony, have you considered doing a review of the Marshall Class 5?

[tonymckenziecom]

@rich360a Not yet... I have to buy everything so it does take time... some of this stuff is mega expensive.. but Ill bear it in mind and see what I can do. Theres usually video on here when I do, but ALWAYS check my website because sometimes I'm sneaky that way :-)

[jhep1]

did he mention YJM60s 9:39? This is hot of the press news!!!!

[tonymckenziecom]

@jhep1 Y'know, he did! But I think that was a slip of the tonge because he had just been talking about a 60 watt amp just before... who really knows? Phil... and I guess he is not telling :-) and neither am I :-)

[voodooriders]

Fantastic video mate :)

[tonymckenziecom]

@voodooriders Glad you liked it... I really liked going around the factory and Phill gave a great insight in to the workings of Marshall here in the UK.

[Adji87]

Great video Tony, like an extra special 'How It's Made' episode!

[LordOfThisWorld74]

Who else felt their heart stop when he broke that over his knee?

[tonymckenziecom]

@LordOfThisWorld74 snapperama :-0

[ludwigvaarpow]

This is the best video I have ever seen on YouTube.

Great.

[tonymckenziecom]

@ludwigvaarpow Thanks for your input... and don't forget to see video 2 which includes some reall classic amps at the end...