The Powerhouse 100-watt Plexi That Started It All
First launched in 1965, Marshall’s original 1959 Super Lead amplifier head changed the course of music history. It’s the sound of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock in 1969; it’s the sound of Eric Clapton’s Cream in 1966; and it’s the sound that countless guitarists hear in their heads when you say the word Plexi. Marshall’s 1959 Handwired tube amplifier head puts that legendary sound in your hands. This made-in-England 100-watt behemoth captures the soul of the original Marshall 1959s, sharing the same traditional handwired construction that you’d find on the vintage 1959s of the 1960s. The iconic plexiglass panel on the front of the amp sports a global 3-band EQ and Presence knob to shape the sound of the 1959 Handwired’s two non-switchable channels, both of which can be jumpered in classic Plexi fashion for expanded sonic flexibility. And, most importantly, plugging in and cranking up the 1959 Handwired instantly unleashes that sound — the arena-shaking roar and muscular crunch that defined the sound of late-1960s and early-1970s rock guitar. So, whether you’re armed with an attenuator for home-appropriate breakup tones or letting loose at the arena with a full stack, the Marshall 1959 Handwired puts the tone that forever revolutionized rock music at your command.
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100 watts of stadium-shaking power
Clocking in at 100 watts, the Marshall 1959 Handwired’s impressive arrangement of four EL34 power tubes and a trio of ECC83 tubes dish out a serious level of firepower. This is a loud amplifier, and it’s meant to be played loud. The standard-issue master volume controls we so enjoy today were all but a pipe dream back in the mid-1960s, which means you’ll have to achieve breakup in the traditional fashion — turning up the volume until the 1959 Handwired’s glowing glass lights up your signal with what many Sweetwater guitarists consider to this day to be the defining Marshall crunch.
Traditional handwired construction
When Marshall’s first 100-watt 1959 models were launched in 1965, amplifiers were still built the old-fashioned way — with a hot soldering iron and a significant degree of skill on the operator’s end. And while modern PCB designs have revolutionized the art of amplification, this Marshall 1959 Handwired head pays tribute to its predecessors with a traditional handwired circuit, crafted in Marshall’s prestigious English facility. From the wires on the turret board to the resistors, pots, and capacitors, every element of this amp is installed by skilled human hands, just as it would have been done on the amplifiers originally wielded by Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton.
Jumper your channels
True to its original mid-1960s form, the 1959 Handwired provides you with a no-nonsense control scheme that belies this head’s serious sonic potential. A global 3-band EQ and Presence control supply straightforward shaping over your signal, with channel-specific high- and low-sensitivity inputs to better pair with a variety of pickup configurations. And while many modern amps inspired by this prestigious Plexi have opted to forgo the 1959 Handwired’s quartet of channel inputs, they lose a key component to the classic Plexi formula — channel jumpering.
By connecting one end of a cable to your current channel’s unused input and the other end to the dormant channel, you can activate both channels of the 1959 Handwired simultaneously. This supercharges your signal with the power of both channels at once, allowing you to blend between them for enhanced tonal versatility.
Marshall 1959 Handwired Features:
- An authentic tribute to the iconic amp that defined the Plexi sound and cemented Marshall’s status as a rock icon
- Roaring 100W power section driven by 4 EL34 power tubes
- Preamp section comprises 2 ECC83 tubes and an ECC83 phase splitter
- 2 non-footswitchable channels, with the ability to jumper both to blend between them
- Global 3-band EQ and Presence control to sculpt your tone
- Channel-specific high- and low-sensitivity inputs accommodate a vast variety of pickup configurations
- Multiple impedance selector accommodates cab setups of all kinds
- Traditional handwired construction, proudly made in Marshall’s English facility
- Iconic Plexi aesthetics are sure to draw the envy of any guitarist
