This amp has been on my must have list for years. Man, wish I would have gotten it sooner. It has that Marshall roar that made rock what it is today. The mids are in that right place to sit in the sweet spot of any mix. Grab a Marshall 1987X a Les Paul and you will be smiling for days. Nick Huskins was awesome, he took care of all the details amp was ordered, shipped, and delivered all with-in 48 hours AMAZING!

It's time to write my story here. Just in case it might help someone, someday. I purchased this amp from Sweetwater in 2012. It was screaming loud, hissed like a snake, didn't sound good, and my guitar playing wasn't very good. So the amp became eye candy collecting dust waiting for me to learn some more. Fast forward to 2020 and I plugged my Marshall into the Boss Waza tube amp expander to tame the beast known as 1987x. I fried the amp. Literally, snap crackle pop fried. My plan for the Waza to rebirth my Marshall killed it instead. Or did it......

Meanwhile, my electronic skills had increased over the last 10 years of tinkering with guitars and amps. I opened up the 1987x to observe. Death was due to an absolute rats nest of a wiring job. Literally, this amp was probably wired by someone drinking on the job on a Friday afternoon with a hot date to get to. There was major arcing and carbon traces across one of the EL34 tube sockets and the power ran up and fried the hum balance resistors, like burned them black. Originally I was concerned the tube amp expander was at fault, but there was a free wire on the amp power tube socket just millimeters away from its neighbor pin. A setup for high voltage arcing. Since I had never cranked the amp, the amp survived until it saw the Boss amp attenuator.

Moving on, I decided to repair my amp. Not recommended to the inexperienced here. Keeping it simple, I replaced and rewired the power tube sockets, rewired the preamp sockets, coiled all the necessary wires in the amp for decreased noise, repaired the hum balance circuit and then moved around the preamp wires on the live amp until the lowest noise was achieved, which was basically wonderful silence of the resting amplifier.

Ending result, the Marshall plexi amplifier that history has raved about. Absolutely awesome touch sensitive EL34's with everything from wonderful cleans to Marshall crunch and screaming sustain. It really is, now, something special. Worthy of the moniker, 1959SLP little brother. And I can't imaging if this thing was 100 watts. At 50 watts, turned up, you will love it, you will go deaf. I play it at moderate volume without the Boss tae/attenuator and it still sounds great. If I want to turn it up, like past 2-3, it goes on the attenuator. I will add here, it sounds great on the Boss tube amp expander. I love that thing. The Boss waza is like a re-amplification of the signal from the amp, essentially adding something better than a master volume control. Kind of like turning up a stereo volume control. Sounds good quiet, sounds better loud. The Boss still has to get to a certain volume to sound good, but it's no where near where the 1987x would be. Certainly, there are sounds and characteristics that only come about at severely high volumes straight from an amplifier. I get that. It's just that, to enjoy certain amplifiers during long practice settings, I can't do that with max volume without an attenuator. I recommend the Boss waza tae.

My recommendation for the Marshall 1987x comes with the above note. I don't know what the build quality of a Marshall is today. I do know that if something doesn't seem right with your 1987x, if you drop some cash and have a tech rewire it for you, it will be a silent beast of plexi all night long.

So I got my plexi and decided to be different. What I do is turn the channel volumes as low as I can without losing sound. Now I know some of you will say thats sac -religious. But if you dime out the presence you get a very loud very clean tone that works great with pedals. When I need overdrive I kick in my joyo plexie pedal stacked with my Blues driver and instant marshall overdrive. Also I use a 5 band eq to shape the tone. If I need more overdrive I kick in my friedman dirty shirley pedal. With the pup configuratuon I have in my Les Paul I can go from a Kossof (Free) sound to those low down dirty ZZ tones of yesterday. Yep its a great little amp. ( and yes my Les Paul is far from stock.) Any check these puppys out and see what new adventure awaits you.

I ordered this with the soul purpose of getting the VH1 tone. you won't get it stock, I sent mine to David Bray, he works on these regularly, got it sent back to me, instant VH1 tone, sounds amazing.

Without the mod I'd imagine pushing the volume you will get the more classic crunch-ac/dc type tone but not as hot as evh.

I feel like this amp is more expensive than the price advertised because unless you're playing at a large venue, you're going to need to spend $$ on gear to keep it quiet. It doesn't get crunchy until you really crank the volume and it will blow your house/apartment away.

I use a Waza tube expander and it works like a charm. However if you're like me and want to get it modded to get the VH1 brown sound, Dave adds an attenuator knob to the back so you can crank it in the bedroom.

Expensive amp, but did what I wanted perfectly.

Thanks a ton Marshall!

I say "Caged Tiger" because any caged, wild animal wants to be get out.... and this is a Beast that wants to run free. Not for the faint of heart when it comes to volume levels. As any Marshall Plexi, it does it's best work at 10. Unless you're single and live on a thousand acre farm, you will need an attenuator. I'm using a Rivera RockCrusher attenuator to make the volume levels "room friendly", and it works great. After careful inspection, inside and out, it appears to be a faithful reproduction that is true to the original. Very percussive sound, and responsive to pick attack. Very pleased.

This amp is everything I"ve been looking for and more.
The 1987X can go from delicate cleans to growling riffs with just the turn of the volume knob. This amp is so sensitive to your playing and touch that it actually makes you a more aware player. Everything that you express through your playing comes out through this bad boy. If you"re into AC/DC, Guns, Aerosmith, etc, this is the amp for you.

First off, mine is a 2017 model and I'm pleased to announce it runs pin-drop, studio quality silent. I took it apart just to look under the hood, and the circuitboard quality is every bit as good as the 1973-1979 JMP's we all know and love.

I was a little wary at first because I'd heard the current Dagnall transformers didn't have the original Iron's coolness and vibe. I bought this amp used 4 extremely good price, with the intention of upgrading the Transformers to either Classictone or Mercury Magnetics, but I currently own two other Plexi heads with both aftermarket Transformers, and frankly, the current Dagnall iron sounds pretty amazing by comparison.

My only complaint with this amp was the same complaint I have about every other 50 watt Plexi I've owned. While they sound great with pedals, they sound amazing just plugging straight in and cranking them up. Unfortunately, this means playing at a volume that is very likely to get you fired from most small to medium-sized venues, and if you are a home, living room player, you're not going to be very popular with your neighbors.

Fortunately, a few years ago I stumbled upon a Voodoo Amps V-Plex 50 with the coolest sounding PPIMV (post phase inverter master volume) I'd ever heard. I like it even better than the ever popular LarMar PPIMV used by a lot of amp builders. So I paid my amp tech $125 to duplicate the same Master Volume circuit on my JTM45, and now, on this amp.

I also asked my tech to hardwire a jumper between high treble and normal volume controls so I wouldn't have to remember to bring a short patch cord to every gig, an easy mode that I highly recommend for plexi-style, "4-holer" amps.

Both these mods are 100% reversible, BTW.

End result, a KILLER sounding, dynamic, touch sensitive tube amp that works for any sized venue. All you have to do is decide which cabinet to bring, because it absolutely KILLS regardless of whether you drive a 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12 cab.

The 1987x is a GREAT replacement for my '72 small box 50 JMP (which I was an idiot for selling back in the early 1990's). In fact, it's even better with the PPIMV added. And it's also much better now that I understand re-biasing the amp whenever changing power tubes.

It will make the hair on your forearms stand on end, and make you into a much better player.

The 1987x is the real deal.

I was a little apprehensive when I saw Marshall was re-issuing these a few years ago, as I used to own a 72 Super Tremelo plexi and absolutely loved the amp. (Kicks self in teeth for ever selling).

I took a chance finally on one of these after much research and I have to say I am totally impressed with what Marshall produced. This amp sounds, to my ears exactly like my 72 plexi, sure it's a one trick pony, but it's the only pony that knows the trick. Just that good old school undeniable Marshall crunch, I'm really pleased to get that sound back and have it in a new package. (No worries about losing my amps value if the tranny blows).

All in all, just an excellent sounding and looking amp. Now, it doesn't have a master volume but you can attenuate if you like or run a transparent drive or volume pedal with the correct ohm's in the effects loop apparently and control the volume.

I come from the days before the master volume, in the 70's this is how we ran amps, crank 'em up until those tubes break up, natural tube drive is the bomb. But I plan to try the effects loop for lower house level playing as I generally don't like attenuation.

Solid 10 of 10 so far, just excellent and a big thanks to the Sweetwater sales team for making it happen quick and painlessly!!

I returned the first plexi I had purchased, there were issues with noise, Sweetwater is the most reliable of any dealer, I recently got another, decided to give it another chance,i am so glad I did, this is the best amp I have ever owned, it is so Versatile ,patch 1 and two for total control of your tone,i find I play this amp clean more than any I have owned.

Received my plexi, plugged in, hissing was incredible, switching to stand by , a loud pop,switched main off loud pop accompanied by a fireworks type whistle,Mat from tech support sent me a pre amp stage tube to try to replace pres. in case that was it, nope, called tech support again they are shipping me a replacement.
Sweetwater rocks

This amp is excellent - I tour with a 1975 Marshall Super Lead and use this as a back up - our engineer loves the time of both

After being played many great amps for the last 20 years I became very choosy and spoiled. At first I decided to sell it but luckily no one bought it until I understood what a mistake it was. This amp can not do the high gain modern stuff, it is frustrating to see that you need pedals in front to push it for that but when you push it does a very unique throaty and vintage type hi gain that no other amp can do. However it nails every other amp in crunch. Just max the two channels, gang them and you'd get in heaven. For clean stuff it is indispensable for country style or any type of clean sound that cuts through any dense mix without a touch of eq. The eq controls are totally useless because they seem like boosting or cutting a few dbs even at maximums but I tell you, no need for them, the amp itself sounds very unique. Another important thing is, this amp sounds dull with v30s, you need to put it through a g12h75 30 watt, then you will know what I'm talking about. I deleted the add I put for selling it after actually changing the speaker. I also highly recommend a hi output pickup since classic seymour duncan 59s are just the worst choice for this amp (dimarzio's super dist pups made me a happy man!).

I have owned many different Marshall amps over the years some to loud and can't play many places and some just not loud enough to get the tone I'm looking for but the Marshall 1987x is the way to go for me. This amp is still very loud and it takes a few days to dial it in but this baby has got the British bite of its big brother the 1959 super lead for sure ( I have one of them to) This amp is loud at 1 to 3 then it just gets dirty dirty I like it. But that is still the perfect sound for me at studio level and most gigs with out a PA on my cabs. This amp does not have any head room it's all gain if you want a little clean you'll have to roll the old volume knobs down on your Paul's. I have not modded this and never will it's perfect some people change the Brite cap to give more head room and more clean at lower volume but why do that just get a different and because this amp was made to grind rite out of the box

I owned the very first 1987x reissue 50 watt head which didn't include the tone draining effects loop they put in 2nd generation...My amp had to be played loud to get over the unwanted white hum the amp had from just being idled or playing soft with volume low.

I eventually changed out the power tubes which only gave the amp a sharper bite instead in the head room and lost some of the fat saggy tone I was getting which to me sounded better from the power tubes being broken in...Changing the pre-amp and power tubes didn't remove the unwanted white noise I heard when the amp was switched on and not on stand-by ready to play.

I thought I got a bad amp till I read this on a message board which confirmed to me I wasn't the only person with the noise issue.

Some amp tech posted on a Geek Amp message board that Marshall used an improper unshielded wire on one of the grid caps which was the culprit of the noise in the 1987x...They may have corrected it latter making the 2nd generation with effects loop but I am not sure cause I owned the first run reissue without effects loop...Marshall never agreed to recall or at least compensate owners for the repair needed to get this amp to sound quieter.

This is what was POSTED on a Geek Amp Marshall forum; "Regarding the ever present hum in the 1987x", it is caused in part by the 68k grid resistor being mounted on the board and the Marshall factory not using a shielded wire...They should be right on the valve socket pins 2 & 6 using shielded wire with a shield grounded at the pot bus only...
Using shielded wire from the volume and tone potentiometers in a similar manner will help in reducing noise....
To get closer to the 69' specifications (1987x is modeled after) Specification change R1 to 2.7Ki and add a .68uf cap across R11.

I hope this helps if your amp is producing the same unwanted noise mine produced...

Everything you would expect from a legendary amp. It really comes alive when channel 1 & 2 are bridged together. The channels separately are not great unless bass & treble is adjusted in front of the amp with effects. Amp came came classic Winged C el34 tubes...unbelievable bass & really bright treble. Tubes were biased a little hot. Overall great vintage tone & sustain during breakup...Luv the Plexi 50 watt!

I bought this amp about a month ago, it has always been my dream amp and I finally ordered one after all the years of debate. At first I was nervous because I've played Orange amps all my life and honestly didn't think anything could stack up to the AD30. I couldn't have been more wrong, this amp is amazing! Very versatile, great for blues, classic rock, jazz and even country. The only thing I would say is that this amp is EXTREMELY LOUD!!!! & by that I mean knock the walls down, blow your ear drums out type loud. An attenuator is a must for this amp unless you live alone and your nearest neighbor is a good distance away. Other then that it's perfect... we play mostly originals but do cover some Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac, etc,etc. & this amp covers all those signature tones perfectly. Especially that of Jimmy Page. If you're in the market for a beautiful tube amp, this is ( in my opinion) the only way to go. I give this amp a 20 outta 10.

Great amp! Sounds good no matter what you have the settings on! However it is very very loud, and there is only one way to run it which is cranked. I'm sure if you are looking into purchasing one you know that already, this is not a bedroom amp! I would highly recommend a good attenuator to tame this beast. Overall this is a killer amp for blues/classic rock if that's what you're looking for. This thing rocks, super articulate, clear and the distortion is just creamy goodness!! The 4 inputs are great as you can easily find a tone that suits you with bridging the different inputs and what not. It also has an fx loop which is a great feature as original plexi's did not have this feature but it is not intrusive at all. I've been running it with a noise supressor/wah/bbe green screamer if i just need a little more gain and i also use and eq pedal for a nice cleans boost and this thing just sings. It is very natural sounding and not overly processed like most amps today. I switched out the preamp tubes to some NOS Rca 12ax7a's and those made it even more creamy and a little less bright which i think made this thing just about perfect. If your looking for that classic crunch and the sound that made rock this is it, you won't be dissappointed!!!