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Marshall 1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head

50W, 2-channel Tube Guitar Amp Head with FX Loop
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Item ID: 1987XL
Marshall 1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head
Marshall 1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head
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1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head and 1960A 300-watt 4x12" Angled Extension Cabinet

1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head and 1960B 300-watt 4x12-inch Straight Extension Cabinet
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Marshall 1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head
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The Epitome of Loud

Though the 50-watt Marshall 1987X shares the same front- and rear-panel features as its big brother, the 1959SLP, it does have its own distinct personality. Sweet, warm singing sounds are packed into every nook and cranny of this great tone machine. As is the case with the 1959SLP, the 1987X has fittings and hardware as true to the originals as possible, ensuring an authentic Marshall Vintage look. With original features and tone combined with modern refinements, such as an effects loop, it's no wonder that Sweetwater's vintage tone die-hards are overwhelmingly excited about the 1987X.

Related Videos: 1987X 50-watt Amplifier Head

Part of the Marshall Vintage series

The main characteristic that these amps share is their simplicity of operation and superb natural valve tone. Achieving the beautifully organic and vibrant overdrive, which is their trademark, can only be done in one way — crank 'em up! The result is a pure, majestic tone uncluttered by unnecessary circuitry. This produces a big, round, warm sustain, full of classic character. With chord work, you get a bark and percussive attack with a natural-sounding breakup, which allows each note to ring out in a glorious musical crunch.

Classic tone stacking with an effects loop

With the Marshall 1987X, you can mix the two channels together by connecting a short, screened patch lead between the second input of channel one and the first input of channel two. If you then plug your guitar into the first input of channel one, you can mix the different tonal characters of each channel for greater flexibility!

The series effects loop features a true bypass switch that takes the loop completely out of the circuit to ensure the original tone isn't compromised. The level switch allows you to match the loop to either stompboxes or rack units.

Marshall 1987X Features:

  • Faithful tone-stacking amp head reissue with 50W output
  • 3 ECC83 preamp tubes and 2 EL34 power amp tubes articulate every nuance of your playing dynamics
  • Classic 3-band EQ dials in tones ranging from arena-rock-ready chord work to low-grit blues
  • Presence control further shapes your overall tone
  • Series FX loop with true bypass switch easily adapts your FX to your sound

Resources

Guitar Amp Buying Guide
Iconic Guitar Tones: AC/DC's "Back in Black"
Sep 9, 2025
The History of the Legendary Marshall 100-watt "Plexi" Head
Apr 30, 2022
Article thumbnail
Jumpering Marshall Amp Channels
Feb 7, 2013

Warranty Info

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Tech Specs

  • Type: Tube
  • Number of Channels: 2
  • Output Power: 50W
  • Preamp Tubes: 2 x ECC83, 1 x ECC83 (phase splitter)
  • Power Tubes: 2 x EL34
  • EQ: 3-band EQ, High Treble
  • Inputs: 2 x 1/4" (ch 1), 2 x 1/4" (ch 2)
  • Outputs: 2 x 1/4" (4/8/16 ohms)
  • Effects Loop: Yes
  • Bias Type: Adjustable Fixed
  • Construction Material: Black Tolex
  • Power Source: Standard IEC AC cable
  • Height: 10.2"
  • Width: 26"
  • Depth: 8.1"
  • Weight: 34 lbs.
  • Manufacturer Part Number: 1987X-01-U

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Reviews

4.6

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Marshall 1987x is harmonically rich rock machine!
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!
by Tim Redmond from THE COLONY, TX on
read below
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.
by cb from Phoenix, AZ on
Music background: dreamer
Different approach
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.
by Ricky Pierce from Ill on
Music background: Musician ( semi retired from the road).
Fantastic amp. Got it modded, instant VH1 Tone
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!
by Sweetwater Customer on
Caged Tiger
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.
by Nigel from Baxter, Kentucky on
Music background: Amature, Expert Musician...

There are countless "British"-style guitar amplifiers out there, but take it from the lifelong guitarists and tone connoisseurs at Sweetwater, when it comes to Marshall tone, there's nothing like the real thing. We've played them all, from vintage JTM45s and the ultra-cool Plexi reissue to modern handmade masterpieces such as the JVM410. There isn't a model among them we can't recommend with total confidence, and that includes their more affordable models too, like MG, DSL, and Code series amps. Thanks to our tight relationship with Marshall, Sweetwater's always on the cutting edge of their latest designs, custom models, and limited-edition gems. If you want iconic tone from across the pond, you want Marshall, and your Sweetwater Sales Engineer will help you find the perfect one.

See also: Amp Heads, Marshall, Marshall Guitar Amp Heads