Marshall 2525H Mini Silver Jubilee 20/5-watt Tube Head Reviews

This is an incredible sounding amp. I prefer the 2525H into a 2x12 Cab than the combo much fuller sounding
Absolutely perfect!!!!!!

I've had mine for about 6 months now. My 1st Marshall.

It's a fantastic amp with plenty of gain. I have the head version with a Morgan 75 Watt Creamback cab.

I havnt played in a band situation but for home use, it's awesome! The 5 watt version is cool but the amp REALLY shines in the 20 watts.

Of course it will blow the walls down at 20 watts but man, does it sound glorious.

I hit it with a Friedman Golden Pearl boost...very nice!

What else can be said...it's a Marshall!

After years of owning dozens of different amps, I realized I've never owned a Marshall. When I started playing in the early 90's, I found the current Marshall's being a bit too bright for my ears and went in the Mesa Boogie direction. Years later I discovered Bogner and then Friedman amps and found a Marshall-style sound that fit my tastes better.

Had been reading and listening to reviews on the Marshall Silver Jubilee mini and decided to give it a shot. It's like being able to play the recorded Marshall sound in my head! It's articulate, and I love the clean mode, it's fat and not ice-picky at all. Of course the lead channel is all of that and then some, it has that classic unique Marshall mid-range and bite but will a tamed top end (to my ears). It's not a gained out as some of the modern amps, to me there is plenty there and if you need a little more, it takes a tube screamer or blues driver really well. Also to note, the EQ's are super variable do a lot. It was fun taking the time to dial it all in to match my taste. Straightforward layout as well. Also the effects loop is quiet and works great.

Lastly, having the low power option is nice for home playing, still sounds rich at reasonable volumes. At full power I think it will be plenty loud for an indoor mid size club type space.

Glad I waited all this time to finally get a Marshall....this is the one!

This amplifier has an extra smooth and cool sound. I am really happy with the sound from this amplifier. I recommend that you purchase this amplifier for highest quality tube sound.

Sounds full.

I've played so many amps I would run out of room naming them before starting my review. I will say that I always ended up back with a Marshall. But as I grew in age the 4/12 cabs just got to be too much to load and the 100 watt heads were just to loud so thats what got me started in experimenting with other amps, always a head with 1x12 cabs stacked 2 high. I could never seem to get the sound I was used to with Marshall. Then I thought why and the H__L don't Marshall come out with a smaller version of the Jubilee, a 800, a plexi etc... Then BAM, here they are. I personally think that was one of the smartest decisions Marshall ever made. I never questioned the tone I would get out of this amp other than deciding which one I wanted to go with. (thanks Randy) but I will admit that I questioned the power. With Marshall loading the mini's with the 34's helped a lot with my decision. Also the fact that Sweetwater is the best in the industry with there return policy along with pricing, 2 year warranty, tech support and the best sales in the industry, I thought what do I have to lose. All I can say is this amp has exceeded my expectations in every way and dismissed the fears I had about this little Rig. Yea, it's a freaking beast in a little package and with simple no nonsense controls, you can dial in the sound on any guitar. Hands down! Oh yea did I say it was a monster? I can use the 5 watt setting at band practice and be heard with NO problem and our drummer hit's hard. If you are thinking it's time to downsize check this thing out, you WON'T be disappointed. Oh yea, I did buy the matching 2-12 cab because they are meant to be together.

Super versatile..the clean is articulate like no other Marshall....and we have a number of them....
The crunchy clean is crisp without being shrill
The gain stages cascade which allows for a broad spectrum of sonic control
Well built and rich harmonic sound....
A classic that can do anything from 80"s rock to djent.
Can"t go wrong with this awesome amp

I concur with Michael from Ohio. As a chief engineer at a studio in LA back in the 90s I had the owner buy one of these with the 2/12 cab in 1990 and never needed any other Marshall. Still using it today 2018 and all original one of the best and most versatile Masrhall amps EVER made! It does it all! Buy one and you will NEVER part with it! My 2 cents.

So, I bought this amp along with the matching two twelve cabinet about a month ago. I was a little apprehensive about getting it because I wanted to use it for stage and was worried it wouldn"t be loud enough. I used it last night at a medium size club and it was plenty loud enough to handle the venue. I"ve owned quite a few Marshalls over my thirty plus years of playing and this one is by far my favorite. It has the classic Marshall tone and like other reviews have stated, you can get the Slash tone that helped make these amps popular. This is one of the best amp purchases I"ve ever made and I highly recommend getting this amp.

I was torn between the Friedman Dirty Shirleys JTM 45 tones , the Pink Taco cranked Plexi brown sound meets JCM 800 roar or the unique Rhythm clip of Marshall 25/50 silver jubilee.
So obviously I am a 2525H owner now. I had high expectations and was ready for a let down. But wow ! My expectations where run right over. It's the honey moon phase I know. I really thought I would be living on the clean channel and mostly with the rhythm clip engaged. But the high gain lead channel blows my mind. It's not like any hi gain channel I have ever played. Sweet sizzle and more of a crunch to it than other Marshall hi gain tube amps I have used. No muddy bottom end. The effects loop is phenomenal. Reverb and delay sound very natural. Great amp to my ears.

It was last April I bought this head. I have a original 1987 silver jubilee 2558 50 watt and decided after getting a radial ABY switch to do a side by side comparison. Same settings and same guitars of course. It came down to if you closed your eyes you couldn't tell the difference. This is an old school style amp in meaning you have to spend time fine tuning your sound. It is as your guitar a instrument. Now I will say here the stock power tubes are fine but you know how it is when you can't help but tinker. I put a set of tungsol EL34b's in the power section and the bottom end became Fuller but not booming. There is several advantages to this amp besides size. It's cathode bias. Like a Mesa Boogie. Just make sure you have a matched set of EL34's, KT77's, etc...and no need to set bias. Some would hate this cause they may want to run them "hotter" but realize there isn't much more sweet tone you could ask for and with the size of the head I'm not sure I would want that much more heat in there. Awesome and simple. Just the way I wanted it. Bought the 2536A cabinet from Sweetwater just to make it the complete package. This has more then enough volume for a medium club and if not this is 2018 folks. Not like when I started paying in 1974. Run it through the PA. A solid investment .

40 years of playing and 15 amps later (Marshall, Peavy, Carvin, Line 6, Black Star, Fender, etc.)- this is THE SOUND- Finally! It fits perfectly in the mix and has exceptional presence and bite. The distortion is crunchy without the the top end hiss and fizz of my DSL and it is much more forward then the darkness of my Carvin Legacy. Also, a tip of the cap to Bob Furlong at Sweetwater- he's always such a huge help!

I've had the mini jubilee for almost 5 months now, and I still catch myself staring in admiration at it. I bought the matching vertical 2x12 cabinet to go with it, and the sound became more alive and gained a new dimension to it. I had been on a tone quest for the perfect bedroom-sized JCM 800 amp, and I really think I've found it. Not only can the lead channel easily take on the iconic 800 tones, it also has an incredibly dynamic feel that allows it to cover a huge variety of sounds with a slight adjustment of the EQ. It has the punch and aggression you'd want from a Marshall, but it's also smooth and doesn't have high end squeal. This amp is definitely made to bark, but you'll be pleasantly surprised at how crisp and clear the clean channel is. Add some reverb to the effects loop to maximize the amps potential. You almost certainly want to have a good overdrive pedal in front of this amp, but that just kind of adds to the fun and interactive quality of it. Do yourself a huge favor and try one of these out!

Great product, and outstanding customer and delivery service.

45 years of playing rock, blues, country and jazz, and this amp shines in all styles. Once plugged in, there is no doubt that you have made the right purchase. I highly recommend the 2536A 2X12 cab to go with the head. No, not just because it looks great, but because the matching cab suits this amp very well. Very tweak friendly, too. Simplicity is better than complexity, IMHO.
Strats, PRS, Les Pauls, ES335......I can't get a bad sound from this amp. For the bedroom player in the apartment complex, don't worry. You get a lot of tube saturation at the lower levels and tone is not compromised. I rehearse 2 times a week, and the 5 watt mode is plenty of power as long as your drummer is not an animal. But yes, plenty of power for rehearsals. Stage performance, the 20 watts is more than enough for the average semi-large setting. Don't make the mistake of not buying this. I wish I had of known sooner.
Last but not least, was my Sales Engineer, Patrick Weaver. Very knowledgeable, friendly and always a great person to deal with. Sweetwater has been my go to place for years. They care!

I had one of the original small box Jubilees way back in the 90's. It was the 50 watter with two 2x12 cabs. It was always that amp, you know, I should have never let go. This one sounds just like I remember. If you have never played one try and find one to check out. Most of the vids including the official Marshall ones, just don't do this amp justice. A lot of the Marshalls from the era that this comes from were mostly one trick ponies. This one I would call a sleeper with some surprises. It can do that JCM 800 ish tone but also, scoop that midrange a bit and crank the lead master, and this will make an 800 blush and wimper away. This one doesn't get mushy like an 800 does. Palm mute chunky metal heaven on this bad boy! If that isn't enough, switch over to the clean channel and hear an ever so nice clean channel on a Marshall! Yep on a Marshall, this has a very nice clean channel. Flip that rhythm clip on while on the clean channel and you will be blessed with the sweetest sounding blues tone you will ever hear on a Marshall or any amp for that matter. Lead tones are very controlled and singing. Not brittle or harsh but smooth and sweet. It's obvious why Slash likes this amp for the lead tones. You could do Slash rhythm tones for sure but also much much more than Slash tone for rhythm. I have several Marshalls to compare this with like a JMP-1 and DSL and have owned many different Marshalls over the years ( 800 900 30th Anniv, plexi). This one is definitely one of my favorites. The tone stack is different. Hard to explain but just different than most Marshall amps. The bass is in a different area and the treble is not as brittle as some Marshalls can get. I purchased the matching 2x12 with this and was not really expecting the cab to blow me away. Wow, was I wrong! The matching 2x12 cab is really really good. I played all of my other amps through that cab and every one of my amps sounded better through that cab. I am really glad Marshall brought this amp back and in the 20 watt with EL34 format was just the cream on top. Marshall should do other versions of their amps like this. A 20 watt Plexi and JMP in this format would be mind blowingly awesome! They should also do the DSL like this with 20 watts and EL34's but not like the DSL15H, Put all the channels and an FX loop on it! Great job Marshall and as always a super Great job Sweetwater. Both of you Rock!

I have had every top brand tube amp out there many were good and some not so good all of them I had to buy pedals to try and get the sound I want some amps needed 1 or 2 pedals to sound good some needed more . Some good pedals many Marshall in a box pedals all trying to get the sound that comes right out of this amp but with 1 difference no pedals needed here and the sound is not just good but GREAT! Spent so much money and time over the years to try and get the sound that this amp has naturally .worth every penny search is over this is the dream!! Thanks to ROB KRAMER for all your help and understanding over the years it was worth the wait for sure !!!!

I love this little amp! I own its "big brother," the 2555, and this smaller version sounds just as good. Better still, Marshall are right when they say the 5W-mode tone is simply a quieter version of the amp on the 20W setting. It is. No thin sound here!

I'm running this into a Marshall 1936 2x12 cabinet and it sounds great--perfect for my practice space. With just a Les Paul straight into this amp, I have all the gain I need for blues, classic rock, and hard rock. There's plenty of volume for smaller gigs on the 20W setting, and on 5W, I get the tone I want for practice without destroying my hearing.

Oh, and while not many buy Marshalls for their cleans, this one does the Marshall "clean" very well, especially when set on the edge of breakup where you can control how clean it is by how hard you dig in. I really like that.

just like its big brother, just a tiny bit brighter and less low end.
just use a bit less treb/prec and more bass.

can get noice at times but that happens with tube amps and not so clean power

great for blues to hardrock tones, can be pushed to metal also.

There's just certain things some amps do well and some amps don't do well. I got this to pair with my mesa mark v35. The silver jubilee 2525h screams! It's full of Marshall tone and super flexible and loud! It does the slash tones convincingly and hits the frusciante tones equally as convincing. It will do it all on its own but you gotta get really loud to get there without a drive pedal of some sort rather it be a clean boost or a drive. Marshall's can get a bit saggy without being pushed and the jubilee is no exception but once you get it ironed out its a blissful sounding unit. With an ocd and a buxom boost pushing the clean channel it still sounds full on Marshall. My only knock on the amp is the shared e.q. between the 2 channels and no light on the footswitch, but it's not hard to get a good sound on both and switch between them. I suggest at the least a clean boost to push the front end. The effects loop is solid delay and reverb come through nice and clear not buried or imposing. I don't use the rhythm clip but it is usable. All in all I am very happy with the 2525h. Build quality is solid sounds good and performs flawless. It's not a modern style channel switcher but if you know that going into it, you won't be upset. I also suggest a vintage 30 speaker set up

OMG - ok ,so after starting the downsizing 10 yrs ago from 100w tube amps - to 50w 5150's down to the 20w, the EVH LBX-Stealth , is finally my "if I can only have 1 amp on earth - final choice - NOT ANY MORE- this Mini Jubilee is the best Guitar amp I've ever heard - tone controls are super active , and yes it needs the tube screamer , but the sound is absolutely amazing , dirty tone , but at the same time you can hit chords and they are crystal clear , with the legendary Marshall midrange bite - I'm able to get the MEGADETH . Holy wars tone exactly -sell your dsl-20 this is Worth the money - Gregg Block is the Best sales advisor I've had in 15 yrs and tens of thousands in purchases . Spend the money , the mini silver jubilee is the best amp on earth for rock & Metal

This head is my first all tube head and I paired it with a nice little Orange 1x12 cab as it's all I currently have room for. I've been eyeing this head for a while and finally pulled the trigger a few weeks ago. There is literally no way I can get the 20 watt side of the amp above volume 3-4 in my apartment without noise complaints (6 in the first three days). The 5 watt side works great for the volume I'm limited to, although my strat breaks up a fair bit after the gain goes past noon.

It's a very sensitive rig and I'm able to get really great warm clean tones and crunchy blues. I recently brought it out to my folks place it the country and let it rip.... WOW. Floor rumbling power chords and screaming blues jams. My stock Mexican Strat I've owned for years has never sounded so good. I can't wait to hear how one of the SGs or Les Paul's I've been looking at sound through the rig.

So it took me a few to get the hang of the 2525H. I was not totally in love day 1. After some tinkering I'm blown away. This amp is pretty responsive, so I find myself using the volume knobs on my guitar a lot. But in a good way. I got the Silver Jubilee 1x12 open back cabinet to go with the head.

Cons - the gain for the clean sound is the same as the gain for the drive channel. If you dial in a nice fat clean sound, when you hit the pedal you have heavy metal. If you dial in a nice moderate crunch sound, when you turn it off you'll have a thin weak clean sound. If you play hard rock or metal, no worries, this amp is exactly what you are looking for. I took 1/2 a star away cuz it has plastic corners. I play a lot of gigs and that's not going to hold up. As well, the cable is permanently attached to the foot switch. Cables go bad faster than switches, so this likely won't last long in my world. But I don't use the foot switch, so I don't care much about that

Pros - it sounds fantastic. It never quite cleans up perfectly, and I love it. I can get totally clean if I roll back my volume, but I like a smidge of grit in my clean tones, and this amp does that like a champ. The drive is thick and rich. 5 watt mode sounds noticeably thinner, but still is pretty cool. I live in an apartment, so I appreciate being able to drop the wattage. But in 5 watt mode you can easily keep up with a band. That's the loudest 5 watts I've ever heard. 20 watt mode is full, thick, and louder than anyone needs. I was in a metal band for years and this amp would have easily kept up.

Here's where it blew me away. I plugged a Keeley Katana boost and an Eventide H9 into the effects loop. WOW! The amp woke up. The Katana boost made the most beautiful overdrive that fell right between the amps clean sound and it's metal drive. The H9 gave a little delay and reverb. Now I can't stop playing. Super happy with the Silver Jubilee.

Was hesitant about buying this amp but it turns out that's it very versatile, the cleans are very addictive and pulling out the rhythm clip knob will tackle classic and alternative beautifully reminding me of my 1978 Marshall JMP. I will probably use the slash channel for soloing. It would have been a perfect amp if Marshall included an extra foot-switch button to go from clean to rhythm clip, then I would have gave it a 5. Definitely one of the best sounding Marshall's I've played through.

I love being able to get that Marshall sound at low watts. Works well with attenuation so you don't piss off the neighbors but still get the sound we all love from the tubes. I haven't been impressed with the effects loop so I gave this a 4.5 rating but it's still an awesome amp.

I heavily anticipated the arrival of this amp when they came out. I like the 20 watt platform for today's stages and it fits my local usage needs perfectly. Some guitarists today still prefer higher wattage for various reasons but I prefer to crank an amp up and use my volume and tone for gain control with a single boost for over the top. The Mini Jubilee allows me to do that very well. I feel there is no compromise cause I can open the amp up without being concerned about being too loud. I am a Marshall devotee and I personally don't get using a Marshall that is choked in volume and trying to make up for that with a bunch of drive pedals stacked into one another. A Marshall is made to be cranked and when you can do that not a lot is needed for my needs. This Mini Jubilee gives it's best with the master volume up at 20 watts but I'm happy with the bedroom tone it gives at 5 watts. Even conversation volumes. I play various versions of Rock and Blues and this amp covers all my needs whether I'm using my Les Paul or Stratocaster. My X4 Delay sounds great through the effects loop. I didn't purchase this chasing any artist's tone known to use it but for the JCM 800 flavor this amp is known for. It is very much like that but is more usable for my needs wattage wise. I wish Marshall would capitalize on this with remakes of earlier models. I run this head through a 2061CX cabinet with a Celestion T75 and 55hz Greenback. Very happy!

The Mini Silver Jubilee is a great amp for getting those genuine Marshall tones at bedroom practice or rehersal volume. The cleans sound great and the gain channel, with a boost, sounds great. I see this amp as a one trick pony because both channels share one EQ. In other words, I can't switch from channel to channel without turning knobs. Additionally, I'm unable to get a a good high gain sound without boosting it with an overdrive pedal. In my case, I'm using the EVH Overdrive. I only use this for heavy gain.

I must, however, give it a good rating because it sounds phenomenal. Despite having to use an overdrive pedal (gain set very low), it's just a great rock/punk/metal machine.

Give Ed Needler a call. He'll take good care of you.

Looooooove my new Marshal 2525H. I have a pretty neat little collection of ""mini" tube heads, including Friedman, Soldano, Mesa/Boogie and others. I didnt really "need" another amp but I realized I didnt have anything that really nailed the JCM-800 fueled rock tones of the mid/late 80's. Being a big fan of the era, I decided to try a few amps out and landed on the 2525H. Someone once described the 100w Jubilee Marshall head to me as "a JCM-800 on steroids" and I think the new mini head does a good job of capturing that essence. The tone is there, and sounds respectable at high and low volume levels (which is probably important to you if youre looking at a 20 watt head). With the right guitar, I pulled out credible sounding versions of all my 80's favorites at a volume level that did not attract any hatred from my neighbors (For reference, I am an urban city-dweller).

Now, dont think that just because the 2525H does such a great job at mid/late 80's rock tones that it cant do anything else because actually, the versatility here surprised me. The clean tone is punchy and clear sounding and the "mid-clip" circuit can actually take you into metal territory. To me those were icing on the cake but if you need a versatile amp, dont rule out the 2525H just because it does the JCM800 rock tone so well.

They've done a great job with this mini-head and I'd say it gets you 85%+ of the way there towards the tone of the full 100 watt head, but it's not the same. The additional headroom on the 100 watt adds something that felt missing on the mini head to me. I ended up selling this and purchasing the 100 watt head. But if you're looking for portability, these Marshall mini heads cannot be beat, they are so easy to transport and sound good. One other surprise to me: the mini head can get quite loud and keep up with a full band. You will have the master cranked though, so you'll have more clipping up at those levels, again a reason I prefer the 100 watt head. A surprise with the 100 watt is that it's not actually that much louder than the mini head (it's nowhere close to as loud as a JCM800 or Plexi 100 watt head).

I know Marshall tone. This has it. Never owned a Jubilee before, but this amp is worthy of my JMP2204. Different tone stack. I don"t engage the diode clipping on the Jubilee. Sounds killer without it. Eq responds differently as well compared to my 2204, for example, I never play with the bass past 5. It gets flubby/ muddy on the 2204 and on other Marshalls . Not on the Jubilee. In fact, it sounds much better with the bass on 8 or even dimed... never flubby or muddy, just THUMP . I mean a good thump. Killer bottem end tone with no flub. I keep the treble lower on this amp though. Mids I dial in a bit higher as well, around 6. I"m very pleased with this amp. Coming from a true Marshall player for 30 years. I own a Friedman PT-20... a great Plexi style amp... love it. But I must say Marshall got it right with this bad boy. I prefer to play it through my StoneAge Custom 2x12 loaded with 65w Creambacks over my Marshall 4x12 with 25w Greenbacks because this is a trebley amp and the Creambacks balance that out with their bigger bottom end and thicker attack. You can tame the treblyness with the eq on the amp as well by increasing the bass up to at least 8 like I previously stated and lowering the treble, as well as the presence. It helps to own a proper cab loaded with very good speakers too. This amp takes pedals very well. If you are a Marshall fan and take the time to experiment with the eq settings on this amp AND have a good rig you"ll love this amp. I can see why V30"s are preferred for this amp but trust me the Creamback"s sound killer with it to consider as an alternative. Shout out to Ryan my sales engineer. Been dealing with him for over ten years now. If you"re on the fence about this amp, call Ryan. Of course do your own research but trust me as a Marshall player for many years this amp is a killer amp. The price is justified. A worthy purchase. Get one.

I love this amp! I wanted a Marshall amp that I could play at home and gig / due rehearsals with and have it sound good in both situations. The 5W and 20W modes make this happen. When I play at home I play at "living room" levels with the 5W mode which is louder than what most people consider "bed room" levels to be and I can dial in a nice thick overdrive tone that I expect from a Les Paul through a Marshall to sound like. In 20W mode I can keep up with my drummer and bass player and still have more room to go on the volume dial. The DI output is also nice to because I can plug into the mains speakers so I really only need enough volume to use the amp and 2x12 cab as my monitor.

I would give this a 5 start rating if it had built in reverb; I know Marshalls aren't known for there reverb, but I need to have it so I put a pedal in the effects loop and it works great. I am just minimalistic and would rather just have the Guitar, cable and amp in my setup minus the reverb pedal.

For the Classic 70's & 80's rock I do this amp is perfect. You can dial the volume down to 1-2 on the guitar and get nice off clean tones, dial to 4 and get mild overdrive tones, then to 8-9 for 80's rock tones. For solos and higher gain stuff I just put my tube screamer or klon clone pedal in front and I can get nice saturated tones.

I looked at the Friedman Runt 20 & PT20 and tried them out, but the tone I got out of them was a bit higher gain "buzzy" sounding than I was after. The 2525H is more mid-rich crunch which is what I wanted. Go on Youtube and watch Journey's "Stone In Love" live and Neal's tone is what I wanted and get with this amp.

Sweetwater gave me a good deal and I have been happy with this amp.