https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/guitar-amp-heads/marshall-billie-joe-armstrong-signature-1959bja-review
Guitar World Verdict
The Marshall 1959BJA is the first artist-signature Marshall amp in over a decade, and it might remain out of the grasp of many, but the modified Super Lead tone, in a format that apes the master-volume JCM 800, is truly a magnificent playing experience. Try it, if you can.
Pros
- +
The cool blue aesthetic and hand-wired credibility.
- +
The circuit design, combining Super Lead tones with master-volume usability.
- +
It sounds utterly awe-inspiring, whether you’re playing Green Day or anything else.
Cons
- –
It’s a pain to cart around, and will be totally impractical for most.
- –
At the very least, an effects loop wouldn’t have gone amiss.
- –
It’s very expensive, and likely to become a collectors’ item first, and an amp second.
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Guitar World video demo
Marshall 1959BJA Billie Joe Armstrong demo: Green Day’s Dookie-modded tone in a master volume Plexi! – YouTube
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|
Test |
Results |
Score |
|---|---|---|
|
Build quality |
It’s a hand-wired Marshall, and the care taken in the construction is evident. The baby-blue covering looks very cool indeed. |
★★★★½ |
|
Usability and features |
It’s an old-school tube amp with few concessions to modernity, so it’s far from practical in most situations. |
★★★☆☆ |
|
Sounds |
Again, it’s a hand-wired Marshall. Nails its Green Day brief, and offers all the other thrills of the 100-watt Marshall experience. Five stars barely covers it. |
★★★★★ |
|
Overall |
An old-school, uncompromising, but truly stunning-sounding amp. |
★★★★☆ |
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Soldano SLO 100 Classic – $3,999 | £3,499 | €4,189
One of the early heroes of the boutique amp market and an institution in its own right, the SLO’s wonderful roar and exacting build quality remains incredibly sought-after. Better yet, it can be ordered in purple – or snakeskin.
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Marshall Studio Classic SC20 – $1,349 | £799 | €929
Rather than the Super Lead-derived Studio Vintage, I’ve picked this shrunken JCM 800 as it’s much closer to the BJA in terms of operation. The 800 is a British institution; this model house-trains it somewhat, without muffling its bark.
Read more: Marshall’s Studio Series review
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