ENGLISH
From the Chairman
Congratulations on your purchase of this handwired re-issue of the model 2061 20 Watt, all-valve Lead and Bass 20 head. The original versions of this wonderful sounding amplifier were produced between the years 1967 and 1973 and are now highly collectable. This authentic reiteration of the 2061 is part of an ongoing series, which will feature handwired re-issues of revered historical Marshall products. The reason I have decided to do this is simple – public demand!
One of the things I love doing most is meeting and talking to Marshall users at the many trade shows, music fairs and shop appearances I do all over the world every year. A subject that almost always seems to come up in conversation at such events is hand-wiring. In fact, over the last few years so many people have asked me to please start building handwired re-issue products that I’ve lost count! One of the most frequently requested vintage Marshall amps to appear in such a guise is the model 2061X head you have just bought – hence its inclusion as one of our first handwired re-issues.
Like a great many vintage Marshall guitar amplifiers, the 2061X is relatively simple in terms of controls, features and circuitry, but sounds and feels fantastic. To recreate the tone and feel of the original 2061, as well as its eye-catching good looks, my team of designers have gone to enormous lengths to seek out and/or reproduce all of the original components and materials, plus revisit the original methods of construction we used back in the late 1960s/early 1970s. From the handwired tag-board circuit, to the custom-manufactured Dagnall output and mains transformers, I am extremely proud of the incredible accuracy and authenticity of this re-issue.
I sincerely hope that this handwired piece of Marshall history will provide you with countless hours of playing pleasure.
Yours Sincerely,
Introduction
Overview: Historical, Tone and Tech Talk
The 2061X is an all-valve, 20 Watt, two-channel head with no negative feedback in its cathode-biased output stage. When building this handwired re-issue our goal was both obvious and simple: to make it as close as possible to the original.
As Jim has already pointed out, we went to incredible lengths to achieve maximum authenticity in terms of components, circuitry, constructional methods, materials, specifications,
aesthetics, signal path, performance, tonal characteristics and feel. We are delighted to report that our suppliers were equally as exacting in their tasks – none more so than our long term partners Dagnall Transformers.
As you can see from its front panel layout, the 2061X is an extremely straightforward amplifier with both of its channels only boasting a Volume and Tone control each. Like all Marshall, all-valve amplifiers, the 2061X sounds at its very best when turned up full – and because of its relatively low wattage this can be done at ear friendly volumes, making it a wonderful recording tool.
In keeping with its bigger, non-master-volume, all-valve, Marshall brethren such as the 1962 ‘Bluesbreaker’ combo and the legendary 100 Watt ‘Plexi’ head, the 2061X’s sweetly distorted, harmonically rich, thick, musical tones result from the power valves being overdriven. As a result, when ‘cranked’ the 2061X is incredibly touch-sensitive, cleaning up or, if desired, sitting right on the edge of distortion when the guitar’s volume is turned down. It responds well to picking dynamics too – sounding aggressive when you play like you really mean it and, once again, cleaning up as you pull back on your picking attack.
Unlike its 18 Watt predecessors which boasted an EZ81 rectifier, the 2061X features a solid-state, silicon diode rectifying device, and is a much more aggressive and surprisingly modern sounding amplifier, while still possessing that unmistakable and highly desirable, vintage all-valve tone.
Valve complement: Two ECC83s (12AX7s) in the pre-amp and a pair of EL84 power valves working in push-pull. All valves are of the highest quality available and go through a meticulous grading and testing process.
The way the two ECC83s (V1 & V2) in the pre-amp are utilised is as follows:
V1 acts as the pre-amp gain stage for the Lead and Bass channels. As both channel’s pre-amps have a single gain stage, each half of the valve (the ECC83 being a dual-triode) acts as a dedicated gain stage for each. V2 acts as the amplifier’s phase-splitter. Due to the fact that the pair of EL84 output valves attain extremely high temperatures when the amplifier is in use, their valve bases are made from the highest- grade ceramic available.
Tone Circuit: In typical Marshall fashion, the tone network of both channels is post gain and passive. The tone circuit in the lead channel involves a blend of high frequency pre-emphasis and passive high frequency cut – the mix of which is dependant upon the setting of the Tone control on the channel being used. As one would expect, the bass channel is much darker sounding and is voiced for a tighter low-end.
Components: With the obvious exception of the valves, all components used were sourced from European and American manufacturers.
Tag Board: This is exactly the same as the original in terms of surface dimension, thickness and custom-drilled component holes loaded with avlugs. The material used is EM42. The reason we didn’t use a board with the exact same chemical composition as in the original units is because that material doesn’t pass current safety legislation regarding flammability.
