Marshall Studio 15

[dewey finn]

Is anyone familiar with the Marshall Studio 15 amp?

[crunchee]

I owned a couple about 15 years ago. Dunno if that makes me an expert, though! They were OK amps, not really something I would want to keep forever, they were kinda generic sounding to me. They'd distort easy but they were all 'raaaaahhhhh' for the most part and not big on versatility or variety, to me anyway. Maybe mine were not biased properly, but I didn't really get the impression of tube 'warmth' when playing them, at least at lower volumes. They WERE loud for a small sized amp, they used 6V6s but Marshall didn't go back to using those power tubes on anything else as far as I know. Hope this helps!

[Stevieconlon]

I owned one for about 10 years. Relatively small number manufactured and see note above regarding the 6V6 tubes. The amp has a cult following and some people really dig it. I ultimately swapped it out for a JCM900 hi gain head.

[Disturber]

Never tried one, but would love to do so - I love Marshalls up until the JCM800 series. I have heard both good and bad about the Studio 15, die hard Marshall entusiasts are not so keen on them, but still many seem to love them.

[flattop]

Great amp

Martin Barre sure is familiar

Jethro Tull fans will be happy to hear that on several of the album's cuts, Barre flaunts his signature guitar sound from Tull classics like "Minstrel in the Gallery" and "Aqualung": majestic, chunky rhythm guitars; fat, soaring leads; and lush acoustics. The electric-guitar sounds are massive, but surprisingly, Barre usually achieves them without resorting to a huge rig. In addition, he typically eschews layering multiple guitar tracks. "If you've got five tracks of guitars," he explains, "the continuity is lost, and it sounds like overdub city."

One of Barre's favorite amps is an old 15-watt Marshall Studio which he removed from its combo case and rack mounted. "That one Marshall 15-watt amp," he admits, "did three Tull albums: Crest of a Knave, Under Wraps, and Rock Island. Actually, I had to use a small rig because we recorded in Ian Anderson's studio, and he didn't have a live room. So all the tracks were done in the control room."