MusicRadar

One of the coolest-looking amp heads we can think of

1 of 2 » View in gallery

• Related News
• Review

Sounds

On revving up the amp for initial sound tests, we find that - just like the regular 1959 model - the 1959RR has immense, visceral power in abundance. We asked Danny if there were any tricks of the trade when it came to obtaining the best from a singing 100-watt Marshall 'Plexi'?

"These amps are designed to throw sound to the back of Wembley Arena, so simple things like turning your cab around can make all the difference," he says.

"In modern day use, you have to be sensible and even be prepared to tell the soundman that you won't need your guitar through the PA. Don't be intimidated either: you don't have to play painfully loud to get a great tone out of a Marshall, but they are designed as pieces of public address equipment and they have to breathe with the guitar."

With Randy's own settings dialled, we take Danny's advice and turn our 4 x 12 cab to the wall, which certainly makes things a tad easier to deal with in a relatively small space.

Compared to a standard 'Plexi' the modded channel II section has noticeably more gain to play with, and what's more the character is altogether more full and indeed open sounding than you could expect from a Tube Screamer or similar. Cranked, there's also a good dollop of power tube drive on offer, adding its own inimitable dynamic: essential to balls-out classic rock tone.

We do find it difficult to perfectly recreate the abrasive edge of high gain we remember from those Ozzy albums. In fact Danny tells us that Randy did use an EQ and BOSS distortion 'as a booster', something you may well want to add to this rig as, like many simple designs, it takes to high-quality pedals very well indeed.