Virgil McMahon

“This was a really great Marshall, a really full-bodied amp, particularly as it’s the Super Bass version. It’s extremely loud and has a very full, woody tone that smacks you in the face a bit more than a Fender or a Vox. Live, I use a Marshall and a Fender and the two of them together create a really great blend of the super- clean Fender and the grunt of a Marshall.

But the Super Bass really surprised me – it’s the first time I’ve played through one and, again, if I had the money, I’d track one down and get it. I don’t know why Marshall isn’t bringing them back into production because I think they’d sell like hot cakes. A really great amp.”

Guitarist:

Its circuitry and valve complement is the same as an original late-60s Super Lead in all but a difference in capacitor spec to give (as a Marshall catalogue of the era calls it) extra “bass lift”. Standing 20ft away in the studio, its cranked sound is like having a brick wall fall on top of you – in a good way.

When we step out from directly in front of this behemoth of bass-boosted tone, we’re reminded just how directional these amps can be atop a 4x12 cab. The bass falls away but the blocky definition and throaty roar remains. Warm and woody, yet brutal up close, the Super Bass is a twist on the SLP sound everyone should try.

SPEC

OUTPUT: 100 watts

PREAMP VALVES: 3x ECC83 (12AX7)

POWER VALVES: 4x EL34

SPEAKERS: N/A

FAMOUS USERS: Everyone from Jimi to Eric used the closely related SLP