Marshall Origin 20: hands-on demo
A lower-gain, mid-priced head from the legendary British amp co
One of this year’s most exciting amp announcements was the unveiling of Marshall’s new Origin series, an all-new, five-strong range of lower-gain heads and combos that aim to capture the company’s early EL34 magic while retaining headroom for pedal users.
MR’s dynamic demoing duo Simon Arblaster and Michael Astley-Brown got their hands on the 20H, possibly the series’ most sought-after configuration, which packs power scaling, a DI out and a nifty tilt control in place of old-school Marshall input jumping.
Best of all is the price, which clocks in at a tidy $549/£459.
Here, Si and Mike put the amp through its paces, demonstrating the clean and dirty tones on offer, as well as how the Origin handles drive pedals.
MORE INFO: NAMM 2018 first look video: New Marshall Origin amps aim to bottle company's '60s roots
Gear used
- PRS S2 Singlecut
- Marshall 4x12 cab
- TC Electronic Hall Of Fame 2 Reverb
- Seymour Duncan Forza
- Boss JB-2 Angry Driver
Get the MusicRadar Newsletter
Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here.
Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.