Marshall 6101

[DeanM]

Just saw one of these used today. its condition is "extensively gigged" and the guy said on the advert he'd take €300! all i know is its a 100watt combo, blue limited edition model. three channels.

he also said this. . .
"It's fully functional and there are only two things wrong with it, it is missing the volume knob, and the high gain switch for the third channel is stuck in the on position".

i dont really need an amp or even really want another one at the mo but those probs above i can fix easily so i was thinkin for €300 maybe it would be worth grabbin?

does anyone have any thoughts on this amp? and that price? would it be a steal? or if i dont need it should i bother checkin it out?
cheers.
DeanM.

[Erikk Von Hyde]

I had a 30th Ann head, the black 6100-LM model, and it SMOKED! I have never played one of the 6101 combos though, not sure there but there's not any circuit difference of course. If it's an older blue model without the lead mod (minus the 'LM' in the model descrip) that may be an awesome scoop, the blue amps are far beyond the black ones to mine and everybody else's ears I know who's played one. The blues were the initial run statring in '92 and have a much more oragnic and open tone with 'air' and headroom whereas the latter 'Lead Mod' models became more boxy and fizzy in general the way their gain stages were juiced.

Any 30th Anniversary Marshall for under $1,000 would be worth looking into for sure

[gtrman]

Though one.
I have one and I bought it used. Payed more than twice what you were offered, but it was in descent condition.
I have had it checked over and retubed the powertubes so now its working good.
Sounds killer and it's really handy but it's still 100w so it's heavy as a m*f*....

If you have somebody who can look it over that wont charge you and arm and a leg ... go for it !

[ClubAndCountry]

These amps don't have the best reputation for reliability and serviceability - they're extremely complex, quite difficult to work on and contain parts that are not really standard items in a valve amp (especially in the Midi-controlled switching circuit) - and the combo seems to suffer from heat-related issues and is harder to work on than the head - but for €300, buy it. The speaker alone is probably worth nearly that.

From the description, it doesn't sound like any of the more serious faults are present - the missing knob is as easy to replace as pushing a new one on, and the stuck gain switch is not part of the main control circuit and easily replaced by a tech.