The Marshall SV20C Studio Vintage brings the brute volume of the legendary Marshall 1959 to room-ready levels. The compact version of the classic 'Plexi' offers not only the classic appearance, but also the coveted voicing of the original for studio and recording purposes. The Studio Vintage Combo was equipped with a serial effects loop with an additional activation switch and a DI output including speaker simulation, while the power of the amplifier can be limited from 20W in low mode to 5W. Thus the EL34 power amp of the Mini-Boliden produces rich tube sounds even at low volumes with the Loudness control open.
5W/20W Options
Depending on the application, the high and low mode of the standby switch offers different power ratings for different applications. For bedroom shredding and recording purposes the power amp can be limited to 5W in low mode, which prohibits the dynamic range, but allows the power amp to be expanded further to achieve classically rich Marshall sounds. In the 20W high mode, the Studio Vintage is able to provide adequate sound even for rehearsals and small gigs.
10" Celestion V-Type
The combo version of the Studio Vintage features a 10" V-Type loudspeaker made by the English loudspeaker giant Celestion especially for the Studio series. Combining classic vintage speakers with modern design, the V-Type offers a power handling of up to 70W and a balanced sound image with an additional focus on the highs to give the typical Marshall sound of Studio Vintage definition in the mix.
The main features of the Marshall SV20C Studio Vintage include:
To my ears at least, this amp delivers a plethora of classic Marshall tones. There seem to be a fair few guides out there for achieving specific sounds by playing with input and tone options. It cleans up nicely too. You can get that edge of breakup sound which is very sweet with single coils. I have not tried the amp with effects pedals yet. The effects loop is pretty much permanently home to a JHS little black box. That brings me to one potential deal breaker... this thing is loud. Even at 5 watts it's capable of melting faces. This may, or may not be a concern to you, but an attenuator, or a similar solution should allow you to achieve those smile inducing Marshall tones without aggravating your neighbours.