Marshall Amps SC20H Studio Classic

Vintage Marshall Tone For the Modern Age

Ever since the dawn of rock and roll, the Marshall name has been synonymous with face-melting volume. This was a necessity in the sixties and seventies because anemic public address systems didn't have enough power to project a guitar signal across a huge arena or outdoor venue. So, the amp had to do a lot of heavy lifting. It had to sound great, but it also had to be loud enough to wake the dead. To meet the needs of players like Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimi Page, Jim Marshall engineered the Marshall Super Lead 1959, an amp that provided the soundtrack to the late sixties and early seventies. As hard rock and metal became more popular in the eighties, Jim adapted and built the JCM800, a hundred-watt head that could fill a stadium with blistering high-gain sounds.

But, Marshall Amps have never been just about volume. They're all about meeting players' needs, and times have changed. Modern PA systems have finally caught up, and most of the time when you play live, the sound guy mikes your amp up, so you really only need it to be loud enough to hear yourself on stage. Furthermore, smaller amps have found favor in the studios because they lend themselves so well to recording, and sometimes a hundred-watt amp can be a tad impractical for home use. Marshall listened to players, and they went back to the lab. Their mission? To capture the iconic sound and feel of their hundred-watt amps in smaller packages. Thus, the Studio series was born, and the finished product is spectacular.

Blistering JCM800 Tone

This particular entry in the Studio series, the SC20H, is an attempt to distill the classic high-gain sounds of the JCM800 into a twenty-watt amplifier. Our friends at Marshall succeeded with flying colors, as this amp perfectly captures the aggressive, articulate, powerful voice of the amp made famous by players like James Hetfield, Dave Mustaine, Kirk Hammet, Slash, Tom Morrello, and Ian Mackaye. Its trebles sound meaty, its midrange snarls and punches with viciousness, and its low-end is muscular and tight. Though its dirty sounds are its calling card, the SC20H also gives you gorgeous sweet cleans at lower volumes. Most importantly, it still responds like a big amp does. Few twenty-watt amps have the power to make you feel like you're playing Wembley when you hit a big E chord, but the SC20H does. As an added bonus, you can drop the power down to five watts if you want the same sort of response at bedroom-appropriate levels.

We're proud to showcase the Marshall SC20H, a small amp with the punching power of a giant. It delivers classic Marshall tone without stadium-sized volume, and it is tailor-made for the discerning modern player. We invite you to take one of the twenty-watt terrors for a spin and experience the magic of a modern Marshall full of vintage tones. Once you do, we're sure the SC20H will make you want to play until your fingers bleed!

Model: SC20H
Range: Studio
Channels: One
Technology: Valve
Output wattage: 20 watts with power reduction to 5 watts
Outputs: 5 x 1/4" jack sockets (16Ω load / 8Ω load / 4Ω load), DI
Inputs: 2 x 1/4" jack instrument inputs (high/low sensitivity)
Controls: Presence, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master Volume, Preamp Volume
Effects: None
Effects Loop: Yes, series, send/return
Preamp valves: 3 x ECC83 (Two preamp tubes, 1 phase splitter)
Power amp valves: 2 x EL34
Cable: Detachable power cable and speaker cable included
Weight: 9.4 kg / 20.7 lbs.
Width: 510mm / 20.1"
Height: 240mm / 9.4"
Depth: 240mm / 9.4"