Marshall Class 5 Valve Combo Review

There is no mistaking the Class 5's homage to Marshall's 1960's 'Bluesbreaker' and 18-watt combos, with its black vinyl and 'Plexi' style top-mounted control panel. The Marshall Class 5 is made in the UK at Bletchley and this is reflected in the price. Whilst it may not be the cheapest low wattage amp on the market this is a seriously classy rig with some high quality tonal range. For a start it's important to note that the class 5 is extremely loud for 5 watts and the amp could definitely cut it at small gigs and reheasals. With the inclusion of the extension speaker output and connected to a 4 x 12 cabinet, the Class 5 is capable of sounding huge making it even more interesting for gigging guitarists.

With a stratocaster style guitar the class 5 is able to dial in everything from Beck to Hendrix and with a modern humbucker equipped guitar you'll get plenty of Bluesbreakers era fat Clapton tones which are great for solo work. You'll also be able to achieve that AC/DC style crunch so often associated with Marshall amplification.

Overall the class 5 Amplifier has all the classic Marshall tone that guitarists love in conjunction with some vintage Marshall styling. Many guitarists will still opt for the Marshall Haze as a more realistic and functional alternative but I can still see this guitar carving out a niche for itself.

Marshall Class 5 Valve Combo Specification

• Power: 5 Watts
• 2x ECC83 Preamp Valves
• 1xEL84Power Amp Valves
• Controls: volume, Treble, Middle, Bass
• Custom designed 10" Internal Speaker (16? Celestion G10F-15)
• Headphone output
• Speaker / Headphone selector On rear panel
• Headphone output optimised for 32? headphones
• Extension speaker output 16? (Automatically mutes internal speaker)
• UK Made

Price: $399 USD / £299 GBP