The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Bass Amps & Effects => Topic started by: godofthunder on August 23, 2014, 12:37:19 PM
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I have a '72 Marshall Major I am thinking of selling. ebay searches show 3k-4.5k and more, none of the auctions look like they sold. Whats a fair value for one of these mine is in excellent working order though it was recovered when I got it in '82. The recover is a good job and still looks good but isn't the correct material. It would be easy enough to put it right. Thanks in advance guys!
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I dare not go into the ebay list price vs value here, but in general I´d say that original transformers is what keeps
it in the `upper´price register. Next, the tagboard (point to point) versions produced up to sometime in ´73
fetch more than the later ones. I am not that familiar with the major models in particular, but I admit to have kept an eye open on auctions now and then...
I guess the majors usually end up with working musicians, so a recover should not drag the price that much down like it would on an old plexi super lead...
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It really should be what eBay prices are asking, and I'll venture a few of those "unsold" Majors were brokered off eBay to get around their fees. Majors are rare and harder to work on than most techs can handle.
Don't sell it. Nothing out there sounds like a Major until you get into custom built, big bucks stuff. My Wizard Bass 500 can get a very "Major" tone, but that's a 8k+ amp thanks to Metallica singing their praises on their recent work. I got mine way cheaper than that BEFORE they were cool, when it was 'just' the guys in AC/DC playing them ;p
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Your not helping! I really don't want to sell it but it is just sitting in storage, my Hiwatts get all the playing time. I really have way more gear than I need, something like 8 heads and 14-16 cabs. Usually it's no big deal to off a amp but this one is different. I just bought a 2014 Honda Odyssey ( my first ever new car!) I made a deal wit the missus I'd sell something to recoup part of the down payment. I am thinking if I sell the Major I can do that and buy Bills '73 Super Bass ;D So I won't be Marshall-less.
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That sounds a little like making space for the new "box" to sit in it...? not that I'm siding with Mrs Dasson or anything... ;)
Your first line reads, "my Hiwatts get all the playing time..."
Nice to be confident enough to get the motor, so ask yourself this - do you really need it and would you use (sorry Bill) the Super Bass in preference to the Hiwatts at any point in the foreseeable future...?
Just an open mind...
Remember, I sold an old Plexi 50w Marshall and got the Squier Jazz and the fretless neck for it and a Mag300 combo too... still not gigged and takes up a lot more space... and the paints for the RD and AD... hmm... best not go there; and... hold on... I'm trying to say just sell it... keeps Mrs D sweet... :mrgreen:
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it's not so simple......... Hiwatt gear in Upstate NY was almost impossible to find back when I started out, oh sure the odd piece might pop up now and again but this is long before the days of the internet. Around '77 I bought a factory early 70's white Super Bass 100, around,'79 I bought a factory fresh Super Bass 100. Right about the same time I bought My first Hiwatt 2150..............N.O.S. languishing at the House of Guitars, sounded better than any cab I tried. Then then 80's came..........I sold my Marshall's and bought a GK 800RB, What a mistake . I sold it within six months and bought the Major, the only Marshall available locally at the time. I have always wanted a Hiwatt rig, I'm very lucky to have one now. But I have loved my Marshall's over the years
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Pros and cons list time, Scott...
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Ah the pros and cons list great when you are pragmatic. I am a sentimental sod, especially when it comes to inanimate objects I like my things I make no bones. Giving up something I have had for so long is ..............difficult.
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Well, what's it worth now and what will it be worth in say 15 years? It will damn sure earn you more money than a money market fund at the bank. Question is will it beat the stock market if you had the equivalent value of cash in a mediumish risk level fund. Smart money says yes.
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Marshall Superbass amps are much more common than Majors and their tone is a whole different animal. If you can sell it to a buddy who will use it and needs that tone, that's one thing, but offing it because you "have too many amps" is a bad reason, especially for such a rare beast.
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you have to uphold your end of the car deal. you should sell it or something else. learning that you don't really need much of the stuff you own would make life a lot easier. and cheaper. (my anti-materialism 2 cents worth).
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I am the polar opposite LOL, More is more and more is better! Imho of course. I am in full acquisition mode. Maybe when I hit 65 of 70 I'll start selling some stuff. I am even looking into a storage locker for my overflow. I think I'll keep the Major and find something else to sell, maybe the boat. It hasn't seen water for 6 years.
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I think I'll keep the Major and find something else to sell, maybe the boat. It hasn't seen water for 6 years.
I think you just answered your own question!
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I'd take bass equipment over a boat any day!!!
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I'd take bass equipment over a boat any day!!!
Ah, but what if it is a bass boat? :rimshot:
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Ah, but what if it is a bass boat? :rimshot:
We need a drum set app here for that one!
BUt then. what is that unique sound that makes the Major so desirable?
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I'm thinking the boat is the better choice if you think you'll miss it less than the Marshall.
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BUt then. what is that unique sound that makes the Major so desirable?
You just plug in and you sound EXACTLY like James Jameson :mrgreen:
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I think he's smart for keeping the Major. It will only increase in value. I'm planning on fixing the cosmetic issues with mine and keeping it as well.
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We need a drum set app here for that one!
BUt then. what is that unique sound that makes the Major so desirable?
It's the only Marshall with an ultralinear output topology and requires very good quality tubes and more advanced tech knowledge than your average Fender-knockoff, which made already rare amps even more rare. They have quite the reputation for dying spectacularly.
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Thanks PBG. But, sound-wise.... why would I buy one?
I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just not familiar with it.
And how much is it due to the head versus whatever cabs someone paired it with.
Thanks.
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It's a very powerful midrange-forward sound. Even with 200+ cleanish watts on tap, the Major is not a low-end monster, but the brash growl that it does possess is like nothing else. Old Ampegs are punchier and deeper sounding, and vintage Fender is warm and pillowly. The Major is closest to a Hiwatt but with less headrooom. Majors and Gibson basses have a love/hate relationship because a big mudbucker will send an unstable output section into literal fireworks, but that's only on one that is in bad shape to begin with. A healthy Major is sonically smack in the middle of a Hiwatt and the more common Marshalls like the Superbass or JTM45. They also sound glorious when overdriven- think "Space Truckin'."
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It's a very powerful midrange-forward sound. Even with 200+ cleanish watts on tap, the Major is not a low-end monster, but the brash growl that it does possess is like nothing else. Old Ampegs are punchier and deeper sounding, and vintage Fender is warm and pillowly. The Major is closest to a Hiwatt but with less headrooom. Majors and Gibson basses have a love/hate relationship because a big mudbucker will send an unstable output section into literal fireworks, but that's only on one that is in bad shape to begin with. A healthy Major is sonically smack in the middle of a Hiwatt and the more common Marshalls like the Superbass or JTM45. They also sound glorious when overdriven- think "Space Truckin'."
Yep couldn't have said it better myself. When I bought it I considered it a poor mans Hiwatt. Definatley less Headroom than a Hiwatt, no where near as punchy a Ampeg but man does this thing grind. I think I am going to recover it in the correct material and reverse some of the mods made over the years. I used mainly non reverse Thunderbirds with it over the years, it was a great combination, I even had great tone with a EB3 though I always ran both pickups, I don't recall the setting I used, some were stock wired others modded to a three position selector that allowed me to have both pickups with out the choke involved.
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Years ago a customer of mine brought in TWO PURPLE Majors to get cases made. And we used purple laminate. ;D Never got to play through one.
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Thanks PBG. They sound pretty awesome!
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There's one listed at Austin Vintage Guitars for $2750, which is probably still on the high side, but much more in the ballpark than the ones I've seen listed on FeeBay. I don't know what a lot of these sellers are thinking, do they just like to see their gear up on eBay? Cause that stuff isn't going anywhere at those prices.
I've had my '72 Major since about 1999. It's my go-to bass amp, when I can stand lugging it around. I run it into an old JBL-loaded 2x15" cab. With the old Thunderbird, there's nothing else like it. For some reason, it also sounds particularly good with a Fender JP-90 that I have. Scary good. :mrgreen:
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Out of curiosity I Goggled Marshall Major and found there were two tone control versions as well as a guitar and bass version?
(Also found some informed comments on another board by a fellow whose name has a line drawn through it.)
;)
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Out of curiosity I Goggled Marshall Major and found there were two tone control versions as well as a guitar and bass version?
The earliest versions (first year only, I believe) had only three knobs with a sort of "active" tone circuitry. They were the ones that were affectionately nicknamed "The Pig"' and they are EXTREMELY rare. After that, Marshall changed them over to their standard control layout like their other amps, even though the circuit is quite different.
I don't know if there were two different versions of the early Major, but the later ones did come in guitar & bass versions. The circuit differences are minimal. Either version can be easily converted to the other, only requires replacing about six parts.