The Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired is a Marshall amplifier. Close alternatives include the Friedman IR-D and the Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp. It pairs well with the Browne Amplification Gritador and the Xotic BB Preamp.
Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired
Marshall · amplifier
The Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired is a point-to-point reissue of the 1959 Super Lead 100-watt Plexi, the non-master-volume head behind much of late-1960s and 1970s rock. EL34 power valves and vintage-spec components give it big, open cleans that bloom into rich, harmonically complex overdrive as the volume rises. With four inputs and two jumperable channels, it recreates the classic Hendrix-era British stack voicing. All of its grind comes from cranking the power section.
What stands out
“EL34 power valves and vintage-spec components give it big, open cleans that bloom into rich, harmonically complex overdrive as the volume rises”
— from the listing
“jumping the bright and normal channels to taste”
— from the community notes
“the marshall 1959hw hand wired is a point-to-point reissue of the 1959 super lead 100-watt plexi”
— from the listing
“The recurring complaint is sheer volume, since the tone depends on driving the power tubes hard”
— from the community notes
“It suits classic rock and blues-rock players who want the amp to supply the distortion”
— from the community notes
- open
- overdrive
- bright
- lead
- classic rock
- vintage
- clean
- breakup
Good for
- Live
Genres the Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired is commonly used in
- Classic Rock
- Rock
- Blues Rock
- Blues
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Alternative
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Hard Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Pedals that stack with the Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired
Browne Amplification Gritador
Browne Amplification
27% matchpushes an amp at the edge of breakupPushes an amp already sitting at the edge of breakup over the line. (edge of breakup → mid-forward)
Browne Amplification Gritador takes that edge of breakup character and pushes it toward mid-forward
Goes in front of the amp
Xotic BB Preamp
Xotic
26% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (bright → smooth)
Xotic BB Preamp's smooth balances out the bright tone
Goes in front of the amp
Analog Man King of Tone
Analog Man
26% matchpushes an amp at the edge of breakupPushes an amp already sitting at the edge of breakup over the line. (edge of breakup → clean boost)
Feed a edge of breakup signal into Analog Man King of Tone and it comes out closer to clean boost
Goes in front of the amp
Origin Effects MAGMA57 Amp Vibrato & Drive
Origin Effects
18% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Run Origin Effects MAGMA57 Amp Vibrato & Drive after Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired in the signal chain, clear of Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired's own gain stage
Goes in front of the amp
T-Rex Comp-Nova
T Rex
15% matchshapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain. (dynamic → compressed)
Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired's dynamic character and T-Rex Comp-Nova's compressed voice sit in the same lane rather than fighting each other
Goes in front of the amp
Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret Deluxe
Catalinbread
13% matchKeep Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret Deluxe in Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired's effects loop, clear of Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Sits in the amp's effects loop
Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte
Caroline Guitar Company
8% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Run Caroline Guitar Company Kilobyte in Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired's effects loop, clear of Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Sits in the amp's effects loop
Dunlop MXR Randy Rhoads Concorde Distortion, model RR104C
Dunlop
tonal matchGoes in front of the amp
Dunlop MXR Randy Rhoads Concorde Distortion, model RR104C goes in front of Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired in the chain
Alternativessee all similar tone character →
Friedman IR-D
Friedman
72% similarityFriedman IR-D recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp
Friedman
72% similarityFriedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Soldano SLO
Soldano
72% similaritySoldano SLO recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Strymon Iridium
Strymon
72% similarityStrymon Iridium recreates this amp's tone in pedal form
Marshall 1959JMH-U Handwired 1959 100w Limited Edition
Marshall
70% similarityShared character: four inputs, power section, pick attack
Marshall 1987X MK II Reissue 2-Channel 50-Watt
Marshall
62% similarityShared character: four inputs, resonant, bright
Orange Custom Shop 50 Head
Orange
60% similarityShared character: bright, thickness, crunch
Marshall 1987X Plexy 50W Head
Marshall
59% similarityShared character: power section, pick attack, touch
Marshall 2245 JTM45 MK II Reissue 2-Channel 30-Watt
Marshall
59% similarityShared character: four inputs, pick attack, rich
Suhr SL-15
Suhr
57% similarityShared character: rich, thickness, crunch
Suhr PF100 Peter Frampton
Suhr
57% similarityShared character: singing, rich, thickness
Victory VC35
Victory
57% similarityShared character: pick attack, rich, thickness
See all alternatives to the Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired?+
The closest matches in character are the Friedman IR-D, the Friedman IR-J Jake E. Lee Preamp, the Soldano SLO.
What pairs well with the Marshall 1959HW Hand Wired?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Browne Amplification Gritador, Xotic BB Preamp, Analog Man King of Tone — Browne Amplification Gritador takes that edge of breakup character and pushes it toward mid-forward.