Review: Marshall 2525C Studio Jubilee guitar amp

In collaboration with Algam Benelux we wrote the following review about the Marshall 2525C Studio Jubilee guitar amplifier. 

The in London based company Marshall is bringing back the legendary amplifiers of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s in a small format. This Marshall studio line was announced at Winter NAMM 2019 and it features these relatively small studio amplifiers in which both a combo and head variant are available.

2525C Studio Jubilee

The 2525C was built after the in 2015 reissued 2555 which was originally released in 1987 to celebrate 25 years of amplifier production within the Marshall company. Like Marshall did with their other studio amplifiers, they tried to put the amazing tone of the 2555 within a compact size. Well, they certainly managed to do so. Like all amplifiers in this studio line, this amp is provided with a three-position standby switch for either 20W, 5W, or standby. It also has the usual controls such as: presence, bass, middle, treble, output master volume, lead master volume, input gain. The input and output master channel of this mini jubilee is provided with a push/pull for the diode-clipping circuit, so the peaks are chopped off and you get this real tube overdrive sound.

Specifications

• Diode-clipping circuit in input and output master
• 20W output (with power reduction option to 5W)
• Celestion G12M-25 (16Ω, 25w)
• 2 x ECC83, 1 x ECC83 preamp valves (phase splitter)
• PEDL-90003 footswitch included
• DI-out
• Weighs about 19 kg
• Also available as head amplifier (2525H)

The sound

The 2525C is a really quit amp, there is not much humming or rattling in the tubes that could directly be noticed. The sound is surprisingly steady on all volume ranges, even when input gain is set very low. Do you want to play classic rock or dirty blues? Especially with the clean channel on diode clipping, you get that real tube overdrive tone what you are looking for. Check out the video above for a small sound fragment (03:06 – 03:20).

Tubes

With the original series sometimes doomed by the unreliable tubes, Marshall released a reissue (2555X Silver Jubilee) that addressed these issues. The tubes used are three ECC83s in the preamp and two EL34s in the output stage. The 2525C is a real tube amplifier. Made to have a consistent sound for both the guitarist at home and on stage due to the freedom in choosing between 5W and 20W output power.

Portability

Despite the use of vacuum tubes, heavy transformers, and analog sound which can be recorded directly (via DI output), this model is quite portable. The 19 kg amplifier has a sturdy handle that effortlessly handles the weight and provides a lot of grip. The fact that it is a lot more compact than its source of inspiration also makes loading and unloading a lot easier when you are on the road with your tire. Only the head of the 2555X weighs about 20kg and there would be a cabinet of 40kg. Not only the weight has been halved, but also the price.

Expandable

If you still need more decibels, you can connect external speakers and use the 2525C as a stack. Here there is room for up to 4 extra speakers, of which you can choose how many Ohm (Ω) speakers you want to use. The 2525C has 5 connections on the back for extra speakers.

Speaker setups per connection that are possible:

1. 1x16Ω (here the built-in speaker is already connected)
2. 1x8Ω (if you use this together with 3, you can connect a single 16Ω speaker)
3. 1x8Ω (if you use it together with 2, you can connect a single 16Ω speaker)
4. 1x4Ω (if you use this together with 5, you can connect a single 8Ω speaker)
5. 1x4Ω (if you use it together with 4, you can connect a single 8Ω speaker)

So in total, you could have connected 5 speakers:

1x16Ω + 2x8Ω + 2x4Ω

Conclusion

There are multiple ways to enjoy the iconic Marshall 2555x sound and the signature sound seen as an endeavor in hard rock. Now you could buy a full stack of the original series and practice in your room with it. Chances are that your neighbors will be less happy (or not) with this. The 2525C gives the option to switch back to 5 watts and would be perfect for that. With all your neighbor relations intact, we can use the sound and capacity under a lower volume. With artists such as Slash who made these series immensely popular with his signature versions (2555SL), Marshall managed to get back the sound of that time. This time in a compact form, easy to carry and suitable for completely different situations. However, fitting that our video review uses an Epiphone Les Paul Custom with Slash signature Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II pickups. Although it was a missed opportunity to play some of his solo material, you can still get an idea of how great this amp can sound. Add a little Reverb to it and you are good to go.

Here a fragment of Slash from a period where he used the inspiration of these amps live on his solo tour in 2010: