Marshall major repairs/rebuild required

[pstar]

Considering puchasing 1969 major. Plug into it volume pot needs to be replaced. When Turing the tone controls they need to be turned 5/10 or greater to notice a difference. The tone was average. Am not at impressed. The volume was not earth shaking as many people fear, am questioning this amp. Owner says it was serviced and everything that required servicing was do; gold kt88 power tubes, caps, mercury transformer. But the tech who serviced does not have a cabinet/speaker to sound check the amp ? Does not make sense. Is the amp worth purchasing and repairing ? Could be a nitemare to bring it to spec.

[52 Bill]

The last time I worked on one of those had to be 8-10 years ago. It should be loud enough to melt the finish off of your guitar.

Without seeing the chassis, there's no way to know what has been done to it in the last 30 years and more importantly the quality of the work done on it. If you really want one and can afford to have it rebuilt go for it. If you want an assurance that it will be a great amp when it's done, then pass on it and buy one that is working and sounding right.

[soundguruman]

The majors actually had quite a bit of quirks. And they are really clean. But with a preamp replacement it has potential for guitar.

[drewl]

The early ones had an active preamp, that sounds like what yours is doing.

[Gtr_tech]

Active preamp? Active EQ maybe...

[Enzo]

Well, I rather hope it has an active preamp. Jus can;t get enough gain from the passive preamps.

[soundguruman]

The Major does have an active preamp, like other guitar amplifiers.
But the gain is low. The amp is clean, until you play it on 10, wide open.
(the minimum 10 foot evacuation rule applies)
And that is loud enough for a stadium. A bit loud for a club band.
If you want to use it for rock and roll, you will need to modify the preamp for more gain...or use an external guitar processor...
And probably install a master volume control also.

These amps are expensive to work on, it's going to be at least $200 for a set of output tubes.
These amps are the largest, loudest, most expensive, heaviest guitar amps ever built, and could blow your ears clean off...
And soo...you really need to ask yourself: "Do I really need the loudest amp on earth?" Well, do ya?

I think originally conceived for Deep Purple (the loudest band on earth, besides Spinal Tap),
The amp and cabinets were so big and so heavy, and so loud, that almost nobody bought them, and were discontinued.
But it's a cool collectable, impractical for a band that does not play stadium concerts, you need roadies.

The purple ones are the best, and the rarest. The stock cabinet had 4 X 15" speakers, in one cabinet. Now that's beefy.
marshall 4 x 15 - Marshall Amp Forum
here is a picture of a 4X15 side by side with a 4X12, so you can get the scale.