It’s really hard not to habitually search the Guitar Center used listings. It gives you access to a completely haggle free experience - some items grossly overpriced but others so underpriced it’s criminal. This is the latter - a beautiful SL-X head dating from 1993 complete with EL34 tubes - the most desirable in the SL-X run. The only issue I can spot is one of the plastic caps on the top handle cracked away - talk about a minor issue barely worth mentioning.
This is my first single channel Marshall amp and it’s a blast. This is the continuation of the Mark III, and by extension the Mark II series Super Lead amps. You get the bare bones features - one channel - with some cool modern features like two gain controls, two master volumes (footswitchable) and a high/low power switch - in an amp with just incredible tone.
Interestingly, it doesn’t feel “high gain” by modern standards - it’s certainly not the high gain metal monster I was led to believe by internet reviews and really it’s no slouch at classic Marshall tones. I can see why bands like Kiss used these on tour in the 90s - they are great at nailing those classic tones they were known for but can go just a bit further if you want them too.
Despite having 5 gain stages and a second gain control to dial them in, this is not going to replace a modded Marshall, or a Marshall with a boost. Instead, it allows you to dial in a bit more saturation to use with that same boost or a subtle variation on the classic Super Lead Mk II sounds. It has far less gain than my Splawns or the Mesa Marks and Rectos of the same era, for example. It really is your favorite classic Marshall tones, just pushed to 11… or maybe 12.
