THE HISTORY OF 1974
Posted: 9 July 2019 Updated: 4 January 2022
The untold story of the ultimate 18-watt superstar.
Read time - 2 mins
Everyone knows Marshall for making things louder but that’s not the only way we push boundaries. Determined to improve upon the existing practice amp market, we began developing our own low powered amps. In 1965, our vision became a reality with the release of the 18W Marshall 1974. Known for its exquisite hand-wiring, it was about to shake up the scene for studio players.
Almost a Bluesbreaker in miniature, the 1974 featured a grey and white pinstripe fret cloth, white piping and a white script logo. There were two channels, each with 2 inputs, tremolo and a footswitch. But as with all amps, it was inside the chassis where the magic was happening. The combo was powered by three ECC83 preamp valves and two EL84 output valves with an EZ81 rectifier. A 12” Celestion speaker provided a characteristic rich sound that was perfect for studio use.
However, all these great features came at a price and in 1968 the original model was replaced by a 20W amp without the EZ81 rectifier, making them less expensive to manufacture. The 20W 1974 featured very similar styling to its predecessor but internally featured two ECC83 preamp valves, two EL84 output valves and a solid state rectifier. Marketing campaigns shifted to focus on the newer 20W heads and by the early 70’s the whole series was phased out.
After three decades off the market, the 1974 was resurrected in 2004 to launch the Marshall handwired reissue series, which was announced at Summer NAMM. Named the 1974X, the reissue was designed to remain as faithful to the original as possible, with a few modern additions for player satisfaction. Special care was also taken to create an aged effect on the Celestion Greenback speaker.
Since its return the 1974X has been adopted by Angus Young (AC/DC), Josh McClorey (The Strypes), Pete Doherty, Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) Jake Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet) and Will Farquarson (Bastille).
1974X Official Demo
1974X Official Demo