Marshall 18 Watt 1974X Retube Kits

The Marshall 18 Watt 1974X amps are the big brother to the DSL 201 amps. Regardless of your style and application we have you covered!

All of our 18 Watt 1974X full Retube Kits are designed specifically for these amps. Every kit is configured to provide a specific sound/experience.

The default power tubes for all of our 18 Watt 1974X Retube kits are the JJ EL84’s. However you can use the Power Tube drop down to select the JJ EL844’s. The JJ EL84’s will on average maintain the OEM headroom/breakpoint for the output stage.  The JJ EL844’s will drop the output power around 25% lowering the power tube breakup point.

These are cathode bias amps with no adjustment as are most all 18 and 20 watt Clones. The amount of clean headroom you’ll get from the power section is somewhat dictated by the grade of power tube used. A cooler grade of EL84’s will give you more clean headroom, whereas a warmer grade will give you earlier breakup. If you order online, leave us a note in the comments section letting us know your headroom preference (max headroom, middle of the road or early breakup).

The Standard Retube Kit is as close to OEM as possible. Maintaining the amps stock level of headroom and gain while providing a warm but even handed overall sound. The kit includes one matched pair of JJ EL84’s by default, one Balanced JJ ECC83S for the phase inverter (V2, the middle Preamp tube) and two Standard JJ ECC83S’s for V1 – V3.

The Gold Pin Retube Kit uses the JJ ECC83S Gold Pin variants to provide a smoother, creamier, and more singing overall sound. This option is less aggressive and has less “teeth” when driven hard. If you like a classic raunchy gritty overdriven tone, we recommend looking elsewhere… If sweet, open, and more refined is what you’re after this kit will do it. The kit includes one matched pair of JJ EL84’s by default, one Balanced JJ ECC83S Gold Pin for the phase inverter (V2, the middle Preamp tube) and two Standard JJ Gold Pin ECC83S’s for V1 –  V3.

The High Gain Retube Kit uses our hand picked high gain selected JJ ECC83S’s. If you’re looking for maximum crunch and grind this is where you want to be. Sonically this setup is very similar to our Standard Retube Kit but with a little extra gain on tap. The kit includes one matched pair of JJ EL84’s by default, one Balanced High Gain JJ ECC83S for the phase inverter (V2, the middle Preamp tube) and two High Gain JJ ECC83S’s for V1 –  V3.

The SRV Option Retube Kit It’s no secret that Stevie played his amps cranked and preferred a little cleaner sound from the front end, allowing you to hear more power tube breakup. This kit uses a JJ 5751 for V1 which is in-between an ECC81 and an ECC83S in gain. The kit includes one matched pair of JJ EL84’s by default, one Balanced JJ ECC83S for the phase inverter (V2, the middle Preamp tube), one Standard ECC83S’s for V3 and a 5751 for V1 (closest to input jack).

The ECC803S V1 Option Retube Kit uses the Long Plate JJ ECC803S in the V1 position. The JJ Long Plate ECC803S has a little lower gain with big thick mids and a little more sparkle in the highs. The kit includes one matched pair of JJ EL84’s by default, one Balanced JJ ECC83S for the phase inverter (V2, the middle Preamp tube),  one Standard JJ ECC83S for V3 and one Standard JJ ECC803S for V1 (closest to input jack).