Review of the Marshall Origin 5C Combo amplifier. Where to buy it?

I’ll tell you how this post is built. First I list the features of the Marshall Origin 5C Combo amplifier. Then you have a video or two, purchase links and useful comments from other users and then you have one of the most useful parts; comparison tables with similar amplifiers so you can compare.

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in bedroom volume
  • Channels: 1
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 1 x EL84
  • Equipped with: 1x 8″ Celestion Eight-15 loudspeaker
  • Controls: Volume – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble
  • Switch: Power On / Off – Output Low / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Connections: Input (6.3 mm jack)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 466 x 191 x 369 mm
  • Weight: 9.4 kg

review marshall-origin-5c-combo

This amplifier usually has a price around 189.00 €

Now that we’ve seen the features of this amplifier Marshall Origin 5C Combo watch these related videos to learn more.

Marshall Origin 5C Combo Guitar Amp Demo (english)

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Some comments from people who come to the forum about this model:

Comment:

I love low watt tube amps and this is a worthy addition to the few that I have. It looks like the Blues Breaker in miniature, which is aesthetically very pleasing – a classic Marshall look. And the circuitry seems to be similar to the old Marshall classics; it has that great EL34 tone. It has an FX loop, and comes with a foot pedal with which you can engage the overdrive function (that heats up the preamp stage and gives about a 3dB boost) and the FX loop. Nice. I think it’s strange that Thomann mentions neither the FX loop or that it comes with the pedal; those were selling points for me, but I only found that info on other sites that reviewed the amp. As some have pointed out, access to the loop in/outputs, and the extension speaker output are kind of out of the way and not so easily accessible. No biggy, just a little inconvenient. And you’ll want to hook it up to a larger speaker, as the Celestion 8" isn’t really bad, but sounds a bit boxy and quacky to me. I like a single 12" or a pair of 10s. Anything with 16Ohms is fine. But the 8 is perfect for living room practice. If you’re micing the cab, be aware that the speaker is off-center – it’s to the left. It’s a 5W amp, but can be switched to half a watt. That’s brilliant! 5 watts is pretty loud – perfect for practicing and enough for club work if its miced. But the half-watt setting is great if you want it to break up without having the neighbors calling the cops.

The breakup when you push it is very natural. You can get a very nice clean tone, but when you dig in with the pick it will respond immediately, much like an amp with a tube rectifier would. And it has this weird so-called "tilt" knob. As far as I can tell, it’s similar to a presence control, like on the old Plexis, but seems to affect the upper mids more than the highs. It doesn’t really add "air" but a bit of sparkle around 3 to 4 KHz. Maybe the old presence controls affected the same frequencies, so forgive me if I’m off base here. I had a Plexi, but that was decades ago…

Anyway, for the price, a fraction of what a boutique low-watt tube amp would cost, it’s a very worthy amp with lots of tone. And, if I may, Thomann is offering it at about 150 Euros cheaper than some of the competition. So, for me, it was a no-brainer.

I’m very pleased, and surprised at the quality and tone for such a reasonably priced tube amp. No, actually the price is amazing for so much tone and quality.

Comment:

There are a lot of mixed reviews about the Origin series, and the 5C seems to get some of the worst reviews overall, but it’s actually a pretty cool amp once you know your way around it.

The biggest problem/complaint is that it’s very icy/trebly at low volumes, and that the higher ’tilt’ settings just makes this worse. Undeniably an issue, and definitely a feature that makes this a poor choice as a stand-alone amp for lower-volume playing.

The trick to the Origin 5C seems to be running the amp at full (or almost full) volume as standard – do this and the sound really thickens up. I’ve had the most success running the amp with the volume at full and controlling the overall level with a volume/overdrive/distortion between guitar and the amp. Do this and the ’tilt’ control become a useful feature rather than something you want to avoid touching.

Taking this into account it’s probably not an ideal first amp, but a nice addition to a collection and a good option if you’re a pedal user.

Marshall Origin 5C Combo vs Marshall Origin 50C Combo

The amplifier Marshall Origin 5C Combo is usually 236 € cheaper than Marshall Origin 50C Combo.

Marshall Origin 5C Combo

Marshall Origin 50C Combo

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in bedroom volume
  • Channels: 1
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 1 x EL84
  • Equipped with: 1x 8″ Celestion Eight-15 loudspeaker
  • Controls: Volume – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble
  • Switch: Power On / Off – Output Low / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Connections: Input (6.3 mm jack)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 466 x 191 x 369 mm
  • Weight: 9.4 kg

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in any environment
  • 1 channel
  • Power: 50 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 3x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 2x EL34
  • Equipped with: 1x 12″ Celestion G12N-60 Midnight speaker
  • Controls: Gain – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble – Master – Presence
  • Switches: Power On / Off – Output Low / Mid / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Serial effect grinding path
  • Connectors: Input (6.3 mm jack) – DI Out (6.3 mm jack) – FX Send & Return (2 x 6.3 mm jack) – Footswitch (6.3 mm jack)
  • Speaker Outputs: 3 x 6.3 mm jack (16 ohms / 8 ohms)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 580 x 245 x 480 mm
  • Weight: 18.2 kg
  • Includes footswitch

And then a video of the amplifier Marshall Origin 50C Combo

Marshall Origin 50C Amplifier Review - Is this the Redeeming Amp of the Series?

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Marshall Origin 50C Combo review

Marshall Origin 5C Combo vs Marshall Origin 20C Combo

The amplifier Marshall Origin 5C Combo is usually 179 € cheaper than Marshall Origin 20C Combo.

Marshall Origin 5C Combo

Marshall Origin 20C Combo

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in bedroom volume
  • Channels: 1
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 1 x EL84
  • Equipped with: 1x 8″ Celestion Eight-15 loudspeaker
  • Controls: Volume – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble
  • Switch: Power On / Off – Output Low / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Connections: Input (6.3 mm jack)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 466 x 191 x 369 mm
  • Weight: 9.4 kg

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in any environment
  • 1 channel
  • Power: 20 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 3x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 2x EL34
  • Equipped with: 1 x 10″ Celestion V type speaker
  • Controls: Gain – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble – Master – Presence
  • Switches: Power On / Off – Output Low / Mid / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Serial effect grinding path
  • Connectors: Input (6.3 mm jack) – DI Out (6.3 mm jack) – FX Send & Return (2 x 6.3 mm jack) – Footswitch (6.3 mm jack)
  • Speaker Outputs: 3 x 6.3 mm jack (16 ohms / 8 ohms)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 520 x 440 x 240 mm
  • Weight: 13.9 kg
  • Includes footswitch

And then a video of the amplifier Marshall Origin 20C Combo

Marshall: ORIGIN 20C Combo. The proper demo.

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Marshall Origin 20C Combo review

Marshall Origin 5C Combo vs Boss Katana 50 MKII

The amplifier Marshall Origin 5C Combo is usually 20 € cheaper than Boss Katana 50 MKII, but the difference is so small that this can vary..

Marshall Origin 5C Combo

Boss Katana 50 MKII

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in bedroom volume
  • Channels: 1
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 1 x EL84
  • Equipped with: 1x 8″ Celestion Eight-15 loudspeaker
  • Controls: Volume – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble
  • Switch: Power On / Off – Output Low / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Connections: Input (6.3 mm jack)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 466 x 191 x 369 mm
  • Weight: 9.4 kg

  • Power: 50 W.
  • Equipped with: 12″ Custom speakers
  • 5 Amplifier types: Clean, Crunch, Lead, Brown & Acoustic
  • 5 Independent effects: Booster, Mod, FX, Delay and Reverb – 3 of them can be used simultaneously
  • 2 Memory locations for amplifiers and effects settings plus panel setting
  • Power amp input for the use of multi-effects devices
  • Power Control (0.5 / 25/50 watts) for full amp sound at any volume
  • Controls: Amp Type, Gain, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble, Booster / Mod, Delay / FX, Reverb, Master & Power Control, Sounds
  • Updated Boss Tone Studio sound customization software with over 60 different Boss effects, channel and global EQs, customisable routing and more (free on Bosstonecentral.com)
  • Connection option for up to two foot switches
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 470 x 238 x 398 mm
  • Weight: 11.6 kg
  • Matching footswitch FS-6: Art.173531 (not included)
  • Matching expression pedal: Art.102890 (not included)

And then a video of the amplifier Boss Katana 50 MKII

THE HYPE IS REAL 🎸 Boss Katana 50 MKII In-Depth Review & Demonstration

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Boss Katana 50 MKII review

Marshall Origin 5C Combo vs Harley Benton HB-80R

The amplifier Marshall Origin 5C Combo is usually 64 € more expensive than Harley Benton HB-80R.

Marshall Origin 5C Combo

Harley Benton HB-80R

  • Gain boost function
  • Two voicings (Normal, High Treble), which can be mixed steplessly via the tilt control
  • Switchable power reduction for full sound in bedroom volume
  • Channels: 1
  • Power: 5 watts
  • Preamp tubes: 2 x ECC83 (12AX7)
  • Power tubes: 1 x EL84
  • Equipped with: 1x 8″ Celestion Eight-15 loudspeaker
  • Controls: Volume – Tilt – Bass – Middle – Treble
  • Switch: Power On / Off – Output Low / High – Gain Boost (Pull Volume)
  • Connections: Input (6.3 mm jack)
  • Dimensions (W x D x H): 466 x 191 x 369 mm
  • Weight: 9.4 kg

  • Power: 65 W at 8 ohms, 80 W at 4 ohms with extension
  • Equipped with: 12″ Celestion speaker
  • TEC tube-emulating circuit
  • 2 Channels with status LED
  • Channel 1 with controls for Gain, Voice, Bass, Treble and Volume
  • Channel 2 with controls for gain, bass, middle, treble, volume
  • Reverb (Spring Type)
  • Headphone output
  • AUX input
  • Line output
  • Effects loop
  • Footswitch connector for channel switching (footswitch not included)
  • Output for external speaker
  • Dimensions (H x W x D): 45.5 x 51.5 x 26.5 cm
  • Weight: 14.5 kg
  • Corresponding cover: Article Nr 260991 (not included, must be ordered separately)

And then a video of the amplifier Harley Benton HB-80R

If you want to know more about this option, click on the following link to see the Harley Benton HB-80R review

Where to buy this amplifier Marshall Origin 5C Combo

Thomann

  • Free Shipping.
  • Full warranty. If you have any problems, they take care of everything.
  • 100% reliable payment.
  • Leader in trouble-free shipping.
  • Usually Best price.
  • Best Reputation: They are the leading online store in Europe and have the best catalogue and information.

Amazon

  • Free Shipping and possibility of shipping in one day with Amazon Premium.
  • Full Guarantee but they are no experts in music equipment.
  • Sometimes better price.
  • He’s got worse stock than Thomann.

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Jaime Echagüe

Hi! I'm Jaime Echagüe, a musician and an authentic fan of musical instruments. With this blog I want to give general information about musical instruments in an easy, direct and honest way. I hope you enjoy my website and that you find it very useful.

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