Marshall Lead & Bass 20 1973 in London, UK

John Shults

Posted on April 13 2022

Marshall amp buyer with Marshall Lead & Bass 20 amplifier 1973

As a vintage amplifier buyer, I'm always on the hunt for great guitar amps from Fender and Marshall from the 1960s and early 1970s. I received a message from a gentleman in London, UK about a nice 1973 Marshall Lead & Bass 20 amplifier that he was interested in selling. As luck would have it, I was on my way to London on vacation! We arranged a meeting for me to take a look and buy the Marshall amp. 

I am always looking to buy nice examples of guitar amps made in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. If you've inherited a Marshall amp and are curious about its value then you can click the Contact Me button at the bottom of the page. I would be happy to take a look and help with how old is my Marshall amp? If the Marshall amp is from the 1960s then I will likely be a buyer for it. You can click the red Contact Me button below to sell a Marshall amp. 

Marshall Lead & Bass 20 amplifier two piece head and cabinet 1973 with gold faceplate

Marshall Lead & Bass 20

The Marshall Lead & Bass 20 amplifier is a rather uncommon model which appears to have debuted in 1968. It features a 20 watt head that sits atop a smaller cabinet than typical Marshall cabinets and features only one 12" Celestion G12M (greenback) speaker. Many were sold with black pleather covers for both the head and the cabinet like this one. This example has both the gold aluminum faceplate and JMP brand; both features are indicative of early 1970s Marshall. It utilizes two 12AX7 (ECC83) preamp tubes and two EL-84 power tubes with a solid state rectifier. 

Marshall Lead & Bass 20 tubes and chassis

There is a great book on vintage Marshall amplifiers with loads of great information on model identification and dating them: The History of Marshall: The First Fifty Years. The section on the Lead & Bass 20 is funny because it mentions that the model wasn't listed in any catalog, but shows a catalog scan showing the exact model just above the paragraph. The image of the Lead & Bass 20 shows typical features for 1968 and 1969. I am actively a buyer for a 1968 Marshall Lead & Bass 20. Do contact me if you are looking for how much it is worth or who buys Marshall amps?

Marshall Amp Buyer

As a Marshall amp buyer, I am always on the hunt for nice examples of 1960s era Marshall amplifiers. I can help with model identification and finding the year it was made. Those are the first steps in finding out how much a vintage Marshall amplifier is worth. If you're curious about how much I would value your Marshall amp, contact me at the red button below. I would be happy to take a look. 

Marshall amp two piece with covers from 1960s 1970s.

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