Valvestate 8080 Review

A two channel, 80 Watt, 1x12 combo with an ECC83 pre-amp valve in its Boost channel. It also features Contour, footswitchable Reverb, an Effects Loop plus a Clean/Crunch switch on the Normal channel and an OD1/0D2 option on the Boost. Thanks to its killer features, versatility and tone, the 8080 is currently Marshall's best seller.

Features:	9
Sound:	8.3
Reliability:	8.5
Impression:	8.8
Overall rating:	8.7
Users rating:	8.4
Comments:	10

overall: 8.3

Featured review by: rapxeon, on november 17, 2005

Price paid: $ 356.7008

Purchased from: Erie Music

Features: The amp was roughly made about 6 years ago. It does have some wear on the body but does have a lot of good features. It's an 80 Watt amplifier with great sound of distortion, for any type of music you play. The volume ability is amazing with it being the type of amps that Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and many other bands prefer to use the good Marshall. The channels are clean and one with 5 different features such as contour, gain, bass, volume and middle. The different settings are a good wide of variety. It has an input for 1 guitar, I wish it had a dual input for another guitar. It's definitely an amp I am glad to have. // 9

Sound: The guitar I'm using is a Austin Vintage Rock Custom with 3 pickups. The sound with this amp and guitar provides a good combo for heavy metal or classic rock. The noise level for this varies on what place you are playing, for exmaple, my guitar and amp are both in the basement, so it really does sound good downstairs. But I had it in a small room, I had it on half volume and it shook the whole room. The sounds the amp can make will vary with different settings that you set it to, if you wish, you can have a heavy grind metal, or a smooth clean channel. Both which sound very good. The distortion on this amp is crazy, it matches almost exact to the band Rammstein's amplifiers if you have ever heard of the song Buck Dich, then you will know what I'm talking about. // 8

Reliability & Durability: I can really count on this amp if I were to play a gig, I don't know about the Backup though, I would play it safe and go for the backup, But if you want you could use this without a backup. The amp hasn't broken down since I've gotten it, So it's really good quality and hopefully it stays like that. // 7

Impression: My overall impression is very good on this amp, for my style of music, it does the job, good. I've been playing for about a year and a few months, so it really does make the music sound good. I would definitly recommend this to anyone who wants to play with a reliable amp and wants a good clean sound out of it. If this were stolen or lost, I'd hunt them down and claim it back. I wouldn't want my 400$ to go down the hole. Favourite feature is the volume, this thing goes very loud, shakes my whole room if I play it. Very nice quality, and has a decent size of volume level if you just wanna play a little to yourself. Definitly if you have the money, pick this amp up, this will be one of your best amps you have had. // 9

overall: 6.8

Reviewed by: nick dixon, on august 25, 2008

Purchased from: Second Hand

Features: This amp was made around 92? Its pretty old. It shows on the PCB as it uses larger resistors and capacitors and found on older amps (more on that later). The ususal Marshall setup, 2 channels, 2 boots on each channel, reverb, eq. The novelty of this amp is that it uses a valve or tube as you americans call it, to provide power from the pre amp stage, stepping it down again with a small black transform (about the size of a jewelery ring box) to a managable volatge for the transistor powered amplifier section. As far as I can make out, there is 3 transistor power amps on the heat sink block. // 7

Sound: The sound. I will say this, it sounds great at mid to high volume, at lower volumes it sounds pretty pathetic to be honest. I play jazzy blues most of the time, a few extoic notes here and there, it plays well like most amps to this, the distortion (like most cheap marhalls) sounds pretty fake, and really cant be eumlatyed by any amp unless it has a tube power amp section, 2 6LV's or whatever they use, cant remember. I will comment that there is an utter lack of bass, and the EQ controls dont do much to the sound coming out of the amps 12" speaker. The amp shines best when you simply hit the strings harder and get that "spank" sound you get from hitting a guitar hard, its just boosting the voltage going into the 12ax7 pre amp valve, and distoring nicely. Id say this amp would be great for the rhythm player with a strat or similar single coil pickup, as the bass frequencies cant be heard, which are more suited to humbucking guitars. If this amp was more bassey, id give it an 7.

Also, like many other marshalls, the 50Hz mains hum on this beast is rediculous!, you need to be about 5 feet away from it if you plan on recording, and make sure you have no fluresent lights running. // 6

Reliability & Durability: I bought it from a friend who was a music teacher at my school, he sold it to me on the basis it needed reapiring as the clean channel cut out randomly, and overall it was quite unreliable. I finished repairing it last night, after taking it apart with the help of my father, and my neighbour Who used to work for Marconi eletronics, we checked all the capacitors, and resoldered a few dry joints, and a pathetic repair someone had made to some of the resistors which had gotten hot. It looked like crow shit. Plugged it in and found all the channels are working great. Its been well abused in the past, as the PCS was covered in salt water residue, so its probably been to the sea side at one point. That was probably its cause of faliure last time due to short circuiting, and general neglect, and probably many spilt pints of beer. I'll say it will probably last well enough if you look after it. // 7

Impression: For a Marshall amp, there is not comparison with the old jT45's, and even the JCM 900. Upon opening up, you realise theyre not built for the road inside, recording in your bedroom, and a few small gigs, yes. Nearly every Marshall I've come across has had a fault / needed work to get it going again. Unfortunately, like everything else, things are getting cheaper, and marshalls are made in india now (I think), the cheaper ones anyway, shipped back to england for the enclosure to be made. My general impression is this amp is one of the last to b made in the UK, and I think it's time we saw another Iconic amp like the AC30 or a JTM45 with the same craftmasnship and longevity to be made. You can still but AC30's off ebay!, theyre like classic cars and pretty user servicible!

Will this amp be around for another 30 years?.. nah. // 7

Reviewed by: unregistered, on april 10, 2006

Price paid: $ 183

Purchased from: (It's second-hand)

Features: The legendary Valvestate series "swept the world" in 1991. This amp is a 80 watt amp. It could play paintings off the wall, if you'd like it to! It's 12" speaker gives the sound the correct depth and the preamp in it has an ECC83 valve in it and makes a nice sound! It's a great solid state amp with two channels (clean and boost). The clean channel has a 3-band equalizer and a gain, that can add a little crunch if you turn it over half power and it has a crunch button, that gives the signal a little extra drive. The boost channel also has a 3-band eq. It also has a gain, that decides how distorted the sound gets. There is a button for switching between "OD 1" and "OD 2." OD 1 is old, classic rock overdrive, while OD 2 is more brutal distortion. That channel also features a Contour pot, that can make the distortion sound anywhere between good ol' Marshall overdrive and a great nu-metal sound. And finally theres a volume pot to make the volume ballanced so it matches the volume on the clean channel. The master section features a master volume, power button, line out and footswitch out. Additionally it has an effect loop, where you can decide how much the effect shall mix with the sound. The effect loop also has a button to give the "Send" port more power, which is required for multi fx's. The footswitch can switch between the two channels and turn reverb (which by the way is made by real springs! ) on and off. I play rock. Mainly Nirvana, and it's versatile enough for ANY kind of rock! I can't see how anything should drag this rating down, so. // 10

Sound: I've got a Squier Strat guitar, which I've put a humbucker on in the brudge position. It runs through my Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion (with turbo mode off) and further in through my Electro-Harmonix Small Clone Chorus and finally into this baby. The eq in the clean channel is enough to make the Nirvana sound I want, but I've toy'ed with the other channel aswell. If I want sound like Deep Purple, no problem! Like Stones, no problem! Like a nu-metal band, no problem! Just plain hardrock sound, no problem! You can get JUST the sound you want! The distortion in this thing is so versatile! It makes no noise at all! The only noise I've ever heard from it, somes from the guitar! // 10

Reliability & Durability: This is really an amp you can depend on! I'd anytime take it to a gig without a backup! It's never, ever failed or done anything un-expected! The only problem it has (and many people reports that aswell) is that the pots can get dirty and noisy after a while and it can be VERY annoying. But if you take some contact-spray, it's fixed in no time! But still. // 10

Impression: Again, I'm into Nirvana and grunge. I'm also into other styles of rock. And this amp seems to be sharing my taste! I've been playing for a little over a year and play mostly power-chord songs and easy solo's (simple, but powerfull, as Kurt Cobain'd put it). My previous amp was a Behringer GMX122, or something like that. The only thing I can say about that is "stay away from it"! Eventhough it has 2x60 watt and 2x12 speakers, the sound just ain't right! If this one was stolen, I'd search the world around to find the thief, take him down myself and even swim it back to Denmark in a raft made of concrete, if it was necessary! This amp is a must! What I love about it is anything! What I hate about it is nothing! It may look like I just write that to save time, but it's simply as simple as that! My favorite feature might be the eq on the clean channel combined with the gain pot! When I was looking for a new amp, I came across Marhsall MG30DFX and a couple of sweet Randalls. But it ended up being this, because I saw the incredibly low price on the internet. The owner even had a bus with a 220 volt power generator in it, and he was incidentically on a trip to my area, so I tested it in the bus! And I fell in love with it right away! The only thing I've ever wished it has had, is a button to turn the internal speakers on and off, as it's nice to be able to test the sound coming out of the line out compared to, say, vocals and other instruments, so the mixing would be easier. But I can live without! Maybe I could even build my own, one day. // 10

overall: 9.5

Reviewed by: ledcaveman, on february 13, 2007

Features: 2 channel half solid, half valve amp. Has gain, bass, mid, treble controls on normal channel, as well as a crunch button/switch. Channel select button, gain, bass mid, treble, contour, volume and od1/2 switch/button. Front located effects loop(very helpful, no need to fiddle around the back of the amp) with a -20 or 0 dB switch/button for the effects. Effects mix, reverb level, master volume. It's 1/2 and 1/2 because the "normal" channel is solid state, despite that you can still get extremely good clean sounds out of it, if you turn the gain down to about 1-4 and turn master volume up(then ofcourse you would have to turn the volume on the boost channel down). Seeing as the "boost" channel contains a valve (or so it sounds) you have to turn the amp slightly louder than practice volume to get it to roar. Excellent controls, I have the contour on 10 all the time seeing as I like my sound trebly. I have never dared to put this amp on full as half way as defenetly enough, even for a big pub. I wish it had a volume control on the clean channel as well as a gain one, that would make this amp pro. It doesn't have a headphone jack cos you'd go deaf if you were to plug one in. Does have a line-out (totally pointless never use it, always mic the amp up) and a footswitch jack. The footswitch I got is a 2 button one. One button for channel another for reverb. Shame there weren't reverb controls for each induvidual channel or a reverb boost or something (extra rev in solos). But I can't complain my best friends dad's friend gave this to me so yeh this amp kicks ass. // 10

Sound: I use a Gibson SG Special Faded with stock pickups, with the amp it sounds great, although I want to get higher gain pickups for it. And I also use an ESP/LTD V-250 (very rare or very old I don't know I can't find any on the internet) King V shaped thing with a DiMarzio super distortion in the bridge. The V-250 overdrives the clean channel if you turn the amp up a bit cos after all it is a super distortion! Sounds amazing in boost channel but I have to turn the bass off 'cause the pickup is very bassy, and even with the bass knob turned to 0 I still get an amazing sound. As I also run my pc from the same plug as my amp hums a bit, but in other situations such as band practice where I have my own plug no hum can be heard. I haven't even tried to make any other settings on the amp because I'm so pleased with the ones I have, but the person who owned this previously played blues n said the amp is very good but he got a new half stack so gave me this. // 9

Reliability & Durability: Super reliable never broken down or anything in those 15 years, how ever I want to get a new pre-amp tube for it seeing as tubes get older their sound fades or something and I want more distortion anyway. As this is my only big amp I use it without backup. I used to use the school's avt 50 which was valve but that was totally poor in terms of controlling the sound, you could not control the effects mix or anything. This amp wins by far. Seeing as it's almost as old as me and is super reliable I'll give it a ten. // 10

Impression: I play metal, progressive, rock, anything basically. Very good match except for the fact that the clean channel isn't valve. I have been playing for 3 years and also own a DS-2, EQ-7 and a Morley Bad Horsie, these pedals work in harmony with the amp. If it were stolen I would probably buy a Marshall AVT150 half-stack because they do not sell or make these anymore. I have to say the only bad thing about the amp is it's heavyness, takes for ever to bring to a friend's house to jam. I love this amp, however I wouldn't mind a JCM combo instead, but only if I could afford it. // 9

Comments

[Metal_Chees3mz]

I think its this amp or actually i think its the next up in this series that Chuck Schuldiner of the legendary band Death. One of the godfather's of Death metal and just all around amazing guitarist and just a great person.

[sottpwn]

Hopefully getting this amp on saturday second hand for £100...bargin I reckon. Sounds great from the reviews. Thanks for the info guys.

[Death-Reaper]

What's the overall price paid when bought secondhand?
Because I want one as well, but they haven't got it in store.

[Spirit_Crusher]

Metal_Chees3mz wrote:

I think its this amp or actually i think its the next up in this series that Chuck Schuldiner of the legendary band Death. One of the godfather's of Death metal and just all around amazing guitarist and just a great person.

chuck used the half stack version of this amp

[lorrythebassguy]

i got the 8280 and i frikin love the thing

[lorrythebassguy]

i got the 8280 and i frikin love the thing

[froddy_92]

I bought this amp second hand, and as soon as I plugged it in I just loved it. I'm an average player, that play with a SX (cheap) guitar. But with this amp my guitar sound sooo good. I mostly play classic rock; like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy etc. And thnx to the CONTOUR knob on the panel, you can get the perfect sound needed, I rarely even use my zoom g2:P
Great amp for its size and price tag. BUY IT IF U CAN

[froddy_92]

I bought mine For roughly 200 USD, but its probably worth a LOT more

Death-Reaper wrote:

What's the overall price paid when bought secondhand?
Because I want one as well, but they haven't got it in store.

[lorrythebassguy]

froddy_92 wrote:

I bought mine For roughly 200 USD, but its probably worth a LOT more Death-Reaper wrote:

What's the overall price paid when bought secondhand?
Because I want one as well, but they haven't got it in store.

my 8280 2x12 was £90
it was perfect except for two nobs missing which i replaced for £2!
I think mine is in need of a new tube though... any recommendations

[jwax]

lorrythebassguy wrote:

froddy_92 wrote:

I bought mine For roughly 200 USD, but its probably worth a LOT more Death-Reaper wrote:

What's the overall price paid when bought secondhand?
Because I want one as well, but they haven't got it in store.

my 8280 2x12 was £90
it was perfect except for two nobs missing which i replaced for £2!
I think mine is in need of a new tube though... any recommendations

groove tube!