A lifelong Marshall user, Dan Hawkins knows what makes a great amp. "I can hear every detail in the tone of that," he says of the new Marshall JTM in the video below. "That's a really difficult thing to do with a Marshall that's still got that crunch on the front end."
The Darkness guitarist and co-founder came well prepared to Marshall Amps' HQ with his Les Paul Custom Black Beauty (originally built for Jimmy Page) and his touring pedalboard to put the Studio JTM ST20H through its paces.
"The really great thing about this amp is it's a pedal platform if you want it to be but the sound of this amp on its own, when it's dialled in, is absolutely unbelievable," Dan notes of the Studio JTM's versatility. "It's not to be messed with, really."
A new classic, the UK-made head and Studio JTM ST20C combo reproduce the legendary tones of the original JTM that inspired generations, including heroes Jimi Hendrix, Angus Young, Joe Bonamassa and Gary Moore.
Players can craft everything from warm and smooth to chiming, jangly and raucous sounds – as Dan ably demonstrates.
"It's got that throaty growl… but you can get a real chime out of it," says Dan. "You can add a pedal to that and it just doesn't sound like it's overloading. This JTM Studio is amazing for taking pedals."
The new amps are handmade by Marshall's engineers in Bletchley, England, and carry the JTM legend onwards for a new generation of players.
"The beauty of having this particular amp is having that growl, because that's what the old JTM45s do better than anything else," adds Dan.
Shining on stage and in the studio, this compact and iconically-styled 20-watt model features a 5-watt mode for home-friendly volumes that's accessible at the flick of a switch.
The '60s JTM lineage continues with these amps' classic Creamback Celestion speakers. And just like the original JTM, players can explore further versatility by jumping channels with a patch cable to blend between the Normal and High Treble voices.
The new Studio JTM offers the additional advantages of an FX loop for getting the most from your modulation, delay and reverb pedals, plus a DI out for recording and additional stage options.
The Marshall Studio JTM ST20H head is £1075 and ST20C combo is £1279. The ST112 cab is £565, while the 2x12 ST212 is £765.
Find out more about the Studio JTM at Marshall Amps