Marla Amplification

S40-5881 | 40W American Handwired Tube Amp Head | Marla

$1,329.00

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Configuration Head

Finish Option Polyurethane Natural Dark Walnut British Blue

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Vintage Tweed Grit. Modern Power. Handwired in Asheville.

The S40-5881 is Marla Amplification's powerful take on the beloved Tweed amps of the 1950s—built not just to emulate the past, but to push it forward. Think 5F6-A Bassman DNA in a lighter, louder, more versatile American-made tube amp head.

Don't let the name fool you—this amp is loud, raw, and unapologetically expressive.

Voicing

The Marla S40-5881 is my take on popular low-watt Tweed Era amps, brought to life in a gut-punching, louder-than-necessary package. At first glance the S40 looks like the S20V's big brother, but in some ways, it's actually the louder little sibling.

Unlike a typical Tweed Deluxe, the S40 gives you that beefy, creamy 5E3-like tone at a volume level that fills the room. A pair of 5881 power tubes delivers tighter, punchier, and more articulate overdrive than 6V6s—retaining the creamy breakup and rich midrange of classic Tweed designs, but with enhanced clarity, headroom, and responsiveness.

Two independently-voiced channels, each with high and low sensitivity inputs, give you a wide variety of jumping-off points for crafting your signature sound. The channels run independent voicing and signal paths, so jump them with an ABY or jumper cable to blend both worlds. Jumping the channels creates a sensational amount of midrange overdrive and top-end creamy drive.

Channel One — Bright & Warm

A bright and warm full-spectrum guitar tone. Every bit of the guitar is elevated with this channel—perfect for crunch and clean tones, and ideal for stacking fuzz or dialing in modulation. Channel One is biased slightly hotter in the preamp section for more separation between the two channels.

Pull the Channel One Volume pot for a cathode bypass boost. Pull the Tone pot to engage a bright switch.

Channel Two — Focused & Mid-Forward

This is the sound American rock was founded on. Hook up your favorite drives, fuzzes, and distortions to push this channel into wicked, heavily-clipping territories. The wide-sweep tone pot helps roll off or enhance the top end to stand out—or sit back—in the mix.

Pull the Channel Two Volume pot for a cathode bypass boost.

Tube Layout

Ships with JJ 12AX7s for pre-amp and phase inverter, and JJ 5881s in the power section. With adjustable bias and internal pin wiring, the S40 can run 6L6s (~46W) or EL34/E34Ls (~38W) for different flavors.

The S40 ships with a JJ GZ34 rectifier for high plate voltages and low sag. Want a tamer sound with less top-end hair? Swap in a 5U4GB to drop voltages for a more modern, compressed character.

Technical Specs

Power Output: ~40 watts (clean)

Power Tubes: 2x 5881 (swappable to 6L6 or EL34)

Preamp Tubes: 2x 12AX7

Rectifier: GZ34

Channels: 2 fully independent (Channel 1 & 2)

Inputs: High and Low sensitivity per channel

Controls: Boost, Volume, Tone per channel (Bright switch for CH1)

Dimensions: 20" W x 20" H x 9" D

Weight: ~34-38 lbs

Components

Orange Drop 715 Series caps