Marla Amplification S40 - 5881 Combo - Coffee Stain Satin

***This listing is for a COFFEE STAIN finish of the S40 - 5881***

I don't have one pictured yet. Apologies...

40 watts of 5881-powered tweed grit in one American-made combo. This amp roars when pushed, sings when held back, and reacts to your hands.

The S40-5881 takes the 5E3/5F6-A circuit DNA that made 1950s tweed amps legendary and amplifies it — literally. A pair of JJ 5881 tubes (the military-spec 6L6 variant) delivers everything you love about classic tweed growl, then tightens the low end, sharpens the articulation, and adds headroom that single-ended designs can't touch. Creamy midrange. Rich harmonic breakup. Touch-sensitive from first note to full dig.

Channel One — Bassman/JTM45 Voiced Fat, focused, with a strong mid-push that sits perfectly in a full band mix. Biased slightly hotter in the preamp section than Channel Two, giving it more separation and drive character. Built for rhythm work, bluesy leads, and anything where you want the amp doing the heavy lifting.

Channel Two — Princeton/5E3 Voiced Brighter and more open, with the classic sparkle and touch sensitivity of a small-room vintage amp. Cleaner headroom before breakup. Ideal for edge-of-breakup cleans, jangly rhythm, and anything where you need clarity and note definition.

Jump Both Channels The channels are fully independent — voicing and signal path. Jump them with an ABY or a cable and the S40 transforms: harmonically rich overdrive, searing midrange, a creamy top end that responds beautifully to pick attack and guitar volume. This is where the amp really opens up.

Tube Flexibility Ships with JJ 5881s but the S40 is wired internally for swaps. Run 6L6s for ~46W and a fuller, rounder low end. Run EL34/E34Ls for ~38W and a tighter, more aggressive JCM-style midrange when driven. Each tube type requires a professional rebias — don't skip that step.

Want a tamer, more modern character with less top-end hair? Swap the GZ34 rectifier for a 5U4GB to drop plate voltages and add compression without losing notable power.

Build Handwired point-to-point on turret board in Asheville, NC. Finger-jointed pine cabinet for natural resonance and vintage mojo. Orange Drop 715 caps, Sozo NexGen coupling caps, Mojotone KingCap filtering caps, Hammond 290 Series power transformer, Hammond 1750 Series output transformer, Switchcraft jacks, Alpha pots. Cabs and chassis made in North Carolina.

Specs

Power Output: ~40W (5881) | ~46W (6L6) | ~38W (EL34/E34L)

Power Tubes: (2) JJ 5881 — 6L6 / EL34 compatible (tech rebias required)

Preamp / PI: (2) JJ 12AX7

Rectifier: JJ GZ34 (swap 5U4GB for more compression)

Channels: 2 — independent, jumpable via ABY or cable

Inputs: High & Low Sensitivity per channel Controls: Boost + Volume per channel, Tone per channel

Speaker: 1x12" Mojotone Anthem

Dimensions: Approx. 22" W x 20" H x 10.5" D

Weight: ~34-36 lbs