Marshall Time Modulator 5002 'A' System

An extraordinary piece of kit for sale in superb working order and exceptional cosmetic condition.

It comes with a custom 110v power supply

Inputs and output are via the ¼” jack sockets on the front panel.

Serviced, tested and in full working order.

Condition is near mint with just a few minor signs of age on the casing.

It took me years to find one for our studio – not many were made, and they don’t come up for sale very often as people tend to hang on to them. Being a modulation freak, it was always high on my wish-list – ours is going nowhere, but this one is available.

Designed in the late seventies by Steven St. Croix, this is a truly legendary effect that represents the pinnacle of analogue circuit design – see below for some of the history of how it began as a bet (really).

Not always the simplest effect to operate – the various delay/phasing/flanging type effects from this analogue rack seem limitless and unlike other modulation/delay racks we’ve used – controls interact in unusual ways and are not necessarily intuitive. It rewards perseverance with some amazing sounds, but treat it with extreme caution and operate at modest volume levels – the levels of feedback that can emanate from this thing can destroy speakers, not to mention your eardrums!

Our own MTM was used by Reinhold Mack on the recording of Queen’s ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ (not the one for sale here), and I suspect Tony Visconti used one on David Bowie’s late 70s recordings (eg the main ‘Ashes To Ashes’ riff). It’s a very versatile and fabulously-deep box of tricks that will surprise and inspire you: by no means is this just another me-too flanger.

This one currently has a 110v power supply – a step-up transformer can be used for UK/Europe or we can get a custom power supply built by our engineer if required. We do not recommend using cheap generic Chinese mains transformers and can supply high quality UK-made transformers if required.

Intelligent devices have this to say about it: (they make a Marshall Time Modulator plug in version – find it here)

Before there was much “digital” anything, and before records were considered something anachronistic and nostalgia evoking, back when “Dark Side of the Moon” was new and Hip-Hop kind of a distant dream, Stephen St. Croix had an idea: What would happen if you took the the longest analog delay line possible, gave it the greatest signal to noise ratio in a piece of outboard gear, and then made the modulation of it possible over such a wide range that it could effect sound in ways sublime AND outrageous. Something so utilitarian and necessary that it could fit in equally well on Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life,” or as the means of giving extra gravitas to the sound of a bad acid trip. Stephen called it: The Marshall Time Modulator. You’ll call it “indispensable”.