Most people who have seen this combo (and it was sitting in the corner of the office for some considerable time looking small but handsome) said "Cor, that's great." and then added "Does it sound Good?" and finally "How much is it?"

The answer to the first is that, no doubt about it, this Marshall definitely looks the business. Like a bastard offspring of a Mesa Boogie and the Metal wall of stacks, it combines a big bold logo and the classic gold front panel with chunky corners and a butch profile. It emanates menacing cool and looks every inch the little brother of the Marshall stack.

The answer to the second question is that yes, it does sound good. It sounds good in the vintage Marshall vein, of course, as you'd expect. If you want that valve raunch — because, remember, this is a valve amp, not one of the puny solid state imitations that have been treated with such disdain by so many — it's there. The gain can be cranked up against the master volume to give an overdriven howl even at bedroom volume. As Kerrakked! would probably say, 'it's one mutha of a brainbustin' mindripper and you'll think your ears have been mangled by a horde of bloodcrazed werewolves'.

But the new thing, and the touch that surprised even seasoned Marshall users, was the fact that, yes, the tone controls actually work. Many a guitarist has been slightly limited by the tendency of the big Marshalls to produce just two usable sounds; loud dirty and solid, and quiet clean and trebly. Well, there's none of that here. You can get sounds from middly Jazz to toppy, fizzy Punk and from fat, squelchy US Metal to twangy C&W treble.

In short, it is, as its 'Studio 15' tag would suggest, a pretty versatile amp, and with a reasonable amount of fiddling and the right guitar you could manage a fair imitation of virtually anything. Mind you, when it's cranked up the size of the cabinet — about twenty inches to the top of its cute little handle — makes itself felt with a certain 'boxy' quality to the sound.

But talking of cranked up as we were, it's fair to say that the occasions when you'd need to get up to full whack in the studio would be few and far between. It's easily loud enough for a medium-sized gig, though if you used it on anything but a big stage you'd need it on a chair to prevent it frying the backs of your ankles.

If it wasn't for the fact that it weighs about the same as a laundry basket full of bricks, it would be an ideal amp to cart about to gigs on the bus, tube etc; Billy Bragg goes Marshall, maybe? But it is probably too heavy to drag any distance, though it would be fine for sticking in the boot of even the most dodgem-like car and trundling off to sessions with.

Gary Kemp: "I used to laugh at Marshalls, but when I tried one I found they were actually pretty versatile. You don't have to get that Rock'n'Roll sound."

And many a session player will probably think hard about acquiring one of these, because it really does give you that Marshall sound from a tiny box. Plus lots of other alternatives as well — who needs a Boogie? Other plus points for the picky pro include the special circuit Marshall have stuck in the thing to stop the hum and noise that most valve amps emanate when put in a super-sensitive studio environment; the XLR output for line out, meaning you can DI straight from the amp into a mixing desk; the built-in dummy load so you can disconnect the speaker for DI-ing or when using headphones in the socket also thoughtfully supplied; the second line out socket so you can use the amp as a pre-amp to drive a slave and bigger cabinets... lots of very good bits to satisfy the demanding musician.

As indeed it bleedin' should have. Two hundred and sixty quid is a lot of dosh to part with for fifteen watts of amp. That's £17.33½ a watt, by my reckoning, so they'd better be good watts.

Quibbles? The large wad of cash needed for one of these casts its shadow over anything you think about it. So, as we're talking big wallet territory, where's the naffing reverb? Surely a Hammond spring, as included in several other Marshall combos, wouldn't be too much to ask. It would add yet more versatility to what is after all supposed to be a wide choice of sounds.

And what about an effects loop? I suppose in the same way as the Missing Reverb Mystery, a case could be made that if this was an amp to be used exclusively in studios, you don't need any effects other than the ones already in the rack. On the other hand, Marshall surely wouldn't believe that somebody other than the super-session contingent would buy an amp for this much dosh solely to use it for recording? Even pros play gigs sometimes, you know.

It isn't the much-sought-after British Boogie, yet it offers more than most Marshalls in a smaller box. And that's about the size of it (tiny). In short, it's a small, lovely-sounding but expensive and limited combo. If Session, ILP, Alligator, or any other British amp manufacturer had brought this out as the latest in their range it would almost certainly be sneered at for being too costly and too underpowered.

Marshall, it seems, are still trading on their excellent name to some extent — this is one step towards the modern world, but only a faltering one. More facilities, more innovation and less money would be good but in the meantime if you're prepared to mortgage your aged relatives for the big sound in an economy-sized pack this could be what you're looking for.

MARSHALL Studio 15 Combo: £260