Foxboron

annyone got anny experience with it?
probably gonna be my first "non-combo" amp :P

crossroadsnyc

Hey Fox,

Good to see you over here, man! I'll keep my opinions to myself for the time being so as I don't repeat what I said over at the Gibson Forum. Be patient and I'm sure some of the other guys will jump in here to help you out real soon ... this is a forum full of very helpful & knowledgeable guys/gals (sometimes just takes a day to get the first response, but they should start flowing in w/the responses pretty quick here).

To Marshall Forum members: Fox is a good dude from over @ the Gibson forum. He was asking about purchasing a new amp, so I suggested to him and a couple others to stop over here to get their amp questions answered. While I already gave him my opinion/suggestion, perhaps some of you can jump in as well and offer advice or other suggestions to get him on the right path? Always better to have more than one opinion when getting your first Marshall!

Jesstaa

Fox, honestly the MG series aren't the greatest amps, they're (from my experience) one of the more annoying Solid State amps.

I would, on the other hand, recommend a Marshall Valvestate 8100 head, I am currently using one while my JCM900 is out of action, and despite the fact the poweramp/output transformer are damaged (From using an instrument cable instead of speaker cable between the head and cab) it sounds great, really crunchy, and has enough gain for anything, and still sounds decent with the gain backed off.

Edit: I am recommending the 8100 as I'm guessing you don't want the maintenance or expenses that come with a valve head, and Valvestates only use a single preamp ECC83 to deliver close to valve tone, but without difficulties.

You can find the 8100 heads on ebay fairly cheap, and Valvestate 4x12 cabs are cheap, but show up less, you might be better to go with an Avatar cab or 1960A cab.

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American Viking

if you already have a decent amp, just keep saving up for one of Marshall's better products. The MG series is awful, you need to just hold off and get a real tube head. They're that cheap for a reason.

Just look at it this way, if you buy the good stuff once, you never have to buy it again. You buy some bottom of the barrel amp, you're going to keep on buying one step at a time over and over again. It took a lot of us a long time to be able to afford the proper gear we have now and I'm sure all of these same guys will agree, if I could go back and do it again I'd be saving for that killer Marshall from when I started playing guitar instead of wasting it on gear I'll never touch again.

Good luck to you in the future though. I know how it is when money's tight. I guess also take into consideration your dedication to the trade. If you're wanting to tour the world and take this gig all the way, FORGET about the MG's altogether. If this is just a hobby or maybe you're content with just jamming with some buds every other weekend then maybe this is amp might be for you. Everyone's got different priorities which is why Marshall tries to make amps to suit everyone's different passion and need. Take care.

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nofearfactor

+1 to what Viking says...

I buy and sell used gear as a hobby and the MGs and MGDFXs are not that great sounding.

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Foxboron

after i posted this, i found AVT150H and AVT50H head and AVT412B cab wich im atm looking at [not quite sure who to choose of the heads).
i got a VOX AD30VT now, so it will be my first head'n cab amp if i choose to buy one.

Jesstaa

If you just want straight up amplification, without the shitty built in effects, go with a first gen Valvestate (The 8100 head I mentioned). But if you'd just like it to be simple, then I'm pretty sure the AVTs are half decent for shitty modelling amps, alot of people seem to like them.

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Foxboron

im not going to use so much money.
but im going to go ahead try every amp thats mentioned here.

scozz

The first gen AVTs do NOT have amp modelling, strickly Marshall tone close to an all tube Marshall.

Absolutely stay away from the MG line.

woodddj

i have had the valvestate and the mg heads, alot of people bash the mg's because they compair them to the tube heads. but i really liked my mg, the only reason i dont have it now is because i decided to buy a tube amp. the valvestate and the avt2000 really sound good. you might want to concider a mosfet lead 100 head. to me they are about the closest to sounding like a tube amp, without haveing tubes in it. i see them sell on ebay for around $200 all the time.

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AVT50X and AVT20X MG15MSII

Foxboron

hmm, loads of good choises here ^^
i just got 2 limitasion:
- money
- store

im atm having my eyes moved from MG to AVT, anny good/bad experience with it?
allso, i would like a few inputs on a cad if its possible.

JohnH

I assume you are talking about the new MG4 series MG100HFX? otherwise it would be called HDFX as the old series. If thats right, noone has yet given you any comments on it. Its a brand new design. I havent heard one either, execpt on clips where it seems to be a significnt improvement on the old one, particularly for the low and medium overdrive tones. So worth checking out. But valvestates are good too, and maybe better.

One thing that is well worth considering, instead of buying a new MG or AVT cab, get an old beaten up 1960. It will work just as well as a new one, and sound much better. Its a cab for life that will be fine for much better heads in the future,

John

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8412 cab
Crate Powerblock
1 x 12 Vintage 30 cab
'76 Shergold Masquerader
'93 Les Paul Studio
'83 Roadstar

Foxboron

... oh i screwd up.. i thought there was just 1 MG series...
i all allways ment MG100HDFX
SORRY!

soo... is the HDFX atall good if we take it from scratch?

i made a hughe mistake i belive :P

Scrap_Iron

Some people just don't like solid state amps.

Everyone has a different budget. The Marshall MG is an inexpensive amp series that has strong design features based on getting classic Marshall sounds, and can be used professionally.

I think it's better to get an amp and play, rather than sit around waiting for money to buy the dream amp. Get a MG and gig with it and you'll have more money to buy something else later if you want.

Foxboron

every amp can be used professionally... the only problem is how

Dammir93

ok, the new MG's (MG100HFX) are better then the old MG's (MG100HDFX) but i blelieve the AVT's are better then MG's (old and new series)...

woodddj

yeah, the avt's have a more heavy and chunky lead channel. i had to use pedals with my mg to get that thick chunky sound, but i didnt with my avt.

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AVT50X and AVT20X MG15MSII

Foxboron

im costs more money... wich means it better.
atm im verry limited to money, but my store got both the new and old MG's with the AVT. so think ill take aa trip and play every marshall they got
i found a used 1960 cab for the price of a new MG412X cab, good buy or?

woodddj

the 1960 will sound 10 times better than the mg4x12. if you can get a 1960 for the same price, you better grab it before someone else does.

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AVT50X and AVT20X MG15MSII

Foxboron

theres 2 up atm.
.. this is going to be a hard time >.<
im not even 100% if i am going to buy a marshall, and i find a cab for a great price....

heres some pics to it.
its norwegian site so just go click at the picture you whant to see closer on:
http://www.finn.no/finn/viewimage?fi...67&areaId=6408

dcooper830

I really like the (older) MG100HDFX heads. But you have to hook 'em up to a good cabinet to get the best tone with them.

A lot of people don't like the MG Marshalls cause they do tend to sound harsh and plastic-y.

But I've found a few tricks to get a decent useable tone out of mine.

1. Speaker upgrade.

2. Turn MIDs and TREBLE down to 2 or 3.

3. Run it like a JCM 800: Use the clean channel on crunch mode and boost with an OD pedal of your choice. It sounds much better than the overdrive channel.

Here's a couple videos of mine:







.

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Foxboron

ok, so i have looked at a JCM 900 head, and it so far sound awsome,
but it cost some money, so i need to try make the cab cheap while i dont loose anny sound, looked at 1922 cab, but im not sure if i can get it cheaper.

wdaubo

There not as bad as everyone says they are but personally i would not waste my money one one. Ive had 3 MGs One totally bust after a year, the second one is biiger but the distortion is on the brink and the 3rd one is ok because i ts quite new but i bought just for cheap amp to take to college without someone running of with a nice tube amp. My advide if cant afford a full tibe amp either save up for a long time or by the next best thing and AVT or a Vavlestate. you choice

woodddj

the marshall mc212 cab is not to bad if you are on a budget, the speakers are decent, not the best, but decent. later on you can upgrade and put better speakers in it, and it will sound 10 times better.

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AVT50X and AVT20X MG15MSII

Foxboron

well, after your signature, you talk of experience

GodalmingYellow

I've had experience with a wide range of Marshalls, and I'm sad to say the MG series isn't great. It isn't terrible but there are much better options.
If you can afford it, go for a full all valve amp. A DSL 60 is pretty good, though not as good as the TSLs.
If money is a restricting factor, if you can get one, the valvestate amps are really good quality and last well.
Don't be attracted by the MG series built in FX. They're not the best and pretty restrctive. You would be better off spending money on a separate Zoom or Boss FX unit.

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sjojo54

Real simple if your a young crappy player with no sense of tone and just want to drive your mommy and daddy insane by cranking it up in there basement then it will do the job. But if your short on cash get a just discontinued avt 150hx for about 350. or less and a used mg 4/12 slant bottom for about 175.and you'll sound as good or better than almost any other marshall valve amp that i've had over the last 30yrs. you just need to know how to tweek it and what added effects to use with it. But for sure the mg junk is just a cheap noise maker from China.

galey

gday fox
mate i own an mg100hdfx
it is a great amp
u can get a huge variety of sounds
which would triple if u had a few pedals, but what it offers is enough
okok
alot of guys on here own big valve stacks n what not so in comparison the mg series annoy them
but...
the mg 100 hdfx (what i own)
without taking into consideration marshalls awesome valve range eg 1959sl or jcm's
they are a sweet amp
i love mine and can get a great variety of tones, highly recommend brother!!!

noise5150

I own an MG100dfx combo and my brother has the head version so I have used both. I have a DSL 50 head which is my main amp going through a Vintage Modern cab. I use the combo for when I go to someone's house and once in a while I plug it into my 4x12 Vintage Modern cab. Ive been playing for 15 years and have owned Mesa, line6, Peavey amps etc and in my opinion the MG series are great for the money. Many people knock them and they are entitled to their opinion, but if you want that "Marshall Sound" these do it better than Line6. There are 2 keys to getting good tone with these. First, you have to EQ it and find a sound you like. These amps are a little "brittle" but you can fix that by turning down the treble and finding the sweet spots with the mids and the contour. Trust me this works. The second thing you can do is play it through a higher end set of speakers. Again, when I put my MG through my Vintage Modern cab I think it sounds really good. The MG cabs are lower end and I don't recommend those.