Marshall AVT50

I've been gigging for about 20 years. I play heavy electric blues. I run both an SSS strat with 3x Dimarzio H2s in a single coil mode and another HH strat with 2x PAF Humbuckers. My rig is pretty simple relying only on a wah, boost, compression, and some time based effects depending on the mood.

I bought this at PMT in Birmingham UK, for about £250 about 7 years ago to gig in smaller venues so I didn't have to lug around my plexi.

I love the distortion and the two channel switching. The effects loop is a nice. It's great for practicing and for small rehearsal spaces. I found it most useful if you use it for a dirty tone with an a/b to a Fender Twin for clean. Also, I like the fact that you can drive a cab if you need to. I found that through a 4x12 slant it really came into it's own.

The single speaker. I've never really liked the tone of it. It kind of just gets lost in the mix at higher volumes if you are pushing it so it needs to be mic'd. The PAFs really tend to drive the unit hard and the amp really can't keep up at higher volumes so either gets really muddy or really harsh. I am not too fond of the clean tone (hey, it
is a Marshall) To my ear I would rather use the direct out to the PA than the main speaker.

Excellent construction however the reverb went on me unexpectedly in a gig taking the rest of the unit out with it. I put this down to a freak accident.

It's heavy for the size and needs a good set of castors if you want to save your back.

You get what you pay for. I think it is a very good practice and small venue amp, but a bit dodgy for any major gig unless you have a good PA to back you up. I'd probably buy it again, but I would only buy the head and then either use the DI or mix and match cabs.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I'm in my second coming as a guitarist as my son is nearly tenage and getting more independent, so the wife and I have more time for our little "obsessions".
I play mainly blues and have been mainly influenced by Eric Clapton,JJ Cale amongst others although I enjoy any good guitar playing.I have two Fender Strats and a Squier Tele Custom II.I also have a Peavey Rockingham Archtop and a Fender Resonator for differenr grooves.I played in bands about 25 years ago but now just Jam with my friends.

I got this amp from Sound Control UK I traded up from my MG30DFX.
I needed a little more power "space" in my tones.All told the amp retailed at £229 GBP but my trade in bought the price down.

The amp is a simple typically solid well built Marshall product.
Gain /volume/ Bass /Treble and Overdrive with a sweet spring reverb.
Comes with a footswitch too.Effects loop is available at the back. Theres also a headphone jack .
This amp delivers for me !! It has outstanding clean tones for a Marshall , something which took me by surprise. Just roll back on the bass and boot the treble .
The OD Section is very versatile with many options available to dial in, I keep it half dirty with half reverb and the result gives me that instant recognosable Marshall clout.
Contrary to some reviews I find this Amp great for single coils. I can also find sweet Jazz tones with my Archtop.
All in all a very versatile and good amp.
I returned a crate vtx65 comb and chose this inssaed. The Crate had bags of effects but this simple Marshall just does it with pedals if you want them.
I would buy another tomorrow if it were stolen

No real gripes !

Construction: Built like a Tank - British Marshall.
Looks and feels the business

I would recommend this amp to anyone.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought my marshall over ebay for $299.95 plus shipping, so all in all a little under $350. I bought an avt because I had read good things about them, and i chose the 50 watter because that was about all I needed, for very small private gigs and practice.

I absolutely love everything:
First off, its loud, you can easily jam, practice, or gig with this unit, 50 watts of hybrid power give you way more than even 80 or so, in my opinion, of solid state. also, the overdrive has very good tone for a hybrid, it has one tube in the preamp, so it sounds bright, clean and focused, and the power section behaves like a tube amp, so you get good compression, sustain, and you can really get into music, even with a cheaper guitar. i play on only a regular old schector omen 6 with standard pickups, and it sounds great. the avt50's only effect is reverb, and its very nice, although i dont play reverb a lot, it works well. the clean channel is very spectacular. i love the bright, warm sound that rivals full tube units. i also liked the price i paid for it. i also dig the independant channels, each with their own, gain and volume and such.

sometimes the distortion can get a little fuzzy, you have to turn down the gain a hair to get a better sound. im thinking of putting a different tube in, one thats engineered with lower noise. but dont let that discourage you, its a nice amp worth the money.

this amp is built nicely, its quality marshall, its good, but the trade off is weight. its on the heavier side at about 50 lbs.

very nice, loud, bursting with tone and warmth. perfect for small gigs and practice. plus with a 12" celestion, you get good lows. get an amp with good overdrive already in it, dont use sissy crappy sounding pedals to get distortion.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com