Music Man 212-HD One Fifty

This is a relatively unknown tube amp. There are two connections, 1/4" for input. There are also two channels, clean and effects. This amp has a cool feature where you can adjust the wattage. That goes from 75 to 150. This makes even the grainiest, most overdriven tones possible even at lower volumes if necessary, while still enabling you to rock the casbah with a really loud sound. There are two inputs for each channel. The effects channel contains phaser and reverb effects.

UTILIZATION

Getting a good sound on this is great as long as you don't expect too much out of the effects. This amp definitely will suit almost any type of music, as long as it's not heavy metal. But with a pedal, even that's possible. The effects are unfortunately difficult to manage, and don't usually have the flexibility that I need. That's actually the only category where this amp loses points for utilization.

SOUNDS

Forget the effects on this guy. They're irrelevant. What is relevant is the supremely awesome tone that this thing is capable of. The wattage adjustment makes almost any tone practical. Cranking up the gain on this amp is wonderful, it manages to really make the amp respond drastically to your playing. I've noticed that the entire vibe of a song can change based on how lightly or heavily I strum or pick. The natural compression on this thing is phenomenal as well, it's given me some great lead tones without needing a pedal for compression or gain or anything. Of course, adding those things has some good results. The only issue is noise, a noise gate might be necessary for most people who really want to push this thing hard. Considering that most people would want to do that, it's a concern that one should be ready to deal with. Using pedals, especially fuzzes and distortions, tends to only amplify this problem. Noise gates are the way to go. This thing is ideal for anyone who likes the sounds that come naturally to an electric guitar, great tones for blues/rock/country and and combination of them. Might be a bit too much for jazz unless you really roll it off, but if you're a jazzhead, you'd be better off looking elsewhere.

OVERALL OPINION

I love the tone of this above all else. It's seriously heavy, which might be an issue for old folks! Really though, make sure that yours has wheels and that you are physically capable of lifting. The effects aren't my cup of tea, so that's the only weakness, along with noise. Definitely a really cool amplifier for players who are seriously in control of their playing, dynamic-wise, it has the most insanely high dynamics ratios I've played in a long time. Gives my Fender Twin a run for its money!

The Music Man HD 150 is a guitar amplifier head, which I have used with a Music Man cabinet. The amp head has two channels, with two 1/4 inch inputs for each of them. It has a speaker cabinet output to send the amp to a speaker cabinet (the one that I used with it was two 12" speakers). The amp has built in reverb and vibrato.

UTILIZATION

If you know a little bit about guitar amplifiers, the Music Man HD 150 won't be anything out of the ordinary for you. The first channel is really simple, consisting of solely parameters for volume, treble, and bass. The second channel has those same parameters in addition to a mid range EQ, reverb, intensity and speed for the vibrato, and a master volume control. I've never seen a manual for the Music Man HD 150, but don't think one is necessary for use.

SOUNDS

While the Music Man HD 150 doesn't have the same twang as a Fender, it is definitely a good substitution for a Fender tube amplifier if you can't afford one or don't have access to one. For me, Fender is the king when it comes to making tube amps, but the Music Man HD 150 is overall a pretty sweet amplifier. It has the same make up as a Fender Twin Reveb, and does have a similar type of sound as well. It certainly sounds like the tube amp that it is, but doesn't necessarily have the crispest sound in the world for a tube amp. I've used the amp with a Fender Stratocaster and an Ibanez Tube Screamer in the recording studio for the most part.

OVERALL OPINION

The Music Man HD 150 isn't an amplifier head that I sought after as it was one that was a spur of the moment type of usage in the recording studio that I used it in. It actually ended up doing the job very well, with a lot of punchiness to it. I don't know at all how easy a Music Man HD 150 would be to find, but it won't be all too expensive for a nice sounding tube amp, so if you're in the market for a tube guitar amp head and come across one of these, definitely give it a serious look.

This is an amp mixed pre-amplification and amplification transistor, tube (4 x 6L6GC).
It delivers 150W (hence the 'Fifty One')
Two entries under control of the same 'master' volume
It includes a good old spring reverb and phasing that control the foot by a double switch.
It also has removable wheels and handy.

UTILIZATION

It is very easy to use (very similar to Fender), there was also no manual included. The combos that time were actually very simple to use. We can complete the phasing node using the button push-pull 'intensity', it makes sounds odd. I think it's difficult to get a better amp in this category.

SOUNDS

I mainly used my MusicMan Sabre II: the perfect one in its very original, covering Fender and Gibson. Cocktail also interesting with the Rickenbacker 330: time travel guaranteed! Of course with a stratum, is immediately at Leo.
Playing with the volume and master, you get very warm and natural saturation (rock, blues) or clear if you attack the strings too.
I rarely use my pedals.

OVERALL OPINION

I had paid 5500 USD at the time. it was expensive, but I've never regretted it. The only thing I regret is not to use it fully.

For the record, he did a concert with Johnny Thunders is Hartbreakers his early 80 in Saint-Quentin (02). I was in the room and ... in heaven! I had lent to 'Too Much' which provided the first part and Thunders had landed without back-line (but not without his LP Junior yellow!). Just for that memory, I do not give up!