SeriesMarshall MG 2nd Gen

(Originally written by metallicam/translated from Audiofanzine FR) 100-watt solid-state amp with instrument and CD inputs, headphone output and footswitch connector. The settings are quite simple: 2 channels with independent EQ and gain control, common reverb plus digital FX (flanger, delay, chorus and chorus/delay). UTILIZATION The configuration is very simple and you can easily find the sound you need (within the amp's possibilities) if you use an EQ. If you are looking for a good tone you can try as long as you want, but you won't get it! The user's manual is very short but it does include some settings examples. SOUNDS This amp doesn't match any music style because it sounds awful. The amp is reliable and easy to use but it sounds very bad. This becomes very clear when you compare it with a real amp (even in the same price range... although the MG100 is still better than the MG10). OVERALL OPINION I've been using this amp for nearly one year. I bought it to have enough output power. I didn't test anything before buying it (that's the only reason I bought it). The value for money is very bad! I think, Marshall uses its good reputation to sell lousy amps to beginners who want to play famous brand amps. If I had known, I would have never buy it. The best tip I can give you is to test several amps before buying one. And do the same with guitars.

These MG DFX series amps one feature that separate them from the others...FDD. I will talk about it later on. This is the 15 watt model and same tone as the other watt amps. They are able to tap a good market with this amp with the price point they start at and the availability of them in the guitar stores. Output (RMS): 15W Channels: 2 Footswitchable Channels: none CD Input: yes Emulated Line Out: yes Emulated Headphone: yes Spring Reverb: none Digital Effects: yes FDD: yes Speaker: 1 x 8 in. Dimensions: 380 x 375 x 205 mm Weight: 7.2 kg UTILIZATION Features Twin channels - Clean and Overdrive Contour Control for dramatic mid sweep and "scooping" Emulated Line Out jack and Headphone jack CD input which allows you to play along to your favorite discs Built-in Digital Effects - Reverb, Chorus, Flange, and Delay 8 in. custom-voiced speaker FDD (Frequency Dependent Damping) SOUNDS If you must pick up one of the solid state MG amps from Marshall make sure you get the FDD switch on there. The over drive channel is excellent for modern rock and will sound good with any guitar used with humbucker pickup. It really tightens the distortion up a lot and fills the tone out more. The tone becomes thicker and fatter much like a real tube amp from Marshall. This is an all in one amp for a beginner guitar player. Any one who has spent any time with a tube amp will not go for this other than to have as a practice unit for silence or office use. The crunch channel will get you a great classic rock tone. Trying using a Gibson Les Paul or SG and dial down the gain for some good Led Zeppelin tone or Ac/Dc crunch. The tone from this amp isn't that bad for being a solid state amp. OVERALL OPINION If you are looking for a good amp that you don't have to worry about and just need for practicing or silent playing and you need that Marshall tone then this is a good amp for those purposes. This isn't going to go on stage anywhere or be good for recording, but if you need simplicity in a practice amp then this is a great amp for that. It has a good enough tone for getting your chops down or feeling out the neck of the guitar. I would recommend this to any Marshall fan looking for a solid practice amp. this amp has been discontinued and the used market will be the only way to go to get this amp.I have seen them used on the classifieds for just over or around $100, which isn't that bad of a buy.

This thing is quite amazing for the price. This is a 15 watt practice amp by Marshall that sounds fantastic. It has two channels and each channel shares the same EQ such as bass middle and treble. What is also great about this amp is the ability to plug an MP3 player of CD player and play along to your favorite backing tracks or MP3 songs. It is rally a simple front panel with just the few eq's and the gain and volume. It has a small button to go from the clean channel to the dirty channel. Marshall MG15 15-watt Guitar Combo Amp Features: Output: 15 watts RMS Speaker: 1 x 8" Channels: Two (Clean and Overdrive) 3-band EQ control Line in for MP3 and other music players Headphone/line out with speaker emulation UTILIZATION Details Type Solid State Number of Channels 2 Power 15W Speakers 1 x 8" No Effects No Reverb EQ Bass, Middle, Treble No Amp Modeling Preamp Tubes No Tubes Power Tubes No Tubes Inputs 1 x Instrument, 1 x MP3/Line (1/8") Outputs 1 x Headphone (1/8") No Footswitch No Effects Loop Height 14.92" Width 15" Depth 8.07" Weight 16.31 lbs. SOUNDS I love the way this sounds with a Gibson Les Paul. Marshall and Gibson even though were created by different people on different continents somehow were eternally designed to match each other. They just absolutely make the best sonic sound that music can probably make. The clean channel isn't too bad abut the thing sounds best to me in the dirty channel. Even when the gain is turned up all the way it still managers to retain the note clarity and string separation needed to be audibly desirable. The is a very promising attribute when jamming along with this amp. OVERALL OPINION At new these amps come in at around $ 99 which in my opinion is an absolute steal of a price for what you get. You get a two channel amp that sounds superb for being a solid state amp and the price is just to hard to pass up. I would recommended this to anyone looking to buy an entry level Marshall amp and doesn't want to break the bank to do it either. Also, for someone who would like to play and jam silently at home or in the office and wants to have a decent tone as well.

I've been playing guitar for roughly 10 years, in and out of various bands. we mostly play metal, nothing really heavy but not light either. I purchased it at a local music store in town for $750 Canadian a couple years back. Its nice because its a medium size amp but has all kinds of power. I found the effects to be quite nice especially the delay, its very clean, and of course it has the good old marshall distortion when you want it. I've braught it to many jam sessions and it keeps up with ease and is very durable. My fan occasionaly makes a bit of noise but once its warmed up it quiets right down and its done this for about a year and a half. the bearings are fine. Overall I love this amp and would buy another one in a heartbeat if something happened to it. Noisy fan occasionaly very durable, built as good as any other Marshall product Great price, lots of power, nice Marshall sound even though its solidstate, effects are great. Other then a noisy fan its a great amp for someone who just wants to jam with some friends or to do shows with. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have been a muso for a little over 20 years. I started playing drums in high school, which lead to playing in a band. I found drums a lot of work with setting up for practice at home, pack up and load them in the car for practice with the band, pack em and take em home to do more practice, pack em and load em up for gigs etc etc, so when I got a job involving shift work, it all got too hard, and I stopped playing drums. But I couldn't give up alltogether, so one day it was down to the music store and bought a bass guitar. I knew nothing about bass, and I bought a black one just because it was black. It turned out to be a Profile Silouette, a very good P Bass copy, and it has served me very well. A couple of years ago I picked up a Rickenbacker 4004L (review to follow soon...) and I am currently playing bass in a band. I have picked up a couple of 6 strings (elect and accoustic) along the way, but bass is my thing these days. I picked up this amp off ebay for AU$40. I was looking for a little amp for my 6 strings, and my kids are getting old enough to start guitar lessons, so I was also after something small and cheap for them to use as well. It's small and very light. It's loud enough for practice and making a racket in the bedroom, but not loud enough to lift the roof or upset the nieghbors. It also has a headphone jack for those times when you can't make any noise at all. It has 3 knobs: gain, contour and volume, and a boost button. I was pleasantly suprised by the clean sound. It's very clean. It sounds very nice with an acoustic, maybe a bit trebley through the small speaker, but thats easily fixed if you have an eq on your guitar, or by fidling with the countour knob-a kind of midrange eq. Hit the boost button and turn up the gain and you're in heavy metal heaven. The kids will love it! I first thought it sounded kind of trashy, but it's realy growing on me now. Turn the boost off, and crank up the gain and you get a very nice 'crunchy' sound with your electric guitar. Just by mucking around with the gain and contour (with or without the boost), you're bound to find a sound that suits. It's pretty hissy with the boost button on and the gain turned up. But then again, hit that first power chord, and you can't hear the hiss any more! And to be fair, it's very quiet when playing clean. It seems to be well made. It's very light, but I treat my gear with respect, so I can't see any problems in the construction area. If you don't want to front a band with this amp, it's great. It's small, portable, and a great sound for what it is. Plenty loud enough for the bedroom Eddie Van Halen, yet nice and clean and quiet if that's what you're after. You want to play in a band, buy a bigger amp. Want a good cheap practice amp for you or the kids, buy this one. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I spent a good couple of months searching for my first amplifier, and came around to narrowing my field down to a Roland Cube 30, Line 6 Spider 30 or the Marshall MG 30DFX. It ended up costing around $420 Australian Dollars from Turramurra Music in Sydney, around $50 more than the other two amplifiers. (The parentals had a small thing about me getting a bigger amp) The MG 30 DFX has brilliant tone on the clean channel. Playing an ESP Ltd EC-300 with EMG-HZ passives through the amp, I can gain a wide range of tones from a bluesy sound to a near perfect acoustic tone. The four effects: reverb, chorus, flange and delay, work well considering the MG 30DFX is nothing more than a small practice amp. But, if you're serious buy some decent pedals - they'll sound a whole lot better. For a thirty-watter the MG 30DFX delivers fair volume, but unfortunately it still won't get you over a drumkit. I occassionally get a rattling noise if I've been playing for too long. The overdrive can sometimes, also, be too "gainy". That is, the distortion compromises the various notes you want to hear. Great if you want to practice heavier Nu-Metal tunes (eg Slipknot, Mudvayne, etc), but I tend to turn the gain right down to "3" for Metallica, Velvet Revolver and the such. The amp doesn't come with a footswitch either, even though it has the plug. Means leaning over to press teh channel button every time, which can get irritating. The body of the amplifier is built to take a fair beating, as are the controls and plugs. However, if you to really kick around your amp I'd go a roland cube, just because they're so much heavier duty. Good practice amp for someone playing harder rock to all-out metal. Nice, bodied, clean sound too; which is good for a blues or jazz sound, or even for rock. A great practice amp for electric beginners, but not for those with more experience. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this amp at Guitar Center last year for about $90. My previous Marshall amp had been stolen. It's small and portable. The reverb function is useful. My previous amp had also been a Marshall 15W (I remember it was called a "VT15", though I've since searched for the name and never found it), and it had sounded good whether it's just clean or with the Drive controls up. I was able to get a substantial amount of crunch by just turning it up, and my favourite way to use it became just natural distortion, especially for rhythm work. This MG15 doesn't even come close. It sounds "artificial", somewhat dead, without the dynamics and complexity of the previous amp. I'm pretty sure the difference is that the old amp was a valve amp (it had cost at least $170 in New York), and solid state just doesn't crank it, especially at this wattage. Typical Marshall quality -- build quality is not the problem here. I suppose the double whammy of "solid-state technology" and the 15-watt output just means that this is not a good-sounding amp. I love Marshall amps, but this ain't a winner. If you're gonna get an amp, get a better one (the AVT series looks far more promising). I've had this MG15CDR replacement for about six months and only played it maybe 10 times -- its poor sound just doesn't cut it. I'd rather deal with an extra cable and headphones and plug into my Line 6 Pod instead. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought this from a local guitar store (Bizarre Guitar) for $635.00. It is nice and loud, excellent clean tones and the overdrive is great, too. I use a Boss Metal Zone through it and I can get exactly the tone I want out of it. After a few days it started making a buzzing sound from the fan. I took it back and they said they fixed it, but the day after I got it home it started doing it again, and now it's back with them. I also have a friend who had the same amp and the same problem. Heavy duty and well built, except for the fan problem with mine. Putting aside the annoying sound from the fan (it goes away after a couple of minutes), this is a great amp and comes for a great price. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking to get their first half stack. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Mupo Music; Zwaag: The Netherlands Great Shop! Euro 375,- Looks great, sounds great. The fan is terrible. Normally you have bad luck when something breaks down. With this amp you can be surprised and feel lucky if the fan will keep on working. Good (fan excluded!) Don't buy this amp!!!! I was lucky that the fan started to make funny noises after 1 day. I could return it. A lot of reviews on line talk about the fan. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I have to first say that I am not a huge fan of ZW but I do like some of his stuff and he sure knows how to rock it out. I particularly like him in the movie Rock Star for instance when he shoots that gun out of the bus at that roads sign. He seems to be alike a cool guy from interviews I have read with him in it. This is a micro stack like the other micro stacks from Marshall but they have put Zakk's name on the outside. This one has two channels unlike the other that have four channels. you get pretty much all the rest of the same features and tone. Not too much to talk about as this is a cheap cool tribute to Ozzy's guitarist and the front man to Black Label Society. UTILIZATION MG15MSZW Output (RMS): 15 watts Channel: 2 Footswitchable Ch.: No CD Input: Yes Emulated Line Out: Yes Spring Reverb: Yes FDD: Yes Dimensions (mm): 383 x 180 x 211 MG15MSZWA Type: Angled Speaker Configuration: 1x10 in. Dimensions (mm): 383 x 390 x 240 MG15MSZWB Type: Base Speaker Configuration: 1x10 in. Dimensions (mm): 383 x 390 x 240 SOUNDS The tone from this amp isn't that bad for being a solid state amp. It has two channels and all are very usable in the basic functions. This is an all in one amp for a beginner guitar player. Any one who has spent any time with a tube amp will not go for this other than to have as a practice unit for silence or office use. The crunch channel will get you a great classic rock tone. Trying using a Gibson Les Paul or SG and dial down the gain for some good Led Zeppelin tone or Ac/Dc crunch. But if you are going to play this amp you will need an Epiphone Zekk Wylde bulls-eye guitar or one of the more expensive ones from Gibson. That way you can better match this amp with the guitar. Then you just need the MXR Zakk Wylde chorus pedal and overdrive and then you will be set up with the right Zakk Wylde tribute gear set The over drive channel are excellent for modern rock and will sound good with any guitar used with humbucker pickup. OVERALL OPINION These amps have been discontinued for a while now. You can find them on the used market pretty easily. They did make quite a few of these amps for the fans. I would recommend this if you are a fan off Zakk's or if you just want a cool looking and fairly cheap micro amp stack. It is fun and something cool to practice and play through.

Marshall has the amp for you if you need to sound like an idiot. The proverbial idiot himself Kerry King has a solid state amp that sound like trash and looks like the same stupid tattoo that he has on his arm. This guy is about is about 150 lbs dripping wet and 60 of it in his belly. Why on earth would anyone want to sound like this guy is beyond me. His tone isn't anything special. It is basically a boosted Marshall JCM800. Wow nobody has ever done that before. Kerry must be the first. UTILIZATION Output (RMS): 10 Watt Channels: 2 CD Input: Yes Emulated Line Out: Yes Emulated Headphone Out: Yes FDD (Frequency Dependent Damping): Yes Speaker: 1 x 6.5 inch Dimensions: 11.6 x 12.2 x 7.4 inches Weight: 11 lbs. SOUNDS This is away for Marshall to capitalize on the Slayer crowd and get some money. I understand that but this guy is a joke. There is nothing unique about his tone. A JCm800 that's boosted. Everyone and their grandmother has done that before. Wow he is a brilliant player altogether huh...no it is a sound that has been repeated over and over again on every rock record from 1980 through 2000 and then still today. This little piece of junk amp is a clean channel and distorted channel. The only thing that is useful on this amp is that it has the FFD dampening which is helpful in getting a thicker distortion tone. Th clean is terrible at best and the overall tone is nothing to write home about. Save you money and get the Kerry King tube amp...no wait that is still a boosted JCm 800 that is completely overpriced. Save you money and buy a used Marshall JCm 800 for around $700 and get a Boss Sd-1 for about $60 and you be set for less than $800. OVERALL OPINION These amps have been discontinued. Thank God this garbage is off the marker. I would buy the Dave Mustain stuff because I like him and he has some talent. This guy is a joke who tries to be harder than he is. Hey Kerry your tone is garbage and you tattoos are amateur at best. Shave that stupid rats nest off your face as well!