SeriesMarshall Mode Four

How Purchased: (1)New 2003 and (1)New 2004 model. Cost: 1199.00 a piece. Where: A little store in Ft. Worth, Tx Why I purchased: Conducted solid bench test and research for MY sound. Compared sound to other manufactures/models and decided on 2 Marshall MF heads for my rig. So far, both heads prove to be solid performers. I'm a metal musician (lead gutitar player 14 year vet). The MF gets its best reviews for good cleans and bottom end for detuned axes. However, my Gibson Vs and RR1s cut through nice and clear with standard tuning as well. (My bass player and drummer love me for it)! Dialing in MY tone took a little work but I was successful at achieving the "singing tone" along with the feedback and saturation I deperately depend on. Ah yes, feedback! Achieiving and controlling it has never been sweeter! (As we all know, pickups have a lot to do with it too). Yes, I'll agree that the MF is a little weak and thin to some degree but all hybrids are. Also, the MF sounds DARKER than say the TSL/DSL/2203s. That's because its a Marshall hybrid (Solid State) and the head/cab combinations i.e., MF400 A/B Anyway, I like this particular hybrid because it is simple, explosive and to the point. I prefer not having to deal with the expense and care of hotroding/biasing/tube matching of say a JCM 800 etc.. However, to each his own. Actually, I owe a lot to the aforementioned Marshalls. They set the stage and were the spring board to the sound I have now! With a little tweaking, I have the tube sound through the MF. The first stage to achieving MY tone is a solid performing graphic EQ run through the effects loop. Talk about boosting signals and tone shaping! The MF loves it! Thats only the first stage though and newer guitarist will have to dig in and find THEIR sound like us veterans. Good luck! I bought two of em, so that should sum up how I feel about this particular hybrid. The overall contruction of the Marshall Mode Four is highly comparable to most of the big boys in the Marshall line up. Solid as a rock! The cooling fans in both heads needed extra care by adding a little machine oil to reduce friction hum. **Always take time to perform minor maintenance checks on your gear.** Bottom line: I'm a personal fan of the British made Marshall, so I'm a little biased. If it weren't Jim... Anyway, both hybrids are a powerful selection to MY inventory and fit my taste well. When I step off stage at the end of a gig, I'm told my sound is "awesome." It makes me feel freakin good to hear that! Ultimately, I'm glad that I selected something from the Marshall family that pleases my taste and encourages me to play! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I packed up My Gibson SG, Fender Limited edition Fat Strat w/active EMGs and my GNX3 and headed for my local Guitar Center and Sam Ash to check out the 'The Big Amps". It was kinda fun watching them inventory my stuff and fill out the paperwork. This has to be some of the tightest security I've ever seen! I tried every high gain amp and cab combo I could. I mean Crate, Mesa Boogie, Randall, Marshall, Vox and a couple 'off' brands. Honestly, every one of the major brands ROCKED BIG TIME. I wanted a couple of them, but I'm not rich. They all had good points and poor points. I have a Crate 120w combo, but I was after some sort of stack and wanted higher volume (read in Tim 'Tool Time' Taylor type POWER VOLUME). I didn't want to pay for a full stack, but wanted the sound and power. I got it, This was the Amp for me. The FX loop is way cool. I also like the Amp2 mid three way switch, the EQ mid works with it, both Amps scoop switches work with the EQs too. Having tube preamps means it sounds better loud. This bad boy is LOUD. I chose the 400A cab as to get the full 350 watts from a half stack. I thought the MF cabs easily sounded the best with the MF head, and I tried other cabs because the MF cab is a couple hundred bucks more. I try and get the most for my money. The 400A cab is 8ohms. The 400 cab needs to be plugged into the number 2 plug. The 280 cab in #1 for half stack or both for full stack. There's a chart on the back of the head. This is to match up the impedence of the speaker cab to the amp. The 280 at half stack is 235watts, still not shabby. The angled (A) cab produces a more cutting upper mid and treble that I liked over the (base) B cab. When you 'tweak' the controls for the first time turn the knob quickly from side to side to understand the amount of variation of the tonal control. You can make the amp sound bad to you (to each his own 'bad') by over adjusting the tone from your liking. The Marshall has a definate 'sweet' spot. There is just that much adjustment available in the tones. The manual is available from the Marshall web site. Pay attention to the hints and tips. The balanced outputs for silent recording are awesome. I get the tones through the recorder and don't have to worry about the cab volume. I do have to add bass if I don't mike the cab due to the deep sound of the cab vs. straight to the recorder through the head. I also hook up my amps the the PA and this feature makes it a breeze. I play every style of Rock and Blues and I can get whatever tone I want out of the Mode Four. I also get those tones at extremely high volume. Too Cool I had to buy a clamp on console light for the head strap handle and color in the dots on the adjustment knobs to see them at low light levels. I think I'll hit my local gun shop for 'dots' like you use on night sights. Marshall should do this. I had to tighten my knobs when I got it. It needs one more handle on each side of the cab as it's heavy. Don't expect your girl friend to help you, no offense ladies, but my wife could really hurt herself tryin' to help me muscle this beast up on stage. The cab weighs in at about 150lbs. Please, it's a Marshall. It is extremely heavy as it weighs in at about 150lbs. Seems tough as hell. No major brand of amp I know if is built 'cheap', or nobody would use them due to the high replacement cost. As far as looks go this is one badass amp. It's beautiful as well as intimidating. I love the tones and the volume of my Marshall Mode Four Half Stack w/400A cab. I'm already recording with it. I swear sometimes she....it gives me wood. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com