View other reviews for this product:
MGR/T-Bone « Marshall MG100DFX »
Published on 04/12/04 at 15:00Paid $360 out-the-door. Brand new at Guitar Center / Tucson, Arizona. Need gig capable amp with above average tonal qualities and some built-in effects, needed mostly reverb and perhaps chorus, as well as decent clean channel and some type of distortion. Since I have all kinds of pedals, I wasn't putting to many expectations on the amp I was seeking. Wanted the tube sound without the tube cost and hassles.
I like absolutely everything about this amp. From its very fine clean channel, to the OD2 distortion, which is extremely compressed at the high end. An OD1/OD2 contour button, along with the 3-band eq allows an enormous amount of tone sculpting, provided you give yourself the time to experiment. The FDD button really does a fine job of emulating the tube sound and I never turn it off, so the FDD button on, along with the OD1 channel sounds pretty much like an overdriven tube amp... I'd know, because my buddy owns a JTM60 head and 1960 4x12 cab. Oddly, I think this amp sounds much better at all volume levels... clearer, finer and much smarter.
There is nothing I don't like about this amp. When I bought it, I knew what I was buying and why and it has and surpassed expectations. I have read complaints about the circuitry cooling fan being too loud... and I roll my eyes in disbelief. The fan is barely audible. Yes, perhaps the headphone out/emulated line out is not very loud, but surly loud enough me thinks. A little more foot control would have been nice, I suppose... such as reverb on/off, but that is a minor quibble and seeks not to detract from this amps enormous qualities.
This Marshall amp is actually made in the USA by KORG, but this is not so much an issue of quality, because it is actually much better built than most Marshall amps I have seen in recent years that were made in England by Marshall. This licensing was a measure to reduce the price, and it has. The amp is built like a tank.
This amp has its detractors. Arguments against this amp are mostly very subjective and would not apply to you nor I. I find this amp to be very versatile, for it packs a huge volumetric punch in a suitcase sized box. It has some standard effects built in, so one has not to worry about dragging all the stomp boxes around. The amp is a gig capable and gig worthy pick-it-up-and-go-to-the-show type of amp. It also sounds very good at low volume and can stand in as a pratice amp with potential. Most of all though, this amp sounds very good, can emulate a tube amp very closely and you will never have any tube expenses or tube worries... and we all know about that. Good tubes are expensive. If you are in the market for a high wattage amp, just go to a music store that has one of these on diplay for sound testing and play a few chords... that is all it will take, I'm pretty sure you will walk away with one of these. I know I did.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I like absolutely everything about this amp. From its very fine clean channel, to the OD2 distortion, which is extremely compressed at the high end. An OD1/OD2 contour button, along with the 3-band eq allows an enormous amount of tone sculpting, provided you give yourself the time to experiment. The FDD button really does a fine job of emulating the tube sound and I never turn it off, so the FDD button on, along with the OD1 channel sounds pretty much like an overdriven tube amp... I'd know, because my buddy owns a JTM60 head and 1960 4x12 cab. Oddly, I think this amp sounds much better at all volume levels... clearer, finer and much smarter.
There is nothing I don't like about this amp. When I bought it, I knew what I was buying and why and it has and surpassed expectations. I have read complaints about the circuitry cooling fan being too loud... and I roll my eyes in disbelief. The fan is barely audible. Yes, perhaps the headphone out/emulated line out is not very loud, but surly loud enough me thinks. A little more foot control would have been nice, I suppose... such as reverb on/off, but that is a minor quibble and seeks not to detract from this amps enormous qualities.
This Marshall amp is actually made in the USA by KORG, but this is not so much an issue of quality, because it is actually much better built than most Marshall amps I have seen in recent years that were made in England by Marshall. This licensing was a measure to reduce the price, and it has. The amp is built like a tank.
This amp has its detractors. Arguments against this amp are mostly very subjective and would not apply to you nor I. I find this amp to be very versatile, for it packs a huge volumetric punch in a suitcase sized box. It has some standard effects built in, so one has not to worry about dragging all the stomp boxes around. The amp is a gig capable and gig worthy pick-it-up-and-go-to-the-show type of amp. It also sounds very good at low volume and can stand in as a pratice amp with potential. Most of all though, this amp sounds very good, can emulate a tube amp very closely and you will never have any tube expenses or tube worries... and we all know about that. Good tubes are expensive. If you are in the market for a high wattage amp, just go to a music store that has one of these on diplay for sound testing and play a few chords... that is all it will take, I'm pretty sure you will walk away with one of these. I know I did.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com