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MGR/Billy in Asheville, NC « Marshall MG100DFX »
Published on 04/20/04 at 15:00$429 from Musicians Friend
I bought it to get an amp that would be small enough to practice with but loud enough to gig with.
This thing rocks. EXCELLENT distortion sounds (sounds about as close to tube distortion as you are going to get with solid-state technology) and the effects are great! I play mostly nu-metal/hardcore and this amp is adequate for what I need. You get very smooth sounds all around. My favorite effect is the chorus but it boosts the volume big time so prepare to go deaf. Oh yeah and this amp is LOUD AS HELL. I have never turned the master volume up past about 6 even at practice with a full band. We don't even bother hooking this thing up to the PA...it can hold its own.
It would be nice if the reverb was switchable on the footswitch, but thats not a huge deal to me. I definitely don't like the fact that the amp gave up on me (hahaha)...read on!....
Alright, here it is.......
I'm not going to hold this against Marshall because with solid state technology (basically circuit boards and s%#* from countries like Japan) you are going to get lemons. Try ordering a computer motherboard nowadays...you have a 50% chance of it working out of the box. Well anyway, this amp worked GREAT for 6 months. I got it in August of 2003. About 4 weeks ago I was practicing with my band at a reasonable volume with OD2 on and we started hearing a wierd noise. At first I didn't believe it was coming from my amp but it only got worse and worse. It sounded like I had a BROKEN noise gate hooked up or something.....the amp was cutting out half of the sound and there was NO sustain whatsoever (even with a Flying V with EMG pickups!).
I had also been having problems with the fan making noise but it was only about twice a month or so and it never lasted long.
I took the amp to an authorized Marshall warranty/repair tech and had him look at it...he didn't find ANYTHING wrong with it. (after waiting 2 weeks for him to get to my amp and check it out). When I took it home, the exact same problem started over again. This time I called him and made him listen to it over the phone!! Now the amp is BACK in the shop and he HAS heard it make the stranged noises. Marshall is sending two fans (one for my amp and one for a MG250DFX that he has in the shop with the same fan problem) which should arrive early next month.....either way it is going to be another 3 weeks before I have an amp again.
Like I said, I definitely won't hold this against Marshall...and I WOULD buy another Marshall even after a hellacious experience like this. Their warranty service is great but slow.
The bottom line is I ordered a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. I have been without an amp for 3 weeks now because of this thing and I'm getting tired of playing through a PA with distortion pedals!
I still love the sound of this amp and when I get it back it will be my practice amp until it blows up!
I would reccomend this amp to anybody but get it from a local dealer if possible so they can replace it on the spot if anything goes wrong...you DON'T want to have to go through what I'm going through!
I'm giving this amp a 4 but ONLY because of my experience!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I bought it to get an amp that would be small enough to practice with but loud enough to gig with.
This thing rocks. EXCELLENT distortion sounds (sounds about as close to tube distortion as you are going to get with solid-state technology) and the effects are great! I play mostly nu-metal/hardcore and this amp is adequate for what I need. You get very smooth sounds all around. My favorite effect is the chorus but it boosts the volume big time so prepare to go deaf. Oh yeah and this amp is LOUD AS HELL. I have never turned the master volume up past about 6 even at practice with a full band. We don't even bother hooking this thing up to the PA...it can hold its own.
It would be nice if the reverb was switchable on the footswitch, but thats not a huge deal to me. I definitely don't like the fact that the amp gave up on me (hahaha)...read on!....
Alright, here it is.......
I'm not going to hold this against Marshall because with solid state technology (basically circuit boards and s%#* from countries like Japan) you are going to get lemons. Try ordering a computer motherboard nowadays...you have a 50% chance of it working out of the box. Well anyway, this amp worked GREAT for 6 months. I got it in August of 2003. About 4 weeks ago I was practicing with my band at a reasonable volume with OD2 on and we started hearing a wierd noise. At first I didn't believe it was coming from my amp but it only got worse and worse. It sounded like I had a BROKEN noise gate hooked up or something.....the amp was cutting out half of the sound and there was NO sustain whatsoever (even with a Flying V with EMG pickups!).
I had also been having problems with the fan making noise but it was only about twice a month or so and it never lasted long.
I took the amp to an authorized Marshall warranty/repair tech and had him look at it...he didn't find ANYTHING wrong with it. (after waiting 2 weeks for him to get to my amp and check it out). When I took it home, the exact same problem started over again. This time I called him and made him listen to it over the phone!! Now the amp is BACK in the shop and he HAS heard it make the stranged noises. Marshall is sending two fans (one for my amp and one for a MG250DFX that he has in the shop with the same fan problem) which should arrive early next month.....either way it is going to be another 3 weeks before I have an amp again.
Like I said, I definitely won't hold this against Marshall...and I WOULD buy another Marshall even after a hellacious experience like this. Their warranty service is great but slow.
The bottom line is I ordered a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier. I have been without an amp for 3 weeks now because of this thing and I'm getting tired of playing through a PA with distortion pedals!
I still love the sound of this amp and when I get it back it will be my practice amp until it blows up!
I would reccomend this amp to anybody but get it from a local dealer if possible so they can replace it on the spot if anything goes wrong...you DON'T want to have to go through what I'm going through!
I'm giving this amp a 4 but ONLY because of my experience!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com