Marshall MG15CD Review

Armed with two channels, a three band EQ, FDD and 15W RMS of real Marshall power, the 1x8" MG15CD combo delivers superb tone - from pristine clean to out and out filth!

Features:
Made in 2003, this is a real SS s--tbox. It's loud enought to hear over drums while jamming. Crap distortion. 2 channels, and high, mid and low knobsm control. I use this amp 'cause I'm saving up for a JCM2000 100W tube head paired with a Behringer BG412S 400W cab. I use a Behringer X Vamp Multi FX Processor with it, so it's not that bad now.
// 4
Sound:
I use an Epiphone SG custom (grover tuners and Gibson '54 reissue humbuckers) guitars great, but this amp really suks. Mnarshall claims that on clean after the volume is turned past 5 it goes into "crunch" mode. Bulls--t, thats just the solid state break up. The distortion completly sucks for metal, and is extremely noisey and has a shyiload of feedback too. Without a noise gate at high gain you'll blow your ears out. This is pretty loud for a 15 W SS thoguht. But sound quality sucks.
// 4

Reliability & Durability:
Amp sucks, but this thing is tought. I've dropped it a few times, and nothing has happened to it. "Would you use it on a gig without a back up?" For one, I would vever use a 15 W especially SS on a gig, two, never with this one. So no I wouldn't.
// 8

Impression:
I play metal and heavy metal, some punk and hard rock. Worth the 150 cad with tax, but honestly, save a bit more cash and get a tube amp, these SS really suck. I dodn't compare this to anything before I bought it because it was my first amp. Not bad for a practice amp at home. Tube all the way! // 4

Marshal Amp

Marshall Amplifier Is Rock!

Marshall Amplification is a British company which designs and manufactures electric guitar amplifiers. Marshall amplifiers are well known and highly popular among guitarists. The sight and sound of a Marshall stack amp with a Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster is an iconic image in pop culture. Marshall amps were originally built as direct copies of Fender amplifiers, but soon incorporated certain traits which made them more favorable to guitarists seeking a heavier sound.

Like most professional-level amplifiers, Marshall amplifiers still use valve preamp and poweramp stages instead of solid state devices (transistors), although Marshall also manufactures cheaper solid-state or hybrid devices.

Valve amplifiers (known as "tube amplifiers" in North America) are generally considered to exhibit a "warmer" tone than those of transistor amps, particularly when overdriven; instead of abruptly clipping off the signal at cut-off and saturation levels, the signal is smoothly rounded off. Vacuum tubes also exhibit different harmonic effects than transistors (see tube sound for more about the sonic differences between transistors and vacuum tubes). Though technology continues to change, the most sought after, best sounding, and most expensive amps use technology that is considered quite obsolete. The sound of a Marshall 1959SLP or JCM800 amp is among the most recognized in popular music, and there is a constant demand for both cutting edge and vintage amplifiers. They are now considered some of the most expensive amps on the market.

Modern Series

Marshall's most recent entry in the JCM valve range was the JCM 2000 series of amplifiers, were started in the late 90s to replace the aging JCM 900 amplifiers, as Marshall had seemingly lost ground in the hard rock/metal amp market, particularly against Mesa/Boogie's wildly popular "Rectifier" series. The first two models launched were the DSL ("Dual Super Lead") 50 and 100 amplifier heads ("50" for 50 watts [powered by 2 EL34 power tubes] and "100" for 100 watts [powered by 4 EL34 power tubes]), and included the now modern FX Loop and reverb units. The reason for the success of these amplifiers was the fact that they arguably combined versatility, affordability, and 100% all tube tone into one package. Although many artists thrived on these amplifiers, others complained that Marshall sacrificed quality for versatility. The DSL featured two channels, one clean and one "ultra" (distorted) channel. They later introduced TSL had a middle range channel, the "crunch" channel, which had less pre-amp distortion than the "ultra" channel but was not quite clean either.

Recently, Marshall has released a new flagship line of UK-built amplifiers. After what many considered a "slump" period in which the company released nothing new and simply rehashed old models, Marshall finally came out with a new comprehensive range of amplifiers, the "JVM" series. Guitarist Magazine UK has already claimed that it would be the "hottest" amp line for 2007; they also hailed it as "The Ultimate Marshall." JVM is an acronym for Jim Victoria Marshall, Victoria being his daughter and current managing director of Marshall Amplification. There are four channels on the amplifier. They are Clean, Crunch, OD1, and OD2. Each has its own set of tone, gain, volume and reverb controls. Each channel also has three different gain settings; by pressing the channel selection button repeatedly, the amplifier will change from green to orange to red while increasing the gain of the channel, effectively giving 12 independently-voiced modes, which run from completely clean to ultra saturated modern metal and lead tones. The amp also has almost every modern feature, including multiple EQ options and being MIDI controller-ready and a silent recording mode. The JVM uses four EL34 power valves in a "push-pull" configuration. The preamp utilizes five ECC83 preamp valves and offers a pure valve signal path even the reverb drive and recover circuit is valve driven, a single MOSFET has been used in the resonance circuit.

Vintage Modern series

The Vintage Modern series is a brand new range for 2007. They are all-valve amplifiers aimed at the guitarist who likes control via playing/picking dynamics, and the guitar's own volume and tone controls. These amplifiers have a tone reminiscent of the mid 60s to early 70s vintage blues rock tone, with the ability to switch to a hot rod mode to find the "modded" tones of the harder rock bands of that era. Their wide range of tones is also derived from having two preamp volumes instead of one. Bascially one volume for treble, and one volume for bass/mid that when used together can customise a players tone and sound in a very simple yet precise way.

The models in the range are the 2466 100W head, the 2266 50W head and the 2266C 2x12” combo. All three models are all-valve with a choice of two ‘Dynamic ranges’ that are selectable via a footswitch. The low range equates to a stock vintage Marshall in terms of gain and tone, the high channel adds one extra gain stage to accommodate classic hard rock tones of the seventies. The units also have a ‘Mid Boost’ function that fattens the tone even more. The 2466 uses a quad of KT66 power valves while the 2266 uses a pair, these are reminiscent of the earliest Marshall amplifiers. The power supply and output stage has been taken directly from plexi amplifiers of the 1966 to 1968 era. The KT66 yields a much fatter and smoother tone than the EL34 and are inherently less aggressive in the treble region, the sound is instantly recognisable as early classic Marshall tone.

Vintage series

Marshall periodically will discontinue a model of amplifier, and reissue it later. Currently, the majority of Marshall's valve amp lineup are reissues. In 2001 Marshall reissued many of its amplifiers of yesteryears. The most popular and well known of these is the Model 1959-SLP, which is designed to be a reissue of the late 60s era "Plexi" amplifier, but which are in reality reissues of the post-1973 Super Lead models in that they use printed circuit boards internally for ease of production. The original design utilized hand wired circuits on turret boards, which is now available for a premium in the "hand wired" series. The actual difference in sound between the circuit paths is debatable, with some insisting PCB design is inferior and others (including Randall Smith of Mesa/Boogie) saying that the difference is negligible. Other reissues are similarly PCB designed, even where the originals were hand wired, with the except where explicitly noted (i.e. the "hand wired" range currently offered). Other models in the Vintage series include the 1987x (the 50W version of the 100w 1959SLP, used by some, including Yngwie Malmsteen for its lower headroom and "early" distortion curve), the 100 watt valve driven JCM800 2203 (used extensively by Zakk Wylde, Slash of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, used his signature model 2555 SL, as well as the Silver Jubilee 2555 variant of the series, and both Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King of Slayer), the JCM900 4100, the JTM45 2245, and the 1962 combo, also known as the "Bluesbreaker" for its famous use by Eric Clapton with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

Marshall has also recently introduced a handful of hand-wired reissues, using old-fashioned manufacturing techniques whereby the circuit is hand mounted on "turret boards." These have small metal stakes to which the components and leads are soldered, as compared to PCB, wherein the components are print-mounted by computer to the board, leads placed through the board, and soldered in place. The amps are "true" reissues of the 100 Watt 1959 "Plexi" a 20-Watt 2061x, and a 1974x 18-Watt model, which is a combo amp. The cabinet marketed as the match to the head version, as well as the combo, use special Celestion re-issued 55 Hz version of the popular "greenback" speaker, which Celestion has made available under its "Heritage" series.

Solid State Amplifiers

While renowned for their valve guitar amps, Marshall produces and sells a large amount of solid state and bass equipment. Marshall's Valvestate amplifiers were at the time seen as evolutionary, as they contained a hybrid of valve and solid state technology, to provide a modicum of "true" valve tone, along with transistor reliability and ease of maintenance. Currently named the "AVT series", there are a number of different models, all of which are cheaper than their all-valve counterparts. It is Marshall's current line of "hybrid" amplifier, featuring a 12AX7 preamp tube employed in the preamp (to "warm up" the signal) as well as solid state components, with a solid-state power amp. The single valve featured in the valvestate amps can last from two to three years with standard use. These are considered and marketed as intermediate-level equipment to bridge the gap between the higher valve range and lower range MG series. Some feel they offer a quality and sound close to Marshall's higher end equipment. These amps are well known in the metal music community for their quick response time (known as "tightness").

The MG series is the currently produced fully solid state amplifiers, and are marketed towards beginners, players seeking a practice amp and those on a budget. The MG series is designed to cater for beginner to intermediate players, also gaining popularity as a convenient solution for smaller gigs. Though still marketed as offering the signature Marshall sound, it is not of the same quality of sound as Marshall's tube-powered models; largely due to its digital circuitry. To compensate for the limitation of a digital bitrate, amplifiers in the MG series have a switchable "Frequency Dependent-Dampening" system, which emulates the way in which a valve amplifier interacts with the speaker(s). The series also offers a wealth of in-built functionality (including a handful of effects), which renders the MG series a notable competitor with other amps on the market; as well as producers of standalone guitar effects processors. Regardless of its majority appeal to lesser-fortuned musicians, former Rob Zombie guitarist Riggs was famous for using the MG series both live and in studio as he favored the Marshallesque sound combined with the reliability and quick response times associated with solid state amps, while Wayne Static of Static X is known for using the a 100 watt MG Head.

GUITAR AMPLIFIER

A guitar amplifier is an electronic amplifier designed for use with an electric or electronic musical instrument, such as an electric guitar.

Guitar amplifiers are manufactured in two main forms. The "combination" (or combo) amplifier contains the amplifier head and guitar speakers in a single unit. The amplifier head or "amp head" contains the electronic circuitry constituting the preamp, built-in effects processing, and power amplifier. In the other form, the amplifier head is separate from the speakers, and joined to them by cables. The separate' amplifier is called an amplifier head, and is commonly placed on top of one or more loudspeaker enclosures. A separate amplifier head placed atop a guitar speaker enclosure or guitar speaker cabinet forms an amplifier stack or "amp stack".

Some amplifiers used with electric guitars are solid state, because they are easy to repair, lighter, and less expensive. Many guitarists, particularly in the genres of blues and rock, prefer the sound of vacuum tube amplifiers despite their drawbacks such as heavy weight, the need to periodically replace tubes and need to re-bias the output tubes (every year or two with moderate use). Some companies design amplifiers that require no biasing as long as properly rated tubes are used. Some modern amplifiers use a mixture of tube and solid-state technologies. Since the advent of microprocessors and digital signal processing, "modeling amps" have been developed in the late 1990s, these can simulate the sounds of a variety of well-known tube amplifiers without always using vacuum tubes. Amplifiers with processors and software emulate the sound of a classic amps almost perfectly, but from the player's point of view the response of these amplifiers is not quite the same due to the digital element of modeling. In blind auditory tests tube amplifier fans may not be able to tell the difference, but most will always choose to play a tube amp because of its analog sensitivity.

A wide range of instrument amplifiers are now available, some general purpose and some designed for specific instruments and even for particular sounds. These include:

• "Traditional" guitar amplifiers, with a clean, warm sound, a sharp treble roll-off at 5 kHz or less and bass roll off at 60–100 Hz, and often built-in reverb and tremolo ("vibrato") units. These amplifiers, such as the Fender "Tweed"-style amps, are often used by traditional rock, blues, and country musicians.Traditional amps have more recently become popular with musicians in indie and alternative bands
• Hard rock-style guitar amplifiers, which often include a preamplification controls, tone filters, and distortion effects that provide the amplifier's characteristic tone. Users of these amplifiers use the amplifier's tone to add "drive", intensity, and "edge" to their guitar sound. Amplifiers of this type, such as Marshall amplifiers, are used in a range of genres, including hard rock, metal, and punk.
• Bass amplifiers, with extended bass response and tone controls optimized for bass guitars (or more rarely, for upright bass). Higher-end bass amplifiers sometimes include compressor or limiter features, which help to keep the amplifier from distorting at high volume levels, and an XLR DI output for patching the bass signal directly into a mixing board. Bass amplifiers are often provided with external metal heat sinks or fans to help keep the amplifier cool.
• Keyboard amplifiers, with very low distortion and extended, flat frequency response in both directions. Keyboard amplifiers often have a simple onboard mixer, so that keyboardists can control the tone and level of several keyboards.
• Acoustic amplifiers, similar in many ways to keyboard amplifiers but designed specifically to produce a "clean," transparent, "acoustic" sound when used with acoustic instruments with built-in transducer pickups and/or microphones. (Note that there was once also a brand of guitar and bass amplifier called Acoustic, still seen second-hand.)

In addition to a 1/4" input jack, some instrument amplifiers have an additional input jack for a microphone, which is easily identified because it will use a three-pin XLR connector. Phantom power is not often provided on general-use amps, restricting the choice of microphones for use with these inputs. However, for high-end acoustic amplifiers, phantom power is often provided, so that musicians can use condenser microphones.

info : wikipedia

Mesa Boogie Guitar Amplifiers

Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is a company in Petaluma, California that makes amplifiers for guitars and basses.

Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a small repair shop which modified Fender combos to give them more gain. Soon the word spread, and with users like Carlos Santana, Boogie became one of the big names in the industry. Other notable Boogie users include: Les Claypool, Jade Puget from AFI, Tom Delonge from blink-182 and Angels and Airwaves, Mark Tremonti from Alter Bridge, Allan Holdsworth, John Scofield, John Petrucci from Dream Theater, Steve Lukather, Buckethead, Metallica, Munky (from Korn), Tim Mahoney (from 311), Prince, Jerry Cantrell, Frank Zappa, Eric Book, Andy Timmons, Cannibal Corpse, Terry Balsamo from Evanescence, Devin Townsend, Fall Out Boy, Flea, Rammstein, Helmet,Trivium, Dir en grey, Gavin Rossdale and Nigel Pulsford of Bush, Lamb of God, Ed O'Brien of Radiohead, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

History

Randall Smith, the creator of Mesa Boogie began his career at Prune music, a Chinese grocery store turned music shop. Working as a repair tech while his business partner and friend, David Kessner, ran the front, Smith quickly gained a reputation with the local San Francisco Bay Area musicians. Smith, taking great pride in his work was soon seeing business from the likes of the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Carlos Santana.

In 1969, Smith, as a joke, modified Barry Melton's (Country Joe and the Fish) Fender Princeton amplifier. He removed the standard 10 inch speaker and modified the chassis to fit the larger transformers that were needed by the 4-10 tweed Bassman, the circuit that he had added into the tiny 12 watt Princeton. Finally, Mounting a 12 inch JBL D-120, a popular speaker of the time, Smith had created what would be the first Boogie.

Randall Smith, needing to test his creation, took the "hot-rodded" Princeton into the front store. Coincidentally, Carlos Santana was present and "wailed through that little amp until people were blocking the sidewalk". Impressed, Santana exclaimed to Smith, "Shit, man. That little thing really Boogies!" It was this statement that brought the Boogie name to fruition.

The MESA name came about through Smith's other job, rebuilding Mercedes engines and repairing houses. He needed an 'official' sounding name through which to buy Mercedes parts and building supplies. The name chosen was MESA Engineering because it was seemingly familiar with a professional air. It was originally capitalized but has been written as Mesa in recent years.

In 1971 Bassist, Patrick Burke addressed Randall in hopes of a custom Bass amp. Smith was persuaded and constructed the Snakeskin Mesa 450 - Smith's first bass amplifier and the first 'official' Mesa/Boogie product.

The real breakthrough came when Smith began his project of building a preamp for Lee Michaels to drive his new Crown DC-300 power amplifiers. Not knowing what signal was required to drive the power amps, Smith added an extra tube gain stage to the preamp to cover his bases, with 3 variable gain controls at different points in the circuit.

When Smith took the construction to Michaels and plugged it in, they were both disappointed, as they could only hear a very faint sound coming out of the speakers. They soon realized that the speakers had been plugged directly into the preamp, and rectified the situation by plugging them in correctly to the power-amp. After plugging everything together correctly, Michaels hit a power chord to test the new setup which "practically blew both of our [Michaels and Smith] bodies through the back wall".

Smith had discovered High Gain, purely by chance. He set about designing a Mesa/Boogie amplifier around the new principle, and in 1972 the Mark I Boogie was released.

He proceeded to evolve the Mark series, with the Mark II released in 1980. The 1980s saw Mesa instigating and leading in the 'Rack Revolution', with popular power amplifiers such as the M180/190 and Strategy series, as well as pre-amps such as the Quad and Studio.

Arguably the most desirable Boogie ever built was designed in 1983, the Mark II-C (and later the II-C+). The Mark series culminated in 1990 with the Mark IV, still one of the most advanced amplifiers in the world.

In the '90s, Mesa launched the smaller Dual Caliber series and the more powerful Rectifier series, the latter of which is perhaps the most important amplifier of the '90s.

The new millennium has not seen Mesa slow down, with new models like the 4-channel Road King and perhaps their best clean channel yet, the Lone Star and Lone Star Special.

info:wikipedia