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(@randmanq)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 29
Topic starter  

im strongly considering a marshall MG half stack. BUT I have questions. does the amp come with all the distortion pedals, hook ups, and such?

http://www.zzounds.com/item--MSHMGSTACK1

under important accessories, do i have to purchase all these?

It's All we could hope for


   
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(@randmanq)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 29
Topic starter  

does the amp come with all the cables and such?

It's All we could hope for


   
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(@forrok_star)
Noble Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 2337
 

For that kind of dollars left over after getting the guitar, you could get a couple other things to create a signal chain that can go from crystal clean to over the edge output tube saturation. You need an All tube amp, Equalizer, and attenuator. For example Crate Palomino V16 US $399.00, MXR Graphic EQ US $100.00 , THD Hot Plate Attenuator US $279.95, Good cables US $40.00. Then you can start thinking of other effects to enhance you already great tone.

Joe


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

Rand: no, you get the stack and nothing but the stack. It is a really very mediocre amp though, it looks good but the sound is hardly worth any money at all. Now personally I would go with a Vox AD60VT for that money since it covers almost every conceivable guitar sound but there are plenty of options. Joe's suggestion would work excellently as well but requires a bit more knowledge to get it working properly. The advantage of his setup is that it's modular, you can easily change, add or replace parts in the chain without having to get a new amp.


   
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(@randmanq)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 29
Topic starter  

so should i just go with a combo amp? I was told marshall half stacks produce great tone

It's All we could hope for


   
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 xg5a
(@xg5a)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 482
 

It's my 2 cents that since none of us know exactly what tone you're looking for, you should go to a big music store(guitar center?) and try amps. Then come back here, and make sure that it's a good deal, and we'll tell you what accessories you need. That's the standard issue amp selection course, right?


   
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(@slothrob)
Reputable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 472
 

I've heard it told that in the '70's and '80's, when you just had to have a Marshall stack on stage to be taken seriously, guitarists would hide a cranked Fender Deluxe or a Vox or an old tweed behind the stack with a microphone cable running off to the board in order to get a good sound.


   
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(@primeta)
Prominent Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 836
 

I've heard it told that in the '70's and '80's, when you just had to have a Marshall stack on stage to be taken seriously, guitarists would hide a cranked Fender Deluxe or a Vox or an old tweed behind the stack with a microphone cable running off to the board in order to get a good sound.

From what I understand, that was especially true if one wanted a good clean, Fender, Vox and Roland although all different, were all famous for clean. Marshall was more famous for the heavy stuff. And it's simply easier to put a overdrive in front of a good clean, than to get a pleasing clean from the Marshall.

On the other hand there are people who like the Marshall tone, heck there are even people who like Line 6 :roll: :) .

Personally, if I had to choose a Marshall, it wouldn't be the MG series, and I'd always go for a Soldano first.

"Things may get a whole lot worse/ Before suddenly falling apart"
Steely Dan
"Look at me coyote, don't let a little road dust put you off" Knopfler


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

so should i just go with a combo amp? I was told marshall half stacks produce great tone

Marshall is a brand, not a sound. Half stack is a type of setup, not a sound. Therefor, there is no such thing as a 'marshall half stack sound', it's just plain nonsense. Now, there *are* marshall half-stacks (and full stacks, and combos) that sound really good, but the MG series has nothing to do with that. Heck, my Vox AD30 sounds more like a proper marshall then the MG does.

Now I might be wrong but I don't spend this kind of money on amps every day, and I guess neither do you. So you might want to make darn sure you know what you are doing. And to do that you must know *exactly* what you want. What kind of sound do you like? How do you expect to use the amp? At what volume levels? Any FX gear involved? Does weight/size play a role? You must think about all of this or you'll be ripping your hear out after having bought something you really don't need in the end.

As for tube vs digital, that's an extremely controversial topic in guitar-land. The truth is that until the late nineties hardly any proper studio would use anything other then full tube equipment. Solid states where nice but not good enough and modeling was more of a gimmick then a usefull musical technique. With rapid advancement of technology the gap between modeling and tube got closer and closer and more and more studios were starting to use it. Right now digital recording is pretty common in the metal scene and is getting more popular in the pop scene by the year.

Now there's where the truth ends and the debate begins. Many people, espescially those who have been around from before the digital revolution, have become used to working with tube amps and have already found their sound. They don't need digital and they don't want digital. New kids on the block, like me, often embrace the new toys because it allows for things previously unthinkable. Both sides use pretty lame arguments like:

-Tube amps are expensive to maintain. A simple response would be: if you can afford a marshall tube amp you can afford some tubes every now and then. Just like most people who drive ferrari cars don't have problem paying for gas.

-Tube amps are more dynamic. This is one of the greatest myths in guitar land, a transistor is almost by definition more dynamic and less compressed then tubes. The almighty 'raging tube' saturation only increases the difference.

-Transistor amps are more fragile. Nonsense, in fact, transistors don't really wear out at all, unless tubes.

-Tube amps are more fragile. When was the last time Hendrix, Page or Gilmour had to stop a gig because his amp didn't work? Right.

-The best guitarists (which usually means Clapton, Hendrix, SRV and Kurt Cobain ;)) used tube amps and so will I. The answer to this is simple, these folks didn;t have much choice when they started since transistor amps where dreadfull at the time.

-Digital amps require thick manuals and thousand menus to operate. This was somewhat true for older generations of digital amps, which seemed to be aimed at mainframe operators instead of musicians. These days things are much easier and if you understand how to get a good sound out of a tube amp you should get the basics of digital amps within minutes.

-Tube amps are one-trick ponys. The truth is that some are, but some transistor amps are that as well. There are plenty of tube amps (Koch Multitone, Engl Thunderball) that offer extremely varied sounds even without bringin in attenuators, eqs and effects.

So if all these arguments are false, what should I get? It depends on what you need, and what your ears like. Go to a store and check it all out. Make darn sure you bring someone with you who knows about amps if you yourself don't.


   
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(@Anonymous)
New Member
Joined: 1 second ago
Posts: 0
 

I've heard it told that in the '70's and '80's, when you just had to have a Marshall stack on stage to be taken seriously, guitarists would hide a cranked Fender Deluxe or a Vox or an old tweed behind the stack with a microphone cable running off to the board in order to get a good sound.

From what I understand, that was especially true if one wanted a good clean, Fender, Vox and Roland although all different, were all famous for clean. Marshall was more famous for the heavy stuff. And it's simply easier to put a overdrive in front of a good clean, than to get a pleasing clean from the Marshall.

On the other hand there are people who like the Marshall tone, heck there are even people who like Line 6 :roll: :) .

Personally, if I had to choose a Marshall, it wouldn't be the MG series, and I'd always go for a Soldano first.

My 2 cents based on my minimal knowledge (like you really care :roll: ) I prefer the Fender tone. To me it is just a classic rock-n-roll tone. Marshall to me is more for metal...HOWEVER Angus Young swearsby Marshall and most consider him Rock-n-Roll but I believe when AC/DC came out they were considered metal of the time...

The Fender tone is very versitle...clean to overdrive...it can do it all.


   
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(@Anonymous)
New Member
Joined: 1 second ago
Posts: 0
 

Arjen..I was typing my post as you posted yours...

I am a technology junky with everything..not just guitars. I agree that the technology has improved IMMENSELY. If it weren't for my GuitarPort and then my V-Amp I would never have know what to look for in an amp and it it weren't for the latency in switching amp models in the V-Amp I may never consider a full tube amp. I am sure that even that technology will improve with the next generation of modelers. You make a lot of good points.

One point I do disagree with is:
Marshall is a brand, not a sound. Half stack is a type of setup, not a sound. Therefor, there is no such thing as a 'marshall half stack sound', it's just plain nonsense. Now, there *are* marshall half-stacks (and full stacks, and combos) that sound really good, but the MG series has nothing to do with that. Heck, my Vox AD30 sounds more like a proper marshall then the MG does.

I do agree that Marshall is an amp and not a sound...Marshall (as well with many brands) are known for certain sounds. When I here people talk about Marshall amps I automatically think of Angus Young. I know that Marshall can produce many tones but AC/DC's sound seems to be the precident (at least for me). When I here people talk about Fender amps I automatically think about that clean Fender tube sound (even though Marshall is a tube amp as well). So even though a brand name is not a sound, brands can be KNOWN for a particular sound even though with effects you can get the same sound from another brand if you so choose.

You mention that your Vox AD30 sounds more Marshall than the MG series..not to argue (just debating) someone else may not agree when listening to it. This is probably why this topic is so fluid and debatable. It's all based on what we like and what we associate with a particular sound. Our memories where we first heard a particular sound also play a part in our opinions. I know I mentioned in another thread that I did not like the Vox sound (which I believe was the AD30?) yet I do like Angus' Marshall sound.

his is a great febate and I would love to hear everyone's opinions. It seems the question of "What amp should I get?" comes up more often than "What GUITAR should I get?" I am not sure if there already is a tutorial in the lessons on GN but maybe some of you that are more experienced with various amps (Wes is the first person that comes to mind even though I know there are MANY more in the GN crowd who can do this topic justice) maybe a tutorial telling the newbies (and less experienced veterans) what to consider when buying an amp, the various sounds available WITHOUT effects pedals, what amp for various situations (ie. gigs, recording, practice, etc.) and any other topic that could be useful.


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

Mike: sure Marshall is known for a sound (multiple great sounds actually), no doubt. But the problem is that the brand itself does not produce the sound, it's the amp. So while 'striving for the marshall sound' is language I can understand, getting a marshall MG is logic I find hard to follow. As for Vox, they are known for the AC30 sound, the AD30 is a modeler. Now I've played on multiple occassions on reissue JCM800s. Thrust me on this, the Vox AD gets closer to it then the Marshall MG. The marshall MG does *not* sound like the famous marshall sound, not even close. It's just another basic solidstate amp which happens to be produced by the same company.
If it weren't for my GuitarPort and then my V-Amp I would never have know what to look for in an amp and it it weren't for the latency in switching amp models in the V-Amp I may never consider a full tube amp. I am sure that even that technology will improve with the next generation of modelers. You make a lot of good points.

Make no mistake here, the guitarport and V-amp (despite how usefull it still is to me!) are really the most basic and cheapest modelers around. The difference between the V-amp JCM800 model and a real one is inmense and pretty obvious to everyone who ever played both. That has nothing to do with modeling but more with Behringer cutting corners by having it run internally in 31khz. They tried to cover it up with their presence circuitry but when A/B'ing there really is no comparison. Go to GC and put the V-amp next to the affordable Vox Tonelab and set both to a bluesy setting. Then note that the vastly superior Tonelab was released in 2002 and you'll see just how outdated the V-amp really is. Not that I care much, I can make fine recordings with it and 99% of the world population wont ever notice or care. But if you're serious about tone the V-amp does not equal a tube amp or modern modeler.


   
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(@randmanq)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 29
Topic starter  

so should i just go with a combo amp? I was told marshall half stacks produce great tone

Now I might be wrong but I don't spend this kind of money on amps every day, and I guess neither do you. So you might want to make darn sure you know what you are doing. And to do that you must know *exactly* what you want. What kind of sound do you like? How do you expect to use the amp? At what volume levels? Any FX gear involved? Does weight/size play a role? You must think about all of this or you'll be ripping your hear out after having bought something you really don't need in the end.

Im into experemental music, and post hardcore. so wouldn't a marshall be better since it produces more of a heavy sound? Im big on FX pedals as well, and i like playing rhythm best

It's All we could hope for


   
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(@hondaman)
Eminent Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 21
 

I use a fender deluxe 90 its a combo amp and its loud. has clean, dirty, and a lead channel. i also use a danectro fab metal for heavy stuff if thats what ur into fab pedals cost like 20 bucks and the amp i dont know how much because i bought it used. a compressor pedal adds good sustain for rock style music. other than that i use a fab flange and a beringher ultra flanger. this is what i use i can get a good sound that i like but no amp is better than anouther relly its all personal preference play an amp and if you like it buy it. its like cars and trucks some like fords some hate them some like chevs and some dont depends what you like


   
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(@randmanq)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 29
Topic starter  

i just wanted to make sure i get the amp i want/need thanks everyone

It's All we could hope for


   
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