The Guitar Refinishing and Restoration Forum

Vince · Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 7776 Location: Decatur IL

Just bought me one of these...

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-MAR-MG15MSII

Marshall MG15MSII Micro Stack Guitar Amplifier

The Marshall MG15MSII Microstack is a complete Marshall stack that will fit into any room.
The amplifier is based around the MG15CDR and features two channels, spring reverb and Marshall's proprietary FDD (frequency dependant damping) technology. Supplied with two 1 x 10 inch speaker cabinets its looks and sounds great. The dream of owning a Marshall stack has now become a reality!

Lead 15, 15 Watt Micro Stack

15 Watts of Marshall Power
Designed by the Valvestate team
Twin Gain Controls for maximum preamp flexibility
Controls for Bass, Treble, and Contour for maximum tonal flexibility
Master Volume control
Spring Reverb
Headphone jack which mutes loud speakers
CD input
Line Out jack
Two 1x10 inch cabinets – 1 angled, 1 straight
Custom voiced speakers
Has an incredible low end
Looks amazing!
Sounds amazing!

I wanted the Marshall sound without all the crappy effects but wanted reverb.

I had an earlier model of this amp that was very dry and had no lowend so I sold it a few years back. Now this thing boasts having lowend and with the reverb... I am hoping it gives me what I need. I will give a full report when it get's here.

My all time favorite practice amp was the Lead 12... those things are going for $100 on eBay all day long.

Plaid Sabbath · Joined: 13 May 2007 Posts: 2397 Location: Munster, IN

I've almost bought that amp about a dozen times. They always sound so good in a music store, but I've been afraid they'd sound worse at home. Post an update when you tear into it. Cool

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Vince · Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 7776 Location: Decatur IL

Very sweet little amp! Well constructed and sounds great. Much better than previous incarnations IMHO.

One thing that I miss on this amp is a presence control. I really wish they would have intergrated it into the amp but how much space did they have for knobs. Very Happy

The Reverb is lush and huge! The Frequency Dampening is fantastic but would like to have a control for that also... as it is, it on or off.

I have not tried the headphone and line outs but they are supposed to be speaker emulated which is another very cool feature.

Not your father's amp.... everything from Led Zepplin to Accept.. it does the range from classic Rock and Blues to Metal convincingly.

I am very very happy with this purchase.

Off to see if I can mod it to have a presence and a FDD control... Cool

Phadreus · Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:

Here's a nice Demo (sounds nice to my ear). I like the Blood Red covering on the one in this video. Is that what you got Vince?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6S9scmbblk
Another demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07p3jiwoM9I&feature=related
Enjoy
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Life is full of options, growth is one of them, choose wisely...

Vince · Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 7776 Location: Decatur IL

That's the one! Very Happy

kurt72 · Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 3056 Location: San Diego

my buddy got the "limited edition" ( Rolling Eyes

) zakk wylde micro stack last year. it kicks loads of A$$!!
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nimhb · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Posts: 5351 Location: WV at last!

Cool man....I had one of those once and they do sound pretty good!
Cool

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What Jerry said!

Vince · Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 7776 Location: Decatur IL

Man... I love this little fella! BBBBBBBBBut....

I am now thinking that I may want to send it back and get this... Embarassed

Marshall AVT50HX Half Stack

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-MAR-AVT50HS--P-On

Anybody have any experience with this model?

Structo · Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Posts: 25049 Location: Salem, OR

Yes I have the AVT 50H head and slant front cab.

I paid around $800 for it a few years back.
My opinion is that is an ok amp but it only has one tube, the preamp tube which feeds a solid state power amp.
If you are going to spend that kind of coin I suggest you get an all tube amp.
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CrazyChester · Joined: 13 Dec 2007 Posts: 1159

If you can afford it go for the all tube. There's a huge difference in the punch and natural compression. Especially when used in live situations.
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Phadreus · Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:34 am Post subject:

+1 for all tube. I used to have that same amp in a combo, and MArshall's "Valvestate" technology did not cover the natural dynamics you normally get with an all tube Amp. It didn't sound all that warm and organic to me as I am accustomed to hearing with Tube Amps. Just another opinion to consider....
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~Mark

Life is full of options, growth is one of them, choose wisely...

Vince · Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 7776 Location: Decatur IL

I have a Laney Pro-Tube combo... and it sounds awesome turned up but I was wanting something for the house that I can control the volume with. A SS amp is usually the answer since you don't have to run massive amounts of power to it to get a decent sound usually. Meaning, it sounds the same low or high volume.

ValveState has a decent reputation for sounding pretty natural, the MD series does not. The micro stack falls into that MD range but I think it sounds great.

Besides that... I love the look of the half stack... always have... but why the flat cab? Confused

Structo · Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Posts: 25049 Location: Salem, OR

One time on a whim I took off the cover on my AVT 50 head.

The cab as you know is the average size for a Marshall.
Inside was this dinky little circuit board that had the one preamp tube and the solid state power amp.

I had always wanted a Marshall stack since I was a kid but I couldn't afford the all tube heads that were currently available so I bought the AVT.
It doesn't sound too bad but when I bought my Carvin all tube Belair I was astounded at the difference in tone.
Of course that is a mass produced pcb amp and it does have it's drawbacks.
There are some simple mods one can do to improve the overdrive channel which Carvin calls the Soak channel, which on this amp is it's weak point.
The clean channel is very good and will blister paint off the walls when cranked.

Then I built my BrownNote D'lite 44 and it has become my new favorite.
The overdrive on that amp has rendered any OD pedal I have to the S.U.E.B ( Seldom Used Effects Box).

I still have a little tweaking to do on the D'lite to personalize it to my tastes but that is the nice thing about building an amp, you become very familiar with it's operation and what makes it tick.
Plus with a couple amp forums at my disposal and far more knowledgable guys than myself I can do some of these mods with confidence that they will zero in on what I want. Very Happy

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Tom

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Guitar Amp Repair