Marshall AVT amps

Zoton

Okay here's the deal. I read loads of great things about the avt 100 and the avt 150, and was all set to part with my hard earned cash on one of them, however i got talking to the guy behind the counter in that guitar shop along the quays in dublin and he reckons they're ****e cos of cheap parts and manufacturing in asia and got a load of them returned after selling them.
So anyone agree/disagree?

An alternative? Not really interested in tube/toob/valve amps.

Know of amywhere that sells them cheaper than €880 for the avt150 or €720 for the avt100?

Doctor J

Most solid state Marshalls, in my experience, have been shyt in a box. Have a look at Peavey and Fender. What sort of sound are you looking for?

Giblet

My mate bought a Ibanez RG -550 and a AVT100 in the B&S for €1000, decent amp, not amazing, but it will definatly do, unless you move into JCM900 territory.

dabhoys

Tell us what type of tone your looking for and we can get a better idea of what direction to send ya. I think good enough of the Marshall AVT as a pretty good budget amp for a nice tone.

Zoton

Looking for something with a nice clean tone, but also with a decent crunch to the distortion. A second milder distortion would also be nice, but not vital. Onboard effects dont matter since i already have a multi effects pedal (korg AX1G).
I kinda got seduced by the avt since i've always dreamed of owning a marshall.


type of music played woould be
tool, soil, q.o.t.s.a., everclear, kinks, rolling stones etc...

Thanx for the advice so far guys.

NeMiSiS

Right, I use an AVT 275, and its ****ing great, I love it to bits.

Now you want one for 690 euro Il give you the number of a mate of mine in Carlow, Its only been used twice, so its pretty much out of the box, dont think you will get a better deal than that on a 150 watt stereo amp with 18 built in digital effects.


Tom

Zoton

Does that mean its a twin speaker yokey?

Whats the model?

NeMiSiS

The model is Marshall AVT 275 .. yeh twin speaker .. 2 * 75 watt

"This Stereo, 75 Watt per side, 2x12" combo is the bigger brother of the AVT150 combo. It boasts the same four channels and two DFX Sections of the AVT150, but the stereo 2x12" format allows the on-board DFX to add an incredibly rich, stereo dimension to your sound. Additionally, the left and right speaker outputs could be used to drive extension cabinets. Also Headphones (where turning the Master Volume right down will provide silent practice), Left and Right Speaker Emulated outputs (where turning the Master Volume off provides silent recording), and stereo returns for the Effects Loop complete the line up for this incredibly flexible AVT combo. The AVT275 features Stereo Digital FX. "




Tom

Zoton

the 2*75 seems a bit like overkill for me.

Plus the hassle of getting to carlow, making sure its okay...etc. transporting it back...:dunno:

NeMiSiS

The amp is fine. I mean perfect ****ing perfect ( A guarantee from a total stranger) . Yer man just wants to play acoustic , thats why he wants rid of it.

Just a suggestion. Get yer mammy to drop you to carlow :P

Tom

Zoton

Ah, if i still lived anywhere near my mammy that would be handy
/sigh.

Giblet

Zoton, you'd be mad to pass that offfer up and pay more money for a AVT100.

sound_wave

yeah man thats a fecking steal for an amp like that. if i had the money id be on my way to carlow right now!

Zoton

Hmmmmm.....valid points indeed. Me must thinky on this one, and await next paycheque. of course how long will the offer be around is another thing while i daftly drag my heels?

NeMiSiS

Missed the boat - was sold today. I have one aswell dunno when im gonna sell it though, need to save another 1000 euro or so for a Marshall TSL 100. Then il flog it.

Tom

feylya

May I suggest the DSL instead. A lot of people prefer it's tone over the TSL. Just my 2 cents.

NeMiSiS

Ive had this argument with you before I think.
Suggest all ya want, Ive tried em both and prefer the TSL has more on offer that I want. You would hardly think I was gonna spend the bones of a grand and half on and amp and not do my research?

feylya

Nope, it wasn't with me. I'm just passing on some advice. That's all. Peace!

padraigmyers

I reckon you would be better off getting your hands on 2nd hand JCM900 (just avoid the high gain model if you use pedals - the distortion on that model dosent turn off! - the dual reverb model is the one to go for). You can pick these up for around €600-€800 in the Buy & Sell. I sold one for €650 in perfect conditon about 6 months ago, got myself a TSL100 instead.....lovely piece of kit....I'd highly reccomended it NeMiSiS (have a look around for 2nd hand one's, I got mine 2nd hand although they are hard to come by) .

NeMiSiS

Yeh a JCM 900 was gonna be another option, or an 800. Still considering it to be honest.


Tom

feylya

TBH, the JCM 800 is not high gain. My friend is trying to get a combo, convert it into a head and make a 2x12 cab. He's either gonna replace the preamp with a Mesa Bottle Rocket or else I'm gonna have to learn how to hot rod to increase the gain.

NeMiSiS

The Zakk Wylde signature 800 has 3 ECC83 & 4 6550's in it. Why not lash them into it? Dunno what the deal on te preamp is. I know two lads with 800 combos.. I think they are ****ing lovely

Tom

feylya

Mmm, this guy wants fairly high gain. Gonna give it a go anyway if he gets it. Might mod my DS-1 too if Mirv ever gets back to me.

Slaanesh

I hate not understanding all this high tech guitar mumbo jumbo even though I love playing guitar.

I have an AVT100 and it's a nice amp. Although if I was to buy one again I wouldn't. Bought it brand spankers for €750 a few months back from goodwins. Would probably be willing to sell it for €600 ono. Wouldn't have an amp then

Slaan.

Zoton

Why would you not buy it, given the chance again?

isthisit

can anyone recommend any good 50 to 80 watt amps availible in dublin and not really expensive?

Slaanesh

Why would you not buy it, given the chance again?

It's a great amp, don't get me wrong but it lacks the kind of versatile tone that I really want. It's great for rock music and the likes but because I play lot's of different stuff it's not really the amp for me. Alot of it may depend on the guitar I play, so if I get a new guitar I will try it out through the amp and see how it is then.

Slaanesh.

lethal dose

Originally posted by NeMiSiS
The Zakk Wylde signature 800 has 3 ECC83 & 4 6550's in it. Why not lash them into it? Dunno what the deal on te preamp is. I know two lads with 800 combos.. I think they are ****ing lovely

Tom

I had a jcm 900 100watt dual reverb head and got shot of it, just wasn't for me! Have you tried the tsl602? Thats what I've got now a truly versatile amp, though like all marhalls lacks a true clean sound but hell chan 2&3! Damn I'm off to jam!

Zoton

Okay, doing some more research, and found these little beauties. The marshall mg series. Expert opinions?
Are they good/ reliable?

Looking at the mg 100dfx and the mg 250dfx in particular.

feylya

Generally, the MG series isn't highly regarded. But I have managed to squeeze some nice tones out of ones I've tried in shops. I like them but they are just cheap solid state amps. I can't remember the series it replaced.

Zoton

Gah!, my dreams of one day owning a marshall amplifier are being crushed:(

padraigmyers

If you can't afford one of the Marshall Valve amps then you are much better off buying some other brands solid state amp, because Marshall solid state stuff isn't great so you are really just paying for the name. Carlsbro make some good cheaper soid state amps, take a look at them. The great Marshall name really only apply's to their valve amps.

Doctor J

Peavey also have a well justified reputation for quality solid state combos. Marshall seem just too fragile, in my experience.

padraigmyers

Originally posted by Doctor J
Peavey also have a well justified reputation for quality solid state combos.

Yeah, I had forgotten about Peavey........I agree I have always found them to be a good amp too.

Zoton

Peavy, really? I was always warned against 'em. was told they were shyte.

feylya

So shyte in fact the Van Halen used them!!! Na, the Raptors are shyte (I think. Not up to scratch on Peaveys) but the XXX, XXl, JSX and 5150-II are all supposed to be rather good

padraigmyers

The 5150 are actually are really really good amp.

feylya

Although, from what I've read, it is fine if you want to sound like Van Halen but it's not great for anything else, hence the 5150-II. But if you meant the 5150-II, apologies for my small rant.

Zoton

Whatabout Line 6? Again something between 75W and 150W, with a footswitch and decent distortion.

feylya

Line 6 aren't bad if you're not too fussed about digital thingies. The Spider 2 is basically a POD stuck into a decent enough amp.

Zoton

POD???


sorry for all the questions, i'm sure ye'r gettin p!ssed off at this stage.:o

padraigmyers

Originally posted by feylya
Although, from what I've read, it is fine if you want to sound like Van Halen but it's not great for anything else, hence the 5150-II. But if you meant the 5150-II, apologies for my small rant.

Its the 5150-II I meant, there is a metal band called Breed 77 from Wales who use all Peaveys. I saw them in a pub here in Limerick once and I reckon they had one of the best guitar sounds I have heard in that type of venue. When I was buying my Marshall I was very close to saving a bit of cash and going for a nice big 5510 II. Although, that said, I don't regret the money spent on the Marshall at all!!

feylya

Originally posted by Zoton
POD???


sorry for all the questions, i'm sure ye'r gettin p!ssed off at this stage.:o

Line6 POD2 Multi FX box. Some people swear by them, others swear at them. Don't worry about asking questions, that's why we're here.

Zoton

Okay, been checkin out the rather horrendous line 6 website. The spider II 212 seems to be the model for me from the specs given. (Got more info from the thomann site than the line 6 one)
Any thoughts?

feylya

Like I said, a decent enough amp. You may have answered this already but what's your guitar playing experience? How long have you been playing?

Zoton

Been playing for about 6 years now. Should be alot better than i am, finally pushing myself to learn scales now. Hoping to get a bit of a band off the ground in a few months time, hence wanting a decent & larger amp (currently only have some piece o'sh*t 15W westfield amp that i got with my squire a few years ago).

feylya

Ah, I'd say the Spider 2 212 should do you so. Don't forget you don't need massively loud amps for gigs cos most places will mike your amp.

Zoton

I realise this (hence not going for full blown cabinet), and do ya know where line 6 amps are stocked in this country?

feylya

I think they have some in The Sound Shop in Drogheda if you're from this part of the country but I'm sure Music Maker or Musician Inc have one or two.

Zoton

Okay so i've done yet more research on amps, and there's lots of conflicting reports out there on the interweb (they have it on computers now you know). Anyways, a common thinking is that 50W would be enough for gigging, since 100W isn't twice as loud so there isnt a huge difference in max volume level.
So methinks in that case that i could look into getting a 50W amp instead. Still not particularly interested in valves because of both the intial expense and replacement valve costs.(feel free to correct me on this)
So, out of the following which would be the recommended?

Line 6 spider II 112

Marshall AVT 50

Marshall MG50DFX

any other suggestions?

feylya

Yeah, you're right about the 100W not being twice as loud as the 50W. TBH, the marshalls you listed are the lower end of the Marshall range. Think about looking at some Hughes and Kettner amps or maybe the Vox Valvetronix range.