marshall mg

cena

i'v had my mg for 3 years. what i want to know is, can the mg be serviced.

Alanstrainor

What's wrong with it?

cena

the overdrive on in doesn't sound good. sounds really bad.

Alanstrainor

Has this just happened over time or was it always bad. And which MG amp is it, 15? 30? 50? 100?

darrenw5094

The MG range is in the lower price range of Marshalls. The sound of it would not be too special in the first place anyway.

The AVT range would be a small step up, but to get a good warm overdrive, you will ahve to buy an all valve amp.

Check out some UK sites and sellers on ebay for Marshall DSL and TSL amps.
With the weak £££ at the moment, you might find a bargain.

Alanstrainor

+1. If there is an actual problem with the amp, it may not be worth your while getting it repaired.

darrenw5094

Check out the ebay item below or go for something like it.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Marshall-TSL-122-combo_W0QQitemZ220282187334QQihZ012QQcategoryZ10171QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em122

cena

its the mg 30. has just happened over time. do have to use the zoom 505 pedal to get a good overdrive sound thats through the clean channel

darrenw5094

Sounds like there is a problem with the overdrive channel alright.

The amp is not worth a whole lot of cash. Maybe it's time to upgrade to the next level. A valve combo.

The cost of repair and service might not be worth it.

cena

would it be easy to do a diy job on it. i can use a soldier iron. was brought over in liverpool.

darrenw5094

Voodoo Child is the man on boards with the knowledge for this kind of thing.
If he doesn't post on this thread tomorrow, send him a pm. I hope he doesn't mind.;)

Eoin Madsen

cena wrote: »

would it be easy to do a diy job on it. i can use a soldier iron. was brought over in liverpool.

Not really. If the channel had stopped working entirely, you could look for a broken connection, but otherwise it could be any number of things - failed component, intermittent connection, corroded solder joint etc. It's hard enough to diagnose a fault on a PCB when you actually know what to look for.

You could certainly take it to a tech, but I think the real issue is that the repair would probably cost more than the amp is worth.

Paolo_M

What is the actual problem with the overdrive channel.
Is it volume decrease, weird noises, hissing, popping or does it just plain old sounding bad?
I ask beacuse is it possible that your ears have simply become more refined over time?

My band has recently moved to a new rehearsal space and all the rooms have MG100s. I've read the reviews saying how bad they are but the reviews hadn't quite prepared me fully.
THEY ARE AWEFUL. :eek:
I thought something was wrong with the one in our room so I asked to try the others; same result. I tried both 1960A cabs and the Behringer G12H cab; same results. The Bass control on the OD channel doesn't do anything and the treble control just makes the amp worse in degree's from 0-10.

I'd agree with the general concesus here that even if there is an actual problem (other than the amp being plain bad) it's not worth repairing it and you'd much better off spending your money on an upgrade.

cena

it sounds like if you put the volume up full and the gain to 10. i just sounds so bad. i.v got jeff beck pickups on the guitar.may be the amp can't handle it

Alanstrainor

It sounds like you're suffering from good pickups + pants amp = woeful tone. Perhaps an upgrade is what you need?

cena

i'v been thinking of buying one for awhile. don't know what to buy doh.

Paolo_M

cena wrote: »

i'v been thinking of buying one for awhile. don't know what to buy doh.

You're in luck with your MG, any amp that you buy will be a marked improvement!!:D

On amp suggestions, could you give us more of an idea of what musical styles (are you a high gain metaller or more into your jazz), is usage (ie will you be playing large arena's :pac:, a bedroom player or something in between) and what kind of features you would like FX Loops, channel switching, reverb etc.

As a start you could check out the following on YouTube which I think will give a give you a good tone, reasonable price and suit both badroom play and small/medium gigs. Hopefully they'll get you thinking anyway:

Orange Tiny Terror (now available in combo)
Vox AC15 CC
Harley Benton GA5/15
Marshall AVT (though some of your money will be spent on the logo)

There are many others and I'm sure some of the lads will pitch in with other options.

cena

i.m more of a bedroom player. a like mostly rock and metal.

Alanstrainor

cena wrote: »

i.m more of a bedroom player. a like mostly rock and metal.

Jaesus, this is like pulling teeth!:p
Do you have a budget, any requests, like built in effects, modding etc.

cena

i have the pedals i need for now. have a dd-6. ds-1. dunlop wah and a zoom 505 two. a built in effects would be nice. what would u get for 5 or 600

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

i feel your pain! i had an mg50, the overdrive is soo bad! i was only ever able to get one tone i kinda liked and that was it. also the effects board gave me trouble, the volume on the clean channel would randomly drop and come back up, and over time fan made a load of noise when it was turned on from cold. all in all a terrible amp! it was my first amp and i really only got it because it was a marshall, i thought its marshall, its must be good!!

I got a vox ad100vt112 a few months ago. im very happy with it, im always playing with it changing tones. it has a huge tone range, its modeled on 11 different amps. It has very noice clean, crunch and high gain tones. if you are a bedroom rocker getting an all valve amp would just cost too much, and you really have to crank them to get the best out of them. the link below is the 30 wat version of the vox, good amp and its not going to break the bank

http://www.thomann.de/ie/vox_ad30vt_valvetronix_gitarrencombo.htm

edit:
for 450 you can get the 100 wat version, with has built in effects. (so does the 30 wat)

darrenw5094

Check out the ENGL Screamer and other ENGL's.

Youtube for audio examples and prices on Thomann, as they are German made and Thomann is a German site.

If you want a serious amp, forget built in effects, that is just a selling ploy. They are usually average at best.

Let us know what your budget is, and people can give you exact amps to go for.

cena

i would be welling to spend between 500 and 1000

progsound

http://www.thomann.de/ie/krank_revolution_jr_pro_halfstack.htm

This would be a very pro set up for rock and metal styles and within your budget.

Even better would be http://www.thomann.de/ie/framus_fr212_cb.htm

and this http://www.thomann.de/ie/krank_revolution_jr_pro.htm

another option would be this http://www.thomann.de/ie/bugera_333.htm

Its voiced differently than a xxx smother highs the 6260 (5150 copy) would also be another option. If i were you id go with the 333 and the framus 2 x 12 total €800 for a great set up that you would have to spend some serious money to get a set up to rival it.

darrenw5094

http://www.thomann.de/ie/bogner_alchemist_112_combo.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/peavey_6505_212_gitarrencombo.htm

Stretch it a bit for these....

cena

anyone use a mode 4 amp. are they good

darrenw5094

Check out reviews....they were designed for the nu-metal thang which is now over.......i promise......no more short guy with red cap.

Better off with the JCM800 half stack than the mode 4. Just throw in the Krank distortion pedal for some crushing gain.