Marshall MG250DFX - any good?

McMalley

Saw this amp in MusicMaker for 299. Didn't get a chance to give it a shot but it looks a decent price. Anyone tested one out? Good/bad? Good value?

I mainly just play at home or maybe jam with mates, nothing serious though.

-=al=-

mmm, well its nothing special and people always take the piss outa those amps, there is better amps but if u wjust want something to mess around with thats easy to use and dont expect an amazing sound, it shud be alrite

spoonbadger

Completely pants amp. Sounds like crap, clean and overdriven. The effects sound horribly cheap (because they are). They have zero resale value. They are made in countries you've never heard of, by native peoples, in the dark, without lightbulbs.

This might seem kinda harsh but they really are bad. They're fine if you dont care about sound quality in the slightest, but for 100e more you could get something like a peavey classic 30. You could also get a fender champ XD for roughly the same, which would be far better than that marshall.

EDIT: just saw this on adverts. For the same price, you could get a JCM900 combo second hand. It's a tube combo, which will sound far better than any of the MG marshalls.

Creeping-Death

+ 1 million. Was looking at a MG100DFX inside some place about a year ago. Asked could he order an MG250 (prefer having two speakers). I think the MG250 cost around E350, the guy couldnt order one in but he persuaded me to have a look at a 40 watt JCM2000. Was a bit skeptical at first because i didnt understand that valve amps are naturally louder. The JCM cost E449 used (960 new) and had never been gigged. Played it, loved it, saved and bought it. In terms of everything, it beat seven shades of sh*te outta the MG series. With the MG series you get what you pay for.
I havent deviated from the JCM2000 since, save for upgrading to a 100 watt head and a 1969 vintage 2x12 speaker cab. Theyre so damn good they can be played without any chorus/overdrive etc effects.
Though if money is an issue, the AVT series are not a bad second to the all-valve Marshall's

McMalley

I just saw and thought I'd ask. Any suggestions then? I've been playing for 13 years, I really should have a decent amp by now....

I'd go higher on price if needs be.

CianRyan

I think there has been more than enough suggestion tbh.

fish-head

An MG Series would be appropriate if you had been playing for 13 months(barely!), after 13 years you deserve something that at least makes guitar sounds.

Paolo_M

Hate to chime in but +1,000,000,000,000 on everything everyone said so far!! :pac:
For that money, you don't need more than €300, you can get a really good second hand valve amp (or quality transistor amp, I'm not against solid state amps, there are some really good sounding ones) that'll sound waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than the MG series. It's not that the MG is a transistor amp but that it's a particularily sh*te transistor amp.
Do a search here as there have been loads of "best practise/rehearsal amp" threads with great info and suggestions in them.
They have MG100s at our rehearsal space and they sound :eek:, just wish there was a way of getting a JCM800 half stack on the bus along with guitars and a gig bag!! :P

Fingers Mcginty

spoonbadger wrote: »

They are made in countries you've never heard of, by native peoples, in the dark, without lightbulbs..

Voodu Child

The MG series are no good, but you don't want to go buying a 2nd hand valve amp if you're going to be using it mostly at home. Too loud.

Just get an affordable modelling amp. For the money they'll get tones vastly better than a Marshall MG.

There's a lot of them for your kind of budget, and its the handiest way to get good tones at home. Roland Cubes, Vox AD-series, Line6, Peavey Vyper, whatever...there's not a lot to separate them, just try a few out or compare the specs & price and go with the one that suits.

CianRyan

If i could get a valve amp for the same price i'd be going for that, its not like you cant play them at low levels too, and if you ever want more volume, its at your finger tips.

spoonbadger

McMalley wrote: »

I just saw and thought I'd ask. Any suggestions then? I've been playing for 13 years, I really should have a decent amp by now....

I'd go higher on price if needs be.

It's kinda hard to equate experience to gear.

I've only been playing two years, but i'm playing an MIA strat (1100E) through my DIY Bluesbreaker combo (1000E). Everyone thought i was crazy for spending that much cash on gear, especially in secondary school, but if i could go back in time i still would've bought it all over again. I dont deserve gear like that (and there are guys faaaaaar better than me playing through absoulte poo) but i definitely enjoy playing more because i have it.

Ps. i am now exceedingly poor. Bare that in mind .

What kind of music do you play mr. McMalley?. What guitar do you have?. Do you have any effects?. What kind of tones do you want?.

Answer those questions,then i can start giving you some genuine suggestions. And start thinking about your budget seriously. It may seem hard to give up 4 figures on a little box that makes noise, but if you get a really good amp, you'll spend the rest of your life thanking yourself for it!.

And likewise, if you cheap out on something like an MG, you'll spend the next 3 years wishing you had saved just a *little* longer, hating that amp and wondering about what you could've gotten ,then sell your MG for a crappy price (because of pants resale value) and be right back here again.

demanufactured

if your not lookin to spend big you could look out for a secondhand valvestate , people used to put them down as ****e , but i defy anyone to knock my tone iv had a vsr102 for years , using it with a pod2.0 , it sounds sweet.

OK-Cancel-Apply

MG series is shyte. Only one type of sound available (sort of hard rock/AC-DC).

Get a Vox AD100VT.

darrenw5094

There should be a few good deals from the UK with the weak £££.

Check out ebay for some valve amps.....you don't need a big amp in watts terms. My Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ has only 22 watts, but is more than loud enough for home and if you gig these days, you don't turn the amp up too loud anyway. Valve watts are much louder than the watts on a solid state amp.

Here is a line 6 if you don't want to go too much with the cash.
http://cgi.ebay.ie/Line-6-Spider-Amp-Two-combo-Excellent-condition_W0QQitemZ220291903781QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item220291903781&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

OK-Cancel-Apply

Well the thing about tube amps is that you generally have to the turn them up full to saturate them and produce quality overdrive.

CianRyan

Not complealy true.

I've been trying out tube amps for a few months now id say, and they do sound nicer cranked up, but they also sounds lovely at low levels.

spoonbadger

CianRyan wrote: »

Not complealy true.

I've been trying out tube amps for a few months now id say, and they do sound nicer cranked up, but they also sounds lovely at low levels.

+1. And even if you run a tube amp with a master volume, or run a distortion/OD box through a tube amp, it'll still sound better than a lot of solid state amps.

Btw,this applies to quality tube amps. Crap tube amps sound just as bad as crap SS amps.

McMalley

Are the Line 6 amps any good? Not sure if I need a tube amp, I don't gig or anything. If I found a good deal I'd consider it. If anyone knows where/what to look for I'd appreciate the advice. And my budget ain't 300, I just saw the Marshall and thought I'd see if anyone knew about em.

Thanks for the advice so far!

CianRyan

I wouldnt take a line6 spider# for free tbh, i hate them.
For modeling go for the VOX
But i would still highly recomend you stay on the look out for a second hand valve amp.
Much better than any modeling amp you are going to get.


Edit:
A few things going on adverts.ie
None of which or my adds btw.

Marshall JCM2000: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=79741&cat=16 (head only)
Engl Fireball: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=83643&cat=16 (head only)
Hughes and Kettner Trilogy: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=74269&cat=16 (head only)
Madison Divinity: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=83634&cat=16 (head only/rare)

These are just the amps i know a thing or two about, there is others but you'll need to do a bit of searching.

OK-Cancel-Apply

CianRyan wrote: »

Not complealy true.

I've been trying out tube amps for a few months now id say, and they do sound nicer cranked up, but they also sounds lovely at low levels.

Yeah I just meant for a distorted tone. Unless you want to use a transistor device like a Boss DS-2, you need to have close to full power going through the tubes. And unless there's some sort of power soaking going on, it's gonna be loud!

CianRyan

OK-Cancel-Apply wrote: »

Yeah I just meant for a distorted tone. Unless you want to use a transistor device like a Boss DS-2, you need to have close to full power going through the tubes. And unless there's some sort of power soaking going on, it's gonna be loud!

True to some extent, but for example when i was testing out the Mesa/Boogie dual rectifier, i had it set somewhere between 2-3 and i was getting savage distorted tones from it, and it was too loud either, but as soon as you start turning it much passed that...

Well your looking at 150watts of power there... :rolleyes:

punchdrunk

THIS
http://www.thomann.de/ie/orange_ad5.htm


would be savage for the gaff!!

spoonbadger

CianRyan wrote: »

I wouldnt take a line6 spider# for free tbh, i hate them.
For modeling go for the VOX
But i would still highly recomend you stay on the look out for a second hand valve amp.
Much better than any modeling amp you are going to get.


Edit:
A few things going on adverts.ie
None of which or my adds btw.

Marshall JCM2000: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=79741&cat=16 (head only)
Engl Fireball: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=83643&cat=16 (head only)
Hughes and Kettner Trilogy: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=74269&cat=16 (head only)
Madison Divinity: http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=83634&cat=16 (head only/rare)

These are just the amps i know a thing or two about, there is others but you'll need to do a bit of searching.

Yeah cian, but those are all aimed at hard rock, metal etc. Depends on what the OP is looking for in an amp.

McMalley

I'd be mainly into hard rock but play loads of other stuff as well. That Marshall looks tempting.....

CianRyan

The marshall would be lovely, as the high end ones ussually are, haven't had the joy of testing it myself though, if you are bassed in dublin, you can try it our in music maker for sure.

Be warned though, you'll be looking at another €500 roughly for a second hand cab to go with, can't use the head with out the cab of course.

Edit:
Personally, if i had money id be buying that madison, in a heart beat.
There ae some vids on you tube, only one or two though, of what it sounds like.

Great for cleans and overdrive.

darrenw5094

The Orange would be very close to the Marshall, but can be just as expensive. But i would still like an Orange though........mmm........sweet.

Check out www.gak.co.uk for Marshall amps. They seem to be the most compeditive at the moment because of the weak £££.

Zangetsu

Get a Vox AD100VT is a great amp, one of my mates has one, cool sounds with lots of effects. If your going SS you can't do much worse!