marshall mg100 half stack

[Bluesman]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

I had 6 month ago.
Goods: Overdrive one is very good and sound like Marshall. FDD effect is great.
Bads : Overdrive 2 very noisy. Reverb is crapy.
The problem with Solidstate is that the effect pedals do not work fine and do not sound as good as they should.
I got a tube amp. now and I ain't never coming back to solidstate.
I loved the look of the halfstack MG though.

[A Skater]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

Tech21 SansAmp GT-2 is EXACTLY what a Behringer GMX has. BTW, I was going to get a MG but I heard so many problems with it. If I where you, just get a used half stack from somewhere. Try pawn shops as a start.

[drew_half_empty]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

that's bad advice

play tons of amps, every amp ever, anything you can get your hands on, try them with pedals, without them, every amp responds differently to pedals, and has different sounding gain

then pick out the one you like the most, and can afford via ebay or other used recourse

THEN look for it used

remember to try the amps at the volume you intend to use them. IMO if you're gigging, you try them at gigging volumes, they're more important than gigging ones, believe me, i learned that the hard way

let the store owners know you're serious about buying an amp, and tell them you need to try them at gigging volumes before you make a descision. I'd leave out the part where you intend to ebay it though. However, if you have $600, and the amp is $600, then buy it from the shop, it's a courtesy thing.

The fastest way for them to get you to buy an amp or leave, atleast with me, is for them to leave you alone, and let you do your thing

[Kac]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

I would never pay $600 for any marshall product that says MG
Must companies have good stuff and crappy stuff, to signify crappy stuff, Marshall puts on MG on it. I have owned a couple MG amps.. if you can get it real cheap then it mite do the trick for ya, i would go lower than $600 though
Rock On

[JeffB]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

I'd prolly recommend against it too, even though I'm a Marshall fan. The MG has a smooth distortion considering it is SS, but overall the sound is thin. I went to buy one at GC on Sunday and just couldn't pull the trigger. The older Marshall SS (from the 80s) are better.

If you want to go SS, look into a Randall or the Peavey transtube amps. A Bandit II combo and matching 2x12 peavey cab will run you about the same $-wise as the MG stack if not cheaper. Or take a look at the XXL combo which I'm looking hard at right now too for it's versatility and features like 3 channels with different voicings on each, variable power selection and speaker damping. The distortion is very smooth for SS, prolly the best I've heard.

Or you could look into one of the Vox Valvetronix amps. Closed backs for a stack type sound, and it sounds more like a Marshall tube amp than the MG or Valvestates do by far. I would recommend the 60 watter though. Seems the lower end combos may have some reliability issues. My 50 watt died within a month as did a friends 30 watter in a few days.

[Mr Wolf]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

The MG is good for the money, but if i wanted one for gigging i wouldnt go beyone a 2x12 combo. Id say if you want good tone, save up for a tube amp 2nd hand, unless you like the SS tone. I didnt think the mg was too bad sounding, but all the tube amps ive played were better.

[JimiHWannaBe]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

dont get one these things really dont sound good at all my friend has a full stack one and it sounds like nails on a blackboard get a nice 2X12 used combo

[Guitarist]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

Save your greens. If you're looking for a quality proffesional sounding Marshall half-stack, just save it and keep your eyes on eBay if you want a quick purchase.

The MG series is a mere excuse for bedroom practice. Not only will it sound thin compared to just about any other amp (notorious at high volumes), it's reliability issues are terrible. Fans, input jacks, you name it. And don't believe that this is a mere biased opinion or anything of the sort...I'm an owner of a MG100DFX combo. I like it for bedroom practice, but when I used to gig with it - I can't believe how careless I was about the tone. Steer away!

[skyydogg01]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

i will give you 2 options if you are not dead set on getting a marshall.

1. a Peavey XXL combo. 3 channels, 2X12, 25/50/100 watts (switchable), effects loop, reverb ... all for 600 new. this is the only peavey amp i thought about buying (not a fan of peavey). the 3 channels also have 3 modes each, which give you different voicings. a great amp for the money.

2. CRATE - people always forget about crate. their Flexwave 5 stuff is very good (the gx, gfx, glx, gtx, etc. series). i've had one for years and i love the tone. i've had people tell me that they can't believe the sound i was getting was from a crate solid state amp. you can get a half stack, new, for around 600-700 bucks. 3 channels, some come with effects, some only reverb, built in tuner on some, and just great tone (IMO).

[Fiber-Optics]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

CRATE - people always forget about crate. their Flexwave 5 stuff is very good (the gx, gfx, glx, gtx, etc. series). i've had one for years and i love the tone. i've had people tell me that they can't believe the sound i was getting was from a crate solid state amp. you can get a half stack, new, for around 600-700 bucks. 3 channels, some come with effects, some only reverb, built in tuner on some, and just great tone (IMO).

+1 crate has been making alot of interesting amps lately. I love my V Series amp.

[That90'sGuy]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

A few things here:

*never buy new. Very few people hold onto their purchases for a long time, so make sure you get it at a price you can resell it at without losing too much money. My Hot Cat was a perfect example of this.

*people tend to think a full stack is better than a half, half stack is better than a combo, that's simply not the case in every situation. If you're gigging live in a huge place with no PA, a full stack is nice, but for the moderate gigger or bedroom application, no 4x12 is needed, I'd recommend a 2x10'' or 2x12'' myself.

*people like to buy more powerful amps than what are needed. Some people even go as far as to say that the more watts it puts out, the better that specific amp is and that's not the case. 30w simply sounds better than 60w in most general applications. Unless you are in the kind of band that can crank 24-7, stay away from anything over 50w. Of course, with solid state, 60w won't be near as loud as 60w tube power.

*Get a feel for the tone you like. Run searches on the net to find out what they use. Most importantly, try the equipment out before purchasing. I don't really do that and it usually ends up kicking me in the end.

Crate's flexwave stuff is pretty decent. With that said, $600 is WAY too much. The tube Blue Voodoo series stuff can be had for $350 or so. The solid state flexwave stuff should be around $200 or less, if you spend $600 on something like that you're really screwing yourself over.

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

If you only got 600 bucks to work with I'd scratch the MG100 halfstack idea and get a nice used tube combo off of Ebay. Perhaps a JCM900 or JCM800 1X12. If you go that route you can have a good tube amp to use for now and can always add a 4x12 cab to your setup later. As someone has already said, don't expect to get a tube sound with the Marshall MG100R cuz it won't happen. I used to own the MG80RCD and it was a decent amp, but these days I go for quality not quantity. So you just have to ask yourself one thing.... do you want quality or quantity? I just feel you could make better use of the 600 bucks you have to spend. I'd do it right the first time and get yourself a nice tube combo for the time being and get an extension cab later down the road when you come up with the extra cash.... Thats my opinion though...

[rombola]

Re: marshall mg100 half stack

i really really really wish i could afford this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...770824273&rd=1

just take a look