Forgotten Amps

[Silence Kid]

Paging through old guitar magazines it's pretty interesting to see things that faded into obscure cultural memory - amps that were at one point somewhat known/around, which you just stopped hearing about. In particular wondering whatever happened to the below; any other examples?

-Marshall MA Series - Did these just die after six months and no one noticed/cared, or did these go back to their alternate timeline?

-Marshall Mode Four - I *do* remember seeing these, but Marshall had everyone who ever wore baggy jeans at some point pose with one in a magazine so they may not have penetrated as deep as I thought. Are they all in dumpsters now?

-Fender Metalhead - Ok, I may have only seen these in magazines

-Hughes & Kettner Warp 7 - I'm trying to remember why I even remember these; were they popular? I'm sure there are a lot of other 'nu-metal' amps that I've forgotten and would be shocked to remember

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Forgotten Amps

These probably didn’t sell well and were therefore discontinued. I’m not familiar with most of them.


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[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Forgotten Amps

I don't remember the Marshall MA series.

I do remember ads for the Mode Four with the System of a Down guy, and maybe one with the Sum 41 lead player.

One of the local shops that's since gone to hell had a Metalhead in stock. Never tried it.

The Warp 7 ad was awesome... looked like a poster from Hot Topic.

I listen to Shane Theriot's podcast The Riff Raff. He interviewed Dweezil Zappa, and they talked about Shane winning a GP contest for a Peavey Wiggy amp (designed by Dweezil) about 15 or so years ago. I immediately remembered the weido art deco Wiggy ads.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Forgotten Amps

I had a rehearsal last week at a pay by the session rehearsal/backline facility because I was playing with a fill in drummer in another town, so we did a rehearsal in that town before the gig.

At the facility they had a selection of amps, drums etc etc to chose from, and they had maybe a dozen maybe more of a Marshall MG series head? I've never heard of or used them, nor did I pick them on that night.

I guess the Marshall MG is not forgotten, considering I've never heard of it....

but I went with the Orange OR for the rehearsal and a Fender Twin for the gig.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Forgotten Amps

MGs are a pretty notorious 'first amp,' I don't think I've ever heard anyone say a good thing about one but there are actually demos floating on YouTube that sound pretty good/acceptable (in general hooked up to a better cab.) I think they still make them, at least smaller ones for use as pack-in amps etc.

The MA was (correct me if I'm wrong) the first foreign-made tube Marshall in ~2009 ? But I guess a couple years later they moved more of their production that way, so it might have become sort of redundant.

 

[devastone]

Re: Forgotten Amps

Weren't the MA series their first try at a cheap MIC tube amp?

I guess the Marshall MG is not forgotten, considering I've never heard of it....

but I went with the Orange OR for the rehearsal and a Fender Twin for the gig.

Good choice, I had to use a borrowed MG combo once back in the early 90s(?), there is a reason they should be forgotten.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Forgotten Amps

Weren't the MA series their first try at a cheap MIC tube amp?



Good choice, I had to use a borrowed MG combo once back in the early 90s(?), there is a reason they should be forgotten.

One look at the back of it, and I was skeptical.... :lmao:

 

[Jacew]

Re: Forgotten Amps

I recall seeing Marshall MA in some worst tube amp list...?

My friend has MG. It sounds bad, but not as bad as Marshall tones on Mustang or Vox modelers, or any of the "cheap brands" I can remeber trying. I would definitely pick MG over micro cube. (But really I've never gotten deep with any of those. Maybe I just can't dial them in.)

I've seen Fender Metalheads in classifieds, really would like to try one out, just because

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Forgotten Amps

My guitar teacher keeps a Mustang 50 1x12" or such for students to use - It's on a different setting every time I plug in, but I really struggle to get it to sound anything like decent (doing so in two minute increments before our lessons keep in mind.) Seems like I miss a midrange control at the very least, and the bass is just boomy as hell in a way that isn't really even guitar-like; really un-balanced.

I had one of the Vox modelers over a decade ago (AD30VT,) I remember it not seeming bad for the day (vs. say a contemporary Spider) but I eventually became dissatisfied with the sounds; it also became sketchy as far as operation, so sold it to a friend with that caveat. I did mostly use the Marshall/blackface models on that, though...

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Forgotten Amps

I guess the Marshall MG is not forgotten, considering I've never heard of it....

I did a gig where we used one of the other bands amps. The guitarist had an MG100HDFX. I thought it was a truly dreadful sounding amp.


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[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Forgotten Amps

My friend has MG. It sounds bad, but not as bad as Marshall tones on Mustang or Vox modelers...

I had a Vox VT80+. That has a great Marshall patch. Several actually.

That was the main patch I used most of the time!



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[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Forgotten Amps

I used to have a Marshall Mode Four. I wouldn't say it's the best amp ever, but it wasn't as bad as everyone used to say. It was just a Valvestate with TONS of bottom-end. It wasn't even THAT loud for 350W (my 20W Krank could very well keep up with it), but it did have a lot of unuseable bottom-end. Keeping the bass knob in check mostly took care of it, though. But yeah, for a solid state, they were way overpriced when they were new.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Forgotten Amps

I did a gig where we used one of the other bands amps. The guitarist had an MG100HDFX. I thought it was a truly dreadful sounding amp.


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Honestly, since they literally had more than a Dozen stacked in the hallway and several in the rehearsal rooms I was super suspicious from the get go. All told I'm guessing they had 16-20 in the place -and they all looked new.

DOn't get me wrong, for a rehearsal space, it makes A LOT of sense to have lots of Solid State gear -as most decriminating players bring their own gear, but I was on a Fly in gig where the club was providing a Twin -SO at the rehearsal space I had Pedalboard/Guitar only -so I was at their mercy

Nobody has that many of an single type of amp I've never heard of unless they bought them all in a single fire sale lot -which means they probably blow.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Forgotten Amps

H&K Warp 7 ads always had a dude with a couple dozen earrings and a goatee at least a foot long rocking out with a pointy guitar. I remember thinking that I wouldn't buy weed from the guy, let alone take his advice on amp sounds.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Forgotten Amps

How about the only decent Crate amp I can recall, the Blue Voodoo. -but that's because it was designed by Ampeg and probably can be considered a rebadged Ampeg after Crate/St Louis Music Bought them in the 80s..

Also, while Marty Friedman used them for the power section of his live rig, to my knowledge it was never his "A" amp for the pre section or used in the studio. -still though pretty good amp.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Forgotten Amps

knew a few guys with mode four heads but theyve all blown up by this point

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Forgotten Amps

What about the line 6/bogner ones?

I remember trying the MA series and hating it! Preamp sound was so... Rough. Unrefined.
Perhaps if you cranked the snot out of it the el34s would smooth it out leaving you with a perfectly buzzy tone...

I remember when fender came out with the Cyber Twin and thought it was the future of amps.
But the only hybrid fender I see that really caught on was the super champ XD/x2. The deluxe VM they made that was like a bigger super champ never even took off. I heard it had QC issues?

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Forgotten Amps

What about the line 6/bogner ones?

I remember trying the MA series and hating it! Preamp sound was so... Rough. Unrefined.
Perhaps if you cranked the snot out of it the el34s would smooth it out leaving you with a perfectly buzzy tone...

I remember when fender came out with the Cyber Twin and thought it was the future of amps.
But the only hybrid fender I see that really caught on was the super champ XD/x2. The deluxe VM they made that was like a bigger super champ never even took off. I heard it had QC issues?

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Forgotten Amps

DOn't get me wrong, for a rehearsal space, it makes A LOT of sense to have lots of Solid State gear l

Most of the rehearsal studios in NYC have JCM 800s or 900s.

I don’t mind solid state or modeling amps, I use a Code 100 combo. But that MG amp was just cheesy sounding. Even with all the effects turned off it was brittle sounding.


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[Cdwillis]

Re: Forgotten Amps

How about the only decent Crate amp I can recall, the Blue Voodoo. -but that's because it was designed by Ampeg and probably can be considered a rebadged Ampeg after Crate/St Louis Music Bought them in the 80s..

Also, while Marty Friedman used them for the power section of his live rig, to my knowledge it was never his "A" amp for the pre section or used in the studio. -still though pretty good amp.

Sammy Hagar had a signature Red Voodoo, which as far as I ever knew was just a rebadged BV in red. A friend of mine had a blue voodoo back in the day and it was a great sounding amp. It was nothing like the crappy solid state Crate combos I had heard. Another friend of mine still has a Crate Palomino tube combo. At one point Billy Gibbons was messing around with those in the ZZ Top backline.