Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

[schecterplayer]

I'm considering picking one of these up, have a line on a lightly used 50 Watt combo that is a great deal because it has a microphonic output tube. I'm curious what people think about them, to me it sounds a little anemic at low volumes, which is a shame, but really screams when you crank the master. I'm particularly curious about build quality and reliability because Marshall doesn't have the best reputation for that recently.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Haven't played one in a while, not since their first roll-out, and that was at the London Guitar Show. I thought it rocked!

 

[JeffB]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Totally dug the couple I have played. I think its the best amp they have done since the 800 series as far as new full size amps go (IOW, not including reissues). Pairing/designing them with Greenbacks is another big + :bigthumb:

IMO, it's not quite as quick and easy to dial in as a typical Marshall. You really need to find your general tone with the mid boost in/out and the two gain knobs, and then use the tone controls to do the final "sculpting".

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

I had a 50w Vintage Modern before settling down with my DSL 50, but I wish I had room to keep the VM. It's a great amp and sounded great for home practice and gigs. It wasn't the loudest 50w Marshall as I remember it. My 1987x 50 plexi and my DSL50 are both louder than the Vintage Modern I had. Still, I was able to dial in good headroom at maximum volume even though I use 50w speakers.

It's not an easy amp to dial in all the time. You walk a fine line between the settings on your amp and your pedal. I set mine up for a very clean tone and used my OD for the dirt, but it wasn't always ideal for different styles of music. However, whatever tone you dial in is awesome. I'd like to have one just for liquid Satch type lead tone.

 

[Uk Ant]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

The couple I've tried sounded awful. Really fizzy almost transistor like sound when you ramp up the gain a bit.
They really don't have any sweetness to the tone at all so really not for me.

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

I haven't played one but it's a Marshall I'm definitely interested in. Keep those opinions coming! :naughty:

 

[GLJazz]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Stupid question - how do these compare to the JVM's? Some of those sound really great on paper but it seems like not many have played them...

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

i owned one of the 50 watt heads for awhile. they are nice amps. the thing to keep in mind is they are designed to be used with greenbacks. when i bought mine i tried it through the matching cab and through one of the handwired 2x12's and it sounded great. when i got it home and plugged into my 4x12 with vintage 30's it sounded pretty bad. got real fizzy sounding.
i have thought a few times about getting another one. on a side note when i got it one of the guys who worked at the music store had brought in his older slash signature head to compare them. the VM is pretty close to a jubilee from what we were told by the marshall rep. just with different tubes and a few tweaks.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

The other guitarist in my band plays a JVM410H and I absolutely love it. I'd probably opt for a JMP out of sheer simplicity, but it's easily the best sounding Marshall made since the JCM800 days.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

I dig it. Played through the 50 watt head a few times and really got a long well with it. It does take some time to dial in with the interactive gain controls but it has that big roar sound to it. I want the combo.

 

[SirJackdeFuzz]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

I am also a VinatgeModen fan.

I got to plug into one not so long ago. The 2X12 combo.
I really LIKED that amo.
Hugely (((LOUD))) if need be, but also sounds very, very good at lower volumes.

Not even my 60's Tele sounded thin on this amp.
I am deff a fan of this Marshall.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

The combo seems to be fantastically touch sensitive, with the Master at 3 and both gains set around noon (with body set a bit lower than detail), I was able to summon decent cleans, crunchy rhythm, and some pretty overdriven solo tones just by adjusting the volume, pickup selection, and coil splitter. (Guitar was a semi-hollow tele with a SD-1 in neck, a Schecter custom single coil in the middle, and an SD tele bridge pickup) I thought it was pretty impressive, especially for an amp with stock tubes (the KT66s they ship with are apparently not the greatest, the local dealer said they got a lot coming back in with microphonic power tubes), I'm sure the tone could be improved a lot by a good pair of NOS valves.

- Edit, This was on low sensitivity with the mid-boost activated. With a different guitar with a SD JB bridge pickup, high sensitivity mode, and the EQ knobs dimed it pretty much nailed the JCM800 hot-rodded marshall lead tone to my ears. I also really like the purple, but that's not really a reason to buy an expensive amplifier... I think.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Robin Trower is playing them now, if that tells ya anything at all. They have to be good to go up there with him.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

I had a VM 100 watter and loved the tone. I thought it was fairly easy to dial in great tone. Very touch sensitive. Had one of the best clean sounds I've heard and I also loved the dirty sound. It's a single channel, but acts like a two channel. Not very loud for a 100 watter, but still too much for me. It sounded about as loud as a typical 50 watt tube amp. I assume that the 50 watter would be similar and sound like a 30 watter.

The 50 watt head is what I should have bought in the first place, and I would probably still have it today.

Great sounding and playing amp!!!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Just wanted to add that I ran the head through my Avatar Vintage 2x12 cab loaded with a Swamp Thang and a G12H 100. It sounded amazing!

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

The couple I've tried sounded awful. Really fizzy almost transistor like sound when you ramp up the gain a bit.
They really don't have any sweetness to the tone at all so really not for me.

I played a 50w head and 4X12 cab in Guitar Center soon after they came out. You have to tweak them a bit, but it was one of the best sounding Marshall's I've played. Once you figure out how to dial in the right tone, you're good to go. I would definitely get one if I was in the market for a new amp.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

I'm really considering it, it's between that and an AC30C2 which fits my style a little better (I like to keep my amp pretty clean/bright and push with pedals). That said, since the Marshall is used and has a rattly output tube I can get it for about the same price as the new Vox, and it is made in England (not china). The cleans are pretty solid too, so I'm pretty sure which direction I want to go. As long as you guys think it is a well-constructed amp I'm fine with not having a warranty.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Also, any recommendations for a good-quality KT66? Are the new manufacture ones any good or will I need to go NOS?

 

[glassman]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

to me it sounds a little anemic at low volumes

I have several VM player in the fold...all of them run 12AU7s in the phase inverter spot to thicken them up at lower volumes. Big, big difference.

 

[schecterplayer]

Re: Marshall Vintage Modern - Opinions?

Yeah, it's the purple one