when will Marshall offer new gear?

[kevlar3000]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I think the HW line is absolutely crucial to the perception that this company can make the best of the best. It isn't just about making affordable amps for the masses, but it is about defining what makes Marshall great. Those vintage amps are the voice of rock and roll, Jimi, Jeff Beck, EVH, Clapton, Page are pretty good names to have on the classic tone roster. There absolutely is a high end market for these amps, if the 100 is done right ( why 69 specs and not 67??) there wll be a huge demand for these amps. I think purists feel that Marshall has abandoned the sounds that made them the legend they are. Smaller comanies have the luxury of just making a couple amps and having that be all they do, Marshall, Fender have tried with both success and failure to meet every need of every player. It has made for a lot of average amps with few gems floating around over the years. I don't expect Marshall to drop the huge market they command just to make one niche amp ( even though I wish they would in some regards) but the high end amp they make better be the best of the best. The 2000 line has not been that amp. Some good sounds, but for the high end player it is not the first on the list. The HW line has the potential to be that amp. There is not other amp co with that name on the cab. I am sure Mitch's job is mighty frustrating at times because your out here in the trenches . I appreciate your efforts to communicate, putting a person next to a product really helps to feel like the comany cares about its customers.

 

[TheArchitect]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I think its interesting people are critical of Marshall because their production models don't blow away the boutique stuff like Bogner. Why would anyone expect them to? As for the claim that Mesa and Bogner are making the best sounding stuff out their I would beg to differ concerning Mesa. I've tried everything they have when they came in to my dealer, and frankly I didn't think much of them. The stilleto for example was ungodly bright on one channel and complete mud on another. To be honest I don't think much of the DSL/TSL lines either. Sometime I wonder who is voicing these amps.

 

[Stratfan]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I'd love to see smaller, low-powered tube (not hybrid!) amps...production line, not hand-wired "boutique" amps. Fender has the Pro Jr., Blues Jr., and Hot Rod. Traynor has the new 15 and 40 watt amps out, and Peavey has the Classic 30. Marshall has no small tube amps out that I have seen. A little combo that can be cranked would be great; not everyone wants/needs a 50-100 watt combo or stack!

 

[JeffB]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I'd love to see smaller, low-powered tube (not hybrid!) amps...production line, not hand-wired "boutique" amps. Fender has the Pro Jr., Blues Jr., and Hot Rod. Traynor has the new 15 and 40 watt amps out, and Peavey has the Classic 30. Marshall has no small tube amps out that I have seen. A little combo that can be cranked would be great; not everyone wants/needs a 50-100 watt combo or stack!

Exactly. It's feast or famine...handwired high dollar amps, or "entry level" solid state for low wattage.

I've never really understood the whole Valvestate thing :shrug: The people who really want tubes know that "THE" tube sound is comprised of a hard driven set of power tubes along with a tube pre-amp. Those folks who just want/need an affordable amp that has the marshall type sound have the MG series.

I don't see why Marshall couldn't put out the equivalent of a Classic 30/Crate V series/Traynor in that 4-6 bills price range. 2 El84s, three 12ax7s, 12" speaker w/ a 3/4 closed back for a "stack sound", 20-30 watts or so. Single channel with a boost, FX loop and reverb..made in Korea/China/wherever the MG's are made. Offer a small 1x12 closed back cab too.

I'd be willing to bet they would sell the crap out of something like that.

 

[lex666]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I don't see why Marshall couldn't put out the equivalent of a Classic 30/Crate V series/Traynor in that 4-6 bills price range. 2 El84s, three 12ax7s, 12" speaker w/ a 3/4 closed back for a "stack sound", 20-30 watts or so. Single channel with a boost, FX loop and reverb..made in Korea/China/wherever the MG's are made. Offer a small 1x12 closed back cab too.

I'd be willing to bet they would sell the crap out of something like that.

Thats exactly what I'm looking for. If Marshall put out a small amp to fill this niche, they'd sell like hotcakes.

I'm really hoping Marshall will put out some really nice tube amps that are small and affordable. Fender and Peavy make some great small, all tube amps and they are very tempting, but I know that if I had bought one of them, I would have wished it had marshall tone.

Honestly, I don't care for the MG line. Me and my wife were at Sam Ash the other day trying out amps. I was shopping for a small, portable amp to take on trips and for jamming. Even my wife (who is no tone expert) could hear a noticeable difference between the MG30 and the AVT20. She used words like "harsh" and "unnatural" to describe the MG30. The AVT20 was much better than the MG30 in tone. If the AVT20 wasn't so big (I already have a VS65R thats just about the same sixe) I would have bought it.

If Marshall put out something that was small and all tube, i think everyone would line up to get one. They've got enough BIG stuff to satisfy the masses.

 

[Imp]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

i think a lot of people are looking for simplicity as well, the DSLs and TSLs have too much stuff very few people actively use - 'deep' 'tone shift', that stuff..

taking it a step further, i guess, i would like to see a £300-£600 single channel 20w-40w amp. based on EL34s. almost like fender's blues junior i guess, but a platform for an awesome marshall tone... the DSL 401 is the closest thing still in production (which i currently own), but the EL84s add a fizziness to the OD channels.. also, i had it replaced under warranty because a solder joint failed.. those beasties need fans :burnout:

sorry about the long post, i love the 600s, 800s, 900s, and everything that came before it.. if marshall wants its home market back, it needs more low=power all valve stuff!

tom

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I agree with the reliability/component factor. I got my 2500 a year ago and although I loved the tone I really hated all the frequent failures, pops, volume drops, bass losses etc. My amp guru did a $50 worth of component upgrade (pots, some resistors, caps and re-soldered the whole thing hard) in 2004 summer and WOW the baby kicks a$$ considering both tone and reliability. I just wonder if mere $50 worth of components (non-discount-priced as big companies like Marshall get the things...) upgrade and a little care could save my amp from getting rid of it and make this lil' 50watter such a military-grade survivor on our autumn tour that everything failed only this amp kept on working - how could the (anway, great sounding) $1000+++ TSL heads of 4 (!) different guys I know produce such a rhapsodic reliability that 3 got fed up and sold them? One bought back his JCM800, one bought some KMD or what amp and the third guy plays through a 5150 Peavey.

MG, Valvestate, AVT, MF: these amps are pretty far from anything 'vintage' or 'sweet'. If you like a rude, quick, instant deep biting, modern 'space-age' yet defined hi-gain sound you can feel pleasant playing through them.

I really dig 50W (2xEL34) Marshalls. They have less volume (still enough to tear any head off sitting on a full stack) than a 100watter but them twin tubes begin to break up earlier and for me there is nothing sweeter than a lump of rude raw tube power amp distortion I don't know the possible marketing operations of the future but more of that dual EL34 pickle cookers would be pretty nice.

 

[54stratlover]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

Mitch,

Welcome to our humble forum. I would like to congradulate you on the re-birth of the handwired series. I would also like to congradulate you on marshalls obviously friendly marketing. (unlike some of the other bigger companies). I have seen 2 stores in my area pick up the marshall line since NAMM. Great job. I haven't yet seen the 20 watt or the 18 watt, but hope to soon. (3 dealers have them ordered and are waiting there arrival.) I would live to see a multi channel valve amp, preferably handwired, that truly achieves the plexi, and 800 tones, with power reduction capability100/50/25. Kind of like the jubilee. Also valve amps in the 30 and 50 watt range.

Craig

 

[54stratlover]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I would also agree that the 30, and 50 watt combos with great marshall sound and quality construction would be a must have for me. I don't mind circuit boards as long as the construction is quality. Preferably, like stated above without the tube sockets mounted to the board, and good trannies

 

[B2D]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I think its interesting people are critical of Marshall because their production models don't blow away the boutique stuff like Bogner. Why would anyone expect them to? As for the claim that Mesa and Bogner are making the best sounding stuff out their I would beg to differ concerning Mesa. I've tried everything they have when they came in to my dealer, and frankly I didn't think much of them. The stilleto for example was ungodly bright on one channel and complete mud on another. To be honest I don't think much of the DSL/TSL lines either. Sometime I wonder who is voicing these amps.

With Boogie... it's kind of hit or miss. I dislike the Dual and Triple Recs but I like my Rectoverb a lot. I LOVE the Stiletto, the F-30 and the Maverick but dislike the F100 and Mark IV. Bogner... well you know what I'm talking about.

I'm not critical of Marshall because I expect them to be on par with Bogner. Those are two completely separate amps. The point I was making is that it does not have to be handwired to sound great, and that Bogner's amps are possibly the best out there right now and are PC-board based.

I would not plug into a DSL50 and expect to find an Ecstasy 101B... what I am trying to convey is that since the DSLs and TSLs were released the standards have been upped, the bar has been raised and I'd love to see Marshall make a comback with a really killer, well-built, high-quality, toneful amp that can be had for under $2k. Something to give an affordable alternative for people who can't afford new Bad Cats, Bogners, Buddas, or the handwired stuff. It doesn't have to wash your dishes and bring you a beer, but it'd be nice to get more bang for the buck!

I hope that kinda clarified things.

i think a lot of people are looking for simplicity as well, the DSLs and TSLs have too much stuff very few people actively use - 'deep' 'tone shift', that stuff..

That's funny... I use those all the time when i try the amps in the stores or borrow them for gigs! I think the options on there are just fine. You should try nagivating a Road King or an Ecstasy or a MkIV, those amps have enough options to kill a rhino and fly a small aircraft. I tend not to prefer bare-bones amps (WTF is up with some of these boutique amps that cost in excess of $2k and have 2 knobs on them?!?!) and I don't like having to read a manual to turn the thing on... a compromise lies between the two.

 

[y2stevo]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

With Boogie... it's kind of hit or miss. I dislike the Dual and Triple Recs but I like my Rectoverb a lot. I LOVE the Stiletto, the F-30 and the Maverick but dislike the F100 and Mark IV. Bogner... well you know what I'm talking about.

I'm not critical of Marshall because I expect them to be on par with Bogner. Those are two completely separate amps. The point I was making is that it does not have to be handwired to sound great, and that Bogner's amps are possibly the best out there right now and are PC-board based.

I would not plug into a DSL50 and expect to find an Ecstasy 101B... what I am trying to convey is that since the DSLs and TSLs were released the standards have been upped, the bar has been raised and I'd love to see Marshall make a comback with a really killer, well-built, high-quality, toneful amp that can be had for under $2k. Something to give an affordable alternative for people who can't afford new Bad Cats, Bogners, Buddas, or the handwired stuff. It doesn't have to wash your dishes and bring you a beer, but it'd be nice to get more bang for the buck!

I hope that kinda clarified things.



That's funny... I use those all the time when i try the amps in the stores or borrow them for gigs! I think the options on there are just fine. You should try nagivating a Road King or an Ecstasy or a MkIV, those amps have enough options to kill a rhino and fly a small aircraft. I tend not to prefer bare-bones amps (WTF is up with some of these boutique amps that cost in excess of $2k and have 2 knobs on them?!?!) and I don't like having to read a manual to turn the thing on... a compromise lies between the two.

Couldn't have said it any better :headbang:

 

[Closed Eye]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I have an MG100DFX, and I honestly dont see what people are whining about...They are much better than any other SS amp I have played, tenfold. Yes, they could have scrapped the whole built in effects idea because they actually take away from what the amp COULD be. Instead of investing in development for the DFX, maybe they could have put a slightly better speaker, or maybe work on the fan a little. But Still....the amps really arent that bad. If you use them for downtuned riffs, or just some heavy rythms they are pretty good at what they do. They arent built for the stage, and they arent gonna sparkle like a fender on cleans... but they are definitely usefull amps for the price. Loud enough at 100 watts to piss of your neighbours, and also quiet enough not to wake anyone in your own house. Whens the last time you tried playing at 11:00pm with a Diezel or Engl halfstack without waking anyone up?

I agree about the DFX, but I can't really say "scrape the idea" completely because I've found a perfectly useable chorus setting that I use for boosts and for kicking the the clean channel up a notch. I've tried to buy a chorus pedal, or use the choruses on my MM-4, but I can't seem to find the right sound. I think they mainly did that DFX thing in response to all those budget

Crate amps and the Line 6 Spider's with the onboard DFX, I mean, geez, if you're just buying a new amp and you don't got a lot of money you'd want built in effects to mess with, right?

While the Spider's and Crate's are, in my opinion, completely differant (and somewhat inferior) beasts than the Marshall, the market for dirt-cheap amps is quite competative...so I guess Marshall had to step up to plate.

Anyway, yeah, I've tweaked and retweaked the 250 dozens of times and have come up with gobs of excellent tones. And you're so right about the the volume thing too! I just kick the master up all the way and use the channel volume to control the overall volume, and I get great tones without killing my ears. But yeah, most people who own these things and sell them have no idea that you need to do the master/channel volume dance to get a workable canvas.

I really do like the MG100DFX, and have considered picking one up, but then I reconsidered for the very reason (not enough live volume) you mentioned.

 

[Imp]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

i agree, but im sticking up for the JCM 800 mostly here

road king, ecstacy and MKIV are all 'boutique' (yep, i consider MKiv as boutique ).. again, i've only seen one in-the-flesh road king in my entire life (chandler guitars in UK) and bogners when i saw thursday live in concert... the market for these sort of amps is a lot smaller..

compare with most rehearsal room companies... any one worth it's salt will give you the choice of at least one valve amp - and in my experience its usually a JCM of some sort (sometimes a 5150)... theyre total workhorses! theyre universally accepted currency! lol i just wish you could buy a new JCM 800 without going custom shop/handwired... the used market is busting a nut for these sorts of amplifiers.

and yeah, i've read up on all the EU regulations about it, and they suck.. not marshall's fault though - i'd take any amp that sounds and responds like a JCM 800, i don't care if its handwired, PCB mounted or tied together with string lol - as long as its in my financial reach!

tom

 

[twoheadedboy]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I agree. Marshall needs to put out a cheap, SIMPLE good quality all tube 1x12 combo at a low price. 1 channel even. Just basic plexi-esque rock tone in a reliable box. $800US max. There is a HUGE market for something like that right now, and Marshall is ignoring it with all the solidstate bull****.

 

[lex666]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I agree. Marshall needs to put out a cheap, SIMPLE good quality all tube 1x12 combo at a low price. 1 channel even. Just basic plexi-esque rock tone in a reliable box. $800US max. There is a HUGE market for something like that right now, and Marshall is ignoring it with all the solidstate bull****.

Why'd they discontinue the DSL201? I think this was a 20 watt tuber with a 12" speaker. Bring that back or something better. I'd even like to see a 10-20 watts with a 10" speaker for traveling and/or bedroom jamming.

 

[twoheadedboy]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I believe they discontinued it because it sounded like mung.

 

[Neeradj]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

Whens the last time you tried playing at 11:00pm with a Diezel or Engl halfstack without waking anyone up?

The week I got my ENGL actually
Please play an ENGL before you judge it, you meant well with your comparison but you're comparing apples and oranges bro. You simply can't compare a full tube 100W amp with a SS amp. I own a Marshall MG combo as well and I gotta tell ya, even though it's at low volume when I play the ENGL it still beats the heck out of the MG and adds a few mean kicks as well :dance: . The Diezel Herbert also sounds good at bedroom volumes (but prolly not bedtime volumes lol), something one wouldn't expect with it's ability of becoming really loud and all. Anyway the ENGL can be played at night unless you're running it thru two 4x12 cabs :laugh2:

 

[Imp]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I believe they discontinued it because it sounded like mung.

about right, EL84s are hardly the marshall sound

 

[Neeradj]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I've looked at it from both sides. Yeah Mitch is right though, if Marshall had continued the JCM800 amps they just wouldn't sell. In fact the JCM800 didn't really get any serious attention until the late 90's again I believe. Back in the 80's there'd be a cheap JCM800 on every corner of the street, cuz they sold for laughable prices second hand back then and people didn't really want the amp any more.

I also agree with Skarekrough's post on the first page saying every player needs to make the mistake by owning a Marshall. Last year I was looking into getting a new high gain head and Marshall being a huge name and all caught my attention. Also the players I listened to seemed to be using Marshalls (modded, but that was something I was to find out later). So I tried the DSL50 and I was disappointed, I spend like an hour with that amp and didn't like it at all! So after that I took the risk and got myself an old JCM800 2210. It just seemed to be screaming for a pedal and also sounded harsh at lower volumes, one really needs to crank that amp. After that I tried a few others including Valvestates and such but it never seemed to get any better than the JCM800. So I decided the Marshall tone wasn't for me and looked into other brands which was probably the best thing I could've done. Marshall was an experience I needed to witness for myself but not a keeper, although I am hoping to own a hot rodded Plexi one day because of it's great bottom end

 

[BigBazz]

Re: when will Marshall offer new gear?

I have to say something, a lot of people have said about the avt amps not being that good, but i think that there isnt an amp in the same price range that can touch them, i have an avt150 and when i went to buy a new amp i tried a Tsl and i prefered my avt150, it had a much warmer and thicker sound, eventually i decided to get something different to go alongside my avt150 so i got peavey 5150. but i will say that i am definutly a happy owner and lover of my Marshall Avt150 ive had it since 2001 and it still works perfect and still sounds great. i will be buying another marshall in the future