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I think Marshalls are the best sounding amps that I hate playing through! That's why I own a Mesa.
There are some great sounds out of every amp, and in the hands of the right player, could make you want to go out and buy one. Slash on a Gibby/Marshall made me run to GC. I walked out with a Strat and later a Mesa.
 
The Deizel is actaully cheaper here in Australia than the RoadKing.

The Herbert and VH4 is $7120 and VH4s is $7620. The Roadking is $7795.

Sanchez
 
Well, Idon't know what you guys are doing right, but I'd have to play a shitload of shows at the places I've been, to afford a Diezel....
Also, I really don't see the huge following a JCM800 has... It is a great foundation for tone, but I can't think of too many guys that would play it out of the box... Without a good overdrive or distortion, or mod, I think it's kinda "plinky".
Now, I know alot of guys playing Mesa's with NO effects.
I'm quite sure that, in any given style or tone, my mark III will chew up, and spit out a JCM800, even if the Marshall is driven with a pedal...
I can't comment on the Diezel, Uberschall, or Ecstacy, as I've never played through them, but Mesa now seems to fill every need in the tone gammut with one amp or another...
anyways...
ax. :twisted:
 
I like the JTM 45, the Plexi, and the JCM 800. That's pretty much it for me as far as Marshalls go. Everything else I have heard did not impress me.

That being said, there are a number of amp builders who do their own take on the hot-rodded Marshall theme (Soldano, Aiken, Germino, Mojave, Splawn) that I really prefer over any current Mesa product.

I have owned the Road King and still own an F-30, but I went with a Splawn Pro Mod and Splawn 4x12 cab for my live rig and haven't looked back. Nothing against Mesa - I've just found my tone someplace else.
 
my jmp is a raw brute of a thing. it has a growl that i've never heard with any other amp. having said that, it suited me more 10 years ago. now, i'm in love with my 6l6 lonestar. raunchy, yes, but in a sophisticated way and with cleans the jmp can't match.
 
That's really the issue with Marshalls. They can get a good clean but the distortion is what really distinguishes the amp. The Marshall I tried (and LOVED!!!!) was the TSL122 2-12 combo. It was a BEAST!. But at $1995 not quite the bargain I was looking for. I'm pleased as punch with my ROV, partly because it cost me $800 used and partly because the amp is more versatile than the Marshall.

scotspine said:
my jmp is a raw brute of a thing. it has a growl that i've never heard with any other amp. having said that, it suited me more 10 years ago. now, i'm in love with my 6l6 lonestar. raunchy, yes, but in a sophisticated way and with cleans the jmp can't match.
 
TheRazMeister said:
That's really the issue with Marshalls. They can get a good clean but the distortion is what really distinguishes the amp. The Marshall I tried (and LOVED!!!!) was the TSL122 2-12 combo. It was a BEAST!. But at $1995 not quite the bargain I was looking for. I'm pleased as punch with my ROV, partly because it cost me $800 used and partly because the amp is more versatile than the Marshall.

scotspine said:
my jmp is a raw brute of a thing. it has a growl that i've never heard with any other amp. having said that, it suited me more 10 years ago. now, i'm in love with my 6l6 lonestar. raunchy, yes, but in a sophisticated way and with cleans the jmp can't match.

If you can get to guitarcenter for labor day, they are going to be 1500 or so
 
Thanks No Soul----I think :lol: . I can see it now "Honey, remember when I was confused about whether to get a Marshall or a Mesa...."

no soul said:
TheRazMeister said:
That's really the issue with Marshalls. They can get a good clean but the distortion is what really distinguishes the amp. The Marshall I tried (and LOVED!!!!) was the TSL122 2-12 combo. It was a BEAST!. But at $1995 not quite the bargain I was looking for. I'm pleased as punch with my ROV, partly because it cost me $800 used and partly because the amp is more versatile than the Marshall.

scotspine said:
my jmp is a raw brute of a thing. it has a growl that i've never heard with any other amp. having said that, it suited me more 10 years ago. now, i'm in love with my 6l6 lonestar. raunchy, yes, but in a sophisticated way and with cleans the jmp can't match.

If you can get to guitarcenter for labor day, they are going to be 1500 or so
 
Alright! I am looking forward to the Mark IV b. But if you think about, in a couple of years, the Mark IV c+ will be available! :)

patience young padawan.

j
 
j37nm said:
Alright! I am looking forward to the Mark IV b. But if you think about, in a couple of years, the Mark IV c+ will be available! :)

patience young padawan.

j

ha, that would be something.

You know, I bet Mesa could could just kick one or two things arround in the amp, and call it a C+ and people would go NUTS for it.
 
What's the difference between the different versions of the Mark IV?

A lot of trashing going on of Marshall. It is important to remember that
a.) JCM800 are way too trebly unless you have overwound pickups (e.g. Jacksons). Clip the bright cap and you're pretty much there.
b.) With the exception of the Studio 15 (and maybe a couple others) Marshall generally have their MVs before the phase splitter. This means that unless you have an antenuator or a post phase inverter MV installed, your not overdriving the power amp section. Marshall sound best when the whole amp is overdriven. Don't write off a Marshall unless you listened to it with the MV up all the way.
c.) Mesa's are mostly preamp distortion. It nice but different. My '73 Superlead into a '71 basketweave slays my Mark IV. The MarkIV is way more versatile, however. and the Superlead isn't leaving the house.
 
Rich M said:
What's the difference between the different versions of the Mark IV?

A lot of trashing going on of Marshall. It is important to remember that
a.) JCM800 are way too trebly unless you have overwound pickups (e.g. Jacksons). Clip the bright cap and you're pretty much there.
b.) With the exception of the Studio 15 (and maybe a couple others) Marshall generally have their MVs before the phase splitter. This means that unless you have an antenuator or a post phase inverter MV installed, your not overdriving the power amp section. Marshall sound best when the whole amp is overdriven. Don't write off a Marshall unless you listened to it with the MV up all the way.
c.) Mesa's are mostly preamp distortion. It nice but different. My '73 Superlead into a '71 basketweave slays my Mark IV. The MarkIV is way more versatile, however. and the Superlead isn't leaving the house.

Marshall's are interesting things. I ran a DSL 50 half-stack through it's paces at a Guitar Center a couple years ago. I tell you, I loved the first channel, from clean to mean, but I could not get excited about the second channel...my friend suspects it's due to the diode clipping that Marshall uses for it's modern high gain sounds. Maybe if you really cranked the MV it sounds better...we had it pretty loud, but not that loud.

Anyway, I'm soon to have a custom built 18W amp with a Plexi tone stack and a Marshall 18W power amp...I'm very interested in seeing how it performs. I've already bought a Weber MiniMass to use with it so I can really push the power amp hard.

But with my Mesa F50, pushing the power amp doesn't make a significant difference...the most notable difference in compression, which I don't like too much of. I like the F50, but I'm very interested in something that gets a lot of it's tone from the power tubes and hoping this little 18 watter will do it for me.
 

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