NAD

[Metal89]

It was bound to happen. Started with a Jackson, then EMG’s... this was just the logical next step.

A Marshall mg100hdfx head with pedal for switching channels and such (the pedal I just have tucked in the back)

Went into guitar center to get some string cleaner and I saw this for 100 bucks. I asked if there was anything wrong with it, they said no. I tried it out with an LTD with active emg’s (trying to imitate my Jackson) and the employee tweaked the knobs to a useable lead tone.

Now I know these get a lot of hate, I have heard very opposite ends of the spectrums for these from they are total trash to these are fantastic for being so cheap. I don’t know how much these went for new but online I see anywhere from $200 to $300 for these so I felt like it was a steal for something to play around with.

A lot of people that have positive things to say about it claim the hate comes from people that plug it into cheap cabs, don’t know how to dial a tone, and completely against solid state.

I don’t know. Tomorrow I may see what it sounds like through my 2x12

 

[Thatbastarddon]

Congratulations!
I played with another guitarist that really liked his older 2x12 combo version, similar to that series.
I think it was just the mg100fx...but I wasn’t paying much attention to the labels.

 

[Metal89]

I honestly wasn’t looking at the specific model too hard when buying it. Just saw MG100, saw all the knobs, saw it was 100 watts and marked at $100 so I figured that I’m paying a dollar per watt LOL.

I’m considering getting a few more cables, plugging into my 2x12 and then connecting the rig to my guitar port via the emulated out. Seeing what tones I can get for that for recording purposes. So far I read that it’s crap for that but who knows. As long as I have a cab plugged in, can’t do any harm in trying.

 

[eSGEe]

I had one --- LOVED it but it was TOO much amp for my needs
MIne came without a cabinet------- so I made a HOLDER for it

 

[Metal89]

Awesome!!! Got a nice chug out of it for rhythm? Didn’t play around with it too much myself, didn’t have a pick and I asked twice to borrow one but I think the guy was hearing inpared. So I ran through a few moderately fast runs I could do picking with my thumb and some tapping.

 

[RobV]

I hear hate for SS Marshalls all the time but when we see local bands at various places I see them in action and they sound decent. Can't beat that for $100 IMO!

 

[Metal89]

Yea when it comes to solid state vs tubes, I’m the same with that and active pups vs passives. As long as I can get a tone I like out of it it’s all good in my book.

And I’ve done a whole lot worse for 100 bucks for an amp. I still shudder at the Zoom Fire 15 I had that was around 125-150 for a 15 watt with over 200 effects... when I look back on that, the tone was objectively terrible...but that was when I was 13-17. And that was pretty much my only option for a long while.

Basically I feel like I damn near stole the thing when Guitar center was just trying to get rid of it.

 

[Tony M.]

Gratz on the amplifier.
Nothin' wrong with solid state amps.
I gigged with a Roland JC 77 for many years.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

It was bound to happen. Started with a Jackson, then EMG’s... this was just the logical next step.

A Marshall mg100hdfx head with pedal for switching channels and such (the pedal I just have tucked in the back)

Went into guitar center to get some string cleaner and I saw this for 100 bucks. I asked if there was anything wrong with it, they said no. I tried it out with an LTD with active emg’s (trying to imitate my Jackson) and the employee tweaked the knobs to a useable lead tone.

Now I know these get a lot of hate, I have heard very opposite ends of the spectrums for these from they are total trash to these are fantastic for being so cheap. I don’t know how much these went for new but online I see anywhere from $200 to $300 for these so I felt like it was a steal for something to play around with.

A lot of people that have positive things to say about it claim the hate comes from people that plug it into cheap cabs, don’t know how to dial a tone, and completely against solid state.

I don’t know. Tomorrow I may see what it sounds like through my 2x12

Looks like a lot of fun and a lot of noise!

Congrats on the new beastie - I'm interested to see what you think of it - there's a lot of options for close to zero $$$, so if it sounds good then you've had a great result.

 

[Metal89]

As soon as I get a chance to sit down and test it out, I’ll let you know for sure. My hopes it’s an amp I can plug directly in, get a nice 80’s chainsaw sound, and just use the pedal to switch between the clean and overdrive channel. If at least the reverb is useable then that would be a plus!

 

[Inspector #20]

I honestly wasn’t looking at the specific model too hard when buying it. Just saw MG100, saw all the knobs, saw it was 100 watts and marked at $100 so I figured that I’m paying a dollar per watt LOL.

I’m considering getting a few more cables, plugging into my 2x12 and then connecting the rig to my guitar port via the emulated out. Seeing what tones I can get for that for recording purposes. So far I read that it’s crap for that but who knows. As long as I have a cab plugged in, can’t do any harm in trying.

I think it will surprise you!

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I have terrible memories of the MG series 30 or so years ago, just a little 10w. But, I've read a lot of +ves about them over the last decade or two, so I suspect they are decent to good.

 

[Metal89]

I don’t have any experience with them. Most of mine is with vox or orange amps but I have heard a lot of bad things about the MG series. But did a lot of reading up on this particular head. A lot of reviews I’m seeing are either “meh” to “awesome!” Few people on other forums saying most of the hate is from the combo where they put a crappy speaker in it. I mean it sounded pretty decent plugged in through the 4x10 Marshall cab that I tried it out on... even though I had to pick with my thumb because it didn’t register in the employee’s head I asked if I could borrow a pick twice but... such is life..

I’m really interested in what it’s going to sound like through my VHT Chromeback speakers.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

So..., I changed the pickups in the Epi LP special and a huge improvement. I also had a bone nut put in, EB 9-46s put on, had a heavier tailpiece put on and had it professionally set up - cost $75 all in, but at least the guitar functions perfectly now.



Bare Knuckle Nantucket in the neck - it's only 7.6k, but a lot pokier than the Epi pickups; obviously a lot more articulate and precise, quite dark, so I had to bring the tilt knob around on the amp towards the more trebbly side. If I turn the tone right down then you have a really different sound - huge range through the tone knob, and the volume knob too.

Peter Florence Voodoo P90 in the bridge, 10k-ish, but articulate and sweet, can get quite honky when there's gain in the amp. I rolled the treble down a bit too.

A big improvement over the stock pickups (and my crappy setup...) huge range of sounds available now. Decided to go with the zebra pickups, as this will be a punkier, beater guitar that should, over time, become very comfortable and worn in.

I had to take a lot of volume and gain out of the amp with these pickups, and they're darker too hence I changed the tilt position.



Right, time to put in a tad of reverb and delay then irritate the wife with my scales...

 

[Mr Grumpy]

&, good news is that the MG30gfx I ordered over a month ago has finally turned up at Korean customs and will be delivered on Monday. Even better, the wife was in a rather good mood today, so I slipped that little gem into the conversation, and she was fine with it...

I'm looking forward to comparing the tube amp with the ss, and also comparing the ss onboard effects with the pedals I've bought.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I’m really interested in what it’s going to sound like through my VHT Chromeback speakers.

I'm optimistic that you'll get a pleasant surprise.

I suspect that the 10/15w MGs of many years are nothing like the current/recent MG range, especially the bigger stuff like yours which let's face it... many folks gig with very successfully.

 

[Metal89]

Very nice axe! And yea, epi pups across the board are kinda dull to me. My Pelham blue les Paul custom Sg still has the stock epi pups in them. But then again, I tend to lean more towards hotter pups I’m finding. But the stock pups in recent epiphone are a whole lot better than what they used to be in the early 2000’s.

And I’m sure I’m going to get some very pleasant tones out of this head. I figure, worse case scenario is I find that the overdrive channel doesn’t quite do what I want and I’ll end up getting a distortion pedal to get that “oomph!” At the end of may. But that would be for lead tone.

I found a few months ago that a lot of heavy metal stars and even some in melodic death metal actually run their tone pretty clean to get their axes to cut through the mix and I’ve tried it myself with double tracking through an amp sim (gearbox from line6 Using what seems to be a dual rectifier model) and the rhythm tone is pretty damn heavy and with the emg’s cuts like a hot knife through butter.

So I’m suspecting it will be pretty easy to get this head to get a really nice rhythm tone. We’ll see if it gets the lead that I’m looking for or if it will need a little extra boost.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

And I’m sure I’m going to get some very pleasant tones out of this head. I figure, worse case scenario is I find that the overdrive channel doesn’t quite do what I want and I’ll end up getting a distortion pedal to get that “oomph!” At the end of may. But that would be for lead tone... I found a few months ago that a lot of heavy metal stars and even some in melodic death metal actually run their tone pretty clean to get their axes to cut through the mix and I’ve tried it myself with double tracking through an amp sim (gearbox from line6 Using what seems to be a dual rectifier model) and the rhythm tone is pretty damn heavy and with the emg’s cuts like a hot knife through butter... So I’m suspecting it will be pretty easy to get this head to get a really nice rhythm tone. We’ll see if it gets the lead that I’m looking for or if it will need a little extra boost.

You'll have zero problems getting a variety of sounds, from nice cleans, to overdriven leads and some pretty heavy distortion from that head, imho. Now, if you get to put the volume up a bit then you're just get more...

 

[RVA]

So..., I changed the pickups in the Epi LP special and a huge improvement. I also had a bone nut put in, EB 9-46s put on, had a heavier tailpiece put on and had it professionally set up - cost $75 all in, but at least the guitar functions perfectly now.

View attachment 24546

Bare Knuckle Nantucket in the neck - it's only 7.6k, but a lot pokier than the Epi pickups; obviously a lot more articulate and precise, quite dark, so I had to bring the tilt knob around on the amp towards the more trebbly side. If I turn the tone right down then you have a really different sound - huge range through the tone knob, and the volume knob too.

Peter Florence Voodoo P90 in the bridge, 10k-ish, but articulate and sweet, can get quite honky when there's gain in the amp. I rolled the treble down a bit too.

A big improvement over the stock pickups (and my crappy setup...) huge range of sounds available now. Decided to go with the zebra pickups, as this will be a punkier, beater guitar that should, over time, become very comfortable and worn in.

I had to take a lot of volume and gain out of the amp with these pickups, and they're darker too hence I changed the tilt position.

View attachment 24547

Right, time to put in a tad of reverb and delay then irritate the wife with my scales...

$75 for all that is a steal. What does the tilt knob do?

 

[Mr Grumpy]

What does the tilt knob do?

I could give one of my rambling nonsensical (and wrong) explanations or just cutNpaste from the Marshall manual (where it's referred to 3 times):







It works very well, and gives a wide range of voices - you could practice at home with the tilt low to the left, then go to a band practice and just change the tilt to the middle or more to the right... Or, change pickup voices when they're darker, as I did.