Monday, September 5, 2011

Marshall MG15DFX 15 Watt Guitar Amp with Digital FX Effects Review

Marshall MG15DFX 15 Watt Guitar Amp with Digital FX Effects
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This amp rocks. While only a meager 15 watts, it's LOUD at about the third mark on the volume control. It features an auxillary input for a CD to play to your favorite music, a custom FDD circuit (Frequency Dampening something or other), a headphone jack, a channel switch and 4 onboard effects with independent volume control.
The effects range from Reverb(echo), Delay, Chorus, Flanger, which can be quite fun. The FDD circuit, when engaged, emulates older tube amps without the weight and heavy current draw of the older amps (saves on the electric bill, lol).
Now for the downsides.
I love Marshall Amps, they are the top of British engineering and the loudest amps in the world, but this solid state falls short in some places that made it hard love this amp.
First off is the channel switching. A small black button on the front panel is kind of hard to access in my opinion. Many beginners would love to switch between them without having to stop and bend down in the middle of song just to switch them.
Second the channels themselves.The clean channel is very light, and I really mean you have to crank it past 3 just to get something playable. This can be compensated by adding reverb or another effect to boost the signal. Trying to add a distortion pedal on the clean setting is a bad idea, as comes out quite harsh with the sudden jump in volume. Overdrive is the opposite, you have to turn it down as it gets quite loud closer to 3, which is bad if you have crabby neighbors like I do.
Third is the effects area. All four effects are on one knob, and while it's ingenious to simple rotate the knob to control how long and how fast some effects work, it's a bit cumbersome to switch between to experiment or even mix them to get a new effect. Also, the volume setting for this section needs to be adjusted before adding them, as it can overwhelm your guitar signal to the point it doesn't exist, especially in overdrive. Best leave the volume for the effects at 5 for best use.
Fourth is the FDD circuit. Without it engaged, the whole amp sounds incredibly flat due to the odd harmonics inherent in transistors. If you really want that classic rock sound and some decent metal, leave this switch on.
Now the upsides.
In all, it kind of grows on you despite it's limitations. The delay setting makes some really freaky sounds when you bend the strings, almost as if your guitar were howling. A big plus is that it is quite lightweight and good for practice gigs. Compared to my older 100 watt Marshall tube combo which weighs a good 50+lbs, this little Marshall packs just as mean a punch in size that is easier on the back.
The Reverb is quite good even with full overdrive, though the chorus and flanger are nothing to sneeze at as they are almost identical in sound. Despite the drawbacks, this little amp can rock just as good as it's bigger brother.
In all it's my favorite to use when playing AC/DC because I don't have to add a lot effects pedals, which work better on the overdrive channel anyway. With a Wah-Wah engaged you can get some classic Hendrix-style riffs going that are phenomenal, so I can't knock it too much.
Most likely, the part I absolutely love about the amp is that fact you can set it and forget it. Even without the onboard effects on, all you really have to do is dial in your favorite tone setting and rock on without them. I prefer leaving it on the overdrive channel anyway and it's fun to noodle around the house with, where as the bigger amp would prompt a visit from the authorities (something about being too loud? I can't understand them over the funny ringing noise, lol.).
In all, I think despite it's downsides it still merits at least four stars as it's a really good amp for your up and coming metal head or classic rock guitar hero that's easier on the back and wallet. Plus it won't scare the neighbors, should your little brother decide to plug into his war games and play the tank mission on full volume. :)

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Two Channel 15 Watt Guitar Amp w/ Digital Effects this twin channel, 1x8" combo is the most affordable marshall to ever house digital effects (DFX). Its impressivearray of reverb, chorus, flange and delay effects are easy to dial-in and sound incredibly natural too. with itscd input, emulated headphone jack and emulated line out, this feature-laden package is hard to beat!Drawing on all the vast tonal experienceof the Marshall design team, theMarshall MG Series amplifiers are builtto the same exacting standards as allMarshall products. Utilizing new technologies, some of which were developed for our criticallyacclaimed AVT range, the new MGSeries raises the standard for what canbe expected from a value-for-moneyrange of guitar amplifiers and defines anew benchmark. Don't let their diminutive size fool youeither - each one delivers a dynamic yettoneful punch and they're all suitablefor a wide variety of purposes includingrehearsal, recording and even live work.from bedroom to stadium, there is amarshall mg model to suit your needs.

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