New 2014 MCII. How do you guys dial it in? *pics*

Jofipe

Jofipe

New member
Brand new Wizard owner. I had no idea what to expect. MASSIVE is probably the best word to describe it. I'm questioning a little bit how to dial it in. The top end can be a little spiky.. is that cause of the diode clipping in the lead channel?


Once the MV is past 6 (insane volumes) the amp just takes off into tone heaven. Jesus fucking..., what depth and punch.

Does it have a 4th preamp tube on the lead channel, or is it pure diode clipping? In general how is it structured? Turning the MV up and down seems to change the tone quite allot, compared to some of the other modded plexi amps in the price range... like it's meant to be played LOUD with no considerence for the home playing guitarist.

Still getting used to the amp,. it certainly is a BEAST. Cant wait to play live with it. I'm running it through an attenuator now to make it deliver the goods.

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I believe the clipping is similar or the same to the Jubille with red leds. It is not classic diode clipping in the sense where you have compression and volume loss. Lead boost adds another gain stage. I have no issue dialing it in and it doesn't sound spiky at all. It's very sensitive to preamp tubes. I had a good buzz on my clean channel. Put a JJ in V2 and it's silent. For lower volume playing use the effects loop. Engage the loop, turn up the master and lower the return knob on the rear to lower the volume. The amp likes JJ tubes in V2, V3,V4, and V5 which is the loop. Not saying they sound the best but they don't sound bad at all in this amp. Power tubes make a bigger difference in the MC. Try turning that contour down to noon or less. Lead bright at noon. I prefer to hit mine with just a little bit of boost from an OD and keep the gain around noon or one o clock in boost mode.
 
Alright, thanks man.

I'm slowly getting used to the amp now. I came from a Golub Lead JMP, which is quite a warm sounded modded Marshall.
Gonna try and stick a Mullard in V1 also.. how's the preamp tube layout? from behind, left to tight like normal or?
 
congrats... beautiful amp with the small logo option! yeah, its powerful and meant to be played loud. The power section rounds out all those preamp frequencies when you get the volume on about 9 oclock on mine. No spikey tones at all. The push back and air is hilarious right? Different preamp tubes can create quite a difference in gain and tone in my experience. If you are coming off a dark amp then it will seem shocking to your system at first... then when you go back to your dark amp it will feel lifeless and dullish. There seems to be magic somewhere in those upper registers where the harmonics and little swirly things are happening... Ive never understood why some builders want to take this classic marshall characteristic away!
 
lespaul6":31bmqqvj said:
There seems to be magic somewhere in those upper registers where the harmonics and little swirly things are happening... Ive never understood why some builders want to take this classic marshall characteristic away!
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I completely agree. That's why I didn't like Friedman's or Mojave's. Still haven't tried the Bogner Helios or Reeves Super 78 yet though. Hopefully they still have that Marshall characteristic you're talking about.
 
Jofipe":3okd6q98 said:
Alright, thanks man.

I'm slowly getting used to the amp now. I came from a Golub Lead JMP, which is quite a warm sounded modded Marshall.
Gonna try and stick a Mullard in V1 also.. how's the preamp tube layout? from behind, left to tight like normal or?
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Left to right. I haven't figured it completely but from what I can tell V1 is obviously the input tube. V2 is clean channel boost maybe. V3 and V4 is lead and lead boost. V5 is the loop and V6 PI.
 
glip22":2a8dvmvm said:
Try turning that contour down to noon or less.
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What exactly is the contour control on the new MCII ? Always thought it was similar to the 'Bright' knob on the old Wizard metals, but this amp also has a 'Lead bright' (which is presumably like the Metal bright knob) in addition to this Contour, so it can't be the same.
 
lespaul6":13utblmb said:
There seems to be magic somewhere in those upper registers where the harmonics and little swirly things are happening... Ive never understood why some builders want to take this classic marshall characteristic away!
Click to expand...

+ 1 All that harmonic content sounds, well, exciting ! Amps that don't do this sound boring to me.
 
thegame":rmuk1rsm said:
glip22":rmuk1rsm said:
Try turning that contour down to noon or less.
Click to expand...

What exactly is the contour control on the new MCII ? Always thought it was similar to the 'Bright' knob on the old Wizard metals, but this amp also has a 'Lead bright' (which is presumably like the Metal bright knob) in addition to this Contour, so it can't be the same.
Click to expand...
From what I can tell it is a variable capacitance that works with the presence of the amp. The brights on the back seem to work with the NFB but I could be wrong.
 
glip22":3k5i13cs said:
thegame":3k5i13cs said:
glip22":3k5i13cs said:
Try turning that contour down to noon or less.
Click to expand...

What exactly is the contour control on the new MCII ? Always thought it was similar to the 'Bright' knob on the old Wizard metals, but this amp also has a 'Lead bright' (which is presumably like the Metal bright knob) in addition to this Contour, so it can't be the same.
Click to expand...
From what I can tell it is a variable capacitance that works with the presence of the amp. The brights on the back seem to work with the NFB but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Thanks. To elaborate a bit, does turning up the contour add highs ? Or is the 'off' position 0, and turning it up reduces, or should I say, sweetens and reshapes the highs due to the effects of capacitance, as you increase this knob ?
 
thegame":2h8tl4w1 said:
glip22":2h8tl4w1 said:
thegame":2h8tl4w1 said:
glip22":2h8tl4w1 said:
Try turning that contour down to noon or less.
Click to expand...

What exactly is the contour control on the new MCII ? Always thought it was similar to the 'Bright' knob on the old Wizard metals, but this amp also has a 'Lead bright' (which is presumably like the Metal bright knob) in addition to this Contour, so it can't be the same.
Click to expand...
From what I can tell it is a variable capacitance that works with the presence of the amp. The brights on the back seem to work with the NFB but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Thanks. To elaborate a bit, does turning up the contour add highs ? Or is the 'off' position 0, and turning it up reduces, or should I say, sweetens and reshapes the highs due to the effects of capacitance, as you increase this knob ?
Click to expand...
Yes. Turning it down seems to darken the amp. Turning it higher makes the amp brighter. It seems to add mids but a different mid freq than the mid knob. It gives you more tonal options to tweak and get your sound. On the other hand the amp is super easy to dial. The clean channel on the MCII is excellent. You can dial in your lead tone with the eq and then go to your cleans and it' s great. The clean tone is about the best I have heard on a channel switcher. Huge round low end. Thick mids. It's like Plexi meets Fender Twin with outstanding touch response. It's a great amp but not for all. It' s not compressed, even when boosted. A lot of guys like the squash for the fluid lead or riff tone/feel. The MCII will make you work a little but rewards you. To my ears the amp seems to have more power tube distortion than most which is why I think the tone is so big and complex. There is a ot of spread between the frequencies. I dig the MCII more than the early MCI I owned by a large margin.
 
braintheory":sf26urjt said:
glip22":sf26urjt said:
thegame":sf26urjt said:
glip22":sf26urjt said:
thegame":sf26urjt said:
glip22":sf26urjt said:
I dig the MCII more than the early MCI I owned by a large margin.
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How come? I thought the lead channels were supposed to be identical.
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They are the same circuit but not only is the OT different, the added features allow you to dial in the amp differently. My earlier MC was piercing. In a mix it may have sounded great but it was only meant for a larger venue, not a club or my basement. It really could not be dialed out. The volume went from off to on full tilt. The clean channel was also a little harsh. Not the MCII. The Rhythm boost changes the cleans on the II for more tonal options. The MCII has an excellent master. The one I owned was an earlier model. I hear the updated MCI's are different than those. There are a lot of the new Wizards in studios. Brett Chasen told me it's the best amp he has had in his studio. I think he has six of them now. From what I understand the Wizards are very popular in higher end studios.
 
I agree with Gary on the above... if you have a modern classic built from 2010 onward the master is more tapered than the earlier ones. Still very loud though! the clean channel on my M/C I's is outstanding.. best ive ever heard from a channel switcher. Its really like having two amps.. stock plexi for cleans and a modified plexi for rhythm and lead.

Rick describes the new V transformer as "smoother" modern and the C transformer as more vintage or van halen era tone. I have both the A transformer and the C transformers in mine and they both sound identical.
 
Yes, the amp is seriously in a class on it's own. Once you get to get used to it, those dynamics are very rewarding. Amazing tone and quality. I'v never witnessed an amp this sturdy and well build. Very oldschool sounding but with a punch that none of these other oldschool amps packs.
 
ubermetaldood":2kide4iz said:
That's awesome dude. Congratulations. I can't wait until I get one.
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Dude Wizards are in their own class. There is so much good stuff to mention too much good stuff.
Now I need a Wizard cab :doh:
 
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