I agree. I picked up a Laney GH50L that is absolutely nasty with a boost. Aggressive AF.My personal opinion is the best metal amps are not metal amps. You find a good sounding rock amp and slam the front end of it and play fucking nasty. Most "metal" amps that i have played have trash tone.
This can often be the case, but I wouldn't choose them for some of the more modern styles. In particular the Naylor and JMP2203's with a boost can outdo imo many many metal ampsMy personal opinion is the best metal amps are not metal amps. You find a good sounding rock amp and slam the front end of it and play fucking nasty. Most "metal" amps that i have played have trash tone.
I am down for the boosted JMP. That is metal as fuck.This can often be the case, but I wouldn't choose them for some of the more modern styles. In particular the Naylor and JMP2203's with a boost can outdo imo many many metal amps
Interested in the Hybrid... I didn't know that was an option? Does it sound closer to the MTL or MC II?
Welcome to it. Just let us know when you get it. We all probably want to relive the first moment we got one. I am still in the honeymoon, lol.Ordered a 100W MCII. It was a hard decision.. I was really torn between that and the Hybrid. I hope I made the right choice!
Ultimately, I decided the MTL (and Hybrid which is same preamp section) were almost too saturated for my personal taste... to the point of sounding almost 'smooth.' The bigger "grains of sand," "saw teeth" or what have you in the gain structure of the MCII sounded... idk, more like my personal definition of aggression, I guess. That, and the upper-mid Marshall 'kerrang' was really important to me. (This is in no way meant to be disparaging of the MTL which I'm sure is beyond amazing and to many, the more aggressive amp). I have a 1983 JCM800 4104 that is the sound of rock in my head, and I am really hoping the MCII will be a fuller, clearer, over-the-top napalm-fueled version of that amp. I do think I will end up running it in the top 25% of its gain range, but there's always boosts if its not saturated enough...
Thanks you everyone for your help, I really appreciate it. Honored to be a member of the club!!!
MTL has more gain/saturation/depth broader low end
MC II marshally/hi watt/plexi high mids and very swirly harmonics that make it very fun to play. It wont sound like it has as much gain and saturation as the MTL, but like others mentioned, it does take boosts better.
Hitting the first chord is awesome. I suspect if he enjoys his MC he will come back for the MTL eventually to add to it hahaWelcome to it. Just let us know when you get it. We all probably want to relive the first moment we got one. I am still in the honeymoon, lol.
How is the character of the amp retained when being double boosted? Even if both boosts are true bypass and 100% clean, that just seems crazy to me for this type of amp. The noise has to be obnoxious when the amp is turned up. Not doubting that it sounds good, but wouldn't a cheaper option likely return very similar results when relying on pedals so much? Adding a sub on to that would destroy the house and wake my parents who are 60 miles away.
Very cool! I was never much into Engl, but maybe I'll give the savage a whirl.
Just got the Savage 120 yesterday and I see what you mean. It has a ton of balls on ch.4. Still messing with it and trying to learn the ins and outs of it.The Savage is killer. I've owned a bunch of Engl models and it's my favorite.
Just got the Savage 120 yesterday and I see what you mean. It has a ton of balls on ch.4. Still messing with it and trying to learn the ins and outs of it.
Now I want a Wizard even more....
Its a brand new MK2 model. I only had a short time on it but quickly realized I didn't need a boost whatsoever. I usually prefer a boost on everything but this may be the exception, haha.Nice! What year is it?
Gain and lead gain act together on lead 4 (can't remember if they work that way on other channels) and allow you to really tweak the gain structure/saturation. That amp is definitely in my top 5 and the only amp I ever owned where I didn't need a boost. For me it was the perfect attack and almost too tight and fast at times. The MCII is similar in that it has lots of upper mid grind, fast attack, but it isn't nearly as saturated without a boost. It's also much much more open/uncompressed/raw and has lots of harmonic content or bloom to the notes and chords.
+1My personal opinion is the best metal amps are not metal amps. You find a good sounding rock amp and slam the front end of it and play fucking nasty. Most "metal" amps that i have played have trash tone.