Advice Wanted re. First Wizard - MTL mkII or MCII

I just got done playing mine for a couple hours. Glip is right. Whichever one you get is gonna put a smile on your face. A lot of dynamics. With your pick attack, you can get from that crunch to mean if you want.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
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.
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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
 
jakeru19 said:
Interested in the Hybrid... I didn't know that was an option? Does it sound closer to the MTL or MC II?
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It is exactly in the middle. I thought that would be perfect for my Wizard tastes, but I found I missed the extra upper mid grind of the MCII. The Hybrid is bad fucking ass though.
 
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!!!
 
jakeru19 said:
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!!!
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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.
 
lessarti said:
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.
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The MTL does have more saturation and low end than the MCII...unless you double boost the MCII (this works amazingly well). At this point you get incredible saturation that feels juicy, greasy, and with just enough compression to make it so fun to play all while maintaining that articulate/open crunch.

The amp also still maintains that gnarly upper mid grind, the swirly harmonics you mentioned, and the speed in it's attack the MCII brings.

Finally, add an ISP powered sub, pump it through a full stack, and you now have an MCII with even more thunder in the lows....on par with the MTL or maybe even slightly deeper. That setup for me is the best of everything that is Wizard. I've been through six Wizards and this setup bests them am all for thrash and certain DM riffage.
 
Fordman65 said:
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. 😁
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Character of the amp is retained well IMO. Noise isn't an issue at all at the volumes I play (bedroom to small venue levels)...and that's playing 3-4 ft from the amp. I've flipped through 35+ amps and nothing has achieved the tone nor the feel of this setup. The only other amp that comes close with no boost is the Savage 120, but it's no where even close the the level of articulation, crunch, balls, and open/uncompressed gain structure.
 
Apex1Rg7X said:
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....😟😅
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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.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
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.
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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.

Maybe if I sell my Ultra Lead, I will just suck it up and save for a Wizard finally. Hard part would be deciding which one, even though I tend to gravitate towards modern tones, that being the MTL.
 
Smashedguitarist said:
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.
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+1

This is the truth. My modded Marshall by itself is bass heavy and doesn’t have anywhere near enough gain or sustain to do ozzy. Slam the front end with a hot boost and it turns into an animal that only gets better with more volume.
 
I like volume. I feel like at any given time, people on rig-talk are having two different conversations. When I am talking about an amp. I am talking about an amp at 103 dbs+, cuz unless I am fucking around early mornings when kids are sleeping, the amp fucking breathes. A loud boosted amp makes you feel like god. I am a fan.
 
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