Tell me about Wizard amps...

Wizards are killer…but if you can play a totally stock early 70s Superlead, you’ll then know where Rick got some of his inspiration from.
I had a 2010 MC100, great amp. Punched like no other…until I bought my 72 SuperTrem. I can only imagine the fury of running both the 72 and another 100w Wizard at the same time. Small mushroom cloud of sonic mayhem.
 
Wizards are killer…but if you can play a totally stock early 70s Superlead, you’ll then know where Rick got some of his inspiration from.
I had a 2010 MC100, great amp. Punched like no other…until I bought my 72 SuperTrem. I can only imagine the fury of running both the 72 and another 100w Wizard at the same time. Small mushroom cloud of sonic mayhem.
Have you tried some of the newer versions? I know that both the 2016 MTL I had and the MCII ‘16 I have now was very different from my old MCII and MC1 as well. :)
 
Wizards are killer…but if you can play a totally stock early 70s Superlead, you’ll then know where Rick got some of his inspiration from.
I had a 2010 MC100, great amp. Punched like no other…until I bought my 72 SuperTrem. I can only imagine the fury of running both the 72 and another 100w Wizard at the same time. Small mushroom cloud of sonic mayhem.
I would much rather instead try running my 72 with something like my Blueface, Rev 1 Uber or Beta vs using my 2016 MTL 100. Would unleash a bigger, more complete cloud lol. Let’s not hold back now with the sonic mayhem. What the Wizard has over the 72 is the heavier bottom end, growl and saturation, 72 has everything else, but those other 3 amps have all that stuff even more (much more actually imo), so much more complete to use that with the 72 over Wizard IMO and less overlap
 
I would much rather instead try running my 72 with something like my Blueface, Rev 1 Uber or Beta vs using my 2016 MTL 100. Would unleash a bigger, more complete cloud lol. Let’s not hold back now with the sonic mayhem. What the Wizard has over the 72 is the heavier bottom end, growl and saturation, 72 has everything else, but those other 3 amps have all that stuff even more (much more actually imo), so much more complete to use that with the 72 over Wizard IMO and less overlap
Well, some of us don’t have the pleasure of owning a one-off destructor like your Blueface haha. Those are rare as, well, anything.
The Beta though, that’s one thumper I’d really like to hear.
 
Well, some of us don’t have the pleasure of owning a one-off destructor like your Blueface haha. Those are rare as, well, anything.
The Beta though, that’s one thumper I’d really like to hear.
The Purpleface is a one-off, but there are probably at least 40 or more Bluefaces out there lol. Not sure. The Beta literally shakes the floor more than anything else I’ve had and had this low end that hits you in the ankles, while the Blueface and coli have a lot more low end in what ever frequency range is a little above the ankles and up to the hip lol, while the Uber Rev 1 and Recto have the most low mid presence, although the Uber has big low end too. So in a perfect world, to get the most nuclear high gain sound, the 72 will have everything covered from mids up, Rev 1 Uber or Recto for low mids, Blueface or Coli for low end, and Beta for floor shaking, ankle hitting lows. That’ll cover it all. Not sure if feasible or not
 
Have you tried some of the newer versions? I know that both the 2016 MTL I had and the MCII ‘16 I have now was very different from my old MCII and MC1 as well. :)
I have not; my 2010 had the C transformers and the most Marshall sounding of all according to Wizard owners. Don’t get me wrong; it was a killer amp I’d easily buy again.
I just had no clue when it came to NMV Marshalls, since the only ones I owned had master mods and were just ok. Had I known that ripping those tone sucking masters out would lead to incredible punchy sonic Tsunamis I would have kept for instance a nice 69 metal panel…that I stupidly returned to a GC because it sounded flat. Ugh
 
Have you tried some of the newer versions? I know that both the 2016 MTL I had and the MCII ‘16 I have now was very different from my old MCII and MC1 as well. :)

I've had three MCIIs...'17 '20 and now a '16 and they have all been about identical tone wise, but I always felt the '17 moved more air or made the speakers dance more. That difference may be due to signal chain differences more so than the amps themselves. Or maybe I'm wrong here and it was the amps...know way to tell now without being able to have them all side by side.
 
Just retubed mine...sucks can’t find any china 12ax7b’s anymore. Found one Tad special selected blah blah that is one at least for v1, went with plain ole jj’s for the other 4...svetlana el34’s for the power. Also had the filtering increased...nice to have a fresh set of tubes again.
 
Wizards are killer…but if you can play a totally stock early 70s Superlead, you’ll then know where Rick got some of his inspiration from.
I had a 2010 MC100, great amp. Punched like no other…until I bought my 72 SuperTrem. I can only imagine the fury of running both the 72 and another 100w Wizard at the same time. Small mushroom cloud of sonic mayhem.

So you preferred the 72 to the Wizard?
 
So you preferred the 72 to the Wizard?
Absolutely. And, as great as the Wizards are, it's not close. The Wizards just aren't Marshalls...and if Marshalls are your thing, the old NMVs are the cat's ass. At least for me. Wizards are killer, don't get me wrong..but they are Marshall/HiWatt kinda mix with mids that are just a little off to a real vintage Marshall. Now, if you gig the Wizards are much easier to deal with than a vintage NMV, with a master vol/loop(if ordered) and a nice clean channel. My 72, unless I'm playing an outdoor festival is not a good choice for gigging. I can get a nice low volume tone with a boost or two in front...but it goes from that volume to LOUD by just looking at the vol 1 knob haha. But as punishingly loud and powerful as the Wiz 100w are, I believe my 72 puts out even more volume. The Wizard does have the advantage in tight low end though, if that's important. But I find blending both channel volumes (by linking both with a small patch cord) gives me enough low end for my taste.
The key here though is NO MV mod on these old super leads...any that I've ever tried with them, are neutered a bit even dimed.
 
Absolutely. And, as great as the Wizards are, it's not close. The Wizards just aren't Marshalls...and if Marshalls are your thing, the old NMVs are the cat's ass. At least for me. Wizards are killer, don't get me wrong..but they are Marshall/HiWatt kinda mix with mids that are just a little off to a real vintage Marshall. Now, if you gig the Wizards are much easier to deal with than a vintage NMV, with a master vol/loop(if ordered) and a nice clean channel. My 72, unless I'm playing an outdoor festival is not a good choice for gigging. I can get a nice low volume tone with a boost or two in front...but it goes from that volume to LOUD by just looking at the vol 1 knob haha. But as punishingly loud and powerful as the Wiz 100w are, I believe my 72 puts out even more volume. The Wizard does have the advantage in tight low end though, if that's important. But I find blending both channel volumes (by linking both with a small patch cord) gives me enough low end for my taste.
The key here though is NO MV mod on these old super leads...any that I've ever tried with them, are neutered a bit even dimed.
With my 72 and 2016 MTL100 side by side I agree with most of this. Even though my 72 still has the MV (for now) when I dime the MV it’s very loud even with other other volumes set low. The Wizard will definitely have the MV advantage, although the Naylor has a much better MV and my ccv has the best MV I’ve had yet. I thought 4/10 on my MTL was quite loud, but my 72 is a lot louder. When I play the 72 the cab itself literally shakes more than with my other amps. To me the real advantages the Wizard has is deeper/heavier bottom end, more saturation and more low mid growl. Of course the 72 gets more saturated with a boost, while the MTL doesn’t seem to like boosts much. I don’t agree about the tight low end part. The MTL is definitely tight, but my 72 is honestly way tighter and also sharper attack (Wizard is rounder). My only tighter amp is the ccv. For hard rock and most styles the low end on the 72 is fine, but for metal I generally like to have a more extended bottom end presence like the MTL and of course my real behemoths (Blueface, Beta, Uber Rev1, Coli, etc.). Maybe things will change about it when the MV is removed will have to see, but as is might still be the overall favorite for my taste, but not used as often as my other amps because of how loud it needs to be to get it’s magic. I always like it best with the MV dimed no matter where I set the other volumes, so I guess the MV has become kinda useless anyway
 
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With my 72 and 2016 MTL100 side by side I agree with most of this. Even though my 72 still has the MV (for now) when I dime the MV it’s very loud even with other other volumes set low. The Wizard will definitely have the MV advantage, although the Naylor has a much better MV and my ccv has the best MV I’ve had yet. I thought 4/10 on my MTL was quite loud, but my 72 is a lot louder. When I play the 72 the cab itself literally shakes more than with my other amps. To me the real advantages the Wizard has is deeper/heavier bottom end, more saturation and more low mid growl. Of course the 72 gets more saturated with a boost, while the MTL doesn’t seem to like boosts much. I don’t agree about the tight low end part. The MTL is definitely tight, but my 72 is honestly way tighter and also sharper attack (Wizard is rounder). My only tighter amp is the ccv. For hard rock and most styles the low end on the 72 is fine, but for metal I generally like to have a more extended bottom end presence like the MTL and of course my real behemoths (Blueface, Beta, Uber Rev1, Coli, etc.). Maybe things will change about it when the MV is removed will have to see, but as is might still be the overall favorite for my taste, but not used as often as my other amps because of how loud it needs to be to get it’s magic. I always like it best with the MV dimed no matter where I set the other volumes, so I guess the MV has become kinda useless anyway
Agree….I guess I should have explained the low end differences more. My 72 is frogs ass tight; when it’s wound up and I do palm mutes my windows shake lol. The MC100 I had was thicker though, and had deeper lows. Like a modern modded Marshall but with different mids. The 72 shakes the room so much; cabs that aren’t being used are moving. It is so powerful, it defies explanation haha. Last week when I turned up, just outside the window we have a large bush that sparrows like to hang out in. The first chord, they exploded out of the bush and didn’t come back for a few days. Lol
 
What kills early marshalls with MV is the ppimv type. I have one 74 100 watt with a master that`s like a stock jmp master and I wouldnt kick out of bed.
 
Agree….I guess I should have explained the low end differences more. My 72 is frogs ass tight; when it’s wound up and I do palm mutes my windows shake lol. The MC100 I had was thicker though, and had deeper lows. Like a modern modded Marshall but with different mids. The 72 shakes the room so much; cabs that aren’t being used are moving. It is so powerful, it defies explanation haha. Last week when I turned up, just outside the window we have a large bush that sparrows like to hang out in. The first chord, they exploded out of the bush and didn’t come back for a few days. Lol

You better hope PITA doesn't catch wind of your disturbing the birds...LOL!
 
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What kills early marshalls with MV is the ppimv type. I have one 74 100 watt with a master that`s like a stock jmp master and I wouldnt kick out of bed.
The last one I had was a 69 metal panel that had a LarMar; supposed to be out of the circuit when dimed. It was ok but not even close to my 72.
But, after playing it for 10 minutes would pop a fuse. This was back in 2011; hadn’t learned all about tubes yet so I just returned it to GC. 999. Oh how I kick myself for that one. It was clean too.
 
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