Difference in room filling/cutting through mix / 3 d sounds of Wizard vs ANYTHING else

L

lessarti

Well-known member
So I have been playing a lot with my Wizard MTL and MC II, then for the first time in 3 weeks fired up the JP2C!

At first hearing of a few quick chords, noticed that my ears were so dialed previously to the full huge Wizard tone/mids, that the JP2C was so much more scooped, or either less room filling sounds. Now, don't get me wrong it is a great amp, but I ended up bumping up the 2200 slider on the graphic eq and it felt a bit more full.

Anybody else honestly go through this, or can specifically attest ANY other amps that actually have that room filling tone that Wizards have? (I assume Marshall will be a mention here and for good reason).

Anyways, thought this might be a great thread to start some great conversations.
 
Not really....I can say though that at maxing volume the Bogner 3534 blue channel with boost on starts to get into Wizard territory but that may be more associated with the sheer volume whereas my MC25 does it across the board. It's freaking loud at that point, way louder than I could use it in any club. I'm starting to consider getting an SLO-30 to replace the Bogner but that's just an idea germinating now, at least until I can actually play one and decide in person. I've gigged a bunch with this rig and consistently get comments from audience folks and other guitar geeks about how much this cuts through everything in the mix, no matter size of the room.
 
I haven't played anything even close to a wizard. It is insane how different it is from other amps. But I have a buddy that played a larry and wizard and thought they were not as good as the original block letter 5150, at least for what he played.
 
Marshall Major? Never played one but it has to be the only Marshall that can hang with HiWatt / Wizard for room filling ability.
 
The only hiwatt i played was a super hiwatt, the fortin collaboration. I felt like it was a good amp. But i think it must have been different from regular hiwatt circuits, cuz it was more smooth, and calm. Not room filling to me
 
thegame said:
Marshall Major? Never played one but it has to be the only Marshall that can hang with HiWatt / Wizard for room filling ability.
Click to expand...
I owned a ‘68 Major and have tried 2 or 3 others. They are actually not all that loud or big sounding despite the 200 watt rating. My ‘67 Tremolo 50 is way louder, bigger and just way better sounding of an amp. There’s a reason the Major’s are nowhere near as pricy as the other Marshall’s

Honestly my ‘67 Tremolo fills the room and cuts through a mix much better than my 2016 Wizard MTL100 despite its 50 watt rating. The difference is the Wizard punches a lot harder and much tighter. The ‘67 punches more and wider, but it’s like the MTL is punching you with blocks of granite, while the ‘67 maybe it’s like punching you with pillows or something softer

Of all 28 amps I’ve got the only one that fills the room as much or more than my Hiwatt is my ‘97 Blueface VH4. The Hiwatt is even more open than my Wizard, but my Schroeder is by far the most open amp I’ve got. Also very room filling
 
Last edited:
braintheory said:
I owned a ‘68 Major and have tried 2 or 3 others. They are actually not all that loud or big sounding despite the 200 watt rating. My ‘67 Tremolo 50 is way louder, bigger and just way better sounding of an amp. There’s a reason the Major’s are nowhere near as pricy as the other Marshall’s

Honestly my ‘67 Tremolo fills the room and cuts through a mix much better than my 2016 Wizard MTL100 despite its 50 watt rating. The difference is the Wizard punches a lot harder and much tighter. The ‘67 punches more and wider, but it’s like the MTL is punching you with blocks of granite, while the ‘67 maybe it’s like punching you with pillows or something softer

Of all 28 amps I’ve got the only one that fills the room as much or more than my Hiwatt is my ‘97 Blueface VH4. The Hiwatt is even more open than my Wizard, but my Schroeder is by far the most open amp I’ve got. Also very room filling
Click to expand...
I see. On paper the Majors seem like they’d be the biggest baddest Marshalls ever but more often than not in amplifier design, there is more than meets the eye and ears.
 
thegame said:
I see. On paper the Majors seem like they’d be the biggest baddest Marshalls ever but more often than not in amplifier design, there is more than meets the eye and ears.
Click to expand...
Totally! There’s no substitute to actually trying and using our ears vs what’s on paper. Mine also had to be taken in to my tech 2 times within just a few months of owning. Not reliable. My Schroeder DB, on the other hand, sounds really big despite the 40 watt rating and just 2 5881’s

Biggest sounding amps I’ve had in their own way have been my Blueface, Beta, Rev 1 Uber, and Hiwatt, but my incoming Schroeder Dozer may top them all (200-280 watts and plate voltage in the 700’s). This one ‘60’s JTM45/100 I tried once also sounded huge and supposedly PV in the 600’s
 
The Loop Modded 79 MKIIB I had had more of a sonic footprint than any of the Wizards I've owned. Outside that, I'd say the D60 I had and another I have now along with a Splawn QR and Morris Perplexed I used to have are in the ballpark in regards to filling the room and cut. The Wizard rock solid punch isn't there in anything I've tried, but the 3D room filling girth is close'ish in the amps I mentioned.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
The Loop Modded 79 MKIIB I had had more of a sonic footprint than any of the Wizards I've owned. Outside that, I'd say the D60 I had and another I have now along with a Splawn QR and Morris Perplexed I used to have are in the ballpark in regards to filling the room and cut. The Wizard rock solid punch isn't there in anything I've tried, but the 3D room filling girth is close'ish in the amps I mentioned.
Click to expand...
This is the one thing I still have yet to hear in anything but a Wizard. That punch like being hit with blocks of granite. None of my other amps quite do it

Those IIB’s are know for being I believe the biggest sounding mark amps and I believe higher plate voltage. Earlier ones I’m told sounded even bigger, but also looser
 
braintheory said:
This is the one thing I still have yet to hear in anything but a Wizard. That punch like being hit with blocks of granite. None of my other amps quite do it

Those IIB’s are know for being I believe the biggest sounding mark amps and I believe higher plate voltage. Earlier ones I’m told sounded even bigger, but also looser
Click to expand...

Agreed, and hitting like blocks of granite is a good way to put it. It's a very dense, compact, tight, hard hitting thwack.

Not a coinsure of Mark amps, but yeah that IIB was the biggest, widest, most 3D room filling amp I ever heard. Still didn't hit/punch like the Wiz though.
 
Ahhh yes, thank you to all for your input and replies! Great to read everyone's experiences. It would seem there are some amps that come close, room filling characteristics for sure etc. But very rare on a 1 to 1 basis it seems.
 
Big and wide and room filling on its own doesn’t necessarily sit in the mix. I’ve never had an amp punch through a dense mix, without using sheer volume, like a Wizard. They can be almost grating on the ears on their own, but with a band those same attributes allow you to remain dynamic and not feel like you have to fight to be heard.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top