Do the old MOSFET Lead 100s really sound this good?

They were better than what people normally give them credit for for sure.

I think that clip was OK, though. It didn't sound bad, but it doesn't really have a lot of low-end depth and high-end sizzle which kinda makes the distortion sound pedal-y.
 
I would imagine the feel of playing the mosfet Lead 100 is very different from a tube amp. This is what I notice when I play the 8100 Valvestate back to back with the silver jubilee.
 
Had one in the early 90's ....... it's not bad at all ... there was one on Rhode Island's Craigslist a few months back for 300 ...
 
Marshall Solid States have more or less always been at the very least usable. I've had a Mode Four head and an AVT150. Neither was fantastic, but they weren't nearly as bad as people make them out to be.

I think the thing about the cheaper Marshalls is the first thing they skimp on is speaker quality and cabinet construction. I bet if you ran an MG head into a 1960TV cab something nicer and high-end, it'd sound surprisingly good.

If you use their matching cheapy MDF undersized cabs loaded with speakers with puny magnets... yeah. I bet even a Wizard would sound shit into those.

They've been doing that for a while, TBH.
 
Skolnik says he loves the mode 4 heads. Never really seen him use one, or any settings but he swears by them. I have one of the cabinets and it’s nice.
 
JackBootedThug said:
Skolnik says he loves the mode 4 heads. Never really seen him use one, or any settings but he swears by them. I have one of the cabinets and it’s nice.
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The cabinets are fantastic. They're just 1960TV's with modern aesthetics and speakers.

The heads are not fantastic, but they're usable. They've got a really Death Metal vibe going on with a nasty raspy high-end. People think Amp 1 is the "usable" setting in the MF, but I thought Amp 2 was nicer (less Marshall-y) as long as you didn't go all stupid with the treble, bass, presence, and depth knobs. And the gain.

These days, I'd much rather use a Recto for that sound, but I mean... nobody likes these, so they still sell for like 400-500 dollars. Plenty of reliability issue with those, though. Much like with any modern Marshall, it seems.

I'm 100% anti iPhone clips, but this clip was way back when, so apologees in advance. I thought it wasn't too bad back then.

 
My next door neighbor has the half stack (410 cab) and it actually sounded pretty good at all volumes. I was more impressed with the punch of the cab.
 
They're cool. I had one and regret selling it. They're not as dynamically responsive as a real 800, but they're a lot of fun for not a lot of dough.
 
Kelly said:
If I remember correctly, the Lead 100 was a SS copy of a jcm800. The Valvestates and later Marshall SS amps were totally different, and quite bad.
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Honestly, yeah. If you're expecting a VS to sound like an 800, yeah. You'd find them quite bad.

I've always personally felt even the best SS's don't nail the tube feel. But for some styles, that's kinda what you want. They are responsible for some nastier heavier tones.
 
jchrisf said:
I've never heard one in person but this sounds great! I'd buy a new DSL 100HR before I'd pay the used prices on these but this is one of the best Marshall tones I've heard:
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I’ve seen these cheap on SF Craigslist over the past few months
 
I had a couple. and when I moved to Amsterdam back in the 90's, this was the house amp for the jam sessions I used to go play every weekend. they did the job.
 
3210s can sound really good. The issue is, they just don't have the power to really hang with a loud stage vol...and the mosfets they used are hard to impossible to locate. My first Marshall was a 5010 combo, back in HS....that amp travelled with me overseas in the Army. The SS Marshalls can be killer little rigs.
 
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