acidvoodoo
Well-known member
I stumbled across one on eBay a couple days ago and snagged it. Don't know much about them other than the demo videos Jason has posted on the tube.
they quite obviously aren’t sanctioned by Wizard. it’s not a Wizard unless Rick builds it - having a builder signing off on their work is what you’re paying for. It’s their vision for the build and delivering what the customer expects. Their reputation doesnt come overnight.That must've been a fun conversation with Rick, ironing out all the licensing agreements. Wait a second, these ARE officially sanctioned by WRDS, right?
You'll get my point when your 'new member' status reaches maturity.they quite obviously aren’t sanctioned by Wizard. it’s not a Wizard unless Rick builds it - having a builder signing off on their work is what you’re paying for. It’s their vision for the build and delivering what the customer expects. Their reputation doesnt come overnight.
All amps are derived from existing circuits, Wizards included. Would we have the MCII if Rick didn’t try to improve the Jubilee circuit? Who’s to decide what amps the DIY community can and can’t build?
Does it give me a free pass to act like a child online? Is sneering about being registered to a forum longer than me really the best explanation you can give?You'll get my point when your 'new member' status reaches maturity.
I think Jason is pretty well known and respected by the likes of Dave Friedman, Shea Monomyth, GroundZero and others.You know what? My jabs were just a little 'warning' that some here may take issue with Headfirst selling Wizard clones or the components that would allow DIY'ers to construct their own. There's some pretty serious Wizard diehards here with huge collections and it's hard to image a builder that'd be more livid than Rick knowing someone else was making a buck off their associated name brand. These PCBs aren't sold as "modded Jubille" but as "MCII". The Wizard inference is clear. Despite initial appearances, believe me, I don't care. Rick builds a fine amp, when it works right, but is an asshole through and through. Good day to you.
i’m no builder but it looks like they’ve done a nice job, it’s a pretty complex build and not a lot of space so you’d only really attempt this if you’re experienced. I’m sure you’ll love it - I’m very curious to hear what you think of it as the one my friend built sounded excellent and made me very jealous!Whoa. Ok I should have know this might ruffle some feathers.
Thanks for the reply easstudios. The builder says the chassis, cabinet, transformers are from Ceriatone and the rest of the parts are sourced from US distributors.
It probably has the Gargoyle transformers which are gigantic.Whoa. Ok I should have know this might ruffle some feathers.
Thanks for the reply easstudios. The builder says the chassis, cabinet, transformers are from Ceriatone and the rest of the parts are sourced from US distributors.
The two Wizards I owned, a 2012 MTL and a 2010 MC100 were about as closely related to any of the 10 Jubilees I’ve owned prior as say, comparing a Mesa Mark to a 71 Superlead.they quite obviously aren’t sanctioned by Wizard. it’s not a Wizard unless Rick builds it - having a builder signing off on their work is what you’re paying for. It’s their vision for the build and delivering what the customer expects. Their reputation doesnt come overnight.
All amps are derived from existing circuits, Wizards included. Would we have the MCII if Rick didn’t try to improve the Jubilee circuit? Who’s to decide what amps the DIY community can and can’t build?
I'm sure that guys building their own MTL isn't going to hurt Rick's bottom line. I have a couple boards laying around of the wizard stuff, a Jose, a couple marshall boards. Even if I built the amp perfect I would have no illusions of saying it's the same cause it's really not. It's like me getting a les paul kit building it and then thinking I have a Gibson LP. To me it might be better but it's not the same and it won't have the same value. Can it sound good and be lots of fun? Certainly.It's kind of funny that Fender borrowed from the tube handbooks (because people needed 'recipes' in order to use these new 'ingredients' i.e. vacuum tubes). Then Marshall borrowed from Fender. But then Marshall came up with something new with the Silver Jubilee. And then Wizard borrowed from that to build an entire amp brand.
But you better not copy a Wizard...because Rick will be really, really mad.
Oh totally different sounding for sure - there’s just similarities with how the gain stages, clipping and the tone stack that has its roots tied to a Jubilee (which itself is sort of derived from 2210/2205 Marshalls). As we all know, you can have a similar circuit, tweak a few things and turn it into a totally unique sounding beast. An SLO, Rectifier and 5150 all sound pretty unique but share a similar background.The two Wizards I owned, a 2012 MTL and a 2010 MC100 were about as closely related to any of the 10 Jubilees I’ve owned prior as say, comparing a Mesa Mark to a 71 Superlead.
Very very different in every way. I’ve heard the Jubilee comparison before, but what actually comes out of the speakers are two tones that sound nothing alike.
Both great in their own way though.
I’m pretty excited to play it! Should be here sometime next week. I’d never drop the coin on a real one so I figured this would give me a taste and it was very reasonably priced. The builder says it sounds fantastic and will please any player into the heavies…so we shall see.i’m no builder but it looks like they’ve done a nice job, it’s a pretty complex build and not a lot of space so you’d only really attempt this if you’re experienced. I’m sure you’ll love it - I’m very curious to hear what you think of it as the one my friend built sounded excellent and made me very jealous!
I saw that a few weeks ago! I’m so glad someone on the forum bought it, please let us know what you think!I stumbled across one on eBay a couple days ago and snagged it. Don't know much about them other than the demo videos Jason has posted on the tube.
It looks well built to me. He’s recently sold a few other clones, SLO 50, JJ jr, Jake E Lee 800…I’m not worried about it. He guaranties the build of the amp for a year.This is nothing against Jason as he's a good guy, and I own one of his amps (that he built) - but I do have concerns about what happens to amateur-built amps upon resale. The ones not built by Jason, but bear the Headfirst logo specifically.
The OP asked about the MTL he saw for sale. It could be an awesomely built amp with quality components, or a sloppily wired mess that is downright dangerous to operate. Likely something in between judging by the pictures, but who knows - it really is case by case.
The DIY stuff is great for the DIYer, but I've lost count of how many badly assembled Ceriatone kits I've seen for sale and resale from people who should never use a soldering iron. Down the track you just know some new owner will assume the shoddy work was done by Ceriatone (or Weber, Mojotone, Headfirst etc).