Help me buy my next amp - Wizard/Diezel/Friedman

Tone Monster said:
Really? Guess that’s what happens when you assume! Thanks for the clarity
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The Metal for sale here is mine. It's very different from the later MTLs. The earlier Metal is much closer to the very first version, single input, of the Modern Classic, which is what Hetfield used for the Garage Inc. Main differences between the Metal and the single input MC are a "bright" control(extremely useful along with the presence if you're using the amp at low or high volume) and a bit more low end punch on the Metal.
 
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LPMojoGL said:
I had a Wizard MC50.
I don't think it's accurate to say that other amps won't hold a candle to the one I had. Plenty of them did.
Naylor is right up there in build quality, as well as tone.
The Butterslax I have right now has kind of the same thing going on as that Wizard did, albeit with a more versatile clean channel, more similar to the Modern Classic II. They both had clean, mean, and meaner modes. The difference to me is in the attack and voicing. The Wizard is razor sharp and open, bright and tight. The Slax has a lil more chug to it, and this heft in the low mids that almost makes it sound like comparing a cello to a violin, if that makes any sense. More weight to the single notes.

I hear a lot about how the Wizards sound bigger than other amps. Not true. I had that amp at the same time as 4-5 other amps. It just sounded like a really good JCM800, with tighter attack and more gain. I will say, it was 50 watts, and it held up with the 100 watters just fine. Well, until the Rev F or JMP 100 got cranked. Then they became massive in a way the Wizard could not.

The effects loop was nifty, too, with the send and return knobs that slightly affected the tone.

Anyway, I dig the Wizard, a lot. I'd love to have another one. The price is a huge deterrent.
The electronic circuits aren't magic and the build quality is being done by plenty of other folks for less.
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I agree in the sense that whether they hold a candle to other amps is 100% personal preference, and for mine it's no contest when speaking of things like attack (especially on the low notes) articulation, purity of the tone/notes, girth, and punch with the exception of a loop modded Mark IIB, Mark III blue stripe and green stripe I just picked up, Splawn QR, and an old VHT D60. They are in the ballpark, but still not on the same level. I've owned 5 Wizards; 2 100w MCIIs, 100w 2016 MTL, 100w 2020 Hybrid, 2021 MC25 and less the MC25, they all punched harder and moved more air than any other amp I've owned, period. The Wallop, punch, sledgehammer to the speaker effect is unmatched compared to the 30 or so amps I've had next to them. There are plenty of amps that sound bigger, but none that punch as hard IMHO. I much prefer the MCII to the MTL and Hybrid. Maybe the 50w Wizards don't punch as hard, but the 4 100 watters I've had hit harder than anything else I've owned, and by a wide margin.
 
MetalHeadMike said:
I agree in the sense that whether they hold a candle to other amps is 100% personal preference, and for mine it's no contest when speaking of things like attack (especially on the low notes) articulation, purity of the tone/notes, girth, and punch with the exception of a loop modded Mark IIB, Mark III blue stripe and green stripe I just picked up, Splawn QR, and an old VHT D60. They are in the ballpark, but still not on the same level. I've owned 5 Wizards; 2 100w MCIIs, 100w 2016 MTL, 100w 2020 Hybrid, 2021 MC25 and less the MC25, they all punched harder and moved more air than any other amp I've owned, period. The Wallop, punch, sledgehammer to the speaker effect is unmatched compared to the 30 or so amps I've had next to them. There are plenty of amps that sound bigger, but none that punch as hard IMHO. I much prefer the MCII to the MTL and Hybrid. Maybe the 50w Wizards don't punch as hard, but the 4 100 watters I've had hit harder than anything else I've owned, and by a wide margin.
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I agree about the attack and articulation. I can't with the girth/punch, but I believe you're right that it might be down to the 50 watts vs 100. Still, when cranked, it remarkably sounded the same and remained very stout. The Naylor got creamier. The Rev F and JMP 100 grew elephant balls and thumped you in the chest. Really makes me want to try a 100 watt Wizard, Modern Classic II would be the one I'd go for next.
You mention the Mesa Marks and VHT. The Wizard reminded me of what I liked about the sound of a Mk 2c++, with what I wanted in the feel. And one of the only other amps that I've heard that had that hard sound was a VHT/Fryette Ultra Lead I think. The Mesa and VHT required a bit more dialing in, where the Wiz was just there.
I think I saw where you recently purchased and sold a couple of Wizards? What are you onto now?
 
The girth/punch is there in spades on the 100w Wizards. I feel the MCII has even more perceived punch because of where the mids are placed vs. the MTL. The 100w MCII won't have the same 3D thing as the Recto, but it just hits harder in the low end. You will feel the percussion in your body...it moves air and makes the speakers dance big time.

What Naylor did/do you have?

I did sell the Wizards only because I guilt myself into selling because of the amount of money sitting here as a bedroom player. I stupidly sold two MCIIs which have been my favorite amps to date. I will get another soon. Right now I'm playing a green stripe MKIII that so far is blowing my mind, and have my eye on a Naylor. Just returned the new series II D120, didn't like it at all, and am returning a series II D60. It is pretty good but something about the mids and highs I'm not in love with.
 
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MetalHeadMike said:
The girth/punch is there in spades on the 100w Wizards. I feel the MCII has even more perceived punch because of where the mids are placed vs. the MTL. The 100w MCII won't have the same 3D thing as the Recto, but it just hits harder in the low end. You will feel the percussion in your body...it moves air and makes the speakers dance big time.

What Naylor did/do you have?

I did sell the Wizards only because I guilt myself into selling because of the amount of money sitting here as a bedroom player. I stupidly sold two MCIIs which have been my favorite amps to date. I will get another soon. Right now I'm playing a green stripe MKIII that so far is blowing my mind, and have my eye on a Naylor. Just returned the new series II D120, didn't like it at all, and am returning a series II D60. It is pretty good but something about the mids and highs I'm not in love with.
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I had the Naylor Duel 100, in my avatar (the very one that just recently sold in the emporium). Lovely beast that, to me, is the perfect compromise between modern/vintage, loose/tight, thick/bright...basically just a great sounding and feeling amp capable of pretty much anything. You won't be missing much if you go SD60 vs Duel. You don't get the clean channel, but you get the bright switch on the gain channel (it's on the clean channel on the Duel) and a bit more punch. Easily one of my favorite amps of all time. It's all the good things from a Bogner Shiva, Dual Rec and Marshall without the bad stuff.

I once had a MkIII blue stripe. I didn't like it so much, about as much as I've liked any Mesa Mark. I've been lucky enough to buy n try em cheap, and always resold at the same low price. Those days are over!

I go through the same thing all the time with the $ reasoning. I play and record in a tiny music room for fun. Always keep trying to convince myself to get by with a DRRI and pedals, or a small Marshall 1x12. I'll go back n forth like, the SLO/Friedman/Wizard sounds better, but not $$$ that much better, and I don't need a 100 watter just to play it at .5 on the volume, with the occasional ear-ringing session.
But then I miss them when they're gone. If I had to choose between my fav big, hot-rodded amps right now, it would be between the SLO, Wizard, and Naylor, with honorable mention for the MW Dual Rec, Rockerverb and of course all of the Friedman amps I've had.
 
LP Freak said:
I have a Badlander. These are killer amps and really seem to be going under the radar for some reason. I’d take one over any of the Wizards I had
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It certainly sounds good in the clips and videos I've watched. I'm extremely pleased with my Smallbox though.

How's the volume taper, is it like most Mesas, zero or loud as hell?
 
napalmdeath said:
It certainly sounds good in the clips and videos I've watched. I'm extremely pleased with my Smallbox though.

How's the volume taper, is it like most Mesas, zero or loud as hell?
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It’s actually pretty good but like most sounds better with a little volume. It definitely doesn’t have a light switch MV.
 
LPMojoGL said:
How's the feel/attack compared to the Dual Rec and Wizard? I'm guessing somewhere in between?
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It’s pretty immediate on the bold setting and a little more forgiving on the variac setting. It’s definitely closer to the feel of a Wizard than the DR though. It seems pretty far departure from the DR I remember. TBO they really should have named it something completely different IMO. The loop is great too.
 
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LP Freak said:
I have a Badlander. These are killer amps and really seem to be going under the radar for some reason. I’d take one over any of the Wizards I had
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I have a Badlander as well as a MTL. I think the Badlander is outstanding. It is my favorite "Rectifier". But, the Wizard just has a feel to it that is somewhat addictive!! I really dig both amps and they both can fit the bill in a band mix.
 
To the original poster and thread starter, GET THE WIZARD. It almost does not matter if it is the MC II or MTL, or MTL MK II or MK I etc etc. ALL Wizards sound incredible. They are ALL slamming amps.

Do you like upper mids? Get the MC II
Do you like a little lower mids ? Get the MTL

Since you have a VH4 already, I think that covers the lower mid ground pretty damn perfectly, so I would recommend the MC II.
 
Agreed with the others on the Badlander and Naylor. Naylor would be one of my top 5 for high gain amps. The Badlander is one of the few non-vintage amps I’ve kept. They really got it right with that one. It has I think the most growl of any amp I’ve played and also one of the tightest amps I’ve had despite being in the rectifier family. It’s great to finally to see a keeper worthy amp that’s not hard to replace if needed
 
I had a 50w MTL (2012) and a 2010 MCI. The 50 easily compared to a 100w amp but didn’t out punch it. The 100 is another story. The only amp that punches that hard, with that clarity is my 72 Trem and the Marshall doesn’t have the low end the Wizard had. I’d say it punches equally to my C+ Coliseum...crazy but true.
 
braintheory said:
Agreed with the others on the Badlander and Naylor. Naylor would be one of my top 5 for high gain amps. The Badlander is one of the few non-vintage amps I’ve kept. They really got it right with that one. It has I think the most growl of any amp I’ve played and also one of the tightest amps I’ve had despite being in the rectifier family. It’s great to finally to see a keeper worthy amp that’s not hard to replace if needed
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Hmmmm. All this Badlander talk has me thinking...
 
Racerxrated said:
I had a 50w MTL (2012) and a 2010 MCI. The 50 easily compared to a 100w amp but didn’t out punch it. The 100 is another story. The only amp that punches that hard, with that clarity is my 72 Trem and the Marshall doesn’t have the low end the Wizard had. I’d say it punches equally to my C+ Coliseum...crazy but true.
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My ‘67 Trem 50 watt I’d say sounds bigger and has actually deeper lows than my 100w MTL 2016 and in a way punches more than the Wizard, it’s just that the Wizard punches much harder. It’s like the Wizard is punching you with blocks of granite, while my Plexi is punching you with pillows or something softer. If it could just match that hard punch of the Wizard it would have sent it packing
 
LPMojoGL said:
Hmmmm. All this Badlander talk has me thinking...
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Just keep in mind that it needs to be loud to sound it’s best. A lot of those complaints about it lacking low end go away when you play it loud enough. It’s also surprisingly responsive to tube swaps despite being a newer amp. With the vintage Siemen EL34’s I have it was by far the best and got bigger and punchier low end with those. It will never get the fatness or wall of sound though like the other Recto’s. Not in the cards for the Badlander. It’s like a Recto that was tweaked for thrash in a way
 
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