Marshall AFD 100

D

Detroit ABA

Active member
Thinking about tracking down a Marshall AFD 100 but there is not a lot of recent info. I wanted one when they first came out but didn’t pull the trigger. not looking for collectors purposes just always wanted to play one but not sure if it’s worth the premium they go for now. Any one have one or have played one?
 
IMO not worth what they go for at all. I have played one and had the little 5 watt that was basically the preamp circuit from the AFD side of the AFD100 into a class A single el34 power amp.

I actually like these amps but the problem with the 100 is it’s set up like a single channel amp but has two modes that have to be EQ’d very differently. The #34 mode is extremely bright and grating compared to the AFD mode which is Silver Jubilee-ish.

I think unless you’re really intrigued and won’t be happy unless you get your hands on an AFD, you would be better off with a Silver Jubilee.
 
Yeah, it is definitely a single channel amp with one very bright and one fairly dark mode. The limited numbers seem to make people automatically want a ton for them, which they´re obviously not worth from a sound standpoint (even if they are a good amp) and probably not even when seen from the actual collector side either. A fair share of these ended up on the euro market, and they sit unsold for ages (forever) at the pricing you normally see asked today.
 
Bardagh said:
IMO not worth what they go for at all. I have played one and had the little 5 watt that was basically the preamp circuit from the AFD side of the AFD100 into a class A single el34 power amp.

I actually like these amps but the problem with the 100 is it’s set up like a single channel amp but has two modes that have to be EQ’d very differently. The #34 mode is extremely bright and grating compared to the AFD mode which is Silver Jubilee-ish.

I think unless you’re really intrigued and won’t be happy unless you get your hands on an AFD, you would be better off with a Silver Jubilee.
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I am a huge Slash and AFD fan.
I have had the AFD Special Edition and couldn’t sold it fast enought.
It is like described above.
 
Thin and bright; which works great in a mix I’m sure….but I didn’t care for it. Never owned one but did play a used one long ago.
 
get a clone or 2203 have a full 34 mod done plus a 2k7 extra stage and you will have it.. only problem is nobody is doing this in the USA.. eddie lenz, fosberg, duke amps in italy and jason at headfirst all do it, but they are all too far away. The AFD is a killer hard rock amp.. I love it. Its not thin at all in AFD mode. Its not a metal amp so those guys are not going to like it.
 
lespaul6 said:
get a clone or 2203 have a full 34 mod done plus a 2k7 extra stage and you will have it.. only problem is nobody is doing this in the USA.. eddie lenz, fosberg, duke amps in italy and jason at headfirst all do it, but they are all too far away. The AFD is a killer hard rock amp.. I love it. Its not thin at all in AFD mode. Its not a metal amp so those guys are not going to like it.
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Jerry @JerryP use to make this mod and it sounded so good!
I haven’t seen him from awhile here.
 
lespaul6 said:
get a clone or 2203 have a full 34 mod done plus a 2k7 extra stage and you will have it.. only problem is nobody is doing this in the USA.. eddie lenz, fosberg, duke amps in italy and jason at headfirst all do it, but they are all too far away. The AFD is a killer hard rock amp.. I love it. Its not thin at all in AFD mode. Its not a metal amp so those guys are not going to like it.
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The #34 mode might even have some good tones in it if set right but I think the bummer with the amp is having access to the two modes is kind of useless the way the amp is designed. You're going to just pick one (probably the AFD) and get your settings going for it and forget the other. The little 5 watt was actually nice because it was just the AFD mode and a separate clean channel. It was a remarkably loud little amp for 5 watts, although it did sound good at low volume especially through lower wattage speakers like greenbacks.
 
Bardagh said:
The #34 mode might even have some good tones in it if set right but I think the bummer with the amp is having access to the two modes is kind of useless the way the amp is designed. You're going to just pick one (probably the AFD) and get your settings going for it and forget the other. The little 5 watt was actually nice because it was just the AFD mode and a separate clean channel. It was a remarkably loud little amp for 5 watts, although it did sound good at low volume especially through lower wattage speakers like greenbacks.
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yea you do have to set 34 differently... if you run the preamp gain high it rounds off some of those top end frequencies.. its a cool sound, makes your les paul sound like a tele
 
Zado said:
Mmm I dont recall any Duke Amps in Italy honestly. I Know about BRBS being a badass Marshall modder here.
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duke might be germany... at any rate, its not accessible for us here. Forgot to mention the OP can just pick up a 2555X and use a graphic eq to get that afd tone or tokyo live tone etc.
 
The AFD100, along with the Vintage Modern, is one of the most misunderstood Marshalls of all time. It will sound awesome but you have to use it the way it's intended to be used. My YT is very amateur but I just made a clip about this. In this video, I keep all the EQ at 5 and show you that both modes can sound totally awesome *IF* you know how to use the amp properly.

 
When I first played the AFD100 after it was released to local stores, I fell in love with it and wanted one pretty badly. Everything about it sounded great and felt great to play. It was disappointing that Marshall stopped making them because, surprisingly to me, I liked it better than both the Yngwie plexi and Satriani JVM. At one point, I had sought to get one from Ceriatone but the waiting period is so long it's just not worth the effort. Also, I used to have the little SL5 which was a really great amp, nothing cheap about it, even had a 12" Celestion V30. I think I bought it on sale for around $350 or $400 back then and stupidly sold it. A couple of years later, they were selling used for $600-$700. Now they're asking crazy prices. That's another amp Marshall should never have stopped making.

Nevertheless, Marshall pricing has gone through the roof and I just don't see it worth the expense when Friedman and other boutiques can be had at similar prices. I've emailed Marshall for years to come out with a 25w, EL34 JVM. Then one day, they replied and said I'll be happy to hear what they're coming out with soon. Next thing you know, they put out the 20w Studio Series... but no JVM. Bah! Anyway, the AFD100 was a superb amplifier in my opinion.
 
MistaGuitah said:
When I first played the AFD100 after it was released to local stores, I fell in love with it and wanted one pretty badly. Everything about it sounded great and felt great to play. It was disappointing that Marshall stopped making them because, surprisingly to me, I liked it better than both the Yngwie plexi and Satriani JVM. At one point, I had sought to get one from Ceriatone but the waiting period is so long it's just not worth the effort. Also, I used to have the little SL5 which was a really great amp, nothing cheap about it, even had a 12" Celestion V30. I think I bought it on sale for around $350 or $400 back then and stupidly sold it. A couple of years later, they were selling used for $600-$700. Now they're asking crazy prices. That's another amp Marshall should never have stopped making.

Nevertheless, Marshall pricing has gone through the roof and I just don't see it worth the expense when Friedman and other boutiques can be had at similar prices. I've emailed Marshall for years to come out with a 25w, EL34 JVM. Then one day, they replied and said I'll be happy to hear what they're coming out with soon. Next thing you know, they put out the 20w Studio Series... but no JVM. Bah! Anyway, the AFD100 was a superb amplifier in my opinion.
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Yeah I miss the little 5 watter, definitely the best low watt amp I've ever tried. I stupidly sold mine for a meager profit when I was trying to go all Kemper and amp sim some years back. THAT was a mistake!
 
Thanks everyone for the replies with insights, it seems to be a polarizing amp in terms of reviews. It would be cool to have a studio classic modded with 34 & AFD by Eddy Lenz like he has on his YouTube channel
 
hellzington said:
The AFD100, along with the Vintage Modern, is one of the most misunderstood Marshalls of all time. It will sound awesome but you have to use it the way it's intended to be used. My YT is very amateur but I just made a clip about this. In this video, I keep all the EQ at 5 and show you that both modes can sound totally awesome *IF* you know how to use the amp properly.

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I get what you mean.
So take your theory plus Marshall not marketing the amplifier like that, the near fact that NOBODY
rides there’s pots anymore, -that’s an ART btw.
Does Slash even ride his pots?

That is exactly how you run Non-Master volume amplifiers, the 1987x-now we’re talkin,
except you only need to roll to 8.5 and you will
lose no BODY-BINGO.
I clearly can hear when you roll back,
the body of the bandwidth in your sound shrinkens.
Most guitar instructors of today play all pots on 10 and many dude’s cut the caps.
So we’ve got a clusterfuck here Helz & a pricey one to wake up to.

These dude’s that want the “juice” can just
boost a Jubillee or put a dope ass EQ pedal in loop.

You REALLY want to do that shit right?
Summon Eddie Lenz.
 
hellzington said:
The AFD100, along with the Vintage Modern, is one of the most misunderstood Marshalls of all time. It will sound awesome but you have to use it the way it's intended to be used. My YT is very amateur but I just made a clip about this. In this video, I keep all the EQ at 5 and show you that both modes can sound totally awesome *IF* you know how to use the amp properly.

Click to expand...

Nah, the VM is not very good. Sorry. I’d take a DSL over it and I’m of the opinion the DSL is just ok.
Had a VM, lasted about a week.
 
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