NAD-Wizard content

[mctallica1]

I’ve been telling myself that I don’t really need to try a Wizard for a long time, since I am perfectly happy with my Cherry Bomb and a rotating cast of second amps…currently a Mark III+, but I’ve been interested in them none the less, so I finally pulled the trigger and bought the MCII MKII 40 that gbsmusic had for sale. First off, Greg is GREAT to deal with, packs well and ships promptly,,,,thank you Greg!

I’ve spent about 8 hours with the amp and can confirm, the hype is real. Makes me wish I hadn’t waited so long to try one.

Even though I don’t play out, I always prefer big boy heads, but this thing, at 40 watts, with 6v6’s more than hangs.

Before I get into details, know that I boost everything, so purists can move along

The punch, articulation, clarity that I’ve read about for so long is real and amazing. While not the same, I do get some VHT vibes. I’ve always thought of the green channel on the CL as THE VHT tone, which to me is sort of HiWatt-ish. I get some of the same from this amp.

The Bright and Contour knobs can completely change the character of the tone. I’ve found that on the lead channel, I like the bright knob around 6 and on the rhythm channel I like it below noon. For Contour, I prefer it below noon a touch. Who knows where I’ll end up ultimately, but that’s where I am now. Presence also has a big effect. I’m currently about 7 on it.

The bass, mid and treble controls are extremely useable and you can dial to extremes and still find some good tones.

I also like the pull treble. To my ears, it seems to add a little sizzle and reduce the mids a touch. This may not be exactly what it is doing, but it is what I hear.

I am a thrashy rhythm guy, through and through and this amp is so articulate, punchy and angry it does what I like perfectly.

Current boosts on my board: Maxon OD808, Duncan 805, Boss SD1 and a Metal Zone. This amp is great with all of them. If I had to pick just one, it would probably be the 805, but I double boost on the rhythm channel (which is glorious BTW), so I need at least 2 on my board…. Also have a whole drawer full of other boosts I’ll try out over time.

I’ll get around to cell phone recording a clip or two at some point.

Absolutely fantastic amp and I am now interested in checking out a MTL. My Cherry Bomb isn’t going anywhere, but this is a keeper.

The Mark III+ will be hitting the classifieds when I get to it.

What a great amp this is!
T

 

[Racerxrated]

Congrats!

Wizards are great amps. I first tried a MTL 50...cool amp but for me, the mids were too non existent. Then, a killer MC100. That one was the one I wish I'd kept. Mids were almost a Marshall. But, GAS got the better of me and I moved on. Eventually a 72 Superlead took that pain away haha.

Enjoy!

 

[Ryan990]

I’ve been telling myself that I don’t really need to try a Wizard for a long time, since I am perfectly happy with my Cherry Bomb and a rotating cast of second amps…currently a Mark III+, but I’ve been interested in them none the less, so I finally pulled the trigger and bought the MCII MKII 40 that gbsmusic had for sale. First off, Greg is GREAT to deal with, packs well and ships promptly,,,,thank you Greg!

I’ve spent about 8 hours with the amp and can confirm, the hype is real. Makes me wish I hadn’t waited so long to try one.

Even though I don’t play out, I always prefer big boy heads, but this thing, at 40 watts, with 6v6’s more than hangs.

Before I get into details, know that I boost everything, so purists can move along

The punch, articulation, clarity that I’ve read about for so long is real and amazing. While not the same, I do get some VHT vibes. I’ve always thought of the green channel on the CL as THE VHT tone, which to me is sort of HiWatt-ish. I get some of the same from this amp.

The Bright and Contour knobs can completely change the character of the tone. I’ve found that on the lead channel, I like the bright knob around 6 and on the rhythm channel I like it below noon. For Contour, I prefer it below noon a touch. Who knows where I’ll end up ultimately, but that’s where I am now. Presence also has a big effect. I’m currently about 7 on it.

The bass, mid and treble controls are extremely useable and you can dial to extremes and still find some good tones.

I also like the pull treble. To my ears, it seems to add a little sizzle and reduce the mids a touch. This may not be exactly what it is doing, but it is what I hear.

I am a thrashy rhythm guy, through and through and this amp is so articulate, punchy and angry it does what I like perfectly.

Current boosts on my board: Maxon OD808, Duncan 805, Boss SD1 and a Metal Zone. This amp is great with all of them. If I had to pick just one, it would probably be the 805, but I double boost on the rhythm channel (which is glorious BTW), so I need at least 2 on my board…. Also have a whole drawer full of other boosts I’ll try out over time.

I’ll get around to cell phone recording a clip or two at some point.

Absolutely fantastic amp and I am now interested in checking out a MTL. My Cherry Bomb isn’t going anywhere, but this is a keeper.

The Mark III+ will be hitting the classifieds when I get to it.

What a great amp this is!
T

I have found that my MCII loves Klon style circuits as a boost. Congrats on the new amp!

 

[GrimTrigger]

Congrats on the new amp! Can you say more about your settings when you double boost? I would like to try that. Do you stack “traditional” TS settings (Drive 0 Tone 5 Level 10) or do you adjust the settings since you have two boosts in series?

 

[DanTravis62]

Depends on the circuit, but IME i agree with @Ryan990 that klons seem to work best for a boost with wizard circuits

 

[TheGreatGreen]

You wouldn’t think the MCII would take boosts as well as it does, as articulate as it already is, but it does. I’ve even gotten some really cool sounds with just a GE-7 in front.

Awesome amp. One of the greats.

 

[Greazygeo]

Cool, glad to hear you got to try one. Enjoy it. I am waiting on my MCII 40 to get built now. I looked at the one you bought, but no white for me. Only ever use the lead channel on my MC100 with and without a boost depending on the tone. TS9 that I modded a long time ago is what I use most, but it really isn’t picky the way I use them.

 

[DanTravis62]

You wouldn’t think the MCII would take boosts as well as it does, as articulate as it already is, but it does. I’ve even gotten some really cool sounds with just a GE-7 in front.

Awesome amp. One of the greats.

Most of my favorite tones out of the mc1, mc2, mtl, and metal have all been boosted

I haven't tried a hellrazor, but I assume it has enough gain to where it doesn't really need one

With the main line wizard amps though, they function really well with "slight sweetener" type boosts like the klon or even an eq - it's not about the gain as much as just sweetening the response a little bit, adding some sparkle

 

[MetalHeadMike]

Glad you dig it! Its a sick amp. The 805 is also my fav boost for it.

 

[Ryan990]

I'll add one more boost that I love with my MCII is a Fulltone OCD V1.3. I've tried multiple OCD revisions with it and for my ears 1.3 is the best.

 

[thegame]

Most of my favorite tones out of the mc1, mc2, mtl, and metal have all been boosted

I haven't tried a hellrazor, but I assume it has enough gain to where it doesn't really need one

With the main line wizard amps though, they function really well with "slight sweetener" type boosts like the klon or even an eq - it's not about the gain as much as just sweetening the response a little bit, adding some sparkle

100%. I’ve always found Wizards don’t react well to being slammed with ODs or even clean boosts. Something weird happens. Low to moderate boosting at most works best.

 

[DanTravis62]

100%. I’ve always found Wizards don’t react well to being slammed with ODs or even clean boosts. Something weird happens. Low to moderate boosting at most works best.

Yep, doesn't work like a recto or 5150 where you put the gain on zero, volume on ten; it doesn't need that

The low end is so much tighter that you just need a slight tweak, not a machete cut of the low end

Most of the wizards i've played sound good with just like a "klon with everything on 6" type thing, like you would do with an edge of breakup amp to make it compress and feel squishy but still sound clean

 

[Greazygeo]

100%. I’ve always found Wizards don’t react well to being slammed with ODs or even clean boosts. Something weird happens. Low to moderate boosting at most works best.

You mean I have been doing it wrong for twenty years?

 

[DanTravis62]

You mean I have been doing it wrong for twenty years?

I mean, don't you play blues? It may work fine for that

But gary, I, and everyone else are talking about for high gain