*UPDATED*NAD: Wizard MTL (New clip w/ Friedman 412:15 cab)

[Racerxrated]

HNAD but to be honest the Fortin Cali and Butterslax clips you did sound much better to me. I just can’t get on board with Wizards sorry.

Agreed. OP, your Cali clips sound fantastic. This one sounds good, don't get me wrong, but it's much smoother. Gotta say one of the best Wizard clips I've heard on the web, but the Cali does it for me

It's funny, Wizards are the most raw and open/uncompressed amps out there, at least from what I've played/owned. Smooth is not the word I would use to describe the amp in the room tone. Get the volume up even at 2 and it becomes this rude pissed off animal, with/without a boost. I had a MTL 50 and a MC 100w and they were killer...not for everyone sure but for me, just the best modded Marshall type amp out there. If it wasn't for my unicorn C+ Coliseum purchase I'd still have that MC I. Rick makes amazing amps, not for the feint of heart though.

That's cool and all, but I've never heard a Wizard clip that sounded like how people describe... ever... not once... never in the history of the world. Can you point me to a recording, a song, a record, a video clip, a soundcloud clip, anything?[/quote


Clips can be useful for many, but my experience is they do no justice to some of my favorite amps. C+ clips, sound like a Mark III. They aren't even close in my experience.
I've also never heard a clip of an SLO that didn't sound just ok at best. When you play the amp in the room, it's a way different experience than ANY clip I've ever heard. I'm sure you know this...when the main core of the tone comes from the power section, that just doesn't translate through a clip, no matter how professional it's recorded.
You have to be in the room to get it..you really do. No other way around it. Of course, it's difficult to do that when you never ever see one in a retail setting...but you just have to trust the majority of guys that have had them...they usually say the same thing.
Gotta hear/feel one in person.

If you take a listen to The Pretty Reckless, Ben uses a Wizard MCII. When I first heard them in 2014 live, it was the best guitar tone I'd ever heard live. 3 other local players said the same thing. Sounded incredible. It might not be your thing, but there is no other amp that has LESS compression than a Wizard...and I've owned 2 VHT Deliverances.

 

[Racerxrated]

Something I remembered today while playing my 2016 MTL - if you use the loop on these amps, the send and return levels are crucial to maintain the base tone. If you switch the loop on and off and the levels aren’t adjusted properly, the amp will sound a lot different with the loop engaged.

I only run a TC Flashback delay (or an El Cap depending on the day) in the loop. I’ve found that to keep the base tone almost totally unchanged, I have to set the fx send level very high, around 3 o’clock. Return is relatively low, around 9 o’clock. I’ll sit and switch the loop on and off while playing until I hear only the most indiscernible difference.

I’ve had a few Wizards, one was a 2012 MCII. That one sounded like a Roland Cube with the loop engaged. I emailed Rick and he had me clip a capacitor from the loop circuit which fixed the issue. Haven’t had that problem on the three 2016’s that I’ve had.

Interesting. Both amps I had were 2012s, but neither had a loop. I wonder how many sold off their amps based off this issue? Hopefully they got it straightened out.

 

[glip22]

My older Wizards had some loop issues. The newer amps I own seem perfect. No added hum when engaged or tone loss. If there's any tone loss, it's so minimal it's irrelevant. I'm not sure if there were changes to the 2017-current but these seem the best yet to me in all aspects. I own a late 2017 MTL 6L6 Vader I got from Steve and a late 2018 MCII. I had a 2016 MTL I returned because I much preferred my 2012 to it.

 

[LunatiBSW]

I own a 2016 MTL and while I agree that it sounds raw, aggressive, open, bright and all that good stuff, I think the reason why some say it’s smooth and don’t care for it is because it doesn’t have as much growl or roar to it on those powerchords as most amps going for a Marshall or modded Marshall sound. A lot of the more compressed amps tend to have more texture and growl to the notes and I think some guys prefer that. I like both if they’re high quality in their execution. The Wizards are also not on their own as juicy or saturated as some other amps.

For me the thing that makes them special, which would be hard to tell from clips, is the rock solid quality each note has and their level of note definition. They also move a lot of air. My Hiwatt moves it even more, but in a more spread out way, while my MTL does in a more direct, laser-like way

This is a great description.
I agree with this fully.

 

[LunatiBSW]

My older Wizards had some loop issues. The newer amps I own seem perfect. No added hum when engaged or tone loss. If there's any tone loss, it's so minimal it's irrelevant. I'm not sure if there were changes to the 2017-current but these seem the best yet to me in all aspects. I own a late 2017 MTL 6L6 Vader I got from Steve and a late 2018 MCII. I had a 2016 MTL I returned because I much preferred my 2012 to it.

My 2018 mcII loop seems the same as this 2016 MTL.
I found very minimal, if any, tone change.
I just run a zuul, eventide timefactor, and TC ditto in the loop.
The loop is tricky though with send and return levels. Finding unity can be a bitch.
I found equal tones, but the volume is a bit higher

 

[RedPlated]

My 2018 mcII loop seems the same as this 2016 MTL.
I found very minimal, if any, tone change.
I just run a zuul, eventide timefactor, and TC ditto in the loop.
The loop is tricky though with send and return levels. Finding unity can be a bitch.
I found equal tones, but the volume is a bit higher

Try send at 3 o clock and then adjust return for unity volume.

 

[LPMojoGL]

My older Wizards had some loop issues. The newer amps I own seem perfect. No added hum when engaged or tone loss. If there's any tone loss, it's so minimal it's irrelevant. I'm not sure if there were changes to the 2017-current but these seem the best yet to me in all aspects. I own a late 2017 MTL 6L6 Vader I got from Steve and a late 2018 MCII. I had a 2016 MTL I returned because I much preferred my 2012 to it.

My 2018 mcII loop seems the same as this 2016 MTL.
I found very minimal, if any, tone change.
I just run a zuul, eventide timefactor, and TC ditto in the loop.
The loop is tricky though with send and return levels. Finding unity can be a bitch.
I found equal tones, but the volume is a bit higher

On your old MC50, def a balancing act of the send and return levels. Super transparent, maybe just a hint more mids, which is actually kinda nice. No hums here. One of the best effects loops I’ve encountered.

 

[LunatiBSW]

New clip with Friedman cab. A lot more bite.
No mid scoop engaged on amp.
Mayones guitar in this clip also with BKP.

 

[Krull]

Ok now we are talking. That clip sounds crazy. The cab made a huge difference. Damn I need that cab now.

 

[DeathbyButterslax]

New clip with Friedman cab. A lot more bite.
No mid scoop engaged on amp.

Fuck... world destroying tone right there

 

[LunatiBSW]

Ok now we are talking. That clip sounds crazy. The cab made a huge difference. Damn I need that cab now.

Thanks dude. The other big difference is the guitar.
The first guitar was an esp with active Emg het set. Standard.
The second guitar was a mayones with BKP juggernauts. dropc#.
I’m still quite partial to my fortin though..

Fuck... world destroying tone right there

That’s the best comment ever! Thanks bro

 

[FourT6and2]

New clip with Friedman cab. A lot more bite.
No mid scoop engaged on amp.
Mayones guitar in this clip also with BKP.

Much better, thanks! I still prefer your Cali clips but this is the best sounding Wizard clip I've heard.

 

[LunatiBSW]

Much better, thanks! I still prefer your Cali clips but this is the best sounding Wizard clip I've heard.

Thanks dude!
I’ll admit. The Cali is my favorite right now. It’s so badass! It’ll prob make me sell of some stuff soon.

 

[firejack]

Haha I was going to ask you to try doing a clip with that Mayones guitar because it sounded too smooth and polite with the ESP. But I didn't want to crud on your thread. Man that Mayones guitar really bites. I can understand the cab adding something as well, because my Friedman 412 has a quite different sounding attack to my Bogner 412. But yeah that's the tone right there. Mayones + Friedman = Win.

 

[firejack]

Much better, thanks! I still prefer your Cali clips but this is the best sounding Wizard clip I've heard.

Lunati did a clip way back with the other Wizard amp. One of the best "recorded-in-room-with-cam" tones I've heard. I prefer it over the Cali. Don't know if you saw it. Lunati can you link us to that older clip?

 

[LunatiBSW]

This one?

 

[LunatiBSW]

Haha I was going to ask you to try doing a clip with that Mayones guitar because it sounded too smooth and polite with the ESP. But I didn't want to crud on your thread. Man that Mayones guitar really bites. I can understand the cab adding something as well, because my Friedman 412 has a quite different sounding attack to my Bogner 412. But yeah that's the tone right there. Mayones + Friedman = Win.

The mid scoop was engaged on the amp also, which didn’t translate to as biting of a tone in the first clip.
Emg’s also really compress the tone.
The Mayo guitar is a beast. It’s my go to for sure.
I love my Bogner uberkab also. You have some good quality 4x12’s now. Congrats. Nothing compares to 412’s

 

[311boogieman]

This one?

That's the one


KSE at 3min

 

[John4021]

The new clip shows off how much tone the MTL is capable of
Well done bruddha

 

[firejack]

This one?

Yep that's the one. All kinds of thick, percussive, meaty, growly goodness going on there.