Which Marshall-esque amp builders for dry and open high gain tones?

[buller]

Wizard is of course the common answer when people ask about the ultimate amps for dry and articulate gain with lots of punch, but I also often see people say that Wizards' mids aren't like Marshalls and that they're more hollow.

So if I'm looking for a fancy modern amp with mids that stay more true to Marshall while having the more dry feel, dynamics, and openness of Wizard/VHT/Fryette, what builders should I be looking at?

While I like Marshall mids, brightness, and drier tones, I don't like cocked wah mids or super clanky, djenty tones. Ground Zero, Monomyth, Lenz, MGL, Headfirst, and Splawn all have my interest, but I don't have a good sense of how their "house sounds" and areas of specialty compare with each other, so any help understanding which might or might not be a good match would be appreciated

 

[midnightlaundry]

That's not what Marshall is..
Have you actually played a Deliverance? It might not be what you think you want.
Beside, newer amps are a 5150 spinoff to me with impossible amounts gain.

 

[buller]

That's not what Marshall is..
Have you actually played a Deliverance? It might not be what you think you want.
Beside, newer amps are a 5150 spinoff to me with impossible amounts gain.

Not sure I get what you mean, where'd I mention a Deliverance? I do have the Synergy Deliverance module which I really like, and playing with the Synergy stuff has helped me realize I prefer playing with drier high gain tones rather than more saturated ones like SLOs or Rectos (even though I often prefer more saturated, scooped tones when listening to other people play).

Maybe my OP is poorly worded, but I'm basically just wondering what amps and builders are out there that combine the kerrang of Marshalls with the dry and articulate character of VHT/Fryette or Wizard.

Newer amps are definitely not all 5150 spinoffs so I'm not sure what you meant with that part

 

[napalmdeath]

Engl Artist Edition.

 

[Fusionbear]

Splawn Quickrod!

 

[ners]

The GZA Hellion might be what you want. All the clarity and punch of a Wizard but way better mids (overall more classic Marshall JCM800ish; I'm literally going to sell my MTL because I prefer the GZA. There is a compression knob (or 2?) that let's you control how open you want the amp to sound.

Monomyth probably specializes in a thicker lower mids sound compared to the rest but definitely still crazy tight, punchy, and Marshall-y. The Unholy Grail is probably not the dry you want, but the Skeleton Key might be (either way, both fantastic amps).

 

[cardinal]

open and dry high gain Marshall tones; seems like a 2203 with a $50 Boss SD-1.

 

[SFW]

Off the top of my head...

Splawn Quickrod.... very dry. You will earn the notes. They have their midrange in a completely different spot than Marshall though. Some people love it, some hate it.

Friedman... Pick an amp from the BE line. I'm currently getting my modded Marshall fix from a BE-50.

Engl Artiest Edition.... DRY. VERY DRY. Killer tones. I wouldn't say that it has a ton of gain by 5150 standards, but more than enough for modern hard rock and some metal in the context of a band mix.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Wizard is of course the common answer when people ask about the ultimate amps for dry and articulate gain with lots of punch, but I also often see people say that Wizards' mids aren't like Marshalls and that they're more hollow.

So if I'm looking for a fancy modern amp with mids that stay more true to Marshall while having the more dry feel, dynamics, and openness of Wizard/VHT/Fryette, what builders should I be looking at?

While I like Marshall mids, brightness, and drier tones, I don't like cocked wah mids or super clanky, djenty tones. Ground Zero, Monomyth, Lenz, MGL, Headfirst, and Splawn all have my interest, but I don't have a good sense of how their "house sounds" and areas of specialty compare with each other, so any help understanding which might or might not be a good match would be appreciated

Mgl are awesome. Groundzero moab is beautiful

Here is mgl with a bit more vintage dialing.

This one a bit more modern.

 

[DanTravis62]

Judging by what you're describing in the OP?

MGL or ENGL Artist Edition

 

[DanTravis62]

GZA stuff definitely has the marshall mids, and is punchy, but is the opposite of what I would call "dry" like Fryette or Wizard

I would describe Jeremy's stuff as much more "juicy" and easier to play under the fingers

Either can be good with the right player and rig, but they are definitely different things

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

GZA stuff definitely has the marshall mids, and is punchy, but is the opposite of what I would call "dry" like Fryette or Wizard

I would describe Jeremy's stuff as much more "juicy" and easier to play under the fingers

Either can be good with the right player and rig, but they are definitely different things

The moab just sounds like a super punchy musical marshall for sure

Mgl is a marshall with more snarl

 

[buller]

Thanks guys, seems like an MGL might make the most sense for me so far. People's complaints about Splawn mids make me unsure whether an amp like the QR would be a good choice for me.

GZ Hellion and Bogner Helios Eclipse are 2 amps I'm really drawn to that seem incredible, but in reality I'm guessing they'd be more chewy and compressed than what I'm after?

How about the Headfirst Alta or Evil Joe, Morris Sirrom, and Lenz Octane? Any of these leans towards the dry and uncompressed side of things?

 

[napalmdeath]

Off the top of my head...

Splawn Quickrod.... very dry. You will earn the notes. They have their midrange in a completely different spot than Marshall though. Some people love it, some hate it.

Friedman... Pick an amp from the BE line. I'm currently getting my modded Marshall fix from a BE-50.

Engl Artiest Edition.... DRY. VERY DRY. Killer tones. I wouldn't say that it has a ton of gain by 5150 standards, but more than enough for modern hard rock and some metal in the context of a band mix.

An Artist will do metal, and beyond. Hit it with a boost, and it'll get downright brutal. It has as much gain as the Fireball.

 

[napalmdeath]

Thanks guys, seems like an MGL might make the most sense for me so far. People's complaints about Splawn mids make me unsure whether an amp like the QR would be a good choice for me.

GZ Hellion and Bogner Helios Eclipse are 2 amps I'm really drawn to that seem incredible, but in reality I'm guessing they'd be more chewy and compressed than what I'm after?

How about the Headfirst Alta or Evil Joe, Morris Sirrom, and Lenz Octane? Any of these leans towards the dry and uncompressed side of things?

The Helios is a good one. The non-Eclipse with a boost will get you there in 80s hot mode. Can't go wrong with a Splawn either.

 

[S̷͖͑m̵͎͂á̵̺s̸͚̈́h̴̬̑]

Thanks guys, seems like an MGL might make the most sense for me so far. People's complaints about Splawn mids make me unsure whether an amp like the QR would be a good choice for me.

GZ Hellion and Bogner Helios Eclipse are 2 amps I'm really drawn to that seem incredible, but in reality I'm guessing they'd be more chewy and compressed than what I'm after?

How about the Headfirst Alta or Evil Joe, Morris Sirrom, and Lenz Octane? Any of these leans towards the dry and uncompressed side of things?

Morris sirrom is nice, but i prefer mgl. The hellion is not chewy. It is very tight and uppermid focused kind of like the monomyth. Both the hellion and monomyth are very modern.
Lenz octane is on my list to try. It is like a well built rectifier.

I didn't care for the helios at all. It was kind of boring when shot out against the rest of the amps for me personally

 

[SFW]

An Artist will do metal, and beyond. Hit it with a boost, and it'll get downright brutal. It has as much gain as the Fireball.

Oh, I agree that it will do metal. The gain structure is just different. It has gain, but the amp is very dry, which makes it feel like less gain that what is actually going on. It's a great amp.

 

[buller]

I think I'd rule out the ENGL unfortunately just since if I'm gonna move from Synergy to a "serious" amp, I want top tier build quality too.

MGL, Hellion, and Headfirst Alta or Evil Joe are top contenders. Lickliter amps also sound pretty fucking good in the clips I've heard. Need to look into them more

 

[stratjacket]

Can’t help too much but will say the driest amp I ever played or owned was a Fryette/VHT Sig X. It was right up there with Asahi SuperDry beer.

 

[harddriver]

Splawn Quickrod!

Off the top of my head...

Splawn Quickrod.... very dry. You will earn the notes. They have their midrange in a completely different spot than Marshall though. Some people love it, some hate it.

Friedman... Pick an amp from the BE line. I'm currently getting my modded Marshall fix from a BE-50.

Engl Artiest Edition.... DRY. VERY DRY. Killer tones. I wouldn't say that it has a ton of gain by 5150 standards, but more than enough for modern hard rock and some metal in the context of a band mix.

Fully agree with these suggestions but never played an Engl Artist but the clips seem to prove it's attributes out.

If you have a amp with an adjustable Negative Feedback control those go a long way to dial in the amp with more feedback giving it more chew like a plexi and then as you increase the NFB resistor value(usually turining up the NFB control you will note the amps gets tighter and will be less chewy (Plexi Bogner type chew) exhibiting what I think yo are defining as DRY. Between an NFB and Depth mod I think you can truly tailor the repsonse and feel to what you want to hear if the base tones are what you want.

Almost every VHT/Frytette amp seems to be described as DRY. I'd say Splawn could be described and dry and tight somewhat, they definitely are not chewy like a Bogner XTC but Splawns are just thick that's inherent in Scotts circuit.

I think the new Bogner Uberschall Ultra may have an NFB control of and it one hell of a heavy thick Marshallesque amp.

I hear the Ground Zero Hellion or the GZ Moab mod as quite Marshall and so flexible I think it could be dialed in to what ever you want if you are looking for dry tight or more chew. You have some great choices out there to get you where you want to go.