Wizard Amps: Guys swear by them, clips don't do justice. Are there any clips - even of other amps - that come close?

[RaceU4her]

Not to get too far off topic, but I find the VH4 to be incredibly versatile. Cleans are great, and I just stuck on Ch 2 which has a few things in common with a 2203. Gain and saturation just go up from there in Chs 3 & 4. Not that it sounds the same, but it has that in common with both the UL and SLO. While I find the high gain channels extremely satisfying, I'm more likely to get stuck on Ch 1 or 2 on the UL and on the Crunch channel on the SLO. They're not low gain sounds, but the clarity is unreal.

Are there any vintage or new Marshalls or Hiwatts that come close? I'd guess the feel would be different. I've heard some great Wizard clips, but it seems I can cover most of those sounds, at least same ballpark. Anything else feel like a Wizard?

VHT’s are supposedly closest

 

[ChurchHill]

VHT’s are supposedly closest

So then I probably am fairly covered then with my VHT UL. I know it's not the same, but that's what I'd thought might be closest. Thanks!!

 

[LPMojoGL]

I thought I’d love a wizard but I was very wrong. Had a mk2 MTL, sold it

Strange mids and the bright knob made it sound like an AM radio in my rig

Wasn’t modern but wasn’t classic either, caught in no man’s land

Tried tubes, settings, speakers etc, nothing worked

My Headfirst modded Marshalls slay the MTL in my experience and my Rev F recto is also well above the Wizard

All in my opinion of course

Good news is they hold their value pretty well when reselling

I did't care for the 2016 MTL I had, either. Much prefer the Modern Classic.
Not that the MTL was bad. It was super meaty.
But the tight bright MC is way more my thing.
MTL doesn't make the list of my top fav amps.
Modern Classic is top 3, at least.

 

[Greazygeo]

Not to get too far off topic, but I find the VH4 to be incredibly versatile. Cleans are great, and I just stuck on Ch 2 which has a few things in common with a 2203. Gain and saturation just go up from there in Chs 3 & 4. Not that it sounds the same, but it has that in common with both the UL and SLO. While I find the high gain channels extremely satisfying, I'm more likely to get stuck on Ch 1 or 2 on the UL and on the Crunch channel on the SLO. They're not low gain sounds, but the clarity is unreal.

Are there any vintage or new Marshalls or Hiwatts that come close? I'd guess the feel would be different. I've heard some great Wizard clips, but it seems I can cover most of those sounds, at least same ballpark. Anything else feel like a Wizard?

With my UL, ch 2 was all I used. Just toggled the boost on and off for clean / rhythm and added a TS9 for solos. Basically same as my Wizard. Lead Ch gain about 2:00 and roll back vol for clean, add a TS9 for solos. Such a big sound.

I have a 74 DR103…. Looks like a Wizard, that’s about it though. It loves P90’s / single coils cranked up with some pedals. Without it’s bold clean tones. And it is pretty loud. Fun amp.

My Wizard gets the same tone as my 69 plexi SL after I modded it, added more filtering and 6550’s cranked and slaved with fx etc at any volume. Big thing is the tone never changes throughout a 4 hour gig and rarely have to touch the tone controls anywhere we play. The low end for palm mutes are round and solid, not that “thwack” sound Marshalls have, like the bright cap gain if you know what I mean. Other thing UL and Wiz have in common is no hair / fuzzy sound on the single notes, almost like it’s clean but it’s high gain.….That is what I like…

 

[Greazygeo]

VHT’s are supposedly closest

The MC1 not at all IME. Slight possibility would be the CLX, but even then not really. Newer stuff no idea.

 

[peterc52]

Played my hellrazor all night to band rehearsal. One of the best amps ever made FOR SURE

 

[RedB4Black]

Just curious, what would you consider overlapping? Same question for @Greazygeo and anyone else who likes Wizards.

I'm kinda in the same boat. I really like the clips, but I find myself wondering what it brings to my table. VH4 and Ultralead are probably the tightest amps I have. Not really in the same ballpark, but I don't really know because I've never played a Wizard.

For heavier rock/metal tones, (ZFG about mid gain and cleans)….

The UL is closest to an MTL. Not all MTLs are the same, Rick has made various tweaks over the years and you can hear differences. The Mk2 with the Mid sweep is definitely what you want. Then you get different tube types and OTs. My favorites are the 150w KT88 and the current one I have which is a 60w KT66.

MC/MC2 have been pretty consistent sounding over the year, IMO… with the exception of the 2018 KT150 I had… never liked that one as much. The newer KT150 mk2 was much better. The Mk2 changes didn’t seem to make a whole lot of tonal change to me with the exception of the pull on the treble knob.

The HR is like an MTL on steroids with a super tight metal voice. I had a kt66 version that I felt was a little to smooth for my tastes. The el34 version is better. There have been some updates since I had mine so not sure how the current version sounds.

I was a huge Diezel fan for the longest time. Loved the Herbert. After I got my UL, I grew to hate the smooth, processed and compressed tone of Diezels….ive owned them all. I will say that blending a VH4 and UL in stereo was one of the best 2 amp tones I’ve played.

 

[ChurchHill]

I was a huge Diezel fan for the longest time. Loved the Herbert. After I got my UL, I grew to hate the smooth, processed and compressed tone of Diezels….ive owned them all. I will say that blending a VH4 and UL in stereo was one of the best 2 amp tones I’ve played.

You got that right... VH4 and UL are really incredible together!

Thanks for all the Wizard insights, too!

 

[Bardagh]

A modern classic of some sort has long been on my list of need-to-own amps. What I hear in them that grabs me is the harmonic content and the bite/brightness that is not the same as a Marshall. No hairiness/fizz on the gain. Some guy on here has posted videos in the past playing through his with some Andersons that always blew me away.

 

[peterc52]

This is how you feel when playing a Wizard

Here’s my old MC I dearly miss. Why did I sell

 

[rocker]

This is how you feel when playing a Wizard

Here’s my old MC I dearly miss. Why did I sell

I got that one from Rick in 2013. Is that amp still in Denmark?

 

[Racerxrated]

I never have gotten a chance to try the three. But the IV is special.

Yep!
The IV is the second best Mk I've played. I went to a shop to try the JP2C years ago, and they also had a Mk IV. The IV was much more my speed than the JP was. More organic, 3D whatever term one uses. The JP was flat sounding by comparison.

 

[peterc52]

I got that one from Rick in 2013. Is that amp still in Denmark?

I think it might be in Germany. Damn

 

[rocker]

I think it might be in Germany. Damn

Are there big difference between the Moab and MC?

 

[Exo-metal]

For heavier rock/metal tones, (ZFG about mid gain and cleans)….

The UL is closest to an MTL. Not all MTLs are the same, Rick has made various tweaks over the years and you can hear differences. The Mk2 with the Mid sweep is definitely what you want. Then you get different tube types and OTs. My favorites are the 150w KT88 and the current one I have which is a 60w KT66.

MC/MC2 have been pretty consistent sounding over the year, IMO… with the exception of the 2018 KT150 I had… never liked that one as much. The newer KT150 mk2 was much better. The Mk2 changes didn’t seem to make a whole lot of tonal change to me with the exception of the pull on the treble knob.

The HR is like an MTL on steroids with a super tight metal voice. I had a kt66 version that I felt was a little to smooth for my tastes. The el34 version is better. There have been some updates since I had mine so not sure how the current version sounds.

I was a huge Diezel fan for the longest time. Loved the Herbert. After I got my UL, I grew to hate the smooth, processed and compressed tone of Diezels….ive owned them all. I will say that blending a VH4 and UL in stereo was one of the best 2 amp tones I’ve played.

KT66? Tell us more about that amp? Was it a 2nd version?

 

[thegame]

For a boutique amp, Wizards have unarguably some of the highest presence in pro recording studios, worldwide. That's not because they don't "record well".

 

[RedB4Black]

KT66? Tell us more about that amp? Was it a 2nd version?

The HR or my MTL?

I have a 60w KT66 MTL mk2. I got it in early 2023. It's my favorite Wizard I've owned. It supplanted my KT150 MTL mk2. For high volumes, nothing would beat the KT150...but for the fairly loud room volumes I mostly play at, the KT66 was my favorite. It was tough to sell my KT150, but someone offered me a really good price to buy it. I've grown to prefer the 50w Wizards with the C transformers over the 100w V transformers from a tonal perspective (though Rick will tell you that they sound the same - just different power).

The 120w KT66 HR I had was one of the early ones. I ordered the KT66 version because I loved them in my MTL. I have a 50w MTL that has a few modifications and when I compared it to the HR, it that amp blew away my HR away in terms of raw aggression. Though still a great amp, that HR was kind of a disappointment to me because of I wanted the same raw aggression and I felt it was overly smooth sounding. I mentioned above, Rick has since revised the HR (@WizardSouth-JP can speak to the before/after update tonal differences since he's owned a few), so it may be more of what I was looking for at the time.

 

[peterc52]

Are there big difference between the Moab and MC?

The MOAB has a Marshall core - while the Wizard is still very hiwatt. Just a lot of options. And super punchy too!

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

The HR or my MTL?

I have a 60w KT66 MTL mk2. I got it in early 2023. It's my favorite Wizard I've owned. It supplanted my KT150 MTL mk2. For high volumes, nothing would beat the KT150...but for the fairly loud room volumes I mostly play at, the KT66 was my favorite. It was tough to sell my KT150, but someone offered me a really good price to buy it. I've grown to prefer the 50w Wizards with the C transformers over the 100w V transformers from a tonal perspective (though Rick will tell you that they sound the same - just different power).

The 120w KT66 HR I had was one of the early ones. I ordered the KT66 version because I loved them in my MTL. I have a 50w MTL that has a few modifications and when I compared it to the HR, it that amp blew away my HR away in terms of raw aggression. Though still a great amp, that HR was kind of a disappointment to me because of I wanted the same raw aggression and I felt it was overly smooth sounding. I mentioned above, Rick has since revised the HR (@WizardSouth-JP can speak to the before/after update tonal differences since he's owned a few), so it may be more of what I was looking for at the time.

I think the first round of Hell Razors were a bit noisy as there's a bunch of gain staging and 3 gain knobs and a saturation knob which if overdone, the amps can be somewhat out of control. I had one that needed a gate in the loop and in front to dial in the crushing gain tones I was after. Not all sure what he's done but the latest HR is quieter, lower noise floor. For what I need I find the MTL as good as the HR if not better since it's a simpler amp to dial in and likes boosts. To each his own, if you want the most control over the gain structure and frequencies the Hell Razor is for you. If you're set and forget, then the MTL or MCII or Hybrid would be the way to go IMO.

 

[peterc52]

My son loves the HR