Wizard or SLO

[cecilbag]

I know there was a similar thread awhile ago but I have sold enough gear to finally get either an SLO or a Wizard. I play a Splawn now and love it but I've heard two different bands playing Wizard and holy crap did they sound awesome. On the flip side I saw a Crue tribute where the guy played an SLO and it was equally badass. I play 70s/80s rock in a cover band and original metal stuff at home. I don't need a ton of gain, I use gear 2 on my QuickRod and have the gain at noon. I'm pretty set on a Wizard MCII/MTL or an SLO. What would you guys think will work best for me. Living in central Wisconsin I have zero chance of trying either of these amps. That's the crapshoot. I know the SLO is easier to sell but I don't flip gear typically. I find what I like and go from there. I think the wizard has a foot switchable boost but I could be mistaken. Please help me decide. I had to sell some cherished items to make this happen so I don't want to screw it up.

 

[Racerxrated]

SLO with a little push in the upper mids is like the best modded Marshall. However, many say that a Wizard is the best modded Marshall. I saw a band, Pretty Reckless, use a Wizard live twice and it was an amazing tone. If you are a Marshall guy at heart and can afford either new I'd say go for the Wizard. Loved the SLO but that Wizard tone haunts me. Can't go wrong either way. Loop is better in the Wizard though.....

 

[Mr. Willy]

SLO with a little push in the upper mids is like the best modded Marshall. However, many say that a Wizard is the best modded Marshall. I saw a band, Pretty Reckless, use a Wizard live twice and it was an amazing tone. If you are a Marshall guy at heart and can afford either new I'd say go for the Wizard. Loved the SLO but that Wizard tone haunts me. Can't go wrong either way. Loop is better in the Wizard though.....

I have a SLO, too. I had a similar experience as you. I saw a no-name band open for Velvet Revolver, the guitarist was playing through a Wizard half stack. It's one of the best live tones I've heard to this day. It was much better than Slash and that other guy in VR. Love the SLO, though.

 

[glip22]

MTL all the way. Absolutely phenomenal amp.

 

[sjk]

Have had a SLO for 3/12 years now and had one for 3 or 5 months about a year before getting the current one. Great, great amp with a unique sound that sounds absolutely huge turned up some. If you are gigging you should have no problem getting the volume up too sound optimal, although it just keeps getting better the more you turn it up.

Been gassing for Wizard for 2 plus years and about 3 weeks ago found a 100 Watt Wizard MCI with no loop on Guitar Center used site for a good price, so I can comment on that but no experience with MCII. The Wizard is more in the Marshall Wheelhouse for sure but if you crank the SLO and back off bass and gain it can sound more Marshall like.

The Wizard with the pull boost functions, "mine has one on the the lead master and another on the treble" (supposed to be his take on Jose I think?) has way more usable gain. Others I'm sure will disagree and that's fine but I don't think the overdrive sounds that good past 3 oclock on the SLO. I don't even use the boosts on the wizard but I'm apparently getting old and don't use near as much gain as I did even a few years ago lol .Both killer amps and also unique. Wizard sounds huge as well. Both have a ton of punch.
If you like Marshall go Wizard and if you can live with Soldano overdrive and not miss the Marshall go Soldano.

 

[Racerxrated]

Have had a SLO for 3/12 years now and had one for 3 or 5 months about a year before getting the current one. Great, great amp with a unique sound that sounds absolutely huge turned up some. If you are gigging you should have no problem getting the volume up too sound optimal, although it just keeps getting better the more you turn it up.

Been gassing for Wizard for 2 plus years and about 3 weeks ago found a 100 Watt Wizard MCI with no loop on Guitar Center used site for a good price, so I can comment on that but no experience with MCII. The Wizard is more in the Marshall Wheelhouse for sure but if you crank the SLO and back off bass and gain it can sound more Marshall like.

The Wizard with the pull boost functions, "mine has one on the the lead master and another on the treble" (supposed to be his take on Jose I think?) has way more usable gain. Others I'm sure will disagree and that's fine but I don't think the overdrive sounds that good past 3 oclock on the SLO. I don't even use the boosts on the wizard but I'm apparently getting old and don't use near as much gain as I did even a few years ago lol .Both killer amps and also unique. Wizard sounds huge as well. Both have a ton of punch.
If you like Marshall go Wizard and if you can live with Soldano overdrive and not miss the Marshall go Soldano.

I ended up with a little boost in front of my old SLO, eq pedal mids bumped, to get it very Marshally. Thats how I liked it best.

 

[Gadzz]

SLO with a little push in the upper mids is like the best modded Marshall. However, many say that a Wizard is the best modded Marshall. I saw a band, Pretty Reckless, use a Wizard live twice and it was an amazing tone. If you are a Marshall guy at heart and can afford either new I'd say go for the Wizard. Loved the SLO but that Wizard tone haunts me. Can't go wrong either way. Loop is better in the Wizard though.....

Agreed!! That Wizard tone at a live TPR show!! Just fantastic! Ben is a great player!

 

[cecilbag]

Thanks guys. I'm leaning towards Wizard. I've had a few guys pm me that are selling so if anyone is selling either an mcii, mtl, or an slo. Let me know. Cash in hand just wanna get that dream amp and a silverburst custom. Those are my two big purchases coming up

 

[Alex_S]

Maybe a stupid question, but why are the mc2 and the mtl so often used interchangeably like it doesn't matter which? I learned that they are actually differently voiced (but never played one or the other) and not just different gain levels etc. Doesn't that matter to you guys?

 

[Alex_S]

If they sound so close, of course not (as I said I don't have experience with either). But if it's like Porsche Boxter or Cayenne it would ;-) and that's why I actually asked, to understand if it is just red or black, because I heard that's not the case.

 

[halebox]

Not sure if you've ever had a bogner ecstasy but I would throw that into the mix as it's very versatile and sounds killer. A current MCII will be very hard to find used. Most for sale don't have all the updates. A proper MCII will be more versatile than the SLO. The wizard sounds killer recorded and mic'd up. It has extended highs and lows which makes it seem scooped (to me) when you stand in front of it. The SLO has 2 killer midrange cutting channels w(shared eq) and will always work for live where you can turn it up. At home it's still good but you don't get the same punch at low volumes. Xtc is more versatile than both and great live and at home. I have a 100b so have not tried a 20th. I just sold my MCII for bills and still have an SLO

 

[Racerxrated]

If they sound so close, of course not (as I said I don't have experience with either). But if it's like Porsche Boxter or Cayenne it would ;-) and that's why I actually asked, to understand if it is just red or black, because I heard that's not the case.

Gary(glip22) sold an MCII and went with a Metal, he would know the ins/outs of both amps in detail.

 

[Mesa\Kramer]

If having a good effects loop is important to you skip the SLO

 

[cecilbag]

First, I used the mcii or metal quote because I feel like the mtl will go more extreme then the mcii but I don't really need that. Having said that, the mtl (from what owners have told me) can also cop mcii tones. In that sense, they are interchangeable. Both are like unicorn piss and hard to find. The SLO just has that solo tone that is amazing. Having heard them both live but never played them, I know they are both great at volume. That's why I questioned here, some guys have had them and some own both currently. As far as the Bogner, I've owned 2 different XTC 101's and I didn't like either of them. In fact I bought my Splawn while I had a bogner half stack and immediately loved that amp from the second I turned it on. I sold my Bogner within a week. I won't go down the bogner road again. Not that they aren't good amps, they just weren't for me. It's hard to drop the coin when you can't play them yourself but luckily we have guys willing to help. Reza has been great and his clips are the whole reason I started looking into Wizard, I was only going after an SLO before that. That clip just makes me shake my head. Damn that amp sounds badass

 

[braintheory]

I owned an slo for about a year and while it is definitely a quality amp, it's quite overrated in my opinion. The power chords on it weren't as raw or aggressive as my mark iic+ or wizard when ab-ing them and the palm/chugs also weren't nearly as good. It did have a great lead tone but I still preferred my iic+ for leads and I think my gower or the ccv that I tried once blow the slo away for the kind of lead tone it has. Also some people say how great the clarity on the slo is and while it definitely has good clarity, the wizard and the following amps have even better clarity: Landry G3, Friedman Phil X, metroplex. The wizard also has a much better clean channel than the slo. For my tastes, I saw no reason to keep my slo given my other amps. I'm not trying to bash slo or hype up the wizard (even though I have one for sale) but I prefer the wizard if it were between just those 2. Some people may prefer the slo though since it's more compressed and forgiving. The wizard is way more unforgiving and has a tighter feel

 

[WizardSouth-JP]

I have a Wizard MCII and still would love to have a SLO. Either one is gonna be awesome. Master on the Wizard is better if you ever needed to play at lower volumes. The tone stays great even at lower levels where the SLO needs to be pretty loud to get the sweet spot.

 

[Alex_S]

If they sound so close, of course not (as I said I don't have experience with either). But if it's like Porsche Boxter or Cayenne it would ;-) and that's why I actually asked, to understand if it is just red or black, because I heard that's not the case.

Its not but it doesnt matter. they are the two top best ones. thats why people ask for them interchangeably

Got it. Thanks!

 

[Alex_S]

If they sound so close, of course not (as I said I don't have experience with either). But if it's like Porsche Boxter or Cayenne it would ;-) and that's why I actually asked, to understand if it is just red or black, because I heard that's not the case.

Gary(glip22) sold an MCII and went with a Metal, he would know the ins/outs of both amps in detail.

Thanks. I also got a answer/message from northern1 some while ago on the same question. Just was curious to get more perspectives.

I'm actually not looking for a new amp now, but these clips are so great. Maybe someday in the future...

 

[rupe]

I never understood the sentiment that an SLO needs to be cranked to sound good...I've gotten great low volume tones out of one. Sure, it's better when you light it up, but it still does well at reasonable volumes...far better than many others IMO.

 

[Racerxrated]

I never understood the sentiment that an SLO needs to be cranked to sound good...I've gotten great low volume tones out of one. Sure, it's better when you light it up, but it still does well at reasonable volumes...far better than many others IMO.

I agree. On 1.5-2, with 2 power tubes pulled it was glorious. Yeah, killer even louder but it was great low also.