Differences between the mc2 and mtl?

the rossness

Well-known member
I might be in the market for an amp and Wizard is at the top of my list. The only problem is that I’ve only been able to play wizard profiles on my kemper- never an actual amp. I initally found out about wizard amps because the guitarist in The Living End was an endorsee and that’s my favourite band. What are the big diferences between the MC2 and MTL? I live in CT. Its a long shot, but is there anyone around who has a wizard they’d let me try out? Thanks in advance for any help.
 
That'd be ideal if you could try one out locally; hope that works out for ya!

I picked up an MCII on a complete whim and friggin love it. Never played an MTL so can't make a comparison, but the MCII I picked up has the V tranny and it's one ultra mean metal machine on the lead ch. Haven't messed with the rhythm ch much, but the little I have played that ch I was fairly impressed but not blown away for 60s---70s classic rock tones. Probably just need a different pup in the LP I was using to hit the sweet spot. Was just a touch too aggressive and modern for my taste the way I had it dialed. Maybe with some tweaking of the knobs I'd get it right where I like it for that sweeter rock tone. Haven't tried much cause I play metal 90% of the time and have the Club 40 when I get the itch to play some classic rock inspired stuff.

Overall the MCII has amazing clarity, articulation, depth, punch, balls, grind, growl, and touch sensitivity. All the little nuances of your hands and pick come through, and there's some great harmonic content. SUPER open gain structure which you may like or not. I love it.

Good luck :rock:

Edit: DIdn't you sell a Fryette/VHT something or other this year? If so, there is considerable similarity IMHO between the D60 I had and the MCII. Different in the voicing, but similar in feel, dynamics, clarity, and balls.
 
MetalHeadMike":3bnm0z7u said:
That'd be ideal if you could try one out locally; hope that works out for ya!

I picked up an MCII on a complete whim and friggin love it. Never played an MTL so can't make a comparison, but the MCII I picked up has the V tranny and it's one ultra mean metal machine on the lead ch. Haven't messed with the rhythm ch much, but the little I have played that ch I was fairly impressed but not blown away for 60s---70s classic rock tones. Probably just need a different pup in the LP I was using to hit the sweet spot. Was just a touch too aggressive and modern for my taste the way I had it dialed. Maybe with some tweaking of the knobs I'd get it right where I like it for that sweeter rock tone. Haven't tried much cause I play metal 90% of the time and have the Club 40 when I get the itch to play some classic rock inspired stuff.

Overall the MCII has amazing clarity, articulation, depth, punch, balls, grind, growl, and touch sensitivity. All the little nuances of your hands and pick come through, and there's some great harmonic content. SUPER open gain structure which you may like or not. I love it.

Good luck :rock:

Edit: DIdn't you sell a Fryette/VHT something or other this year? If so, there is considerable similarity IMHO between the D60 I had and the MCII. Different in the voicing, but similar in feel, dynamics, clarity, and balls.

Yea, actually I just sold it. A vht pitbull 100 classic. I had that amp for a long time and loved the feel, but the tone never felt quite right. I’ve actually thought of picking up a D60 if the wizard doesn’t pan out. The Engl Morse is also on my shortlist.
 
the rossness":25q4vve3 said:
MetalHeadMike":25q4vve3 said:
That'd be ideal if you could try one out locally; hope that works out for ya!

I picked up an MCII on a complete whim and friggin love it. Never played an MTL so can't make a comparison, but the MCII I picked up has the V tranny and it's one ultra mean metal machine on the lead ch. Haven't messed with the rhythm ch much, but the little I have played that ch I was fairly impressed but not blown away for 60s---70s classic rock tones. Probably just need a different pup in the LP I was using to hit the sweet spot. Was just a touch too aggressive and modern for my taste the way I had it dialed. Maybe with some tweaking of the knobs I'd get it right where I like it for that sweeter rock tone. Haven't tried much cause I play metal 90% of the time and have the Club 40 when I get the itch to play some classic rock inspired stuff.

Overall the MCII has amazing clarity, articulation, depth, punch, balls, grind, growl, and touch sensitivity. All the little nuances of your hands and pick come through, and there's some great harmonic content. SUPER open gain structure which you may like or not. I love it.

Good luck :rock:

Edit: DIdn't you sell a Fryette/VHT something or other this year? If so, there is considerable similarity IMHO between the D60 I had and the MCII. Different in the voicing, but similar in feel, dynamics, clarity, and balls.

Yea, actually I just sold it. A vht pitbull 100 classic. I had that amp for a long time and loved the feel, but the tone never felt quite right. I’ve actually thought of picking up a D60 if the wizard doesn’t pan out. The Engl Morse is also on my shortlist.


The D60 was very open, dynamic, and articulate; amazing amp! But the Wizard takes those same characteristics to the next level. There's something about the Wizards eq spectrum and voicing that is just right too.
 
First off, no profile or sim is going to be able to capture the feel and response of a cranked Wizard thru a 4X12. That said...

The MC2 is more in the classic Marshall lineage/voicing and the MTL has a more modern edge to the feel and voicing. The MC2 has a little less gain, but a more focused crunchy Marshally mid voicing. The MTL has a bit more gain, a little more saturated, full and modern sounding. The controls are different too. The MTL has both a depth knob and saturation knob (which is very very cool and allows you to do what it says and dial in more or less saturation). The MC2 has a contour knob which is sort of a combination of depth/saturation together. Both sound great with a boost, or overdrive pedal up front too (not that it is needed) if that is a need for you. Either amp will have more than enough gain for any sort of hard rock, classic thru modern metal. Both also have exceptional sounding clean channels. And both are indeed different sounding enough to warrant owning and using both.
 
Wizard of Ozz":45bmki9j said:
First off, no profile or sim is going to be able to capture the feel and response of a cranked Wizard thru a 4X12. That said...

The MC2 is more in the classic Marshall lineage/voicing and the MTL has a more modern edge to the feel and voicing. The MC2 has a little less gain, but a more focused crunchy Marshally mid voicing. The MTL has a bit more gain, a little more saturated, full and modern sounding. The controls are different too. The MTL has both a depth knob and saturation knob (which is very very cool and allows you to do what it says and dial in more or less saturation). The MC2 has a contour knob which is sort of a combination of depth/saturation together. Both sound great with a boost, or overdrive pedal up front too (not that it is needed) if that is a need for you. Either amp will have more than enough gain for any sort of hard rock, classic thru modern metal. Both also have exceptional sounding clean channels. And both are indeed different sounding enough to warrant owning and using both.
Agree with everything, I would add that the 50 MTL I had was extremely picky about a boost in front. In fact none of my boost pedals worked very well, they took away from the tone IMO. So I sold it in a month. It doesn't need a boost but I wanted to add some compression as the amp has virtually NONE lol.
Enter the MCI that I bought...it's like the best 2203 you've ever played but on steroids and more gain, not a lot but enough. And, takes ANY boost pedal like a champ. I'm sure the MCII is very similar with a few more options. Mine has the C transformer and is a 2010, there are some differences in the transformer choices so ask Gary(Glip22) or another RTer that has had multiple Wizards, both MTL and MCI/II. The C trans is the most Marshall-like of all the transformers from what I've read.
The key for my amp taking boosts well is leaving the pull boost off on the amp. The MTL I had has a saturation knob that lets you dial it down but it's always on, if I could have disengaged it then it might have taken boosts better.
Great amps and I've sold most of my other amps since getting this Wizard MCI 100w. It's a force of nature lol.
 
Also, the MTL I had was a 2012, and the mids were pretty different than any Marshall. Very low mid centered, and more modern sounding than what I'm into. For the full Wizard experience I'd shy away from anything less than the 100w versions...it made my Triple Recto sound small. Seriously.
 
Racerxrated":14y2wrmd said:
Also, the MTL I had was a 2012, and the mids were pretty different than any Marshall. Very low mid centered, and more modern sounding than what I'm into. For the full Wizard experience I'd shy away from anything less than the 100w versions...it made my Triple Recto sound small. Seriously.
I agree!
I had a 2012 MTL and a 2016 MCII at the same time, and the MTL mids were def NOT Marshall. Voiced much lower like Bogner. ( just the mid focus. The amp does NOT sound like any Bogner amp)
The MCII is very JCM800-ish with the classic upper mid bite.
I also prefer the low gain channel on the MCII. Does a great Plexi vibe / AC/DC thing with the boost on.
The low gain channel is OK on the MTL, but that's not why you get a MTL. The MTL does this incredible heavy, evil grind that I've never heard in any other amp. If that's what you want, get the MTL.
If you are after a Marshall vibe, go MC I or II
Both amps are super tight, un-compressed and punch like crazy. Don't expect them to sound their best at bedroom volume, but turned up, Wizard's kick like nothing else out there.
 
fusedbrain":4c43mfz7 said:
Racerxrated":4c43mfz7 said:
Also, the MTL I had was a 2012, and the mids were pretty different than any Marshall. Very low mid centered, and more modern sounding than what I'm into. For the full Wizard experience I'd shy away from anything less than the 100w versions...it made my Triple Recto sound small. Seriously.
I agree!
I had a 2012 MTL and a 2016 MCII at the same time, and the MTL mids were def NOT Marshall. Voiced much lower like Bogner. ( just the mid focus. The amp does NOT sound like any Bogner amp)
The MCII is very JCM800-ish with the classic upper mid bite.
I also prefer the low gain channel on the MCII. Does a great Plexi vibe / AC/DC thing with the boost on.
The low gain channel is OK on the MTL, but that's not why you get a MTL. The MTL does this incredible heavy, evil grind that I've never heard in any other amp. If that's what you want, get the MTL.
If you are after a Marshall vibe, go MC I or II
Both amps are super tight, un-compressed and punch like crazy. Don't expect them to sound their best at bedroom volume, but turned up, Wizard's kick like nothing else out there.
Just want to add that while the Wizards do kill everything at high volume, there is a spot on my MCI master vol that sounds like a pushed power section, while easily being able to play at night or any apartment...I don't know how Rick does this but it's pretty amazing...I play every morning in the room adjacent to where my son sleeps and he's never been awakened by me. Pretty cool.
But yes, turn it up and prepare to be blown away.
 
the rossness":19qeka4g said:
I initally found out about wizard amps because the guitarist in The Living End was an endorsee and that’s my favourite band

Rick can confirm or deny, but I think those guys were using pairs of MC25's too...while the 50 and 100 watt MCII's are freaking beasts, you will be blown away at what the MC25 does...eats many if not most 50 watt amps alive.
 
Its really hard to just go by my kemper.

I used to think the splawn quickrod was where it was at. I had 2 different quickrods and was disapointed by them both. I never played a Nitro but love them on my kemper.
I’m not on the friedman bandwagon. I’ve played the marsha/ be100 multiple times and never has it been my thing. I played the JJ once. It was more my thing. Played his other anps and thought meh.
I’ve had a gp3, pitbull cl100 and sigx. I liked them all to different degrees. (Cl being my Favorite).

This is hard because sometimes I like the more modern (darker) amp. I also love the feel of a stiff amp. And if Wizard does the Fryette/ hiwatt thing, thats right up my alley. Since I can’t find one locally, its a hard decision to make (not a cheap amp, otherwise i’d just buy one or both and find out that way). I was leaning mtl. Today its mc2. Its hard without having played these amps. ..........
 
the rossness":1ywkof79 said:
Its really hard to just go by my kemper.

I used to think the splawn quickrod was where it was at. I had 2 different quickrods and was disapointed by them both. I never played a Nitro but love them on my kemper.
I’m not on the friedman bandwagon. I’ve played the marsha/ be100 multiple times and never has it been my thing. I played the JJ once. It was more my thing. Played his other anps and thought meh.
I’ve had a gp3, pitbull cl100 and sigx. I liked them all to different degrees. (Cl being my Favorite).

This is hard because sometimes I like the more modern (darker) amp. I also love the feel of a stiff amp. And if Wizard does the Fryette/ hiwatt thing, thats right up my alley. Since I can’t find one locally, its a hard decision to make (not a cheap amp, otherwise i’d just buy one or both and find out that way). I was leaning mtl. Today its mc2. Its hard without having played these amps. ..........
IMO the MCI/II are going to be more flexible because they are easier to boost, if you wanted, and can be dialed darker and more modern. The MTL is more low mid centered but you're kinda stuck with that tone, if you want it to be more Marshally then you'll have to find a boost that adds more upper mids. My exp was it's extremely picky about boost pedals. The MCI/II is not, as long as I leave the pull boost off it takes every boost I have well. Disclaimer: My old MTL was a 2012..maybe Rick has changed them to accept boosts easily. But I feel the MCI/II is going to have more flexibility than the MTL.
 
I've not played an MTL, but I have to agree with Racerxrated in that the MCII takes boost/OD pedals REALLY well. So far it LOVES both my Timmy and the Ts9 and it just allows for quite an enhancement of the core tone/feel. I'll be trying a Savage drive next I think. No boost/OD and the amp is pretty darn tight and immediate feeling (Not overly stiff to the point where your fighting it though). Then yeah, turn the lead ch's boost feature off and it's a whole other set of tones to play with. Hit with a Ts9 on the lead w/ the amps boost feature activated, it is TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT, but still somehow fun to play and again, not overly stiff. Wicked articulate and defined with the most open gain structure I've encountered to date. It can get pretty saturated as well which is cool having the option to play it un-compressed and ultra open or crank the gain up and add a touch from an OD and now you have a more compressed gain structure. I like the gain around 1-2 o' clock on the lead ch. Set this way with a high output bridge pup it just flat out roars with a menacing voice.
 
MetalHeadMike":bjl5sunl said:
I've not played an MTL, but I have to agree with Racerxrated in that the MCII takes boost/OD pedals REALLY well. So far it LOVES both my Timmy and the Ts9 and it just allows for quite an enhancement of the core tone/feel. I'll be trying a Savage drive next I think. No boost/OD and the amp is pretty darn tight and immediate feeling (Not overly stiff to the point where your fighting it though). Then yeah, turn the lead ch's boost feature off and it's a whole other set of tones to play with. Hit with a Ts9 on the lead w/ the amps boost feature activated, it is TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT, but still somehow fun to play and again, not overly stiff. Wicked articulate and defined with the most open gain structure I've encountered to date. It can get pretty saturated as well which is cool having the option to play it un-compressed and ultra open or crank the gain up and add a touch from an OD and now you have a more compressed gain structure. I like the gain around 1-2 o' clock on the lead ch. Set this way with a high output bridge pup it just flat out roars with a menacing voice.
Nice. I really feel that an amp that can take boosts well have such great flexibility...these Wizards do not disappoint. I just picked up a 90 Jackson USA Soloist with the mid boost..I swapped the Jackson bridge for a Duncan Custom and now I can almost Dial in EVH Red channel gain levels..lol....not that its needed but dialing the mids back and I can get a really really HEAVY tone ....like something my kid listens to.. :LOL: :LOL:
Still clear as hell with all that gain...... :rock:
 
MCI 100w into 4x12 1960A

Hands down best amp I've ever owned and at 60yrs now will be my last. Glad Rick is my neighbour....Rock n Roll all ye Wizard Cats!
 
dm426":qowpkyy9 said:
Anyone directly compared a Wizard MC II against a SLO-100? If so, what are your thoughts?

MCI 50 watt vs SLO:
The two amps are quite different. They both have their own thing going on.
The SLO gain channel has a lot of smooth saturation, and an attack that isn't quite immediate enough to do heavy thrash stuff.
The SLO gain channel is one of my favorites for leads. The crunch channel is highly underrated, imo, can sound very close to the JMP 2204 I had. With some work, the SLO can be a versatile amp, if picky with a quirky effects loop.
The Wizard is very fast on the attack, sounds punchy even at low volumes. It sounds more like a classic to hot-rodded Marshall that is cranked up. It is easier to dial in and use than the SLO. Fantastic effects loop, clean channel and master volume. The grind of the Wizard is more rock n roll. It has more urgency, explosiveness and growl, while the SLO is more refined.
I'm honey-mooning with the Wizard, so it's difficult to provide a non-biased opinion on which I like more.
I paid the same price for each amp.
Right now I'd say the Wizard has it all over the SLO for what I like. It is generally easier to use, to dial in classic and heavy tones that are accessible at the touch of a footswitch, amazing attack and clarity, more exciting to play.
 
The newest version MTL's and MCII"s are not like the older ones in terms of boosting. It's not a good comparison.
Completely different tapers on the master and gain knobs as well. The older MTL'S would squeal very easily when boosting.
Before 2016 there were three revisions.
Neither amp needs much boost. I use no boost on both of mine. The newer MTL takes a boost perfectly. Just have to keep the gain and sat lower.
My newest MCII late 2018 is my favorite so far and I had them going back to the earlier one. The new one I have is the most marshally in the upper mids. My MTL is a 6L so it has a different tone.
 
My ‘16 MTL seems to love boosts. I’ve tried a Timmy, a rangemaster clone, a Petty John Gold, a Diamond Boost/EQ, and an Origin Effects Slide Rig Deluxe. Right now I’m just using the slide rig. Takes it better than most.
 
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