• Marshall Madness

  
  As reviewed by David Wigglesworth on 11/21/2011

  I sat down today with my buddy in Guitar Center. I was tired of playing all day through small 15 watt amps and moved over to the stacks where I stumbled upon this head on top of a Marshall cabinet. I was completely blown away! When playing with distortion, it was plenty crunchy. I can only imagine how great it sounds with the volume turned all the way up. The tone features classic Marshall versatility. You could get a variety of tones out of this beast especially when playing clean. However some of the effects come off as touchy. The reverb is good, but I feel the other effects could've been more defined and less sensitive. Other than that, this buddy is a great head that won't break the bank.

  4 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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• Great head, Great Price

  
  As reviewed by Patrick Marshall on 11/25/2011

  I bought this amp head about a month ago......could not be more pleased. Of course it is not a tube amp, which some Marshall lovers will not be able to get over. The tone is very warm, effects are very good for not using pedals, and the volume is loud. I paired it with the cabinet in the picture, great pair. I love the Marshall products, this one does not disappoint. If you are expecting tube amp quality for this price, you are nuts. If you want a great sounding amp for a great price, this is the one. I tried lots of others in the price range, hands down, this one rocks.

  5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
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• Some cool new options, but the tone is lacking...

  
  As reviewed by Nicholas Wright on 3/31/2012

  I went to my nearest Guitar Center to try this amp out, thinking I would be buying it. I already have an MG100HDFX and I was looking to upgrade because of the ability of the HCFX to dial in different sounds and store them, and the availability of a four-way switch. Also, I figured that since it was the same series, just a newer version, that the tone would be comparable. Boy, was I wrong. I brought my guitar to the store and plugged into the HCFX right away. I wasn't really worried about the clean tone as much as the overdrive, so I dialed in the same EQ settings, reverb, etc. that I use on my HDFX's overdrive channel. I was very surprised at what I heard, but there was still something else to try. It turns out that this guitar center had two used HDFX's, so the salesperson let me setup both heads right next to each other. I dialed in both amps the same way and switched between the two a few times. I was amazed at the difference. Now, I'm not trying to say that the HDFX is perfect or anything, but, for what I wanted, the HCFX just didn't cut it. The tone on the HDFX is brighter and cuts through a lot more than the HCFX. The HCFX is muddier, and sounds very processed in comparison to the HDFX. I like the extra FX and preset capabilities of the HCFX, but the tones that it produces, which is more important to me, are inferior to the HDFX, in my opinion. So, in conclusion, the HCFX didn't work for me and I went home empty handed. If you like your distortion muddy and bass-heavy, then you may not have a problem with this amp, but, for my money, the HDFX is still better.

  1 of 4 people found this review helpful.
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