• Great For Starting

  
  As reviewed by Cody Raasch on 1/17/2011

  When I first got this Amp I was excited at all of the options it had for different sounds you could get out of this thing! It took me about 20 different speaker cabs until I found one that fit the sound for this head unit. And later realized that it's best sound was in the clean channel. It gets DECENT tones, don't get me wrong, but if you want to get a GOOD tube marshall tone, save your money. The distortion is more like grit on this amp. You can get punk rock, classic rock, but you can never get record worthy tone unless you modify it. It's more like 4 channels of fuzz than overdrive. The clean channel is good and clear without sounding too acoustic. I wouldn't recommend this amp if you like long, clear, sustain. All it will give you is deep scratchy gain. If you like that then this is a good amp for you. This amp is plenty loud for playing gigs. It's line out it pretty much useless, as it changes the tone with a simulated effect. Why can't they just send out the same signal that goes out to the speaker cab. The knobs are very responsive and work great for dialing in just the right tone. You can get a real similar Def Leppard tone with the flanger effect. The delay effect is a ping pong delay. The reverb effect is a expanding effect, rather than a natural one. And the chorus is mild. If you like effects, this amp will cover your basics. But don't count on it to leave an impression. It's quite light and easy to carry with a small size to easily fit in the corner of a room or backseat of a car. The one setback I've always noticed about this amp is that it actually changes your tone, it says it's modified it sound better, but if you WANT your music to overdrive, and the amp PULLS DOWN the tone to keep it chunky, rather than letting the wavelength expand, it kind of defeats the purpose of having an amplifier. Why would you want your tone to be stopped. Overall, I'd give this amp a look at, but unless you want one tone that kind of sounds like a blend between grunge and punk rock. I would look at getting a specialized pedal or purchasing a tube version of a marshall head.

  3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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• Amp is incomplete, but has its moments

  
  As reviewed by Thomas Maulick on 7/11/2011

  I bought the previous model 100HFX several years ago. Loved it. I bought this head to but on an extra cabinet I have. Needed it fast for a gig. The gain is horrible. Why didn't Marshall just build on the previous 100HFX???? The effects seem pretty good. The SPLASH LOGO has to go. Marshall has to think about visual consistentcy which makes their amps iconic. Its loud, but you will need a distortion pedal. The little push button channel switches adds to it's amateuristic aura. Why did I buy it? I trusted Marshall. Amp will probably last for years as all my Marshalls have. The price is OK. Still I have to figure out how I'm gonna get the crunch I want.

  2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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• Not too bad.

  
  As reviewed by Jeff L. on 1/31/2011

  THE BAD. I've had this amp for 7 months and have used it on a few gigs. My first problem I had was within 4 months of light use, one of the buttons on the footswitch (Two buttons) Failed. I made due with using one button untill THAT failed too. I got Marshall to send me a new pedal. That was great except they sent me the wrong pedal. THE GOOD. It sounds pretty decent. I have a 1959 Fender Bassman remake that I used before this. The clean on the Marshall isn't as good as my Fender. The Crunch and Overdrive channels don't sound good untill you turn the amp up about 1/3. Thats when the amp sounds best. IN THE END. If your looking for something thats solid state and can mimic tube, keep looking. If your looking for a decent amp at a decent price. This should do it.

  2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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