Marshall MG Carbon Fibre

I was actually looking for the Roland Cube 20XL, living in S. Korea sometimes choices are limited , so the salesman directed me towards this amp (Marshall MG15CFR). Since it was a Marshall I said why not, but I was always of the philosophy that I gotta break the bank to get a good Marshall product, and given that I'm reintroducing myself to the guitar that would have been far beyond my needs. I basically use this amp for practice, practice and more practice.

The clean sound with humbucking pickups tends to distort (not in the desirable way) once you pass 6 on the volume knob, I am using an Ibanez GRG170DX model guitar with this and sometimes if I use the neck humbucker p/u on it, it gets a little distorted, but the OD channel with the gain up to 7 or 8 and volume at 10 it produces a great crunchy sound great for hard rock or metal with the bridge p/u on my Ibanez. The reverb I have to say leaves a lot to be desired, anything after "4", it doesn't seem to be doing its job.

Pros: Great crunch, gain doesn't have to be at 10, 7 or 8 = the sweet spot.

Cons: Clean sound distortd at higher volumes, and reverb not so great.

Now I was able to get the Roland Cube 20XL amp, I hardly use this, even though I think the crunch sound is better on the Marshall than the Roland, so now I'm using the Roland almost exclusively because I want to practice using the clean sound...

30W transistor amp. Integrated effects. Headphone output and footswitch, no output for external speaker!

UTILIZATION

Configuration is very simple, there is a manual, but frankly I feel they take customers for belated first "Treble control: turning down the treble decrease, which will have the effect of sweeten your sound. " To get a good sound, is another matter.

SOUNDS

This amp is not suitable at all my style of music (metal). I play with a Charvel and Ibanez equipped with EMG 81/85. Both channels of distortion are just awful! Drafts and too much breath. We can not do anything with it. Clear its still happening. The crunch it can still go ... Effects, I never use, I use a ZOOM G2. Without pedals, we can say that this amp does everything, but nothing well.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for about 6 months, and finally it serves rather amp relief when a friend come play with me and did not bring his. Before buying it I was playing on an Orange crush 15r, so necessarily store the sound seemed better than my amp. I bought three months later a Line 6 spider valve mkII 212, it is perfect! With experience, I do not have that choice and would buy a tube amp directly.

Amplification transistors. A 6.3 mm input jack and a headphone output.
15 watt. 2 channels (clean and overdrive)

UTILIZATION

A simple configuration, no need manual knobs Equalizer doing their job.

SOUNDS

I used most often in the clear, the sound is good.

OVERALL OPINION

A good little amp salon for work or play in a small group with a good value for money.

This amp is transistor with built-in effects: Delay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, vibe, and of course reverb.
Possibility via the Tap key to give the desired delay tempo.
Ext FX button that allows you to choose the effects loop.
It has two channels. Clean / Crunch.
It is 100 watts. Note that it really sends sound!
Connectors external effects send / return
Stereo headphone output is also used to enter a sound card.
Auxiliary input for eg MP3 player.
Can connect the amp to another speaker at 4 ohms.
Footswitch to switch from one channel to another.
Built-in tuner.
Damping button.

The delay effects chorus, flanger, phaser and vibe are not cumulative but used one at a time via a rotary knob.
It is possible to store its effect settings via the "store" button.

UTILIZATION

The configuration could not be more simple and clear.
The manual is also clear.
Getting a good sound against claims by some time.

SOUNDS

I play mostly Heavy Metal.
The clean sounds are good but the crunch and obtained by suitable adjustment of the gain key can neither make nor heavy hard rock "hairy".
The onboard effects are to my taste very bad quality and settings are approximate and are via knobs.
Conversely, buttons Treble, Middle and Bass are doing their job.
Gain knobs, Volume and Master are very sensitive and difficult to resolve, especially if you want to play at low volume.

For my part I use it as a simple power amp on the clean channel. I connected a pre-amp, compressor, equalizer Presonus Eureka between my guitar and amp. This allows me to bring more dynamic and a more solid sound.
To this I add my pedalboard Korg AX 3000G effect and sometimes an old Zoom 606 II which plays its role perfectly in this config.

The overall sound of this amp without pre-amp is hollow and makes a little "box", but if you include a pre-amp that sends heavy! The power is really there!

Connected to a Marshall 4X12 where it really starts to be very interesting.

The guitars I use are essentially: Lag The Blues Californian series and Ibanez RGA 42 B.

OVERALL OPINION

I bought this amp there about 8 months.
I use it live and repeats. There is plenty powerful for the scene caf conc 'or transplanting on a big stage. In repeats I do not use only 25% of its capacity.
I love the look "carbon" of this model (C FX).
Power suits me perfectly but it is not suitable for playing in the apartment because too powerful.
Sound without pedals and without pre-amp is disappointing for the style I like, however, it may well be the case for the view pop rock "light".

Concerning the quality / price I lack objectivity because I bought new only 30% of its value during the liquidation of a music store.
The new price is around 400 euros. However, I feel that for the price it is sold usually interesting.

I have at my disposal a Marshall JCM 800 Lead Series 4x12. There really is no comparison between these two amps. JCM thanks to its lamps surpasses widely. CFX combo is convenient because not too heavy and it does not take up too much space in the car.

This amp is ideal for working in repeats, see for concerts in small venues to the condition of having either a pre-amp or a simulator lamps. Plugged into a 4x12 you get something really right for an amp at this price.