Marshall valvestate AVT50 opinions

Fortheloveofguitar

I had one as a spare incase my dsl50 went down and it sounded awful but then it was competing with a far superior amp. But overall tone was fizzy and thin.

bertie

IIRC and shoot me if Im wrong,  but the main difference between the VS and AVT models - was that the earlier models didnt use the pre-amp valve in the clean channel ?   However they did sound better on the gain channels....................ho hum

ICBM

bertie said:

IIRC and shoot me if Im wrong,  but the main difference between the VS and AVT models - was that the earlier models didnt use the pre-amp valve in the clean channel ?   However they did sound better on the gain channels....................ho hum

The 80xx have the valve on the dirty channel only, the VS and AVT on both clean and dirty channels. There are many more differences than just that though. (I will pass on shooting you .)

I do think the 80xx and VS sound a lot better than the AVT, on all channels.

The big difference from the point of view of reliability - and I suspect tone - is that the 80xx and VS use discrete-transistor power stages, the AVT (and the even more dire MG-DFX series) use fan-cooled IC power modules, which are responsible for at least three-quarters of failures on these amps. The current MG series has gone back to discrete-transistor design and to date (five years and counting) I haven't seen a single dead one.

ThePrettyDamned

I've heard the newer mg amps. I have to admit, they don't sound terrible. Not the best solid state sound, but not horrible.

Bidley

I've had two 8080's, and although they sounded brilliant, they both broke.

They do, however, go for a decent amount on eBay as spares/repairs.

kelvinburn

My first big amp was a Marshall Mosfet head, were they the forerunners?. That was excellent with pedals but sadly died

Maxi

I had a slight problem with the valve holder on mine and the input jack , I think its a problem with the pcb board , not a serious one but a slight flaw non the less .

ICBM

kelvinburn said:

My first big amp was a Marshall Mosfet head, were they the forerunners?. That was excellent with pedals but sadly died

That's very unusual! Any idea what killed it?

(Just for my geek interest/reference .)

They're not the forerunners of the Valvestates really, they're completely different. A more basic technology but much better-made amp.

fretmeister

Do Marshall make a reliable mid priced amp anymore?

ICBM

The current MG series appear to be reliable from what I've (or more tellingly haven't) seen.

Apart from that, the vintage reissues are the only ones I would really call reliable...

Bidley

Any word on the new DSLs?

kelvinburn

ICBM said:

kelvinburn said:

My first big amp was a Marshall Mosfet head, were they the forerunners?. That was excellent with pedals but sadly died

That's very unusual! Any idea what killed it?

(Just for my geek interest/reference .)

They're not the forerunners of the Valvestates really, they're completely different. A more basic technology but much better-made amp.

I may have plugged it in without a cab. I was young and didnt know any better. It never occured to me that it might be fixable.

kelvinburn

fretmeister said:

Do Marshall make a reliable mid priced amp anymore?

Vintage Modern series?

ThePrettyDamned

kelvinburn;134608" said:

fretmeister said:

Do Marshall make a reliable mid priced amp anymore?





Vintage Modern series?

Hard to dial in, but can sound pretty great, once you've worked them out. Nice looking, too.

I've heard of at least one that's been in for help locally after stopping putting out noise. So maybe a one off?

kelvinburn

ThePrettyDamned said:

kelvinburn;134608" said:

fretmeister said:

Do Marshall make a reliable mid priced amp anymore?





Vintage Modern series?

Hard to dial in, but can sound pretty great, once you've worked them out. Nice looking, too.

I've heard of at least one that's been in for help locally after stopping putting out noise. So maybe a one off?

I had one for a few years and the other guitarist in our band has one. Both 100% trouble free. Not versatile amps at all, but a very good "set and forget" amp if you use pedals for drive etc

ICBM

kelvinburn said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

kelvinburn;134608" said:

Vintage Modern series?

Hard to dial in, but can sound pretty great, once you've worked them out. Nice looking, too.

I've heard of at least one that's been in for help locally after stopping putting out noise. So maybe a one off?

I had one for a few years and the other guitarist in our band has one. Both 100% trouble free. Not versatile amps at all, but a very good "set and forget" amp if you use pedals for drive etc

They're not too bad - the early ones had a couple of problems which were later improved slightly. They're mostly reliable. I really don't like the sound of them much or the functionality though - the "dynamic range" thing (which is backwards) is very hard to use unless the amp is cranked because the volume jump isn't controllable, and they're really hard to dial in at lower volume.

The footswitch logic (one button latching, one button momentary) is a total pain in the arse if you lose or break the correct footswitch too - nothing else works. If it matters to anyone, I have a spare one!