Marshall Vintage Modern

Haych

I've never really been much of a Marshall fan, they're the amp that sound good when anyone else is playing them but sound pants whenever I plug in.

However, that said, I have a 'brit' sound classic rock itch that needs to be scratched and the Vintage Modern series has piqued my interest.  The online reviews sound pretty good (I've not yet played one so they might still sound pants with me plugged in) and they seem to have the sound I'm looking for.

If I can find one (don't think they're made any more) I would prefer either a 2266h or 2266c - 50 watts is plenty loud enough.

What's the general consensus on the VM range in terms of build quality, reliability, sound quality and versatility?  Last attribute not terribly important but if there's wiggle room then even better.

TIA

Nerine

Shart. Avoid. 

Nastily built, average sounding, unreliable. 

Haych

Nerine said:

Guff. Avoid. 

Haha, you can have a lol for that bud.  Care to expand at all?

ICBM

Build quality and reliability - average at best. They have several common faults… there is a reason they weren't made for very long.

Sound quality - good when cranked up, but hard to dial in at lower volume... difficult to find a balance between dull and shrill. The 'Dynamic Range' volume change is too extreme to be usable on the fly unless the power stage is overdriven so it compresses enough to even out the difference.

Versatility - it sounds like a Marshall… sort-of - it doesn't have the fatness and warmth of a JTM45 or the punch and authority of a JMP. (The power is actually 36W not 50W, if that matters.)

The FX loop and reverb are usable but fairly poor - the reverb is digital but the fixed parameters chosen are just all wrong.

The footswitch is a unique type - momentary for Dynamic Range, latching for reverb - so you can't use a standard one if it breaks, which the cables do frequently.

Worth noting that Robin Trower was one of their main users - but recent gig photos show he's changed to a JTM45 and a Bluesbreaker. I would suggest you'd be much better off with one too, unless you need more versatility.

Nerine

As above. 

I had the 100 (actually 77) watt head. 

Not loud. The fx loop is abysmal. It can't take level boosts, the "dynamic range" is gimmicky. It doesn't sound like a plexi or a JCM 800. The reverb is pointless, the build is crap. Mine blew up. It has clipping LED's in the signal path, most of the "sound" of the amp is just the phase inverter being smashed. The low dynamic range sounds woolly. The high dynamic range is weak. They share an EQ which is not ideal. The "detail" and "body" controls are gimmicky. 

Its a fail on many levels. 

Can it amplify a guitar? Yes. It can do that. If you A/B'd it with a proper plexi or 800, you'd piss yourself laughing. 

Haych

Thanks both.  Quite glad I asked the question now, I was quite fired up for one.  @ICBM I should just DM you with my amp questions lol, don't worry though, I won't, but can clearly see why you're pushing 20k frets!!

lustycourtier

I borrowed the combo once. Really quiet 

timmysoft

Horrible amp, horrible build, Marshalls worst moment in recent history

shaunm

timmysoft said:

Horrible amp, horrible build, Marshalls worst moment in recent history

Worse than a mode 4?

timmysoft

shaunm said:

timmysoft said:

Horrible amp, horrible build, Marshalls worst moment in recent history

Worse than a mode 4?

Yes, i didn't think the Mode4 was that bad for mega high gain, thrash and modern punk stuff, they just weren't all that reliable. 

professorben

timmysoft said:

shaunm said:

timmysoft said:

Horrible amp, horrible build, Marshalls worst moment in recent history

Worse than a mode 4?

Yes, i didn't think the Mode4 was that bad for mega high gain, thrash and modern punk stuff, they just weren't all that reliable. 

I 2nd that, I used to support a band that used M4's and they sounded epic. 

shugz

Marshall fanboy through and through here but avoid like genital warts.

Awful amps. As reliable as a second hand FSO Polonez. Sounds like one too.

Sorry such a negative post

Cheers 
Hugh

StageStruck

Couldn't be worse than the MA series of valve amps?

ICBM

shaunm said:

timmysoft said:

Horrible amp, horrible build, Marshalls worst moment in recent history

Worse than a mode 4?

No. Also less bad than a Class 5 (horrible muddy-sounding thing, most rattled badly), a TSL60 (probably the other TSL/DSLs too), a MA series or a Haze (just shit). But that isn't setting the bar very high…

The Mode Four might possibly sound good, I don't know - I've never heard a working one. But it was the most poorly-designed and inherently unreliable amp I think they've ever made, and that includes the first solid-state models in the mid 70s and the MG-DFX series. Pretty much all of these are guaranteed to fail sooner or later.

However, like the Vintage Modern, the 4x12" cabinets they came with are actually good. The VM one is a standard 4x12" with the rather nice G12C-25s, the MF one is an oversized cab with either V30s or G12Ks and sounds huge.

shaunm

I owned a Mode 4 for several years and gigged it, I won't say it always sounded terrible but it didn't sound good. It wasn't the right amp for me by any stretch.

It did break down though, overheated and I thought it was going to catch fire. That was my point, the Vintage Modern series might not have been Marshalls best amp but in terms of worst amp the one that sets fire to its self must take 1st place. 

Evildurka

Save your pennies and buy a friedman

kossofffan

Love my 2266C to bits and will never sell it. Yes the Fet 3 transistor* on the FX loop PCB has blown, however I personally don't use the loop or built in reverb.
It roars a  glorious Marshall sound and is easy to set up. I never had a problem tweaking the sound! The second I got it home, it just made sense to me. Like most amps it gets better with volume but takes pedals very well for quiet home playing.

* FET 3 Part no: TN2404KL-TR1-E3
Marshall part No: TRAN-10082
about £1.38 plus postage.

P.S. if you ever catch 'The Zeppelin 3' at a boozer near you, this is the Vintage-Modern in action, (sorry my crappy phone overheated & died)

ICBM

Other common faults I've seen with them are the power indicator LED blowing - obviously not serious, but annoying - and the 1-ohm bias sensing resistors burning out if a valve fails... this *is* serious as firstly it stops the amp working properly even after replacing the valve, and secondly because it usually damages the PCB.

The board is also such poor quality that it's hard to change the resistors without lifting traces even if you're good at it, and the space available makes it hard to fit better, larger resistors - although it can be done. This is the most common fault I've seen on them - it may be worth pre-emptively upgrading them, although there's still a risk of board damage.

It's also worth replacing the footswitch cable either with something far better (high-quality balanced mic cable is probably the best) or simply fitting a stereo jack to it instead so it can be used with any stereo cable. (Assuming you use the footswitch.)

andyoz

ICBM said:

shaunm said:

timmysoft said:

Horrible amp, horrible build, Marshalls worst moment in recent history

Worse than a mode 4?

However, like the Vintage Modern, the 4x12" cabinets they came with are actually good. The VM one is a standard 4x12" with the rather nice G12C-25s, the MF one is an oversized cab with either V30s or G12Ks and sounds huge.

The VM cabinets are sleepers....(wrongly) downgraded by buyers due to links with heads.

Nerine

So yeah. Not very high praise. 

Voxman

Tried one several years ago on stage where I 'guested' for a couple of songs with a band we were friendly with.  Sounded OK - but not that 'Marshally'...didn't seem to have that much harmonic crunch that I love Marshall's for.  However, truth be told though I had no time to put it through its paces - just a quick gain & EQ tweak, so it could just have been how the owner had it set-up.