Gear Curosities: Marshall MG250DFX - Marshall's Most Hated Amp Series!
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- Опубліковано 12 лют 2019
- Today in Plague Scythe Studios, I take a critical look at my first full-fledged (well, sort of) guitar amplifier with the Marshall MG250DFX!
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Hey I went on tour with that amp. Well I had this amp and a 4 speaker marshal cab that I connected to it with more power amps added. I ALSO bought a 1 channel "presonus" Tube preamplifier. I went from my guitar into the tube amp and then into my pedals and into my marshal 250dfx amp. It honestly made it sound like a tube amp with balls. I got no regrets. Other bands that would open for us would say "omg you got the 250, sorry man they suck" AND then they'd hear me play it with my setup and after say "omg I was wrong.. that think is insane"
Ikr? This is an incredibly lame review! lol the amp sounds pretty good, and if you know what you're doing you can make it sound great.
What band
@@richraven3828good to know thanks, i do like the clean tone he demonstrated with. I’ve got a marshall mg30 but the master volume is all messed up so i was looking to get something a little bigger but not expensive. Found a 250dfx for 300 on marketplace. Might consider getting it
Yeah I mean. It’s not a JCM 800. But it’s not that bad for what it is. Which is easy power that can cop some 80s 90s rock tones for relatively cheap.
The chorus effect of this amp is beautiful, i've got the 30 watt version and is a really good budget amp
Just bought one of these with the foot switch for $110 delivered. A local guy had it stashed for years and finally put it up for sale and I was on it. I had the MG50DFX years ago and loved it so snagging the big brother really made my day.
Great video man, definitely the most comprehensive and informative review on UA-cam.
This with a Zoom 707 was my high school tone. Brutal AF.
Great, now I have to go dig out my G2...
Haha i think i also had a 707 at some point! Wasn't that bad as i remember, though i wasn't a great player in high school.
Used my mg50 with zoom g7 XD
the factory speaker in my MG250 label says Made in USA by Eminence, Eminence 90011 122170A 67-0602D 1021 8 OHM
Awesome vid. My first "big boy" amp was the 100 watt mg head. The two things I remember most are the crappy distortion and endless whirring of the fan! Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
the newer models sound amazing. idk what they changed but the distortion is so good and the clean channel is great.
The Valvestates were just too good, pulling customers away from expensive all Valve/Tube amps. The MG series was the answer... xD
I have this amp and I really love it.
Ya me too ,loud as fungoly but a log, my nurse/ girl bud has to carry mine as I HAVE rock and roll decay go lemmy ....oh shit ? xxoxo
250 MGDfx has awesome stereo and reverb channels. My favorite solid state amp.
It can stand against a loudly rock drummer in a small venue but full of people?
I still have this amp, it still works and is loud af
Circa 2006 - 2008, everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) was using an MG head in my local scene. Three of the four guitarists I had back then had an MG head, and the guy who didn't had a 1x12 mg combo. Why? Because it said Marshall on the front.
Bingo.
I used it with my Boss GT-8 pedal. Right in the instrument imput in the clean channel, because I was a dumb cunt. But I managed to get a tight tone out of it
well, if you get your dirt sounds from a pedal anyway then this amp will do the job
12ealDeal all the bands in my town played fender roc pro’s, the one local metal band had one of each
LOL!! We literally had the same exact experience with this amp back in the day. Even got it for the Christmas back in 07. Everything you described was the same experiences I was having with the amp. Sooooo lackluster all in all. Great vid review!!
I still play my MG100dfx... I love it. It works great for me. Of course I got this was way before impulses and VSTs were good, but it serves me well well for practice.
Great honest concise review and demo. background info also interesting. Good explanation of pros and cons. I have a cheap one in my sights for use as a back up amp at small gigs, and to be honest it's only the clean channel and stereo output that I want as I'll be plugging in my pedalboard for all the effects.
I got one of those black carbon and silver HCFX 100 Watt heads for a really decent price. What can I say? I loved the clean chorus sound, had a decent Crunch and OD 1 sound. OD2 needed help......But what really set this amp off was when I plugged it into my different cabs (Mesa, Peavey, Marshall (Bletchley England) and put a graphic EQ in the FX loop and a noise gate at the front with another Overdrive pedal.......WOW!!!!.......What an upgrade that is!!! A reliable solid state workhorse. Don't get me wrong I love tubes and own a couple of tube amps. But this, and a Boss Katana MK1--- 100 watt head I got for cheap, used, have turned out to be very handy amps and pleasant, versatile surprises......I hear the Orange CR120 is another good solid state head. As is the Peavey Supreme. DO NOT FEAR THE SOLID STATE AMP!!!!! Once again, great video Plague Scythe.
Damn, that sounds awesome.
I loved my old MG15. When the clean channel was cranked up all the way it had some nice sounding transistor breakup. I eventually took it apart and converted the speaker to a microphone that I now use as a kick drum mic. =)
Transistor breakup? Maybe it was a speaker distortion
You CONVERTED the what to a !@#$%^&* go get your mom and have her crazy glue a fire extinguisher to you !!!! can you make my jcm into a lasagna ???
Found the single speaker version of this at Guitar Center for $50 and have been using it as a pedal platform. Works well enough for bedroom playing as I exclusively use digital plugins for recording.
I just bought a MG250DFX- with the foot switch- today locally on OfferUp for $110 delivered...I've been doing the happy dance all around the house ever since lol. It was missing the Contour knob but that's a $5 replacement so no biggie.
@@nordicomsystems8841 how'd you fix the contour knob? mines is missing it also but idk how to get it fixed without drilling into it
Loving the content 🤙🎸
Sounds pretty decent honestly! Good video dude!
Thanks for such a comprehensive review!! I’m looking for a used amp around $150 with more headroom than my Vox AC15. The stereo cab and FX loop and clean tones really sound like a great deal to me. And I’m not a “metal head” kinda guy. Would you still not recommend?
As I said I have the AC15 and friend gave me, and I love it but just need a little more headroom.
Mine is making a screeching noise when the 1/4 cables are plugged in. If I unplug them the sound goes away. Trying to figure out how to fix it 🤔
The hang tag on my MG50 (~2003) says of the FDD (Frequency Dependent Damping) "Our proprietary FDD circuit adds unbelievable depth to your sound by emulating the interaction between an all-valve power amplifier and loudspeaker". Enjoyed the video. Thanks.
It actually gets me thinking. I was playing the amp the other day and tried something I hadn't done before. I cranked up the master volume and used the volume control on the over drive channel to get the desired level (not super loud) and found the tone much better. Perhaps the FDD + Cranking the master volume = a good combination, as the description of the FDD on the hang tag states a relationship between the power amp (master volume) and the speaker. I will play around with it some more.
Is it ok that it sounds better boosted than the single rectifier lol?
Just got one of these gifted. The only issue is that the signal is very quiet even if I crank up the volume to 10. Any suggestions what the problem might be?
Picked one of those up for 75$ a cpl years ago. Not a bad amp in my opinion. I have recently moved up to tube amps. Running a Bugera t5 through an old 15" Kustom square magnet sounds amazing for rock and blues. Also have a Bugera g5 going through a 412 with eminence legends for some full on metal.
What would you rather play. A B-52 lg-100a 100 watt solid state or this? I know i pick the b-52.lol. what would you use to make this MG sound as good as it can get?
I jammed for many years using the mg 100 watt head on top of a randall cab and it done really good for being a cheap amp, the junk cardboard 4x12 cab that came with the head had about the same tones as a black berry cell phone lol
There are so many what I like to call “Problems Solver” pedals that if you experiment in front and in the effects loop. You can fix the tone of these amps and make them sound huge. Start with eq and compression pedals. Then try funky stuff like clean mic pre circuit in the way Huge Pork loin pedal. Or heck even the Tech 21 q strip out front or in the effects loop. I guarantee with problem solver pedals and potential speaker swaps ( remember, this is a twin output- you could have separate speaker types with different dedicated pedals) you could get great tones
I used the head version of this amp for a number of years..The clean channel. My favorite distortion in front of it at the time was my Radial tone bone hot British. Also a vintage Ibanez tube king..My effects were supplied by a boss GT 6...Using those distortion pedals in the loop of the GT6 in the ext. Pedal setting which bypass the internal Amp and overdrive models in the pedal. It was a very effective reliable and complete live rig at the time.
I used a Radial Tonebone Hot British in front of the clean channel..That sounded killer live..I was at the time trying out every tube based stomp box and the Hot British was the ticket for me at the time.
I still use my MG250DFX to this day for gigs - it's pretty versatile for playing covers and complementing the in-built FX with some nice pedals. No regrets, it's still my go-to for small venues. I completely agree with your view that it teaches you to dial in tones better - made using any other amp an easy dizzy dream. It was my first big amp, I'm always going to have a soft spot for it. :)
Can it stand against a loudly rock drunmer on a small venue but full of people?
@@ALEXISFEEL For sure. It's capable of a big sound. It's an easy amp to knock, but with the right tinkering and guitar setup it's a beast.
@@tomroberts883good to know, i’ve got a 30w mg series. And have been thinking of getting something a bit bigger. I dont really know anyone who knows about amps tho. Maybe its not worth getting a new amp, just get some new speakers?
Great review !
I just picked a used one up for a couple hundred and I use the emulated line out to hook up another 1x12 speaker and then I have a 3x12 monster the blows the friggin doors off most places.
I love the way you reviewed this. Definitely not a recommended purchase in 2020, but I got mine in 2008 and it was a nice pick back then. I find the overdrive channel a bit too much, I rarely push the gain past 20%.
I use it mostly as a mini-PA for practice, often using the clean channel for the bass and using external effect processors via a mixer to the CD input. It's powerful and versatile. It's very niche.
Why do you not recommend it in 2020
Sounds like static X. The amp they used was pretty similar (g100rcd or something?).
So I recently got one of these off of GC used. It's great for what I use it for....Bedroom concerts! But, how do you use the emulated line out? I tried to patch a cable from the out to my DI, and it just plays thru the amp speakers. I'm new to recording so in my head, that should make sense, but then again, it's in my head.
Ik im a year late, but you have to turn the master volume down to 0. The volume then comes from the gain knobs + the volume knob on the crunch channel
I had the tech 21 trademark 60 back then and the emulated out sounded great was a xlr jack
i love my 250dfx, its great, never had a problem with it and its always sounded great
It can stand against a loudly rock drummer in a small venue but full of people?
@@ALEXISFEEL I've played bar gigs with my band where I didn't have the amp mic'd and it held its own quite well.
I like when amps have that "shitty", raw preamp sound from the headphone out; if you run it into an interface, you can use an impulse response and it sounds pretty meaty: used it on my Peavey Rage with a Revv V30 impulse and I love the sound (and I don't even like V30s!)
There is one of these for sale for 150 euro would it be worth getting it
I just bought this amp for 150 it was the old one that I done gigs with it's a brilliant amp really recommended for band practice or gigs 🤘🎸🎵
It can stand against a loudly rock drummer in a small venue but full of people?
Good review. Im not crazy about mine either. I keep the bass on the overdrive channel cranked. The FDD never comes off. Also the contour I keep at 3 quarters.
superb presentation...very informative.....
Great video man!
FDD stands for Frequency Dependent Damping.
And it’s supposed to emulate tube sounds.
Ive got this. Got it plugged in to a marshal cab.
2 eminence swamp things and 2 eminence texas heat in the cab.
The two 12s in the cab are one of each above.
Playing one of the last les pauls that had a good year...'92
Tom anderson pickups.
Ive got no complaints.
Sounds as good as a 2300$ combo.
My first amp was a Sunn Solaris 60w tube console with two 12" speakers . I should have kept it. $1800 now if you could find one.
Did I hear a song from "The Ultimate Sin" at some point?
That By Your Command / Emulated Out clip actually sounded pretty nice, could work well in a mix
My first amp after the my Squier practice amp was an MG80 and it really wasn't that awful for what it was. It had the Marshall name on it and I could have gotten something way nicer for the money but at 14 it wasn't a problem. Had it until I gave it to a friend when I was 19. Your tones in this were good when the gain wasn't cranked and the mids weren't off. That's how I played mine - often a distortion pedal into the clean channel with lots of mids
I used this amp throughout high school with a female fronted pop punk band I played with. The stuff was similar to Paramore type stuff with a few heavier parts thrown in. It wasn't a great sounding amp, but it was decently loud. Haha. I wised up and got a Vox AC30 as a graduation gift.
It honestly sounds pretty okay. Would definitely be better with different speakers though
Great video. Subbed
Idk 🤷🏾 it’s sounds pretty dang good to me! Especially for the used prices available at this time in 2024
You think you might could do a review on Old Solid state Heads? Like the Old Randalls, Or Crate (Gasp!) Or even those Discontinued Ibanez heads (Toneblaster AND Tonebalster X models)
Dani Scythe I had the TBX150 and it sounded metal as fuck. Then it just died. The other guitarist in my band had one too, same thing, sounded great then died.
Im.running one in my doomsludge grunge band . They seem thin and no full fat chunky mutes. Maybe i go with a Master lead vs or a randle RG80? In the 300$ range I need alot of chug and low end. I'm going for a crowbar, down, bls, Alice in chains lile sound.
It has tones of bottom end for what it is. If you're not getting bottom end out of it I question your settings and or your guitar setup. I most often run my Ibanez RG270FX and it's anything but thin sounding as far as chug / low end go.
@@0verload it had a no clarity. I sold it . Mine was.just pure solid state and it was only ok for death metal with a pedal. No clarity wen I wanted to play notes or runs in between chugs.
Great video. My friend had a valvestate which was a great amp, and I especially loved playing extreme metal with it. This amps dirt channel just sounds bad though.
I had a mghd100 hdfx head and it had two overdrive stages. Did make it more usable as od1 was weak af. I could be wrong but I think it had a mid dial along with the contour dial.
Yeah the mg hdfx 100 I owned had od 1 and 2 modes where od 2 had way more low end, it pretty much mirrored the tone of the avt 150 series heads that had the same od 1 and 2 modes. It was just a single push in button on the face if the amp.
I have this same amp and while yea, it's no JCM800, it's a pretty good amp. I live play it all the time. You have to master the effects and gain (on the distortion side) they are VERY touchy. Less is more, especially when you have a good pedalboard behind it. Dial it in until you "just" break up from clean, then slam a tube screamer in front of it.
also note the Silver Face MG-C-FX seem to be trying to emulate Fender Reverb - way diff O/Drive and Reverb tones - was never what I wanted but it may work for you - all the other comments still apply as there's no real other diff
I had one of these that I got back roughly mid-2005 as a gift from my dad (RIP) when I was real young and SRS about guitar. Was broke of course so I couldn't really afford pedals (I mean I had an odd boss pedal here and there that my brother didn't want and before that a dunlop wah and early-2000s TS7 but nothing noteworthy really) but with just this and my old IbaneZ ICX-120 I did somehow manage to pull some decent tone out of it, even with some vaguely TooL/Smashing Pumpkins-ish rhythm tone and surprisingly some thick bassy quick leads. The clean tone really was tits though (not to mention functional and versatile) plus I had a lot of fun with the various effects (especially the delay) whether as a nuance or oversaturated for the hell of it... However around 2012-ish every time I turned it on it squealed VERY loudly and popped whenever I turned it off... then the power switch had to be taped on... and eventually it fell off and it ultimately stopped working altogether. I didn't have money to fix it and I stopped playing guitar (for the most part) years before so I got rid of it in early 2013. It's functional as a starter amp or if you don't have the wallet for a REAL Marshall let alone Mesa but it is FAR from durable or even desirable otherwise. 6/10 from me... maybe less if I were being critical but as it was a gift from my late father and the nostalgia in general I'll be lenient.
In retrospect, had they existed back then I would have KILLED for a Boss Katana or even a Blackstar instead.
That stone the crow riff sounded absolutely spot on ..... I’ve got the MG Kerry King combo and I was actually shocked at how good it sounds and the last time I was jamming with people they were shocked at how loud that thing could get easily keeping up with a drummer and I was straight plugged into it and we jammed slayer and bls songs and not only was it holding up but my pinched harmonics rang out like crazy.... and I’ve been playing a Marshall jcm2000 tsl60and a 2x12 cab..,,so yeah that’s my experience ...... your mileage may very
I love my MG250DFX and regularly get comments on my tone. I play Metal, Grunge, and hard rock and it works great for that. I have a full tube amp and a valvestate, but I prefer the 250 for my style.
It’s weird how similar our music tastes seem and that I have/had the exact same gear. Started out on an MG250dfx, now using a rectifier head. If you want to create a real abomination; I used to run the recto through a torpedo captor, and use the speakers of the mg250dfx directly... and it sounded great suprisingly :D
My 100dfx has a crunch button on the clean channel, strange the 250 doesn’t….
I have the Marshall MG100HDFX stack and it sounds great if you know how to dial it in. Speakers make a difference too but the stock matching cabs sound pretty good to me but that's my personal opinion.
Yeah my son has this set up - he makes it sing as good as any tube amp i've ever heard it's all about dialing it in correct - bought all sorts of amps since - nothing sounds as good simple as that - it's not even down to budget it just works great - tried it through a 2x12 speaker with Celestion vintage 30's and it's a beast - he's had it around 12 years now and no issues at all and he only paid £150 for the head and cabinet
Im thinkin of buying a second hand marshall 50watt amp, the one you are showcasing here, i reckon it'll give me the Angus Young sound after i plug my 2004 Gibson SG into it.
I currently own a Marshall 10watt Valvestate amp and that little amp really gives me a ACDC sound.
cheers from Rockhampton, state of Queensland, Australia.
Man should be very interesting if you run your Ax8 in the fx return as a power amp and see if is a good flat power amp. I use my AX8 like that into my Vetta II combo.
It works okay actually, the power amp is very transparent. Through a different speaker cabinet it works especially well, you just can't expect the feel you get from something like a Matrix. The stock speakers are without a doubt the bottleneck in that use case.
Your valvestate video has me missing my valvestate but I love my helix
That was killin me. I knew the song but couldn't figure out what it was. Then 10 minutes latter I'm cookin eggs and singing " I NEVER DIED BEFORE. CAAAAN"T HELP WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY." Now I've had "Stone the Crow" in my head for the last 3 hours and decided to sit down and learn it. Such a cool riff. Fucking Pepper and Kirk killed on NOLA. Honestly, I wish the rest of the Down records were even half as good but I think that's one of those records just happened because all the planets aligned in a certain that can never happen again.
I bought one new for 500. I've been trying to justify buying a new amp with the boss lady for many years. It still works when it feels like it. Mine sounds like a p-52 mustang on startup
well done
What an intro! :)))
My first "real" amp was an MG 250 DFX as well. That clean channel with those factory fx was great. The overdrive sounded the same at every setting and the speakers were shit. But it was pretty tough, I drug it around everywhere with this 90s JEM I had. The 250 eff is like an old movie from your childhood. When you see it again, you think....why did I ever like this shit. 💯😎 Better than that 8" Peavey though!
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The overdrive still sounds better than the tones from the KMD amps from back when I was just starting to mess around with guitars.
I just sold a 1993 VS100 112 Valvestate combo in as new condition...and even though it wasn't getting a lot of use due to time constraints, I miss it. But one of these just came up at 1/2 the price...hmmmm (".)
I'm lucky. I got a 100w Hartke GT combo I run the clean with bias amp running through it off my AI.
This or a Blackstar IDcore100?
I had a 100w a few yrs ago but I've heard guys get pretty good tones outve mgs
That's the Static-X amp
Riggs from Rob zombie too
Everything you played sounded good to me and mostly my type of music except the real heavy stuff, but Im happy with mine and with a few pedals does the job. I think your a little tough on it with the title.
MG100HDFX with Orange PPC412 sounds great!
14:13 "stone the crow" ouh yeah !
I just picked one up for 100$ christ this thing is amazing!!
as pedal platform on clean channel is not so bad. i use it, the mg100 defx head, in my rehearsal room.
if you're used to Marshall Tube amps this is pretty pale beside them - if you're used to ANY Solid State Transistor amp it's WOW - prob the only imitation Marshall that imitates Marshall - the twin speakers don't add a lot but the size helps - MGs can be strung together for GREAT atmospheres of 2 speakers running 2 diff signals - running 2 amps doubles the FX which is really limited by 1 FX per amp with separate Reverb [ in 30w or better ]
- in a 15w, choosing Reverb = no other FX [ which is how i learned to run them in Series - thru "Emulated Line Out" - running a slow delay beats reverb for that Open Stage sound
- also note subtle diffs in the MG Series - 10w have NO reverb or FX - pretty dry + useless = NO Presence
- 15w CD-R has real Spring Reverb - the rest are Digital which sustains longer
- - - also note the Contour Dial between Bass + Treble - far superior to the Bass- Mid - Treble layout
- 15w MG-FX series shows a red light for tuner - you need the foot board for the tuner and other functions
- this Series is great at the 30w level... esp 2 MG in series but obv the players who demand 50w and 100w amps rarely need a transistor amp
-> -> -> but it sure beats most other Transistor amps that cannot Emulate Marshall O/Drive & Sustain
- simply for added FX I would always buy Two 30w MGs before buying a 50w - or Three 30w instead of a 100w
- amazing what the 2nd amp does to the input carrying Reverb or Chorus or Delay
- and if you want clarity it's so easy to attain... even thru 2-3 sets of Controls
...in fact you can run the first amp as Dirty or Clean + Reverb ...and run the later amps as Clean & FX
I’m gonna be an outlier here and say I actually loved the clean tone it has. I don’t particularly like the dirty channel at all or the effects really. But I absolutely love how the clean channel sounds. Tried a bunch of clean amp sounds and… I like this one the most
That is my first big combo too. bought mine in 2002 (high school) the cleans are useable love the effects to shape em.
channel 2 not so great.
I have to say to Sir, if that is the amp you have had all years, you take really good care of your gear. the high school me, beat the shit outta this mine.
I ran my metal zone through the clean channel and tore that thing up for years. hahaha.
I still get some use out of it nowadays, I rewired it up and used it as a CAB paired with my PEAVEY 5150 2 to grab some 90's style tones,
I have an old Marshall combo from the late 90's. The model is G50RCD. It actually sounds good when you get it really loud. I hated how it sounded with my distortion pedals but it sounded great with an overdrive as a boost. The clean channel was fantastic.
I have one. I’m actually taking a break from practicing with it right now. I actually think it’s a really good amp if you know how to use it right!! The hate is unearned imo
I had an AVT150 combo and it was a decent amp... now I have an MG30 :(
My Metal Zone sounds amazing in the front and the loop! I was surprised how good my Digi Element sounded in the stereo loop! I was just about to put the digi in the trash. Love the Neon Nights!!!!!!!!
By the way just found one of these in a pawn shop this weekend fer cheep, fixed a few things to make it run and it sound good, better for me because my TSL100 has to be LOUD to sound good, also the tsl does not take pedals very well in clean.
The biggest issue with the MG line of amps has always been the speakers. They are crap. However, the actual amps are pretty darn good. I have a MG100HDFX and I love it. Play through a MG 4x12 cab that is now loaded with 4 old Celestion G12T-75's and it sounds awesome. That amp is so flexible, you can dial in almost any tone that you can imagine. EDIT: it doesn't sound anything like yours does in this video. I think the opposite of you about the OD channels, on my amp they sound great and I don't see the issue in driving the front end a bit with boost and / or overdrive pedals, almost everyone does this with tube amps anyway.
I have the newer version of the MG15 with the carbon fibre finish. I can agree, the overdrive/distortion channel really isn't the best. Of course the version I have I would say is more of a practice amp to jam on at home on, though it still doesn't sound too great. I've now upgraded to a Peavey Bandit 112 which in my opinion sounds a LOT better than my MG15
Buy a boss katana 50 and you have everything. You can gig and you can practice at home.
I remember trying one at G.C. and I was surprised. I used to have an AVT 50 watt head (AVT was the second version of Valvestate) that sounded way better than the MG series.
Bought one New in 2003 , loved it being my 1st Marshall. Still Love it after 19 years, yeah its not the best but it wasn't meant to be.
It can stand against a loudly rock drummer in a small venue but full of people?
Honestly those classic rock tones weren’t awful if you were to dick around at home to hear some sound. I had the mg15zw and seem to remember liking it when I was a noob but once I got serious about playing metal I became dissatisfied.
just discovered your channel, good stuff! keep it up! Sub+1
I practice with a mg15fx and I like it. Don't get the cops called on me like my 6505/mesa