FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Marshal Amps

Question:
>i have recently bought a Marshall MG50RCD for 189 pounds ($270) and am not that happy with it, (but then i supose you get what you pay for) it seams empty and i'm not that happy with the tone. i'm thinking of getting a valve marshall dual super lead DSL201 for about 420 pounds ($600) the reason this amp caught my eye is A, its a valve amp and B, its only 20w as i have neighbours to consider and as i understand you have turn a valve amp up before you get a good tone anyone used one befor?? anyone have any recomendations??

Answer:
1) You'll probably get people telling you you need a bit more oomph for gigging, but don't take too much notice of them uless you are ready for gigging right now. You'll end up getting tlaked into buying a stack that won't fit in your house. 2) I'm not entirely sure about the arguments for needing to turn a valve amp up to get a good tone. To a certain extent unless you drive the speakers with some good volume it doesn't matter what kind of amp you have. I have an old primitive Carlsbro 100W, that just sounds crap until you wind it up and get some real punch and attack going on (which happens at about 1.5) - it doesn't sound brilliant then, but a whole lot better! So in some ways it's the volume rather than how far up the the power level that counts. 3) Regarding winding the power up, most (many?) amps these days are master volume meaning that the input can be turned up, with the master turned down, so you can control the preamp tome, without killing your neighbours. 4) Finally, have a good look at the Laney amps too. The LC30 is a fine sounding amp, and a bit more powerful than the DSL201, for quite a few quid less.