I am a hardcore tone tweaker. I have a ton of gear and I am always experimenting with different preamp, power, and cab options. I currently own a Triple Rectofier, A Marshall DSL50, and a rack of tube preamps, modelers and tube power amps. All this searching for really just about 3 or 4 "perfect" sounds. I play Les Pauls ( a standard and a studio) and a Highway One strat. I received the MG15DFX as a christmas present and at first, I would not even open the box thinking it was not a serious piece of gear. But since it was a present, I started using it a little, to my extreme surprise, I was blown away at how good it sounded. Now the little MG goes everywhere I need to practice and even with all my tube rigs sitting in the same room, I often just sit down and plug into that to practice. For a long time, I thought, sure, it sounds good at 15 watts, but this series would never be good for a live situation. Then I was in a music store one day and plugged into a MG100HDFX and matching cab. Once again, I was completely blown away and how great this sounded. I was amazed. Suddenly, I felt like a fool having bought into the whole "if it isn't a tube amp, it is junk" philosiphy. Even worse, I have an custom tube amp on order to the tune of about 2 grand. The MG100HDFX sounds absolutely wonderful for the price. The CD input is perfect for plugging your electric/acoustic into if you have acoustic parts during your set which my band does. These things are great. Now, they might not have the projection and tube drive required for stadiums or arenas, but how many reviewers out there, or those reading reviews are playing arenas? The important thing is if the amp sounds good for your needs, at your volume level, for your audience. This amp is an A+ for all of these requirements for me. The only possible improvement would be the cabinet and speakers, but you would have to study very close and find a speaker that match the same frequency response - in other words, don't play this head through Vintage 30s and think it will sound better. It likely will not. I think the MG speakers are relatively flat in thier response and most of the EQ is in the head itself, so higher quality speakers with the same response would be the ticket. Like Eminence man o wars or maybe tonkers? Anyway, this amp is righteous, and if you a texas blues man looking for some stellar SRV style tone, to me, this rig sounds better than a Fender with a tube screamer in front of it. The onboard reverb also sounds way better than my Boss RV-5. Love it. I was a fool to overlook the MG series as merely a "beginner" series of amps for so long. I will own one soon. THis is the best soundig solid state amp for tone, projection, and delievery I have ever played through. The only current production solid state head in the same ball park that I am aware of to to a comparison on would be the new Randall G3 series and in the first 10 seconds the Marshall wins because the Randall emits so much noise it is not usable. The Marshall is very quiet except for when you go to very, very high gain levels, and even then, it emits less than half of the noise the Randall does.

Features galore. CD in Jack is killer, as mentioned, especially for plugging in your electric acoustic, or for running a second guitar in through an offboard preamp. Also great for plugging in a metronome for practice. The emulated out is cool, but actually sounds a little muddy to my ears, but not bad. The amp sounds so good at reasonable volume levels out of the matching cab, I would probably just mic the cab instead of using the direct outs, but direct outs are always handy. Great to have a headphone jack on an amp. A desireble feature for the married man who tends to irritate the wife with squealing pinch harmonics constantly.

Very easy to use, the only thing that would make it more "perfect" would be to make the "modes" footswitchable as well, like from Clean to Crunch on channel 1. The DSL also suffers from this shortcoming. If this is the magic amp for you though, it might be worth having it professionally modified to have these footswitchable.

QUality appears to be solid, but I have not abused these things for years to create on objective opinion. The fact that it uses power ICs instead of tubes lends itself to much higher durability by design alone. Plus, maintenence is ZERO except for maybe a few scratchy pots every 5 years or so?

Sounds good at a fraction of the cost of any tube amps and alot of solid state amps.

No real opinion, though I have contacted Marshall for technical questions in the past and was happy.

Black and Gold, standard Marshall looks. Good to Go.

Active Musician

Blues, Rock, Metal

This amp has a True Marshall sound.The Digital setting for a model tube amp sounds better used than without. If your're looking for a true Marhsall sound and that legend distortion, this is the amp for you.

The Footswitch could have more settings, like with the digital effects...Its hard to dial the amount of effect u want during a gig.

Over-all the sound is great. It plays well for any kind of music. Perfect sound for metal, but forgiving on the clean channel, meant for good melodic playing.

Marshall has to be the best

For the sound, size, and effects, this amp is almost like a half stack

Haven't had a problem yet, but I've heard the nobs break easily.

I own one. Its never let me down on any show. It goes great with pedals of any kind.

active musician

metal, Emo

It's one of the best sounding transistor amps. I have many amps to compare and if you use a healthy professional guitar you will get giggable sounds from this amp without using a pedal. Depending on the pickups in the guitar I can get country twang/surfin' sounds. If I use a double humbucker I get a real healthy rock with plenty of full tone, plenty of bass, mid and treble, however to me the amp sounds best with the bass and mid all the way up and the treble all the way off. It's got a fuzzy/buzzy distortion if you turn the gain and treble up too much but if you keep it just barely up on gain it sounds very good. My rating is for transistor amps, not comparing it to tube amps, there isn't a comparison to tube amps they sound quite different. It's a very good sounding amp that will get by very well with the audience however it won't fool the tube guru, but I always wondered why the big mouths out there aren't working somewhere.

Channel switching with a foot pedal and enough built in effects to make it sound passable for gigging, which for a transistor amp is excellent.

The fan/heat sink module looks like it came out of a computer. And I have always had those fans go bad on me in computers. They sure as heck could have put that transistor on a bigger heat sink and leave out the fan that if it quits the heat sink is sealed inside the amp so no air flow! I took the amp out and put it in an old Marshall head and turned the heat sink one rotation so if the fan quits the air flow will go UP and hopefully be enough to keep things stable. Now the amp is completely open on top and doesn't get hot. There goes any warranty tho. What's really cool is the amp will fit in the bottom of a Plexi style Marshall head because the transformer is mostly inside the amp not hanging down like most transistor amps. I found an old long box 30" Marshall head (empty) and it fit perfecly.

I think they cost $100 too much compared to other brands. If you must use a transistor head, try them all and see which one you like. But you must play them against a loud backup like a band situation to really know what an amp sounds like. There really is no way to "try out" an amp in a store.

Don't know.

It's a usable transistor amp, as good or better as any other. If you know how to MAKE your setup sound decent with a proven sounding guitar and a pedal setup you know how to use, you can gig with this amp.

Enough

Rock and "top forty"

40 years

Rock and Metal

Great amp for rock. If you want to get a good and loud rock and roll tone then this is for you.

The amp comes with several sockets for cables and stuff. It comes with a cable to plug it in with and comes with the foot switch which is awesome. Also comes with a Marshall 3 year guarantee.

It is easy to get any sound with this amp. It has a overdrive and clean channel as well as a digital effects channel.

This thing is built like a tank. It is completely solid and reliable. It is also quite light.

This is great for its price.

I haven't had any problems so no comment.

This amp is beautiful, the gold looks awesome against the black of the amp.

I am in a band

Rock and roll

it has the awesome warmth that you would normally find in a tube amp and has all the extras to get that tone you dream of especially with the reverb od 1 and od 2 come as standard i got it with the avt 412 cabinet sounds much better than the mg cab without any hiss i found that if you use mg head with mg cab you get a very bad hiss when turned loud so i suggest to anyone spend 90 bucks more to get what you deserve!

footswitch all cables you need and power plug

very sturdy put togetehr by pros

Blues Metal

Contrary to the enthusiasm from other reviewers, I am less than satisfied with the performance of this amp from a maintenance perspective. The digital effects card (ostensibly) died after about a year. I am not in a band and do not do gigs so the unit did not get moved around or abused. I was unable to locate a repair shop that would work on the head, most claimed that they could not get parts to fix it. I cleaned some corossion from the solder points ont he M-DFXX-90000 connector and the effects worked for about a month the faded out again, then, the next day, the amp stopped producing sound altogether.

Given that it malfunctioned and I can't get it repaired locally ...

See quality... although friendly, polite, and professional, the online support techs did no more than provide me with a list of shops that were certified to work on the unit...

My opinion is tainted by the malfunction and the fiasco of trying to get it repaired.

Hobbyist

Rock

Digital modeling is great...but valve sound is got throat to it that you miss here. The problem here is there are a couple of great heads in this price that are true valve amps like the B 52 and Crate

You have delay and flange and reverb but you need these down on the ground where you can stomp them. Those stomps become a big part of your mix so get a great overdrive capable clean amp like the 2000 series from Marshall or look for a Plexi. Go in somewhere and try them out with a good pedal or two. You will save up with the passion of someone who is serious about your sound and buy up into the real deal. Until then maybe this amp could do but I would rather buy into a valve amp at the same money.

Pretty good really but again you need some of what it does on the ground and it doesn't quit measure up to the big Marshall name on the front.

Marshall amps are still rockin after 40 years! You could not invest better..just go valveular!

Again I would rather see a young player in a valve amp.

Actually the repair side of these is great when needed and there are a lot of experienced guys that can do it. For that matter so could you. There are whole websites devoted to the tone kitchen of a Marshall.

The Marshall name has been responsible for the birth of many children. That gut..crotch grabing tone is going to vastly improve you chances of going way over your head in the interest in sex department. Maybe consider a shower and oral hygien...

Active

Rock

Good overall, it does seem to have a glitch occasionally, itdoesn't completely cutout, it just has a "moment"? I've seen this in other reviews. If you want a Marshall head, this is the cheapest way to get there. After a couple years I would advise players to save a little longer and go up a model or two. You can't beat all tube heads for classic rock tone.

Effects will stumble occasinally, not 100% reliable. Otherwise, sounds good, effects are good if not having a "moment". If you like people looking at you funny and asking "what was that", then get this head. For home use however, it's fine, more than enough to get you voted off the island for too much noise!

Not rocket science....but, what does that mean anyway?

OK, I give it a crap rating here for 2 things. First the cables that came with it were junk and soon failed. Second, the fan soon started making a loud buzzing when first turned on. I shot a little WD40 on it and it stopped making noises, I do believe it will fail at some point so I'll replace the fan before (hopefully) it quits and the amp burns up.

Good value even with issues.

Don't know, I tend to fix things myself and I wouldn't have wanted anymore junky cables or another crappy fan anyway.

It has Marshall name, that is what gets you to buy it. Marshall has a reputation that is unbeatable. Watch it though, Marshall, this one has issues!

Hobbyist

Rock

the clean channel not a bad sound od1 a little tame, od2 great sound(kicks but}.

least usefull features is the foot swith,cant select clean to crunch,or od1 to od2 also cant program individual effects,hard going playing live.

easy to use , good sounds but i have to run chorus , delay , through effects loop,comp,sustain through front guitar input sounds great.

overall quality good, no worry about it packing up,and yes gig with it {kicks some serious arse}

never had a need to contact manufacturers

sex appeal full stack looks cool on stage

active muician

rock

The sounds is the normal sound you get with a marshall amp. The qaulity is quite good, with a pedal running through it however, you sometimes get some buzzing and such. It is exactly the sound i was looking for and is quite compatible with my music style (punk and rock for the most part). The amp on its own sounds great. I also have a boss ds-1 and that too sounds wonderful running through it. Overall it is just what i was looking for and exactly what i thought it would be....AWESOME

The product didnt come with any extra accessories. I really like the emulated line out and the cd input. The crunch feature sounds AMAZING. The effects could be slightly better, but overall the components are fine

This is VERY easy to use. The directions are quite clear. The only thing really needed to run this is your eyes. Just read and everything will work. LOL....

I've only had this for 11 days now and its already taken a fall but its working great. When i got it everything was fine and still is. It seems quite dependable, and is VERY appropriate for use on the road.

THIS IS WORTH ITS VALUE

I've wanted one of these since i started playing guitar...it rocks

Active Musician

Rock/Alternative/Punk

Played professionally in my 20s. Toured all over NA. Working as an engineer in a few studios for 10+ years.

Almost all American music styles.

The sound is OK, when it works.

Pretty bland, tone circuit is weak, bass does next to nothing, need OD2 to start getting there, pedal would probably help.

The power amps on these babies go out more often than a cheap light bulb, like the guy said, keep your receipt, or better yet, save up for something reliable. I will unload both of mine (once I get them both working) and trade them off for something fixable/reliable.

It has good value only if you get lucky and get one that stays working and you get it dirt cheap.

Find a service center that will fix it is pretty much the deal, good luck.

I thought I wanted it, I didn't know they went out like candles in the wind.

hobbyist

rock

horrible- wheezy feedback no matter what settings

so-so effects..cheesy distortion

fairly easy to use

looked ok, don't know (or care) about long-term, 'cuz it's going right back

piece of sh_t for the $.

dunno- returning it immediately

sex appeal doesn't count if the tone sucks.

former pro, now hobbyist

heavy rock

Its sounds great on overdrive. but the clean chanel just doesnt work.Ive always been a randall fan and tryed this head and its not what you are paying for. you are paying for the Marshall name.

Two chanel footswitch.

looks like it will last a long time.Still doesnt top my Randall.

Its a little exspensive. Like i said you are paying for the Marshall name.

I dont kno didnt have to use it.

I dont have a sex apeal for amps sorry thats not my kinda thing.

Active mUsician,3 bands,

Shred,THrash,Black Metal

i got rid of this system a month after i bought it and moved up to marshals next line of valve pre-amp (better sound). now i ues the 900 system - great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

songwriter now did live gigs late 60"s early 70's

terxas rock, blues and boogie

I've played guitar for over six years; and have had this amp since I started taking guitar lessons (2005 - 2007). Recently I've been going to local guitar shops and have been trying to find an amp that sounds "better". And as far as my tone goes, I can't even get a tube amp to play or sound how this amp does for me. It's a great starter amp, and a great pro amp too.

The features are fantastic, you can get a classic AC/DC rock tone, or dial in OD2 for a "distortion-overdrive" best suited for some punk and metal. Clean tone is one of the better sections of this amp, Marshall hasn't disappointed me in this area. And as far as effects on this amp go; they at least deserve to be checked out. Although my only complaint is that the FLG effect, which I assume stands for Flanger, is actually a Phaser effect.

This amp is wonderful as I've said, you can get many tones out of it. If you know what you're doing, you could easily make people believe this is a Tube sound.

Of course I have to give it credit where credit is due. I play punk music, and my gear gets the S#@! beat out of it. But three years of intense punk rock influenced music, with gigs to boot, this amp hasn't come close to breaking or dying.

This amp to me gets a "ten" in value because; of course to me it sounds better than a tube amp. People have complimented on how this has a great sound recorded.

I haven't had any need to call Marshall about this head, I do know I'm gonna buy more though. ;)

I wouldn't replace this amp for the world, I fell in love with the tone. If I ever lost it, I'd cry, then buy a new one.

Active Musician, Recording Engineer

Punk, Horror Punk, anything A - Z

I owned this head for many years and never was that impressed. played a band battle once and met a guy who ran his through a 1960A cab and the difference was night and day. Learned that day the importance of great speakers. My sounded weak with the matched cab. Also I recommend using pod 2.0 in effects return. Set this up right and you have a tone that will be envious. But out of the box with matched cab, it is nothing at all special. And once you add the pod and good cab you well over 1,200 but it is incredibly reliable solid state design.

All that you would expect and then some. foot-switch included

no mystery just fiddle with knobs and rock out.

Damn near indestructible. Have had for 9 yrs and although it is now a back-up to a back-up, If called upon I know it will work.

Since it is SS, It is brittle and sterile but with this comes the value of SS electronics. Reliable and uncomplicated

Korg has great cust support. Needed replacement pot that broke off and was sent one even though i was not a unregistered user.

Timeless Marshall Appearance. But not Tube so this gets it a lower score.

Let me tell you, I owned it for 5 days and returned it immediately. No matter what genre you play, this is the worst head for you. The distortion is raw and sounds horrible. Its the cheapest and worst Marshall on the market. I usually like Marshall's but this one sounds like it was slapped together by a 4 year old. It has okay resonance, but the clean tone is sharp and unattractive.

They shouldn't have put effects on it. Thats what effects pedals are for. No point in that.

It was pretty simple. Nothing complicated about it.

Looks good, really light weight, shows how flimsy it is. All Marshalls look good anyways.

Ehh not worth it at all.

Looks really good.

Musician

Metal, rock, punk emo, mostly metal

I dunno, to me, the distortion just doesn't sound right. I mean it sounds ok... but not really top quality metal tone. I have a line 6 Spider III and the distortion sounds better on that. I'm not saying marshall isn't good, but this isn't there best product. I like the JCM2000DSL100 head the best.

Good features, came with the footswitch which is good. And it had a lot of knobs, different set of knobs for the clean channel.

Really easy, a 2 year old could figure it out. Short and sweet manual.

No it was made great.

Ehh... I don't think it should be that expensive for such mediocre tone.

Looks great.

Active musician

Metal, acoustic stuff, but I listen to alot of things

The sound is really good so far. I just got mine today and I've tried a couple of the standard settings like metal and lead and I was really pleased with the metal setting as I play metal in a couple of bands and rock in another band.

The FDD switch is a good bonus. The digital effects aren't the greatest but they are pretty good, I tend to stick with the delay when I use them.

Everything is good and working it's just that when I bought it brand new the transformer was rusted. That really pisses me off. Anyway they are replacing it (the amp) for me so thats cool.

Pretty good value for money, especially if you like distortion, and because its not a valve amp it's actually really good value for the sounds and volumes you can make this thing achieve.

I haven't really used it yet but if they're replacing the amp for me i'll give it a 10.

Well I bought it didn't I?

Metal and Rock and pretty much anything else but mostly metal n rock

best marshall i have EVER used and i have used loads

lots of little knobs 15 to be exact i don't use my other effects any more the sound is just to good!!!!

lasted my me so far 1 1/2 years

ITS GREAT

NEVER evan looked at the phone number

i would trade my wife (if i had one)

this amp+boss metal zone is good

people say it goes out easy, mine has not after about 6 months, knock on wood

You do get a lot of features with this head. Headphone emulator, chorus, flange, delay, lots of eq,footswitch, no valves to replace. A built in wah to the footswitch would help sell them. I'm suprised no-one has thought of that.

The head and cabinets are made very well. Especially for the money. I have transported them about a lot and they have not let me down in any way. The materials are good quality and when the stack is set up it is a masterpiece. Instant rock god ornament.

Excellent. If you spend

Rock, pop