Marshall Lead Mosfet 100, is it any good?

[DarkHorseJ27]

I've been looking for a solid state amp for gigging because of cheaper cost and greater dependability. Many of my favorite guitar tones came out of Marshall amps. There is a local guy that wants to sell me a Marshall Lead Mosfet 100 head for $100, saying it does a pretty good Marshall sound. Is it as good as he says, and is it a good deal assuming everything is on the level?

 

Also, what would be the best cab to go with it?

[guitarbilly74]

I used to have one... very decent for 70's/80's rock tones. Make sure you pair it with a 4ohms cabinet

 

Great price too.

[Neilrocks25]

Its OK but no better than OK, my old singer had one.

[grumphh]

 

I've been looking for a solid state amp for gigging because of cheaper cost and greater dependability. Many of my favorite guitar tones came out of Marshall amps. There is a local guy that wants to sell me a Marshall Lead Mosfet 100 head for $100, saying it does a pretty good Marshall sound. Is it as good as he says, and is it a good deal assuming everything is on the level? Also, what would be the best cab to go with it?

 

I am quite sure that you won't get better Marshall like tone for 100$ anywhere.

 

Marshalls SS offerings in the 80's were pretty good IMO - but of course they are not exactly like tube amps. Definitely sufficient for giving a good representation of "that sound" though.

 

 

The "best" cab is obviously a matter of taste, so my advice would be to get a proper cab because then you won't have to change cab once you decide to upgrade your amp.

[BerkleeBill]

Was never a fan of the Mosfet 100 -- and think some of the other SS JCM 800 designs fared better, tonally.

 

I'd look for an Artist 3203, myself.

[chrispsullivan]

bigger fan of the artist series myself, but they dont produce the most terrible ss tones

[msormune]

For $100, it's a very good deal. I played an old Lead Mosfet 100 combo with a very worn in speaker and it sounded pretty good.

[pioneerprogress]

you probably won't get a better amp for 100 bucks.

Scratch that - definitely won't.

[rlord1974]

I currently have one collecting dust in my basement, but this is no knock on the amp itself. My current obsession with rebuilding a rack has left no time for playing through this amp.

 

I agree with guitarbilly: Good 70's/80's AC/DC rock tone. Will NOT do metal, as doesn't have the eq structure or gain for it. Clean channel is workable. Has spring reverb too. You can pair it with cabinets other than 4 ohms, but you will only get the full 100 watts with a 4 ohm cab. There is no ohm selector on it.

 

Best thing about the amp is the build quality. Newer Marshall SS's (like Valvestates) are built like a house of cards just waiting to topple over. The 3210 is built like an 80's tube Marshall - tough as nails. Plus, it looks WAY cooler than the newer SS Marshalls - kind of like a baby 2210.

 

BTW: For $100, that is the cheapest 100 watt power amp you will ever find, if you choose to use it that way (by plugging a preamp into the FX return jack). Plus, again, how cool would it be if your power amp looked like a mini-Marshall head?!

 

Take it from a guy that has one and has played it next to his 1984 Marshall 2204 - it sounds decent and for $100 bucks, you can't go wrong (check the Blue Book value - $100 is DIRT cheap).

 

Cheers.