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Marshall AVT Combo amps and gigging/garage band


macman01

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Any of you guys gigging with a MArshall AVT valvestate combo amp. If so what is your set up. Are you satisfied with volume of clean / overdrive channels.

 

How does it sound with pedals plugged up front of it etc etc.

 

I know most of you are Tube guys but just wanted some feedback on AVT's.

 

Specifically Combo AVT 100 DFX and 150 DFX.

 

thanks guys

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My dad used to gig with an avt275 (just an avt 150 in a 2x12). It was ok, but the tone is nowhere near as good as a decent tube amp, nor did it have the volume or cut of a 50 watt tube amp. Id say get a second hand marshall jcm800 combo or a laney or something if thats the sound you're aiming for.

 

On the plus side, the clean channel on the avt takes pedals fairly well, although it sounds incredibly flat and dull for actual clean.

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I had an avt50 a few years back and the tone was ok in my bedroom; but when I tried to record, the bass was flubby and uncontrollable and live the clean channel had no headroom and the whole amp turned to fuzz. I sold it pretty quick after discovering this. it just didn't have the power or tone of any of the tube amps I've had after it (all have been 50 watts as well).

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Being such a huge fan of the older ( early 90's ) valvestates . I checked out the AVT recentley when I was in the hunt for a new combo .

 

Personally IMO the newer Valvestates just plain suck .....

 

I ended up with the Vox Valvetronix AD120VT ...... I compared it at the store next to a AVT 150 combo .

 

No comparison ........ the Vox smoked it . And had 1000 times more features to utilize .

 

As far as the DSL 401 ......... I also had the TSL 122 combo which was a awesome all tube amp .... but I was recentley forced to pick between the two ( sometimes you just gotta pay the bills ) and I kept the Vox ..

 

For the money you can't go wrong with the Valvetronix .....

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Originally posted by macman01

Any thoughts on the MArshall DSL combo;s, for example DSL 401

 

 

They ain't so great. I had one for about a year. It had ZERO bass when turned up and was pretty thin sounding generally. It was much better after swapping the speaker for a vintage 30 - more meaty, but nowhere near enough to warrant keeping it. They also run very hot, and I had to grind out the holes on the chassis to replace the power amp tubes because they werent big enough to fit the new tubes in.

 

I sold it and bought an engl screamer, which is better in every way conceivable.

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I had the AVT50, sold it, and personally would not go that route again. There are some good posts by people that gig that sum up this amp up well. Some comments ompared to a 30W tube amp (Classic 30 for example):

No punch

Weak volume

Tone is muddy on the clean channel

Overdrive is very buzzy (works best with low gain)

For gigging you will likely need to mic it or run direct to the PA

The cab sound seemed uni-directional; not much spread

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Originally posted by macman01

Any of you guys gigging with a MArshall AVT valvestate combo amp. If so what is your set up. Are you satisfied with volume of clean / overdrive channels.


How does it sound with pedals plugged up front of it etc etc.


I know most of you are Tube guys but just wanted some feedback on AVT's.


Specifically Combo AVT 100 DFX and 150 DFX.


thanks guys

For the hideous price of them you can actually buy a decent sounding amp instead,IMO.

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I had the 20, I still do actualy because it's broken and not worth fixing, but when I wanted a more powerful combo for jams, I briefly considered the 50. In the same price range was the Traynor YCV40 which had more volume despite it's lower power rating, a nicer clean, a more "organic" and responsive overdrive, sounded much better at volume, great features for the price and just gave it a thrashing in general. I never considered the DSL401 because it couldn't hold a candle to the YCV40 for much less money, the DSL401 was only a little better IMO than the AVT50, while the YCV40 was much better than both.

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