Marshall Amplification MG15CD User's Manual
Contents
1. MARSHALL MG15CD MG15CDR amp MG15DFX The three 15 watt beauties that make up the lower end of Marshall s MG range When did amps this good get this cheap Marshall MG1SCD MGISCDR amp MGISDEX sss s s00 Amp giant Marshall celebrates its 40th birthday by dishing out the presents in this case three amps for the tone hungry but budget conscious guitarist by Nick Guppy arshall s new MG series was launched earlier this year as TO part of the company s 40th anniversary celebrations and is aimed at players on a budget who don t want to sacrifice tone We ve already looked at two of the larger models the MG50 and MG100 combos now we cast our eyes and ears over the 15W practice models that complete the MG range Like the rest of the MGs these little amps are built in India but quality controlled in the UK The design is from the same team that gave us the AVT series so we weren t surprised when the bigger MG amps delivered alot more tone than anyone would expect at the price Small amps like MARSHALL MG15CD TEST RESULTS Build Quality kkk Features kar Sound toto Value for money tok I WE LIKED Built down to a price maybe but the quality s there where it counts the sounds are superb WE DISLIKED The clean crunch sounds could have done with a little more overlap these are just as relevant as mega dollar hand wired exotica We all have to start somewhere and there are many players who don t want a2. RICE 109 ADDITIONAL FEATURES Digital effects a choice of reverb delay chorus and flange with preset adjust and level controls RANGE OPTIONS Other MG Series combos include the MGSODFX 749 the MG1O0ODFX 299 and the MG250DFX combo 329 The MG1OOHDFX head costs 249 and the MG412Ao0rB4x 12 cabs are 59 each The rivals Peavey Blazer 1LS8TT 75 Peavey Blazer 1L58TT reverb 109 Fender Frontman 15 64 Fender Frontman 15R 84 Fender Bullet 15 DSP Only the major amp producers have what it takes to hold a candle to the MGs Peavey s Blazer is smart and has a good range of tone but sounds a little boxy even with reverb Same goes for the Frontmen Fender s Bullet is the only other amp in this league to have DSP but there s an extra 40 to save up first 149 gt thrash tone to a punchy Brit biased mid range squawk with a mere twist All three amps also feature the new Frequency Dependent Damping circuit FDD which is also operated by a front panel switch This circuit mimics the interaction between a loudspeaker and a valve output stage to give a more dynamic and valve like effect All amps also feature a headphones socket and a clever jack socket which functions as an input for tape or compact disc as well as a speaker emulated line out 50 that s all of what you get with the MG15CD Now while the MG15CDR adds a reverb spring with level control the MGI5DFX takes you into the wil
3. d world of onboard digital effects with a choice of reverb delay chorus and flange Two knobs offer a limited amount of adjustment similar to the larger MG models The preset adjust knob governs your choice of effect and adjusts a parameter Each effect covers a quarter of this knob s travel and as you rotate it within each segment delays get longer modulations quicker and reverbs well more reverby The other knob varies the effects level in relation to the unaffected guitar sound SOUNDS Each amp delivers the same basic range of sounds from crisp and MARSHALL MG15DFX COMBO TEST RESULTS Build Quality wk Features Sounds kkk Value for money t WE LIKED Same as MG15CD but the digital effects are better than you d believe possible at the price WE DISLIKED Same as MG15CD 88 Guitarist NOVEMBER 2002 The MG15CD might be Marshall s cheapest amp but you couldn t tell to look at it All three are so sharply priced it s difficult to find fault Forty years ago amps like these only existed in our wildest dreams clean to full out thrash and the general quality of tone that emanates from these little boxes is excellent with none of the boxiness you d expect from a small loudspeaker Above the halfway mark the clean volume control starts to add a nice bluesy distortion one that sounded particularly good with a Strat The overdrive channel goes much further from classic rock at lower gain settings to ma
4. headphones sockets feature Marshall s loudspeaker emulation circuit which is one of the best you ll hear virtually no EQ is needed when you plug into a desk to record And the line out also functions as an input for a tape or CD so you can jam with your favourite bands Verdict All three amps are so sharply priced it s difficult to find any fault We can only wonder what the competition will make of them Forty years ago amps like these only existed in our wildest dreams Today Marshall are making it easier than ever for young players to get great sounds with minimum fuss Today s beginners are tomorrow s guitar heroes and as long as there are amps like this to inspire people the electric guitar s future is assured W
5. nything bigger Even for those who have their backline stage gear already there s always the need for something small unobtrusive and portable to use either at home or for backstage warm up All three MG15s share the same cabinet size and eight inch speaker and with all the controls and sockets on the front panel they re simple and straightforward to use The cabinets are MDF and while not in the same league as a TSL they re tough enough to stand up to more than their fair share of abuse The styling is just as smart as the larger MGs or any other Marshall for that matter These might be the cheapest amps Marshall make but they certainly don t look it Inside there s a simple open ended tray chassis which holds all electronics except the mains transformer on one large PCB All the components are auto inserted using a clever machine that holds a map of where each part sits on the board and then pushes them into the right holes before the board goes off to be soldered another automatic operation and one that s tricky to get right However on these samples all the soldering is perfect We were lucky to visit Marshall s factory a little while back and the company have made some serious investment in automation both for pressing steel parts like the chassis and for component assembly We often extol the virtues of hand built and hand wired amps in these pages but let s not forget that it s Marshall s commi
6. ssive sustain which is perfect for instrumental work There s more than enough range from the tone controls to suit any guitar The most powerful control to play with is the contour which can go from an exaggerated scoop with mids cut and treble and bass boosted to an equally exaggerated woody mid range thump This needs a little taming you only have to nudge it a millimetre or so to hear a difference so use with care The MG15CDR s reverb is a little short on decay but is clank free and there s more than enough level with no background noise as the level is wound up surf punks will love it The MG15DF is the one to go for if you dont like cluttering the floor with MARSHALL MG15CDR COMBO TEST RESULTS Build Quality se Sound aoa oa Value for money kikk WE LIKED Same as MG15CD additional reverb worth the extra WE DISLIKED Same as MG15CD reverb decay is a little short stompboxes Bach effect is well chosen with just enough range and there s none of the grainy quality you d normally expect in a budget amp The digital reverb is a nice medium hall type which will complement almost any sound the delay is just long enough to do phrase on phrase harmony stuff and both chorus and flange effects are both good examples The FDD Frequency Dependent Damping switch common to all three makes a huge difference There s a bouncy dynamic feel to everything which disappears when switched out Line out and
7. tment to state of the art manufacturing that makes their amps so affordable at both ends of the scale The MG15s all feature two channel operation selected from a switch on the front panel There s a volume control for the clean channel a galn master volume arrangement for the overdrive channel and a shared EQ comprising bass contour and treble The contour control is a filter that cuts mid range and boosts treble and bass at one end of the sweep and does the reverse at the other It s the same circuit found on the larger MG amps and highly effective letting you go from an all out American scooped AF ee AAADCLUAI a r VAR AAL L COMBO PRICE 69 ORIGIN UK TYPE Solid state twin channel OUTPUT 15 watts RMS DIMENSIONS 380 h x 375 w x 205 d WEIGHT ke lb 7 2 15 CABINET 15mm particle board LOUDSPEAKER Single eight inch Marshall MG CHANNELS Two CONTROLS Clean channel volume gain overdrive volume bass contour and treble Lead channel select switch FOD on off COVER No FOOTSWITCH No ADDITIONAL FEATURES CD invemulated line out emulated headphones socket NOVEMBER 2002 Guitarist 87 MARSHALL MG15CD MG15CDR amp MG15DFX The digital effects on the MG15DFX amp are better than they have any right to be at this price MARSHALL MG15CDR COMBO Same as MG15CD except PRICE 89 ADDITIONAL FEATURES Spring reverb with level contro COMBO Same as MG15CD except P
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