AFIII Mesa vs Marshall - Which one do you prefer?

ML SOUND LAB

ML SOUND LAB

Cab Pack Wizard
Vendor
I did this video showing off some of the new ML stuff that are the most realistic tube sounds I've been able to get with Fractal yet. Thought I'd post it here and ask you which one you prefer?



I obviously love both but I believe they fit very different players or at least different playing styles. The Mesa Mark V is probably the tightest amp on the planet and it'll work for super tight metal and liquidy sustainy leads ala Santana and Petrucci. On the other hand a JCM Marshall is a Marshall is a Marshall. That nasally crunch and lead tone ala Bonamassa, Slash etc. and that instant kerrang and easy playing feel and cut will fit any mix perfectly and reacts to every guitar in a unique way and this is where your guitar's volume and tone controls can give you a multi channel amp without any foot switches. These are IMHO the best amps from both of these manufacturers which is why they're in this comparison, I'm sure a Recto vs Plexi comparison would be a different story for many reasons. :)

Would love to hear your opinions!
 
ML SOUND LAB said:
I did this video showing off some of the new ML stuff that are the most realistic tube sounds I've been able to get with Fractal yet. Thought I'd post it here and ask you which one you prefer?



I obviously love both but I believe they fit very different players or at least different playing styles. The Mesa Mark V is probably the tightest amp on the planet and it'll work for super tight metal and liquidy sustainy leads ala Santana and Petrucci. On the other hand a JCM Marshall is a Marshall is a Marshall. That nasally crunch and lead tone ala Bonamassa, Slash etc. and that instant kerrang and easy playing feel and cut will fit any mix perfectly and reacts to every guitar in a unique way and this is where your guitar's volume and tone controls can give you a multi channel amp without any foot switches. These are IMHO the best amps from both of these manufacturers which is why they're in this comparison, I'm sure a Recto vs Plexi comparison would be a different story for many reasons. :)

Would love to hear your opinions!
Click to expand...

Hi Ml sound lab.
I have been trying to play your video but I can’t seem to get any sound. I’m using an iPad to view your video but I get no sound, don’t have a glue why I can’t get any sound bummer.:(
 
Mesa Boogie for the infinite shades of touch-sensitive smashed pixie textures you get with various control settings. Like racing a Porsche, very fun, but if you screw it up, it will suck, you'll probably be dead, and your tone will be dead.

Marshall for the deliberately lo-fi hard clipping aggression that never seems to fold no matter how hard you hit it. Like racing a golf cart, very fun, and no matter you keep the pedal floored, very hard to screw it up. Even if you do manage to screw it up, it remains a laughing matter.
 
Personally, I love the sound and feel of both of them.

I have found that most Marshalls can allow a player to be a little sloppy and sound good but a Mesa usually seems to require the player to pay more attention to precision, so I like playing on both types of amps for these reasons.
 
i want to know what it is circuitranamonically that allows you to beat on a Marshall with reckless abandon and it somehow makes anything sound good (compression??), where as if you beat on a mesa in the same way, it will give you exactly what you put into it, and you will sound like an goon unless you can actually fineness the instrument in the right way.
 
ML SOUND LAB said:
I did this video showing off some of the new ML stuff that are the most realistic tube sounds I've been able to get with Fractal yet. Thought I'd post it here and ask you which one you prefer?



I obviously love both but I believe they fit very different players or at least different playing styles. The Mesa Mark V is probably the tightest amp on the planet and it'll work for super tight metal and liquidy sustainy leads ala Santana and Petrucci. On the other hand a JCM Marshall is a Marshall is a Marshall. That nasally crunch and lead tone ala Bonamassa, Slash etc. and that instant kerrang and easy playing feel and cut will fit any mix perfectly and reacts to every guitar in a unique way and this is where your guitar's volume and tone controls can give you a multi channel amp without any foot switches. These are IMHO the best amps from both of these manufacturers which is why they're in this comparison, I'm sure a Recto vs Plexi comparison would be a different story for many reasons. :)

Would love to hear your opinions!
Click to expand...

Ok my Bad
Took me a while to figure out that some how I had messed up the sound settings in my iPad Duh!
Man don’t know how I did that lol.
Anyway I love both the Mesa and the Marshall the Mesa to me is a bite clearer to me and the Marshall well it just is a tone that is just sounds good.
I have not always been a Marshall fan but over the years I have learned to like them more especially playing Trower and I Certainly am not anywhere close to that good but Marshall’s just have that sound. I like the Mesa when I use different effects just sounds better to me.
 
Great video that surprised me. I far prefer playing Mesa Boogie amps (either real or modeled) vs Marshall, but I actually liked the sound of the Marshall better in the clip. May have to rethink some things.
 
Also one big difference in real life is that you can get this sound on a Mesa at reasonable volume levels while the Marshall needs to be very loud if you want that body in your sound. So this is US preamp distortion vs UK power amp distortion.
 
poeticprizm said:
I loved your Mesa preset pack. Marshall - not yet got the hang of it :) Actually what I'd really like is a Friedman, Splawn, or Atomica preset pack from you - I'd buy that in an instant :)
Click to expand...
Thank you buddy. Those are definitely some amps I've been thinking about as well. :)
 
aens said:
For this particular clip I prefer Mesa. Would still play Marshall though mainly because of the versatility you mentioned.
Click to expand...
Yeah I mean add a tube screamer to the Marshall and it'll do the metal thing perfectly. These are just raw amp tones. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom