Marshall Mg Series Mg30Cfx 30W 1X10 Guitar Combo Amp For Sale (Jan 2023 Update)

I have a 2003 MG15DFX and wanted the newer version with 30 watts. The max loudness on this 30 watt model is the same or lower than my old 15 watter, and I tried two of these new in box. The four channels are nice; you can use either manual or program modes. I don't like that the Tap + Store buttons say "Tuner" yet there is no tuner unless you buy the $75 optional foot pedal. Moreover, the tuner is on the foot pedal but you can't switch it on/off from the pedal itself; you have to reach over to the amp and then press and hold the two buttons on the amp. The reverb no longer has Hall like the older model; it just gives you Plate and Spring. The overall tone is shrill and hurts my ears after about 15 minutes in the same way that modeling amps do. In fact, I suspect that this IS a modeling amp, just not advertised as one. In fairness, it has a fat, punchy low-end and lots of gain. The gain reacts very well to how hard you pick, which is perhaps the nicest feature. New players who like Marshalls will dig this, but I seriously think something like Line 6's Spider 75 blows this thing away for value and versatility. Of the two I bought and tried, the first had a wrinkle in the tolex covering, the second had white paint on one of the knobs right out of the factory-sealed box and the cabinet buzzes when I hit certain notes. Both have the same low output compared to my old 15DFX. YouTube videos make the MGCFX sound like a dream, but after getting it home I'm uncharmed.Slappy

I play guitar as a hobby and have a Peavey amp that just couldn't get the sound I wanted even with effect pedals. If you want a good 80's-90's heavy metal sound, then this is the amp. With the foot controller you can store the different stored sound you want, hit the button and you have it. I play at the house so the 30 watt is more than enough volume. I don't need whopping volume so this amp is perfect for me. However the maximum volume should be around 7 or 8. Any volume higher than that has a little roughness to it. This is a GREAT little amp and it doesn't bust your bank account. I've had the amp 5+ months and play it for about two hours a day and have had NO PROBLEMS with it whatsoever. For the money, you get the awesome Marshall sound and quality. I use no effect pedals with this amp and have no problem getting the sounds I want. I don't know why other people claim they can't get the proper sound, maybe they don't know how to adjust the amp to their liking or maybe they're trying to use effect pedals with it. I had to play with it a bit and figure it out but once I did I was in love with it. I recommend it to anyone whom wants an awesome amp that doesn't put you in debt. I highly recommend getting the foot switch too.Rutbuster1

This is a solid state amp that doesnt disappoint. Solid state has a lot of bad press, but these days theres no reason why. Technology has moved on and this being a Marshall solid state amp, it sounds great. The signal is analog and the fx are digital, and theyre really good fx. I will also say this is totally inappropriate for my bedroom – its very heavy, large and loud! But at the price, it was still a no-brainer. Marshall quality at a reasonable price. Five stars.kv2chris1978

Great AMP works well for practice in my studio. However can't really take it out to jam as it needs a bit more punch for that. 30 watt unit would have been perfect. Great Marshall sound.2nd_opinion

Good quality reasonably portable amp with great features. Great sounds out of this amp with a really good selection of adjustments to get any sound you want Nice looking piece of equipment and well put together with lots of plug in options . Powerful enough o gig with and a function for silent practice with a headphone socket. Comes with a floor pedal for changing from clean to overdrive. The instructions are a bit tricky to understand and get your head around but adequate. The writing round the control knobs is a bit small so if you are a bit optically challenged theyre a bitt hard to read.robianwin42

Upon purchasing and fiddling around with the settings I was not completely sold on this amp. I had trouble finding a sound that I liked. However I now am finding cool sounds and fully enjoying the amp. In my experience, it starts to sound way worse when turned up on high volumes. Overall great practice amp and it keeps up when I jam with friends.Guitarist

I bought the MG30gfx to use as a practice amp. I don't know what method Marshall used to rate the amp at 30 watts, but it is nowhere near that number — at least not by the RMS method, which is really the only true measurement of an amp's output power that I'm aware of. Some companies use the term "nominal power," some use "peak power" or "maximum power." There may be other ratings as well. In any case, out of curiosity I decided to see how this amp compared to my Fender Deluxe Reverb, which is rated at 22 watts RMS. That's how I discovered it's nowhere near 30 watts. The Fender volume set at "2," is considerably louder than the MG30 volume at approximately two-thirds full. I was shocked! I didn't really expect it to sound as loud (or as good) as the Fender, but the volume difference was unbelievable. The difference in speaker size (10" vs. 12" in the Fender) could not account for that much difference in volume. Nowhere in the manual that comes with the MG30gfx does it state how the wattage was calculated. The other big disappointment is the white noise emitted by the MG30gfx in the clean channel. I bought a solid state amp just for practice expecting that it would be quiet, but the white noise emitted by the MG30gfx is actually louder than the white noise emitted by my Fender Deluxe Reverb. These are the reasons I gave the MG30gfx a two-star rating. Otherwise, it will do as a home practice amp. Overall, though, it is a big disappointment.Robert

This amp is so good. The clean channel has a lovely full tone and the overdrive settings are fantastic. In addition the tone controls actually give a good range sounds which is not something common to all amps on this price range. The 5 effects cover all the most common sounds . I have paid 4 times as much for less versatile amps. Just great valueGavin E.

Upon purchasing and fiddling around with the settings I was not completely sold on this amp. I had trouble finding a sound that I liked. However I now am finding cool sounds and fully enjoying the amp. In my experience, it starts to sound way worse when turned up on high volumes. Overall great practice amp and it keeps up when I jam with friends.Guitarist

This amp is so good. The clean channel has a lovely full tone and the overdrive settings are fantastic. In addition the tone controls actually give a good range sounds which is not something common to all amps on this price range. The 5 effects cover all the most common sounds . I have paid 4 times as much for less versatile amps. Just great valueGavin E.

I have a 2003 MG15DFX and wanted the newer version with 30 watts. The max loudness on this 30 watt model is the same or lower than my old 15 watter, and I tried two of these new in box. The four channels are nice; you can use either manual or program modes. I don't like that the Tap + Store buttons say "Tuner" yet there is no tuner unless you buy the $75 optional foot pedal. Moreover, the tuner is on the foot pedal but you can't switch it on/off from the pedal itself; you have to reach over to the amp and then press and hold the two buttons on the amp. The reverb no longer has Hall like the older model; it just gives you Plate and Spring. The overall tone is shrill and hurts my ears after about 15 minutes in the same way that modeling amps do. In fact, I suspect that this IS a modeling amp, just not advertised as one. In fairness, it has a fat, punchy low-end and lots of gain. The gain reacts very well to how hard you pick, which is perhaps the nicest feature. New players who like Marshalls will dig this, but I seriously think something like Line 6's Spider 75 blows this thing away for value and versatility. Of the two I bought and tried, the first had a wrinkle in the tolex covering, the second had white paint on one of the knobs right out of the factory-sealed box and the cabinet buzzes when I hit certain notes. Both have the same low output compared to my old 15DFX. YouTube videos make the MGCFX sound like a dream, but after getting it home I'm uncharmed.Slappy

I play guitar as a hobby and have a Peavey amp that just couldn't get the sound I wanted even with effect pedals. If you want a good 80's-90's heavy metal sound, then this is the amp. With the foot controller you can store the different stored sound you want, hit the button and you have it. I play at the house so the 30 watt is more than enough volume. I don't need whopping volume so this amp is perfect for me. However the maximum volume should be around 7 or 8. Any volume higher than that has a little roughness to it. This is a GREAT little amp and it doesn't bust your bank account. I've had the amp 5+ months and play it for about two hours a day and have had NO PROBLEMS with it whatsoever. For the money, you get the awesome Marshall sound and quality. I use no effect pedals with this amp and have no problem getting the sounds I want. I don't know why other people claim they can't get the proper sound, maybe they don't know how to adjust the amp to their liking or maybe they're trying to use effect pedals with it. I had to play with it a bit and figure it out but once I did I was in love with it. I recommend it to anyone whom wants an awesome amp that doesn't put you in debt. I highly recommend getting the foot switch too.Rutbuster1

I've owned this amp for a few years. With the clean channel engaged, it sounds great with pedals (mxr super comp into boss od) and gets surprisingly loud for a small apartment. I dont think it would be loud enough for most band practice settings as far as volume. The biggest gripe I have with it is that it defaults to the distortion channel, which is useless for any application. Muddy, buzzy, no low end, no smoothness… just rigid cold distortion that muddied your notes even with the gain at the lowest settings. It's in fact the worst distortion I've ever used. Whenever I turn it on, I immediately switch the channel to clean.Alan

Bought this for practice when lower volume is required. Looks great, Sounds great. From the research that i've done, this is the best sounding solid state amp of is size and class and i feel like the research really holds up!Tony

This amp is perfect for the practice I have. The clean has amazing clarity and the overdrive has enough grit to fool around. I can experiment with any pedal as well. Sounds great. Great purchase.EDGAR

I've owned several Marshall combos over the years, and they've never let me down, until I bought this piece of garbage. I couldn't get a decent tone out of it!! Very low and bassy, and barely present at all. Definitely wouldn't be able to punch through a mix, and playing live would've been a nightmare.CoopDBomb

Overall: Bought this at a great deal.I had it for 30 days and sent it back for a refund.I could not for the life of me dial in a sound with my Fender Blacktop Strat with humbuckers.Marshall should be ashamed of themselves for putting their name on this horrible POS.Went and bought a used Peavey Vypyr 30 for $135.00 and had great sounds in less then 24 hours.Blows this marshall away.Very underrated Peavey Vypyr amps . Great tube sounding amps and also feel.Frank

The Marshall name alone speaks for itself. There is no brand that creates a better sound than Marshall. It's not just my opinion, it has been the most used amp by some of the most famous musicians that has ever played an instrument. This amp in particular is absolutely perfect for use in the home use or in front of a small crowd. Perfect sound and perfect size.Michael

I have a Marshall 412 cabinet with a 100 watt Marshall head. I needed a smaller amp to practice at home and for small jam sessions. I picked the Marshall MG15FX because I know and like the Marshall sound and quality. The Effects features sound good too. I bought the footswitch for it too. This amp sounds good and powerful enough for any small jam or studio work. Marshall makes a MG30 if you need more power.Max

I really like this amp. I don't have to turn up the master volume very much for it to get loud enough. I plan to hook up a Line 6 Pocket Pod for heavier distortion and more effects options. I'm a big fan of delay and am happy with the delay that comes with this amp but I did get a Boss DD-8 digital delay pedal and it works well with this amp. I previously had a cheap 100 watt amp but it only sounded well at low volume. I feel this Marshall amp is better quality and I am glad I got this one.Ferdad

i use this fun little amp at home to practice and jam. sometimes with friends. i've have owned fender and peavy practice amps and this Marshall is just as good or better. i like the clean and various overdrives..the effects do a good enough job and really like the two different reverb effects. i like the headphone option for keeping the neighbors and girlfriend happy when playing late night. i play a Epiphone Les paul traditional pro iv and the combonation sounds super for hard rock and blues but i needed to get a heavy metal pedal for metallica songs. wish it had a longer plug in cable. but over all it sounds really good for what i payed.. ;owned it for two years and keeps on rocking.rob

The big plus with this MG30 is it doesn't have the static noise on the overdrive channel like my MG15. The reverb and foot switch are nice features too. Solid construction on these Marshall MG line. Good value on a 30 watt amp.keanul808-us

This is a really good bit of kit (apart from the way it looks, which isn't the best!). It makes a great Bluetooth speaker for streaming music – plenty loud, with good (faked) stereo separation, and the bass isn't bad for a small speaker. The guitar modelling sound good, and works well at low volume. And I can get 3 sound sources running simultaneously, which is useful : 1. A guitar plugged into the Input 2. A keyboard plugged into the Aux In 3. Music streamed over Bluetooth So, the sound is good, the connectivity is good, the downside is the software: 1. Tone Room works well, once you've got it to work at all. I had to try several different drivers from the VOX web site before I finally got Tone Room to connect from my laptop over Bluetooth. I eventually gave up trying to get Tone Room to connect from my Android phone. 2. The bundled JamVOX III software is incredibly ancient (last updated in 2013!!!), and doesn't manage to chop out the guitar solo's particularly well on the songs I tried it with. 3. There's not much of a community out there uploading tones and patches etc. Finally, I could have paid less elsewhere, but I really appreciate The Captain's video reviews, so I decided to pay an extra £10 to get it from Andertons.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: I bought this after getting tired of waiting for my Positive Grid Spark to ship. I watched some videos and pulled the trigger. zZounds had the amp at my door in 24 hours. Wow! I immediately dialed up what I expected to be my primary sound — the "Brit 1959" amp. Absolutely horrible. The sound was weak and uninspiring. Even with the pre, post, and eq's dimed, the amp was nowhere near an early era Malcolm Young tone. (The target.) The JCM 800 and the Orange Rockerverb sims aren't bad–but those amps have completely different drive characteristics. At this point, I had not yet written-off the Adio completely. I streamed my iTunes through the Adio via Bluetooth, and this was the final nail-in-the-coffin. The plastic cabinet has a very specific resonant frequency that is only augmented by engaging the "Wide" mode. The songs I have known my whole life sounded completely different when played through the Adio. Even streaming "Avengers Endgame" through the Adio unpleasantly colored the audio. And again, engaging the "Wide" mode only degraded the audio further. I am returning the unit to purchase a Yamaha THR10II–which is what I should have done in the first place. (Damn your review, Lee Anderton!)They made me fill-in "manufacturer support." I have had no experience with Vox customer support.Brian

OK, I do jokingly refer to this as the "Vox Tone Purse" because it's gotten such flack over its looks. In person I think it looks fine, and I don't really care that much. Here's the deal – I generally have to put my stuff away when I'm not playing, I live in a small place. Sometimes I don't feel like getting out the pedalboard and bringing an amp into the living room, etc. In those cases I grab the Adio and sit it on the ground next to me. This thing sounds plenty good for what I use it for. Generally practicing or noodling while watching sports. I like clean-to-slightly crunch tones with reverb. I don't use the other effects much, and I've played around with the Tonelab app a bit, but not much. I just dial in a tone and play. The tones I get are satisfying and good enough – I like the tones out of my amps better, but for a small practice amp I'm fine with it. About the 50 watts – there is plenty of volume but this thing will not keep up with your average 50 watt, 12 inch speaker combo amp. It's not that kind of thing. The 50 watts is likely for clean headroom, and it's probably 25 watts per speaker. You have to use the app to control effect parameters beyond speed or depth – not a big issue. You get plenty of variety in the available amp models – I use all of them up to the Plexi and don't really touch any of the high gain stuff. Not my thing. To my ear it sounds good for clean to mildly dirty tones and has plenty of EQ and gain options which easily cater tones to single coil or humbucking pickups. Lots to like. I give it 4 stars just because nothing is perfect, but I'm very happy with this amp and use it all the time.AL

The Ac-10not only looks the business but it has since real depth and warmth to its tone. Clean – it’s bright and has the chime you’d expect. Turn up the gain and your tone breaks up but still retains clarity. Having the gain wide open and master volume down means you can still have the saturated crunch but not disturb others . Perfect for home use but would not be out of place in a small pub gig. Takes pedals will and with a multi-fix like a GT 100, if you disable the amp sim and use like a conventional pedal board, you don’t lose any quality of the AC10’s natural tone. A masterful amp and it even smells nice with those tubes cooking.Mark R.

Ive been playing 35 years and this is probably the best all around practice amp ive ever heard. Pros- looks great, sounds very good, cleans thump and chime, distortion can wail. Its loud for its size. Seems built well. Have had no bad issues. Cons- clean isnt near as loud as w the gain cranked up. No reverb. In short if this amp was 50-100W and had reverb and an external speaker jack id never play another amp. Good job VOX.jjsrvfan

For classic rock lovers looking for those delicious, Super Lead Plexi-type tones (think classic rock from the 60's and 70's–Hendrix, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, etc.), this amp is for you! I am totally blown away with this amp for the price. I'm glad I pulled the trigger when I did because this amp is now $150.00 more than what I spent. I had a hard time deciding between the 50W and the 20W versions. I went with the 50W to have more clean head room, but would have been just as happy with the 20W head. And who plans to play a Marshall clean anyway? 😀 Most who purchase a Marshall are planning to crank for crunch, although you can get some nice clean tones and all that jazz :-D. The only downside with the 50W version is that you will have to bias the amp if you ever replace/swap the tubes. The 50W is not cathode/self-biasing like the 20W head, so plan on $30-$60 to bias your amp with a tube swap unless you have the equipment and know-how to bias yourself. This amp is extremely loud, even with the mid-power setting! Oh my heck is it loud! I'm running this head through an EVH EL34 2×12 with Celestion G12H 30W Anniversary speakers. Holy wow, awesome, and loud! 😀 To save your ears and keep your family and neighbors happy, I'd advise using an attenuator or power soak. With the Marshall Origin, to get those nice, crunchy, classic Marshall tones, you really have to crank the master volume to around 6-8 to saturate the power tubes and then also dial in your preamp gain to around 6-10. We're talking loud, loud, loud without an attenuator! For a very affordable power soak option, go with the Bugera PS1 (under $100.00), which will allow you to crank (even dime) this Marshall to get all those classic Marshall tones without blowing your brains out. Note–this is not a high gain Marshall amp. It's a classic rock Marshall, but it takes pedals extremely well for those wishing for more high-gain territory.AJ

This is an amazing amp! Not only is it affordable, but it's so versatile! I like to dial in an edge of breakup tone so that by rolling back the volume pot on my Guitar I have pristine cleans, roll it up for that classic "crunchy," biting clean. This amp also LOVES pedals, so when I want more gain I can step on the blue channel of my Friedman BE-OD Deluxe. Even More gain = the second channel on the BE-OD Deluxe with the mids ever so slightly cut back (now we're getting into the hard rock/metal territory). And if that's not quite heavy enough to serve a particular sound, well the internal foot-switchable boost adds a nice extra oomph. The EHX Metal M*ff is great for those extreme levels of gain (contrary to other reviews, this amp is perfectly capable of doing Metal if you utilize your favorite dirt pedals). And the effects loop is wonderful! Reverbs, Delays, Modulations…they sound great through the loop! Even on the lowest power setting, this amp is very LOUD, because that highly sought after power amp distortion that makes a Plexi so desirable demands to be heard!! Is this a Plexi? Of course not, but that magical characteristic of genuine Marshall tone is quite convincing in the Origin! IMHO, for the price, this is as close as you will ever get, and it is fantastic! If you want a good, reliable, LOUD amp with the versatility to cover all your needs, and don't want to spend 5x's as much, well this IS what you have been wishing you could find!Shasal

I have owned several amps in the last 40yrs. Always looking for "that tone" and never quite found it. Peavey's a Marshall and a Carvin. The last being a 100W head. And with all of them and a line 6 floor pod, was never happy. I am so happy with this head on my 4×12 marshall cab that all I have used the floor pod for is the tuner. I'm sure at some point I will probably use the pod for some effects, but for what I mostly play its not really needed. Of course there are many things that can effect this so ill just give a short list of the main guitars I use and the pickups. Gibson Les Paul with Slash Seymour Duncan's, wired 50's and a Gibson 137 all stock. I no longer play out so the 100w Carvin was just not good in my basement. Couldn't push it to the point of natural breakup in a confined space. This amp goes from almost crystal clean to a beautiful natural saturation. And the dirty channel picks up where the clean leaves off and goes to the verge of metal. Throw a overdrive pedal in the mix and there isn't much you couldn't play on the fly.Brad B

I have had it for a week and love it. It goes from super clean to full on metal overdrive. Price was good—delivered quick. Seems well built enough. The only thing I would change is to give the clean / classic channel some crunch so i could go from a light crunch to a heavy lead sound when switching channels because the clean channel is clean even when fully cranked. The DSL100 has a crunch option on the clean channel so it would be nice to have it here as well. But you can use the ultra gain channel and use the guitar volume to clean it up etc. I assume the clean channel would take pedals well from other reviews I have seen. Overall it rocks and gets really loud. Gig-able I think. Highly recommended.Tuckerman

I bought 2 of these heads to drive Marshall MX12 cabinets. I was previously using 2 Marshall DSL40CR combo amps. I thought I could save space by having the small heads instead. I was wrong. FYI, the DSL40CR amps sound great (mine are upgraded with Creamback speakers). First off, the amps both had horrific white noise when you turned up the reverb. 2) one amp made some weird static noise when you moved your hand around the face plate, touching the face plate actually changed the tone. I have never in my almost 30 years of using guitar amps had this. 3) The amps sounded thin and tinny. To the point they were unusable. I returned them for a refund and when both amps arrived at Musicians Friend, they stated that they only received one amp (although both amps arrived the same day). A day later the 2ne amp was marked as received. I received one amps refund on Saturday, and now I guess I have to wait till Monday for the second refund. What a joke. BTY, I also ordered a brand new EHX pedal when I bought the amps and they sent me a used one instead! Musicians Friend is such a joke now a days it's sad.MLM

'm a novice guitar player with less than 2 years experience, but I reached the point that I wanted to experiment with different tones and effects. The problem is that it would be very expensive to do this with different pedals, amps, guitars etc. I ordered the CODE 50 sight unseen after researching reviews & videos online, and it fits the bill perfectly. CODE 50 is an affordable way to play around with a crazy number of tones and effects & find your sound. I'm sure there are plenty of experts & purists out there that will find flaws with this amp, as it models (imitates) a number of historically great amps from Marshall, & what I presume are a version of Fender amps ("American Clean" etc). Does the BluesBreaker preset sound identical to the BluesBreaker amp that Clapton was playing in the 60s? Close enough for me cause it sounds pretty radical! There are a number of presets that are just epic for playing blues, rock, metal, on & on. Pick a genre of music and you can generate a tone that will fit right in. All of the presets can be tweaked to the players specifications. You want more reverb on that reverb? Dial it up. Some of the things I notice after just playing it a few times: As billed, CODE 50 is LOUD, so be careful. Not a complaint; I wanted something versatile enough to practice at home, but be loud enough to jam with others. There are some pretty big discrepancies in the volumes between a few of the presets, another thing you have to be careful with when toggling back and forth between presets. While plenty of the presets sound unique, there are a few that sound a bit redundant, or maybe just so close in tone to another that it feels that way. There are one or two that I can't imagine anyone using ("Virus?" Virus sounds like someone is strangling an organ-at least that's what she said!). Overall, if you want an affordable way to experiment with tone, get loud, and have fun, the CODE 50 is a rad choice. Thanks Marshall!Jeremy

I've been playing on and off for 20 years. Mostly an attenuated tube amp guy and a gear tinkerer. Found one of these on the showroom and gave it a quick whirl. This quickly led to buying one. Cons: The more time I spent the more I realized how limited the stock speaker is. It's super directional and the bass is a bit boomy and hard to dial out without removed too many lower mids. It still sounds good, but it can be much better. The stock preset settings, like a lot of reviews, leave me scratching my head. The resonance, presence and gate settings in particular tend to screw with the quality of sound as set from the factory. There's no speaker out, so I installed one. If you want this amp to shine, you'll need to do a speaker swap or plug into a 4×12. Marshall should have done this. Pros: The goods are definitely there, but you need to scratch the surface. Once you get that direction figured out, it's very easy to dial in your own settings which will differ quite a bit from the factory presets. I have a 4×12 w/ Vintage 30's and this amp sounds amazing plugged in. The JTM, Plexi, JCM, JVM, American amps all sound outstanding. But the JTM45 in particular sounds outstanding. Effects are great and I'm starting to use certain effects that I normally wouldn't buy a pedal for simply because they're in the amp. Another must do is to figure out your speaker choices for each amp. I'm a Vintage 30 fan, so after changing the speaker to V30's on all the amps, to me it sounds much better. It's a good tool to be able to hear what different speakers will do at the turn of a button, just to see what characteristics in speakers you may like. My secret sauce with this amp is my Les Paul through a 10 band EQ (to boost the highs you loose using the speaker emulations through a 4×12 with those emulated speakers), through a Marshall BB-2 for boost, into Marshall Code on JTM45 through the 4×12 w/ Vintage 30's. Absolute heaven going on with this, even at low volumeWisconsinski

The marshall code 50 and all other modeling amps are not plug and play,you have to dig in and change the parameters in the amp and create user presets that sound good to you! If it sounds good then it is good! If you want your amp model to sound just like the tube amp it is modeled from,then buy the tube amp. I have other modeling amps and my peavey vypyr 75 recto model that i like very much does not sound just like a mesa but i tweaked it to sound good for what i like,i think the marshall code amps sound very close to there own tube amplifiers that there modeled after and that is how good amp modeling is getting.I just want to mention some things you can do to improve the sound of your marshall code,first break in your amps speaker for about 100 hours by playing your amp fairly loud a few hours a day,about two months or you can play MP3 music through the AUX input. This will smooth out the harsh higher frequencies and break in the speaker for better low end without the speaker farting out.Here is a great tip for the bluesbreaker and other amp models that have too much low end,when i first heard the bluesbreaker model the low end was muddy and had too much bass even with the bass and resonance turned down to 0! I tried my behringer PB100 pre amp booster pedal with the bass control turned down to a 7 o clock position and that did the trick,the low end mud was gone and the mid frequencies stood out like i never heard before! It just sounded great now! I then tried my behringer TO100 tube overdrive pedal and i could not believe that the bluesbreaker model even sounds better then the pre amp booster! The TO100 overdrive also cut out the low end mud and the mid frequencies were smoother and the higher E and B strings on my guitar had a nice round tube tone without thin sounding harshness! I also tried the marshall codes internal OD and GVR pedal effects but my behringer TO100 sounded much better!MarshallMan50

Extremely versatile amp. I play a lot of electric blues but I grew up on hard rock/metal. Today I also play a little bluegrass, country, classical, pop and whatever suits my mood at the time. But at the end of the day, I usually revert to a heavier sound. Now the Marshall has a nice clean sound, although not as clean as my old Fender Pro Reverb. You can't have everything. Where this amp really shines is in its ability to generate anything from mild overdrive to extreme high gain. With this amp I can get high gain harmonics that I could not get from other amps, even with heavy gain effects. The only negative really is that the amp is quite physically heavy.Fuzzy

Firstly, I am in a bar/party cover band of older (>30 years to nearly 60) musicians with day jobs. We are not all Recent Hits, but do mostly songs people have heard of in all years from mid 60s to this year. The flexibility of this head is its big feature for someone like me. This is not a prescriptive review — this is just how I use it. Some of the skeptics have wondered why you would need 4 channels with 3 tones each. They have a good point, but not one that applies to a cover band. If I had to have one amplifier, it would have to produce the tones that this amp can do on channel 2 (crunch) green and orange, and channel 3 (OD1) green and orange. Crunch orange and OD1 green are quite similar and are the tones of the classic plexis and old Marshalls. Crunch green is what you would want for "clean" tone with a Marshall level of compression and just a little breakup for an electric guitar. OD1 at orange is what you would do for distorted classic rock — adding an overdrive in front of a plexi or a very saturated pickup, for example. For every song I really like, and everything I would do if I wasn't doing covers, those two channels at those two colors would cover it. For gigs, I can set channel 1 (clean) and Channel 4 (OD2) to be more extreme. The clean channel is actually what i use to be my acoustic guitar and occasionally as my hollow body electric emulating an acoustic. It is not perfect, nor is as good as having a specialized acoustic amp or clean tone jazz amp. However, it is good enough, and it simplifies the signal path to not have separate amps, and there is enough separate EQ to make it work. Channel 4 can be used for dirtier, more distorted stuff, and the weird thing is that now I use it entirely for country. My band doesn't do any metal, and the heaviest guitar sounds we do are the likes of Carrie Underwood. Getting the hiss to go away is not that big of a deal — put an MXR Smart Gate or any other gate I've tried into the _serial_loop_ and twist the knobs — it will take care of the problem. The JS head might be better and I haven't tried it. I do appreciate that you can't use the OD channels on this without a noise gate, but it isn't a big dial to fix. The reverb is good but nothing special. Reading this review before submitting, I realize that the oddest thing is that I personally have no use for any of the red versions of the four channels. That is probably a classic rock attitude — this thing has a lot more metal tone than I will ever use, so you should use other reviews if you want that.Iceandsnow

This is just and amazing head… I can't complement it enough. I wanted so many of the iconic Marshall tones but couldn't afford to go out and buy a JCM 800, 900, Plexi…etc. This head truly does a great job of getting all the tones your looking for. It does take a little dialing in with all the different modes in each channel to find what they all do… but once you have it kind of figured out its a tone machine. the included foot switch is a pleasant surprise also. It's programmable and works like a charm with just a normal guitar cable. I have also used the midi switching capabilities and they are also wonderful, though not as easy to use as the foot switch. If you are a gigging musician or just want a lot of options…..get one of these!Tony

The amp is built from a good quality plastic. It's pretty cheap, it's Marshall and it looks like a reduced copy of a real Marshall stack. The clean sound is not bad but I couldn't manage it to make a good distorted sound like I've heard on YouTube videos. Compared to other similar compact amps, the sound is not really great.yurersho_4

OK I will write something none did about use of this "amp", at least I didnt notice so sorry if someone wrote that : I checked on some gear forum question from a guitarist–he tried to connect this MS-4 to his amp as preamp boost, he said he got no sound, sohe got advice to mod thing(you have to open back of amp and solder certain jumper to get direct out–but headphone is not usable after that !)And one guy told that he got sound through headphone to another amp but it was nogood sounding ! So…both was wrong, first of all I quite intensely play and practice guitar every day, now some about sound…So :1. You have to put jackin just a half cause headphone out is stereo, 2.I have plugged thing to my Bugera 5V–5watts tube amp-which have excellent sound just lacking little push…so this MS-4 have provided that push, it serves excellent as a preamp boost and gives to your amp (specially good if you have dark sounding tube amp) Marshall caracter, so amp turns into Marshall and rally sound as you are playing tube Marshall amp–no kidding here, crystal clear strong punchy cleans and also with this you can overdriven tubes really nicely, great also to give you lead channel! So you dont need boost predal if you use this for an amp ! And you dont have to mod this amp, just use this headphone thing ! You can use micro cube roland in same way–rec/hedph out to another amp ! Then you dont need effect pedals and sound greeeeat ! The same with this MS-4–your amp becomes Marshall !! Is that good enough ?Kailash soundz

I really wanted to like this amp. I've ownned almost every amp made over the past 40 years playing, and currently own 2 other marshall 100 watt heads. I bought the origin 50 head. This thing is UNGODLY loud, easily louder than my 2 other 100 watt heads. I really thought it was defective even in 20 watt mode it easily keeps up with the loudest drummer in 50 watt mode the loudest thing I have ever played through a 4×12, 2 4×12 cabs, and a 112 cab. I spent almost a month tweaking this amp and just could not get that crunchy/clean plexi tone I was wishing for. My head had zero sag when hitting notes, the tone is really immediate and dare I say sterile sounding through a variety of high end speakers. You MUST use a pedal with vintage output single coils, or else you just sound squeeky clean with no edge. So whats the point? I have many amps I can stick a tube screamer in front of. I just cant justify buying the latest and greatest tube amp, only to have a 100 dollar dirt box be the core ofHobbyBobby

A mini version of my full sized Bluesbreaker. I really needed something a bit quieter for smaller gigs and practice at home. I didn’t want to compromise by buying a different type of small amp that wouldn’t get the sounds I had become used to, that’s where the Origin 50c comes in. It’s a great stand in for my JTM45 and it has power scaling to tone it down for smaller gigs. It does clean, it has natural grit if you push it, the tilt and gain boost controls are amazing additions. No need for jumping channels, just blend in the “High Treble” part of a JTM45 with the tilt knob and you can add some clarity and sizzle to stand out in the mix.Daniel Warfel

I bought it to go back to a old school setup. I've had it with all this new age software and modeling, and programming! That's not for me! I have two different pedal boards that I custom made that have every effect I could possibly need at a gig. This amp has an effects loop for those who prefer it….I just plug everything right into the front like I did in the eighties, and it works great! This amp is made for pedals….. unless you just like a dry clean sound. I also have a 412 cab to plug it in too! It gets even better with that! So.. I got the combo for smaller gigs, and for the bigger venues I add the 412 cab. Works out great! I plan on adding some corner protectors and wheels soon.Glenn

Overall: First off, this amp head is LOUD for 1W, even at the attenuated volume you will piss off the neighbors if you live in an apartment or condo. A 2 channel tube amp w built in fx loop and reverb from Marshall at this price is hard to beat. I mainly use the clean channel and run pedals through that as the dirty channel wasn't quite what I wanted, but it's a nice option to have. If you are a big reverb player than the built in reverb won't be of any use, but if you just use it sparingly like I do it gets the job done. You could easily gig with this head and a single 12" in most venues without issue, especially since most of the time your amp is mic'd once you get into larger venues.Chris

I bought this amp as a practice amp to keep in a house that I'm remodeling. I'm running through an old early 2000's marshall MG 4 x 12 cab that I had laying around. I love the high gain channel…its got that great marshall dirt from the 80's type sound. The normal channels can get you that ZZ Top type of blues overdrive if that's what your after. I'm not crazy about the clean sounds, but nobody really buys a marshall for cleans anyways. The digital reverb is pretty decent as well. It's really nice to have the effects loop as well. Overall, a great little amp!Kevin

This little amp head rocks. I mean it really rocks. Now, I am using this after using the DSL40CR for years. Yes, sounds crazy I know. But, I am trying to downsize and this is perfect for room playing. I also love the size of this. It is small, light and very effective. I also feel that the reverb on this is way better than the DSL40CR. The other thing I really love about this amp that makes it unique is it has a dedicated clean channel which the other Marshalls do not have. The gain channel also sounds like a Marshall. So here is the story. I am trying to downsize my house by getting rid of duplicate things. I have two amps. I sold the Marshall DSL40CR. I missed the Marshall sound so much I bought this little 1 watt head. Best decision I made. Do not think about it just BUY this amp now if you want a rich tube amp sound without breaking the bank. You deserve this.CS Guitar Guy

Overall: Why is the JCM 800 regarded as one of, if not to some the greatest Marshall ever made? Plug in and see. While there are few knobs you still can find a large range of classic tones. From really nice cleans to that classic Marshall gain that the 800 is known for. I will not compare originals to this 20 watt rerelease. Although the only thing I will say is that you don't need a power soak to get that classic tone, you will not go deaf getting it, yet you can overpower your drummer in the 20 watt mode. I put a Boss Super Overdrive in front of the amp and crank the drive, and out comes the tones of Ride the Lightning and Piece of Mind. Get an overdrive to go with it if you want the heavier side of classic metal. Just get oneJohn

If your looking around you may see this same review on another sight because I love the amp that much. I have always wanted a JCM 800 but didn't want to have to use an attenuator to play a 50 or 100 watt amp at the house. This amp is awesome and you'll love cranking the gain and ringing out cords. I find myself constantly ringing out G cords and just listening to its growling beauty. I want to address some comments made from others on the internet… Some argue it doesn't sound like the original 100 watt JCM 800. If you're splitting hairs there is a slight difference when playing in 5 watt mode vs 20 watt mode. 5 watt is excellent, 20 watt is the bomb! 20 watt seams to provide a little more clarity in the sound. Best sound I've ever heard! That said I still use 5 watt mode most of the time so it's still great to my ears. I'm only mentioning this slight difference because that's possibly the reason some say it's not like the 100 watt older brother. Side by side they may be right. But I would want the 100 watts of noise anyway. I bought the 2/12 cabinet that pairs with it. I play at my house and have yet to turn the master volume up to even half way because it's that loud. So playing with a band or in a club would be no sweat for this amp. This amp gives you the sounds of all the hard rock played in the 70's and 80's and 90's. Want to play zeppelin, Bad Company, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Motley, or Greenday or Zakk Wylde? This amp does them all to a T. I love it and very happy to have it in the collection. I would buy it again and again. Thank you Marshall for this amp.Dan

Overall: I’ve tried a multitude of Marshall amps through the years and never found one that worked for me. Based on others I heard I knew I would like the JCM 800 but didn’t feel like going deaf to get that great tone. But now Marshall has created a JCM 800 that makes sense for a gigging musician. Here’s why: (1) It sounds the way I’ve always felt a Marshall should sound like. (2) It sounds great at 5 watts and is loud enough at 20 watts to be heard over our hard hitting drummer. I mean for 20 watts it is stinking LOUD. And I mean that in the best possible way. And (3) It is relatively light and portable to move to gigs which matters at my age lolDon’t listen to people that tell you this amp is a one trick pony. Lots of great tones here and it cleans up well using the volume knob on your guitar. It’s a simple amp that gets incredible tone when cranked. If it’s a one trick pony that’s one hell of a trick and worth the price of admission alone!Overall I couldn’t be happier with this purchase and with zZounds as usual stellar customer service.The Marshall Studio Classic gets two devil horns upMartin

Was on the fence for over a year on the Marshall DSL 1 Watt. Ended up getting a steal on a Blackstar HT1 head and went with that, which is a great amp but pretty quickly regretted not going with the DSL due to more range of EQ. Made the move for the DSL but decided to go up to a 5 watt due to Volume/Gain on the Classic gain setting. I have worked it for over a month now and extremely pleased with the purchase. The classic gain will not get a usable crunch for me but is an awesome clean channel for pedals, which it takes extremely well. The ultra gain, at low settings is great for classic rock. I am not much of a metal guy so really don't go for anything over noon on the ultra gain. I am not a big fan of the speaker, although it does sound much better after break in. I run it basically as a head into a 1 x 12 cab which has a 12 inch celestion 90th anniversary speaker, which sounds excellent. Will eventually swap out the internal speaker for a greenback. Lastly, I would highly recommend this amp to those on the fence between the 1watt and 5 watt. Actually, those dead set on the 1watt, take a pause and re-evaluate. I noticed minimal DB difference between my 1watt blackstar and 5 watt DSL that if concerned with volume issues, don't be. Even with 5 watt setting, the max DB is not much more than what I got out of the blackstar. With the .5 watt setting on the DSL, it was even lower for bedroom volume. The 5 watt is much better choice over the 1 watt simply due to the classic channel volume setting.Axel

Overall: This is a great practice amp with the onboard 10” speaker, and also sounds incredible when ran through my buddy’s 4×12 Marshall cabinet. If you don’t like the factory speaker, Celestion makes some very fine replacements you can pop in. If you want to play through a bigger stack, unplug the onboard speaker and run a cable from this combo to the stack. If you want that Marshall DSL tone, an amp from this line is definitely what you’re looking for. Some of the features that made this the right amp for me include:- low power mode: when engaged, I can dial the gain as high as I want without notifying the rest of my apartment complex that I’m rocking out. Conversely, don’t let the five watt power rating deter you if you’re after volume – you’ll definitely be able to cause a noise complaint if you so choose. The selling point for me, however, was being able to dial in that Marshall tone at a volume one can speak over. Whether playing with the hot EMGs in my Les Paul, the even hotter humbuckers in my Blacktop Jaguar, the 490s in my SG, or the comparatively quiet Texas Specials and Atomic humbucker setup in my Strat, the cleans are articulate and the distortion is wonderful. This amp also takes my pedals, including my variety of dirt pedals (EHX Big Muff Pi for fuzz, a modified Boss DS1 for distortion, and an EHX East River Drive for OD) like a champ.- included foot switch: This was a fantastic bonus. The cabling on it is sufficient in length to play practically anywhere and still be able to switch channels without running across the room.- onboard reverb: While I don’t use it often, it’s much more articulate than I was expecting. Not in the same class as my EHX pedal, but definitely a nice added feature.- emulated line out: This is fantastic. No need for a direct box, no mucking about with a USB/FireWire/Thunderbolt interface when I want to jack in and record, no latency issues, and no mucking about with software effects to get my sound just right. A mini jack cable to the line-in on my laptop or DAW allows me to record my sound, off of my signal chain, with no issues whatsoever. I love it.- effects loop: this was something that my Orange Micro Terror lacked. While I don’t use it frequently, it is nice to have the option. Bottom line, if you want a worthy successor to the original Dual Super Lead in a package that won’t blow the roof off your house and would be sufficient for gigging small venues (which I have with this amp,) this is probably the amplifier for you. 5/5, would definitely recommend this or others from their DSL line.Mike