Putting the Spotlight on our Techs
Roger
Tech Specialist for over 1 year.
I grew up surrounded by music.
I've been playing guitar, drums, bass, and harmonica for over 6 years--Gigging guitarist in Blues/Rock band.
"probably one of the coolest looking in production....."
The Marshall Zakk Wylde edition microstack has the look of the legendary tube powered Marshall stacks of yore but with a very compact, very affordable solid state design. Although some may describe this amp as "cute," plug this thing in and you will see why Zakk Wylde isn't afraid to put his name on it.
I started by plugging into the clean channel with a Burstbucker loaded Les Paul. The amp had pretty good volume and would probably keep up with a drummer who isn't too loud (good luck finding one). It put out a very good clear and clean sound, which responded well to pick dynamics but lacked the warmth that a good tube amp would give. The FDD button on the front panel is a great way to add some of the warmth solid state normally can't give you while also giving you a good volume boost.
Next, I selected the drive channel by pushing the button on the front panel. This channel has separate volume and drive controls but shares the tone and reverb controls with the clean channel. I really liked this channel, as I was able to get a great light overdrive with the drive knob at about 1/4, at about 1/2 it had lots of crunch, and turned past that it was full-blown metal distortion, which was very thick and full of harmonics. This channel is also noticeably louder than the clean channel.
The only thing I was missing from this amp was some digital effects but the reverb is good and smoothes out your sound very nicely. With the addition of the headphone jack for silent practicing and CD input to jam along to your favorite music, this amp is ideal for any Marshall or Zakk Wylde fan looking for a great practice amp, which is probably one of the coolest looking in production.
Conrad
Tech Specialist for over 8 years.
I do not remember exactly when I first started playing but some of my first childhood memories involve music.
Vocalist/Guitarist for a punk rock quartet for 10+ years.
"overdrive is as nasty as you want it and the clean is near crystal with a definitive brightness..."
Powerful, that's all I have to say. Marshall's Zakk Wylde Microstack pounds out those 15 watts as if they were a hundred. Playing this amp was unlike other practice amps I've ever played. First of all, the idea of making a small style stack is ingenious. When you play this amp standing, you get more of the over-all tonality without needing an amp-stand or tilt-back that you would need with your standard combo amps. Secondly, when you press the FDD (Frequency Dependent Damping) switch it’s like you're dealing with a whole new amplifier with a higher output and a crunchier gain.
The CD input is an excellent feature for beginners or guitarists who just want to practice their 'chops' along with their favorite jams and the emulated headphone out sounds better than most I've heard. My only regret for this amp is its lack of a footswitch, who really wants to flip the channels with their fingers?
For the money, I would have to say that this amp is one of the best around. Zakk Wylde really knows his stuff and Marshall is an impeccable amp manufacturer. The overdrive is as nasty as you want it and the clean is near crystal with a definitive brightness, I could see myself playing ballads or palm-muting and riffing all night long with an amp of this caliber.
Joe
Tech Specialist for over 1 year.
I grew up surrounded by music, and for the past 6 years have been playing drums, bass, and guitar. I also gig frequently as a drummer in a blues/rock band.
"I would love to have one of these sitting in every room in my house for when I feel the urge to rattle some windows...."
This amp got my attention right away. Small and powerful, well built, and lets just face it, it looks sweet. Loaded with reverb and super crunchy distortion, this amp can fit just about any player. Whether your looking for a solid practice amp, or your own mini wall of doom this amp will deliver.
When I first started setting the amp up I had my doubts. How could Marshall fit the wall of doom in a 15 watt, 2/10" Microstack? What better way to find out then strait from the horse's mouth? So the first thing I did after I set it up was select channel 2, cranked the volume and distortion to 11, and the sound that came out just about killed me! Full, over the top, rich distortion, for 15 watts this thing gets real mean. After trying a few different tone/distortion setting I came across one of my only complaints about this amp. It tends to be a little too bright for my liking. I couldn't seem to get a warm fuzzy sound from channel 2. But don't get me wrong just throw in one of your choice overdrive pedals and your set.
This amp also offers a good tight clean sound. And by using the built in reverb I moved on to a world smooth and mellow tones. I was impressed with the versatility of the reverb. From wet to dry, I could get any bluesy sound I wanted with the turn of a knob. This amp also offers a frequency dependent dampening switch (FFD), which completely alters the character of the Microstack. The FFD mimics the way an all-valve amp interacts with the loud speaker. It adds a whole new depth by fattening up your tone; this is one of my favorite features of this amp. I don't know if I would use this amp up on stage, unless I had a wall of them (fingers crossed). But it definitely puts out enough volume for any practice.
Once again Marshall came through to put together a quality, affordable, and not to mention great sounding amp. I would love to have one of these sitting in every room in my house for when I feel the urge to rattle some windows.