Help with amp?

[Grasho]

Hello people,

I dont know if im in the right place or not, but here goes nothing.

Im buying my son a amp, and would like an opinion on which is better to buy.

1. Fender MUSTANG I V2

2. Marshall MG15GR

He's in to rock/hardrock so im looking for something that could give a nice raw acdc sound.

Thank you !

[Enzo]

These are both basic small amps. I call them practice amps in this range. meaning this is the sort of amp you use to practice in your room, not to use on stage. Both are a single small speaker with a low power amplifier.

How long has the kid been playing? Skilled or just enthusiastic? You might consider a "larger" amp, even a used one. I can get fun tones from the little 8" speaker, but like an 8" speaker in your stereo, it sounds nothing like a 12" speaker.

As to the amps themselves, the MArshall is more old school. It has two "channels", meaning you plug in the guitar and you can select either the clean sound or the distorted overdrive sound. It also has a small basic spring reverb. The Fender is more new school, it has one "channel" but within that are 24 presets, meaning sound variations from clean through distorted. It is easily programmed for playing. There are some digital effects, including reverb. A feature I like is the tap/touch button. If you use echo (as opposed to reverb) you can change the speed of the echos. In other words "bop.....bop.....bop.....bop" versus 'bop..bop..bop..bop" I like to match the speed of my echo with the beat of my song. You tap on the TAP button 2 or 3 times at the speed you want and the echo beat runs now at that speed. The Fender also includes a tuner feature as well as a USB interface. The Fender has a lot of features to play with.

So to me the Fender is a more interesting piece, though the Marshall is cool in its own way. The Fender has WAAAY more features, and it evens costs $10 less. Also I think the Fender warranty is better. Marshall also has a warranty, but having been an authorized repair shop for both brands (as well as many others) I provided warranty support for both companies. There are more Fender repair shops out there than Marshall, service is easier to find.


And it does cost more but the Peavey Vypyr VIP is a feature laden little amp as well.

[Grasho]

Im am looking for a practice amp for him, he enjoys playing with headphones so something stronger isnt really that much needed, atleast not for now.

He hasnt been playing that long for me to invest in something stronger and more expensive, so ive found these two amps that have a reasonable price.

To me also the Fender seems quite more interesting, seeing as it has more features.

Thanks for the advice !!

[beyondch]

Marshall MG15GR I love the Marshall brand.

[Rotti123]

Consider a Fender Superchamp XD if you can find one cheap. Maybe used. Tube amp with build in effects which would be fun for someone just starting out. I think they sound very good for what they cost.

[Justin Thomas]

I'm partial to the Fenders myself. That said, a Marshall is a Marshall & they do their thing very well. Whatever you get, aim for something that can play through a larger speaker cab - 2x12", 4x10", whatever. All of these small amps have the same major shortcoming, which is the speaker, and markedly improve when put through better ones. They also become decent gigging amps.

Also keep in mind how much LOUD you're willing to tolerate. He may like headphones now, but will likely want to "move some air" one day. Don't go so overboard that you'll discourange him out of annoyance later on.

Justin