Boss MG-10

Made betw. 1983 & 1990 (?). Amp is versatile enough for lower volumes especially if enhanced with a few effects...I play blues rock metal punk noise jazz foist feast.

Features are minimal but adequate; bass mid treb presence gain vol & master vol...headphone jack. No effects loop, no reverb. "Warp" distortion is pretty weird..doesn't really work. Best to use cranked gain and/or external effect(s) instead.

This is a solid state amp which I have taken apart & reconfigured. Originally it was a combo with two sh*tty 5" speakers. I am now running it into a cabinet I built around a 1959 Jensen P15R 15" diameter speaker.

Ten watts is loud enough in this configuration to get me in trouble with the neighbors.

I've got a late eighties (?) Hohner ST-57 ('57 Strat copy) and a 2001 (?) Epiphone Les Paul Junior upgraded with Grover tuners & a DiMarzio DP102 X2N (wired for series/parallel & coil tap). Both guitars sound fantastic through my current rig. Both sounded only "OK" through the original combo amp speaker arrangement.

The clean sound is this amp's best attribute...that and the price (used, eBay).

I'm convinced that I could kick this thing down a flight of stairs, leave it out in the rain & then plug it in & damage my hearing some more.

I would love to use my current rig (see below) on a gig. I'm sure I wouldn't need a backup however it might not be loud enough to play out with a drummer.

That's why we have mikes & PAs right?

I've been playing for thirty years. Signal path = ProCo RAT to Alesis Microverb II to TWO "practice" amps; Boss MG-10/ Jensen P15R AND no-name 6W solid state combo w/4" spkr.

For practicing and jamming, this is all I need. I am interested in exploring low watt possibilities. I love how this little guy sounds through my speaker cabinet. If you are looking for a reliable rig for practicing at home, this unit can't be beat.

If you are able to hook it up to a 12 to 15" speaker with an Alnico magnet in a well made cab, you'll be very pleasantly surprised at the sound quality. I paid sixteen bucks for this amp. The materials for the cab cost me another fifty bucks or so. Don't spend money on a fancy pants tube amp that draws beaucoup current & will break down. Don't be a chump. Do it yourself...PUNK!

Bought sept 1989.
No reverb, which is limiting, and no battery option.

Clean sound is pretty good, quite warm, if a bit muffled unless you leave a lot of treble and presence on.
Distortion is poor, fuzzy and mushy and not pleasant to listen to or rewarding to play with.

Very solid.

Never tried.

I got this amp in the early 90s, but I guess Boss put these out in the 80s. I don't know if I'd call the Warp control a Feature, exactly. Read on to understand.

I found out early on that the clean sound of this amp was it's saving grace. Strats sound gorgeous, especially if you run some effects up front. Very sparkly, very good for position 2 and 4 on Strats. Very, very, very clean. Now the distortion, on the other hand....I play rock, blues, you know, Marshall/Fender territory. I like warm break-up, smooth distortion. The distortion of the Boss....yick!! What engineer thought that THIS was good distortion?? Man, this is AWFUL distortion, that Warp knob should be relabled the Crap knob. Running an overdrive or distortion pedal in front sounds way better. Good amp with headphones, okay without. It's a practice amp, kids.

I brought the Boss to band practice one day, and blew those cheap little speakers to smithereens. Kind of sounded like the Warp knob was pulled out-ha!! Radio Shack cheapo speakers have replaced them, and the amp soldiers on.....well, it primarily sits in the corner, as I practice through my son's Behringer GM108 and love the sound of that little amp.

Never had to deal with customer support, but I would like to find the engineer who developed the Warp knob and play this amp directly into his/her ear canal.

I've been playing for decades and have owned a lot of gear. For practice, I don't want to be hauling in a big combo amp like a Classic 50, or even a 1-12 thing, so I've always had a little practice amp. Don't ask me how or why I came to still have this Boss MG-10, it's kind of a dog with it's limited overdrive tones and no reverb, but it has a couple decent qualities. If I lost it(?) or if it were stolen, I wouldn't search out another, I'd get a little Tech 21 or a little Behringer. Sorry, Boss, whoever thought GHNARRRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZZ was a great distortion sound should have been kicked in the kneecaps and then given a pink slip.

Don't know when this amp was built but they were first sold in 1983.
I have it on my night stand for when I don't feel like going to the garage. It's small enough, something like 12 inches wide 10 inches tall. Built in twin speakers, 'bout 3 in. Headphone jack with one channel. The controls are, gain, volume, master volume, bass with a warp mode, middle, treble and presence. It's a 14 watt solid state closed back combo. It's loud enough to drown out the tv. I give it a 5 here only because you always want more but for what it is it's cool.

I mainly play a Am. Std. ash strat with delta tone pups. I play blues and metal. The clean breaks up at higher volumes but that's probably from the well used speakers. The distortion on this amp is lame. The warp function is used for more distortion and is activated by pulling on the bass pot. I don't know what these amps sounded like new but the only decent distorted sound I can get is by using a Boss MT-2 metal zone for metal on the clean or for blues I use a Boss HM-2 heavy metal pedal with the distortion on the pedal on about a 1. Without the pedals I can't get a decent sound out of it. I give it a 3 here because it can't hang on it's own but is bearable with pedals and at a reasonable volume the clean is ok. This is only a bedroom practice amp and a quiet one at that. You won't wake the neighbors with this one but it's enough to piss off the wife.

I'm a boss collector and have never had anything break on me, not even the little tuners. This thing is pushing 20 years and is still kicking, with all original parts. What more do I need to say?

Never dealt with them.

I've playing for 6 years. I also have a epiphone dot and various acoustics. My main amp is a Marshall tsl602. Current pedals on my pedal board are a Dunlop crybaby gcb-95, boss TU-2 tuner, boss CS-3 compressor, ibanez TS-808 RI tubescreamer, boss GE-7 EQ through the front and a boss BF-3 flanger, boss CE-5 chorus, boss RV-3 delay/reverb through the effects loop. I would definately replace it because I need it for my boss collection but if I were purely looking for something that sounds good I would look elsewhere. I love it because its boss but it's just barely more than a toy. It needs bigger speakers but because it's a boss and it's small size it looks cool on my night stand and I can still fit a twelve pack on there.

i think mines form the late 80's. it originally belonged to my dad but he gave it to me and i really l;ike it.i normally play rock/punk and it works fine. power is limited but it sure can go loud enough for me!!

im using an ibanez sa320 1 humbucker and two coil pickups. to ghet a decent sound i have to use my humbecker position and turn the amp full up on everything. i normally use it in my main room which is 29ft highh and massive. the distortiom is not that brutal but hot enough!

this is so reliable and has never broken down. with me its been kicked dropped etc and i nearly blew the speakers when i wired a marshall to play through it cos i didnt know much, other than the fact that it keeps on ticking when on but not playig its fine. it has been neglected and as far as i know has never been serviced ever

never talked to them warranty ios 5 years i think but im not sure

i have a takimine EG560CBS an IBANEZ SA320 and a Washburn, Calrlsbro kickstart 35 and the MG-10. i would buy another one if it was stolen.
i love its tone but not its tiny size, it just looks weedy. i think mine might be upgraded cos it says its 25 watts on the serial back plate

pretty basic practice amp. Bought it to use as a bench test amp. For what it was designed for, it's just fine. Reverb? Stompbox or play in the bathroom. C'mon, it's a small cheap amp.

I play with P90 equipped guitars that I build myself. I wind the pickups to original spec, so output is hotter than with a typical single coil. As built this little amp soulds like a toy but I couldn't resist screwing around with it. I pulled it out of its cab and found a pair of really cheesy speakers (OEM car stereo grade). I wired in a vintage Utah 15" alnico from the late '50s that I was saving for an AX84 homebrew tube amp project. Open back, Vibrosonic size box. With the natural Alnico compression and the big cone this little amp sounded GREAT. I tried different speakers and found that it actually sounded GOOD with old low power Alnico drivers. I finally wound up mounting the amp inside an old 16mm movie projector speaker cabinet, basically a closed back box with a low watt 12" alnico. Makes a great, funky cheapo screwaround amp. Different sounding than my other amps, not as woolly. A great practice amp as it sounds good, but doesn't let you get away with sloppy technique. RATING IS RECABBED.

bulletproof. When I had it open I found a conservatively designed, well made electronics package. Like most manufacturers in this product type they used a basic IC power amp. Surprisingly they put a lot of effort into the preamp design. The preamp is mostly discretes and is clearly done with a lot of thought. Considering that Boss is known for signal processing, this makes sense. Only negative is the PCB mounted pots and jacks, but hey, what you you want for a cheap amp?

BTW they spent almost all the build money on the electronics. The stock speakers and cabinet are pathetic.

n/a

Been playing for about 5 years. I have a blackfaced mid 70's Twin Reverb, '67 Bandmaster and a recabbed 6BQ5 Danelectro. This is the only SS amp I have. I prefer a warm, thicker lo tech sound. What can I say, I like the LP Junior vibe.

Like I said, for what it is, it's fine. You could do worse. With scrawny amps like this, I think the speaker has a greater influence on the sound than anything else. It sounds like crap through a ceramic mag speaker and settles in nicely with a 10" or larger alnico. After recabbing it I no longer have a bench amp.

Other reviewers cover this amp well. I would just like to add that it is pictured on page 33 of the Boss Book from Hal Leonard pubs.
I love the headphone output. Good for motel rooms.

It is hard to get a clean tone out of this amp. You really have to twiddle the 3 gain/volume knobs to find a clean combination.
I think my particular amp was never played before I got it.
When I first bought it, it sounded constipated. Then I played it at 10 for an hour, and the speaker loosened up and it sounds great. Still like a cheezy little transistor amp, but with some unique character that is endearing.

It's a boss.

??

I own a bunch of other stuff. This amp sits in my bedroom with earphones plugged in to it. It works great as a cheap but slightly cool practice amp.

I've had the MG-10 for 12 years, I bought it off a friend for $20. He probably had it for about 5 years. the MG-10 still works as well with NO trouble whatsoever. It is a reliable little workhorse. It's versatality is good enough for me. I usually old school punk. The "warp" button gives off a fatter distorion while without it the sound is thinner and wayh more grating and punk. Keep the presence knob at 10. I'm glad it has no reverb. For home practice, it is sufficiently loud to make my ears tingle without pissing off the neighbors. I give the MG-10 a 7 because it fails to be a great amp for thrash metal--not enough "crunch". It sucks as a blues amp, not enough depth to the sound. But for punk it rules supreme.

AS mentioned, for punk it is gnarly. For more musical stlyes it fails.

It has never even hinted at wantiong to break down. This amp works harder than all the 10 yr olds in all the Asian sweatshops.

N/A.

been puking out ri9ffs and rhythms for 20 years. It were gone,I'd mourn and wail for centuries. I bought it cuz I needed an amp and it was all I could afford. No regrets though.

I have had this practice amp several years. I cannot remember which music catalog I purchased it from. It has a headphone jack, and you can pull out the bass knob for a cool distortion effect. Good basic little amp.

I play classic rock and metal, most everything (but not all) with distortion and this little guy does great. At a little over 10 W you can really get it pretty loud, considering its size. As the other reviewer said, it'll never be loud enough to be heard over a drum kit--perfect for a dorm room or apartment though.

Good basic distortion sounds at high and low gain, and good clean sounds. I used mostly with a multi-effects unit with no complaints. I give it an 8 because it's good for what it is, a practice amp (I can't see giving it any higher).

It's a tank. And it's so light I wish I could gig with it. Never once given me any problem.

No idea. Never called 'em.

Awesome practice amp! It's a great size, is lightweight and has a lot of sound for a little guy with good basic features too.

I think the versatility is great for a practice amp. But I use a multi-effects pedal anyway so it's always on the clean.
You can pull the bass knob to "warp" the sound. It's makes it distorted.

The clean sound is nice and balanced with my single coil pickup.
The overdrive it ok. The distortion is fuzz like and is nice.
I don't think it'll safely go louder than a drum kit.

Seems pretty darn durable to me. I've had it for 4 years.

Never talked to em.

I don't think it can be used in a practice session with a drummer so I don't rate it high. It'd be better to invest in a portable amp that's louder.