Marshall VS2000 AVT50 112 Combo

2 channel amp bought new on the exact day of george harrison's death, late 2001 I believe.
I play blues / rock with an emphasis on lead guitar, the clean channel lacks volume, the lead channel has the JCM 900 crunch.

Sounds fine, good sustain, does not sound or respond like a tube amp but does come close, and being mostly solid state (preamp tube) it should be reliable. The speaker is not high quality, these were produced in large numbers and Marshall cut corners with a cheap speaker. I dont like to do any mods so I am unhappy with the lack of a quality stock speaker. The speaker cannot handle large volume without the bass collapsing.

For printed circuit boards this amp is well built, meant to last a lifetime. I have had this amp for 8 years, though I do use my Fender Blues Jr. more often now, and I have packed away the Marshall. Actually I use my 5 watt class A Crate amp that was manufactured in 2003 for Crate by Ampeg in St. Louis, made in the USA. My Fender is made in Mexico, and I also bought the 5 watt class A Valve Junior by Epiphone made in China.

I think they are pretty good, all things considered.

This amp is a bit large, I prefer a smaller cabinet to house a 12 inch speaker in a combo, so I run my Epiphone into a Songworks cab that is 14 x 14 x 10 inches deep.
The Marshall AVT 50 watt amp suffers from a weak stock speaker but is otherwise a fine amp, with a versatile 2nd channel for varying shades of crunch and distortion, you can get a mean ZZ Top sound pretty easily, I use booster pedals to overdrive the preamp tube and get endless harmonic distortion and sustain, sounds hot, needs a better speaker. For the money its a good deal because the reliability factor is strong, you can get a real tube amp for this price (I paid 500 bucks new) but this AVT 50 watt amp should require very little maintenance.

Not massively feature packed but is has the essentials.
D.I output socket (for recording purposes?)
FX LOOP send and return jacks for effects units.
Headphone socket.
Footswitch socket.
Maybe some other things i haven't mentioned.

Clean channel = OK!
Overdrive channel = VERY,VERY GOOD!!!
The overdrive is just what you'd expect from a Marshall.
It delivers that classic,crunchy Marshall distortion that make these amps so popular.The overdrive sound on this amp is quite BLUESSY/COUNTRY/CLASSIC ROCK.
These AVT's are designed to give you 'valve sound' but by using only '1 valve' in the pre-amp section.This certainly seems to be the case,you really do get that warm,toneful valve sound.You don't get 'full valve sound' but you get very close and for a fraction of the price of a full valve amp.As the name suggests the AVT50 is 50 watts! I cranked up the volume and i can safely say that i think this amp could cope with a live situation like a pub or small hall etc.The guitar being used to test this amp was a Jap Strat Copy.
The amp also worked well with our ZOOM G2 effects unit.

We've only just bought ours second hand and haven't used it for long so i can't really say.Marshall have a reputation for designing and building GOOD QUALITY,RELIABLE AMPS! so i don't expect loads of problems.Some people have mentioned that the small cooling fan in these can become noisy? This isn't the case with ours,at least not at the moment.Even if it does become a bit noisy i think i could put up with it.I'f i was just practicing at low volumes and found the noise distracting i'd just turn the volume up slightly or use headphones!
If i was gigging with it i doubt i'd hear the noise over the sound from the speaker!
If it does become too noisy or if it stops working completely it shouldn't cost a great deal to have a replacement fan fitted.
Also some people have experienced occassional 'CHANNEL SKIPPING' from this model?
It also seems quite common that Marshall's single button footswitches that come with the AVT50 break,even if your careful?
It's the button/switch that breaks not the solid metal casing.
Obviously this isn't a problem with the amp itself and the purchase A replacement will obviously solve this,if yours does break.
Despite these 3 'SMALL PROBLEMS' it seems these amps are pretty dependable and should stand the test of time.Although i can't really comment on the working reliability of the AVT50 i can tell you that this amp is VERY WELL MADE! It is reassuringly heavy and the components look to be of good quality.I believe CELESTION SPEAKERS are fited as standard to these which is an added bonus as they are world renowned as very good speakers!
The 3 small points i've mentioned are the individual experiences of other people.These problems are not guaranteed to occur,please bare this in mind if you are thinking of buying one of these BEAUTIES!

We haven't had it long and haven't had any problems so we've never had to deal with Marshall.Their a good company and if we did have any problems or queries i'd imagine they'd be helpful.

I give this amp an 8 overall!
The overdrive channel is sounds very good giving that CLASSIC CRUNCHY MARSHALL OVERDRIVE SOUND!
The build quality is good and it handles additional effects well.
It has decent volume output and should prove to be a good amp for both practice and small gigs.

Not massively feature packed but it has the essentials,
1-1/4" jack CD imput
2-Emulated DI output (For recording?)
3-Headphone socket
4-An Fx loop,send+return sockets
5-The amp has REVERB!

The clean channel is ok but the overdrive is AMAZING!
Simply push in the overdrive switch,crank up the gain and the volume and you get that CLASSIC CRUNCHY MARSHALL OVERDRIVE!!!
It probably isn't as good as MARSHALL,FULL VALVE OVERDRIVE obviously,but it's not far off!
The overdrive is very rich and has a Bluesy/Country/classic rock sound.
The amp also worked well with our ZOOM G2 effects pedal.

We haven't had it long so we can't really say.
We've just bought it second hand,it's only a few years old.
People have mentioned that the cooling fan can become a bit noisy,this isn't the case with ours,yet,but i personally could put up with a sligty noisy fan,JUST CRANK UP THE VOLUME SLIGHTLY or use HEADPHONES? After all if your gigging with it the sound from the speaker will cover a slight squeeky noise from the fan,if this does occur.Marshall have a long established reputation for building good quality,reliable amps as used by professional musicians/artists.
The build quality is very good with chunky plastic corner protectors.
I'm sure this amp will stand the test off time if treated with reasonable respect.

We've never had to deal with Marshall so we couldn't say but i'm sure they would be helpfull as their a good company.

I've given this amp an overall rating of 9!!!
So far it has really impressed us with it's sound quality,especially the overdrive channel.
The build quality is good and i'm sure all the components are too.
These AVT'S aren't/weren't cheap new but you can get used ones on
EBAY for a reasonable price just like we did.
I would recommend the amp to anyone looking for a good quality,decent sounding amp.This amp with it's ONE VALVE in the pre-amp and it's 'Tube sound emulating,solid state circuitry' is the nearest your going to get to that great,classic,full valve sound but without spending an absolute fortune.Plus full valve amps,even the top end ones can be unreliable and costly to service and maintain.
With this amp you only have one valve to replace and the rest is solid state/transistor.

Pretty sure its made in 2000. Surprisingly versatile for a MARSHALL. More flexible than others I have heard, including some fully tubed marshalls too. but I play all types of rock, hard rock, and 80's metal. Some Jazz and blues, too. It is very loud for a SS power Amp. 11 oclock on the OD volume is enough to be heard clearly in a band rehearsal. Mic it, and you should be all set for small gigs. Ive only had it a couple of months and am very happy with it.

Ibanez USA made Saber, Santana SE,Ernie Ball Silhouette. All sound great through this amp. You can get convincing blues tones, the gain goes all the way from minimal breakup to high gain. I goof on people in here saying theres not enough gain, and they have to put a metal zone in front of it. Learn how to play! Theres plenty of gain in here. Clean channel has nice breakup and the addition of a gain switch to this channel is a nice addition. Not very noisy, either. If you really listen, you can hear the fan blowing. The sound from this amp can convincingly cover Jazz, blues , rock, hard rock all the way to metal.

Cant comment. Its 8 years old and I just bought it two months ago. I had to switch out the input jack, thats it.

Never dealt with Marshall

I love this amp. I would look for another one if lost or stolen. Good value too.

I've had my Marshall since December 2002. It has two channels w/ reverb and plenty of variety. I mostly use this amp for playing at home now, but in my punk rockin' days, I used it live plenty of times. Had a problem with it and it sounds better than when it was new.

This amp is definitely made for rocking and the overdrive channel is great at any volume. The clean channel is pristine, although admittedly I don't use it much. Surprisingly, the amp is not especially noisy, though I get some sick feedback when I'm in the mood for it. Excellent for both rhythm and lead playing and allows me to use the guitar's tone/volume to shape the sound instead of the amp dominating.

Never had a problem with the amp itself, but the footswitch broke within a week. No problem though. Guitar Center gave me a Roland switch to replace it which works fine.

Never dealt with Marshall, but Guitar Center was very nice.

I've been playing for 7 years now and have a small arsenal of guitars (Agile (amazing), Epiphone, and Fender). I had planned on replacing this amp with something else, but I've been using it a lot lately (instead of my Roland Microcube practice amp)and really dig the sound and versatility, at home and on stage. This is definitely a keeper.

This is the first review I write here, and I would like to say I'm very pleased with the site. It helped me a lot on some choices (MFX, amps, guitars). I'm writing this review as a guide for others which, just like me, are looking for something. I hope my opinions here can help you guys.

Ok, it has 2 channels and reverb. It's also capable to give some warmth in the clean channel, turning to crunch like an old amp (old Fenders and the like). It has FX loop, CD in and a footswitch for channels. All a good amp should (it's an amp, not a MFX). Good enough for me. I rate it as an 8 due to no buttons for turning on/off the reverb and no SOLO channel like it's bigger brothers, which is a limitation IMHO.

I'm an old Marshall fan and I always liked it's distortions. When I was to buy my amp I had to make a run for the money, as these things are really expensive in here (I'm brazillian, all the guys from here will know what I'm talking about). When I tested this li'l beast I was so impressed that even one of my favorite amps (Old Peavey Bandit 112 , which I used to play a lot) sounded boring, with no depth, no soul. The OD channel is almost insane when on high volumes, adding harmonics and compression to it. It surely sounded as any BIG Marshalls. The clean channel is a tale to be told... You can go from cristal clear to crunchy sounds, like old rock. Awesome isn't enough for this thing. The li'l AVT50 RULES BIG TIME

I have my AVT 50 for almost 3 years and the only complain I have is that the hole they put on top of it for the air entrance gets dirty. That caused the li'l fan to make too much noises when I first turn it on. After a few minutes it stops. That's the only complain I have so far.

I had never dealt with them. I really can't say.

Q: How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
A: I had the Peavey Bandit, which I sold shortly after I boght this one and a GT-8, for flexibility and FX. I play for about 10 years now. Always playint metal/melodic/neo-classical stuff.

Q: If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?
A: Well, if I lost it anyway, I would go now for a bigger one, but maybe on the same line. The AVT150H would be a good call, or a TSL.

Q: what do you love about it? What do you hate?
A: Love everything, hate nothing.

And the rest is just bull...

p.s.: Price paid is just a ocnversion from US$ to R$, the currency here in Brazil. And yes, I'm serious...

2000 model 2 channels and reverb

awsome! one reviewer said this amp has no head room. he's full of crap. this amp is loud as a mofo and then some. even on clean i turn up the volume to 2-3 oclock and the gain adjust to taste. plenty loud for an sm57 in front for gigs. the overdrive channel is brutal! all the gain you'll need! this amp sounds great cranked up. when switching from od back to clean it makes a noise when using the footswitch though which sucks but oh well, i dont care. gets a 9 for sound easily. fan makes a little noise but you'll never hear it in a band setting. also the amp has a slight hum you'll never hear either even miced . this amp rocks!

rely on it!

never had trouble with any marshall amp. lucky me!

30 years of country - metal. i own a DSL401, DSL100 full stack w/ both 1960's cabs. 2 gibsons lp's. this amp is a good buy! $300 used.

-Channels: -Clean (Gain, Volume, Bass, Treble)
-Overdrive (Gain, Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble)
-Accutronics Reverb (spring)
-Solid state, with valve emulation and one valve (tube if american)
-Footswitch (switches between channels)
-CD input
-Headphone output
-50w (although it is similar to a valve amp, in the way it is equivalent to 75-100w of solid state)
-12" Celeron speaker
-Closed back

I use both channels, and the footswitch, but it could do without the CD input. All in all, not a huge amount of features, but all are of good quality. Don't expect a VOX or Line6 range of tones.

The clean channel goes from very clean, to Led Zeppelin/Hendrix heavy blues sounds. The valve (and emulation) makes the sound distort as the volume increases, which leads to a good blues/funk sounds without gain and further distortion with gain.

The overdrive channel goes from slightly above the Led Zeppelin/Hendrix sound of the high gain clean, to a ridiculously driven death metal esq. sound. It also distorts with volume.

The spring reverb is wonderful sounding. Although it is the same for both Clean and Overdriven settings, which slightly limits variety when using the foot switch.

I have a Yamaha Pacifica 112 Fat Strat style guitar, and often use a Morley Professional Wah (original) pedal, and it gives a great tone for the price (don't expect a Plexi or a Mesa Boogie, but it beats the alternative solid states hands down). I've also heard a PRS Santana 3 played through it as well, and it performs equally as well with heavy bodied guitars with Humbuckers.

I don't really keep to one set style, but I tend to play Blues/Rock (Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Pink Floyd) and 70-80s metal (Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath). I have yet to find a style which doesn't sound good after tweaking of range (Bass; Middle; Treble) , reverb and pickups.

Although only 50w, I would happily play this Amp in a Pub, Club or a small hall, without worrying about being drowned out. Its loud.

Hypothetically I would use this amp without a backup (unlike that MG series). But in actuallity I would always take a backup reguardless of the situation (power surges kill all amps).

It has never broken down on me, and i doubt it will. I play through the Amp for around 3 hours a week (people complain if I do it for more :( i guess it is a bit too noisy for home use without a soundproof music room ).

No idea about Support, I've heard it is supposed to be good, but being a large company doubtless there will be a thousand eletronic opperators to get through.

I've played guitar for 9 years, and eletric for 3 years (only properlly got into it in the last 2 though). I have a Pacifica 112, a Morley PWA, and a Marshall Shred Master pedal. I plan on getting a Fender American Telecaster (?thinline?) or American Strat.

If it were stolen (its impossible to lose this) I would buy a new one, or upgrade to a proper Valve amp depending on how long it is till it is stolen (a Mesa F30? or something along those lines).

I love it in every aspect except one, it sounds good, it is easy to use, and it looks the business. I hate is weight (41 lbs).

I compared it to a Laney LC30 (not as good sound), a Fender Blues Junior (too quiet and too few options) and a VOX Amp modelling thingy (poor sound quality)

Valve/solid state hybrid amp. One 12" Celestion GM12-AVT50 speaker.

This amp has just what I was looking for from a Marshall. Sounded great when it arrived but I soon swapped the stock 12ax7 for an Electro-Harmonix 12ax7. A tad more color and richer gain. This amp provides that full, Brit crunch at a very reasonable cost. The Clean channel is pristine. You dial in any coloration you like with the tone controls. The Gain channel is the sweety where I spend most of my time. Dial in the setting to 10 o'clock and let 'er rip. You have the Pagey, Townsendish crunch forever. Wonderful Accutronics reverb too. Room shattering volume. I'm rarely past halfway during jams with a bass playing pal.

It has a tiny cooling fan that started making a little noise after about a year of use. I've searched for a replacement to no avail. But its not getting any worse and doesn't really bother me. Other than that, this thing is a tank. Weighs 45 lbs.

Haven't bothered them.

If you're after that Marshall sound without paying for a full-tube Marshall, this is your baby. I hear all models in the AVT line are lovely. My main guitar is a '77 Les Paul Deluxe. Boss DD-3 delay, Dunlop Classic Wah, cheapy Rogue volume pedal(works damn nice).

If your reading this, you already know the features. I gave this a seven due to lack of mid tone control on the clean channel, otherwise I think the features are fine for a two channel amp.

The sound of this amp is awesome. I've owned mine now for 6 years. I noticed that the last 3 months or so it has lost a bit of its tone. I changed out the preamp tube and all I can say is WOW! If yours doesn't sound like you think it should, try a new tube, it's cheap maintenance. Also for a real treat try a 4x12 cabinet, the AVT 50 can really drive it. Clean is good. It would be great but I find I fiddle with the treble and the bass a lot to make up for the lack of a mid tone control. Clean channel can go from sparkling clean to awesome AC/DC style crunch just by dimeing the gain knob. The dirty channel is really really great. With the gain around 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock I get a nice classic rock sound (think Ted Nugent, Aerosmith, etc). Set the gain around 12 o'clock and it makes a good Sabbath sound (especially on the neck pickup of my Gibson Les Paul Standard). Anything above that and you got nu metal. Dial out the mids, turn up the bass and treble and you got that classic thrash sound. I really think this amp does it all. It doesn't need any pedals to get good distortion. I use an Ibanez TS9 tube screamer only for a boost for leads. One thing I almost forgot to mention, It actually makes for a good acoustic amp on the clean channel. I've used it this way many times in church and it sounds good. Just turn the gain almost off and adjust bass and treble to suit. My acoustic has a Fishman Prefix Plus preamp, I have never tried it with a passive acoustic pickup.

Owned for six years and have had ZERO problems. I just changed the preamp tube last week. I've carted it all over creation and it has never let me down. Even the tolex seems pretty tough. I've accidentally banged it pretty good a couple of times and it hasn't ripped yet.

I chose "no opinion" because I never had to contact them. What I did find cool was when I sent in the warrantee card, Marshall sent me a free calendar. That may be nothing to some people but it was a cool calendar. BTW the calendar was a "10" :)

I love this amp. The only thing I don't like is the aformentioned lack of mid tone control on the clean channel. I definately would buy one again if I had to. It sounds awesome, has been totally reliable and has the poop in live situations. I've been playing for seven years now. My current guitars are, Kramer Focus strat copy set up for slide in open E tuning, Fender mex 60th anniversary strat, Kramer Baretta II Pro, ESP LTD EC-1000, Carvin Cobalt 750T acoustic, and a Gibson Les Paul Standard Limited. I know this review sounds almost too good to be true but it really has been an awesome amp for me and I'm speaking from 6 years experience of ownership.