Marshall VS2000 AVT50 112 Combo

I like this amp!
I play lots of styles: blues, country, hard rock, jazz, folk, and this amp can handle them all. I use the channel switching for going between OD and clean sound. I also use the reverb and the effects loop. I sometimes use a chorus and/or digital delay. I use a crybaby wah-wah outside of the effects loop. I use this amp for small indoor and outdoor settings and haven't been overpowered yet. Any larger setting and I might have to go to an extra speaker cabinet or more robust amp. The amp has an output for an external 8 ohm speaker. I've had this amp for about six months.

I use a gibson SG. I like the clean tone and it has a nice one. Very bright and present at high settings. I'm not a heavy distortion fan unless the song/style calls for it, and from that end it gives me all I want. Its great in practice because you can get a lot of different sounds at low volume.

I've found that when playing a gig, I let the amp warm up before playing. Mine seems to get a warmer richer sound after I'm playing it for a while.

Seems to be very sturdy.

Don't remember but its at least industry standard. From what I know of the company they stand behind their product.

Its the perfect amp for me right now. For the price I don't think you can beat it.

50 watts with a 12" Celestation speaker. 2 switchable channels (footswitch included), effects loop, headphone and direct out (for recording, etc). Hybrid amp- solid state, but with a tube in the preamp to add some tonal variation and warmth.

I like to play all styles of Rock music, primarily focusing on lead playing and love both the clean and distorted sound. I prefer a simple 2 channel setup, so this works great for me.

I am using a Gibson ES-135 w/57 Classic humbucking pickups (the good model with f-holes, not the newer "striped" model). The amp workes great with this guitar, which gets (in my opinion) a great hard rock sound. The only pedals I'm currently using are a Boss SD-1 Super Overdirve (for a solo boost)and a Thomas Organ Crybaby wah.

I love the Marshall sound, and this amp does it for me. The overdrive is unreal, and I have found so many wonderful sounds in all gain/volume levels just by spending some time messing with the EQ. The clean is punchy as all hell, and works both totally clean or with a little gain on it (the separate gain/volume controls give a lot of options).

I'm sure others will think I'm being stupid, but I prefer the hybrid tone to a full tube setup. I know, I know, I'm stupid or high or haven't played a good tube amp...whatever, it's my opinion and I'm sticking to it. I've actually played/owned many great tube amps from Mesa, Marshall, Fender and Peavey and actually like my AVT50 better. I'm sure part of the reason is that I play in my apartment a lot, so need to play at lower volumes and many tube amps don't get going until cranked a little. Either way, I wanted to put my opinion out there in case anyone reading this agrees with me and wants some validation- I'm with you man!

PS- in case anyone cares, my favorite settings are:
OD- Gain 4, Volume-varies, Bass 9, Middle 3, Treble 5, Reverb 5
CLEAN- Gain 4, Volume-varies, Bass 5, Treble 7, Reverb 5
Again, I use many other setting as well- next week, I might have a new favorite. That is the main reason why I like the amp so much!

I haven't had any problems yet and don't plan to. Obviously, reliability is one of the benefits of not going all-tube. I had an AVT20 before this, and that was a tank for me. I am hopeful that the AVT50 will work just as well.

I have not had to deal with Marshall, so I can;t comment on that. my rating is for the warranty only. 5 years on parts, 3 years on speakers and labor. Most importantly, it is all transferrable! That is so important if you ever have to sell (by choice or necessity)your gear. For me, a transferrable warranty also gives me more faith in the product.

I have been playing for 13 years and have had a lot of gear in that time. I have also held jobs at a major guitar/amp manufacturer and at a major music chain, so I have a lot of experience with guitar equipment. Also, for the last couple of years I have been in the education field and did NOT work for Marshall in any way. Not that any of this makes my opinion more important, but it's not like this is my first amp or anything.

Obviously, I love this amp. For me, this is the best sounding amp available. The fact that it is so much less expensive then most other great amps is a total bonus for anyone who buys it. I would agree with some other review I've seen here that the other AVT models that include effects don't seem to have the same sound quality and, yes, I tried them all. This is the amp that made me stop looking for a new amp. I used to check Harmony Central to see reviews of other amps to get ideas on what I wanted next- now I check the AVT50 reviews to see what others think of "my" amp. As a side note, most of my other amps were much more expensive than the AVT50. If I can get anything across in this review it would be that, for me, this is the best amp available. Give it a try- it might work for you too!

I bought this used, so I don't know when it was made. I mostly play metal-hard rock ('tallica, slayer, ozzy, sabbath, disturbed, opeth, etc...), It has 2 channels, I had to buy a seperate Roland footswith for it, works great, I don't mind it not having effects, I use it to practice at home and annoy people around me, and to play with friends (great for the latter, read on...)

I'm using a Fernandes strat copy w/ duncan hot rails pup and an ibanez sz320(kicks ass) with a dimebucker(even more ass), in the bridge position, with both axes it gets a great Randy Rhoads tone (crazy train, mr. crowley kind of stuff), and if I tweak the tone settings enough(throw out the mids), I can get a great Lightning-Puppets tone. It is somewhat noisy on the OD channel, maybe the tube is going (i didn't try it out so loud at the store), or maybe my house doesn't have good wiring (it could be the guitar, it goes away when I turn down the volume on mu axe), the clean channel is great, nice and warm, or nice and bright, the OD channel is great, although dialing the gain beyond 2.5-3 o'clock it gets a bit buzzy, but it's nice and heavy, it sounds better with the dimebucker, a little brighter and the distortion is "squishier" with a little less bottom end (you can still feel it thumping your chest at high volumes), this works great. (oh, it sounds muffled when playing on a carpeted floor).

It's pretty solid, it says "made in England", so does the Celestion Speaker, i don't plan on throwing down a flight of stairs, so if you don't do that, set it on fire or shoot at it, it will last, i do plan on changing the tube, maybe that will help with the buzz.

I bought it used, so I only got the store's 30 day warranty.
But the store;s people are very helpful (Guitar Center).

I've been playing about 5 years, my axes are listed above, a crybaby original, boss metal zone(I barely use scince i bought the marshall), a boss flanger(dont use this either, i only bought it becouse it was just $10 at a swap meet). If it was stolen i would buy it again, sure.
I love the tone, it screams tube distortion, i hate the buzz, i compared it to a 50 watt marshall solid state combo that sounded good at low volumes but turned into mud when the volume is past 5.

GREAT AMP FOR THE PRICE!!!

basic features, but has a a preamp tube in the preamp.

Pretty normal hybrid amp

Im using a Gibson Les Paul Studio and actually, I quite like the amp, its one of the most versitale amps Ive come across for a while. It gets the normal Marshall brownsound pretty easily, but also has another wide range of tones, ranging from a pushed plexi amp, to a real glassy and shimmering clean tone that sounds a lot like what someone said before a hot rod fender, but its beefed up a bit and has a tighter bass. On the clean channel, the higher you turn up the volume the more full the sound becomes, however, as you do that, it helps a little to roll off the tone on the gutiar a bit as the high notes can become a bit harsh. I dont ever dime any of my amps, after about 7 or 8, the sound starts to get a little mushy, but its loud before you get to that volume anyway, unless you have hte gain turned down a lot. The gain control really gives you a lot of control over the amp. Its very responsive and each turn will give you a differnt tone.

Ok now the Overdrive channel. Its pretty good, I love the old vintage rock tones of players like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Ritchie Blackmore so I try to keep the gain down a little rather than crankning it to get some nu metal detuned metal tone. What i noticed is that if you turn the gain down and turn the volume up, it shapes teh sound a little more and gives the tone a more cutting edge, and a lot of sustain but still retains a lot of clarity. Your personal playing nuances definately shine through and if you suck at the gutiar, then the amp will only make the statement louder. The tone controls are very responsive, and no matter waht setting, the amp sounds very warm. The only problem Ive seen witht eh sound is that it doesnt clean up when you roll back the volume as good as a all tube amp does, but thats a reason that you have hte clean channel. Also, if your gonna turn the amp up real loud, be sure to back off the treble a bit so you still keep teh brightness, but you dont permanently damage your hearing because this amp can be treble hell if you dont eq it right at high volumes.

hasnt broken down yet

no opinion on marshall, but, the store that sold it too me was wonderful.

great value, even if it isnt all tube, it still has a great tone.

This amp line came out in late 2000
to replace Marshalls original Valvestate line
the new line is call Valvestate 2000: AVT (Advanced Valvestate technology)
This is the second generation of hybrid marshall Tube Solidstate amps
and a significant improvement over the first
this amp has a 12" Custom Celestion designed for this amp
50watts of power
a Dual Triode diode tube in the preamp
two foot switchable channels: clean, with a gain to fatten the tome
and overdrive with gain to increase distortion
3 band eq + volume for each channel
Reverb
Speaker ext on back
and head phone ect.
it weighs a hefy 45LBS
the features are expected on practice amps of these size so it will recieve an 8,
this 50watt amp can easily be used in practice with loud drummer, even percform in a small club size venue if cranked

I've used 5 Guitars on this amp all of them have there stock pickups but most of these guitars stock pickups are Seymour Duncans
a Mexican Fender Strat 88
Korean Fender Esquire GT ( Seymour Duncan Invader Pickup
Japanese Jackson Soloist SL3 ( Seymour Duncan Hotrails, jeffbeck
Japanese Epiphone Lespaul ??? (stock pickups are dizmario super distortion
Japanese Epiphone Zakkwilde (stock pickups are emg ?? )
I'm not a marshall fanboy, i have only played solidstate and transtube marshalls i will not know if this is expected of marshalls
The clean is warm, with a strat and the gain fattens it, it also grows warmer as you crank, i've found turning the gain down below 4 on the clean lowers volume significantly so when practicing with a loud drummer the clean will be fat, if you have pickups like the Jeffbeck on my soloist, the Invader on my Esquire GT and EMG active pickups, and dizmario when gain and volume turned up it actually produces distortion. There are advanteges when the cleans gain is on 10 with the invader,and EMGs,Jeffbeck, Superdirstoir is actually power full enough to play hardrock not metal, or nirvanna, but stuff like greenday, 3 Doorsdown, and the clean distorted sounds very close to a all tube Fender hot rod deluxe with dizmario super distortion thorugh it. I don't think many people will be able to tell the difference between this and distortion tube. However the distortion on the overdrive channel is heavier, but not as convincing. The distortion on over drive is smooth and as far improved over the original transube Valvestate 65R
in adition this amp seems much more powerful. The original Valvestate line seemed to be the best solidstate amps but was no where near tube, though the clean was better. The new Valvestate 2000 AVT's are much more like tube amps. The out put pickups increase distortion, volume increases distortion, tube saturates, has the tone and the weight of tube amps.

I dunno i borrowed it from a friend for a week

music industries customer service sux
warranties are meaning less
buy your amp from a retailer
who'll help you more than the cuztormer support will

Overall a significant improvement over the Valvestate 65reverb
much louder
this is the first line of valvestate that actually sounded like tube amps, the price is on the high side
for about 60$ more you can get tube amps from fender of the same size(but not the amount of distortion)
The clean is comparible to the overdrive channel of the fender hotrod series. It would bennifit if the gain did not affect volume of the clean, this way the marshall would not sound like it had to distortion channels. The amp's clean does sound almost exactly like an overdriven all tube fenderhot rod amp, when the gain and volume is turned up.

Very versatile amp Will play beautiful cleans and can play some freaking loud distortion 2 channels Came w/ footswitch Headphone jack, effects loop, the works

I am playing a Godin LG with SD P-90s on it This amp suits my musical style perfectly Good clean channel, but I bought it because of its awesome distortion It is great Fenders amps couldn't touch the distortion on this baby

This amp is a tank! Never broken down, and I dont think that it ever will I would use it in a gig without a backup

Never dealt with them

I have been playing for just over a year I play the Godin and also an Ibanez acoustic If it were stolen, I would definately get a new one I compared it to Crates and Fenders The Fenders had good cleans, but the distortion sucked The Crate was a close second I chose the Marshall because of its Distortion LOVE THE AMP!!

See below. Headphone and line out were terrible, in my opinion.

This is an update. Okay, I'm about to lose all my credibility but I don't care. I sold mine and bought a Crate GLX120, which I am satisfied with. I loved the Marshall's overdriven clean channel but could only get the clean to sustain with a compressor. The dirty channel always sounded buzzy. The mid knob affected frequencies that I didn't care for. The Crate GLX120 has much greater versatility, sounds great, and is a one-pedal solution to my gigging needs. No regrets, no remorse.

Seemed fine.

No clue.

Again, I know Crate gets bashed but this time they got it right and I am someone who gives credit where credit is due. The Marshall simply didn't get the tone I was looking for even though I tweaked for weeks. I gigged with it too. Good amp, I suppose, just not for me. For the same price I got the Crate which has decent effects, a built-in tuner, and three very tweakable channels. I've been playing for about 23 years and use a heavily modded Mex Strat with humbuckers.

The amp is a 2003 model. This amp does not have built in FX but really now who needs them when you have a killer distortion and one heck of a sweet clean. It comes with FX loop , and a head phone jack. I use this amp as a bedroom practise but could easily be used for jaming with your friends. This amp is a Valvestate half tube half solid. Valve ( british for TUBE) this amp has 2 channels a clean and overdrive. Clean channel has a gain , volume , bass, mid, and treble. Crank the gain and you get a great blusey crunch, turn up the volume lower the gain and you get a beatuifuly warm clean with fabulous harmonics.

I play a Yamaha RGX121s. It has 2 double coils and a single. Great guitar for metal. The AVT50 is very quiet on the clean setting but a like buzzy on the overdrive setting with the gain cranked, but most amps do make some buz. This amp can get some fantastic sounds. Squeaky cleans with a hint of warmth. Great crunchy distortion that only a Marshall can get. This amp Sounds so much like an all Valve amp it isnt even funny. You all tube snoobs would be embarassed, because you probably could pick this amp out in a room of tube amps.

This amp is closed in from ever angle. The second you lift it up you can tell it was ment to handle some punishment. I have had no problems with it to date.

never had to deal with them.

I have been playing for 5 years, my friends have been play for longer and i have had a chance to listen and see many amps, Fenders, Peavey's, Line 6, Yamahas. and i tell you This Marshall AVT50 is won hell of a good buy, it has huge sound and greater tone.

PS-- The distortoin is deadly.

See other reviews

One of the two best amps at its price point, the other one being the Traynor YCV40. Decide if you want an amp that sounds a lot like tubes without the recurring retubing costs, or if you want a real tube amp with the recurring retubing costs. The YCV40 sounds better and is built better, but will cost you more in the long run in routine tube maintenance expenses. I own both amps. The YCV40 needs a tubing change right out of the box to sound its best. My choice was NOS Tung-Sol 5881 output tubes (I had a box of those things saved up from years past) and JJ Tesla ECC83S preamp tubes (as good or better than most NOS 12AX7 types) in the Traynor. The AVT50 needs a speaker change out of the box to sound its best. You can use a Celestion Vintage 8, G12H, or Eminence B102 with a baffle board adapter (it's an extremely nice 10" speaker with a bottom far beyond the two Celestions, as well as a more extended and cleaner high end and much nicer build quality, but it's an expensive and heavy 10 incher). Most people prefer the clean channel of the Traynor and the gain channel of the Marshall, but its a close call. You should say to hell with deciding and buy them both. The Marshall has a better low end because of the closed back cabinet, but the Traynor has a more open sound. If I had to pick one or the other, I would choose the Traynor, but if I could only aford one amp, I would choose the Marshall because of its greater versatility. The birch plywood cabinet of the Traynor is MUCH more rugged, But the closed cabinet of the Marshall gives better protection speaker protection from overexcursion as well as foreign object damage. You need a backup. But 'em both if you can afford it.

No problems yet, but the long term reliability will probably be less than the Traynor due to poorer build quality. It should last 20 years in normal home use, or until it takes a major fall in touring use (that particle board cabinet is the weakest link for pro use). In home or studio use, until the electrolytic caps crap out. Remember that you can get these slightly used for $350 now, and a lot less later on. Reliable for what little you pay. Remember that the Traynor will outlive it several times over if you physically beat the hell out of your amps, but in a home or studio environment that is not an issue.

I fix my own amps. I doan need no steenking custohmer support! Except for schematics, that is, and old Marshall amp schematics are scattered all over the internet. This amp will be no exception when it gets old and needs some fixing up.

Play this amp, then go play a Traynor YCV40. Buy the one you like the best. It's unlikely you will find a better sounding amp at this price from any major manufacturer that has the resale value of Marshall or Traynor. Your next best bet is the Fender Deluxe Reverb at $800 or more. Both amps blow away the Blues Junior or Hot Rod Deluxe in sound quality.

Marshall AVT 50 combo, two channels (clean/od) with a footswitch, reverb, CD input, headphone output, FX send/return...
i play mostly punk/ska music, and the distortion isn't great for heavy punk distortion, but is great for metal, and the od set on low gain is good for dirty ska riffs. i mostly use this for home practice, but the amp has enough power for small gigs, and if not, it can be miked.

i run a PRS santana se (2001 ed.) through a crybaby wah, dod distortion, boss ds-1, and ibanez ph7. on the clean channel, the tone is incredible, even through my effects loop (i usually run it straight into the input, not through the FX send/return. the gain on clean, though, should not be set too high, and if you need more volume, mic the amp!! the clean channel gets dirty with high gain, which can make distortion stomp boxes noisy. the OD channel is great with gain around 12-3 o'clock, but the when the gain is full, the distortion is a bit noisy. the distortion is also very bassy; i set my treble to full and my bass as low as i can get them without sounding too thin. even then, the distortion is full of low end, so i usually just use my grunge pedal for punk distortion with the clean channel.

never used this in a live show, just practice. however, occasionally, while i'm playing on the clean channel, the amp switches on its own into od (which can be painful when i'm running heavy distortion pedals on the clean channel). this can be fixed easily by footswitching back into clean... but no serious problems.

never dealt with them, but the dealer i got this from is closeby and accessible.

i've been playing for two years, and this is the only amp i've owned, though i gig with various amps that are supplied at the venues, including peavey (usually the bandit 112), other marshalls (jcm heads and combos), fender, and roland. this amp has much more versatile clean channel than many others, though with heavy distortion, this amp tends to be bassy and, thus, more restrictive. this amp sounds great, though, and it even sounds pretty good as an acoustic amp (though i don't advise using this as a main acoustic amp)