Marshall VS2000 AVT50 112 Combo

A 2 channel amp with a 12" Celestion speaker, effects loop, and reverb. Very simple to use, good looking, and more than enough power for a 4x12" if I need to use it live. I'd have to say there's not much more you could expect from a 2 channel combo. I mainly play hard rock/metal, so this amp does it all for me. Big enough to gig with, small enough to use at home.

I use a stock Ibanez RG570 running straight into it. I owned an AVT275 a year ago, and returned it to the store after a week with it. It tried to be the 'jack of all trades', and it was really the master of none. I really like heavy distortion, and the 275 just didn't have it. The other day I was waiting for my salesman at my local music store, and decided to plug into the AVT50 to kill some time. I could'nt believe it. A good sound! How can that be? I owned an AVT 275 and hated it! I thought I was crazy, so I plugged into the AVT150 and AVT275 beside it, and I was right, the AVT50 is voiced differently! The clean channel is very smooth and warm compared to the all tube Marshall amps I've owned in the past. I normally don't use the clean channel, but I've found myself using it more and more. The Overdrive channel is great for me! I'm still into old-school metal/hard rock (Van Halen, Dokken, Firehouse) and this amp has it! I was also amazed at how responsive the EQ is on this thing. (Which is good, since you really need to spend some time with it to dial in a good sound) I think it's wise to point out that this amp truly creates the Marshall "sound", which is what I was after. Anyone that gets this amp and tries to get a Mesa or Soldano sound out of it is buying it for the wrong reasons, and will probably be dissapointed. My only gripe, is that I wish it had a teeeennnnny bit more gain. Don't get me wrong, it's good enough for me, but I just wish there was a little more there to work with. When I peg the gain to '10' it feels like it has just a little more to give if I could turn that damn knob just a litte further. I may put a compression pedal in front of it for a tad more sustain, but this amp really sounds good on it's own.(As a side note, I was AMAZED at the sounds I can get using the PODxt though the amp's clean channel!I mainly use the Soldano patch using the Tubescreamer stompbox effect, and this amp adds something to it that flat out rocks! It's warm, punchy, and really pushes a lot of low end. I could'nt be happier!)The real value for me was the fact that the amp sounds good lower volume levels.(Which is important to me since most of my recording happens at night, next door to my 2 kids) Most tube amps need to be on 10 to sound good, but this amp sounds good at bedroom levels. I have noticed that it also improves nicely as the power amp kicks in at higher volumes too. Very similar to an all tube amp in this regard.

I have owned Marshall tube heads for 20 years now, and find their stuff to be highly reliable. The only problem I've ever had, was with the first series of Valvestate heads when they were first introduced. The very first night I played out using it, it decided to stop working. I never figured out what was wrong with it, since I returned it the next day for a JCM900, which still works to this day. Based on how solidly this looks and feels, I suspect it won't let me down. (Especially since there's only 1 tube to worry about)

Never needed them. My local music store is the best!

I've been playing since the early 80's, and I'm pretty selective about my sound. (Notice I don't use the word "tone"...I swear, if I have to hear that word one more time I'll puke!)I have owned and sold just about every amp ever made, in my quest for "The Sound". The fact that I bought this amp on a whim, says a lot. I really can't believe that this amp sounds as good as it does for the price! (Pricing on Marshall's has always been a gripe of mine. Most all tube amps cost over $1000, when they're made with technology from the beginning of the last century. How can they justify that?!?!) Before I left the music store, I also tried a Tech 21 Trademark 60, (which was nice, but was missing something in the distortion area) a Line 6 Flextone II (Which sounded sterile) Fender's Cybertwin (Worse than the Line 6!) and a Laney. This amp is a steal. It's just right for home, but can power my 4x12 live, and gives my new PODxt a nice home to sit on top of. I'm still curious why this amp sounds better than the bigger 100, 150, and 275 models? Maybe it's the built-in effects that sucks the life out of them? Anyway, the AVT50 is a simple, easy to use, and affordable amp that also sounds great. If you want a sonic chameleon that can sound like anything ever made, you'll hate this amp. One thing that I was amazed at, was how much better this sounds to me than Marshall's current line of all tube stuff! Two years ago, I really wanted to get a Marshall TSL head, but found it to be the most buzzy and unmusical amp I had ever played through! I don't know what they're doing over there in the factory these days, but I'm glad to see they brought the JCM 800 back! (BTW...this amp actually has a better gain channel than the 800's) I own all tube amps, and I would put this thing against any one of them!

50 watts, lead and clean channels, comes with footswitch to switch channels that has an LED that lights when you're in the lead channel, 12-inch Celestion speaker, Accutronics reverb, speaker output jack that allows you to unplug the built-in speaker and drive whatever cab you want from 4 ohms to 16 ohms. I give the amp a 10 here because even though the features are small in number, they allow you to accomplish anything you want. Also, I've recorded running the speaker-emulated output on the back of the amp right into the mixing board, and it sounds great--just like a well-miked speaker cab. The only think I would change is to have it designed so the cooling fan is not needed. It's not a noisy fan, but I'd prefer an air-cooled amp.

I use Les Paul, 335, Strat, Jazzmaster, Carvin 7-string guitars. The amp sounds great with all of them. The amp is very versatile. The clean channel produces some of the most beautiful clean sounds I've heard from a guitar amp--everything from warm jazz to bright country twang to reverby surf. The bass and treble knobs are all you need to get whatever clean sounds you want. The lead channel gives you wonderful Marshall sounds. A volume pedal makes it easy to move from fairly clean to crunchy to lead tones without using any other controls. When you crank the lead channel, you get additional distortion that emulates the sound of power tubes being overdriven. I usually don't play loud enough at home for that to happen, but it's great when I am in a room that allows me to play that loud. It's easy to control the amount of distortion, and there is all the distortion you could want on tap. I have Marshall tube head, a Mesa Boogie tube head, and a Line6 Flextone, but I think this AVT combo is my favorite amp right now, because it has all the sounds I want, and it's very easy to dial them in. The amp produces a lot of low frequencies for a single 12-inch speaker. I guess that is because it's a sealed box and the Celestion seems to be voiced to produce more lows, but the tone controls allow you to roll off the lows to get whatever balance you want. I love the full fat sound this amp can make, as well as the clear twang with single-coil pickups. This amp makes any guitar sound its best.

I mail-ordered this amp from AMS. The first one had an intermittent problem, but AMS was very nice about sending me a replacement, and they paid the return postage. The second one has had no problems. I guess mail-order delivery is a good way to shake down the amp. Since my second one survived that undoubtedly bumpy ride, I expect it will continue to work reliably. I have a Marshall tube head too that has been reliable. Marshall gear seems to be built pretty solidly. The warranty is five years, which is a long time for an amp that is likely to be cranked up and blasting. Marshall's literature says their amps are built to be played cranked up without any problem. My tube head seems to thrive on loud playing, and this combo does too. I've never needed repairs, but I suppose Marshalls are as easy to get serviced as any amp.

The warranty is five years, and the amp comes with a tag that says "crank it up." If you get a Marshall that works, it seems to keep working for a long time. I've never needed customer support, but the Marshall website offers good information, including all the owner manuals for their amps, which you can download and print. Cool. I'm giving it an 8 here, only because I don't think a 10 would be right considering I haven't needed any personal help.

I've been playing for over 30 years. Yes, I'd buy this amp again. I love it, because it produces all the sounds I want as loud as I want and with no hassle, and the amp is not to big or heavy to lug to a jam session. I've used Fenders, other Marshalls, Mesa Boogie, and Line6, and this amp does just what I want easily and relatively inexpensively. The only additional think I wish it had is at-home visits from Carmen Electra on behalf of Marshall to make sure I'm satisfied. :o)

Made in 2002. I play blues, rock, and I run my acoustic through the clean channel via a seymour duncan performer. Two channel, headphone jack, overdrive and reverb on one channel. Wish the reverb worked both clean and OD. Foot pedal for channel switching. Solid state, works good for practice and gigs. Very solid. Marshall.

I use a , get this, "60's reissue "Tex/Mex" (Texas pickups) with a cold steel trem block and with the Marshall, it sounds awesome. Amp is a little noisy, could use a gate. Listen, you can crank this little SOB. Really clear at high volumes. Mike it through a PA and the thing is LOUD. Don't get off on distortion or reverb. Use pedals.

Marshalls are reliable, well built, worth the extra money. No trouble, it's new anyway

Never dealt with them, even years ago when I had 100W stacks.

If you're a Strat person, get a Marshall. It's like hand in glove. If you get an AVT though, get a decent Strat, or pump up the Mexican jobs so they can push the Marshall. Got a Deluxe coming any day now, can't wait. Had a Peavey, and it was just okay. I am going to get a 2-12" cab for it though, for stereo effect. Lost or stolen, I'd get a half stack. I wish they'd just do away with the OD and reverb. They sound good, but the reverb you have to control by hand. Sucks in a gig. There's so many good pedals and processors out there, you don't need them. Just drives up the price.

Just read the other reviews or go to Marshall's site.

Run a Samick Ultramatic (PRS Copy) w/ Seymour Dunan 59/JB Humbucker setup. Guitar is set up for pure rock, this amp is pure rock. Very versitle sound, can get anywhere from a glassy clean to a hard rock crunch, only thing it is missing is some grunge fuzz (but thats what distortion pedals are for). The two things that blew me away: 1) The clean chanel is amazing. I was playing through Fenders for their clean sound and thus clean beat everything but a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for clean. 2) The tone is consistant at all levels of volume. Most other amps begin to break up after 5 or so, this puppy is great all the way up the knob. Marshall spent the time to make sure they had a great speaker set up perfectly with the power of the amp.

My main concern is how much maintnance is needed on a Pre-Amp tube. MArshall says "virtually none", but well see.

Didnt have to deal with anyone yet, and i hope i never do!

Needed an amp for basement/practice use that had 1)great tone, 2) good volume to cover practicing alone to jammign with firends 3)didnt have useless digital effects, i like to adjust my sound via volume, drive, bass, mid and trebble controls on the amp and volume, pickup selection and tone knobs on the guitar.... this thing all my needs perfectly.

See other reviews, wouldn't know what to add here.

I was looking for a light amp for rehearsals and small gigs since my Peavy Classic 50/410 is so damn heavy to carry around (I think I'm gonna sell it just for that).

Let me say that I've been trying a lot of amps prior to buy the AVT50 and the main criteria was TONE, I didn't care if it's solid state or tubes since I've come to the conclusion that today an amp having tubes doesn't necessarily mean that it does sound good.

I've tried the following amps:
Blues Deluxe: great clean sound, usable overdrive sound, althoug rather vintage than modern. Weight on the verge of being too heavy.
Crate VC 3112: Great clean and overdrive, but too heavy at almost 50 lbs.. Besides, changing the tubes is a mess since you've got to remove the chassis to do it.
New Crate V-Series amp: Great clean and overdrive, but again too heavy and also a mess to change tubes.
Peavey Classic 30: good clean and overdrive, but shared tone controls, therefore some limitations, weight OK
Peavy Bandit II: didn't like both channels
Ashdown Peacemaker 40: clean channel was OK, but terrible overdrive channel
Marshall MG 50/100 DFX: great clean and overdrive channel, but ridiculously loud fan's on both amps, like a ProLiant Server. MG 100 DFX too heavy.
Flextone II: Features for days and some good clean and overdrive sounds, but too many knobs to push to get them.
Johnson Mirage: didn't like it at all, most models too precessed sounding
Fender CyberDeluxe: Good Fender type sounds, but weak modern overdrive (for my taste).

OK. Now to the AVT. I'll make it short: This is the best clean sound I've ever heard out of any amp I've ever tried or played to date (including expensive tube amps) and even better than Marshall's DSL or TSL tube amps.
The overdrive is very good to, although more modern than vintage sounding, but that's what I was looking for. Spring-Reverb also sounds good, not too wet, not too dry.

Just bought it. Looks sturdy.

I've been playing since 12 years and play a Fender Strat. I would buy this amp again if it got lost or stolen.
Only thing I wish it had is a footswitch button to turn the reverb on/off.
I've been reading some of the other reviews here about some morons complaining the AVT has not enough gain.
Let me say this - ALL THE GUYS TELLING THIS AMP HAS NOT ENOUGH GAIN ARE FRIGGIN' IDIOTS WHO APPARENTLY DON'T HAVE A DAMN SINGLE CLUE ABOUT AMPS OR MUSIC.
I wonder what kind of shitty crap you have to play to need more gain than this amp is going to produce.
DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO HEAR A DAMN SINGLE NOTE OF YOUR PLAYING OR DO YOU WANT TO PRODUCE A NU METAL NOISE MESS. If so, do yourself a favor, look for a sound sample of WTC collapsing and make a sound file out of it. Maybe that's the distortion you guys need.
Or ask MESA to build you a QUINTUPLE RECTIFIER, turn the gain up, crank it to the maxx and hopefully get stone deaf.
So you're search for the ultimate hyper-gain will be over for once and for all.

Righy O, this is a 2002 AVT 50. 2 channels, clean and overdrive with reverb thrown in as well as a whole array of inputs on the front and the back like the fx loops, headphone jack, cd input and all that. This amp has heaps of features for me, due to the fact that I'm coming from a shitbox 10w amp with 3 controls on it to this beauty with a 12AX7 in the preamp. The only thing that would have been more useful is a mids control for the clean channel but the channel is fantastic without it.

OK, I play an Ibanez RG320QS through this, makes the average pickups sound great. Play mostly instrumental rock as well as other things. As everyone else has said, the clean channel is absolutely ass kicking, add a touch of reverb and it soothes the soul. Playing through the clean channel with some reverb and neck pickup in parallel is instant Hendrix! Neck pickup in series yields fantastic jazz tones and the other pickup settings all make fantastic tones. The inner coils of each pickup in parallel with the tone rolled off a little creates an interesting pseudo electro acoustic tone. Now to the distorted sound of things. This is pretty good distortion for me, like a fat JCM-800 with a little more gain, I thought at first it would be pretty low gain but obviously not, it's not the most bone crunching gain but really sings sweetly in my ear. When I back off the volume on the o/d channel, it really cleans up like true tube amp! Tried it loud in the shop and it held together wonderfully. No matter where you turn the knobs, there's no bad sound, at least it's like that with mine.

I'm a bedroom guitarist so it should last plenty. The fact that it only has 1 tube in it adds to the reliablity, that doesn't mean you can leave it, even though it's only 1 tube, it still needs to be replaced like every 18 months or something like that, not exactly sure. It should last, it's a Marshall.

Haven't dealt with them, I trust my local guitar shop more, good bunch of guys there, got a 12 month waranty, should be enough.

Been playing for nearly 8 years, own 4 guitars, 2 electrics and 2 classicals. I played thru a 10w solidstate shitbox before this so you can imagine how thrilled I feel now. As I said before, where ever I turn the knobs, no bad sound comes out, clean channel is exquisite and the ditortion channel is a ripper, even does metal pretty well but it's a rock amp and that's where it excels. Chose this cos of the reputation of Marshall and mainly due to the truly tube like sounds this amp offers. I don't get why ppl winge about this, didn't they try it out in the shop before they bought it? One cool amp that is a kick ass recording tool still capable of the odd gig.

Very basic, standard features. 2 channels, clean and OD, nice reverb thrown in there too.

WOW, Im impressed. Not to loud, like the AVT100-150, but loud enough to gig with. Never cranked in the house, it might bury me alive. The somewhat limited controls are very responsive, but it gets the job done, on clean with gain on 10, and volume at about 6, I can really get that cranked JTM crunch. On the OD channel with the gain at about 2-4, it sounds awesome for that of the wall JCM800 sound. When you get to about 5-6 you start getting into heavier territory, awesome for heavier rock. Then with the gain fully cranked up, it gives that bone crushing JCM900 metal distortion. And yet, even with all the gain, every note is clearly heard, with no sign of sonic mud at all. Might I add, Im playing with a Gibson LP studio and a Strat. The amp does get a bit noisy on the OD channel with the gain fully cranked.

Only had it for about a week

3-5 year limited marshall warrenty

If you want an affordable alternative to an all tube marshall, this is your answer, actually... some might even prefer this to some of the all tube marsahll. This really shows Jim Marshall's incredible geniuos. It really feels and sounds like a all tube marshall. It can almost replicate any amp that Marshall made in the past for decades. As close to perfection as an amp can get. I would suggest this to anyone.

i think its 2001 model. It has all i need, clean and overdrive plus DEEP reverb it has channel footswitch, which is great for a practice amp. It's small (51cm * 55cm * 27cm i think) and pretty loud.
The best room/practice amp i have seen.

it's great clean channel is very good, and overdrive, too. It's great for all styles, from jazz and funk to HM. clean channel sounds great at high volume. Distorsion can be very deep

i'd use it for smaller gigs (in clubs or sesions for example). Its heavy built.

1 year warranty

again: the best practice amp

Mine is a 2001 model. Has a lot more versatility than I've seen it given credit for in the Harmony Central forum. In fact, I've seen it straight out bashed by "all tube" Marshall owners. I like the available features but wish that the footswitch could control the reverb. 50 watts, single speaker out (could've used an extension speaker out) but none the less its pretty loud and shouldn't have any problems keeping up with the rest of the band. I give it an 8 because the features are pretty much standard on an amp of this price range.

I was looking at amps in the $500.00 dollar price range when I found mine. I tried out some amps at 2nd hand shops, pawn shops, big retailers (guitar center, mars music) and some privately owned stores.

My advice is to be VERY careful when buying used amps. You never know what problems you are inheriting from someone else.

I only buy new when it comes to anything besides guitars.

This amp has a very tight, loud and versatile sounding clean channel.
As you increase the gain, it begings to saturate the pre-amp tube
(yes, it is a real tube(valve) in the pre-amp. I opened it up and looked) and gives a very natural, deep and 3 dimensional bluesbreaker type sound. On the clean channel, I rate this a 9. If it had a mid tone control I would've given it a 10. It really does sound that good.

For the 2nd channel, the distortion channel. I found that you get a well rounded, heavily overdriven and extremely versatile array of sounds to choose from. Each of the tone controls directly effects the other. For instance... when you have the treble and bass turned up and the mid dropped, you get a very much scooped, modern hardcore distortion. Once you get past about 3 on the mids, it effectively starts to parametrically drop the bass and treble somewhat, giving more of the high overdrive as oppposed to distorted sound. All the tones controls work this way amongst each other and in my opinion works very effectively. I've managed to nail many different tones due to the flexibility of this set up. For this reason, I give it an 8 as well.

The upside to the valve-solid state combination in any amplifier in my opinion is that, you dont have to mess with changing tubes and biasing your amp. This one in particular seems well constructed and I dont forsee and problems with normal use and wear and tear.

I havent had to deal with customer support so I'm not in position to give a rating here.

I've played since 1984 and owned my fair share of gear in that time. Damn, almost 18 years already.

If it were stolen, I'd do what I did last time. Look around and find the best deal for my money. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this again if it were my best option though.

I love the fact that it has a sealed back and at low volumes, gives a good impression of a marshall stack (I own a stack so I know what I'm comparing it to) I also love the fact that it's fairly portable and maintenance free. I can rely on this when spur of the moment jamming comes up.

I looked at line 6, fender, kustom, mesa, and other marshalls before making this purchase. It suited my needs better and I've always been preferential towards Marsalls anyway.

I follow the HC forum quite a bit and see that a lot of tube amp owners knock this amp. But people who own them are in general very pleased with their purchase. Lots of snobbery involved with opinions so keep that in mind when giving this a listen. Marshall has taken alot of time developing these amps and in my opinion have done a bang up job giving us as customers the Marshall sound at a reasonable price by creating this line of amplifiers. Try one out for yourself.

Follow up to "Tone Geek"

To me, B.B. King sounds hundred x better thought his LAB solid-state amps than with any Fender or other tube amp he ever used.

On of the best guitar sound I've ever heard has been a no name guitar player playing with a no name band using a no name Strat model straight through a Session Sessionette 1 x 12" solid state amp (no stomp boxes, only gain and volume turned up) some 15 years ago.

On the other hand, I've heard guitarists (no bad players) playing through Bogner Extasy's, Soldanos, Matchless, Fender Tone-Masters, Mesa Dual and Triple Rectumfriers and other premium tube amps and sound like crap.

And now? What gives.

Fact is that with the AVT 50 you'll get an amp whose clean sound
will put many $$$ boutique amps to shame and whose overdrive channel will sound just as good or better than 80 % of the tube amps out there. And this at a REEEEEAL GOOOOD PRICE.

Obviously, you don't have to agree and ? you don't have to buy one and use it, but it's excactly like that.

Besides, it isn't the amp or the guitar that makes the TONE, but it's in YOUR HANDS and last but not least, in YOUR MUSICAL IDEAS.

So, in a sense, I don't get what's your problem.
All this never ending, GEAR TALK about REAL TONE, TUBES ARE GOOD, S-S IS CRAP, is completely useless anyway.