Marshall VS2000 AVT50 112 Combo

It's a plaything for beginners and intermediates. A trash amp for taking to rough gigs for good players.

Barely passes in stock state. After changing speaker and venting the cab, it's passable for a gig. I wouldn't record with this thing. Still has as solid state edge. Some good pedals will get you your tone.

It's a particle board princess that can't cut it in a rough and tumble world. Circuit board and jacks, pots, etc. are flimsy plastic crap that will break on you if you are the rough kind of player. It's for staying in the bedroom or for taking it out knowing that you will trash it out when you do. If owning a trashed up amp makes you look like a seasoned pro, then this will get that way in less time than a well built amp. Particle board back scratches up real easy. It's cheap crap with a flashy veneer.

Get real. Marshall is big and doesn't give much of a damn about you. They are more concerned about giving free gear to every rock star that wants to pimp gear for them. Stupid turds in the audience might think you are cool for using Marshall. I have a much better tube amp, and use this POS to keep from damaging my REAL amp that I play at home and use for recording.

I really don't give a diddly damn about this amp as far as sound quality. It gets a halfway decent sound for a few bucks on the used market. A Roland Blues Cube will do you about as well. Marshalls are popular and you will have no trouble buying used ones for years to come. I have two of them, so if one breaks, I just grab the other one. People at my gigs can't discern between this amp and a $2000 boutique amp, so why trash out a good amp around boobs spilling beer? Save your good tube amps for the important stuff, and take amps like this to low rent gigs that really just serve as slightly paid practice sessions anyway. The rock world is mostly hype, and Marshall amps are mostly hype and always have been. I wouldn't buy an expensive Marshall amp unless Marshall gave me one. For that kind of money, you can get a really decent amp made by real amp builders.

Don't let a fancy name like Valvestate fool you, this is as solid state as they come. 2 channels - clean and distortion (yawn) and 1 effect which is reverb.

This is no gig amp - no matter what they try telling you on the official site - 50 Watts of Solid State power is NOT enough. It is clearly a bedroom amp for beginner - intermediate players.

I play rock with loud/quiet dynamics so i need nice clean tones as well as raunchy distortion - this delivers neither, not even through my #700 American Stratocaster. The tones are just so bad, the clean tones are dull and sound like the distortion channel with a bit less fuzz. the distortion channel delivers a really bad tone also.

No problems here.

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing 2 and a half years and i now realise that tube amps are the only way to go. I would love someone to steal it so i could claim compensation and buy a better amp.

I got this Amp for my 11 Y/O son. I toured professionally 79-95. The only amp I kept when I retired was a Marshall 100w Super lead with 8
4x12 cabs. I also had a V/S 8040 that just died I loved the sound I got out of that amp. When someone sugested a V/S for my son I was very leary. But I was so impressed with the sound I went out and got a AVT-150 for my self and my Super lead is going into storage.

I mostly use Stats but I feel this amp sounds GREAT with any GTR I have over 50 nice GTRs.
I am a Hendrix freak. (Johnny Winter Stevie Ray) I play Blues to Metal.
Clean channel is a little low. But I'm in my studio so I don't have a problem.
Distortion is nice and warm.

Just got it.
NEVER GIG WITHOUT A BACKUP!

Marshall loves me.

I have been playing 42 years.
If it were stolen or lost I would replace it.
I love having a GREAT AMP that I can plug and play without tweaking my sound all the time. I hate the fact I didn't get one a long time ago.
I have a couple of Fender Amps and various older amps but what can I say I always go back to Marshall. I did compare it to the new Cyber Fenders. I love Marshalls.

Stay away from drugs that includes alcohol and tobacco You can't win.
We lost too many great people already.

Everything you really need.

It gets a lot of vintage Marshall type sounds from the classic rock era.

Good so far. It has a cooling fan, so the power amp should be reliable.

I hear Marshall is a bit slow, but they do fix their product.

With a better Celestion speaker installed, this amp really rocks. I agree with others that the stock speaker should be canned ASAP. It looks rather pathetic for a Celestion speaker. Go to the Watford Valves website and read their Celestion speaker reviews, as they are right on. Install the Celestio speaker that suits your tastes, and it slike a trip back to the 70's, at least with the speaker I chose, a G12H30. I tested several NOS American tubes against the Marshall tube, and ended up putting the original tube back in as none were quieter or sounded better to my ears. If you want Marshall tube tones without the cost and mess, this could be your amp. Don't expect it to sound exactly the same, but it is squarely in the ballpark and can stand on its own. I like this better at the price. Just sling that POS stock speaker out the backdoor. If it had come with a top end Celestion speaker, I would have graded it a 10 for the price. This has a particle board cab, so keep it dry.

I bought this amp brand new 2 years ago. It has been my amp this long cause i can't afford a stack although i just bought one yesterday. It has all the features a combo needs, 2 channels, reverb a very good distortion with a decent humbucker, but not a gigging amp. Good for band practice.

I use a ibanez s540 custom shop and a esp with emg's and the guitar make it sound awesome. Its not the amp makin the guitars sound good its the guitars makin the amp sounds good. Great for a 1/2 way guitarist but not a professional piece of equipment. I play Metallica and i play either puppets or justice on the stereo with me playin along with it and the dist. sounds exact. Although i jammed with a dude that had a Peavey triple xxx stack and when he was at low volume i still couldnt hear myself. This amp hasnt got enough mids to vs a good stack. No feedback if using good humbuckers, and the clean channel is very very nice, the best bit about the amp even tho i play heavy sh*t.

havnt had any trouble

never had to ring em

i've been playin for 12 years (since i was 6) and i havnt heard a better combo for metal. If it were stolen i would say oh well and keep my stack E8-P

Made in Englan i suppose science it has a sticker of the English flang on te back of the amp.
2 channels, one clean and the other distorted, effect loop, etc.
I guess if you could meke it sound good it is versatil.

Sorry to say it, but the sound i get from this amp is totaly horrible, I've tried anything to make it sound good, but it seems that no matter what i do, it'll still sound bad.

At first I put my stomboxes in fron of the amp, it sounded awful, the i put them in the efects loop, and I have to agree there was a big difference, i suggest you put the volume and modulation pedals in the effect loop.

But still, when you tourned the volume up it has this squeaky sound i hate, it just mekes you ears explode, I don't know why this happens.

I've tried several other marshall avt's, and they all seem to have the same problem.

In the clean mode the sound is good, great I would say, but when you hit the dsitorted channel or add any type of distortion(even in the clean channel with an external peda) I just sucks big time.

Sorry for Marshall, I'm really disapoionted, i guess you have to buy an expensive amp to get a get sound, Jesus Christ I mean!!!, my old 15w Crate amp sound better, too bad it is jus 15w.

Any way, if you can't use the distorted channel, then what do you want this amp for???.

I has no defect I admit, it looks rough, I have it science a year ago and it have't make any complains, still as good as new.

No dostortion... no good grade.

If you are willing to buy this amp, let me give you and advise:

Take all the effects you are using and try them with the amp, in every possible and loud way, so you hear the real sound it has.

Marshall, you have let me down!!!!!!.

This Amp has everything I need for my styles of music which range from blues to classic rock (Zepplin, Preist, Sabbath/ Ozzy) to Metal (Metallica, Pantera) and everything in between. Its plenty loud and can be used for club gigs and band practice.

-Tube pre-amp, Solid state power section
-2 Channel: Clean and Overdrive
-Channel switching via a button on the control panel of the amp or the supplied footswitch.
-It features both an fx send & return jack plus an emulated DI Out jack.
-Headphone jack
-CD input jack (volume controlled by the CD player separate from the amp volume control-Very COOL!!)
-Loudspeaker jack (allows you to plug into a separate external speaker-also Very COOL)
-Spring Reverb

This amp has everything. The only snag in this whole setup is that there is no footswitch control for the reverb. Other than that its a very versatile amp with loads of power. I use this amp for practice and its never let me down when searching for the right tone. Fiddling with the equalizer knobs does wonders. Most of my favorite sounds on this thing were found by mistake! Trial and error if you will.

This amp should get a 10 rating but thats the price you pay for not having a footswitch to turn the reverb on and off. But 9 is pretty darn good.

I just got a Gibson Les Paul Voodoo guitar that I haven't put down for the last month or so and it sounds amazing plugged into this thing. Before the LP I was using a Fender USA Special Highway 1 Showmaster HH Floyd Rose with twin EMG 81 pups replacing the stock pups that came with the guitar (with the EMGs this guitar is a real mean shred machine). It also sounded great coming out of the Marshall. You can get virtually any sound you want out of this amp. From pristine, LOUD, clean tones to crazy LOUD crunch. The clean channel starts to break up at around 6 or 7 but its a nice vintage kinda sound that I really dig. And the distortion can go from classic rock crunch to modern mayhem with the twist of a knob. Very versatile amp. I've had it for over a year now and fall in love with it more and more everyday I use it. I noticed that a lot of reviewers on this site complained about the fans that come with these amps. Funny, I think they forgot to install a fan in mine at the Marshall factory 'cuz even when I stick my ear right up on the amp I can't here a freakin thing. Luck of the draw I guess.

This thing is built like a safe. Other than the fact that this amp survived the initial trip when it was shipped from the USA to where I currently reside (Liberia, West Africa) I've moved twice this year and on one occassion one of the guys helping me load furniture into the truck lost his grip and dropped the amp. Other than a cracked corner guard it came on when i plugged it in and still sounds like a dream. Even though I don't gig I would use it without a backup. Its that tough. But regardless of the fact that this amp can handle punishment I still take good care of my gear. The nearest Marshall technician is three thousand miles away from where I live so I never take any unnecessary risks.

Never dealt with them. Actually can't deal with them even if I wanted to. West Africa remember?

I've been playing guitar for a little over ten years now. The first amp I ever got was a 10 watt epiphone piece of crap. Than I got a better quality 20 watt no name, home made piece of crap. About a year ago I got the Marshall AVT 50 which has the best of both worlds, a tube pre-amp section and a solid state power section. My next amp will either be a Genz Benz El Diablo 60 Combo or an ENGL Screamer 50 Combo. Either one will suffice as thay are both full tilt tube monsters. But until that time comes I am completely content with my AVT 50. The versatility of this amp is its selling point. But the reason I chose this amp was simple. It was the only Marshall with a tube that fit my budget at the time. And if stolen I will hunt down the theif and get "mid-evil on his ass with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch". Or I'll use the theft as an excuse to buy one of the previously mentioned all tube amps.

Passable reverb, but no remote reverb switch. Basic two channel amp.

At first you think it sounds great, until yoou compare it to a Traynor YCV40 that costs a few bucks more, is better made, and sports 5 tubes in the design. The Marshall bad dog AVT50 then sulks away with its tail between its legs. So you buy a Celestion G12H80 speaker and it's in the ballgame again. Then you install a G12H80 in the Traynor and the bad dog AVT50 sulks away with its tail between its legs again. Not to mention that 40 tube watts in the YCV40 will play louder than the 50 solid state watts in the AVT50. Plus, the Traynor will play a lot cleaner ala Fender if you want it to and with a long spring reverb ala Fender as well, and still get down and dirty into Marshall law territory if you need to. Yeah, it kicks the butt clean off your old Peavey or Crate combo amp, but what halfway decent amp doesn't these days? Hey, it's a good amp if you want Marshall tones and will throw out some cash for a better speaker. By the time you install the speaker, you could have bought a Traynor that is better made and always going to blow it away in the versatility and sound level department. On the plus side, I couldn't find a tube that really outperformed the stock tube, even my NOS American tubes.

A 7 is really generous for something that uses phenolic resin & paper circuit boards and particle board cabinets, but everything fits together very well and there was abvious high levels of workmanship. The cheap pots, switches, and jacks will head south after a few years of regular use, and they are soldered directly to the board. Exact replacements will have to be found.

I hope I never have to find out. I'll fix the amp myself when it breaks, or trade it in for something that works.

I wanted a Marshall for Marshall tones. It does that. I was peeved that I had to put in a decent speaker to get the most out of this amp. Marshall is hurting their own reputation by not putting a speaker equal to the amp in as stock. Maybe they figure you will install what you want anyway and the stocker is only temporary. I also have a Traynor YCV40 and it gets most of my playtime, so this is a backup, but a fairly good one. It's an 8 after a better speaker. The Traynor is a 9, and I never owned a 10 and probably never will. I don't think I would pay more for any of the other Marshalls. Marshall doesn't make a tube combo amp better than the new Traynors at any price. But neither does Fender. The Fender Hot Rod series made in Mexico have reliability problems, so I can't slag the AVT series too much. If you don't need high quality reverb, then the AVT50 looks a lot better in comparison to the YCV40. The YCV40 has regulated power supplies, autobias, and conservative voltages on the tubes. Thinking that the AVT50 will be the more reliable amp because it's solid state is just wishful drinking. When driven really hard, I would suspect the YCV40 will outlast the AVT50.

Manufactured 2004 - you know the rest of the blurb. Has all the features that I wanted - I don't want amp models, or DFX, just a good solid amp for gig and practise. May have been nice to have a lead channel as well ... ...

Using a PRS Soapbar SE. Wonderful blues tones - even gives me a credible thrash/Metallica from my P90's.

Some people have complained about the fact that the clean channel breaks up too early. I like this and the break-up is not too early as I don't have massively powerful pickups - backing off the volume pot a little really smooths everything out.

Likewise I have read complaints about the cooling fan being annoying - on mine, it is very quiet and even at very low volume practising with sleeping baby in house, I don't notice the fan.

Bottom line is - brilliant blues / rock / Marshall sounds - if you don't want Marshall sounds, don't buy a Marshall !!

Too new yet, but I expect it to be reliable - previous Marshall gear has never failed. Mates with similar gear have no issues.

Never used for a failure, but answers to technical questions were prompt and good quality. Likewise, spare parts needed for an old 2020 were cheap and promptly delivered.

I would buy again if stolen. Really nothing else at this price range that can compare - believe me I tried a few !!

Firstly, my two electrics are a Paul Reed Smith Custom 22, and a Fender Highway 1 Strat.
Quite an 'alibi amp'... MUCH better than any equivalent offerings I've played from Peavey, Fender etc.
Clean suffices, particular satisfactory with single coils but is much too low for the band I'm in (3 guitar psyched. ambient. metal band). I've cranked it in every way and it just doesn't get there at all. It does however respond very well to any pedal I've put before it.
Reverb is a bit dry for my tastes, but I have a pedal to get more 'wash' and I doubt it'd matter to most people.
Where it really scores is in the overdrive channel. Can get most valve-like Marshall tones that I've been looking for, owning it has taught me a lot about the value of tweaking.
Works particularily well with Humbuckers, but was surprised how well it worked with single coils!
Didn't find the fan too much of a hindrance, but have heard complaints relating to excessive noise from friends who own the same amp.

It's a Marshall. Nowadays perhaps not the last word in bomb-proof roadworthiness, but it's always been the guitar (old stage one was a particularily troublesome Epi Les Paul)that's cut out. I got a good one.
Haven't had to replace the one tube (have had it 1 and half years now)yet, so no comments on tube reliability.

Never dealt with them

I've been playing about 4 years now, and in a band for two.
For the player on a budget, it's a great amp. I've had a very positive experience as an owner, and it has given me an idea of the sound I'm looking for in my next purchase (Likely to be a Marshall again, but this time a 'completely' valve-driven combo).
It's pretty much the perfect 'step-up amp' from the old 10W Marshall lunchbox I used to play. Wholeheartedly recommend anyone curious to try it out.
I'm really only selling mine as a result of financial constrictions (a student buying a new amp while trying to live in college!), but would keep it if I had the choice, for home use.