Marshall VS2000 AVT50 112 Combo

Made in 2001 I guess, 2 channels clean/dirt, Accutronics spring-reverb for both channels (not assigable). Effects loop, DI out, Headphone jack, CD input, footswitch to select the channels. I wish
you could select the reverb too.

I use a Fender Strat S/S/S and a Yamaha Strat-clone. I bought this amp mail-order. I didn't demo one cuz I thought it's going to sound right after all the good ratings.

Now I've played it for a couple of weeks both at home and live and I think that I can give you an opinion about it.

1. The clean channel is really nice. Glassy treble and round bass. Headroom is also very good for 50 Watts Solid-State. It doesn't sound as nice as my TSL, but anyway, for what it is it's very good.

The dirt channel is a somewhat different story:

Past twelve'o'clock (gain) it's starting to sing and sound good. The more gain you dial in and crank this son of a bitch, the better it sounds, but be careful with the treble knob.

Below 12'o'clock (gain) or with little gain in general for my taste it sounds like shit. With single coils, you get a raspy, buzzy and always silightly compressed sounding distortion that sounds like a cheap solid-state junk-amp.
With my strat, this is especially the case on the neck/middle and middle/treble PU. It get's kind of muddy, it doesn't sparkle and quack and you can forget about anything "vintage" here. This effect is even more evident at bedroom volume levels where it sounds even worse. Gain-wise, forget about anything below 12'o'clock.

I rate the clean channel 10, the dirt channel 9 with the gain past 12 and 3 with the gain below 12.

Have it since 5 weeks.
The fan is already starting to make noise when I power up the amp. Kind of a "Wwwwwwwrrrrrhwwwwrrrrrhwwwhww...."
I'm gonna replace it anytime soon. Don't know why they had to put in a fan. Just take a larger heat-sink. Just as reliable and dead-quiet.

Beside this, no problems.

Don't know.

I've been playing for 10 years. As mentioned I also own a TSL head with a Marshall 2 x 12 cab.

For Rock and Metal the AVT 50 is a good amp. For mellower or bluesier stuff look for something else.
If it were stolen I think I would check out other amps before making a decision. Maybe the TSL 601 or the AVT 100 (3 channels, maybe they're voiced a bit different).

This amp has enough power for small gigs, jammin' and rehersals. The construction seems sturdy, except for the friggin' fan. Does it sound like a tube amp? No, but for a SS the clean and high-gain sounds are very good. I wish it would sound better on lower gain settings, though.

This is just an update to a previous rating on 9-11-01

After doubting this amp's dirty channel (and trading in my old ibanez w/ EMG's) i thought i would try the boss metalzone. I currently have a Shecter w/stock p/ups. Needless to say, the MZ is going back to Guitar Center tomarrow, after having this amp for almost 4 months now, i think that I have just become accustomed to how awesome this amp really sounds. Granted,the MZ does give you that exteme sound but, this amp sound's much better witout it and to tell the truth,is more original sounding than what all of us are forced to listen to on the radio nowadays. I am going to upgrade this wonderful guitar's pickups to duncan distortion/59's and have no doubt it will turn some heads without the need for stompboxes. My point being if you want to sound like every other band out there go ahead, go by your triple rectifier and PRS if you can afford it. If you can't then go by some crappy amp and guitar and stick some decent pedals in front of it(your MZ-2 and GE-7 no doubt). If you truly want a GREAT AMP go get an AVT you will not be dissapointed. These amp's sound so good putting a distortion box in the mix is a waste of money and tone! I actually feel bad for doubting how good this amp really is and sullying its tone with effects. You may not get your mesa trip rec tone with this BUT, I cant see that as being a bad thing.

This amp is as solid as they come. Never had so much as a glitch, practice once or twice a week with the band for the last four months at extreme volumes. This thing is built like a tank (weighs like one too : ). Cant really see anything going wrong with it, will gig without a backup until i can afford an AVT150 half stack with no worries.

Never called them, doubt I ever will.

Again, I've been playin' bout 15 years and this amp is the best thing that has hapenned to my sound in that time. After these four months I do wish that the amp had a mid EQ for the clean channel, and that's about my only complaint. This amp is not cheap compared to the other 50 watt combos it is competing with but you get what you pay for, and in this case i think that I finally got more than I paid for. If me and my fellow bandmates ever happen to get signed, this thing is going to be yelling at the mic's in all it's glory regardless of the equipment that is available.

Made in 2000 has 2 channels, tube preamp and 12 inch Celestion speaker with 50 watt power amp section. Looks as good as it sounds. Its a Marshall.

I use a 1981 Frender Strat and this amp is all me. This is the amp of my dreams- creamy clean channel with compression and sustain and a tremendous lead channel for a variety of distortion tones. Very loud amp- plenty loud for a band but responsive enough to be used in an apartment as a dream practice amp. Great tone.

Just bought it- seems tuff enough.

Marshall is a good company. They answer e-mails right away.

Best amp on the market for under $500. I have used Fender amps in the past and this Marshall has much better tone than the Fender amps and is more versatile. Good for blues, rock, metal, or even jazz or country/rock. I have been playing for 20 years and this amp sounds as good as the best all-tube amps I have ever heard- Boogie, Music Man, you name the brand and Marshall has them covered. This is the amp to get- for practice, studio or gigging it does it all. A winner. I also use the VOX Cambridge 15 as a practice amp.

The amp was made in the year 2001 and it sounds sweet. It features good eq but I wish there was more in the clean section for contouring and maybe the contour switch in the overdrive channel. But it sounds terrific regardless. And everyone says how unversatile this is, but I think it suits many styles of music. I happen to play alternative, rock, and classic stuff and its great for everything. Its got a great emulated output so u can send your guitar signal directly to a recorder and get the sound of a Marshall stack straight instead of through a mic. I hear its the best. The tube driven preamp is the best part of the amp and makes it happen. I like the closed back too.

great sound. I think this is the best value of any amp in this price range and the only good amps are Marshall, Fender, and Mesa/Boogie. Crates suck and so do Peaveys. Don't waster your money on these crappy amps, and at least invest your dinero in something like this Marshall, cuz its a great, solid amp. The bass on it is incredible and makes my Fender Mustang sounds so much heavier than it is, but also the clean makes it sound so clear and focused. Its a great amp.

Wouldn't break down at all. I've already had it up all the way, and although it eventually gets saturated tone as any amp does, its stays focused to about 7 which is great. It makes a weird revving motor noise when I start it up, but other than that nothing would ever be WRONG at all with this thing. Its extremely trustworthy.

They give a limited lifetime warranty for 5 years so thats good. Other than that I really don't know.

I have been playing for 7 some years and I've had this for a few months. I played it live 3 times and its never failed. It sounds great anywhere and the headphone jack is a plus. Some people think that is a wussy thing to have on powerful amps and just think they should be played loud or not at all. but man, this thing sounds great at 3 am when my parents are in bed. Its a great feature and great for spur of the moment song ideas! I also love the tube driven preamp and excellent Celestion extened bass speaker. The sound is so tight. I love it. It is great from Hendrix to Weezer. Can't get better for the price, thats for sure. And I know its got rave reviews from the pros as well.

This is a newer amp, of the latest line of Valvestate. Has the normal stuff, effects loop, reverb, and all that. Kind of limited features for the price, but other factors more than compensate that. Reverb is VERY nice. Very rich and real sounding, that Accutronics reverb really sounds good. The effects loop is kind of funny (sounds different), but works good. Comes with a 1 button footswitch, which was kind of dessapointing, since I expected something to turn the reverb on and off with. Use it at home, and it is definetly much more powerful for what I use it for. Tubes are nice...heh, heh, heh.

I use this baby with my Squier Affinity Strat, and believe me, if it makes this guitar sound pretty damn good, then it can make pretty much any guitar sound good. Even though it makes quite a bit of noise with the bridge pickup (that's my guitar's problem, not the amp) it sounds absolutely great. The clean chanel can get so f*cking loud, it's amazing, and with reverb it sounds awesome. Always stays clean. Raise the gain and it'll start crunching up, something I haven't had much chance to try, since the volume is so high it sends me flying to the cold, hard stone floor. Overdrive channel is superb. With max gain and bass, and about 8 on treble (suggested setting in manual), I can't turn the volume up past 2, because it just gets too damn loud. Amazing volume, with incredible bass thanks too that special Celestion. Makes my house totally shake.

Of course I would rely on my baby. Hey, look! I'm standing on my amp! I'm standing on my f*cking amp! Very well built, and heavy. Me and my girlfriend had to carry it to my house. Damn. I spent the rest of the day shaky and weak. Solid enough to break cement. I would most definetly use this monster on a gig without a backup, for 2 important reasons:
1. I love this amp, and it's sound, and have total confidence in it.
2. So all those little idiot m*therf*ckers who have their dumb little prick (barf!) Crate (barf!) "amps" can see the raw power of a 50w AVT.
It has never broken down, and never will, because I take good care of it.

3 month warranty, which isn't to bad, I guess. The authorized service center nearest me isn't to great, so I don't really have anybody to depend on to fix my babe. Except for a couple of buds, of course.

I've been playing for about 2 years now, this is my third Marshall amp, if you can consider a 1 watt and a 10 watt transistor amp as amps. I own 4 pedals right now, but have owned more than 6. I love this amp, I checked reviews for all the AVT's, but this one got the highest score out of all of them. I only compared it to other Marshalls, because all other brands of amps (Fender being the exception perhaps) are for sissies, and sound like shit. If it was stolen, I would buy another one, and find who stole it and make him listen to CRATE and PEAVEY "amps". WHAT TORTURE COULD BE WORSE THAN THAT??? Thanks to harmony central for leading me to buying this great amp. WOOOO!!

Features are kept simple... Just the clean chan and the od.. never used the footswitch.. couldnt not bear to take i t outa the wrapping..lame but true. heh. I play mainy rock.. and th od channel suits it fine. 50W is more than enough for me.. the volume knob is always kept at 1. Unless i feel wild, then it goes to 2.

Im using a yamaha pacifica... my first guitar.. has a hum and 2 singles. I awlays use the hum.. sounds gorgeous. I never dare to try turning it on a high volumes, so i will never know whether it sounds great or not. Overall, clean is clean, dist is dist..great!

Got it for a week, not too sure.

Not too sure again, never used them

Well..i used a boss xt-2 xtortion on my previous amp cos the amps dist was peanuts.. now i think i wanna sell the pedal.. lol. The amp rocks!

Made in 2001, 2 channels - clean and overdrive (can be switched with a footswitch), accutronics spring reverb, 1 ECC83 tube in the preamp section (the rest of it is made from solid state), headphone jack, cd input jack, emulated line out, FX loop, 12" Celestion spkr.

I use it with a Les Paul standard. Music I play: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Metalica, Guns n Roses, Bon Jovi, Lenny Kravitz, Green Day, Creed, I love the clean channel - nice and crisp and very quiet when not playing. The overdrive channel I am not too impressed with it, why - it sounds like a loud waterfall-a continuous hiss that gets worse as the volume and or gain is increased. I also think that it sounds very muffled or muddy, when you play a chord you can only hear the first string. Example: if you were to strike the top E string, you could strike any string after that and you wouldn't hear it. But for amps in this price range I think it is the best I have heard so far. I think it blows away the Crates and Line6. (the loud hissing noise did not change when I unplugged the patch cord from the amp, so it definately is not from my cord or guitar)

No problems after 1 month. It is nicely constructed.

1 year store warranty, the manufacturer warranty I am not sure.

I am seriously considering getting an all tube amp.

Made in 2001, two channels, clean and overdrive, accutronics spring reverb. Comes with footswitch for the 2 channels. No digital-effects, no frills.

I use a Fender Strat and play different styles with different bands.

This amp has plenty of power for a solid-state amp. The clean channel really sounds damn good - and stays clean and thight even when you crank it up. One of the best clean sounds I've heard (also compared to tube amps) and great for funk, chicken-picking, jazz etc. If you max the gain if breaks-up a little bit, but not much and gives you a bluesy sound.
This amp is worth his money alone for this channel if you ask me.

The overdrive channel has a great crunch sound at medium gain (good for riffs) and really screams when you turn the gain up. Bottom stays real tight, as with the clean channel. I think this has to do with the new speaker and the closed back construction of the amp.
The overdrive channel is rather raw and vicious than refined and smooth, so if you're looking for a nice vintage overdrive or rather dark Recto sounds (high gain settings) probably you will be dissapointed. It's 100% Marshall chrunch and bite with a good amount of mids and treble.

One good point is that this amp really cuts through the mix. You will be heard, no problems here.

At very, very quiet bedroom levels the overdrive sounds are brittle (as with many other high-gain amps) so you'll have to turn it up a bit to really hear how it sounds like.

I'd give it a 10 for the clean and 9 for overdrive.

Have it since 2 months, no probs to date. I've had and have other Marshall amps and never had serious problems, so I don't expect to have it with this amp.

Usually, if an amp doesn't brake in the first few weeks chances are it will never break at all, tube wear and other thins excluded.

don't know

I like this amp. The first solid-state amp that I belive the 50 Watts.
The sounds are cool and sound good. The reverb too.

I also have a TSL 100 Head, a modded Plexi, a Boogie Mark I and a Flextone. The Flex is fun to tweak and doesn't sound bad, but on the high gain settings if you turn it up it gets mushy and doesn't stay tight. Not so with the AVT 50. For smaller gigs now I use the AVT, the Mark I is so damn heavy to carry around, besides that it's a different kind of sound.

To all the other posters that give this and other amps on this board a rating of 1 - stop whining and bashing about the amp and go home and practice. Don't blame the amp if you can't play.

In todays competition you hardly will find any amp from any company that really sounds so lousy to deserve a rating of 1 - and if, then why did you buy that piece of shit??????

I thought this would be a versitile amp. Much to my dismay when I got it out of the box, I found that the footswitch only changes the channels, it does not turn the reverb on/off. What the hell is up with that, I mean I like my chorus pedal but I don't want to leave it on all the time!! For that reason alone I sent this amp back, sorry I need versatility.

The problem here is that it actually sounds fantastic. I had my 2501 JCM 900 (50w/1x12 combo) right next to it and could actually get the same overdrive sounds out of the Valvestate. It goes from crunch to grind with no problem. The clean channel is good too, you can hear all the notes played. Reverb sounds nice (too bad it's not switchable :( .

This is a great sounding amp, unfortunately you can't switch the reverb on/off. That is a MAJOR issue with me, I need flexability in a 2 channel setup. Maybe Marshall will get a clue and come out with a 2002 series AVT50 that you can switch the reverb on and off. I sent mine back to Musician's Friend and went back to playing my Mesa Maverick. Too bad I really liked the sound. If you don't mind leaving the reverb on or off all the time, or are planning to use it as a studio amp I think it's great.

I am a huge fan of Tube amps, but have never really been Marshall fan. This amp has all the features you will need for a 50 watt combo.

As I said I have played a lot of Marshalls, but never purchased one because they always sound very nid range to me. With this amp they changed the rules. Tons of bottom end. What really amazed me about this amp is the clean channel. I have about 10 amps now from peavey to Matchless and this amp is my favorite clean!!! Crank the preamp and you get a growl that is in the Tube Amp Realm. Out of all my amps I have this one hooked to a Rivera Los Lobottom, and will have to say it is pretty close to the ultimate club rig. And of course the distortion is just Nasty on this thing!!

I have not had any problems so far, and the amp sems to be well built.

Never Dealt with them..

One of the reasons I liked this amp is simplicity. I had the money to but the 100 or 150 but you should play them and see the difference. The 100 and above has a digital reverb unlike this amp which is standard spring. I can tell a huge difference here. Give me the spring. Thats what sold me. The digital reverb on the other models sounded almost fake.

Alright, This has a valve driven pre amp, 3 band eq, 2 footswitchable channels(clean, and OD), reverb, 12 inch Celestion speaker, emulated DI output, Effects loop..etc

I'm using a Fender Hot Rodded American Double Fat Strat with Seymour Duncan pickups. This sounds great for my type of music, mostly punk and rock. The distortion does not get THAT heavy but its still good enough. The clean sound is great. It has that great marshall tone everyone looks for. When you crank the clean tone you get a nice bluesy type sound out of it.

I just bought it about a month ago so i really don't know. It seems like it can hold up great.

Again, only had it for a month...

I've been playing for 5 years and I think this amp is just awesome all around. This thing gets loud and just has great tone. If you look for great tones this is a great amp for you.

2000, made in britain. Amp is extremly versatile, many different sounds can come out of this amp. The clean tone is so thick, you can cut it with a knife. Its awesome. Distortion is great going from light to metal in seconds. I dont think you can get slipknot out of this amp, but who really wants to play them anyways?

Im currently using this with a Oscar Scmidt strat imitation, but have borrowed my friends les paul to use with this. Its awesome. I play 70s-80 rock and some new stuff, just for fun, so i can play sometihng people my age (15) will regcognize it. This amp is not noisy when used with humbuckers, but with single coils, it has a slight hum on the bridge pickup position. The clean channel gets a thick brassy crunch (a good crunch) the louder you turn it up, and the louder you go, the better it sounds. The distortion is awesome, perfect for 70s-80's rock and punk. For SUPER heavy (really really heavy) distortion, you will have to get a pedal, but i dont think its really necesary.

I would definatly gig with this amp if it was a smaller gig, but for larger venues, a 1x12 isnt gonna cut it. If i buy the extension cab (2x12) then i definatly would gig with it. Never broken down, though the tube eventually will.

Not dealt with company- not broken down yet.
Warrenty is 1 year.
Authorized service centres everywhere.

Been playing for around 2 years.
Would definatly buy another one if was stolen, or i'd hunt down the bastards and get it back.
I compared it with a Vox Cambridge 30. The marshall has better clean, and harder distortion (vox distortion is weak). I think this amp is almost perfect.

Let's see, 2 switchable channels, 3 band EQ., reverb, and all the vital in & out jacks plus the fact it's a Marshall, all for under 500 bills. Is anything else even necessary?. I am not a pro, simply a sick tone freak trying to find the "sound" for close to 15 years.

This amp is the one I've been searching for for years. I've owned many amp's and countless effects units in my time. Let me just say that I've only had this amp for 2 days and it blows away EVERYTHING else that have been suckered into purchasing. I use an Ibanez RG-550 with an EMG-81 bridge and the complementary single coils and in these 2 days i can't find a sound this amp can't reproduce. From crystal clean heaven to death metal hell and everything in between this amp is no joke and definitely should be alot harder on the old pocketbook. I checked many sites before this purchase and heard complaints about the lack of distortion and poor sound quality but I have come to the conclusion that these folks are either using crap guitars or are very jaded against Marshall. Marshall IS tone people!, there is a reason why alot of your favorite artist's use them. This amp sounds so close to Marshalls high end stuff that you would have to be a pro wielding a JCM to scoff at this high quality hybrid.

2 days old, have no doubts this will be a dependable rig. If not the warranty is solid to say the least.

Marshall has been around for some time they might just know what they are doing ya know.

I've had amps from Peavey,Ampeg,Fender,Crate,and Randall and tried Line6 and Mesa before I bought this amp. the mesa's are indeed great and if I won the lottery or something i would get a '94 dual rectifier but this amp is so close and for the price it truly is an amazing value. If you are looking for "your sound" buy this amp or any of the AVT line you wont be dissapointed.

I play mostly blues/rock and it plays my style fine. Also, when I turn up the gain, I can get a pretty good crunchy Nirvana sound.

Good sounds. Very warm tone on clean. Excellent.

Very good amp for the money. My amp before this was a Peavey Rage 158. The AVt-50 makes that look like a piece of crap.
This amp is great for bedroom practice, and even small gigs. Definitely worth the 475 bucks.

Almost everything you could want in any amp. 16 effects, although i only ever use the flanger, chorus and chorus/room. but given that, the other effects really aren't that bad. only thing i would add is a lead voice and volume switching bit. but that's hardly fair considering the other stuff on this amp

this would have to be the best amp you can buy for the money you pay for it. i am sick to death of all these dickhead tube people. i play everything from old school speed metal to death metal. this can cover all of it without a hiccup. clean channel is very sparkly, and i like my clean just that, clean. acoustic simulator is very good, but it's also very soft. distortion 1 blows. very weak, hardly any sustain. but i knew it'd be like that from the start. distortion 2 kicks some serious ass. it won't match a mesa/boogie, but then again, would you want it to? every amp has it's own sound, if you copy someone elses sound you're unimaginative and dull. this amp has a distortion sound that is unmatched by any other amp. it's totally unique. it sustains forever, amazing. and for all those tubehead faggots, if you want an amp just coz it's got tubes in it and you'll sound cooler in your own opinion, waste your money. you can spend 1800 bucks on a mesa/boogie or 600 bucks on the marshall avt and sound just as good. and also to the people who "know their amps" and truly think this amp sucks, then you seriously have selective hearing

very solid amp. and because there is only 1 tube in it you don't have to worry about the tubes all coming loose and falling out when you drop it or something. i was worried about buying an all tube amp because of the regular maintainance. i don't really have enough money to keep replacing tubes and things so when i heard this amp has a solidstate power amp i tried it out and bought it within the hour

never had to talk to em

i've been playing for 1 1/2 years now, but that's a bit of a facade coz i'm actually pretty good. with the money i saved on the amp i bought an esp v-350 so now i'm rocking. if it was stolen i'd buy it again without thinking. then i'd beat the shit out of the bastard who took it without thinking. only thing i'd add is a lead switch. everything else is pretty much perfect for me. don't think about this amp then buy an all valve amp. seriously give ths one a workout before trying anything else, coz it has balls and plenty of em

Made in 2000. It's not a Roland, but it is more versatile than what I needed. The manual has some suggested settings for each of the two (2) channels, but I just found what I liked and leave it. Comes with a channel footswitch, and an effects loop that I have not yet used, the headphone jack is useful (just remember to turn the amp back down when unplugging headphones), also it has an input for cd. It serves the purpose that I bought it for. Good sounds at low volume and half the weight of my JCM800 2X12 combo. I don't use a TS-9 with this amp either, it already screams.

I use a US STD Strat, and a Les Paul 1960 reissue. It suits me fine for my style, which can not be described. It is really a practice amp for me, but its loud enough for small clubs. It will never replace my JCM800 (repeat never). I tried to use the recording output into my 4-track but got a lot of hum, so I use a mic when recording. The clear channel is very impressive, sounds good even with fishman acoustic electric. The speaker and the sealed cabinet are the biggest improvement over the previous model. I guess the tube does help the distortion from sounding totally like a solid state amp. Sound quality does go down at highest volume levels, so if that is want you want, it's going to cost you twice as much.

Weighs about 40lbs so you may still be able to play the guitar after you have carried it. Its been 20 years since I bought my JCM800 new, and never had a problem. That's why I chose Marshall. I am not one to neglet my belongings, so if this amp breaks down on me, it is history.

Never dealt with the Company, but the Brits are very friendy and polite.

Overall 10 with cost a major factor, and I won't buy used again. I have been playing over 30 years, always with Marshall. The AVT50 is replaceable. If you like Marshall, but don't want the cops at your door even with a brake on your tube amp, this might be the next best thing. I wouldn't buy it if I lived on more than 20 acres. Didn't like Crate or Peavey in this price range. Mesa Boogie=Mega Bucks.

You've seen the specs listed in all the other reviews. Two channels, effects loop, option to plug it into a 4x12 speaker cabinet so is easily expandable - only 1 output mind - not 2 like on the head only version.

Even through my Squier Affinity Strat (the cheapest one!!) it sounds amazing, expecially on the dirty channel. The manual has a few example settings which all sound really good, very thick sounds on it. Got lots of balls and is very loud - even on low volume settings i can make the house shake!!

The effects loop is really useful too and sounds much better than connecting the whole lot in series. I've only got a multi fx unit (Boss ME30) and that sounds pretty good through both channels, and it's not all that good an fx unit either.

The unit has an "Emulated output" which, when you have the levels set correcty can give pretty good recording results. Even while practicing through a set of cheap headphones this thing sounds good.

Never gigged the amp, but i wouldn't have any worries about it - very heavy, very sturdy, and can be hooked up to a bigger cab if needs be. Never had a problem with it over the 4 months i've had the amp. I wouldn't worry about taking this thing anywhere.

I've not had any problems with the amp at all, but they provided a 3 year warranty on her so I'm not worried about their being any problems with her.

I love this amp, and if I ever needed a lot more power I'd just get a bigger head in the AVT range. It can make even the most incompetant guitarist sound like he knows what he's doing and was worth every penny.

It would be nice if there was some sort of foot switch to cut the effects loop - if i want to turn off the ME30 I use i have to either press the tiny 'bypass' switch on the unit itself, or remove the lead, so some sort of cut off, perhaps built into the channel footswitch would be good.

Other than that, it's about perfect.

2 channels: clean and overdrive. FX loop, foot pedal (channel selector), head phone socket, reverb, and 50 watts to annoy your neighbours with!

I've given this an 8 because it only has 2 channels - perhaps another overdrive channel would have been nice. Having said that, I only spent #300 on a pukka Marshall amp.

Using a '98 US Std Telecaster with a Rat2, Cry Baby Wah, Marshall Vibratrem, Boss compressor and Boss flanger, I can get near enough to all the sounds of my guitar heros - from the clean sounds to Jeff Buckley to the dirty overdriven stuff by Jonny Greenwood.

Further on down the reviews you'll see a complaint about the lack of overdrive. Personally, I can't see where the reviewer was coming from. Crank it up to 10 (turn the vol waaaay down) and you'll get a perfect Kurt Cobain (Nevermind) sound. Turn the knob down a little bit to around 7-8, and you can get the sliding bit from "Just" by Radiohead.

This thing has all the sounds for the price - as I said above, the only gripe is lack of extra channel, but you can get around that by using a distortion pedal or OD. I'll only give it a 9 because there is a little bit of mains hum on the clean channel, but that could probably be due to my cheap cables.

As a footnote, I found that the reverb isn't that responsive, but I don't tend to use it so this factor didn't really affect my final score.

It hasn't broken down so I can't give a rating. However, watch out for "blip" when changing from the clean at low volume (high gain) to OD.

Never had to deal with them.

This is the only amp I own at the moment, and if someone managed to nick it (!) or if it irreversibly broke down, I'd replace it with the 150w version since it has the extra channels and other stuff.

Value-wise, it only costs #330 (depending on where you get it, I managed to haggle down to #300), and you can't go wrong with that. Its loud and versatile. I'd rather go for a genuine Marshall and get a range of quality stomp boxes than something like a Line6 that offers you all that digital amp modelling and crappy effects. Also, the FX loop is a god-send for the price.

Overall, a fine piece of British engineering! Get one if you're on a budget!

1x12 50 watt tube/solid state hybrid Fx loop reverb 2 channels -footswitchable ...If you're reading this you probably know the features and the hype.

Played with a les paul standard and a les paul double cutaway with duncans.Very disappointing distortion channel and eq.This things mid range is always present (irritatingly so).The bass moves very little air and that fine celestion sounds like something is farting or buzzing.The midrangey sound is good for lead but little else.Not a modern distortion at all.I've read bands like Prong used the older valvestate on their records but this sounds nothing like that.Less bass ,gets quite fizzy at high gain.Now oddly, the most suprising thing was the clean channel.The cleans were some of the best I've heard on a Marshall.Likewise w/ the reverb-suprisingly good.Not Fender level but very good.The clean channels gain when dimed was the best sound (to my ears ) this amp offered. Very vintagey,tubey, old school amp to 10 mild grit distortion.To recap, Modern Distortion sucks on this rig but the clean to mild grit is pretty good. Not real flexible,not real tubelike at high gain weak bass-honkin mids.Good for blues and maybe some old rock sounds.Maybe, but not what you expect from a name like Marshall.

Can't say,The midrange and lack of tight bass annoyed me so badly I sold it on ebay witin a month.Seemed to be solidly constructed though.

I prefer something that has a little more flexibility tonally.Mesa Boogie dirty and fender clean.

It has 2 channels one clean and one dirty. The dirty channel is great. The amp get very LOUD, I can now over power the drums when needed. I play More rock type music mostly christian stuff like POD and the newboys, but I also my for my church and this amp works great for that to.

It sounds great the clean channal does not distorted when it gets to loud and the OD channal has a lot of pontch to it.

Has not been a real problem so far, it looks really well built. I do not think I will have a problem down the road.

The warranty is 5 years on most of the parts.

I is by far better then my old amp witch is vary small. I love the sound I can get out of it with no extra effects the 2 channels are all you really need. If some one stole it I would find them and kill'em for stealling my stuff, but I would buy is agin if needed.

It's nice and simple. Two channels, gain, treble, middle, bass, reverb. I have a multitude of pedals and never feel the need to use any of them. Lovely styling too.

I'm using a twin humbuckered, single coiled, unknown Tanglewood and it sounds superb. I don't know what they are talking about when they say it doesn't have enough distortion - I like to hear which notes I'm playing ;)
I play Metallica,Green Day,AC/DC,ZZ Top,Blur etc and all the sounds are possible with just the two channels.
The clean channel sounds nice but if I want a clean sound I'll use my Acoustic as it's better training for the fingers.
The only disappointment is the high lead-tone but I suspect that is more to do with my passive Select pickups rather than the amp.
I haven't had the chance to up the volume to 11 yet but hey, I don't intend to play Wembley Stadium !

It looks sturdy but does this matter ?
If it ever gave me any trouble I would sell it and get something else rather than have that nagging doubt that it might happen again.
I had a Marshall VS 8020 previously and that never gave me any trouble in 9 years so I guess I'm pretty safe here.

Never tried it. I'm guessing by the time I have to worry about it being defective it won't be worth fixing.

I've been playing for 10 years and this is now my sole amp. If it were lost or stolen I would probably get a used amp and might consider getting this model again.
I have a friend who owns a Marshall JCM900 and Fender Strat and IMHO it sounds just as good as that.

Two channel, 50W combo amp. I wont list what has already been written.
I have tried many different pre-amps and the new digital modeling
units over the past 20 years and finally came to the conclusion that
it was time to start playing the guitar and to stop spinning knobs and editing presets. If you feel the same, this amp is for you.
It felt like coming home again to just have to deal with two channels on a combo amp.

I am using the amp with a Strat, a Tele and an Epiphone Semi-hollow.
The real test was the Tele because it is the least forgiving. All of them sound great, and the characteristics of each guitar come through.
The clean channel has a volume control and a gain control so you can get an amazing just slightly dirty sound at low volume levels. We're talking SRV and Hendrix Strat Heaven here. The OD channel is also terrific, but it is not for Metallica covers. This amp screams 70's rock and blues and that suits me just fine. I would have to say you could play just about any style of music on this amp, but you'll need a pedal to whip out the really heavy distortion.

Too new but seems very sturdy.

Haven't had to.

This is the amp I have been waiting for. For the money I don't think I could have found anything that suits my playing better.
I would replace it in a second if it were stolen.
Some people have said that this amp sounds a bit harsh. Too much treble. What I have done which works great is to put an effects processor with a presence control in the effects loop. That way I can control the overall tone and warm the sound up if I want to.
I usually don't even use the effects. Try it. The unit I'm using is a Yamaha FX770 which you can probably find really cheap.

As for features, this combo will not be on any gizmo-oriented hit parade. Instead, this amp is a versatile little powerhouse that will shock even the most hardened tube advocate!

As for sounds, let me be blunt! If your looking gor a reasonably priced, name brand piece of equipment, that can reproduce the ambiant sound and feel of a tube combo, then this is the amp for you. I recently went to my favorite music store for some minor adjustments to several of my main guitars. I play an american standard strat fitted with Kinman AVN blues pickups and an Ibanez FGM 400, with Dimarzio replacements. I play everything from rock to bebop and everything in between. Let me preface this editorial by saying that I have never really been a Marshall devotee in all my years of playing. So, when I try a Marshall and am totally blown away; so much so, that I purchased the amp almost on the spot, that's impressive! The amp gives you exactly what you need; as most younger players will realize when the get older,i.e. a good clean channel and a Killer OD channel.

To all who read my review let me share a few things with all of you. Firstly, I have been playing the guitar for 35 years. I have owned almost every amp or have played through whatever ones I didn't own. I presently own 2 Carvin all tube Stagemaster combos, as well as my main stage amp which is a Laney VC50 4 channels, all tube, and it's a Killer! So do I really need another amp? YES, once you hear this amp!That's it and That's all.

Amp is made in 2000, hence the name Valvestate 2000. Two channels, clean and overdrive, reverb, CD input, headphone jack, effects loop. Comes with a footswitch to switch channels only. Good, basic features, nothing you dont need. A second distorted channel or solo channel would be nice. At 50 watts, its powerful enough for rehearsals and small gigs, but not large shows. I've only giged with this amp once, and use it mostly for rehearsals, and it serves this purpose very well, because it is more compact and lighter than those huge heads and cabinets.

I play with a custom Fernandes Monterrey w/ 2 humbuckers, and use both the bridge and neck pickups. I would say this amp sounds best with the bridge pickup. The clean channel is very sweet on this amp, but the best sound this amp makes is with low gain on the overdrive. This amp does not have a lot of distortion. There really isn't much of a difference when the gain is on 10 than when it is set on 4. Still, it gives very nice tone for a low to medium distortion range. The reverb is quite nice, especially with that same low to mid distortion. Noise is not a problem, but I have to admit I've never turned this amp past 6 on the overdrive.

I have only owned this amp for a month, but it has been transported quite a bit in that short time between rehearsals. There hasen't been any problems yet, and Marshall has a reputation for reliable amplifiers.

The warranty is only for 3 months, which is way, way too short. Hopefully I will not have to deal with any problems.

There arent many brand new, 50 watt Marshalls for $475 that sound this good. At that price, you really can't go wrong. I have played guitar for 3 years, but I've been playing music, including other stringed instuments, ever since I was a little kid and have more skill than most people with twice my experience. This amp is perfect for a person of adaquate skill level, but I think the true professional should be looking for a real, quality tube amp.

I just got it, i am very impressed on the sound quality. Before this one i had an 25watts peavey, now i realize that Marshall has better quality than peavey. Marshall RULEZ ! Good sound, good distor, good quality everithing is great.

One of the new 2000 Valvestates. 50 watts, 2 footswitchable channels clean/od, reverb, 12' celestion speaker, fx send + return, 1 ECC83 valve. Really versatile, od is great, headphone + cd jacks

Im using a Jackon DX10D and an 81' Ibanez Artist. I play rock and 80's metal, the od doesn't have enough gain, so I use a Boss MetalZone. The od is a bit noisy and great for blues. This amp can make any sound, anf the spring reverb gives a great ambiance.

Great amp. Very dependable, never broken down.

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Ive been playing for 3 years and its the best amp I've owned. Would definetly buy it again. Highly recommended.
Nothing beats a Marshall.

Good for practicing, not for gigs. I play in a cover band and use a Gibson SG. To bad it hasn't got 3 channels (clean, rhytms, solo)

I read a review about the new valvestate line and i got real enthousiastic. I've got to have one of these! That was at the end of 2000 and I had to wait till last saturday to finally go test it in the shop. I've had a valvestate vs265 for more than 2 years but exchanged it for a JCM900 with speakercabinet half a year ago. So now I was looking for an extra small combo for rehearsels with my band, 'cause I got soon tired of draaging around with that heavy 4x12"
Back to AVT50: There it was in the shop. Before I tried it, I asked the salesman what he thought about the sound: He parried the question and answered something like: "Hear for yourself, taste is something personal"
I played only for 20 seconds. Then I knew enough. THIS SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE OLD VALVESTATE. Nothing 'New Technology'. So, how's that old valvestate sound? It has a large range of sounds but once you've had a JCM900 or another full valve model then you know: you don't want a valvestate!
After the salesman saw I wasn't interrested no maoer and told him that it sounded just like the old one he agreed with me.

No idea. Looks solid

No idea. Never had to deal with 'em

I play on a Gibson SG. Blues, Metal, Dust in the wind, etc., schlager: everything

made in 2000, hence the name. I play mostly AC/DC, and in the band we tend to play Judas Priest (not by my choice). It has two channels. Clean and OverDrive. Headphone jack, CD in. On the back there's Loudspeaker (out), Emulated DI Out, FX return, FX send and Footswitch sockets. 12 inch Custom Celestion speaker. Closed cabinet. It has one ECC83 valve in the pre-amp. Weight 18.6 kg (aprox 40lbs). Footswitch included. Three band EQ for the OD channel, only bass and treble for the clean channel. Both channels has the Gain knob.
The clean channel has a nice sound, when you turn up the gain button the sound will get slighty distorted and give you a nice "fuzzy" sound.
The OverDrive channel is so wonderful. Like I said, I love AC/DC and their sound. So I'm not into fiddling with the effects. If you keep the gain low you will have a more vintage sound classic Marshall sound where as a higher setting will give you a more modern sound.
This speaker is LOUD!! I kid you not. In our mediocre band I drown everyone else out with this one. Okay, the rest of the boys doesn't have top of the line stuff but still.
The footswitch has one switch, OverDrive and Clean. You must have the button on the panel pressed on OverDrive for the footswitch to work.
If you turn up the gain, then you'll have to turn down the volume, and vice versa. Otherwise you'll go deaf. It takes some time to get the sound you want. I love this amp. I give it a nine cause I'd prefer some easier way to get the sound you want. It's a tiny thing not worth mentioning, but I'd prefer to get the distortion you want on one knob and then the volume on another. And now these two interact with each other. High volume + low gain will not generate the same sound as and low volume + low gain will generate. IMO.
When using the headphones the OverDrive channel has a tendency to sound more like punk a la Sex Pistols or Green Day than the wonderful sound it will get when played through the speaker.
The closed cabinet makes the sound really good in this combo. I love it this amp, I love it!!

I use an Ibanez, I use the bridge humbucker 99% of the time. It is not noisy, at all.. ever! Well except when you play it but the noise you get then is sweet music.
It's a Marshall so the variety isn't really why you bought this amp. You bought it so that you could get a good amp, with a nice wonderful distortion. When it comes to distortion this amp delivers. I'm not a Marshall freak. I can't tell the JCM 900 4102 and the Marshall VS102R, so maybe you shouldn't listen too much to what I say. All I can say is: I might not know much about different Marshall models, but I know what I like!!!!

Compared to the G50RCD that some people think are pretty much the same thing, to you I say RUBBISH! The G50RCD, it built in India, where as the VS2000 AVT50 is built in England. I doubt it matters where they are put together but the casing on this baby is a lot sturdier than on the G50RCD. A LOT!
I'd use it on a gig, without backup. It sure is loud enough to handle a small gig.
Granted I've only owned this amp for aprox 3 months now, but you can feel when something is made properly. This one won't break down.

The store gave me a one year warranty with all the things I bought that day. Not sure if the Marshall warranty is longer. I've heard things like three years, but all I know is that the store gave me a one year warranty.
Never dealt with Marshall.

I've been playing for 16 years. Well.. on and off.. This is my first Marshall. I used to own a Fender vibrolux reverb, not my kind of amp at all.
I couln't afford to buy it if it were stolen. I would not have any problems buying it again if we look from a sound and performance point of view, but I think that the amp might be too much too much for me. Maybe I'd settle for a 20 watt version of this series.
I don't think that anyone would be disapointed in this amp. If you want that true Marshall sound in a combo. Easiest way to see if you'd like this amp is to go down to the store and crank it up.