Marshall VS30R

This is an update to my previous comments about this amp. As a professional musician and record producer, I prefer small combo amps so I can blend two or three amps together when recording. I bought this amp because I liked the valvestate sound. It is warm and has an interesting sound. The cabinet is rubbish and likewise the attitude at Marshall. Straight ahead amp with two channels and rather noisy when gain is maxed out. Accordingly, I will be modifying it with better components to quiet it down. It is agressive and sounds good at high volumes in combination with other "real" vintage amps.

I use a variety of guitars in the studio and live, the two main ones being a vintage Les Paul and newer SG with a 500T super ceramic pickup in the bridge position. Clean channel is quite interesting:
nice fat bottom and interesting mids. Good for clean rhythm and possibly mellow jazz. Hit the overdrive and it sounds big. Use the line out to a vintage Vox or Gibson and things get really fantastic!
The Celestion Goldback speaker puts out a rather nice sound, but when
cranked starts thumping...thump...thump...thump.

The cabinet is a piece of rubbish best suited for the trash bin or used as firewood. I contacted Marshall direct in England about this and received a reply from their advertising manager, who babbled on about the tight market and that corners had to be cut, as Marshall keeps a keen eye on the bottom line - the price! And they have sold thousands of these amps all over the world and can count the complaints received on one hand, etc. I even offered to pay them the cost of a piece of plywood to build me a solid cabinet. I was told this was not possible, as their wood working operations are carried out by computer controlled machinery, and that they did not have the facilities to build one for me. Thus, here is my bottom line! Have the managers and executives take a pay cut and put the money back into building a solid cabinet! A few days ago, I removed the top panel of the cabinet in order to measure it and build a "real" one. The top panel does not line up flush with the side panels; there is a 1/2" gap on each side where it lays on about 1/4" of the 3/4" side panel; and the bottom panel is the same. All of this is covered by the plastic corner caps and housing (each side) held by two screws per cap. MARSHALL SAVED 1" OF PRESSWOOD ON BOTH THE TOP AND BOTTOM PANEL! After measuring the junk box I glued the top panel to the sides. I strongly recommend that anyone who owns the VS 30R junk box or other presswood product made by Marshall be prepared to run a bead of glue on all edges, corners, top and bottom panels. Jim Marshall built his reputation by building great amps. However, one can't live on one's reputation forever, and occasionally has to step in the ring and
prove he is a contender. MARSHALL! RATHER THAN DEFEND YOUR COST CUTTING PRINCIPALS, TRY BUILDING A SOLID AMP! LIKE THE ONE'S JIM MARSHALL USE TO BUILD! Apart from the junk box I have not had any electrical problems so far, save to say the gain is noisy, especially when reverb is added. All inputs and pots are plastic on this junk box, so I don't expect them to last. Too bad that this unique sounding amp is subject to these cheap plastic parts. Like putting expensive antiques in a barn yard.

Arrogant and only interested in the bottom line. Customer support is
non existent.

Having played a few real Marshalls in my time, the VS 30R sounds good, but is built like junk. The materials used in the construction of this amp are the worst I have ever seen, and ranks with the likes of Gorrilas and $79 specials. If you are a young musician do not buy an
amp made out of presswood. Do not buy a re-issue, instead look for a good vintage amp and have your tech inspect it and bring it up to par. Many vintage amps are still up and running, as they were built to last. More importantly, do not get sucked in by old DINOSAUR COMPANIES LIVING ON THEIR REPUTATIONS - MANY ARE HEADING TO EXTINCTION. There are EXCITING NEW companies building GREAT amps
that reflect pride, quality and workmanship, so look around! The music industry today is run by corporate clones only interested in acquiring your hard earned cash! A few of them have never played a guitar much less plugged in an amp.

Is not much versatile, two channel swtichable, no mid control in clean chanel, no effects loop. I wish an effect loop, and a footswitch. I use the amp just for practice at home, enough power for my room.

I use a Ibanez RGX70TR, a Boss metal zone, i dont like the amp distortion, too harsh, maybe it would be good for blues, the clean channel is too bassy, but waht can i do, no more money to buy a fender twin reverb, or a Marshall JCM.

Its a Marshall. very dependable.

no deal with them.

No comments. I'll get some extra money to buy a Fender Hot Road or a JCM900

This is a 1998 Marshall Valvestate. Clean and Overdrive channel. Line out, reverb and knobs. Real simple and plenty of power, as I shall get to that shortly. This amp sounds unique and "tube" like. How do I know? Because I own vintage tube amps. It has a warmer sound than the Marshall VS65R, which to me sounded quite dreadful...to bright...no balls.

I have been playing since the mid 1960s. I am a professional producer and musician. My two axes are a 1958 Les Paul Goldtop and a 1999 Gibson SG Special Limited Edition comprising a ONE PIECE mahogany body, ABR bridge, and 490R and a 500T super ceramic pickup. How, I got this ax is another story. I never use large amps, always small amps in combination. First, if one blows you have a backup and second, one will have an interesting variety of sounds to work from. I am using the Marshall's line out and runing it direct to a 1965 Gibson GA 5 Skylark. The Skylark has two Telefunken EL 34s in the power stage and one RCA 12AU7 Blackplate in the preamp stage. The Marshall uses a 10" Celestion Goldback speaker and the Gibson has the original CTS 10" alnico speaker. How does it sound? AWESOME! The Marshall is ballsy and the Gibson adds the harmonic bell and chimes. The Marshall sounds good alone, a rather interesting and unique warm sound with regards to the clean channel, and a positive sounding distortion. With the two amps combined the "gain channel" for the Marshall is set at a 1/4, bass dimed, contour 1/2, treble 1/3 and volume dimed. Gibson volume is set at 6, treble at 4, and bass dimed. QUITE LOUD! But I own my own home, so who cares! If I could find another 1965 Gibson Skylark in great condition, I would consider purchasing another Marshall VS30R and create the ultimate stack. This combination is great for Blues, Rock, and Metal. Perhaps even jazz? Provided one ease off on the volume, of course.

As I only have had the Marshall for 1 month, I am not quite sure about the reliability factor, as the cabinet is made out of a ludicrous material known as: particle board. I suspect that Mr Marshall has lost control of the company? Irrespective, I shall construct a cabinet made out of real wood in due course. In the interim, I have glued the joints on the front panel. COME ON MARSHALL BREAK OUT WITH
THE PLYWOOD!

As I do all my own tech work, I doubt I shall be exercising my warranty.

Apart from the bloody cheap cabinet, it is a great sounding amp. As I have played many amps over the course of time, I feel the concept Valvestate is "true", unlike the junk Fender, Peavey, Crate and the remainder of the group are manufacturing today. However, I remain partial to Gibson, as they are bulletproof. I have a 60s Gibson Falcon with a 12" speaker that would blow most of the high end amps away. If you're a young musician stay away from some of the reissues, its all hype and a marketing scam. If you want a real VOX AC30, Fender Twin, etc., look for a good one from the sixties. This principal applies to the vast reissues of guitars currently flooding the market. Look around for a vintage guitar in great condition. Get the real thing! And while your at it, trow those awful Sovtek and Chinese tubes a>way. Buy some "NOS" Amperex, Telefunken, Mullard and RCA...you won't be disappointed.

I dont know even what is the year my guitar was made, i dont know when it's made, but this amp seems like a "small monster" with a good few features! and i give 7 not 8 or 9 coz i saw some other amps in the same price and power and have a built in chorus or flanger. and i don't think that any one would prefer the optional swtich pedal on a dist. stomp box!!!

I use two guitars to play GrunGe, (YAMAHA ST500R) and (WESTONE spectrum XS),, in the clean channel it really SUX, even my WESTONE sounds like a "bass out of tune!!", and if you don't have distortion pedals already don't count on the built in overdrive, the best feature on this whole amp is the contour knob which allows you to shape your dist. sound, i've played thru sum CRATE 15R and 30R in a shop (coz i don't have any friends play guitars or listen to rock music here) and it's sounded better than this amp i think, but don't buy the both of those amps, lend sum extra money or steel it and buy sumthing better and louder!

I think it's weak unlike "all" other marshal amps, i had to fix sum it's leather with a glue from the 1st day i bought it!! anyway it's "marshal", the ever best thing made in ENGLAND!!!

V.V.GOOD! i needed that 3 years warranty coz i'm very hard with machines!! the guyz where very helpful and gave a great offers every time i visit their shop! they where very friendly so i thought they would give me this amp 4 free!!!

Okay, i've been playing for 3 years and i feel that i started playing just last month coz i couldn't find sum1 here to teah me anything 'bout playing, and this amp made me slower at learning a lot of stuff and riffz, i broke many strings just trying to get a sound out of this amp and (it works a bit!!), but don't buy this amp if u're a just started or it will make you take "a backwards steps"!! but i'll still a fan of marshal amps, and if it stolen i'll give the guy who steel sum extra money as a reward to take this lazy amp from me!!

30W amp with dual channels, one clean, one overdrive. 10 inch speaker.
reverb for both channels. Bass and treble knobs for clean; Bass, treble, contour,and gain knobs for o/d. Line out, phone jack, and footswitch jack (switch not included). I use it as a practice amp and it has plenty of features for that.

I use a Johnson JS-100 Frat style guitar (3 single coils, 5 config switch, dual tone and volume). The clean channel sounds good, I like the reverb feature. The o/d sounds reeally nice for a solid state practice amp. It's got good volume for 30W (enough to piss off the guys next door) but the o/d gets real choppy and nasty at the higher volumes. I've been playing for about a year now and this is my first "real" amp. I shopped around and looked at many different types in the VS30R price range, but I ended up liking this one the best. Though, one complaint I think I have is trying to really vary the o/d sound. I've been experimenting with the gain and contour but I don't seem to find many different voices. Drop any suggestions my way. My fav is probably gain all the way, contour all the way, bass and treble at half. I like to play everything from Pearl Jam and COunting Crows to Chuck Berry and BB king.

Haven't had any probs... it's indoors all the time, and gets played nearly everyday.

I bought it New and it came with a 5 year warranty from Marshall. I haven't had to deal with the company yet.

Overall, I'm happy with the amp. It suits my needs as a rather versatile practice amp that let's me work on crunching power cords as well as warm riffs. I do wish it had a second input (I guess a lot to ask for a 30W prac amp) and came with a footswitch. The Crate I was looking at in the same price range had a lot of effects (chorus,flanger,delay,etc.) but was a smaller wattage and did not have as nice a sounding o/d channel. I also own a Fender DG-7 acoustic guitar and have been shopping for a sound hole pickup to run through the Amp, from the reviews I've read It should sound great.I'd buy it again.

Two channel solid state combo with valvestate circuitry. 10" speaker, 30w, reverb, contour scooped mids available on the overdrive channel. Footswitch (optional) available.I only used it in rehearsal but my lead guitarist used it live a couple of times, miked up with a Boss ME30 for better fuzz effects.

Playing British indie and rock with Korean 335 clone with Seymour Duncan '58 bucker in the bridge. This amp has a pretty good clean sound, quite warm, but messy treble at high volumes. The overdrive channel I mainly use for feedback because, when playing with the band at live volume, it lacks any kind of useful clarity. 7 for the clean, 5 for the o/d

Never failed me yet

n/a

Have now upgraded to a VS100R due to need for proper o/d sounds and 12" speaker for big boot. As I say, I'm selling it, but as a practice combo it was great with a lot to offer for the small price.Wish it had better treble.

It is a 30 watt with reverb, 2 channels with seperate volumes. All you need for a practice amp.

I use it with everything from a strat to a Jackson to a Heritage double cut away with vintage pickups. The clean channel sucks. It is dry and lacks low end tone, but what do you want from a solid state. The distortion channel on the other hand is awesome. It has a contour knob that can shape the sound of the amp dramaticly. It's great, used in the combination with the gain you can do anything with it. It gets just about as heavy as any mesa. It's got great overtones. My other amp is a fender hot rod deville so i'm kind of spoiled with the clean channel, but my fender distortion is not as versatale as the marshalls distortion so I sometimes use my marshall as a pre amp. My oppinion is 4 for the clean and 10 for the distortion.

Nothing could hurt it.

na

It's a great practice amp. Loud enough to hurt your ears.

1999 Model with Reverb. 30W with a ten inch speaker. Two distinct channels, one clean, one overdriven with a pushbutton to switch. There is a jack for footswitch but those cheap Limeys didn't include one in the deal. Oh well, I'm not so lazy that I can't push a button. Maybe when I turn seventy I'll buy one... I compared this amp with several others in the low wattage range, such as the Crate 15W & 30W with those nice electro-effects, the Fender Amp Can & Bronco with 6" & 8" speakers (no reverb) and Peaveys. This amp was in the middle for features, has ample wattage and a decent size speaker...but the best thing I like about this puppy is....

TONE! Now, I bought this amp to practice in my bedroom with, but occasionally use down at the local open mics to jam with buddies. I tried those other amps I listed above. Prices were less on the others, some with a few more features like dial-in chorus & flange, but I wanted a sweet tone for my bucks, something that stood out a little. My intended use for this amp was primarily with an Ibanez GAX70 with dual humbuckers. That is coming soon to me in the mail. But until then, I have been strumming my acoustic (also an Ibanez, performance series $178) using a Dean Markley Pro Mag hole pickup. I had tried the Dean running it through a little Peavey PA I owned, but it sounded tinny and sad. But I was totally surprised when I plugged into the Marshall. On the clean channel it was brilliant, and with the reverb about 2 or 3 oclock and the volume turned all the way up, it sounded better than I ever expected. With that setup, there is only limited volume however, and I would have to play to a silent room at a bar for this to carry with the acoustic. The overdrive channel, with the gain about 9:30 and the volume cranked up will give louder tones, but you loose that sweetness you get with the reverbed clean channel. I have been playing the acoustic sans amp for so long, it was really cool to finally hear all the nuances through the Dean. It has given me a whole new outlook on that pickup as well. Glad I bought it now. That combined with the Marshall would be great if miked through a good PA.

This is the Marshall's weakest point. The electronics appear to be sound, all dials are smooth, switches work well, no hissing or popping when you turn the thing on and off. My bone with Marshall company is the cheap pressboard they use for the cabinet. I can go buy pressboard at K Mart if I need that, but for $300 I want at least a semblance of plywood construction for ruggedness. That plus when you look closely, where drill holes are made and joints come together, there are already small chips of wood fallen away from the edges on the interior. Combine that with ABS-type plastic corners with golden-headed screws that aren't all nice and straight, and it looks as if the Limeys were nipping a bit of the amber nectar when they were choosing "quality parts". A saving grace is there are four tiny rubber bumpers screwed to the bottom of the cab to raise the cab edges off the floor, so they won't be broken off immediately. I suppose that if I treat this thing gently there should never be a problem with breaking off edges, etc.

Haven't had to yet, since its brand new. The warranty is a five year, so I am guessing that the electronics will be very sound.

I took up guitar playing about five months ago. Mostly acoustic, but also like to do the ZZ Top impressions with power chords with my Ibanez GAX70. It sounds alot like a Gibson Les Paul. At 43, I thought it was a good hobby to start, and was getting tired of begging other guitar players to sit and play with me when I sang. I have a set of harmonicas (Lee Oscar) as well as some bongo drums. I am looking forward to hooking the Ibanez electric to the Marshall, but I had to write this review about the surprise I got using the acoustic and hole pickup. I thought you had to have a special acoustic amp to get a good sound, but feel differently about that now. I give this rating based on what the amp will be used for, and its relative size and output compared to similar models. I hope to eventually obtain a really nice JBL PA system that I can mike this amp with to give me the volumes I will need for playing out at clubs. I already have plans to have a nice cherry or mahogany cabinet built for this thing, with some brass corners. The components should be easy to swap out, and would add alot of class to an already cool-toned amp.

This is an update from several months ago when I purchaced this amp.

Okay, you want the real deal on this amp? Here it is. This is only a practice amp, don't expect anything more than that. Don't get me wrong, it does a really good job at that. I just had my first gig last night (yes, I'm a begginer) and this thing just sucked. When in my basement, I can crank it up, throw in my favorite cd, and jam alond and it sounds really good. Didn't sound bad at all when practicing with other people either. On stage, with a drummer, keyboard, and 3 other guitarists, at stage volumes (7 and higher) this thing was harsh, tinny, ugly, and pathetic. THE ONLY thing that saved me that night was my Boss SD-2 dual overdrive pedal. It seemed to give my amp twice the power it has, but it still didn't make for a good tone. You want a good amature stage amp? Stay the hell away from this. Save up a little more money and buy a nice used half stack. Don't even think about it unless it has more than 1 speaker, because your sound will suffer. But I won't part with this thing 'cause it sounds good at low volumes. Who knows, that'll probably change too.

This is a call to the Marshall company, replace the handle on this thing. I've read lots of other complaints about this, so at least I know it's not just mine that sucks. Other than that this thing is great.

This is a Marshall SS amp with it's "Valvestate" feature, which it's supposed and I stress supposed to emulate the classic Marshall tone without the tubes and the weight. It has 1 10inch speaker, 30W, with 2 footswitchable channels Clean and Crunch I think. It has reverb, and a gain control and a three band eq in channel 2. Adequate features

I mostly play blues now, but at the time I was playing butt-rock. I was using my dad's old LesPaul with it. It sounded really good for me at the time, it was what I thought was loud and with lots of cool knobs. That all changed until I played with my teachers Fender Blues Deluxe. When I came home I couldn't play with that Marshall again. The clean tone is flat and textureless. The distortion sounds tinny and weak, like the old toy guitars with the built-in speaker. It's not a good amp for tone, if you want tone you need a tube amp. I was fooled with "Valvestate". If you want true and I mean true Marshall tone and distortion get a JCM 900 or any of their tube amps, you'll hear the diffrence. I wouldn't dare go on stage with that amp, I'd take my 54 Champ any day over that.

Only had it for a year, but it didn't give me any trouble so I'll be generous. I'm sure it's pretty reliable on stage.

I've been playing for over a year, I know that I haven't been playing long but I know what I want in tone. I'm not ragging on this amp, it just doesn't fit me, with it's lame clean tone and sloppy distortion. I don't think that It's worth the money, for around the same price you can get a small Fender tube amp. If you want distortion get a pedal with it. You will not get a Marshall like tone with the VS-30R, don't let them fool you. If you get but it and totally love it, great, but don't fool yourself into thinking that this is classic Marshall tone because it far from it.