MTS vs. the World

[Rising Farce]

I came into a (very small) bit of money recently, so I decided try out some other amps alongside my MTS rig. Below are a few observations that may prove instructive.

First up was a Rivera Knucklehead Tre ($900 used), one of which I'd wanted to play for some time. The gain and low end on this amp were phenomenal, but it felt surprisingly stiff under my fingers (I'd read that the Tre was an easy amp to play) and didn't sound that impressive unless it was turned up to ear-bleeding volumes. And my God, was it loud.
On to another owner it went, with no tears shed in the process.
Verdict: A good amp for down-tuning nu-metal riffers with advanced hearing loss, maybe, but definitely not my thing.

Next up was a B-stock EVH 5150III 100S, aka "Stealth." This amp was a huge improvement over the Rivera, and if I'd gotten for less than $1900 (not a bad deal, admittedly, given the $2300 sticker), I might have kept it. The Red channel had a metric **** ton of gain--more than the Rivera, in fact--while the tweaked Blue channel was capable of a nice, thick, hot-rodded Marshall tone. (I'm not a big clean-channel user, but that one seemed nice as well.)
The resonance pots on the back address the main complaint most owners have with this amp--that it lacks low end--and it even has external bias controls added, a la MTS. On the debit side, it was still more challenging to shred on than my custom MTS modules, and, well, there was the price to consider. Back to Musician's Friend it went, thanks to the gracious return policy.
Verdict: Probably the best 5150-badged amp ever, but too pricy to justify holding on to.

My latest purchase is a very lightly used Orange Rockerverb 50 MKII ($1300), which should show up tomorrow. Given that I have positive hands-on experience with the 100-watt version, I have high hopes for this one. I'll post some feedback as soon as I've had a chance to audition it thoroughly.

Until then, my MDA-equipped RM100 with custom modules continues to reign supreme. It doesn't have earth-shaking bass, and it doesn't sound quite as full as the aforementioned pair, but for my purposes, it remains a "bang for the buck" proposition that's tough to beat.

 

[Johnny Wadd]

Nice review! Let's hear about the Orange when it arrives!
Keep em coming !

 

[Rising Farce]

Well, the Orange showed up on Friday, and I've been giving it a pretty thorough thrashing over the course of the weekend.

While there's much to like about it--there's a wall-of-sound thickness to the gain that the Randall can't quite match, and the neck-pickup lead tone is especially syrupy--overall it's only marginally better than the Stonerverb modules I've tried in the past. I also find myself reaching for the Presence control to brighten things up a bit...only to find there isn't one to be had.

On the plus side, winding up the Master on the Clean channel and adding a boost elicits a raunchy, ultra-touch-sensitive crunch the likes of which I haven't come across in MTS-land. It's a neat trick, to be sure, but not especially usable without an attenuator (or an amphitheater).

Verdict: Had I never encountered MTS, this one would probably be a keeper. As it is, it's eBay bound.

To sum up, this whole amp-auditioning exercise has only reinforced for me the fundamental excellence and versatility of the MTS platform. The clarity of the custom modules (Salvation, JF, and Friedman, in my case) is simply unparalleled, even among the high-dollar "boutique" offerings.

Additionally, I find my RM100 to be much easier to shred on than most conventional amps, even the supposedly "stiff" VHT- and Engl-based modules. I'm at a loss to explain this, and can only theorize that the modders have been paying attention to feel as well as tone. On the other hand, individual notes don't seem to carry quite as much heft in the Randall as they do in the original amps, a fact that may contribute to the commonly heard complaints about fizziness.

So...is anyone out there selling an MDA- or Foglifter-equipped RM100?

 

[JayDA]

So...is anyone out there selling an MDA- or Foglifter-equipped RM100?

Sent you a PM......long shot....but what the hell

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

That's the only losing aspect of these amps (besides the loop), they just don't sound quite as full as the amps they mimick. Opening up the volume on the module itself does help in this respect but still missing that last little bit of oomph. I still dig my brahma though... just it alone is a killer amp + a few pedals. I also like my own custom module for anything high gain. I could go either way, JCM800 or Brahma. Recorded it isn't going to be noticed.

 

[Johnny Wadd]

Dude, seriously a great review of the MTS system!