Mosfet Lead 100, owner testimonials/soundclips? (Jonas/Ryan?)

[stevejamsecono]

I have the oppertunity to pick one of these up on the cheap (150-200) locally to me, and seeing as a few forum members seem to own it and love it, I was wondering if this would be a good deal for me.
I could really use a backup head for my Bassman, and just in general, I'd like a marshally sound to add to the arsenal. What's the going thoughts on these guys?
I'm especially interested in what Ryan did with us,crafting a psuedo Bluesbreaker combo out of it (and my do the same myself if I decide that head/cab isn't for me)
If anyone has time, soundclips would be pretty awesome help as well.

Thanks all

-Steve

[mynameisjonas]

the sound is very similar to the master volume JMP MkII of the late 70s/early 80s, but it has more midrange punch. i can't say much about the clean channel since i never use it, but the drive channel has all the characteristics of a classic marshall, but with a little less compression/sag. the gain knob on the drive channel is push/pull, and when you pull it out the signal passes through the EQ section of the clean channel, and i usually have mine pulled out. in the pushed-in mode it's a lot louder, but it lacks bass and is a bit too punchy in the midrange for my taste.
this amp is really loud. i mean really loud. the two 100W tube marshalls we have at our practice space cannot keep up with it. not that there are a lot of situations where you would want to play louder than a maxed out 100w amp, but the ability to do so is there if you want it. however, unlike the tube marshalls, the MOSFET doesn't need to be turned up all that much to sound good, and this is a big plus for me since the bass player in one of my bands play through a tiny terror.
the reverb is pretty decent (accutronics), but i think the tank is just too small to get anywhere near fender territory.

i have use mine on most of the recordings i've done with my bands the last 3 years, i'll try to find some clips that give a good representation...

[mjet]

Just to add a visual - you're talking about the 3210 head, right?



Some guy on YouTube has some clips in case you're interested.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_3iBpWWSno

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpGYyNCcSW4

[mynameisjonas]

yes, 3210. mine looks exactly like the one above.

[mjet]

yes, 3210. mine looks exactly like the one above.

I think they made them with the wheat-colored grill cloth & black as well. I have one of the 4x10 cabs that went with those (wheat colored cloth).

[mynameisjonas]

yeah, one of my bandmates has a black one, i think it's newer than mine.

[mynameisjonas]

my MOSFET in action:

http://www.myspace.com/ellisthevacuumchild
"when the going gets.." - left speaker
"bauer kraut" - left speaker
"decapitation spree" - right speaker
"US male" - right speaker

http://www.myspace.com/voilum
"my bike" - right speaker (and also center towards the end)
"until death do us part" - left speaker (and center during the verses)

[Deckard]

The drummer in the video of the second band (the one i assume isn't you in the D.Jr shirt) is awesome. That guy is properly rocking those drums 


Sorry, thats a little off topic.

[chrisjedijane]

those MOSFET heads look fantastic. I'd love to try one out some day - I've been GASsing for a Marshall head recently...

[stevejamsecono]

Thanks a lot fellas. Exactly what I needed to hear.

he sound is very similar to the master volume JMP MkII of the late 70s/early 80s

I'll definitely nab it then. Should be a fun counterpart to my Bassman... maybe I can run them in stereo with my DD20/Stereo Flanger and get some really whacky (albiet overkill loud) effects
Should go nicely with the Gibson I plan to pick up with my tax return money in a few weeks...

Oh, btw Jonas, my buddy Kevin is nearly done with the edit of his movie that has your Springsteen cover in it, he should be shipping you a DVD in the mail at some point soon, I'll PM you for your mailing address when he's done.

-Steve

[Ryan]

I'll see if I can record some clips later. I love it. Problem is the wattage for me. I've got 2 8ohm 12's wired in series (16ohm load SHOULD make it 25watts) and it still is too much. I know, the two CL80's aren't helping.

Even with the master volume on 2, it sounds pretty great.

One thing I've noticed is that the uber-high frequencies seem to have a spike on the clean channel. So there's this crisp almost hissy top end that catches every string slide, pick attack, etc. However, playing with the eq (TMB) set to 3,4,6  effectively cures that, and still has that fat round sound. I'm really debating if it's worth it to try and build a 18-watt TMB clone and try to fit it into the chassis of the Mosfet.

FWIW, my control panel's flipped from the one above. Mine was a wierd one in its first life, a 1x15 combo. Model Number 5215. I'm such a tool, I still need to buy the reverb tank from accutronics, and it's been finished over a year.

[flatfiver]

I've been thinking about one of these guys too.  I played through one at a gig about 4 years ago and I just remember it being a cool amp, and the price is sure right.  Can anyone comment on whether or not you can EQ it for both a decent dirty sound and clean sound using the same EQ?  I used to have a DSL50 that shared EQ for both channels and it was impossible for me to find a good setting that worked for both.

[Ryan]

On mine, there's a three-band EQ on the clean side and a tone knob on the dirty side. One doesn't seem to affect the other. However, with the aforementioned eq settings on my clean channel, I can add any combo of my Bad Monkey, DOD 250, or my Guv'Nor (yes, I have a Guv'Nor on a Marshall amp. Why? It nails AC/DC Crunch on the clean channel, allowing my drive channel to be semi-clean at all times. When on the drive channel, it is teh br00tal), and still sounds great.

[mynameisjonas]

the gain knob on your drive channel doesn't pull out?

[Ryan]

Nope. I have gain, volume, tone, volume, treble, middle, bass, master, reverb
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q204 ... 1203372376
And boy have I pulled on that dang knob, too! I need to get it off, because it's on all crooked but I'm afraid topull the shaft out of the pot.