Wizard MTL MKII vs. Hell Razor

glpg80

glpg80

Well-known member
I’m just not a recto guy and don’t want to go down the path of a multi-watt. I’ve narrowed it down to these two options and having a hard time deciding between the two.

Anyone own both and can shed some light? I’m leaning towards the MTL MkII mainly because they’ve dropped in price a bit since the hell razor was released.
 
They have very different voices. Hell razor is very modern and biting and the MTL is more compressed (comparatively) and a little darker- I’d go for the one that sounds more like your thing. Personally the hell razor is way more my thing, and it has way more tone shaping options.
I dont think clips ever do wizards justice (my own included), but I think they should allow you to hear the different flavors of the amps
 
Yehuda said:
They have very different voices. Hell razor is very modern and biting and the MTL is more compressed (comparatively) and a little darker- I’d go for the one that sounds more like your thing. Personally the hell razor is way more my thing, and it has way more tone shaping options.
I dont think clips ever do wizards justice (my own included), but I think they should allow you to hear the different flavors of the amps
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I’m definitely more of a compressed gain guy. Nothing I currently own and play is choking in that nature. The only amp I have that will cut your head off is the mark iii. What do you mean by biting compared to the mk II?
 
glpg80 said:
I’m definitely more of a compressed gain guy. Nothing I currently own and play is choking in that nature. The only amp I have that will cut your head off is the mark iii. What do you mean by biting compared to the mk II?
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Biting meaning aggressive high mids- sharper sounding- think of tones that a band like meshuggah would go for as opposed to something like Metallica
 
I'd suggest saving a ton of money and grabbing an Uber Ultra. I've had the UU and both the MTL and HR. The UU does similar things to both Wizards imo, not identical of course but in the ballpark for much less money. As far as the Wizards are concerned, I prefer the MTL to the HR.
 
glpg80 said:
I’m definitely more of a compressed gain guy. Nothing I currently own and play is choking in that nature. The only amp I have that will cut your head off is the mark iii. What do you mean by biting compared to the mk II?
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I’d just get the MTL2 if you like more compression. I have both and love both
 
I much prefer the Hell Razor for reasons I mentioned many times in other threads. The only advantages I can see with the MTL is if you want a drier sound or more natural low mid presence. I remember the MTL I had actually being the more open amp, but never AB’ed the 2. The HR KT150 for sure is more fun to play, punchier, tighter, more aggressive with a lot more gain
 
glpg80 said:
I’m definitely more of a compressed gain guy. Nothing I currently own and play is choking in that nature. The only amp I have that will cut your head off is the mark iii. What do you mean by biting compared to the mk II?
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No Wizard (or any other amps I’ve tried so far) will have as intense highs as your blue stripe ++ coli. He means more it cuts from its uppermids and openness
 
glpg80 said:
I’m definitely more of a compressed gain guy. Nothing I currently own and play is choking in that nature. The only amp I have that will cut your head off is the mark iii. What do you mean by biting compared to the mk II?
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I would say the MTL MK2 leans more Bogner XTC'ish but in the fashion of Wizard. Feels excellent to play. Have not played a HR.
 
braintheory said:
I much prefer the Hell Razor for reasons I mentioned many times in other threads. The only advantages I can see with the MTL is if you want a drier sound or more natural low mid presence. I remember the MTL I had actually being the more open amp, but never AB’ed the 2. The HR KT150 for sure is more fun to play, punchier, tighter, more aggressive with a lot more gain
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It’s hard to notice on video but by gain do you mean compression or gain saturation? Does it still maintain note separation with higher gain settings? By less open do you mean thinner sounding?

I do prefer a more open sounding amp and do prefer compression. I’m concerned I can’t swing the price of the hell razor - it’s a 2k difference. Is it worth the 2k difference compared to just using an EQ and a boost?
 
glpg80 said:
It’s hard to notice on video but by gain do you mean compression or gain saturation? Does it still maintain note separation with higher gain settings? By less open do you mean thinner sounding?

I do prefer a more open sounding amp and do prefer compression. I’m concerned I can’t swing the price of the hell razor - it’s a 2k difference. Is it worth the 2k difference compared to just using an EQ and a boost?
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In my mind, openness and compression are contradictory terms
 
glpg80 said:
It’s hard to notice on video but by gain do you mean compression or gain saturation? Does it still maintain note separation with higher gain settings? By less open do you mean thinner sounding?

I do prefer a more open sounding amp and do prefer compression. I’m concerned I can’t swing the price of the hell razor - it’s a 2k difference. Is it worth the 2k difference compared to just using an EQ and a boost?
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There is plenty of clarity and compression with the MTL. Cuts very well in a band mix and a very pleasing mid range with punch!
 
Emg77 said:
There is plenty of clarity and compression with the MTL. Cuts very well in a band mix and a very pleasing mid range with punch!
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This is a good description. I have an MTL MKII and it's one of my favorite amps ever. Great feel and clarity with amazing punch.
 
glpg80 said:
It’s hard to notice on video but by gain do you mean compression or gain saturation? Does it still maintain note separation with higher gain settings? By less open do you mean thinner sounding?

I do prefer a more open sounding amp and do prefer compression. I’m concerned I can’t swing the price of the hell razor - it’s a 2k difference. Is it worth the 2k difference compared to just using an EQ and a boost?
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I guess gain saturation, basically more preamp gain I believe would probably be accurate in saying and some extra compression tends to come with that after a point. Less open means more compressed, but it’s still pretty open for the amount of gain there. Neither amp to me is at all thin, but they also won’t be super fat like an early Recto or Uber. It’s fatter I find than my Hermansson’s for reference if that says anything

I think of open as being a lack of compression squashing or narrowing the sound. Wizard’s are more open than most high gain amps in that way. Fwiw, most of the amps you have I would consider quite compressed. Not in a good or bad way and I like a lot of those amps (I like most flavors). I can’t advise if it’s worth the difference or not. For me it is. At best I think an eq and boost will approximate the Hell Razor sorta like a stock 2203/4 with those pedals can approximate a Cameron mod. Is that close enough? For some yes, for some no. For me at least these aren’t the answers and I just try to save up
 
glpg80 said:
I’m just not a recto guy and don’t want to go down the path of a multi-watt. I’ve narrowed it down to these two options and having a hard time deciding between the two.

Anyone own both and can shed some light? I’m leaning towards the MTL MkII mainly because they’ve dropped in price a bit since the hell razor was released.
Click to expand...
I've owned both with various tube complements so it's subjective as to what you're after. If you want the most gain on tap and don't necessarily wanna boost go for the Hell Razor. If you want a little more versatility (Clean, Crunch, Lead - Boost) go for the MTL. That being said they're both killer amps. The Uber Ultra has loads of gain and tonal options but it's not gonna sound like a Wizard necessarily - nor will it have the dynamics with using your volume knob on your guitar. If you've got the bread, a Wizard will be worth it - if you want a less expensive option, the UU will scratch the itch for boatloads of gain and chugging.
 
The MTL Mk2 is the worst sounding high gain amp I've ever played. After all the hype and clips, I unboxed it and was immediately disappointed. It has a lot of negative feedback, so it's very smooth and stiff. Rick somehow designed the amp without any mid content that sounds pleasing to my ears. The distortion also sounds very generic. There was nothing unique about it. Maybe the clean was ok? I kept it for a few days and then sold it.

The Multi-Watt Recto is far and away the better amp in my opinion. That's what I prefer.
 
pipboy90 said:
The MTL Mk2 is the worst sounding high gain amp I've ever played. After all the hype and clips, I unboxed it and was immediately disappointed. It has a lot of negative feedback, so it's very smooth and stiff. Rick somehow designed the amp without any mid content that sounds pleasing to my ears. The distortion also sounds very generic. There was nothing unique about it. Maybe the clean was ok? I kept it for a few days and then sold it.

The Multi-Watt Recto is far and away the better amp in my opinion. That's what I prefer.
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everyones ears are a little different, most would disagree with your take however.
 
WizardSouth-JP said:
I've owned both with various tube complements so it's subjective as to what you're after. If you want the most gain on tap and don't necessarily wanna boost go for the Hell Razor. If you want a little more versatility (Clean, Crunch, Lead - Boost) go for the MTL. That being said they're both killer amps. The Uber Ultra has loads of gain and tonal options but it's not gonna sound like a Wizard necessarily - nor will it have the dynamics with using your volume knob on your guitar. If you've got the bread, a Wizard will be worth it - if you want a less expensive option, the UU will scratch the itch for boatloads of gain and chugging.
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From what I remember of my MTL I think it was just more versatile in crunch maybe. I don’t remember it’s clean being any better than my Hell Razor, but never got to compare them directly. I didn’t like the UU’s tone or find it to really be similar to the Hell Razor. For a cheaper alternative I’d probably just look a for a ‘90’s MC
 
braintheory said:
From what I remember of my MTL I think it was just more versatile in crunch maybe. I don’t remember it’s clean being any better than my Hell Razor, but never got to compare them directly. I didn’t like the UU’s tone or find it to really be similar to the Hell Razor. For a cheaper alternative I’d probably just look a for a ‘90’s MC
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the Ultra takes some tweaking to dial in, but channel 1 is pretty killer in hair + or uber mode, I have a MC1 that absolutely crushes as well - the MTL, HR, Uber and MC are all killer in their own right.
 
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