New MGL 50 amp and a great customer experience

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guitarded_1
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I am probably going to sound like a shill, but I am not. Just wanted to post about a recent amp buying experience with Mark at MGL amps. He posted a used MGL amp for sale on behalf of a customer - a single channel version of his red circuit. In passing, I responded that if it was a purple circuit version, I would really have to think about it. To my surprise, he responded to me that converting it to the purple circuit would be no problem, and of course, an unexpected amp purchase and prompt delivery followed. But wait - there's more.

Mark asked for my thoughts once I had played through the amp. We ended up connecting on the phone and I told Mark how much I loved the amp and mentioned a few small tweaks that would make it perfect for me - essentially making it 15% brighter and more plexi-ish. Before I knew it, Mark sent me a shipping label and I was sending the amp back to him (I paid for shipping) to get some final tweaks. The guy loves a challenge and is super driven.

After making some tweaks and sending me multiple clips to sit with, the amp was shipped back to me. And really, truly - it's absolutely badass. The quality is ridiculous. NOS tubes, hand spec'd components, etc. The dude is more like a master carpenter - he's obsessed with the details.

So what turned out to be a spontaneous used amp purchase turned into the coolest amp buying experience and one of the best sounding Marshall-style amps I have owned (including the Marshalls). I am not sure if the below clip I recorded does it justice, but it's absolutely going to be a "cornerstone" amp in my arsenal.

Zero incentive for me to write this, other than being pleasantly blown away by the whole experience. If you are looking for a hand built amp that is a cut above most of the other Marshall-style offerings in the market, Mark is a "small batch" sort of builder that is absolutely killing it. Mad props to MGL.

Quick clip as a baseline tone test:
LP > MGL 50 (double tracked) > Captor X (bit of reverb) > Reaper

 
Love it! Congrats man! You also got some clean recording too!

Btw, you told about tweks. Does that mean each MGL is kida unique and has differences from others?
 
killer tones. Love what MGL are doing, great build choices, great tones, great price.
 
That sounds really good! MGL has been on my radar for a while and I really like what they have done with the 50.
 
I've heard similar great things about working with the guy. The amps are made with top notch components too, I don't think it gets much better if you want a Marshall type circuit.
 
CrystalSky said:
Btw, you told about tweks. Does that mean each MGL is kida unique and has differences from others?
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Mark can probably speak to this better, but my sense is that if a customer were to buy an amp from Mark, he would likely be willing to do some tweaks to his stock circuits before shipping in order to better suit them. Honestly, his stock circuits are kickass as is. Having said that, Mark is much more interested in building a limited number of amps that exceed a customer's expectations vs. punching out a bunch of amps on an assembly line. So that's why I think he's likely open to tailoring his designs, within reason. I know for a fact that he documented the changes that he made to mine, so anyone ordering an amp from MGL could get the same "formula" as what you hear in that clip.

Oh - and in the world of Marshall-style amp builders named Mark, he's the dependable one. Anybody who has been around Rig Talk long enough will get that joke.
 
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guitarded_1 said:
Mark can probably speak to this better, but my sense is that if a customer were to buy an amp from Mark, he would likely be willing to do some tweaks to his stock circuits before shipping in order to better suit them. Honestly, his stock circuits are kickass as is. Having said that, Mark is much more interested in building a limited number of amps that exceed a customer's expectations vs. punching out a bunch of amps on an assembly line. So that's why I think he's likely open to tailoring his designs, within reason. I know for a fact that he documented the changes that he made to mine, so anyone ordering an amp from MGL could get the same "formula" as what you hear in that clip.

Oh - and in the world of Marshall-style amp builders named Mark, he's the dependable one. Anybody who has been around Rig Talk long enough will get that joke.
Click to expand...
Hahah, yeah, not all Marks are the same 😂

Thanks for the info man!
 
Thanks! Great tone, guitarded!
Gotta say, it’s so close to my Metro DVL in the ‘68’ mode.

Mark builds a great amp👍
 
I think I just found my next purchase. I wonder what the build time is? that amp sounds nothing short of amazing
 
Mark is a good guy and his amps sounds and feel great. On my shortlist for sure.
 
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