Marshall Haze 40 combo review

[Meathead]

This is the first really positive review of the Haze 40 combo I have seen. I hope I get a chance to check one out soon.

Reviews shimoos....Pretty soon they'll be in stores everywhere...try one. You'll like it or you won't.

My bands reaction after the first set with it.....
Me: I like this amp, what do you think Mike?
Singer: <pause> ...it's the best live guitar tone I've ever heard.
Me: really? wow.
Me: What did you think Paul, sounds pretty good for a little combo eh?
Bassist: Holy shit...fuckin' buy it dumbass!
<FOH soundman walks up> that amp sounds great, huge and raw!

I'm not kidding.

 

[Meathead]

This is the first really positive review of the Haze 40 combo I have seen. I hope I get a chance to check one out soon.

Was just googling the amp out of curiosity...seems I'm not the only one really digging it.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshal...be-Guitar-Combo-Amp-869733-i1445505.gc?mode=1

 

[blackba]

This is the first really positive review of the Haze 40 combo I have seen. I hope I get a chance to check one out soon.

Was just googling the amp out of curiosity...seems I'm not the only one really digging it.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshal...be-Guitar-Combo-Amp-869733-i1445505.gc?mode=1

These reviews of the haze were mostly at the TGP, so keep that in mind. They hate my mesa mark IV with a passion over there, but I dig the mark IV.....

 

[Meathead]

This is the first really positive review of the Haze 40 combo I have seen. I hope I get a chance to check one out soon.

Was just googling the amp out of curiosity...seems I'm not the only one really digging it.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshal...be-Guitar-Combo-Amp-869733-i1445505.gc?mode=1

These reviews of the haze were mostly at the TGP, so keep that in mind. They hate my mesa mark IV with a passion over there, but I dig the mark IV.....

They knocked the handwired Vox when it came out because it's made in China, now most of them love it.
Just give them some time to come around, the amp sounds great....it's hard for them to get over the 'made in India' thing right away, but a lot of people there know good tone.

I really hope this amp doesn't go down on me like some people have said....fingers crossed it's reliable.

 

[erics]

Hi,
I'm new here.Seems like a cool place with decent people.

I tried the Haze 40 and thought it sounds very good.The clean channel is nice but i really liked the dirty channel with the boost engaged.You get nice marshall tones for cheap.The range of tones go from clean to 70's to marshall 800 with more gain than my old jcm 800 combo.

From what I've read. The problems with the amps failing were because of the switching circuit.I would hope that marshall has resolved the problem because i plan on buying one very soon.

cheers...

 

[bds9487]

This is the first really positive review of the Haze 40 combo I have seen. I hope I get a chance to check one out soon.

Was just googling the amp out of curiosity...seems I'm not the only one really digging it.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshal...be-Guitar-Combo-Amp-869733-i1445505.gc?mode=1

These reviews of the haze were mostly at the TGP, so keep that in mind. They hate my mesa mark IV with a passion over there, but I dig the mark IV.....

They knocked the handwired Vox when it came out because it's made in China, now most of them love it.
Just give them some time to come around, the amp sounds great....it's hard for them to get over the 'made in India' thing right away, but a lot of people there know good tone.

I really hope this amp doesn't go down on me like some people have said....fingers crossed it's reliable.

I think the stories of Marshalls being unreliable are exaggerated. I've been playing them exclusively for 10+ years and the only problems I've had are an occasional blown fuse and 1 blown power tube. I suspect they're as reliable as any other mass-produced amps.

Any idea how the Haze compares to the Vintage Modern combo amp?

 

[Meathead]

Hi,
I'm new here.Seems like a cool place with decent people.

I tried the Haze 40 and thought it sounds very good.The clean channel is nice but i really liked the dirty channel with the boost engaged.You get nice marshall tones for cheap.The range of tones go from clean to 70's to marshall 800 with more gain than my old jcm 800 combo.

From what I've read. The problems with the amps failing were because of the switching circuit.I would hope that marshall has resolved the problem because i plan on buying one very soon.

cheers...

Yes, the boost engaged sounds best to me as well. I liked it pushed in for both channels as it made the channels sound right together for the shared EQ.
I was reading on the Marshall forum that Marshall basically recalled the first batch and fixed them. Mine seems fine, as long as the one you get isn't from the very first batch I think you'll be fine.

 

[Meathead]

I think the stories of Marshalls being unreliable are exaggerated. I've been playing them exclusively for 10+ years and the only problems I've had are an occasional blown fuse and 1 blown power tube. I suspect they're as reliable as any other mass-produced amps.

Any idea how the Haze compares to the Vintage Modern combo amp?

There was an issue at first but it seems to be fixed. The failures I'm reading about now just sound tube related.

I've demoed a Vintage Modern combo a few times, didn't get to really crank it but I liked what I heard. It's in the same ballpark as far as having a classic voicing, just less wattage and much easier to tote around. It has enough gain for grinding rhythm work and blues/rock type solos, I just hit it with a slight boost for more sustaining shred solos. It won't do the really aggressive stuff without some type of pedal adding more gain and cut. It's a great base for pedals, seems to like all of mine.

 

[tweed]

Damn you. I am going to have to hit some guitar stores after Christmas and demo some of these combos now.

 

[mentoneman]

They knocked the handwired Vox when it came out because it's made in China, now most of them love it.
Just give them some time to come around, the amp sounds great....it's hard for them to get over the 'made in India' thing right away, but a lot of people there know good tone.

I really hope this amp doesn't go down on me like some people have said....fingers crossed it's reliable.

I've always wanted a cool Marshall around the house and after the wonderful superchamp xd i have faith the big boys can still whip out a sleeper that won't explode after a day

I knocked the vox because it sounded more congested and weird than my ideal vox tone...bruce's vox module delivers....and my friends ac30 overheated and died after a month.
But amps are always the same...there are lemons and gems in every line

which is why I'm hopeful for the axe-fx being my long term solution to tube de-evolution and racks and switching and component inconsistency

 

[Meathead]

Damn you. I am going to have to hit some guitar stores after Christmas and demo some of these combos now.

You may be surprised like me, or it may not be your thing. I'm just saying that it's definitely my thing, so it may be someone else's thing too.

That fact that it's affordable is really great, I honestly would've paid more for it...after playing it at the store for about half an hour, turning it up and using different guitars, I had to buy it...I had no choice.

 

[Meathead]

They knocked the handwired Vox when it came out because it's made in China, now most of them love it.
Just give them some time to come around, the amp sounds great....it's hard for them to get over the 'made in India' thing right away, but a lot of people there know good tone.

I really hope this amp doesn't go down on me like some people have said....fingers crossed it's reliable.

I've always wanted a cool Marshall around the house and after the wonderful superchamp xd i have faith the big boys can still whip out a sleeper that won't explode after a day

I knocked the vox because it sounded more congested and weird than my ideal vox tone...bruce's vox module delivers....and my friends ac30 overheated and died after a month.
But amps are always the same...there are lemons and gems in every line

which is why I'm hopeful for the axe-fx being my long term solution to tube de-evolution and racks and switching and component inconsistency

I don't see how a modeler can replace a tube amp on stage, I've tried and tried.
At home for recording and practicing through good monitors, sure I dig them. I like my Tonelab LE a lot for laying down ideas, it sounds really good...It's a quick, inspiring unit. But live, it just doesn't ever sound or feel like it fits in on stage with the organic drums and bass tones that the other band members have. It's like I'm this 2 dimensional thing and the rest of the guys are 3D.

I like that new handwired AC15, but I like this Marshall Haze 40 more...oh yes I do.

 

[Meathead]

I think the stories of Marshalls being unreliable are exaggerated. I've been playing them exclusively for 10+ years and the only problems I've had are an occasional blown fuse and 1 blown power tube. I suspect they're as reliable as any other mass-produced amps.

Agreed. I think one of the reasons why as well is because there are way more people that buy and own these amps. There are many more reviews and there is much more information available floating around compared to some of the minority boutique amp owners. You read a review and a few say their particular Marshall blew a transformer. It sounds drastic but there are thousands out there. You don't hear anything like that about a Wizard (one case, however, there is no way a Wizard MM OT could have blown, there is a guy who is an endorsee and demos the amps at Namm and the amp shows who knows the seller of that amp you bought and says he is a stand up guy) but compared to the actual Marshall owners, the ratio of ownership would be quite slim I'd imagine.

People that have no problems with an amp, and are really liking it, are out playing and not looking for customer service or a place to vent on the interweb...so you read lots of bad stuff I'm deducting. Makes you think it's all bad if that's all you see. I'm trying to spread the good my people.

I think I've read that before, that there is no way a Wizard MM OT can blow...Marshall should use them.

 

[tweed]

I don't see how a modeler can replace a tube amp on stage, I've tried and tried.
... But live, it just doesn't ever sound or feel like it fits in on stage with the organic drums and bass tones that the other band members have. It's like I'm this 2 dimensional thing and the rest of the guys are 3D.

I used to think the same thing till I saw Lincoln Brewster rip it up live with an AxeFx Ultra. I am not a modeler guy myself, but i'm telling you, you cannot tell the difference live at his performances, sits perfectly in the mix. It sounds badass and he is basically just using a boosted plexi sound with a strat.

 

[Mudder]

Doyle Bramhall 3 used a "modeler" as well, Yamaha DG80 I think. Dude sounds great.

 

[Meathead]

Doyle Bramhall 3 used a "modeler" as well, Yamaha DG80 I think. Dude sounds great.

I used to think the same thing till I saw Lincoln Brewster rip it up live with an AxeFx Ultra. I am not a modeler guy myself, but i'm telling you, you cannot tell the difference live at his performances, sits perfectly in the mix. It sounds badass and he is basically just using a boosted plexi sound with a strat.

I totally hear you guys. It sounds great out front and you can't tell the difference watching the band.
But what I'm saying is from the guy on stage playing guitar's perspective.
On stage I'm hearing the drums raw unmiked, bass guitar I'm hearing an unmiked Ampeg SVT raw tone...but then using my modeler (a Tonelab LE), I'm hearing a miked front of house version of the guitar tone onstage, not the raw unmiked "tube amp --> Celestion speaker" tone.
I can play the night no problem with a modeler hearing FOH tone on stage, but it just feels and sounds better hearing the unmiked amp sound with the band on stage.

I haven't tried the AXeFX, I'm guessing it can send cab sim tone to the FOH and cab sim off tone to the stage...that I could get into.
But I've got this little Marshall that I dig so I don't have to.

 

[tweed]

Doyle Bramhall 3 used a "modeler" as well, Yamaha DG80 I think. Dude sounds great.

I used to think the same thing till I saw Lincoln Brewster rip it up live with an AxeFx Ultra. I am not a modeler guy myself, but i'm telling you, you cannot tell the difference live at his performances, sits perfectly in the mix. It sounds badass and he is basically just using a boosted plexi sound with a strat.

I totally hear you guys. It sounds great out front and you can't tell the difference watching the band.
But what I'm saying is from the guy on stage playing guitar's perspective.
On stage I'm hearing the drums raw unmiked, bass guitar I'm hearing an unmiked Ampeg SVT raw tone...but then using my modeler (a Tonelab LE), I'm hearing a miked front of house version of the guitar tone onstage, not the raw unmiked "tube amp --> Celestion speaker" tone.
I can play the night no problem with a modeler hearing FOH tone on stage, but it just feels and sounds better hearing the unmiked amp sound with the band on stage.

I haven't tried the AXeFX, I'm guessing it can send cab sim tone to the FOH and cab sim off tone to the stage...that I could get into.
But I've got this little Marshall that I dig so I don't have to.

My first exposure to the AxeFx was in a medium sized room standing 10 ft from Lincoln's 4x12 cab. He had it running thru that and small Pa/FOH system in teh room. I asked him point blank, you are in a situation where they aren't running you thru FOH and they aren't going to mic your cab. Would you still be able to get that great sound if you weren't running thru FOH?

He pulled the feed to FOH and only ran the 4x12 cab... It completely floored me, seriously I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So I understand the FOH comment, but when that little box is tweaked correctly it sounds damn good no matter what you put it thru be it 4x12 or FOH.

 

[Meathead]

My first exposure to the AxeFx was in a medium sized room standing 10 ft from Lincoln's 4x12 cab. He had it running thru that and small Pa/FOH system in teh room. I asked him point blank, you are in a situation where they aren't running you thru FOH and they aren't going to mic your cab. Would you still be able to get that great sound if you weren't running thru FOH?

He pulled the feed to FOH and only ran the 4x12 cab... It completely floored me, seriously I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So I understand the FOH comment, but when that little box is tweaked correctly it sounds damn good no matter what you put it thru be it 4x12 or FOH.

So he's running cab sim tone through a 4x12?
I'm doing that now with a 2x12, It sounds good, it can play that way, but when I just miked up the Marshall combo on the weekend it was oh ya, that's better.

Hey! You are derailing my Marshall combo thread...next thing you know Vlad will be in here and we'll be talking about men in speedos or something.

 

[tweed]

My first exposure to the AxeFx was in a medium sized room standing 10 ft from Lincoln's 4x12 cab. He had it running thru that and small Pa/FOH system in teh room. I asked him point blank, you are in a situation where they aren't running you thru FOH and they aren't going to mic your cab. Would you still be able to get that great sound if you weren't running thru FOH?

He pulled the feed to FOH and only ran the 4x12 cab... It completely floored me, seriously I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So I understand the FOH comment, but when that little box is tweaked correctly it sounds damn good no matter what you put it thru be it 4x12 or FOH.

So he's running cab sim tone through a 4x12?
I'm doing that now with a 2x12, It sounds good, it can play that way, but when I just miked up the Marshall combo on the weekend it was oh ya, that's better.

Hey! You are derailing my Marshall combo thread...next thing you know Vlad will be in here and we'll be talking about men in speedos or something.

 

[Gainiac]

My first exposure to the AxeFx was in a medium sized room standing 10 ft from Lincoln's 4x12 cab. He had it running thru that and small Pa/FOH system in teh room. I asked him point blank, you are in a situation where they aren't running you thru FOH and they aren't going to mic your cab. Would you still be able to get that great sound if you weren't running thru FOH?

He pulled the feed to FOH and only ran the 4x12 cab... It completely floored me, seriously I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So I understand the FOH comment, but when that little box is tweaked correctly it sounds damn good no matter what you put it thru be it 4x12 or FOH.

So he's running cab sim tone through a 4x12?
I'm doing that now with a 2x12, It sounds good, it can play that way, but when I just miked up the Marshall combo on the weekend it was oh ya, that's better.

Hey! You are derailing my Marshall combo thread...next thing you know Vlad will be in here and we'll be talking about men in speedos or something.

Clips of the gig or you never played the amp.....