MCI on the way.. 1st Wizard

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Catthan

Catthan

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..and hopefully my last bc I can’t really afford many.

got bit by the bug here whilst looking for a rawer amp to sit opposite to my 101b and Shiva..

2015, 100W, Texan tolex.

made a -to me- reasonable offer and the seller accepted so now I’m waiting eagerly to get shafted by UK customs..
 
I love my MC1 100w. With some volume, it is one seriously pissed off amp and I mean that in a good way!

It will absolutely come across as more raw, open and punchy compared to the 101b and Shiva (also awesome amps!).
 
57F3A6C3-06B9-4B79-BA73-DE2EF365D2BB.jpeg


it’s here!
1st impressions are this is a very well voiced amp with loads of the frequencies you need and little of the ones you don’t- very useful for the studio and very pleasing to listen to.

Even though I don’t play through real cabs anymore, I can tell it’s loud and punchy.

whilst it’s fast and open, it’s still nice and easy under the fingers, I love this!
it tracks very well and stays articulate in the upper registers without getting thin.
for the studio i see me using a koko vs the amp’s lead boost but live id probably use the amp's lead boost.

The fit and finish is lovely and the Texan tolex is really really nice.
it's built like a tank too and the iron is massive!

were i forced to keep one amp -which happens often- it would be probably the Wizard.

if my choppy dad rock hair metal band dream
comes true, I see me using this or maybe a W800.

overall I am pleased and I get it now..
 
Congrats . Blend your amps . It would be insane with the amps you have . I’m running my hermie 5 GS with my wizard hell razor
 
Congrats! I have had most of the heavy hitters but I always return to Wizard because I wind up missing the articulation/clarity and the sheer quality of the notes/tone. They just have a solidity and quality to the chords/notes that is stand out....very raw/organic/natural sounding/feeling.
 
Anyone compared the MCI and MCII? Is the MCII an update with more features but the MCI is still being made as well?
 
Catthan said:
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Even though I don’t play through real cabs anymore, I can tell it’s loud and punchy.
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You say that like you took a vow or something... Any reason to not play thru real cabs ? How do you play your amp heads out of curiosity ? I cannot fathom not playing electric guitar thru guitar cabs, especially with such nice gear.
 
@Jack Luminous
home player for now, small kids, late hours ,more into recording and IRs work well for that until i have the space to mic a cab or go out gigging again. but it does take away some of the niceness of the gear. also, not heads, just this one wiz.
 
innogator said:
Anyone compared the MCI and MCII? Is the MCII an update with more features but the MCI is still being made as well?
Click to expand...
My understanding is the mc I and 2 have the same channel 2 but channel 1 is modified.
 
innogator said:
Anyone compared the MCI and MCII? Is the MCII an update with more features but the MCI is still being made as well?
Click to expand...
Also read here i think that maxing out the contour on MC2 gives you MC1. Don't feel I'm missing out just bc of how good the MC1 is, the prohibitive cost of a MC2 given they don't appear ever in the UK 2nd hand market - I found the MC1 in Spain and imported over and that still gaped my wallet..
I also find that many sonic nuances we obsess about on fora like this aren't as prominent or, dare I say, important in a dense mix as long as the amp reacts in a way that compliments and inspires the player.

One tone I haven't gotten out of it yet is a lower gain plexi-ish crunch out of ch1. I need this for layering parts to sound big vs fewer higher gain tracks and I'm still to dial that in but I believe it's in there, just my IR set up doesn't help here.

And one tone I don't think is in the amp is that sibilant sizzly hairy top end one may find in Jose, Fortin - that type of Marshall mod thing. The Wiz has hair and sizzle but of a different kind. Interesting bc that sits in an area that mix engineers would filter out but if you hear isolated tracks, some leave that in.

Bass is a very cool dial too with those, I perceive it as working 'in' the gain but also 'around' the gain like depth. Like low end being introduced at 2 places at once as you crank the dial. Sure there's a technical term for that.
 
innogator said:
Anyone compared the MCI and MCII? Is the MCII an update with more features but the MCI is still being made as well?
Click to expand...
Right now I have an MCI and MCII, although they may not be the best "like for like" comparison as the MCI is an EL34 with "C" transformers and the MCII is a 150w kt88 model.

That said, the MCII is the more versatile amp overall. Much more gain on the rhythm/clean channel that does great cleans like an MCI all the way to tones quite similar to the W800 model.

The lead channels can be dialed in quite similar with the contour cranked all the way up. That said, even with the contour cranked, I find the MCI a bit more aggressive. This was even compared to an EL-34 MCII mk2 I tried.

Both are fantastic amps, even with their similarities. If I were recommending a quintessential Wizard, it would probably be an MCII; it can do what the MCI does and can even dabble into Wizard W800 territory with the blackkat mod engaged.
 
Catthan said:
@Jack Luminous
home player for now, small kids, late hours ,more into recording and IRs work well for that until i have the space to mic a cab or go out gigging again. but it does take away some of the niceness of the gear. also, not heads, just this one wiz.
Click to expand...

OK I totally understand since I was in the same situation at one point (long ago). Then I found a place where I could live and make noise night and day without disturbing anyone. I can only wish you the same. It took time, a lot of money and effort but it's well worth it !
 
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