NAD MGL Red Update: Clip Added

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First to @braintheory , This will be a honeymoon NAD. I know how you love these. Got this badass little 50 watter today.

Took me a second to figure out the eq because it reacts a bit different from my last amp. I was trying to change presence and treble, and needed just a bit of mids, and BOOM! The amp came alive. My go to Ts808 does not play well with it. The amp needs no boost. I don't understand a lot about the circuit, but there are a couple really cool things.

There are two preamp tubes for gain. So the gain has a dry, clear sound to it. Reminds me a bit of the Fryette Ultra Lead. All these amps I had before had three preamp tubes in gain stage, and the extra gain stages just made it fuzzy, so I was always trying to find the clarity and openness in the preamp. I know we are in an age where more is better, but for me, less compression is a good thing.

The loop is perfect. It is series and just does what a loop should do, it's there if you need it, and switches out of circuit if you don't, but my delay in there was so nice.

There are three switches on the amp for voicing and saturation. The two switches to modern (as opposed to vintage) and leaving the jose (saturation clipping) off is the way for me. It sounds like the front activates a bright switch and maybe the second one on the back is a negative feedback that adds a bit of presence.

Overall, the voicing of the amp is very balanced. I am excited to make some clips and just play with it a bit tomorrow when the wife goes on her wine tour.

I feel like it amplifies my guitar signal in the best way possible.

I want to thank Mark at Guitar Loft. @MGL AmpWorks The amp is what I have been looking for. Mark is quick on communication, even though I was bothering him over the weekend, and the amp came fast. Great service, and a Great guy.


 

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So honored to be mentioned in your NAD post hahaha. Congrats on the new amp and look forward to your thoughts and clips as you explore it more. And I hugely appreciate you keeping it more levelheaded vs many NAD's where other guys (myself included in the past lol) prematurely blow their load on new gear they just get lol in the honeymoon phase. I've come a long way since those years lol. Your descriptions of it seem a lot like what I heard in the clip of it

On a serious note, those RFT power tubes they come with are also for my taste my overall favorite sounding 34's I've tried so far. Got a pair of them recently myself
 
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So honored to be mentioned in your NAD post hahaha. Congrats on the new amp and look forward to your thoughts and clips as you explore it more. And I hugely appreciate you keeping it more levelheaded vs many NAD's where other guys (myself included in the past lol) prematurely blow their load on new gear they just get lol in the honeymoon phase. I've come a long way since those years lol. Your descriptions of it seem a lot like what I heard in the clip of it

On a serious note, those RFT power tubes they come with are also for my taste my overall favorite sounding 34's I've tried so far. Got a pair of them recently myself
This was a hard decision for me. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a Jmp that sounded fantastic. Eddy Lenz has that Hot Chili I was really close to grabbing. But the clips on this one were just a little different. And I really wanted to see if that would translate when I got the amp. It absolutely does. I think Mark has struck a really good balance here, and I think a lot of people are going to go for these amps. The purple mod looks pretty interesting also.
 
This was a hard decision for me. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a Jmp that sounded fantastic. Eddy Lenz has that Hot Chili I was really close to grabbing. But the clips on this one were just a little different. And I really wanted to see if that would translate when I got the amp. It absolutely does. I think Mark has struck a really good balance here, and I think a lot of people are going to go for these amps. The purple mod looks pretty interesting also.
A good '70's JMP2203/4 can still possibly be worth having at some point imo. There's a raw, organic sound to them not found in recent made amps IME and that special midrange growl. Nothing I haven't already said a million times now lol, but I guess you're right in that it's not as distinctive of a sound anymore and they come up for sale regularly
 
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A good '70's JMP2203/4 can still possibly be worth having at some point imo. There's a raw, organic sound to them not found in recent made amps IME. Nothing I haven't already said a million times now lol, but I guess you're right in that it's not as distinctive of a sound anymore and they come up for sale regularly
A Jmp that has THAT sound is hard to beat. And I definitely need to try a cranked plexi sometime. I play amps incredibly loud anyway. No reason not to try the OG.
 
This was a hard decision for me. I was so close to pulling the trigger on a Jmp that sounded fantastic. Eddy Lenz has that Hot Chili I was really close to grabbing. But the clips on this one were just a little different. And I really wanted to see if that would translate when I got the amp. It absolutely does. I think Mark has struck a really good balance here, and I think a lot of people are going to go for these amps. The purple mod looks pretty interesting also.
Cool amp.
Did Eddie have a Hot Chili available?
I might even buy another one.
 
A Jmp that has THAT sound is hard to beat. And I definitely need to try a cranked plexi sometime. I play amps incredibly loud anyway. No reason not to try the OG.
Absolutely! Those old NMV Marshall's are amazing. My 1972 SuperLead 100 is very bold, brash and hard hitting. One of my loudest amps. Wish it had a deeper bottom end and growl, but none of my amps have it all and what it does have can't be rivaled by the other amps I've tried
 
Looks awesome. Neve even heard of these until John’s NAD thread. Definitely want to check it out some time. Those RFT El34s are killer tubes too. I bet it sounds killer. How does it compare to the Wizard?
 
Looks awesome. Neve even heard of these until John’s NAD thread. Definitely want to check it out some time. Those RFT El34s are killer tubes too. I bet it sounds killer. How does it compare to the Wizard?
John's post put them on the map for me as well.

As opposed to the wizard, less gain and not as angry. Definitely not snarling at me. The two switches on modern gives you the tight palm mutes you want, but the punch of the wizard isnt there. It still feels immediate, probably the choke.

There is a bounciness to the notes. I think the harmonics are different. The mids are more in the Marshall camp. The amp is way more on the low mid range and the amp is not nearly as bright.

I was scared to go to a 50 watter, but after playing your w800, i figured i would try. It isnt disappointing in any way, and there is no lack of low end( i was afraid after trying 50 watt iterations in the past), but the punch is something that the wizard has in spades and you may feel like dumbo trying to take flight for a second. Lol.

I will play the amp more today and try to learn its secrets. I have a feeling it is going to record well through the h30s. I wouldnt recommend playing it through the redbacks, but i will bring it down for you to try and we can see if the reds are too dark.
 
Cool. Looking forward to hearing your clips. I bet it’d still sound good with Redbacks. They’re darker speakers, but they sound really good. I do have 2 cabs with Creamback H75/v30s that are brighter
 
Cool. Looking forward to hearing your clips. I bet it’d still sound good with Redbacks. They’re darker speakers, but they sound really good. I do have 2 cabs with Creamback H75/v30s that are brighter
I am sure they would. I know they are great with that 150 watt monster you have there. You still have the fanes in the fryette?
 
Mark is a class act and guy knows tone. Bought an R8 from him a few months ago and got to plug into one of his amps up at his shop. There are lots of “modded Marshall” type amps out there but a majority of them—IMO of course—don’t sound as good as the real thing with a good boost. Mark’s does. OP congrats on a great amp!
 
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