Talk me into / out of blind buying a Wizard halfstack

  • Thread starter Thread starter amp maniac
  • Start date Start date
A

amp maniac

Member
I always loved the clips of Wizard amps. However, there aren´t many in Europe and there will probably never be an opportunity for me to try one in person prior to purchase. So I´ve been thinking about whether or not to purchase one blind, maybe even a halfstack to complete the look. They are of course extremely expensive, so I wonder if that´s a good idea. Are there people that DID NOT like a Wizard? That would be interesting. I read many times that they are similar to a Fryette in terms of dryness, immediacy of attack etc., just with "more going on" which sounds more or less of an ideal amp for me. Would you say that this is generally correct? However, sometimes I also wonder if people may say that it´s the best amp ever because they just spent a fortune so it "has to be good"?

In the past, I had various high gain amps, among them a Bogner Ecstasy Classic which I loved, a mid 90s Soldano SLO100 and a Fryette Ultralead. I miss the Ultralead the most, however I also have a GP3 preamp so I got that tone covered. Still, shouldn´t have sold the Ultralead. Never found another one, they are also very rare in Europe.

There is a yt channel called "Wizard South JP" with a lot of clips and they do sound like a Fryette with more going on. Those clips sound crazy good. However he posted a clip a few days ago with a Bad Cat Lynx vs an MCII and they do sound really close... How do they sound in the room? This amp will only ever be used at home at low to medium levels. I loved every amp mentioned above at those levels, even the SLO.

So what´s your advice? As said before, it´d be really interesting to hear from someone who didn´t like the tone. What exactly didn´t you like about it and what did you buy instead? And are the Wizard cabs an integral part of the equation or is a Bogner or Friedman cab just as good? Also not sure which model might be right for me.
 
I've had around 20 amps and I have sold all them but my Wizards. I absolutely love them and have zero regrets. They're loud and punch but that's part of their magic. I run mine through a friedman 4x12 and an older bogner uberkab and they sound fantastic.

You won't regret your purchase.
 
amp maniac said:
I always loved the clips of Wizard amps. However, there aren´t many in Europe and there will probably never be an opportunity for me to try one in person prior to purchase. So I´ve been thinking about whether or not to purchase one blind, maybe even a halfstack to complete the look. They are of course extremely expensive, so I wonder if that´s a good idea. Are there people that DID NOT like a Wizard? That would be interesting. I read many times that they are similar to a Fryette in terms of dryness, immediacy of attack etc., just with "more going on" which sounds more or less of an ideal amp for me. Would you say that this is generally correct? However, sometimes I also wonder if people may say that it´s the best amp ever because they just spent a fortune so it "has to be good"?

In the past, I had various high gain amps, among them a Bogner Ecstasy Classic which I loved, a mid 90s Soldano SLO100 and a Fryette Ultralead. I miss the Ultralead the most, however I also have a GP3 preamp so I got that tone covered. Still, shouldn´t have sold the Ultralead. Never found another one, they are also very rare in Europe.

There is a yt channel called "Wizard South JP" with a lot of clips and they do sound like a Fryette with more going on. Those clips sound crazy good. However he posted a clip a few days ago with a Bad Cat Lynx vs an MCII and they do sound really close... How do they sound in the room? This amp will only ever be used at home at low to medium levels. I loved every amp mentioned above at those levels, even the SLO.

So what´s your advice? As said before, it´d be really interesting to hear from someone who didn´t like the tone. What exactly didn´t you like about it and what did you buy instead? And are the Wizard cabs an integral part of the equation or is a Bogner or Friedman cab just as good? Also not sure which model might be right for me.
Click to expand...
I totally understand how you feel, as I live in Athens Greece and these things are really rare here. Fortunately for me, I was able to play one twice and since then I had wanted to get one so badly. So some weeks ago, a listing showed up (a member here from the Netherlands) and I immediately pulled the trigger. It's the MTL MK II 50 watts version and it punches hard! It's one of these amps you need to be in the room with to really understand how amazing they sound. You mentioned VHT - yeah I've owned many models and I really like the Deliverance but the MTL sounds and feels better / more gain - punch - articulation.
If I were you, I'd get one.
 
8f0a6df7-7002-4faf-837f-54c931927821_text.gif
 
I had an early MTL for a month or so before I sold it. They do punch very hard & I'm glad I had the experience, however that amp was as dry as burnt toast & despite the really great tone the dryness sucked all the fun out of playing. Very opposite of the greasy Mesas & usually play. However, some guys like that so it's really personal choice.

Here in the states it's not hard to find a used one for sale. I haven't heard anyone ever say the Wiz sucked, but a lot of guys say it's not for me.
 
If you like Fryette’s then there’s a good chance you’ll like the wizards. Everyone will mention how punchy, open and clear they sound as the positives. They can be dry and their midrange is smooth/more neutral in character rather than a more aggressive midrange growl on powerchords like a Marshall. For me these are the only aspects I don’t like about them and Fryette’s have the same problems (if not worse), so if you didn’t mind that on Fryette’s I’d think you wouldn’t for wizards either. I’ve had a 2016 MTL and 1996 MC and by far the best one to me was the 2023 Hell Razor KT150 I tried recently. I ordered one myself and have it coming very soon
 
Last edited:
braintheory said:
If you like Fryette’s then there’s a good chance you’ll like the wizards. Everyone will mention how punchy, open and clear they sound as the positives. They can be dry and their midrange is smooth/more neutral in character rather than a more aggressive midrange growl on powerchords like a Marshall. For me these are the only aspects I don’t like about them and Fryette’s have the same problems (if not worse), so if you didn’t mind that on Fryette I’d think you wouldn’t for wizards either. I’ve had a 2016 MTL and 1996 MC and by far the best one to me was the 2023 Hell Razor KT150 I tried recently. I ordered one myself and have it coming very soon
Click to expand...
I just ordered a KT150 Hell Razer as well!
 
Ryan990 said:
I love my MCII and MTL MK2 so much I figured it would be great. The only other non wizard am I kept is my 2C+ that's currently with Mike B getting the push/pull ++ mod.
Click to expand...
The 2C+ is also up there as one of my favorites. I have an HRG version C+. I’m currently wizardless and have lots of others amps, but that’ll change very soon when the Hell Razor arrives
 
braintheory said:
If you like Fryette’s then there’s a good chance you’ll like the wizards. Everyone will mention how punchy, open and clear they sound as the positives. They can be dry and their midrange is smooth/more neutral in character rather than a more aggressive midrange growl on powerchords like a Marshall. For me these are the only aspects I don’t like about them and Fryette’s have the same problems (if not worse), so if you didn’t mind that on Fryette’s I’d think you wouldn’t for wizards either. I’ve had a 2016 MTL and 1996 MC and by far the best one to me was the 2023 Hell Razor KT150 I tried recently. I ordered one myself and have it coming very soon
Click to expand...
This.

Although I would say that the 2 Wizards I've owned(2010 MC100, 2012 MTL50) weren't as dry as the Deliverances I've had. And, when I boosted the MC100 that helps by adding some 'grease' to the feel/dryness. The MTL I had, sounded a good bit smaller with the boost vs the MC that loved the pedals.
If you like big, open, raw, uncompressed amps you will love a Wizard.
 
Wizards are great amps man. They do have the “dry” thing going on like a vht/Fryette but they’re quite a bit different in how they actually sound. I think this is due to vht/fryettes being made for eminence speakers that have a different mid range going on than celestions. Then after that you have to decide which wizard, the mtl and mc are both killer amps. Mtl is more lower mid focused but you can get kind of close to the mc sound with the “sweep” and cranking the high end of the amp. The mc doesn’t sound more aggressive out of the box but gets super aggressive with an od. The mc generally speaking is a brighter sharper amp. I can’t comment on the hell razor, because I’ve never played one.

I made a few videos comparing and such on my YouTube as I was totally lost when purchasing one of these and felt like I was making a blind leap on a crazy expensive amp.

Here’s a mtl vs mc, and a deliverance video for reference. They’re in stereo so I recommend listening on headphones or something that doesn’t suck system wise. If you have to do it on an iPhone turn it sideways.



 
I’ve had, I think, 6 or 7 wizards. Great amps! Love em. And might buy one again. But not my holy grail. :)

I can source a MCII in Europe if interested. My old one.
 
Wow, thank you all so much!!
OK sounds like I absolutely need a Wizard in my life :D Can anybody give me a rundown on the models? The website doesn´t help much in describing the differences and what each model does best. I´d like to have at least a bit of flexibility, but I´m definately a high gain player at heart. As described above by @Bram576, the MTL is low mid focused, what else can be said about it? The Hell Razor looks interesting as it features three gain controls and two bright controls for the lead channel alone, that could be my amp.
And which cabs / speakers are you guys using?

edit: I think I read that Wizard is a Canadian company, so are the prices on the website Canadian dollars?
 
Last edited:
Haha.....as a Canadian I WISH the prices were in Canadian dollars! 😂 No, his prices are in American.

As for recommending them: if you love/miss your Ultra lead, you will absolutely love a Wizard. Tight, punchy and open like a Fryette, but even better clarity and a better feel when playing. I prefer the dryer feel when playing, but if you like a bit more "grease" they take boosts super well and still keep all that clarity, punch and tightness.
 
amp maniac said:
I always loved the clips of Wizard amps. However, there aren´t many in Europe and there will probably never be an opportunity for me to try one in person prior to purchase. So I´ve been thinking about whether or not to purchase one blind, maybe even a halfstack to complete the look. They are of course extremely expensive, so I wonder if that´s a good idea. Are there people that DID NOT like a Wizard? That would be interesting. I read many times that they are similar to a Fryette in terms of dryness, immediacy of attack etc., just with "more going on" which sounds more or less of an ideal amp for me. Would you say that this is generally correct? However, sometimes I also wonder if people may say that it´s the best amp ever because they just spent a fortune so it "has to be good"?

In the past, I had various high gain amps, among them a Bogner Ecstasy Classic which I loved, a mid 90s Soldano SLO100 and a Fryette Ultralead. I miss the Ultralead the most, however I also have a GP3 preamp so I got that tone covered. Still, shouldn´t have sold the Ultralead. Never found another one, they are also very rare in Europe.

There is a yt channel called "Wizard South JP" with a lot of clips and they do sound like a Fryette with more going on. Those clips sound crazy good. However he posted a clip a few days ago with a Bad Cat Lynx vs an MCII and they do sound really close... How do they sound in the room? This amp will only ever be used at home at low to medium levels. I loved every amp mentioned above at those levels, even the SLO.

So what´s your advice? As said before, it´d be really interesting to hear from someone who didn´t like the tone. What exactly didn´t you like about it and what did you buy instead? And are the Wizard cabs an integral part of the equation or is a Bogner or Friedman cab just as good? Also not sure which model might be right for me.
Click to expand...
The fryette ultra lead is one of the best sounding amps i have played. That said, it was puny next to the punch of a wizard.

Just dont play in same room with wizard, and you will be fine
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top