Talk me into / out of blind buying a Wizard halfstack

  • Thread starter Thread starter amp maniac
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I will agree that Wizards sounds MUCH better in the room than on the mic. That said, ears are fallible & mics don't lie, so....
 
amp maniac said:
Thanks everybody. I made up my mind. I have found a few clips that were not at all convincing - and it could be very well that the amp was great in the room and it just didn´t come across... But it made me decide that it´s just too much money. Depending on how much the new Ultralead is going to be that´s supposed to be released in January (yes I know, but one can hope right?), I might be able to get that for a bit more than half of what the Hell Razor would be (remember I´m in Europe). I can´t justify that :aww: Maybe I´ll run into one some day, who knows...
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For the money, it's tough to beat an Ultra Lead. I will definitely be buying the new one when it comes out. lol

Should also consider the Bogner Uber Ultra - it is very similary to the Hell Razor, but a lot less $.
 
RedB4Black said:
For the money, it's tough to beat an Ultra Lead. I will definitely be buying the new one when it comes out. lol

Should also consider the Bogner Uber Ultra - it is very similary to the Hell Razor, but a lot less $.
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Yes, and the Bogner Uber Ultra is readily available... Going to try that for sure.

Edit: I´m quite sure the UL going to be released in January as Steve Fryette said it´s done and they made a video with some well known player (forgot who exactly) that will be released in January.
 
amp maniac said:
Thanks everybody. I made up my mind. I have found a few clips that were not at all convincing - and it could be very well that the amp was great in the room and it just didn´t come across... But it made me decide that it´s just too much money. Depending on how much the new Ultralead is going to be that´s supposed to be released in January (yes I know, but one can hope right?), I might be able to get that for a bit more than half of what the Hell Razor would be (remember I´m in Europe). I can´t justify that :aww: Maybe I´ll run into one some day, who knows...
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t be surprised if the new UL isn’t $5k US. Seems like everthing else is. I bought my Wizard brand new with the fx loop option for $3895.00. No way could I pay what they are priced now. Though it is a great amp, always consistent sound from venue to venue and from beginning of gig to the end. It records awesome too.

There are a couple recent band practice vids on my Youtube channel which came out decent even though it is a cell phone and the singer’s Marshall cab with 75’s.
 
GJgo said:
I will agree that Wizards sounds MUCH better in the room than on the mic. That said, ears are fallible & mics don't lie, so....
Click to expand...
I don’t find that true. They sound great both in the room and with a mic in front. Sound guys and engineers always compliment the tones, say it is easy to work with. At least mine does anyway.
 
GJgo said:
I will agree that Wizards sounds MUCH better in the room than on the mic. That said, ears are fallible & mics don't lie, so....
Click to expand...
@ultimatemetalguitartones had some great sounding clips of his MTL MK2, although they were IR's fwiw. I actually remember liking the MTL you had more than the other amps you compared with in that clip, but it's been a while now
 
amp maniac said:
Thanks everybody. I made up my mind. I have found a few clips that were not at all convincing - and it could be very well that the amp was great in the room and it just didn´t come across... But it made me decide that it´s just too much money. Depending on how much the new Ultralead is going to be that´s supposed to be released in January (yes I know, but one can hope right?), I might be able to get that for a bit more than half of what the Hell Razor would be (remember I´m in Europe). I can´t justify that :aww: Maybe I´ll run into one some day, who knows...
Click to expand...
If I was in Europe and in the hunt for an incredible amp that's wasn't a bazillion units of whatever your local money is called, my two choices would be either a modded Marshall from Dan Gower or something from Eddie Lenz. Both guys are members here and do fabulous work,...I would play one of their amps without hesitation and I own a Wizard. Of the two Gower for sure will be the most affordable, Dan's a good guy.....

https://www.goweramps.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/DGAmps/

Guitars here are all Gower modded Marshalls, pretty F'ing rocking tones, turn it up, 2nd tune slams:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://www.lenzamplification.com/

Lenz's youtube channel here with a bunch of killer clips (ripping player too...)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxvkuuFBCfBMbqBk4zSs2-g

Lots of good choices these days.
 
Greazygeo said:
I don’t find that true. They sound great both in the room and with a mic in front. Sound guys and engineers always compliment the tones, say it is easy to work with. At least mine does anyway.
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The mentality that things only sound good in the room and not on a mic is just bonkers to me. If it sounds good in the room and sounds like shit on a mic you did something wrong on that end.
 
GJgo said:
I will agree that Wizards sounds MUCH better in the room than on the mic. That said, ears are fallible & mics don't lie, so....
Click to expand...
Mics also don't capture what we hear/feel in the room, under most if not every circumstance; so there's that. Mics don't capture how HUGE a good 100w amp sounds, the 3d/harmonic/richness that you hear....basically a mic captures part of the sound but nowhere near the whole experience. For instance, the 30w amp under a mic, compared to the 180w Coli under the mic? Ahh, they're the same! Just listen to the recording...
Lol.
Sometimes the experience of being in the room with great amps cannot be denied, or replaced with 'but listen to the clip'....this is why I mock the 'clips clips clips' people a bit...
 
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Racerxrated said:
Mics also don't capture what we hear/feel in the room, under most if not every circumstance; so there's that. Mics don't capture how HUGE a good 100w amp sounds, the 3d/harmonic/richness that you hear....basically a mic captures part of the sound but nowhere near the whole experience. For instance, the 30w amp under a mic, compared to the 180w Coli under the mic? Ahh, their the same! Just listen to the recording...
Lol.
Sometimes the experience of being in the room with great amps cannot be denied, or replaced with 'but listen to the clip'....this is why I mock the 'clips clips clips' people a bit...
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Agree 100%. Also, mics can makes amps sound extremely similar, when their differences are much more obvious in the room.
 
I refuse to take anyone seriously who claims, “in the room tones don’t matter”. What? Being inspired creatively by amazing tone and a highly interactive feel doesn’t mean anything? It does to me. 99.9% of bumbling recording amateurs (myself included) really don’t need to concern themselves with how their amps “fit in a mix” nearly as much as they think they do.
 
thegame said:
I refuse to take anyone seriously who claims, “in the room tones don’t matter”. What? Being inspired creatively by amazing tone and a highly interactive feel doesn’t mean anything? It does to me. 99.9% of bumbling recording amateurs (myself included) really don’t need to concern themselves with how their amps “fit in a mix” nearly as much as they think they do.
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The one caveat that I learned when I started chasing gear; what I liked at home got brighter at the gig. Whether it's mids, presence or treble, I always needed to adjust the high end a bit. Prior to gear chasing, my little rack rig just stayed the same from week to week. Hell, I hardly plugged in to it during the week since I played most weekends.
 
thegame said:
I refuse to take anyone seriously who claims, “in the room tones don’t matter”. What? Being inspired creatively by amazing tone and a highly interactive feel doesn’t mean anything? It does to me. 99.9% of bumbling recording amateurs (myself included) really don’t need to concern themselves with how their amps “fit in a mix” nearly as much as they think they do.
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I would say in the room tones don’t matter to me when recording, but they certainly do when playing with the band.
 
Racerxrated said:
The one caveat that I learned when I started chasing gear; what I liked at home got brighter at the gig. Whether it's mids, presence or treble, I always needed to adjust the high end a bit.
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totally makes sense because of where we sit or stand ear level wise vs a mic near the dust cap. It’s a horrible habit because I’m sure I’ll be paying when I’m older… but as a start I dial in my tones lower volumes, and set my ear level to the speaker. Then back away crank up and adjust incrementally on my recordings. Not a perfect science but think it works okay.
 
Greazygeo said:
I would say in the room tones don’t matter to me when recording, but they certainly do when playing with the band.
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Agreed. Back when not everyone had a decent home recording setup, most people rehearsed long hours with their bands getting things tight and in the pocket. That’s a long time to spend listening to a guitar tone that “doesn’t matter”. Of course it matters.
 
I have a Modern Classic 50 watt. I love it but it is not exactly versatile.
 
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