Marshall MA50H 50 Watt Tube Amp Head Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Morgan
from Central NY
June 10, 2010Music Background:
Hobbyist

Outstanding amp

I paired this head with it's counter part cabinet M412B. I run a custom Ibanez Artist and play rock such as AC/DC, 3 Doors Down, etc. This amp is exactly the sound I'm looking for at an outstanding price. Pros: The clean channel is bright and vibrant. It really covers a broad range of tones and has a really good "feel" to it. The OD channel is pure Marshall. I got a fantastic crunch (think AC/DC) in no time at all. The boost channel is perfect for that extra punch during solos. It's very easy to setup as well.
Cons: I do not recommend playing this amp at low level (bedroom) volumes. It's got a nasty buzz and loses a lot of tone with the volume down. Turning the volume up rectifies this.
Final Thoughts: This amp thrives when turned up. The harder I push it, the better it sounds. I would definitely recommend this amp to others.

Dave Zbink
from Kennebunkport, ME
January 5, 2010Music Background:
Hobbyist

Couldn't be happier with my new Marshall MA50H and M412A Cabinet

I just got my new Marshall MA50H and matching 412A cabinet. Having only played through my Blues Junior (with all the BillM mods added) and VOX AC4TV amps now I fully understand what a real professional amplifier sounds like! Mostly playing my Martin J-40 through the clean channel at this time - and it sounds heavenly. Will be setting up the crunch and boost configuration this weekend to see how the Les Paul and Stats sound. Thanks Mr. Marshall!!!

mark
from New England
November 13, 2009Music Background:
Lifelong Hobbyist

Cant wait

OK I know its cheating, writing a review without having the amp yet, but ive heard it and it sounds dynamite(to my ear very simillar to the MkII of the late 70's and early 80's) . I am so jazzed that Marshall is FINALLY providing a high quality , mid-priced range of tube amps i could scream! Fender and VOX have been providing same for several years now and it has only enhanced thier brands. Great job with the Class 5 and MA range Marshall.Im gonna go get in line for a Class 5 and an MA50, excuse me.

Marcus Johnson
from Silverdale, WA USA
March 20, 2013Music Background:
Student/ Pro Musician

it's pretty sweet

the clean channel is amazing and the distortion channel is quite dope.

Dave Zbink
from Kennebunkport, Maine
January 25, 2010Music Background:
Serious, Lifelong Hobbyist.

Couldn't Be Happier - Review #2

Now that I've had a chance to play more with the Les Paul and Strats - I'm still very, very pleased with the true Marshall sound that I get - full sonic range and very powerful. But, to be fair, it doesn't sound quite as rich and harmonically pleasing as the top end Marshalls and the classics like the JTM45, JCM800, and Plexi head. My solution? The VOX Tonelab ST! Now I get VERY, VERY close to the ideal Marshall sound in my head that really reminds me of the old-time Jimi Page and Jeff Beck days. All true musicians are always on that quest for THE TONE. This combination of amp, cab and front-end tone shaper pedal does it for me - on my budget. I'm also experimenting to see what types of Fender tones I can get from it. The tonal possibilities are nearly endless. The Tonelab also sounds REALLY nice hooked up to my VOX AC4TV, most especially with the various Marshall amp & cab voicings. It's a fun and interesting time we live in!

-dmz

Davis Beaston
from
September 18, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Not Bad

I've had this Marshall amplifier for about 5 or 6 months now along with a Marshall 412A Cabinet, and it is an excellent amp! It took a while to find a good tone out of both the channels, but after a little bit of playing around this is now my main amp for both rehearsals and live performances. The good thing about it is that the sound can range from a nice, crisp clean blues tone, all the way up to a heavy distorted hard rock and grunge sound (which is what my band plays), and you can hit whatever other sound you need in between. The only downside to this amp is that there is in fact a 1/4 second delay between switching from clean to overdrive. It may not sound like much, but it is noticeable. An easy fix is to just hit the OD button just a little sooner than you would normally do. Overall a great amp for it's price, so I would recommend it if you aren't able to afford a JVM or any other overpriced Marshall amp.

Ben Gorb
from Macclesfield
April 1, 2012Music Background:
Music student

Pretty good

This is a good, solid tube amp that does its job well, although there are elements that let it down. The clean channel is excellent, lead one is good, but requires a lot of volume to get rid of the nasty thin buzz. Lead 2 is too fizzy/buzzy and thin for my liking, lacking the meaty sound I like. If you love playing your blues/jazz/classic rock you will no doubt get some decent sounds from this amp, but if you love playing high gain metal, I would look elsewhere.

Wave Junky
from Seattle, WA
December 5, 2010Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Musician

Not my cup of tea

My biggest gripe about this head is that there is a delay when switching between the clean channel and the overdrive channel. REALLY Marshall? Really??? You are freaking Marshall, there should be a seamless transition like on my crate combo amp (that also happens to sound BETTER than this thing). Instead my "flow", if you will, is disrupted and the heavy part of the song is sounds like crap because you can hear the quarter of a second pause between channels. I should have sent this thing back right away but I needed it for a recording session. Now I am stuck with it. THANKS A LOT MARSHALL!! Will not be buying any more of your products. EVER.