Corium_AZ
Well-known member
Ok, so I've been meaning to do a little write up on my sporatic inclinations to extricate myself from this MTS addiction/obsession, so here goes...
While I love my MTS rig, and just the concept and flexibility in general, I often tend to spend more time tone chasing and tweaking, than I do playing, practicing, writing, etc. And, as a result of the flexibility of this system, and the ability to cheaply and easily try out tones from other amps, I sometimes run across something that I really dig - and therefore want to try 'the real thing'. So, between these two issues, I've tried several of the real thing, hoping that I'd be blown away, and satisfied enough to let go of this MTS deal, and liberate myself from the tweaking, and recover so much of that time spent tonehunting.
However, I have yet to find anything that actually sounds as good. More specifically, I've been unable to find anything that does the Clean/Dirty thing as well. I mean, going from the deep, spanky cleans from my Vybe Deluxe, to the chewy crunchy bliss of my 50R, to the brutality of my Blackout - nothing can compare (so far) to the versatility of just my RM100. So many great tones in one package!
In any case, here are the best ones I've tried:
Bogner Shiva (Older one (with 'symbols' as Serial #), EL34, with Reverb):
The Shiva was the closest to being the replacement for me - absolutely wonderful amp. Thick, beautiful clean channel that also responds excellently to OD/TS pedals. Thick, chewy gain channel. Contrary to what I've read online, it can easily do metal - just have to hit it with a good OD/TS or clean boost. Overall, pretty much the 'perfect' amp.
But, side to side with my RM, I could get almost exactly the same OD tones from a JF XTC or my old JF R'Verb, and while the Shiva cleans are great, and unique, they werent 'better' than my Vybe Deluxe. The Shiva did have a 'feel' and subtle tonal differences that set it apart from my RM. But, not enough so to justify it's price comparatively ($1500).
Mesa ElectraDyne:
The ED is kinda like a poor mans Shiva, but with a subtle 'Mesa character'. It has THE BEST cleans I have ever heard from Mesa. Better than the LoneStar IMO. Great reverb as well. It also took pedals wonderfully. The blue channel (OD1) was very open, crunchy, fat and articulate. Great gain channel. Kinda like a cross between a Marshall JTM and first run Dual Rec - but more British than American. The 'red' channel (OD2) was a more saturated and brighter version of the blue channel - would be great for leads, though I dont do leads and it's not as good as the blue channel for rhythm.
Same as with the Shiva, it just couldnt edge out my RM in any particular category. Also as with the Shiva, it has a great feel - just 'feels alive' if that makes sense. All around, a great amp - but not great enough. Back to GC it went. Best bang for your buck around though (about $850).
Orange Rockerverb 50 MKII:
Now, I really thought this one was gonna do the trick. I've loved every Orange mod I've tried, and love so many YouTube demos of these amps. But, I really just didnt like it much at all. It does have a nice clean channel, but it has little headroom, and is very dark - tough to get any cut or spank out of the clean channel. And, this is my biggest problem with the RV - the clean channel can not take OD/TS or clean boost pedals. They all sound like garbage thru the clean channel of this amp - almost like running a pedal straight into a PA. The amp just doesnt respond to them. I cannot be stuck with just two usable tones, and cannot deal with guitar volume changes etc while playing gigs (already have too much to deal with). So, that was a deal ender right off the bat... In any case, it did have a great gain channel, but I still just didnt jive with it. It was dry and felt 'boxy' to me. It didnt have that big, open character that I expected - and that was there in spades from the Shiva and ED. And, surprisingly, the RV seemed to prefer both single coils and neck pickups. Never woulda guessed, lol. Did not jive well with my LP... I was disappointed in this one.
Those were the big contenders. I tried a few more (Marshall JCM800, JMP, Mesa Dual Rec, etc), but they were more common and I figure most here have tried those.
So, in the end, worry not - your MTS rig is every bit as good, toneful, powerful, ballsy, etc as the top of the line amps the MTS mods are meant to emulate. I'm gonna keep my eye out for a couple more I might try (Orange OR100, OR80/120, Bogner Shiva 20th Anniv, Germino/Metro JTM, Mesa Royal Atlantic), but I think I'll give my local GC a break for awhile, lol.
While I love my MTS rig, and just the concept and flexibility in general, I often tend to spend more time tone chasing and tweaking, than I do playing, practicing, writing, etc. And, as a result of the flexibility of this system, and the ability to cheaply and easily try out tones from other amps, I sometimes run across something that I really dig - and therefore want to try 'the real thing'. So, between these two issues, I've tried several of the real thing, hoping that I'd be blown away, and satisfied enough to let go of this MTS deal, and liberate myself from the tweaking, and recover so much of that time spent tonehunting.
However, I have yet to find anything that actually sounds as good. More specifically, I've been unable to find anything that does the Clean/Dirty thing as well. I mean, going from the deep, spanky cleans from my Vybe Deluxe, to the chewy crunchy bliss of my 50R, to the brutality of my Blackout - nothing can compare (so far) to the versatility of just my RM100. So many great tones in one package!
In any case, here are the best ones I've tried:
Bogner Shiva (Older one (with 'symbols' as Serial #), EL34, with Reverb):
The Shiva was the closest to being the replacement for me - absolutely wonderful amp. Thick, beautiful clean channel that also responds excellently to OD/TS pedals. Thick, chewy gain channel. Contrary to what I've read online, it can easily do metal - just have to hit it with a good OD/TS or clean boost. Overall, pretty much the 'perfect' amp.
But, side to side with my RM, I could get almost exactly the same OD tones from a JF XTC or my old JF R'Verb, and while the Shiva cleans are great, and unique, they werent 'better' than my Vybe Deluxe. The Shiva did have a 'feel' and subtle tonal differences that set it apart from my RM. But, not enough so to justify it's price comparatively ($1500).
Mesa ElectraDyne:
The ED is kinda like a poor mans Shiva, but with a subtle 'Mesa character'. It has THE BEST cleans I have ever heard from Mesa. Better than the LoneStar IMO. Great reverb as well. It also took pedals wonderfully. The blue channel (OD1) was very open, crunchy, fat and articulate. Great gain channel. Kinda like a cross between a Marshall JTM and first run Dual Rec - but more British than American. The 'red' channel (OD2) was a more saturated and brighter version of the blue channel - would be great for leads, though I dont do leads and it's not as good as the blue channel for rhythm.
Same as with the Shiva, it just couldnt edge out my RM in any particular category. Also as with the Shiva, it has a great feel - just 'feels alive' if that makes sense. All around, a great amp - but not great enough. Back to GC it went. Best bang for your buck around though (about $850).
Orange Rockerverb 50 MKII:
Now, I really thought this one was gonna do the trick. I've loved every Orange mod I've tried, and love so many YouTube demos of these amps. But, I really just didnt like it much at all. It does have a nice clean channel, but it has little headroom, and is very dark - tough to get any cut or spank out of the clean channel. And, this is my biggest problem with the RV - the clean channel can not take OD/TS or clean boost pedals. They all sound like garbage thru the clean channel of this amp - almost like running a pedal straight into a PA. The amp just doesnt respond to them. I cannot be stuck with just two usable tones, and cannot deal with guitar volume changes etc while playing gigs (already have too much to deal with). So, that was a deal ender right off the bat... In any case, it did have a great gain channel, but I still just didnt jive with it. It was dry and felt 'boxy' to me. It didnt have that big, open character that I expected - and that was there in spades from the Shiva and ED. And, surprisingly, the RV seemed to prefer both single coils and neck pickups. Never woulda guessed, lol. Did not jive well with my LP... I was disappointed in this one.
Those were the big contenders. I tried a few more (Marshall JCM800, JMP, Mesa Dual Rec, etc), but they were more common and I figure most here have tried those.
So, in the end, worry not - your MTS rig is every bit as good, toneful, powerful, ballsy, etc as the top of the line amps the MTS mods are meant to emulate. I'm gonna keep my eye out for a couple more I might try (Orange OR100, OR80/120, Bogner Shiva 20th Anniv, Germino/Metro JTM, Mesa Royal Atlantic), but I think I'll give my local GC a break for awhile, lol.
