NAD - Marshall SC20H In Da' House

[Byrdman]

It arrived late yesterday afternoon! I will be spending more time with it this afternoon after a too-short play session last night. so far it's a keeper but I have 45 days to make sure.

Initial impressions -

1. It sounds great! Initially put everything on 10 then used the MV & Pre-Amp in various settings and it was awesome. I'm going to watch some YT videos to dial it in better, but seems more dynamic at lower Eq settings 6-8.
2. It's loud, but not as loud as I thought it would be after hearing everyone's experience. With Pre-Amp at 7-8+, after about 3.5-4 on the MV it doesn't get much louder but saturates the tone more it seems. I hope this is normal. I was expecting it to be louder, but I guess since I am use to a DSL100H, I'm not going to get the volume and headroom of the 100w unless I get a 2203 or 2204.
3. The dynamics on this amp is unbelievable, but comes with a cost. My playing sucks, lol... Every mis-picked string or string not muted properly seems to sing out. The good thing is that I'm pretty sure my playing will get a lot better using this amp over time since you have to be on top of your playing, picking, and muting techniques.
4. With Pre-Amp 8+ and MV above 4-5 there is a hiss going on with it. Lower settings seem to be pretty quiet.
5. Can get Plexi type tone out of Low input + Boss SD-1 - BONUS!! I have a Klon Clone I'm going to try too.

I'll get some pics up in a few min.

 

[Byrdman]

 

[Badonkey Kong]

That's awesome. Definitely still on my radar, but I may have to live vicariously through you guys for a while. Got laid off after 24 years at my company. The plus side is I got a decent severance package, so I should have plenty of time to find a new job.

Anyway, on with the happy new amp days!

 

[KingsXJJ]

That's awesome. Definitely still on my radar, but I may have to live vicariously through you guys for a while. Got laid off after 24 years at my company. The plus side is I got a decent severance package, so I should have plenty of time to find a new job.

Anyway, on with the happy new amp days!

Good luck! Been there after 23 years at one place. You got this.

 

[Iron1]

Congrats on the amp! Not sure it works the same as the JCM8/9s do, but running it clean with the master cranked and an SD1 in front brings amazing gain tones on the big ones.

And good luck on the job hunt @Badonkey Kong !

 

[Byrdman]

That's awesome. Definitely still on my radar, but I may have to live vicariously through you guys for a while. Got laid off after 24 years at my company. The plus side is I got a decent severance package, so I should have plenty of time to find a new job.

Anyway, on with the happy new amp days!

Thank you!! That sucks! Hopefully you will find something soon.

 

[Byrdman]

Congrats on the amp! Not sure it works the same as the JCM8/9s do, but running it clean with the master cranked and an SD1 in front brings amazing gain tones on the big ones.

And good luck on the job hunt @Badonkey Kong !

I'll give it a try in the morning, but it should do the same just with a little less headroom.

 

[EOengineer]

I’d expect this to be a workalike for a 2204 - slightly smaller iron probably. It’s a great circuit.

The sound of the amp will change dramatically with guitars. It’s a different amp if you move back and forth between Gibson & Fender style guitars. That’s a feature. I love it.

As others here have pointed out, fuzz and drives in the low input do something different than the amp drive. Big Muff, Fuzz Face, DS-1, all kinds of stuff will work.

 

[Byrdman]

I’d expect this to be a workalike for a 2204 - slightly smaller iron probably. It’s a great circuit.

The sound of the amp will change dramatically with guitars. It’s a different amp if you move back and forth between Gibson & Fender style guitars. That’s a feature. I love it.

As others here have pointed out, fuzz and drives in the low input do something different than the amp drive. Big Muff, Fuzz Face, DS-1, all kinds of stuff will work.

I have been spending 99% of my time on the High channel because it sounds so good, but will be trying all sorts of stuff on the Low this weekend. For starters, I want to see what the Plexi Pre-Amp in my Stomp XL will do in the Low and in the effects loop. I have never tried 4CM with my Stomp, but will be experimenting with it a lot. the only other pedals I have are an SD-1 and a Klon Clone.