GIT212.
marsh_pdf 9/5/01 6:02 pm Page 1
REVIEWS Marshall VS2000 AVT 100 combo
Marshall AVT 100
Price: £439 The Bletchley company’s most popular amplifier is reborn, as a
middleweight cruiser with a knockout punch...
I
F YOU’RE A REGULAR
reader of this magazine
you’ll be aware we’ve
already given Marshall’s
Advanced Valvestate Technology
amps a lot of space recently –
and with good reason.
With digital technology
currently producing amps that
seemingly do everything, bar
actually playing the guitar for
you, it’s easy to get blasé and
forget what the electric guitar
was, and should be, all about.
Plugging in, winding up that
volume control and letting rip
with a tone that makes the hairs
58 • SPRING 2001 • GUITARIST
AVT 100
stand up on the back of your
The rivals
neck. Yes, tone. The connection Marshall’s AVT series is a timely
of fingers to strings, which is reminder of what a real amp • Trace Elliot Super Tramp £399
sensed by the pickup that should sound like. It’s difficult • Fender Dynatouch Stage 100
£449
outputs a signal down your not to get excited about it: not
• Laney TF320 £484
guitar lead to your amp and out one person we’ve demoed them
• Peavey Special Transtube £569
through its speaker back to your to has been anything less than
ear, is often underestimated. amazed at the sheer depth and
While many amps promise quality of tone they kick out. Of in the middle of the range, the
sonic nirvana, it’s so often the all the amps in the range, this is AVT100 has a lot to offer for
case that once all the digital ear- perhaps the one that Marshall is your wedge. The basic deal is
candy is stripped away you’re expecting the most from, as the one clean channel, with a
left with a tone that’s often flat AVT100 is the successor to one dedicated EQ and a gain control
and uninspiring. And because of Marshall’s (and the world’s) that can push it hard enough for
it’s so commonplace today we’re most popular amps ever – the some serious crunch, and two
in danger of accepting this as original Valvestate 8080. lead channels: one for the more
the norm. Sitting smack vintage Marshall tone and one
for really serious modern
high gain. Both
lead channels
share a three-
band EQ. They
pack increased
flexibility in the
form of
individual
‘scoop’ switches
that create two
completely
different takes
on that no-mids
thrash sound.
The AVT100 is
also the least
expensive amp in
the range to
benefit from
digital effects.
There’s a choice of
sixteen
straightforward
mixes of reverb,
chorus, flange and
delay that have all
been voiced to
complement, rather
than pad out, the
amp’s natural
sound. In addition
to these features,
there’s a parallel FX
loop, with switchable levels and
front panel mix control, a
speaker-emulated line-output
and a headphones socket.
➤
GIT212.marsh_pdf 9/5/01 6:02 pm
Spec check
MARSHALL AVT100 COMBO
PRICE: £439 ORIGIN: UK
TYPE: Hybrid valve/solid-state,
three-channel preamp with
single-channel digital effects
OUTPUT: 100W RMS
VALVES: One ECC83/12AX7
preamp DIMENSIONS: 530mm
(h) x 595mm (w) x 280mm (d)
WEIGHT: (kg/lb) 26/57
CABINET: 18mm particle board,
sealed baffle loudspeaker
enclosure LOUDSPEAKER: One
12-inch Celestion EBR
(Extended Bass Response)
special design CHANNELS:
Three CONTROLS: Clean
channel gain/master vol, bright
switch, OD1 & OD2 gain/master
vol, scoop, dual bass/mid/treble
tone controls, FX loop mix level,
DFX level, adjust and select
controls COVER: Subject to
confirmation FOOTSWITCH:
Four-way footswitch included –
selects 3 channels and toggles
DFX ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
Parallel FX loop with selectable
levels, loudspeaker-emulated
line out, headphone socket
OPTIONS: None RANGE
OPTIONS: AVT20 (£230), AVT50
(£329), AVT50H (£289), AVT150
(£499) AVT275 (£549),
AVT412A/B cabinets (£299)
CONTACT: Marshall
Amplification 01908 375411
WEB: www.marshallamps.com
When we reviewed the
AVT150, we commented that
the range represented a new
benchmark for all
manufacturers, causing at least
one reader to write in asking
whether this spelt the end for
valve amps. Not at all, is the
simple answer.
All the AVTs use an ECC83
preamp valve and Ian Robinson
(the amp’s designer) is quite
adamant that it had to be used
to deliver tonal elements that
solid-state electronics can’t. As a
result, the preamp architecture
differs significantly from the
earlier VS range. The sounds
generated by the AVT’s clean
channel and OD1 are
Simple, but no simpleton;
the AVT blows others in
its class away
Page 2
Marshall VS2000 AVT 100 combo REVIEWS
predominantly valve-based,
whereas OD2 employs extra
solid-state circuitry. And as this
second lead channel was
designed to sound like a
stompbox plugged into a valve
head, that’s entirely valid. The
LED-based limiter circuit used on
OD2 defines the tone of this
channel with a precision that
would be difficult to achieve
with a valve. And incidentally, if
you look closely at OD2’s ‘scoop’
switch, you can just catch the
pulsating red light of the LED
through the gap around the
button. A little quirk, and
probably not part of the AVT
design process, but we like
things like that.
The power stage is another
example of the new Marshall
philosophy. Many other
manufacturers – Marshall
included – have made the
‘sounds just like valves’ claim for
their current feedback power
stages. But we all knew there
was still a big difference. That
difference was one of the major
research elements that formed
the basis for the AVT’s design.
“We took the Marshall 100W
valve power stage and decided
that if we were going to
duplicate that circuit’s behaviour
we had to look at it completely
afresh,” Robinson explains.
“One thing we discovered was
that the valve amp’s negative
feedback presence control was a
major part of that circuit’s
dynamic behaviour. So, again,
applying pragmatic design we
put a real negative feedback
presence control on the AVT,
whereas other hybrid amps are
simply applying a fixed EQ to
simulate a presence effect. The
AVT replicates not only the
current but also the voltage
behaviour of the valve design –
with the values obviously scaled
down. We put in countless
hours of very sophisticated A/B
testing, and eventually arrived at
the point where people simply
couldn’t tell which was which.”
Wherever you look – or listen
– it’s evident that the AVT’s
success is a result of good
design, and almost fanatical
attention to detail. “Take the
loudspeaker-emulated line out –
something that was a revelation
on the JMP1 preamp,”
continues Robinson. “When we
were talking to Celestion about
the Extended Bass Response
loudspeaker that was designed
for the AVT series, a comment
from one of their engineers
came up purely by chance: that
the dust cap on a loudspeaker
starts to behave like a tweeter at
certain volumes. We listened to
our existing emulator circuit and
couldn’t hear that; so we refined
it. It’s mainly a psycho-acoustic
thing but if you listen for it,
you’ll hear it.”
Sounds
As you would expect, both lead
channels deliver all the classic
rock guitar tones that any
Marshall fan could ask for. They
range from vintage Hendrix or
Page to Iron Maiden on OD1,
while OD2 can push the limits
for that singing, hyper-
gained sound – think
Satriani or Vai; push
in the scoop switches
for instant Metallica.
It’s all there on those
two lead channels but
it’s the AVT’s clean
channel that’s the real
jewel. Past Marshall
amps have rightly been
criticised for a harsh
Genuinely fab tone
with sensible
onboard effects
and unforgiving clean sound,
with little in the way of subtlety.
The AVT’s juicy and sweet,
Fender-influenced tonality is a
real revelation. With the gain
control full up, there’s just
enough distortion to push things
into a smooth break-up for one
of the best classic blues tones
you’ll ever hear from any amp.
Back the gain off until you find
that perfect break-up for a
considerable range of rhythm
sounds – jangly Pretenders-style
ringing open strings to choppy
SRV comping are delivered with
stunning authority.
Verdict
Not only is the AVT100 a worthy
successor to the 8080, it also
blows away everything in its
price bracket. The AVT range is,
if anything, under priced,
especially when you compare
the features on the AVT100 and
its big brothers, the AVT150 and
AVT275 to the competition.
According to private sources,
Marshall is slightly embarrassed
to have a hybrid amp that
almost outperforms its current
all-valve models. “Er, yes...”
admits Ian Robinson wryly.
“We’re going to have to do
something about that.” You
have been warned...
Nick Guppy G
MARSHALL AVT 100
BUILD QUALITY
FEATURES
SOUND
VALUE FOR MONEY
VERDICT
WE LIKED The tone – there’s no
competition anywhere at this price
WE DISLIKED Nothing, really. Like the
other AVTs we’ve seen, it’s faultless
GUITARIST • SPRING 2001 • 59