Why do the MG's have such a bad rep?

[JkGriffin]

Also, we are talking about the 100w version aren't we, and I'm talking about the latest Carbon model, upgraded by Santiago.
I used to teach someone with the old MG15 and I didn't like it at all. That's a different thing entirely.

We're talking about why the MG's have such bad reputation...
I for one can contribute because it doesn't sound good at all... however, I got that opinion with the old MG's, not the Carbon model... so I admit that the MG's today may sound a lot better then they used to...

But in my mind, that's the answer to the initial question... the MG's have such bad rep because so many people tried it 10-15-20 years ago (don't know when they first came to the market?) and made up their mind then that the MG is crap... such bad impression is hard to turn...

Just like myself... I was initially not biased towards MG, but did not like what I heard at all...
Today, as you mention, the MG is upgraded by Santiago and we have the Carbon MG... but today I am biased. Why should I bother to try one out anyway? I think perhaps, if the MG is so good today, which it weren't, then they should have released the Carbon model without the MG in it's name... 'Marshall Carbon' would do...

[Razzle]

Well I can tell ya I had an MG 4x12 cab and I didn't like it at all, it sounded very muffled, like it was covered in a blanket, got rid of it.

I haven't had the MG heads but I have an AVT (only slightly improved with the one 12AX7) and I found it to be very brittle and harsh when cranked up. It's great for my studio and it's my main practice amp, great at low volumes, but for me it was not good playing with a band.

[ClassicRock88]

Yes we are talking about the 100 watt version. I will admit that I have an old MG10 and as long as you run the gain very low you can get some really awesome '66-'67 Hendrix-y tones out of it. The big ones do get harsh as you crank them, but like Al I believe that they made significant improvements as the models went on. I prefer the later MG series to the MOSFET heads (which a lot of people seem to revere). The FDD equipped MG heads don't sound half bad and I have been very impressed by the clips of the Carbon series that I have heard. There is a nice clip where a guy does an A/B against a JCM2000 DSL. The DSL is noticeably warmer but the MG holds its own pretty well.