Back with Marshall after a long time away. New AFD100

[slash-ed]

Very nice, congrats!

My AFD100 has been used for pop/rock covers gigs as well as full on rock n roll - it ain't no one trick pony! People are just too used to having multiple channels to do multiple things - previously owning a VM taught me a lot about volume knob dynamics, and it can equally be applied to the AFD!

[Marshall Fiend]

Hey there, Mark2c, welcome from a Marshall fan and AFD100 owner. (Surf was right, there are a lot of us here.) I'm glad you like the amp. I like mine a lot, I just wish I could crank mine, but alas, I have too many neighbors. Have a blast with it.

[Mark2c]

Got AFD #2 today. It came loaded with Genalex Gold Lion KT88 and this amp is way more toppy and does not have the same gain as amp #1. I through a quad of SED 6550's in, biased them up and it was a bit better. Still have some preamp hum so I will go through the preamp tubes tomorrow. Still, an awesome amp but I would like to get her closer to #1.
Going to try some Telefunken and RFT while I'm at it.

For all you tech heads out there, the plate voltage on this beast is 483V and with the EPA full up the screens max out at 470V. With the plates still running so high, I may have to run the bias hotter on the 6550's to get closer to #1. You never know what the natural plate current unmarked factory tubes draw, so a rebias will hopefully get me closer. The current bias is set at 35mA. Doing the math, I need to get them up a bit. May also try true 6CA7's while I have her out of the shell.

This amp was made in February 2011 and #1 was made in June 2011. I think I will blueprint the circuits to look for any changes while I am in the amps. So far, they look identical component wise.

Anyone tried the Genalex KT88 ? I looked them up and they are $ 240 a quad.

Keep you guys posted.

[Herbvis]

I think your 6550's at 35 are biased rather cold. I would shoot between 43ma and 50ma. Sed 6550's are rated at 35w and are pretty rugged. Shoot for that range and then fine tune with your ear.

[Soulcaster]

I find good cleans require single coils.

[blue]

my last high gain amp was a Genz Benz El Diablo, and it was true that pretty much every guitar sounded more or less the same through it. i agree with what you said earlier, with the AFD every guitar sounds different. it's like a vintage Marshall, just with much more gain. and even with big distortion, each guitar retains it's identity. the best cleans i got were also with single coils, my G&L Legacy sounds amazing through it, and can go from flat out aggression to almost sparkling clean with a twist of the volume knob.

if you were setting the amp up for just a clean sound, i imagine the low input would be the way to go. i confess, i haven't actually tried it yet myself, i can't resist the high jack :)

[Mark2c]

Well, I am not too sure about AFD #2, so I just found AFD #3.

#3 is in the original box with all the candy and T-Shirt. Can't wait !!!!

And no, I am not full of shit. I have just been very lucky.

Will be here Monday so I can check an early, mid and later production.

Keep you posted.

[mr.brownstone]

Are u going for the 3rd? :o

Well, that's strange the KT88's on that one. Surely some1 changed them cause the original tubes are 6550's. Never tried any other tubes since this is my first tube amp. I think when some tube blows up I'll try to put some KT66's to see if something changes but the 6550's are raw power!

And yes, this amp gives every guitar it's own voicing. I have 2 Les Pauls and even being the 2 Slash sigs they sound totally different in the amp. The AFD is a rock machine great for leads and heavy gain stuff. The neck pickup can sustain notes for decades. The CS Dark Tobacco it's a more all-around guitar. Has a mean distortion sound more fit to modern stuff and cleans the sound way better than the AFD.

[Mark2c]

Are u going for the 3rd? :o

Well, that's strange the KT88's on that one. Surely some1 changed them cause the original tubes are 6550's. Never tried any other tubes since this is my first tube amp. I think when some tube blows up I'll try to put some KT66's to see if something changes but the 6550's are raw power!

And yes, this amp gives every guitar it's own voicing. I have 2 Les Pauls and even being the 2 Slash sigs they sound totally different in the amp. The AFD is a rock machine great for leads and heavy gain stuff. The neck pickup can sustain notes for decades. The CS Dark Tobacco it's a more all-around guitar. Has a mean distortion sound more fit to modern stuff and cleans the sound way better than the AFD.

The first think I did was put a fresh quad of SED 6550. I used the same guitar in the initial review, cable, speaker cable and cabinet as AFD #1. It must be in the bias or a low output preamp tube. Tonight I will give it a go. My calculations for 70% MPD is 50mA. Most likely the Marshall branded 6550's have a higher current draw than the SED labeled I have in now. I will just tweak the preamp by ear after.

As for AFD #3, it is virtually new in the Slash Marshall box with all the candy including the T-Shirt.

[Mark2c]

I find good cleans require single coils.

On AFD #1. even single coils had to be brought way down on the volume knob.
AFD # 2 cleans up much better even with a Duncan JB. Very Glassy though.