VM AND AFD 100?

[ufguy73]

So, I am curious - how potentially redundant do you think the VM and AFD heads would be?

I have a VM but, I have to say, the power scaling aspects of the AFD (as well as overall GAS for something a little more 'modern' sounding) has me wondering if it might be worth a plunge.

Prior to thinking about the AFD, I was actually thinking about a Jubilee head.

What do you guys think would be a better mate for the VM - the AFD or Jubilee...or does the VM have me covered for everthing these other heads would offer?

[kissfanps]

I don't think they will be anything alike besides that Marshall crunch. I would giddy up and call some retailers if you want.

[ufguy73]

i am SUCH a sucker for the hype!:)

not even a big slash fan but the amp has sounded cool in the demos....and that power control...

[surfnorthwest]

There has been a couple of members on the forum that have played a AFD already as they are connected to Marshall, I am reserving my opinon on it until I play it. I agree with kissfan that they will be very different amps. The 100 watt scaling is a very interesting selling point for me. Still in the right hands the VM is really hard to beat, just a great amp. Let the Jub go and wait for the AFD.

I will be at NAMM in LA next month where I hope to finally try it for the first time.

[ufguy73]

would be great to get some firsthand reports.

i guess one way to think about it is the Jub's will always be there - actually, i think so will the AFD (2300 is a lot to sell out of immediately at their price point) - so maybe, if i were going to go with one, it would make sense to try out the AFD (probably with some sort of return period).

one thing is for freaking sure, after my last debacle that i posted about on the VM forum, i am in NO FREAKING WAY letting my VM go no matter what i get!!!

[Slashwannabe1]

So, I am curious - how potentially redundant do you think the VM and AFD heads would be?

I have a VM but, I have to say, the power scaling aspects of the AFD (as well as overall GAS for something a little more 'modern' sounding) has me wondering if it might be worth a plunge.

Prior to thinking about the AFD, I was actually thinking about a Jubilee head.

What do you guys think would be a better mate for the VM - the AFD or Jubilee...or does the VM have me covered for everthing these other heads would offer?

Honestly The Jubilee and VM have a lot in common as far as playability,dynamics,Marshall roar and crunch, yes you have the different flavors of the EL-34s vs KT66s as they enter power amp distortion but with Alnico 2 pickups and the right eq settings I'd say the Jubilee and VM are pretty close on the ranges they can cover and overlap with eachother, the biggest difference to your tone combination would deffintly be the AFD100 over the Jubilee for more ranges of tones. The tones between the VM and Jubilee will differ but everyone will know you have a Marshall, and the differences won't be as drastic as a JVM vs a DSL100 vs TSL are to eachother.

The Jubilee still has its own unique tone, don't get me wrong, but unless you are really a connoisseur of what the Jubilee can do, you probably would not be able to tell a whole lot of difference if you are going for a Slash tone. Perfect example...many Slash guru's were very suprised to learn that Slash used 2 Vintage Modern Full Stacks at the Quart Festival gig in 2009 in favor of his Jubilee (or rather most likely it was cheaper to use VMs than ship his own gear over) and yet he still sounded like himself and I don't mean during just solos, rhythm tone as well was stunning and hard to pick out. Basically everyone who knows Slash knows he's used Jubilees live forever since 1988 and hardly anyone picked up the fact he was using VMs until close up pics of the fullstacks came about online. Oh and its not just Slashs finger tone thats the common trait...he sounds very different with the AFD100 the Jubilee vs VM live tone is very hard to tell a difference, the AFD100 is obviously another world.

My vote if you want a more tones the VM and AFD100 will give you a larger plate of tones than a Jubilee/VM combo. That said the Jubilee is still in a 3 way tie between the AFD100 #34 tone and Vintage Modern, great amps! I'd be happy with them all if somebody randomly chose one and gave me it to play on an island for a year.

Honestly if you want a crazy Jubilee tone thats different...deffinitly get one done with KT88s someday...omg the most creamy distortion ever.

[Richard_H]

So, I am curious - how potentially redundant do you think the VM and AFD heads would be?

I have a VM but, I have to say, the power scaling aspects of the AFD (as well as overall GAS for something a little more 'modern' sounding) has me wondering if it might be worth a plunge.

Prior to thinking about the AFD, I was actually thinking about a Jubilee head.

What do you guys think would be a better mate for the VM - the AFD or Jubilee...or does the VM have me covered for everthing these other heads would offer?

Honestly The Jubilee and VM have a lot in common as far as playability,dynamics,Marshall roar and crunch, yes you have the different flavors of the EL-34s vs KT66s as they enter power amp distortion but with Alnico 2 pickups and the right eq settings I'd say the Jubilee and VM are pretty close on the ranges they can cover and overlap with eachother, the biggest difference to your tone combination would deffintly be the AFD100 over the Jubilee for more ranges of tones. The tones between the VM and Jubilee will differ but everyone will know you have a Marshall, and the differences won't be as drastic as a JVM vs a DSL100 vs TSL are to eachother.

The Jubilee still has its own unique tone, don't get me wrong, but unless you are really a connoisseur of what the Jubilee can do, you probably would not be able to tell a whole lot of difference if you are going for a Slash tone. Perfect example...many Slash guru's were very suprised to learn that Slash used 2 Vintage Modern Full Stacks at the Quart Festival gig in 2009 in favor of his Jubilee (or rather most likely it was cheaper to use VMs than ship his own gear over) and yet he still sounded like himself and I don't mean during just solos, rhythm tone as well was stunning and hard to pick out. Basically everyone who knows Slash knows he's used Jubilees live forever since 1988 and hardly anyone picked up the fact he was using VMs until close up pics of the fullstacks came about online. Oh and its not just Slashs finger tone thats the common trait...he sounds very different with the AFD100 the Jubilee vs VM live tone is very hard to tell a difference, the AFD100 is obviously another world.

My vote if you want a more tones the VM and AFD100 will give you a larger plate of tones than a Jubilee/VM combo. That said the Jubilee is still in a 3 way tie between the AFD100 #34 tone and Vintage Modern, great amps! I'd be happy with them all if somebody randomly chose one and gave me it to play on an island for a year.

Honestly if you want a crazy Jubilee tone thats different...deffinitly get one done with KT88s someday...omg the most creamy distortion ever.

I saw that gig (I'm Norwegian) , it was an awesome fuckin' night! Slash's playing was very tight, but more imporantly, i scored an über-hot married chick in her mid 20's that evening as well, so it couldn't have been a better end to a fantastic evening

I think Slash re-tubed some of his Jubilees with KT88's for cleans. He didn't use KT88 tubed Jubilees for distorted tones.

[ufguy73]

I saw that gig (I'm Norwegian) , it was an awesome fuckin' night! Slash's playing was very tight, but more imporantly, i scored an über-hot married chick in her mid 20's that evening as well, so it couldn't have been a better end to a fantastic evening

i have a hunch the husband might disagree

[Slashwannabe1]

I think Slash re-tubed some of his Jubilees with KT88's for cleans. He didn't use KT88 tubed Jubilees for distorted tones.

He used KT88s in all his Use Your Illusions Tour Jubilees! Clean and Distorted heads and later heads (1996+) he went back to EL34s for his distorted tones mostly because his new signature heads came with EL34s stock and his originals were kept in stock to preserve them except a few heads for clean duty. On the last tour prior to the AFD100s arrival the Silver Jubilee with the KT88s was actually his backup dirty head!. Yes it does sound amazing!.

The distortion tone was creamy beyond belief with the KT88s. If you compare that sound to his 1996+ live tones it has a big difference...the KT88s were his nitch back during the 1991-1993 Use Your Illusions tour .

[Richard_H]

I think Slash re-tubed some of his Jubilees with KT88's for cleans. He didn't use KT88 tubed Jubilees for distorted tones.

He used KT88s in all his Use Your Illusions Tour Jubilees! Clean and Distorted heads and later heads (1996+) he went back to EL34s for his distorted tones mostly because his new signature heads came with EL34s stock and his originals were kept in stock to preserve them except a few heads for clean duty. On the last tour prior to the AFD100s arrival the Silver Jubilee with the KT88s was actually his backup dirty head!. Yes it does sound amazing!.

The distortion tone was creamy beyond belief with the KT88s. If you compare that sound to his 1996+ live tones it has a big difference...the KT88s were his nitch back during the 1991-1993 Use Your Illusions tour .

I had a guitarist magazine from the Snakepit era (around 2000) that said that he used KT88's for cleans, so I guess you're right (Since he used his signature Jubilee at that time) ..

It would certainly explain how he got his smooth lead sound coupled with his GE-7 during the UYI tours.

His creamy lead tone from 91-93 (but especially during the 1992 leg) is probably my favorite ever.. I like it even more than the AFD tone..

The annoying thing is that I've seen a lot of good deals on Jubilees lately, but I think I'll get the AFD100 first. If I don't like it, I can always sell it and get a Jubilee later.

-- Wed Dec 15, 2010 1:52 pm --

I saw that gig (I'm Norwegian) , it was an awesome fuckin' night! Slash's playing was very tight, but more imporantly, i scored an über-hot married chick in her mid 20's that evening as well, so it couldn't have been a better end to a fantastic evening

i have a hunch the husband might disagree

I wouldn't know, he wasn't present when i :lick me her!

[Bluesburst]

I saw that gig (I'm Norwegian) , it was an awesome fuckin' night! Slash's playing was very tight, but more imporantly, i scored an über-hot married chick in her mid 20's that evening as well, so it couldn't have been a better end to a fantastic evening

i have a hunch the husband might disagree

Agree, it's actually not that cool

[Beck-Ola]

Not something I'd brag about either. And you end up with her herpes since she obviously whores around. The gift that keeps on giving.

[Slashwannabe1]

I had a guitarist magazine from the Snakepit era (around 2000) that said that he used KT88's for cleans, so I guess you're right (Since he used his signature Jubilee at that time) ..

It would certainly explain how he got his smooth lead sound coupled with his GE-7 during the UYI tours.

His creamy lead tone from 91-93 (but especially during the 1992 leg) is probably my favorite ever.. I like it even more than the AFD tone..

The annoying thing is that I've seen a lot of good deals on Jubilees lately, but I think I'll get the AFD100 first. If I don't like it, I can always sell it and get a Jubilee later.

Yeah the 91-93 tone is very unique and none of his post 93 tones really sounded like the same rig, hell even his 1988-1989 tone wasn't like the 91-93 tones, reason being the transition to KT88s in 1991 from EL-34s. I wish I could find it but there was a sound check where Slash was using that Silver Jubilee with the KT88s for a dirty tone and it nailed the Use Your Illusions Tour tone more than any rig since, thats how I came to that conclusion, that and almost every clip of a stock Jubilee the EL-34s just sound really harsh compared to the KT88 sound even in concert.

By the way, I really think going with the AFD100 first over the Jubilee is a smart idea, if history proves anything in the last 6 years its that you can find a Silver Jubilee and Signature Slash head on ebay every week, the prices and conditions differ but availability is good, people seem to just use them for the novalty and then they must realize the dream is done when they don't sound like Slash and sell them for 2x the money.

[Reckless_Desire]

With a GE-7 in front of the amp and slashwannabe1's settings for my Jubilee and the GE-7 which he gave me a while back ago ( Thx a lot bro !!!, you are the man), my Jub sounds pretty identical to Slash's tone from the UYI live era, even at small volumes as the master volume remains high and I control the volume with the Lead Master.

Of course, the AFD100 will be the smart choice to get if you are looking for all Slash's tones plus it has some awesome features such as auto bias, which will save you a lot of money in the future. However, the Jub can cover that orgasmic and creamy live tone from UYI without a problem. I hate to say this , but as I had a VM and traded it for the Jub (best decision ever made in my life), I know the capabilities of the VM. It is a fantastic amp which I would like to own again, but it does not replicate almost 100% the Jub's tone no matter what settings you use or with or without the GE-7 in front of the amp. Again, that's just my opinion as I have owned both heads, don't want to upset you VM fans....actually I'm still a VM fan, I love that purple crazy thing.

As for the AFD100, I would get it in a heartbeat if I would have the money, it definitely has that Marshall crunch + power scaling and auto bias !!!, needless to say that it replicates the AFD tone 99.9% perfectly

[Richard_H]

Not something I'd brag about either. And you end up with her herpes since she obviously whores around. The gift that keeps on giving.

Well yeah, I agree with you, but to my defence, I didn't know that information 'til the morning after (it's not like I look for a wedding ring when I talk to women while slightly intoxicated) . Fortunately, I used a condom so no worries there. And I usually get myself tested once a month, so I like to think that I'm a little bit responsible

But enough of that!

Marshall has apparently started shipping out some AFD amps to British/UK retailers according to the AFD100 website, but I think that we won't get ours until next year. (Unless some of you guys live in the UK.)

-- Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:29 pm --

I had a guitarist magazine from the Snakepit era (around 2000) that said that he used KT88's for cleans, so I guess you're right (Since he used his signature Jubilee at that time) ..

It would certainly explain how he got his smooth lead sound coupled with his GE-7 during the UYI tours.

His creamy lead tone from 91-93 (but especially during the 1992 leg) is probably my favorite ever.. I like it even more than the AFD tone..

The annoying thing is that I've seen a lot of good deals on Jubilees lately, but I think I'll get the AFD100 first. If I don't like it, I can always sell it and get a Jubilee later.

Yeah the 91-93 tone is very unique and none of his post 93 tones really sounded like the same rig, hell even his 1988-1989 tone wasn't like the 91-93 tones, reason being the transition to KT88s in 1991 from EL-34s. I wish I could find it but there was a sound check where Slash was using that Silver Jubilee with the KT88s for a dirty tone and it nailed the Use Your Illusions Tour tone more than any rig since, thats how I came to that conclusion, that and almost every clip of a stock Jubilee the EL-34s just sound really harsh compared to the KT88 sound even in concert.

By the way, I really think going with the AFD100 first over the Jubilee is a smart idea, if history proves anything in the last 6 years its that you can find a Silver Jubilee and Signature Slash head on ebay every week, the prices and conditions differ but availability is good, people seem to just use them for the novalty and then they must realize the dream is done when they don't sound like Slash and sell them for 2x the money.

Yeah, I have some bootlegs from the 87-89 era and his sound is completely different. It's a lot thinner in almost every aspect. Slightly less gain, more highs and less bass and mids. (To my ears at least.) Still sounds effin' great but not as great as the UYI period.