Quick review

[Steven Latch]

Finally got my AFD and have been playing it for two days.

Initial impresssions are very good.

- This amp is the first I have owned that gives a meaning to the expression: "useable gain". It has this classic 80's hot rodded marshall quality that screams in the AFD album or on Dokken's under lock and key: Not tons of gain and distorsion but a very tight, clear, huge, thump in the chest type of sound that makes one think the gain is up to 15 while it's only on 7. The clarity especially, is amazing. None of that "fizziness" that happens with too much distorsion, and every note stands out in chords.

- The attenuetor works fine at gigging level. With the master volume on 6 and the attenuator on five, the amp truly comes alive. The bass kicks in and the dynamics are incredible. Below 5, the sound becomes dull, but we're getting into bedroom volume and that's not this amp's main purpose (understatement of the year)

- The amp is very guitar sensitive. Different guitars with vintage sounding humbuckers, EMGs or Duncan Custom/Distorsion, gives the sound a radically different character. It's easy to get sounds ranging from Led Zeppelin to Van Halen, Dokken, GNR and so on. Throw an EQ in the loop and it's probably possible to get some mean metal tones. I also tried the amp with a strat equipped with YJM pickup and it was a pretty good match too. Probably because the YJM are voiced a little darker since Yngwie uses SLPs.

- Having been able to play the amp side by side with a JCM Slash, I must say I much prefer the AFD. But to be fair, the JCM hasn't been biased recently and I think the power tubes a worn out as the output level of the amp was quite low. But still, the AFD has much more gain on tap, while the JCM really needs a booster to come alive. Sure, the JCM has an extra clean channel but it's not the amp's greatest hour. I will be much happier setting up a small rack next to the AFD to get a mesa studio pre for my clean sounds.

- However, I still haven't found a use for the #34 mode. Dropping my guitar's volume on the AFD channel gives me all the mid gain / dirty clean tones I need.

Overall, congratulations to marshall. I have been a long time JMP-1 user with also JCM800s, a JCM Slash and an SLP reissue, and while there were all good amps, none of them had the "plug and play" quality this amp has.
Some people may argue that it's not a replica of the caswell 39... even less so if Slash indeed used the Franck Levi 36.. but it doesn't really matter in my opinion. I can't recall if it was Lynch or Slash that said the reason they chose this amp because you just had to plug the guitar in and "it was all there", and it's just what the amp does. Plug a guitar in, set all controls on 6 and you're set to go.

[gtrman]

Congrats .. good to hear that you are satisfied as well.
That seems to be the general impression from most new owners.

Good review ... I love reading about how new AFD owners rave about this amp.
Not that it matters .. i love mine no matter what anybody else says :-)

I have the JCM Slash as well. Haven't had them both in the same room yet but I am very familiar with the Jubilees which I currently gig with.
They are both great great amps.
I was actually planning on switching to the AFD live but I do need a clear clean setting which the JCM Slash delivers (not great cleans but passable cleans)
So for now I enjoy having the AFD in my livingroom and beeing able to play it ... every day !

[surfnorthwest]

Good review. I know some were disappointed with the #34 but who cares, this amp is all about the AFD. Maybe they should have left out the #34 but is is simply a option. I am sure you guys will find a pedal that works nicely with the #34 mode, maybe this is what slash does.

[Steven Latch]

Edit: I have finally found a way to use the #34 mode efficiently.

The brightness of that channel makes me do something I never did before. Play rhythm on the neck pickup. Bridge pickup definitely sounds too icy when switching from the AFD mode.

But with the neck pickup... it actually works fine. It beefs up the bass considerably without sounding mudded as neck pickups often sound in that setting. Quite unorthodox but if makes the amp much more verstatile. Especially when using a good amont of gain, the AFD channel sounds compressed, which I really like. But the #34 mode at a similar gain settings sound much more opened. Great for rock/blues playing.

Well... I guess it's all a matter of experimentation with this mode :-)

-- Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:28 pm --

Quite right about the pedal! That could make this channel something else altoghether. I will try at some point

[Mats A]

You can have the guitar volume on the rythm pickup turned down all the time and then switch pickup on the guitar and mode on the AFD and you instantly got a clean sound.

[Herbvis]

I have heard from somewhere, cant remember exactly, that Slash set his preamp gain at 3 or 4 and cracked teh mv on #34. Has anyone tried this out yet? I am curious how it sounds

[Slashwannabe1]

I have heard from somewhere, cant remember exactly, that Slash set his preamp gain at 3 or 4 and cracked teh mv on #34. Has anyone tried this out yet? I am curious how it sounds

Heres from Slash's Total Guitar interview.

"In the past, Slash’s amps used to be screaming in the studio. But during the recording of Guns N’ Roses’ ‘Use Your Illusion’ albums, he switched to an old JCM 800 with 65/50 output, setting the preamp on 2, the master volume on 8, and ran it through a Marshall 100Watt 4×12 cab. The result was essentially all output distortion and output gain – a very different sound for the guitarist."

http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/arti ... icleid=114

So one can assume that the 100 watt 4x12 had 25 watt Green Backs in it?

And Just in case anyone with the #34 or AFD100 wants to get Slash's album tone heres the production notes for Beautiful Dangerous,Watch This & Nothing To Say.

[Herbvis]

I have heard from somewhere, cant remember exactly, that Slash set his preamp gain at 3 or 4 and cracked teh mv on #34. Has anyone tried this out yet? I am curious how it sounds

http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/arti ... icleid=114



Thats where I got that info! Thanks for posting that.

[Steven Latch]

Mats A...

I tried that setup today and it works really well. I get a fine "grit clean" on mode 34 with the neck pickup turned down. I really love a nice "real" clean sound but I could be myself living with this solution for gigs.

Of course, being an automated midi freak... I will push the concept further and use a switcher and looped EQ pedal to manage the volume drop and channel switch in a single click.

[Mats A]

Good to hear Steven!

Slashwannabe1 why must it have been Greenbacks in the cab? Couldn´t it have been V30`s?

[Slashwannabe1]

Good to hear Steven!

Slashwannabe1 why must it have been Greenbacks in the cab? Couldn´t it have been V30`s?

Cuz the information from Adam Day (Slash's old tech of 19 years) stated it was a JCM 800 into a 100 watt 4x12 cab,which would make sense for them to be 4 Green Backs at 25 watts each to get the 100 watt rating & output distortion as heard on Use Your Illusions. Where as Slash's live setup is Vintage 30s with the pre amp gain set higher than the studio rig. Plus tone wise I think its a safe bet those are Green Backs, that album just sounds like them with that high end flare. Slash at one point even used two Vintage 30s and two Green Backs in the same cab set diagonally for his live rig at one point.

Could also be why many guys with the AFD100 aren't getting Slash's recorded albums sound on the #34 mode and why they aren't happy with #34...gotta use them Green Backs for that totally authentic tone! not V30s!.

By the way, That 100 watt cab I believe is also the same cab he recorded Velvet Revolvers Contraband with.

[Steven Latch]

True. I do have V30's in my cab. Sounds fantastic on the AFD mode but too bright for the bridge pickup in #34 mode. But I now get along with that mode now when using the neck pickup.

[Slashwannabe1]

True. I do have V30's in my cab. Sounds fantastic on the AFD mode but too bright for the bridge pickup in #34 mode. But I now get along with that mode now when using the neck pickup.

I don't have an AFD or #34 modded amp to try out but I bet the #34 mode would come alive with a 100watt Green Back 4x12 cab. It could be that maybe the V30s don't do the #34 justice where as V30s compliment the AFD tone well. See if you can try it out with a Green Back cab and let us know how that goes.

[Steven Latch]

Actually, with this particular amp or other, one of the things I have been wanting to do for a long time was to use multiple cabs with the same amp, for this very reason. It's quite easy with a cabinet switcher such as the one Radial does but then, room and transportation are an issue.

Another option is to use to of each in a 1960 cab, and use it as 2 2w12" cabs through the stereo mode