»7th May 2005

Product Review: Marshall MS-2

Manufacturer: Marshall
Model: MS-2
Output: 1 Watt
Channels: Clean, Overdrive
Power: 1 9V battery or 9V DC mains adapter
Controls: Volume, Tone
Line Out: Headphones line-out
Dimensions: 58x112x142 (cm)
Weight: 370 grams (with battery)



Right, stats over. To make one thing clear from the start. This is a practice amp. It's good for practicing on, not for doing your gig at the Noisy Inn. We'll have no more grumblings henceforth that 'my 4x12 stack is louder', you're 4x12 isn't £20 and won't clip on your belt. Another thing to make clear is that this little gizmo isn't going to rival your Line 6 in terms of tones or effects on offer. It has a clean channel and an overdrive channel, which frankly at this price really is more than I was expecting. Now, onto the tones themselves...
This thing sounds like a Marshall, it's awesome. If you enjoy the Marshall tone, which I do then you can't go far wrong here. It's obviously lacking warmth and depth but it still packs a real punch, for it's size. There unsurprisingly isn't much need to configure this thing much. You just turn in, plug in and you're away. The over-drive channel is fat and punchy though can become a bit mushy at higher volumes, which is a bit of a problem seeing as your unlikely to be having this at anything under 5 or 6. The distortion won't let you thrash out anything too heavy, you're looking more at a crunch sound than a distortion sound on the MS-2. The tone control gives emphasis to either trebel or bass and while a welcome feature, does not seem terribly powerful. I haven't altered it much from the 12 o' clock position but it depends on the sound you want. When the tone is set close to 0 or 1 the sound tends to get obliterated by the bass, which can be a problem on Les Pauls set to the neck pickup. Rather unsurprisingly the MS-2 can't really handle my DOD Fx-86 pedal, but you really aren't going to be covering Slayer on this.
The headphones output cuts out the speaker and allows silent playing. It also makes it feasible to export the sound to something with a bit more punch. I haven't tested the sound on a larger amp but I imagine the tone would be fairly good. Certanily sending the signal straight to the line in on your sound card or a mixer would yield decent results for recording. It's important to note that the MS-2 has little of the crackling at loud volumes which other micro amps can suffer from.
The build quality of the amp is very good. The casing seems a fairly resilient plastic, the front grill is fabric but may be let down by the rather delicate bar across the middle which the Marshall logo is mounted on. The volume and tone controls are smooth enough but the power pot is pretty stiff which makes channel switching a little harder than it should be, you could however say this prevents any unwanted channel switching/switching off accidents if the switch gets caught in clothing. This amp is meant to be played from the hip so to speak and the belt clip seems fairly robust. The handle on the top of the faux head unfortunately is only a moulding but carrying really isn't much of an issue with this lightweight.
Battery life seems fairly good, the amp comes with a 9V and I have already got a good 6 or so hours at least out of it. The fact you can plug it into the mains is handy though would compromise the portability.
The guy who designed this amp really must have had a sense of humour. The MS-2 has the looks of a proper marshall head and cab. You obviously can't remove the two but the amp's delusions of grandeur certainly add to the charm. Charm is an important word for this amp. It's hard not to be won over by the Micro Marshall especially when you hear the amount of noise something so small can make (see Sam). The ridiculous price tag on this thing is perhaps the best part. The fact you can get the Marshall sound for £20 really gives no excuse for not going out right now and buying this thing. You could spend twenty of your pounds on a lot worse things. You owe it to yourself, really.


Extar, over, out.

The shock rifle on Unreal Tournament is better than the Shock Rifle on UT2003.