Anyon have any experience with madison Amps?

[JerEvil]

I recently bought 2 madison 4x12 cabs. They call them their hybrid cabs with 2 vintage 30's and 2 G12T-75's. Absolutely killer cabs. I took the backs off and they seen to be made VERY well. Just wondering if anyone has tried the heads.

[sevser]

We recently played with 3 Inches of Blood and one of the guitarist played through a Madison head and 2 4x12 cabs. But....He was boosting it with a tube screamer....so...It sounded like a Marshall DSL to me. I don't know if it was all Tube screamer or if that was just a clean boost. Not much help but Modern Marshall sounding to me.

[nonamemx]

We recently played with 3 Inches of Blood and one of the guitarist played through a Madison head and 2 4x12 cabs. But....He was boosting it with a tube screamer....so...It sounded like a Marshall DSL to me. I don't know if it was all Tube screamer or if that was just a clean boost. Not much help but Modern Marshall sounding to me.

Madison Divinity heads are a chinese-made copy of a Marshall DSL.

The heads are NOT made very well. There was a huge scandal over on the Harmony Central boards. They used duct tape to insulate wires, and they have a presence knob that isn't wired to anything.

[mhenson42]

Avoid Madison amps at all costs. They supposedly sound good, but have very poor construction. It's the Contour knob that is not wired.

[JerEvil]

Madison Divinity heads are a chinese-made copy of a Marshall DSL.

The heads are NOT made very well. There was a huge scandal over on the Harmony Central boards. They used duct tape to insulate wires, and they have a presence knob that isn't wired to anything.

I have read a bunch of the Harmony Central forum stuff. It seems to be mostly posted by hear-sayers as opposed to actual owners. I myself own a couple of Engl amps which I am very happy with. Looking for something different. Owned about all the Peavey stuff, not a huge fan of Marshall stuff or most "boutique" amps. I honestly don't hear the $2,000 difference in price. It seems that many touring bands are using the Divinity amps. Looks like they redesigned them also. I do appreciate the input though nonamex and will take that info under advisement. I wish I knew someone locally that would open one up for a visual.

[mhenson42]

I base my conclusion that the build quality is shit based on the statements made by JerryP, owner of FJA mods, the gut pictures showing the duct tape and the fact that it is made in China.

I own an ENGL too. The build quality of these aint that great either - but I love the tone.

[JerEvil]

I base my conclusion that the build quality is shit based on the statements made by JerryP, owner of FJA mods, the gut pictures showing the duct tape and the fact that it is made in China.

I own an ENGL too. The build quality of these aint that great either - but I love the tone.

I'll have to check the FJA page and see if that pic is still available. Yeah the Engl stuff probably isn't made as well as the price would suggest. I love the tone of both of mine, but don't seem to be built any better than my Peavey stuff.

[sevser]

Peavey stuff is built very well...So thats good!

[soc_monki]

I'll have to check the FJA page and see if that pic is still available. Yeah the Engl stuff probably isn't made as well as the price would suggest. I love the tone of both of mine, but don't seem to be built any better than my Peavey stuff.

the scandal at HCAF wasnt just hearsay...it was based on fact. JerryP worked on a few of them and construction quality was sub-par. the contour knob isnt wired up (why would you do that? why not just NOT put a contour knob on there?), the amp hummed because the circuit was copied incorrectly (which the owner of Madison said he couldnt change that because it would change the tone, but Jerry made it clear that it was poorly copied). Jerry even showed a Madison schematic and DSL Schematic side by side and they were nearly identical.

there are a few other amps that are exactly the same as well. theres a Randall model, Ashdown, and the B52 AT100 as well (check out the control layouts and faceplates and you can see that they ARE in fact nearly identical).

or, email JerryP and ask for his information. im sure hed share it with you, hes a cool guy! and im not saying all this to say "dont get a Madison!" by all means if you like it, then get one! you can get them pretty cheap used i believe. im just saying there are many things about the amps themselves that are sketchy. ive never heard of one blowing up or whatever, whether they are Madisons or the Randall/Ashdown/B52 model...but at least those other models have all the knobs wired up!

[mhenson42]

I think "ENGL" is German for "Peavey"

[Dreamland_Rebel]

i like there cabs a lot but i'm not the biggest fan of their heads. they just don't do it for me.

[JerEvil]

i like there cabs a lot but i'm not the biggest fan of their heads. they just don't do it for me.

Yeah, the cabs I got are fantastic. As I said, I took the backs off and construction seems excellent. Oh well!

[zeegler]

there are a few other amps that are exactly the same as well. theres a Randall model, Ashdown, and the B52 AT100 as well (check out the control layouts and faceplates and you can see that they ARE in fact nearly identical).

Well, since the B52 is a completely different circuit design than the Madison, and a completely new one at that, how do you back that statement up? You're saying that because the faceplates look similar, that they are exactly the same? LOL, see this is why people read stuff on the internet and think they know everything. If you actually had a clue what you were talking about, you would know that the AT-100 was a brand new design, not a clone of something else. Yes, it had a couple of teething problems. The lower serial numbers had a problem with the optocoupler layout in the reverb circuit, and an issue with bubbling tolex. They corrected both those problems. Mine is one of the early ones, and did have a problem with the reverb circuit. It was fixed, and I've had no other issues with the amp at all. My amp tech was actually extremely impressed by the design and build quality of the amp. Personally, I think they could have used better components in some places, but that is a matter of expense, and hence why the amps are able to be sold at such a good price. They have apparently even addressed this issue as well, by putting out a new line of Elite series amps. From what I understand, it is the same design as the AT-100, but more expensive due to the use of high end components.

The others you mentioned (Randall & Ashdown) look even less similar than the B-52 does.

[sl2lover]

Aghora uses them.

[Inazone]

Yeah, the cabs I got are fantastic. As I said, I took the backs off and construction seems excellent. Oh well!

If I'm not mistaken, the Madison cabs *are* USA-made, although I don't know about their branded speakers.

I suspect that, shoddy construction aside, the price of the Madison amps is simply not in line with that of other Chinese amps. Peavey has their new Chinese amps (Windsor, Valve King, etc.) priced very reasonably. Same with the Ashdown and B-52 tube amps. Randall's tube heads seem a little expensive to me for being made in China, but they do have the modular thing going for them. Meanwhile, what does Madison offer that their competitors do not? Nothing, based on on listed specs.