Ahhhh.......sonic BLISS!

[autofile]

Hey all!

Disclaimer: I amnot affiliated with Morgan Amplification is ANY way, other than being an owner of one of their amplifiers.

I am soooo pleased to report that after over 25 years of searching for the "right" bass amp ie: an amp that has REAL all tube tone, an amp that is a manageable REAL WORLD weight, and an amp built by hand in the USA by a company who knows how to work with a Musician and appreciates and is responsive to their input.......
I have at long last FOUND MY AMP!

The Morgan MP200.

After gigging with the amp for the past several weeks I can report that this amplifier has all of the big tubey clean tone, with MASSIVE depth and ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY of fundamental pitch, I could EVER want for a "working stiff's" typical venues: bars, nightclubs, small auditoriums etc

Plus! At the pull of a switch, the amp ALSO can give me all the AUTHENTIC filthy, overdriven old-school tone I have every wanted!

And I am NOT talking about some whiney, guitard over-drive with no balls and clanky upper end, that loses the bass fundamental pitch here, like MANY of the other bass amps I have owned.

Oh no.

This is the over driven tone from old school records by Booker T or the Temptations here guys!

With either clean or over drive, the amp sits in the mix like it OWNS it!

For larger venues the amp is thoughtfully provided with a balanced line out for running to sound reinforcement system, and although the blues festival season hasn't started here yet, I feel extremely confident that this will provide all I will need for those larger venues as well!

The build quality is SUPERB, very tight tolerances and tight, rattle free construction.

And perhaps best of all, for working stiffs like me, she only weighs 42 lbs!!!

Anyway, I know that Morgan's are not well known, especially in bass circles, but if you are looking for a GREAT amplifier and want REAL TUBES, do NOT be afraid to consider the Morgan MP200!

I am soooo happy that I did!

If you have any questions at all, I'll try my best to answer them!

[jazz3625tonic]

Looks like one hell-of-a nice amp man. Congrats!!

[autofile]

Originally Posted by jazz3625tonic

Looks like one hell-of-a nice amp man. Congrats!!

Thank you! I am VERY happy!

[SpamBot]

Soundclips? That's one nice looking amp!

[JimmyM]

nice pete, i don't know much about morgan amps, but from what i've seen i like a lot. real tough to be an indie tube amp maker these days, but it seems to be getting better since tube bass amps seem to be on the rise again.

[D.M.N.]

Literally, I was just on their site, looking at this, and was about to come on TB to search for the last thread about them. I really wanted to hear some more about this amp, so this is fantastic. Is that the standard appearance of them, with the traditional tolex and two stripes, because I'm in love with the one on the site in Western Paisley.

Also, the one on the site only has Focus, Bass, Mid, Treb, and volume. Yours has an additional gain knob. Is that a special feature, or is that the current production model?

[autofile]

Originally Posted by D.M.N.

Literally, I was just on their site, looking at this, and was about to come on TB to search for the last thread about them. I really wanted to hear some more about this amp, so this is fantastic. Is that the standard appearance of them, with the traditional tolex and two stripes, because I'm in love with the one on the site in Western Paisley.

When debating what finish I wanted to go with, I was considering the paisley, or a really nice Red tolex they offer.
In the end I went with their basic black, in all honesty because I was unsure of the amp, not being able to go and play through it, so I wanted to be sure I could return it if I didn't like it.
So now my ONLY regret, is not having a bit more faith and maybe getting the amp in red :^)

On their site there is a pretty wide assortment of different coverings, many of which there is no upcharge for, and also Joe Morgan will work with you to find the exact covering that turns you on.

[autofile]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

nice pete, i don't know much about morgan amps, but from what i've seen i like a lot. real tough to be an indie tube amp maker these days, but it seems to be getting better since tube bass amps seem to be on the rise again.

Thanks Jimmy,

I really can not recommend them higher. Joe worked with me to get the amp just the way I wanted it to sound. I told him what I was after, and he soooo nailed it!

[D.M.N.]

How would you characterize the tone per say? At all like any other more know amps, just as a basis of comparison since there aren't really any recordings of it. Hiwatt-sh? Ampeg-ish? Sunn-ish? What are those special designed Transformers like? The sound interesting. And you have to love KT88s!

[autofile]

Originally Posted by D.M.N.

How would you characterize the tone per say? At all like any other more know amps, just as a basis of comparison since there aren't really any recordings of it. Hiwatt-sh? Ampeg-ish? Sunn-ish? What are those special designed Transformers like? The sound interesting. And you have to love KT88s!

To my ears at least, the clean tone reminds me of the Trace Elliot V6 I had: BIG sounding :^)

But I think the amp has greater weight and authority to its tone. The fundamental is ALWAYS there, big, bold and strong, and does NOT get lost.

Probably not as ultimately huge and loud, as it doesn't have as much output capability, but so far I have not had to push the amp THAT hard as I have only been working clubs and some smaller casuals.

The over drive tone is similar to the Orange AD200B I used to have. But here again I think this amp has more weight and authority than the Orange.

Those transformer probably have something to do with what I am experiencing (duh!)

and YES, I DO love kt88's. They are my favorites for MY bass tone.

[autofile]

rear view

[johnk_10]

sounds like its a very nice amp. (and IMO, looks nice too).
any pics of the internals?

[autofile]

Originally Posted by johnk_10

sounds like its a very nice amp. (and IMO, looks nice too).
any pics of the internals?

Not yet. I am enjoying playing through the amp too much to pull it apart just yet.
But peering inside, it is VERY clean

[D.M.N.]

Originally Posted by SpamBot

Soundclips? That's one nice looking amp!

I second this motion. Sound clips would be Greatly appreciated.

[Bassmec]

Originally Posted by autofile

Not yet. I am enjoying playing through the amp too much to pull it apart just yet.
But peering inside, it is VERY clean

Thats a proper KT88 monster right there, it could almost be british its so brilliantly understated.

[halloweenfiend]

How much did it run ya?

[vinxbass]

I really like the looks and simplicity of this amp, congrats.

[autofile]

Originally Posted by Bassmec

Thats a proper KT88 monster right there, it could almost be british its so brilliantly understated.

Yep. I really like the Trace Elliot valve amps alot.
This Morgan shares many of the fine attributes of them. It is so easy to get "your tone" from. The controls are very simple, but very effective.

But the Morgan is substantially easier on an old guys back :^)

[autofile]

Originally Posted by halloweenfiend

How much did it run ya?

$1999.00

Not cheap. But I don't expect anything that is so well made, and so well thought out to be cheap.
And the way Joe Morgan tailored the amp to my tastes makes it EASILY worth it to me!

When I first got the amp, I was LOVING the clean tone. However the overdrive was not what I was looking for.
We talked about what it was specifically that I wanted, I gave him some samples of recordings that had the sound I was seeking, he emailed a fedex tag to me, I shipped the amp back to him on his dime, he turned it around in one day and shipped it right back to me, again on his dime!

Totally painless, and he NAILED it!

[bongomania]

Have you tested out the "line out" yet? Any word on the sound from that output?