Fender MH500 Metalhead Guitar Amplifier Head

Comments about Fender MH500 Metalhead Guitar Amplifier Head:

When i first looked at this amp, i was almost turned off by the fact that it was a solid state. I had been looking into getting tube amp for one thing, the sound. I originally wanted to get a Peavey 6505. I was at Sam Ash, trying out an Esp, and wanted to play through a good metal amp, and the guy recomended this. Once I got plugged in, and start playing I was amazed. I couldn't believe the sound I was getting from a solidstate (my previous one was dry and had no life). It really sounded just as good as the peavy. On the loose drive, set with hight gain, your get a really great thick, heavy sound, with the right amount of fuzz, that you would expect from a tube amp. All I can say is, try it for yourself, and you woun't be dissapointed. Espicially with how much you would pay for a tube amp, to get the same sound.

Comments about Fender MH500 Metalhead Guitar Amplifier Head:

i bought this head for the three channel feature and the fact that i've always wanted to own "something fender". i was fortunate enough to be gigging in the late eighties, early nineties where the popular rock music was at it's pinacle.
i found that for the money, ampeg was the most versatile of guitar heads available with the features and tone. fender really didn't have anything that caught my ear.
after being out of the music scene for a while, i needed to gear up with a full, rich, punchy tone. i saw that fender had unleashed the metalhead and though i had serious doubt, i just had to check it out.
i've owned this head for about three months now and i have found it to be an all around sweet setup. the wattage is unreal (at 2 and 4 ohm!)and should not be used without the included ear plugs! you will never need this power for volume but it sure gives alot of great head room to work with. the clean channel is crisp and colorless giving you a perfect starting point for any style of music. the three band eq is enough to get your point across.
the distortion is very manageable on both crunch channels. i was very surprised as to the perameters of gain and eq. don't ask me why, but my band is playing tommy twotone to disturbed and i'm not roughing up the mellow top forty stuff or suffering on the heavey distortion.
running the other two heads that i own and the metalhead through the same celestion loaded 4x12, gave me a great deal of clearity.
i really like the peavey jsx and it's tone, but the solid state metal head was a great deal more versatile (and, of course, a lot louder).
compared to my old trusty 13 year old ampeg 140vhc, the metal head sounds more like a tube head. the tone is that good. i'm not going to debate the solid state/tube issue, the only area lacking is the harmonic tone of a tube head.(most of us call that feedback)
if you're looking for great tone and wide range of sounds, this is a sure bet.
only down side are the effects, they are a tease. the built in effects are sweet and footswitched but the selector pot is not enough to set the perameters that i want. you'll enjoy what is built in, but you can't adjust them independantly. this age of micro "stuff" should allow for more control.
the look...what and attitude! the jsx has a lot of chrome on the face, but the metal head has a look all it's own. the constuction is spot on and the controls are durable and well mapped out.
it's a bit pricey if you were looking at solid state heads, but this is no ordiary solid state head! don't be too partial to tube heads if you want a new head, you may want to see what you might have passed up. it's got the name and the look, but it's not just for metal heads.