Savage Macht 12 - Opinions?

[hathisisfunnyha]

I am debating getting a Savage Macht 12 and I was wondering if anyone out there has one and what their experience is with it

Thanks, and any help is appreciated

[farlowhigh]

you might consider the newer Macht 12x which has a built-in attenuator for 6 watts...would be more versatile and you'd get the virtues of the Macht 6 and Macht 12..but maybe you just want it for gigging...I love the Macht 6 I have and it is a loud 6 watts...I have played with a fairly light-handed drummer, singer and bassist and it held its own...not a really loud group, though...

Savage tone is great and the Macht 6 has a great sound at all volumes...

[hathisisfunnyha]

It's less for gigging and more for apartment use, but I like the option to switch between 12 and 6 watts. What would you compare the sound to? I've heard its close to a Marshall 1974x, is that a good comparision?

Thanks

[farlowhigh]

hmmm...I have heard people say that when the tone knob is put high, that it takes on more of a Marshally sound, but I would not say that the overall sound is very Marshall-like...the website for Savage has a link to an article where they discuss the specific inspirations for the Savage Macht 6 and 12...I would think more Fendery and perhaps Brown sound Fender, although my experience with that era of Fender is very limited. It is not an exact clone of a specific Fender sound but it falls more into that general camp than into the Marshall or Vox camps, if that helps. Some reviewers do say that when cranked, the Macht 6 starts sounding more Marshall and somewhat like an 18 watter...
I think that the Macht 6 has a reasonably distinct sound of its own...very full and rich clean sound that sounds good at low volumes...it has very nice breakup as well and it does so at pretty surprisingly loud levels...the tone knob is very interactive and so the amp is more versatile than you might think...the tremolo is tube-driven and really nice as well...I would definitely recommend that you give one a try if you get a chance...I love it and most everyone I know who has tried one also loves it...there are a number of threads on TGP you could search for, but I think it is a relatively underrated amp...

[pepperco]

FYI....the 12x studio/stage switch does not cut
from 12 to 6 watts.....more like 12 to 1/2 watts.

[farlowhigh]

oops! my mistake, but it appears that we are both slightly off. I just checked a review of this amp (available through the Savage website) and they gave 4 watts as the approximate rating of the softer setting.

as for the sound of the Macht 6 and 12, the savageaudio.com site has some nice clips of the Macht 6 and 12 in action...the LP clip does have some Marshall in it...I don't have a Les Paul and so perhaps I just haven't heard that part of the amp's sound...like any good tube amp, it does preserve the individual sounds of the guitars...the ES 335 and my strat do sound pretty different...the clips give some sense of the range and undoubtedly better than my amateur attempts to describe the sound...

[Daedalus77]

Reviving an old thread here...

I had the chance to play a Macht 12x today in Boston and was fairly blown away. I DO think part of the joy was playing a Tele outfitted with Lollars through it, but still, the amp far surpassed my expectations.

My normal amp is a Bad Cat TremCat, which I find very versatile but obviously rooted firmly in Vox land. It's the core of my rig and I don't anticipate changing it anytime soon.

I've loved the few Savages I've come across in the past few years. I'd played a Glas 30 once and was very impressed at it's ability to cross AC30 and Marshall territory. But the Macht is something else. It is kinda Fendery, as has been noted, but it also gets into Marshall territory and can do Vox. Very punchy, very dynamic—just a joy to play. And it was plenty loud. Hard to believe it's only 12 watts.

I don't know that the attenuator switch is really very useful, to be candid, but someone else might.

The trem circuit was fantastic. The only ones in the same league I've played are the Trem Cat (sorry, I'm biased, I guess) and the Carr Rambler.

Reverb was a bit washy (Fender-y) and not too useful above about 2, in my opinion.

Just go play one. If I could swing it, it would be a great 6V6 compliment to my EL84 Bad Cat.

[Mapleneck]

Played a 6 and a 12 last summer in a store. Been gassing ever since. Those amps sounds GREAT!

[Mastervolume]

Owned the 6 and the 12 and thought that they sounded good although a bit mid heavy. I also thought that they were a bit boxy sounding. I think that if I were going to drop 1400.00 on a combo I would go a different direction.

[µ¿ z3®ø™]

the macht 6/12X is based on the DeArmond amp and is really it's own thing. the 12X is a parallel single ended amp whereas the 6 is single ended class A. very swampy and funky amp. a macht 6 will be my next amp purchase.

[Simon]

The Macht 6 is the loudest 6 Watt amp Ive ever played and can easily be used live with volume conscious players. Killer tone, tremelo and a lifetime warranty.