Morgan MVP23 23w Guitar Amp Head In Twilight Finish

If you speak to almost any guitar player the holy grail of tone comes from an American clean amp matched up with a British overdriven amp. Normally you would have to have two completely different rigs to get this, but not with the new Morgan MVP23 a 23w beast of an amplifier that captures the best of both worlds.

Single Channel, Lots Of Tone

While nowadays we are so used to seeing multi-channel, midi controlled amps that let you switch between drastically different sounds there is certainly a lot of beauty in a single channel amp like this. Using a 3 band EQ, gain and volume controls as well as a power control you can dial in everything from a stunning, glassy American clean to a more midrange heavy classic British overdrive.

Incredible Response

The key to a great single channel amplifier is the ability to dial back the gain immediately either by changing your picking or rolling back the volume control on your amplifier. This is something that the MVP23 does really well. Even with the volume and gain control maxed out you can still dial it back to a sweet clean without needing to touch the amp.

Power Control

This is where things get really interesting. While most amps have a master volume control what it does is limit the signal going in to the power amp valves which drastically changes the tone and lower volumes and means that overdrive pedals just don’t sound good bellow midday. This amp is drastically different as the Power control doesn’t affect how hard the power amp tubes are working and instead limits the output after the power amp stage. This means you can get the same great tone at every volume level without the need of an aftermarket attenuator.

Here’s what Morgan say about the MVP23 Head

The MVP23 is the perfect combination of classic American cleans and smooth British overdrive. The MVP23 is a handwired in the USA, all-tube head with a full tone stack that is voiced squarely in the black face camp. The MVP-23 utilizes a special phase inverter and EL84 power section allowing players to choose between big clean punch and smooth overdriven tones just by turning the gain knob.  This amp is perfect for the player that wants to paint a variety of different styles without compromise. The gain structure on  the MVP-23 was designed to make the amp extremely sensitive to your pick attack and volume control. Even at its highest gain settings great cleans can be had with a turn of your guitars volume.

The MVP23 output power is controlled with Morgan’s Power level circuitry. The Power Level control is a big part of the magic. Most guitarists today have spent large sums of money and even more amounts of time working on their pedal boards. Most pedals are not designed to be used with a tube amp on “1”. They were designed to interact with the amplifier at or near the point at which it begins to break up. That is why an overdrive pedal is called an “over” drive. It is driving the amp over that point. Unfortunately that volume can be too loud for most live applications. The Power Level control on the MVP23 solves this. Think of conventional master volumes as a spigot on a garden hose, they choke off the signal to the power section of the amp to a usable level. Most conventional master volumes also affect the way your pedals interact with your amp. The Power Level control behaves like a zoom lens. It limits the size of the output signal that can be produced by the output tubes. It does NOT choke the signal down and therefore behaves identical as if the amp were running at full volume. This means that you can choose the power that you need, anything from 1/4 of a watt to 23 watts.

The hand crafted in USA head shell is made of void-less Baltic birch ply wrapped in our twilight finish, a proprietary custom ballistic vinyl covering that is vulcanized to the wood to ensure long lasting durability.

Morgan History

Joe Morgan has been building, modifying and repairing amplifiers since 1996. His designs are seen in stadiums and arenas all over the world. It is hard to turn on a music awards show without seeing his products. Joe designs for the working musician, whether that means a Sunday morning church gig or touring the world with James Taylor.

Joe will be the first to tell you that tube amps are not rocket science (Joe was part of the engineering team that developed the first GPS satellites). Tube amps are only as good as their components and Morgan chooses the best of the best. Engineered with custom designed transformers to provide the best possible sonic signature they also provide Morgan with the confidence to offer a limited lifetime warranty.

Specifications

• Power: 1/4 – 23w variable (tube)
• Hand-wired in the USA
• 2x EL-84 power tubes
• 2x 12AX7 preamp tubes
• Power Level control
• Gain
• Volume
• Treble
• Mid
• Bass
• 2×8 ohm 1×16 ohm outputs
• Limited lifetime warranty
• Dimensions: head 7.5″ (D) x 17″ (W) x 9.75″ (H)
• Weight: 25 lb head