Fender Mini '57 Twin

ROUND-UP
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
MARSHALL MS-2 £30
FENDER MINI ’57 TWIN £59
Don’t MS with a classic
Next of Twin
THE MS-2 is ubiquitous for a
reason, packing two channels for a
modest outlay. It sounds good, too:
the cleans stay clean, and the tone
knob’s range keeps things from
getting mushy or piercing. Plus,
switching to the OD channel gives
you a crunch that – while boxy and
lacking in bottom-end – captures
the essence of that Marshall vibe
with a bridge humbucker for
classic-rock riffs. The only snag is
that the volume knob controls gain
on this channel, and considering it
sounds best with the volume up
high, it could end up too loud for
next door – you’ve been warned!
UNLIKE ITS namesake, the ‘57
Twin doesn’t offer a lot of clean
headroom; it starts to overdrive at
pretty modest volume levels. The
tones are responsive, though, and
the 2x2 speaker configuration
projects a sonic field with more
depth than some single-speaker
micro amps. Turn the drive up
a little more, and your reward is
spiky dirt, which transitions into
gnarly transistor fuzz-type sounds
at higher levels. We preferred the
Twin with lower-output single coils
to humbuckers, but there are some
unique tones for sonic adventurers.
OUTPUT: 1W
SPEAKER: 1x 3”
POWER: 9V battery,
9V power supply
CONTROLS: Volume,
tone, off/on/OD switch
SOCKETS: Input,
headphone output, power
WEIGHT: 0.45kg
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD]
145x120x62mm
CONTACT: Marshall
Amplification
01908 375411
www.marshallamps.com
AT A GLANCE
OUTPUT: 1W
SPEAKER: 2x 2”
POWER: 9V battery,
9V centre-negative
power supply
CONTROLS: Volume,
tone, drive
SOCKETS: Input,
headphone output
WEIGHT: 0.68kg
DIMENSIONS: [HxWxD]
203x229x71mm
CONTACT: Fender GBI
01342 331700
www.fender.com
AT A GLANCE
[HxWxD]
ROUND-UP
“ The OD channel captures the
essence of that Marshall vibe”
90 WINTER 2014
MICRO AMPS
ROUND-UP
TGR261.gear_round2.indd 90 07/11/2014 16:15