Marshall SC20H vs Wangs 2204-HW (50w handwired 2204 "clone")

[Guitarjon]

I made a pretty interesting comparison. Since I own both a Marshall SC20H / JCM 800 Studio and a Wangs 2204-HW I thought it would be fun to compare the sound of both amps. If you haven't heard of the Wangs 2204-HW, it's basically a boutique handmade/handwired 2204 clone built in the Wangs custom shop. It's a very solid 50w amp with plenty of headroom and 'oomph'.

I absolutely LOVE the SC20H but I do think it falls a little short in the powersection sometimes as the amp starts to compress pretty soon at higher levels. This is of course kind of normal for a low-wattage amp but I think it also has to do with how the amp was built, the transformers used for example.

Anyway, I'm curious about your thoughts. I personally prefer the Wangs slightly because it just sounds a bit more clear, punchy and open whereas the SC20H sounds slightly more 'choked'. Both sound great though and I would happoly record with either one of these. Check it out:

 

[Dogs of Doom]

I prefer the Marshall overall...

The stereo image seems more 3-D...

The Wangs seems more smooth, in the top end, which cuts a little less. I'd imagine, that, in the room, you get more girth from the Wangs, as a 50 ill always get that over a 20, same as a 100 will over a 50...

It's more subtle in the more distorted sounds, but, in the clean sound, the 3-D effect stands out a lot. Still carries through, in the crunch-distorted tones, but not as drastic. For that, I'd choose the JCM800 SC20.

I think the Wangs is fine though, if I had a choice, I might use the Wangs for a mid/mono tone instrument & use the Marshall for stereo imaging, unless the Wangs muddies things up...

 

[EJstrat&JVM]

wow. The real question is, if Wangs can squeeze 50 watts in that small lunchbox, why Marshall can't??

 

[Ufoscorpion]

I’ve got a Wangs 2204 hw and it sounds like a really good single channel 800 should , with better build quality than any Marshall 800 for less wedge ( except for maybe a used studio classic ) .The thing is even being 50watts with big iron and handwired with full sized components its roughly the same size as the SC and there’s still loads of space in and on the chassis , plenty of space to fit a loop if you wanted to . Forget the name ( take it off if it bothers you) these amps are no joke .

 

[ampeq]

With the extra $550 you save over the Marshall you can also buy a nice 2-12" cab. (Or most of it anyway.) This is the type of stuff people should talk about when someone asks for a good 800 style amp for short money. Same thing with the 2202, which I prefer over both. But nobody says a word, they just keep on pushing the DSL’s and SC / SV20’s. I do think the studio amps are much better than the DSLs, but the Wangs seems better, and I know the 2202 is better than all of them. Especially for the money.