Vinny I respectfully agree with most of what you said, but I do disagree on some things...

To me saying "its all in the fingers" is like saying going fast in a car is all in the car... your only as fast as the road allows you to go!. Same with guitar playing, YOU only sound as good as YOUR AMP lets you! and YOUR AMP only sounds as good as YOUR TALENT. Think of that as an example!. This is a friendly debate by the way :). If tone was all in the fingers solely then why the hell did most of us drop $1000+ for our Marshall amps when we could have been using $100 Peavy 80 watt solid state amps? The tone in the fingers argument is fine assuming we're all playing good amps. Also if this were entierly true Chris George would be out of a job at Marshall. I believe tone in the fingers and some sounds being made by Slash in that video are things only he can make sound that way, we all have our own "voice" during play, but if a room of people play a JCM 800 regardless of skill I think we'll all be able to tell its a JCM 800.

To everyone that says the AFD100 sounds like a JCM 800, well it should, thats what the whole amp is about and based around, the only extras are the 2 extra pre amp tubes that saturate the sound more, and I assue you, that theres not a single stock JCM 800 with as much gain as the AFD100.

I want that subtle growl and snarl type sound the Slash amp in the video had, almost sounded like one of the diesel trucks off of the movie "Maximum Overdrive" reving and getting ready to run somebody over. Thats the part of the tone I want, that part I believe is a universial tone aspect no matter who plays the amp.

I'm not concerned about being 100% acurate, obviously too many dynamics involved as we all agree, I just want the minds eye tone of the Slash records Use Your Illusions 1 & 2 circa 1990 to use as a benchmark. And Yes Vinny I have the exact strings 11-48 (not purposly believe it or not) same make & brand pick ups that Slash uses SD Alnico 2 Pros, in a solid body les paul copy lol...the main thing is that it plays good and has naturally great sound.

Let us know if you are so 'lucky' to get one of these amps!! And post pics if yes!!
BTW the Randy Roads sign-amp in white...(for me one of the only sign-stuff I like a lot) was also a limited run of 400!!! And they are still available....so maybe the 2300 is OK for the SLash, and maybe you will be able to catch one of them!

I'ma steal one. Cause in all honesty. Isn't that how he got the original amp in the first place? I mean, if it's supposed to be genuine, it should be free... so.. anyone who wants it.. take one. And buy a few picks outta common courtesy. And yes, I've had a few to drink :P

Man I tell ya, seeing one of these AFD100 amps go to one of those little rich youtube guitar hero fags with no talent is like seeing the woman of your dreams with an abusive guy with a short dick. Lucky for me I got the woman of my dreams away from that guy but I highly doubt lightning is going to strike twice for me so I can save an AFD100 from the same fait.

I think all 2,300 will be sold eventually but I doubt very much if the AFD100 becomes an unobtainable bit of gear within a year.  If we walked into a music shop that had one right now, we'd all have a shot on one if we had the time or we'd at least hang around and listen to someone putting it through it's paces, but how many of us would actually buy one?

It's only going to be hardcore Slash fans that will part with their money for it.  It doesn't have a horrific price tag but it's a serious bit of gear that will be a luxurious add-on to people's rigs.  If you were buying your first 100w Marshall and didn't have a massive soft-spot for Slash, you'll certainly look elsewhere.

I'm more looking forward to playing it, hearing it and then selling it to a life-long Slash fanatic.  That's what it's all about.  If there was a signature Ferrari formula 1 car and I could afford it, I'd buy it!  I can't drive like those guys can, but it would be an incredible bit of kit to own!

I know that might not sit well with you Slashwannabe, but honestly, 2,300 is PLENTY for those who would actually buy one.

Start saving or selling gear NOW.  You'll get one.  Don't worry.

Oh man, and horrible (yet good) thought just ran through my head.

Trade in my JVM and VM for the AFD100! UGH! Thank gof for camping. I needa try and get this thought outta my head or else I might actually go through with it :P

I'd rather just HAVE the amp along side my VM, JVM. What a sick 3 amp set up that'd be. But like every amp I've got.. I must try it in person before I trade in 2 amazing amps... God god, damnt damnt.

Save your cash. Get a metro 2203 and mod it. The specs out there are very close and once the amp comes out, it will be dissected and those specs will be out there as well. And the amount of knowledge you will gain is priceless!

Just out of interest dude, how much have you spent on the amp and on the mods to get it the way you wanted it to sound?

Actually, if you wanted to get as close as possible. You need to get a 100W Marshall Super Tremolo (Model 1959T), built sometime between 1965 and 1973. And let a guy named Tim Caswell do the mod to it. He's the guy who did the original mod to Slash's rented amp, AND the amp George Lynch took on tour in early 1986. Lynch was the only one who paid and went through alot to find out who did the mods to the amp. (Something Slash never got around to do).

And I doubt Tim Caswell is doing any specs/mods for marshall. So unless Marshall actually infact HAVE the amp, the only one who can actually recreate that amp would be Mr. Tim Caswell.

here's a link:

http://www.slashsworld.com/equipment/am ... ll-o-mine/

The AFD Videos featuring Santiago actually disagree with that information!

The Appetite head was actually most likely a late 70s 2203! based on all the information Slash had and the technical aspects of how to make an amplifier of that era sound and logistics of it. Basically that was a 2203 (a 100 Watt JCM 800 without a few things internally). Tim may have still done the mods on the amp regardless of what it was but honestly I doubt an early 70s late 60s Marshall would have had 65/50 power tubes. So I guess I sort of agree with Santiagos assessment of it being a late 70s 2203.

What the amplifier actually is may never be known, but all signs point to a late 70s 2203 by the people at Marshall investigating this mythic amplifiers story.

Tim Caswell and George Lynch both state its a 1959T. And I believe some guy made a #36 copy of the SIR #39 who worked for SIR as well. ALSO stated that the #36 might have ALSO been on appetite. Slash doesn't remember, and neither does SIR. #39 was SIR's bread and butter, and was only rented out to high profile musicians, just because of that I'm 100% sure Tim Caswell knows what amp. He also offers the #39 mod he did to the 1959T many moons ago. At a place called electric solutions or something.

Slash is the one who can't remember, I love Slash, but this signature amp they're making isn't a replica. Slash has too many touches to it anyways. WHich is one of the reasons I wanna get it now.

#36 WAS used on appetite and most likely a Jmp master volume mk2 (aka 2203 aka jcm 800) with 6550 power tubes. Frank Levi did teh mod on #36, but it was based of of Caswells #39 modded sl tremelo. The 36 basically copies the 39 but the extra gain stage is nonswitchable and is voiced differently which makes the tone a bit different from the #39. A super lead and 800 are pretty much teh exact same amp, just the gain stages are cascaded which is what makes the 800 a much meaner soundin amp.

The metro kit cost me about 1300, but that was with all the upgrades(mercury trannys,6550 tubes, higher quality filter caps and the no tone loss fx loop). To actually mod the amp it cost me about $30 in extra parts.  The biggest drawback of diy is the learning curve,trial and error and troubleshooting. It can be frusterating, but the end is extremly rewarding!!.  As far as the afd sound, people out there have nailed it and i mean nailed it! There is a lot of speculation about component values and such but I bet even Slash and santiago have to deal with this as the original#36  has been MIA for the last 20 years.

BTW, check out the metro amp forum. There is a 60 page thread dedicated to making your own afd amp. Tim Caswell has even chimed in with some advice

-- Wed Aug 04, 2010 10:50 am --

Its also funny that slash always said "Im pretty sure is was a jcm 800 on appetite. I rememer it having only 2 inputs". And everyone said no, it was a superlead with four inputs, you were to high to remember. And as it turns out, it most likly was a 2 hole early model 800(mk2 mv or 2203).

Even the afd100 reflects this as being a two input amp. I know, I know, THe afd 100 isnt supposed to be an exact replica blah blah blah.

The thing that bothers me about Tim Caswell is that since nothing really is certain about the exact circumstances regarding what amplifier it actually was, I feel he may be trying to capture some fame off of that reality even if he did or didn't mod that amplifier, intentionally or unintentionally taking blind credit. Then again he may have modded the amp, but I'm not sure anyone knows for sure anything exactly about that amp. I'm very sure somebody out there has the amp and knows where it is and knows what it is, seeing as by the time it was given back by the roadie, GNR was a huge Band.

I would tend to believe Marshall & Santiago would get very close to identifying or re-creating that sound without any help from Tim or the exact modder. Its Santiagos job to make and voice amplifiers and with the original demo tapes that were provided you bet your ass it will be closer to that AFD tone than most of us will be able to determine. The disclaimer is just a legality, The AFD 100 will re-create that AFD tone.

As Steve always says "Tone Is subjective" and I doubt the modder who did the Appetite amp wanted to reinvent the wheel and change a whole bunch of shit on the amp to make it a totally new animal, I think it was more likely a mod done to compliment the amplifier at hand.

Even the Vintage Modern is not totally a "made from scratch amp".

-- Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:42 am --

I thought you guys might like to see a pic of my amp. I recently redid the wiring and soldering of components for a cleaner amp build. I also remade my added preamp tube board.

Very cool mod!