New 15W Guitar Amplifiers

The last few years have seen a rise in the number of smaller, low-powered all-valve guitar amplifiers. These are great for achieving awesome tone at lower volumes and so we set up the Smaller Amps section. In the last few months, Marshall and Vox have both released small amplifiers; Marshall with their Haze line and Vox with the Nightrain.

Vox Night Train

Vox have released the Night Train guitar amplifier. Looks like it's in head-format only at the moment. In addition to the standard volume and eq controls on the front, there is a pentode/triode switch enabling you to switch between 15W and 7.5W. That puts it in the range of the Orange Tiny Terror (at 15W and 5W) but with more control options.

The amp head comes with a carry bag and a great chrome finish. There's an additional speaker cabinet (the Vox V112NT) that is designed for use with the amp. Unfortunately it still has the old Vox styling. While I'm not really against that styling, it doesn't fit with the modern chrome finish. Put the two together and it'd look like you'd borrowed a mate's speaker for a gig.

Vox Night Train NT15H 15W Guitar Amp Head Chrome

Marshall Haze

I'd love to know where the name came from for these amplifiers, maybe the song "Purple Haze". Other than that, the name just sounds odd. I was expecting to see a metal-oriented, transistor-based amplifier, possibly a step-up from the MG series. Instead, Marshall have produced a 15W guitar amplifier with valve-preamp and valve-power amp. In addition to any normal controls, there's a built-in effects unit...on a tube amp!

There are a few differences between the Haze15 (MHZ15) head and the MHZ40C combo. The combo is the more powerful at 40W, featuring an additional boost control, an effects loop, a presence control and a speaker. The recall feature for the effects on both the combo and the head looks to be really useful.

There are four products in the range, as well as a stack option:

Marshall Haze 15 Head (MHZ15)

Marshall MHZ40C Combo

Marshall Haze MHZ40C 40W 1x12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp Black

Marshall MHZ112A Speaker Cabinet

Marshall Haze MHZ112 1x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet Black Slant

Marshall MHZ112B Speaker Cabinet

Marshall Haze MHZ112 1x12 Guitar Speaker Cabinet Black Straight

The Stack

Marshall Haze MHZ15 Full Stack