Marshall Acoustic Soloist AS50D Reviewed

The Marshall AS50D’s retro style is one reason it stands out from its competitors on the market. There are several other reasons you’d want to give it a shot.

Female hand close-up playing on acoustic guitar.

This amp boasts several incredible features. There are volume options, two channels, and anti-feedback features. It’s best suited for use in small areas, recording sessions, and playing small gigs.

Want to know more? Keep reading our product review.

Marshall Acoustic Soloist AS50D 50 Watt Acoustic Guitar Amplifier with 2 Channels, Digital Chorus and Reverb

50 Watts
2x8 2 channel combo
Digital chorus & reverb
Country of Origin: China

Amazing Sound Performance

The AS50D is designed to give exceptional sound quality. It features two 8-inch Celestion speakers that add depth to your music. Musicians also enjoy the polymer dome tweeter that’s capable of providing a full range of frequencies.

The overall tone of the AS50D is warm and smooth, with high-fidelity and definition. Also, the amp comes bearing two channels, bass and treble frequencies, a chorus, and reverb. These features provide you full control over your sound by giving you the freedom to customize your sound.

User-Friendly Controls

The Marshall AS50D features one standard input for each channel. There’s also an XLR for the microphone via a second channel.

The output jacks feature a line and DI-out via an XLR socket. Having two channels allows you to use more than one instrument at once. It also means you can use a guitar as well as a microphone on the same amp.

Each of the two channels has its own set of controls for the volume and tone. The bass and treble work to find the right tone by balancing out the guitar sounds with your voice or with other instruments.

The second channel boasts of its regular input jack. Connect your electro-acoustic guitar, and the signal will run through the amp. The fidelity is seamless and highly detailed.

To apply an effect to a channel, push the corresponding button, and you’ll find that the sound quickly goes to a dry signal. The controls are pretty straightforward and are easy to use.

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Specifications

Speakers: 2 x 8-inch Celestion
Output: 50 watts
Two inputs: one XLR output and one 1/4-inch input
Microphone input: equipped with phantom power
Integrated effects: digital chorus and reverb
Anti-feedback filter
Polydome tweeter
Phase switch
Independent EQ for each channel
Dimensions: 21.34 x 16.38 x 10.28 inches
Weight: 35 pounds

Pros

Marshall’s AS50D features two 8-inch drivers that provide 50 watts of power. It’s a dynamic and durable amp. Yet, it still manages to be compact and portable.

The AS50D’s control buttons are also praise-worthy. You’ll find separate knobs for each of the instrument and microphone inputs. This makes it possible to connect the AS50D to a PA system or run it directly to a mixer.

The AS50D is excellent at amplifying acoustic instruments. It provides a high-quality sound performance with a crisp and powerful audio quality that’s hard to come by with a 50-watt unit.

Cons

Everyone who bought the AS50D praised its one-of-a-kind performance. However, they did mention a few drawbacks. For starters, the handle on the amp unit is flimsy. It’s not designed for durability and isn’t fit for constant, heavy-duty use.

Another feature some users weren’t happy with is the feedback eliminator. They felt that the AS50D wasn’t able to help them with their guitar’s feedback loop.

What Customer Reviews Say

Many of those who’ve used the Marshall AS50D can vouch for its great performance. The users are impressed with its projection ability, even though it’s only a 50-watt amp.

They were also pleased with how easy it was to use both channels at once. The two signals blended nicely, even when they added some effects. They didn’t sense at any time that the two signals were dispersed. Most users said that when the two signals did an amazing job of complementing each other quite nicely when they were used simultaneously.

The main feature some users complained about was the chorus function. While they praised the reverb control, they felt that the chorus needed a bit of work.

Another feature that some users felt could be better was the feedback control. Many claimed that they had feedback problems, which the amp didn’t help solve at all.

That being said, the AS50D is equipped with a frequency sweep dial, a phase reverse button, and a notch filter. They can help you locate the frequency causing the irritating feedback.

Out of all the reviews, over 80% are 5-star ratings, and only 2% are 1-star. These impressive rates are hard to come by!

Here’s a demo video from PMTVUK:

Inside the Marshall Lab: AS50D vs. AS50R

The Marshall AS50R was first released in 2004 and is a year older than the AS50D. Both boast similar features, but the AS50D has several upgrades.

Let’s start by talking about the letters at the end of each name. The ‘R’ on the AS50R stands for ‘Reverb’ because the reverb and chorus effects are on a separate board. It’s an analog amp capable of providing clear and detailed sound across a wide range of frequencies.

The ‘D’ on the AS50D stands for ‘Digital,’ meaning the amp has a digital chorus and reverb effects on a chip. This amp is specially designed for electro-acoustic guitars.

There are a couple of differences between these two models. First, the AS50D has phantom power on the mic channel. Its predecessor doesn’t have this feature. It’s also important to point out that it’s a nifty add-on and isn’t necessary for playing your guitar. It just adds more ‘oomph.’

Marshall also refurbished the tweeter on the AS50D. This gave the reverb and chorus effects a nice update. At the same time, Marshall gave both models the same amplification power, which is 50 watts.

Marshall Acoustic Soloist AS50D 50 Watt Acoustic Guitar Amplifier with 2 Channels, Digital Chorus and Reverb

50 Watts
2x8 2 channel combo
Digital chorus & reverb
Country of Origin: China

Conclusion

The Marshall AS50D electro-acoustic amp is well-constructed with a compact design. It’s perfect for traveling and going on the road. The AS50D has proven itself an efficient and refined little acoustic guitar amp.

From boosting the volume to enhancing tone quality, this amp knows how to get things done. More importantly, you can rely on it to give amazing sound quality. It’s these combined features that make this amp appeal to so many musicians.