MI Amplification Megalith Gamma Owner's Manual

MI Amplification
Owner's Manual
1. Welcome
Hi there! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for purchasing the MI Amplification Megalith
Gamma vacuum tube guitar amplifier. The journey of creating the Megalith series of amps has
been the most challenging and rewarding one to date. I created the Megalith amps based on the
requests of customers and retailers who were searching for a definitive high gain tone.
Since the release of the Beta two years ago, perhaps one of the most satisfying things for me has
been the fact that the Megalith design has taken on a life of its own. With the weight of 60 years of
guitar amplification history on our shoulders, it can often be a daunting task for a designer to go out
on a limb and create something new. It's so exciting for me to be contacted by musicians who want
to get their hands on a Megalith, not because it sounds like "X" or "Y", but because it's an amplifier
that sounds and feels like nothing they've heard before.
I guess if you're reading this, you'll already be familiar with the Gamma's big brother, the Megalith
Beta. My idea with the Gamma was to take the design of the Beta, and to simplify the control set,
to create a deceptively simple and 'classic' high gain amplifier layout. But the most important
things, like the award-winning tone and high quality construction of the big fella are part-and-parcel
of the Gamma's DNA.
For those of you not familiar with the Megalith story, here's a quick recap.
What started out as a relatively standard high gain design quickly evolved into something quite
different. Whilst not many designers would be willing to admit it, the vast majority of amps rely on
old formula. I must confess that the earliest incarnations of the Megalith followed the same
principle. However, it became quickly apparent to me that the 'old' ingredients just wouldn't do, and
wouldn't lead to something 'new'. So, the off-the-shelf building blocks were abandoned. Starting
with a clean sheet of paper, virtually every element of the amplifier was redesigned for ultimate
performance.
By the same token, I wasn't interested in creating an amplifier which could only be used as a high
gain behemoth. I wanted the Megalith to have a genuinely great clean channel, and to have an
overdrive channel which could also be used in low gain mode for great light breakup tones, for
more traditional guitars, styles and tunings. The Megalith is not only a cutting edge high gain
amplifier, but can also be used for more traditional tones, and as a high headroom, clean amp for
running with a pedal rig.
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