Anybody else a DSL fan?

[bcorig]

That's kinda surprising to me. Although I upgraded the speaker to an old Greenback and I think it slays any Deluxe Reverb I've ever used, let alone the Blues Jr!




I'll agree with all that. Except......the 40 and 100 do a great job at versatility and being able to get your favorite sounds at any volume, but they don't really master the Marshall sound. While they certainly can get very loud, once you get the power section cookin', that's not where they excel, and the power tube overdrive/distortion isn't as pleasing as it could be. Those two models especially seem to have been designed tio get full amp sound in the pre-amp and most well suited to using the power section jsu to amplify.

I think the DSL20 is the best of the bunch and even the combo can sound great if you upgrade that horrid stock speaker. Maybe that speaker would sound better once broken in, but I couldn't stand it long enough to find out! It can cover a lot of Fender-ish and Marshall territory. It can get a bit loud, without a good attenuator! I own both a DSL40CR and DSL20CR and will be selling the 40! I think the 20 actually sounds much better than the 40, but needs to be well cranked to really give up its goods!

Just Sayin'
Gene

The irony is I went there dead set on buying my first Marshall Amp. Actually tested 5 amps at once. At the end of an hour even my playing partner, who is a Marshall guy, told me the BJ sounded best with my Elite Series Tele and playing style.

 

[Twofingerlou]

I know what you mean and I agree- but you have probably also discovered that this amp is versatile and controllable enough to be perfectly useable at reasonable home volume. Now, if you add a tremolo pedal into the fx loop it sounds pretty close to the handwired 1974X re-issue I used to have- except that one was JUST TOO LOUD for home...

I have one of those JHS black boxes from when I had my hotrod Deluxe. Haven’t tried it with the dsl yet. But I agree with you, I was just playing around with it in the 20 watt mode. Still sounds great imo on any of the channels without blowing out the windows.

 

[doghouseman]

The irony is I went there dead set on buying my first Marshall Amp. Actually tested 5 amps at once. At the end of an hour even my playing partner, who is a Marshall guy, told me the BJ sounded best with my Elite Series Tele and playing style.

Well, IMHO, Marshalls NEVER sound good at low volumes in a store. I have never liked any of my Marshalls until I get them out on a gig, then they sound fantastic. I dont think I would even bother trying one in store if I was going to buy one. They almost always sound thin until you get them on a gig.

 

[doghouseman]

Marshall clean tones are VASTLY underrated. I play honky tonk country using a Marshall amp. Nuff said. After all Marshall's pedigree stems from Fender amps.

YES!! and if you like Marshall clean, you should try a Vox!

 

[BigNorm]

I have a DSL40C. It spared my Hot Rod Deluxe. I love so much my HRD, it sound exsctly what I expect from an amp. I think the new DSL 40CR had a speaker change. I would say it's a bit of the weakness on the 40C. But it makes a real good spare amp in my case.

 

[tele-nova]

Hey all, I hope you are well. I started a thread about the DSL1 head, but had no takers. Now that some DSL fans are assembled here, how about a review? The head is used, but in mint condition and about a third off. I know it's not ideal for gigging at 1W, but if I really wanted to I could run it through a Two Notes Torpedo Captor to go direct to the PA. Mostly, I just want to enjoy the 'Marshall experience' at home. Will this get me there?

Thanks in advance.

I owned a dsl 1 head for about 3 weeks. Honestly I hated it. The shared eq was a problem. If the green channel sounded good the red channel was muddy, if the red channel sounded good the green channel was way to bright.

There was a noticeable pop when switching between the channels, particularly from red to green. And to be honest, unless you're trying to play metal the red channel is useless. The green channel did sound good though.

Finally, that 1 watt through an efficient speaker is still loud. I tried the .1 watt mode and personally just felt like it sucked the life and character right out of the amp

So I guess ultimately I just found that an amp that was to loud to crank at apartment level but not loud enough to play over a drummer (on the rare occasion that happens) with only one real usable channel wasn't for me. The shared eq was the most frustrating part. It basically made it unusable as a two channel amp.

So I ended up returning the dsl 1 and grabbing an origin 20 head and I have zero regrets. The origin is exactly what I was looking for from a marshall.

Just my 2 cents. Try it out and maybe you will love it. Maybe my dsl was a dud. All I know is that my experience with the dsl 1 turned me off of the whole dsl line.

 

[Piggy Stu]

Can people who don't know DSL as an obscene abbreviation please keep posting about how much they enjoy it, so I can keep sniggering over here in England, watching BBC on my tv set

 

[tele-nova]

Can people who don't know DSL as an obscene abbreviation please keep posting about how much they enjoy it, so I can keep sniggering over here in England, watching BBC on my tv set

Lol bbc

 

[Piggy Stu]

Lol bbc

British Broadcasting Corporation nothing to snigger at

 

[tele-nova]

British Broadcasting Corporation nothing to snigger at

I dont know....

 

[bcorig]

Well, IMHO, Marshalls NEVER sound good at low volumes in a store. I have never liked any of my Marshalls until I get them out on a gig, then they sound fantastic. I dont think I would even bother trying one in store if I was going to buy one. They almost always sound thin until you get them on a gig.

Sure, I turned it up. We were in a practice room in the Ontario (CA) Mills Sam Ash. The midrange was just missing in the Vox, the Princeton Reverb RI and the AC20. And I went in there with the confirmation bias of WANTING a Marshall Amp.
Isn’t this fun?

 

[palethorn]

Came close once to buying DSL5CR, really liked it. Went with VOX AC10 instead. I don't regret it, but it left me wanting the Marshall also. Maybe I'll pull the trigger one of these days.

 

[Andy ZZ]

I love DSL's. They generate a good amount of repair income.
TSL's are even better.
They do sound great when they are working, I have to say.
-az-

 

[Delmerson]

The last couple years of getting back into guitar I’ve gone through a handful or more cheaper solid state amps. They have their place and some are better than others. I’d play around with one in the store, oh this don’t sound bad! Get it home and sooner than later find it wasn’t all cracked up like I thought it was.

I ended up down the tube amp hole and bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Really nice amp, the cleans and the reverb are phenomenal. The drive channels were a little meh to me and the volume was super finicky. Barely there or blow the windows out loud.

Next came this little 5 watt DSL. I’m sure most wont give the nod to Marshall for clean tones but this little dude cleans up pretty nice imo. Is it fender clean? Not quite but non the less. But this little thing can air it out once you put the coals to it. The reverb is nothing like the hotrod but reverb hasn’t been a main component when I’ve been playing around/shopping for amps personally.

I’ve enjoyed the little DSL so much I grabbed the DSL40CR last week. Wasn’t really needed just more so a want. It will get blow your windows out loud like the hotrod, but yet the volume controls are a lot more forgiving.

I’m far from good at the guitar, but having quality equipment makes it more enjoyable and entertaining to play around with.

The DSL combos seem hard to beat IMO

View attachment 807152

I'm digging my Fender Mustang 1v. Nice little rehearsal/practice amp. The online modular support is gone from the factory but you can still find it if you search a bit. No that big a deal as the on board modular adjustment are more than enough to find a decent clean and dirty sound. And with the two way foot switch they are easy to use. Shane at "In the Blues" swears by them.

 

[northernguitar]

I owned a dsl 1 head for about 3 weeks. Honestly I hated it. The shared eq was a problem. If the green channel sounded good the red channel was muddy, if the red channel sounded good the green channel was way to bright.

There was a noticeable pop when switching between the channels, particularly from red to green. And to be honest, unless you're trying to play metal the red channel is useless. The green channel did sound good though.

Finally, that 1 watt through an efficient speaker is still loud. I tried the .1 watt mode and personally just felt like it sucked the life and character right out of the amp

So I guess ultimately I just found that an amp that was to loud to crank at apartment level but not loud enough to play over a drummer (on the rare occasion that happens) with only one real usable channel wasn't for me. The shared eq was the most frustrating part. It basically made it unusable as a two channel amp.

So I ended up returning the dsl 1 and grabbing an origin 20 head and I have zero regrets. The origin is exactly what I was looking for from a marshall.

Just my 2 cents. Try it out and maybe you will love it. Maybe my dsl was a dud. All I know is that my experience with the dsl 1 turned me off of the whole dsl line.

Hey there! Thanks for the review. All opinions are welcome! My only plans with this amp so far are to immediately dial in an approximate JCM800 tone, push it further with a Bad Monkey and then play every riff I know from Ride The Lightning. The price of it is decent, the condition is mint....I reckon if it is a lemon, I can move it, albeit at a minor loss if I'm feeling motivated. If it costs me $25-$50 to put a smile on my face, that'll be cheap in a time of c19.

 

[vintageampz]

NOPE, ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Sorry, NOTHING solid state will ever sound like some very good warmed up EL84's and 7025's and 12AX7A!

Great Marshall Amp - 1981 Marshall ALL Tube JCM800 2-12 50W Combo 4210

Piece of S**T Solid State late 1970's 2199-Master Lead Combo

 

[breadfreak]

The clean channel on a TSL122 simply won't distort no matter what you do to it. I would be a fan if it didn't weigh 36kg.

 

[Maguchi]

The last couple years of getting back into guitar I’ve gone through a handful or more cheaper solid state amps. They have their place and some are better than others. I’d play around with one in the store, oh this don’t sound bad! Get it home and sooner than later find it wasn’t all cracked up like I thought it was.

I ended up down the tube amp hole and bought a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. Really nice amp, the cleans and the reverb are phenomenal. The drive channels were a little meh to me and the volume was super finicky. Barely there or blow the windows out loud.

Next came this little 5 watt DSL. I’m sure most wont give the nod to Marshall for clean tones but this little dude cleans up pretty nice imo. Is it fender clean? Not quite but non the less. But this little thing can air it out once you put the coals to it. The reverb is nothing like the hotrod but reverb hasn’t been a main component when I’ve been playing around/shopping for amps personally.

I’ve enjoyed the little DSL so much I grabbed the DSL40CR last week. Wasn’t really needed just more so a want. It will get blow your windows out loud like the hotrod, but yet the volume controls are a lot more forgiving.

I’m far from good at the guitar, but having quality equipment makes it more enjoyable and entertaining to play around with.

The DSL combos seem hard to beat IMO

View attachment 807152

Marshall DSL's are great. I gigged with a 1990s DSL-40 combo for years and it withstood being hauled around, fired up everyday and brought the goods. Sold that amp a couple years ago and bought a DSL-1 combo (1 watt, 2 channels, 8"). It's a good amp for home. Has a very nice bright clean sound. Different than a Fender clean, but equally useable. Has a nice overdriven sound too. Marshall also makes a DSL-20 combo that I really like. At 20 watts with a 12" it would be a perfect gigging amp.

 

[SunShadsCrash1990]

Marshall clean tones are VASTLY underrated. I play honky tonk country using a Marshall amp. Nuff said. After all Marshall's pedigree stems from Fender amps.

Lol that's what I'm always saying! Theres a reason they have great cleans (unless it's one of the higher gain Marshall's designed for Crunch but even those are useable). DSL100HR cleans are perfect with a touch of reverb an maybe some compression here an there. Wonderful amps!

 

[SunShadsCrash1990]

I do like the DSLs. I played DSL 40 1x12 combo a couple of times and it sounded great - Marshall-y

But they are probably my 3rd favorite Marshall amps right now. I’m absolutely in love with the JCM800 SC20c 1x10 combo. It is THE Marshall sound to me. Too rich for my blood, though. I also love, almost as much, the Origin 20c. Its a simple 1 channel amp, but has great cleans, but really screams with a good booster or OD in front of the amp. Given it’s the cheapest Marshall offering and a third of the price of the SC20, I see either the Origin 20watt head or combo in my very near future.

Having played those amp extensively theres zero doubt in my mind what so ever that the DSL100HR or 40CR is far superior to the Origin and JCM800. The DSL crunch channel is modeled after a JCM800 anyways and does it WELL. Theres no sacrafice with the DSL for versatility. All the channels really do sound just as good so unless your after a 3rd or 4th amp and want a dedicated sound I dont recommend an Origin or a JCM800. In fact I never recommend an Origin. The DSL's are just so far superior to them that I feel bad when I hear about guys getting an Origin over a DSL without having played both extensively first. Add in price and ease of biasing and it's a no brainer. Trust me when I say most of the time more features equals lesser quality of those features. But not with DSL R's. And for the JCM800 while it's a fabulous amp, it's a one trick pony and an expensive one at that. So unless your after a dedicated crunch amp and own a studio I just dont believe it's worth it. Yes build quality between an 800 and a DSL is certainly different. But a DSL sound/tonewise is excellent and if you ever have trouble with your amp Marshalls warranty will cover it for up to 5 years I think. And after that you have a whole plethora of community's who can sort out your DSL issue just with a few pics and an explanation. Anyways I know theres more to this argument than I've touched on. But my main point is i dont recomm6an origin ever and the JCM800 was great in the 80s but now it lacks versatility and the amps that dint lack versatility sound excellent and are cheaper. Just some friendly advice. In the end you do you brother.