Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

[waltschwarzkopf]

Hi guys,

This is a quick one. I'm looking for an additional amp in combo version and after looking at the classifieds I found these:

Fender Bassbreaker 15
Marshall DSL15C

Both are within my budget, but I've only tried the Fender. I really like how it sounds and it's closer to where I live. The Marshall is discontinued, so I haven't tried it. But I did own a Marshall in the past (15W solid-state) and was great, although I may not compare at all with this one. I've read some bad reviews at about the Marshall lead channel, saying that it's too heavy and fuzzy, but there are some mods (which I'd be willing to make) that make it sound great. The Fender is single-channel and sounds great IMO and the structure knob re-shapes the tone to what I mostly play.

What do you say? Any experience with either of the amps? After negotiating the price I may get the Fender for about 300 bucks, the Marshall is the same price but I'm hoping to bring it down.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Walter

[Securb]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

Those are both great amps. I am hard pressed to pick. I know you are not buying it to flip it but I would think the Marshall would hold its value longer. Other than that it is a coin toss.

[jtees4]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

I am partial to Marshall just for sentimental reasons...giggged with a Marshall Major in the 70's....but I have heard really good things about the new fender Bassbreakers. Probably both a good choice.

[justFred]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

played a bit on both...my preference is the Marshall...it has 6V6 output tubes vs the EL84s on the Bassbreaker...EL84s always seem too bright to me...

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

I bought a DSL15 a few years ago. The 6V6 power section, instead of the usual EL84s, was a main thing that interested me, as a lower wattage high gain amp. But I found it pretty much useless to me in stock form because the red channel had way too much gain and distortion, and the green channel was way too clean even with its gain knob dimed. The green channel is probably designed as a pedal platform while the red channel is for rocking out straight into the amp. Unfortunately, you can't just run the red channel with a low gain setting and be okay if you don't need that much gain, because it will probably be too thin sounding. Fortunately, there is a set of mods or a simple preamp tube swap that tames the red channel if you find it too gainy for you .

Once modded the DSL15 became a fun amp with certain guitars. With other guitars good but not great. So if its close by, play it with your guitars and see if you like it and if works with your guitars.

If your not biased against EL84s, then maybe the Fender would be a better choice for you depending on your playing style.

I'm a Marshall guy, but the DSL15 is not one of my favorite Marshalls.

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

I have 7 vintage tube amps of insanely good quality and i would happily own a Bassbreaker 15 if i needed a small gig combo. I almost bought one as a studio amp but decided to get a loadbox instead and use my vintage amps.

DSLs are cool for the really clean / really dirty thing but the Bassbreaker is more flexible and more useful in general. If i find the rare green one for cheap or my house burns down with all my gear in it I'll get one in a heartbeat.

[FuseG4]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

I didn't like the DSL15, was compressed and fizzy and mushy compared to the gutsy sound of the bigger DSLs. When you dial it in I think it sounds more modern than something like the bassbreaker 15 but just such a letdown compared to the bigger DSLs that I would never get one. The clean is too clean and the dirt is too dirty on the 15, and with shared EQ its easier to just treat it as 2 single channel amps. So either amp would really be a single channel amp.
Bassbreaker over dsl15 for me, no doubt. I like the way the bassbreaker sounds out of the box.

[BenPerkins]

Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

Deleted - multiple post

[BenPerkins]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

What about Egnater Tweaker combo? It’s a versatile amp around $100 more. It’s cathode biased, so you can easily swap tubes with no issue.


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[stratguy23]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

I voted for the Bassbreaker 15, but must point out that these are 2 very different amps. Their only commonality, really, is that they have Marshall-type sounds. But the sounds are very different, and so are the feature sets.

The Bassbreaker 15 is single-channel, with, as you know, 3 modes. The DSL15C has 2 channels.

The Bassbreaker, to my ears, has a JTM-type sound, i.e., the old-school warmer, bassier Marshall sound based on the Bassman. The DSL15C has the much brighter, high-midrange-y sound of a JCM series.

I really like the simplicity and feel of the Bassbreaker. It's one of those "just plug in and go" amps that sound good with few adjustments. The DSL15C is from the generation of DSLs that sounded good if you made some pretty extreme EQ adjustments and maybe swapped out a few parts. The current generation of DSL, with the "R" suffix (e.g., DSL20CR) fixes those issues and sounds/works well, though retains the same core identity, i.e., a JCM variant. Those are new enough so that the DSL15C's current equivalent (DSL20CR) is unlikely to be found in the price range you seek.

So you have two very different amps. It's interesting that the above poster says that the Bassbreaker is more flexible, b/c it's single channel. You can certainly switch among the 3 modes, but you have to turn the knob to do so - no footswitch operation available. The Bassbreaker could be potentially flexible if you go the old-school route of cleaning up via guitar volume control. It seems to have that ethos about it.

Given the facts that OP states, I would recommend that OP choose the Bassbreaker b/c he knows he likes it, it's locally available, it isn't discontinued at this point, and it's within his price range.

[Mononoaware]

Re: Fender Bassbreaker 15 or Marshall DSL15C

played a bit on both...my preference is the Marshall...it has 6V6 output tubes vs the EL84s on the Bassbreaker...EL84s always seem too bright to me...

I'd usually agree, but the Bassbreaker seems pretty darkly-voiced, even with the bright switch on. Good sounding amp for single coils.