EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

[Seraphial]

Guys, though I have a lot of axes, I've always been content sitting on the fence with amps. I've been through a few (Carvin Belair, Fender Blues Jnr, Vox AC10, THR10x) but really miss a real tube amp for that mid to high gain stuff.

I'm off to do some a/bing vs the two amps above this weekend, but would love to get some thoughts. This is mainly for hard 80s rock, but I'll also throw in a pedal to do some heavier stuff. From everything I've researched, it seems the 5150 is a slightly different beast than the DSL, but plays in the same field. But it can also go real high gain if needed.

What's your thoughts? Are they similar tone-wise, at similar settings? Is an EVH just a hot-rodded Marshall with another gain channel? Or is the Marshall the only one that can give the Marshall tone?

[Nacho8807]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

I would say they are quite different. The 5150 has a lot more gain, and doesn't really need a pedal to do the high gain stuff. The lower gain classic metal sound might not sound as natural though, since you'd be dialing it back a lot.

The DSL on the other hand will do the 80s rock sound pretty well, but the high gain stuff doesn't sound good to me. It's not terrible, but it leaves so much to be desired, that if that's what you're after I'd just pick something else for metal.

Just my impressions of both and two cents.

[Adieu]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

"Current" DSL's are pretty pale immitations of old Marshall models... I don't know what went wrong, but something sure did. Consider the older ones.

Many references to 5150 will be referring to the old Peavey version, btw. If you're not sure what you want, expand your list to include Peavey 5150, Peavey 5150 ii, Peavey 6505, Peavey 6505+, and Peavey 6534. If short on money, consider Bugera 6262 Infinium, a clone with an improved self-bias feature, tube life monitoring, and a circuit that lets you mix different power tubes.

If looking at combos, benefit and difference from speaker swaps is probably more noticeable than the variation between em all.

If looking at heads, consider what cab to use... and no, same-brand same-series companion cab is NOT the obviously correct best final answer,

[Van Noord]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

Whats funny is many players prefer the tone of the new DSL100H heads over the old ones. Especially with the added resonance dial, half power mode and better balance between the channels which share the EQ. The internals are also cleaner built, and the tubes mounted to the chassis not to the PCB.
Best to listen with your ears, and not make assumptions based on build location or foregone preconceptions.

[Adieu]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

Whats funny is many players prefer the tone of the new DSL100H heads over the old ones. Especially with the added resonance dial, half power mode and better balance between the channels which share the EQ. The internals are also cleaner built, and the tubes mounted to the chassis not to the PCB.
Best to listen with your ears, and not make assumptions based on build location or foregone preconceptions.

Ymmv

I have no idea what changed, just that the ones I tried were utterly unmemorable

[Aceman]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

What DSL and What 5150?

All in all, I think the block 5150 head is what you want. But a DSL40 combo is a fantastic amp every which way....

[FuseG4]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

Both are loud amps but the 5150 type can get a decent sound mostly from the preamp. It sounds better to me at lower volume than the DSL.
I think the DSL sounds really, really good cranked up to about 5-7 on the master volume, but it's very loud. Lower levels to me don't sound nearly as good (but I had a made in UK DSL50), I think the power amp needs to be cooking to get the flavor that most people expect from it, but once it does it had a midrange punch that is really marshall. They are also sensitive to power tube changes and the stock chinese tubes sound kinda flat and JJs sound pretty dark compared to what they used to throw in the UK DSL (marshall branded Svetlana which had more singing midrange emphasis).
I will say the DSL is very very 80s rock/metal capable but IMO needs to be loud to get the sound that Marshall intended, and tubes and cab/speaker choice make a lot of difference.

[Adieu]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

Yup 5150 family amps still have their characteristic sound even if you choke off the volume to whisper-quiet by sticking something with a volume control through the FX loop

[fretburner]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

My friend has an old 5150 while I own a DSL100H, and both have more than enough gain for metal.

We plugged both into a Marshall 1960 cab, and the 5150 sounded more middy, while the DSL100H has that trademark Marshall "sizzle" in the upper mids. The 5150 was easier to dial because of that. You'll need to be careful dialing in the treble of the DSL or it will get fizzy. I heard the new version - the DSL100HR - addressed that tendency of becoming fizzy.

The cleans on the DSL though are superior to the 5150, and the plexi to JMP crunch tones are very good! The digital reverb is surprisingly good as well.

If you use the clean channel a lot and like to get classic crunch tones, I'd recommend buying the DSL. Otherwise, you will need to hear both amps and one you like better. The 5150 is "Marshally" and never gets fizzy. I heard the 6505+ and 6534 could be even better than the 1st gen, block 5150. Try those 2 versus the DSL100HR.

Sent from my ASUS_X00TD using Tapatalk

[DonP]

Re: EVH 5150 vs Marshall DSL

I've have a 1998 DSL100 I bought new. I can get Maiden, Priest, and old school Metallica(with a ML-2 pedal) tones. Life is good.

Nothing against the 5150, just never tried one.