NAD - one watt goodness!

[Rex_Rocker]

So I grabbed a Marshall DSL1HR as a Christmas gift to myself. I do 99.9% of my playing at home, so I figured I'd treat myself with another low-wattage amp head. I plugged it into a Marshall 1960TV at the store and I was sold. I got home, and I plugged it into my Marshall 1960A with Creamback H-75's and Relic 30's and it sounds incredible. It's a lot louder than my 1W Randall Diavlo, and it's also tighter with more creamy mids. Overall, it sounds (unsurprisingly) more British-voiced than my other two amps (Krank Rev Jr. and Randall RD1H). I even threw a mic in front of a Creamback, and voilá! It records great (I'll be posting something better than quick noodling at some point).

I then plugged it into my Orange PPC112. Err... I dunno if I like it better than my Randall here. The Orange cab is really dark and mid-focused, and the Marshall is also not very bright. I had to have the highs at around 7 out of 10 through my Marshall cab (which is already pretty bright), but through the Orange, it's a bit muffled-sounding. Don't get me wrong, it does sound good, just not as nice as through the 4x12. I got it with the intention of selling my Randall, but I don't know if I will now. I'm gonna try tweaking it some more, and perhaps an EQ in the loop first, though, before I 100% make up my mind.

I guess it's not that surprising that it sounds best through a Marshall cab, though. And like I said, it does sound absolutely incredible when ran through that cab. So I'm happy with my purchase, overall, but I would've liked it to blow me away through my little Orange cab as much as it did through a bigger cab. I'm going to try tweaking it more first. I guess it's true what they say about Marshalls being more at home through Greenback-flavored speakers than Vintage 30's.

So yeah!

*EDIT 1* Here's a mega-short tiny clip quad-tracked a bit sloppily.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/69bq9l7xwjl559r/Marshall%203.mp3?dl=0

*EDIT 2* I tried a Boss GE-7 in the loop to brighten it up through my Orange cab, and it's fantastic! Love the amp now. It's REALLY loud, though. The low power setting is about as loud as my Randall 1W. The 1W setting on the Marshall... I don't think it could pull off band practice, but it's still plenty loud to annoy the neighbors.

[dystrust]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

What tubes are in it? If the preamp tubes are JJs, that could explain the rather dark tonality. As far as Greenbacks vs V30s, I'd say it's largely a matter of personal taste. Generally speaking I prefer V30s (or better yet H30s), but I've used Greenbacks and been happy with the tone. I actually prefer Greenbacks (or Eminence Private Jacks) to V30s when playing clean.

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

It's got a Marshall-branded JJ ECC83S in the first position, a Marshall-branded Shuguang in the second position, and a Marshall-branded JJ ECC82 in the poweramp. I already swapped them for EHX's in the first and last positions which are the brightest preamp tubes I can think of, and it's better, but it's still dark. I think the cab is more to blame than the amp, though. I've always thought Orange cabs in general are kinda dark because of the thick, stiff grill cloth. I want to give an EQ pedal in the loop a try before making any decisions, though, because it sounds absolutely killer through my Marshall 4x12.

[Van Noord]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

Sounds great! What boost are you using? TS/808? Is the amp capable of more lows than that or is the boost cutting them out?
The highs are a bit brittle for my preference, but I hear that a lot with the voicing of the DSL line.

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

Thanks! The lows are set at 9. You can still get a little bit more, but it's a 1 watt amp, after all. I'll tell you, it does have a whole lot more low-end than my Randall Diavlo 1W, though. I used my Duncan 805 as a boost. I wish I hadn't sold my SD-1. I'm sure the SD-1 would fit this amp a bit better. And the highs, I agree. I went a little overboard. They're set at around 7. Also, H-75 Creambacks are voiced quite sizzly, so it's a little bit of both adding up.

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

I updated the clip in post 1 with something I dialed in a little better. Still short and kinda sloppy, though.

Also, I tried an EQ in the loop with my Orange cab, and it's much better. I like it better than my Randall now.

I'm still not convinced the 805 is the right boost for it, though. It's a bit too smooth and lower-mid focused for the amp. I would like to try a Forza or at least another SD-1 like the one I had before.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

That sounds very promising to me! Was that recorded using preamp gain only? What pickup did you use?

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

That sounds very promising to me! Was that recorded using preamp gain only? What pickup did you use?

Thanks! The volume was set at around 6.5. So yeah, the poweramp was working, but it was not adding any grit. I have it setup to where there is some nice poweramp warmth but not any flub from poweramp breakup. It was boosted using an 805, though, but the gain was set at around 5.5, so there was still some more room to go if you needed more. I used my PRS SE Nick Catanese with Black Winters, but my PRS SE Mike Mushok with a Dominion, which is not as hot, sounds nice through it too.

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

Thanks! The volume was set at around 6.5. So yeah, the poweramp was working, but it was not adding any grit. I have it setup to where there is some nice poweramp warmth but not any flub from poweramp breakup. It was boosted using an 805, though, but the gain was set at around 5.5, so there was still some more room to go if you needed more. I used my PRS SE Nick Catanese with Black Winters, but my PRS SE Mike Mushok with a Dominion, which is not as hot, sounds nice through it too.

Cool, thanks for the info. I am intrigued by this amp. To get my JMP clone to sound like that will break my lease lol.

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: NAD - one watt goodness!

Well, the Ultra channel does have a fair bit of gain on tap. Not as much as my Randall, but more than enough. About the same as my Krank without its boost function engaged.

The Classic channel ies more Plexi-ish, IMO. It doesn't have a master volume, so in order to get the gain out of the Classic channel, you have to crank it. I only use that channel for cleans, but it can do the rock stuff as well.

The output transformer is pretty beefy for a 1W amp too. It's not much smaller than my 20W Krank's OT!

Overall, I think it's a great amp for home practice. It's only $50 more than the Randall RD1H, but it offers a whole lot more.