Marshall DSL 401

B

BluesGuyJ

New member
Hey guys, I think the Marshall DSL 401 seems to be the amp that is fitting the bill for what I need.

My question is what do you all think of it? How does it take pedals well?

I am thinking of getting a few different distortion/OD pedals to throw in front of it to get my desired distortion tones instead of relying just on the amps gain on tap, which I heard can be a little buzzy(?).

Reliability?

Also, are these open or closed back?
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

They are partially open, more than closed. Stays fairly focused though. The onboard gain is ok, but once you open the gain up its not tight at all. Definately need a decent OD boost. After that its got a great tone, as long as you have a decent replacement speaker or cab to run it through. I had one of these around a year ago and i really enjoyed playing that amp. Just didnt have the volume for our practices, so i sold it. Very prone to feedback at higher volumes, which forces you to keep the gain down.

The reliability issue with this amp is the crazy overheating microchip towards the faceplate of the amp. I would google this or something, but they did fix it with the post '04 models i think. I had an 02, and it got warm and after a couple hours it was really hot, but nothing ever happened with it.

If you still plan on getting that 4x12 with v30s like in your sig says, you will definately have some fun with that amp!
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

closed back, but there's a grille so i guess it's halfway between the two!

it takes pedals well enough, but JCMs take them better.. i get the feeling the input is buffered or something? wah pedals can sound slightly flat, for sure.

the only way you're gonna get this right is try one with your own pedals in a shop or something! it's a taste thing!
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

I'd go with a single channel JCM 800 or 900 combo if your gonna run dirt boxes in front of it. Those amps have mucho MOJO hiding in them. Check Ebay out.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

These are nice little amps, but you really owe it to yourself to try the Mesa Boogie EL84 amps; like the DC-3, Maverick, Nomad 45, F-30, up to the newest Lonestar Special.

You'll find that the Mesa's are better built and have more tonal options.

Bill
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

I've never owned a DSL401 and my experience with Marshalls has always been sour. Take the 401 - IMO this amp sounds tinny and buzzy. I always thought the distortion channel of the DSL series was underrated, especially in light of the God-awful TSL buzz. However, if you don't particularly like this amp's distortion to begin with, is it worth the sparkling "Marshall cleans"? I don't think so. And if you're concerned about reliability I'd steer clear of the DSL/TSL series altogether.

Give us a better idea of what tones you're after!
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

Yea they wont sound all that, especially stock and without turning up the volume. Saggy dont bash this amp, i promise you it does kick ass.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

Boogie Bill said:
These are nice little amps, but you really owe it to yourself to try the Mesa Boogie EL84 amps; like the DC-3, Maverick, Nomad 45, F-30, up to the newest Lonestar Special.

You'll find that the Mesa's are better built and have more tonal options.

Bill
Click to expand...
I agree, The F-30 is one hell of an amp. And its used price sits at about $750 on ebay, but I've seen some go for $500.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

if you already aren't fond of the crunch tone and plan to use boxes then go on and get a nice old school single channel amp that has a great tone that you can use as a base for different pedals...
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

Saggy said:
I've never owned a DSL401 and my experience with Marshalls has always been sour. Take the 401 - IMO this amp sounds tinny and buzzy. I always thought the distortion channel of the DSL series was underrated, especially in light of the God-awful TSL buzz. However, if you don't particularly like this amp's distortion to begin with, is it worth the sparkling "Marshall cleans"? I don't think so. And if you're concerned about reliability I'd steer clear of the DSL/TSL series altogether.

Give us a better idea of what tones you're after!
Click to expand...

I disagree with that. The dirt on the DSL is more gritty than that of my JMP, but I wouldnt say that it was buzzy. It benefits from cranking the master volume, like all tube amps. It smooths out really nicely for leads with an OD infront of it. I sold mine simply becuase I needed the extra headroom of a 50watt JMP half stack, but the 401 is a nice amp, as Robbiedbee, who bought it, will attest.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

What I am looking for exactly would be Joe Bonomasas studio tone on "Blues Deluxe".

I want an amp with a good, thick and meaty clean that I can keep clean obviously but also slightly break up for some overdriven blues tones.

Then for distortion, I want an amp that can go from AC/DC territory to high gain modern tones, but I am willing to get more of this tone with pedals in addition to the amp.

My playing is so damn diverse I am having an extremely difficult time finding a tube amp that suits it. I am considering the Vox stuff but I was hoping for an all tube amp and I am now almost realizing I may need 2 different rigs.

What do you guys think? Any amps out there that can nail this?
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

BluesGuyJ said:
Then for distortion, I want an amp that can go from AC/DC territory to high gain modern tones, but I am willing to get more of this tone with pedals in addition to the amp.
Click to expand...

What degree of authenticity are we reaching for with the 401 1 x 12" combo?

Because you can hit AC/DC with the 401, but you'll need a pedal to hit what is now referred to as "high gain territory" (5150, Soldano, MESA, etc.).

AC/DC is about as far-away from high-gain as you can get. We're talking gain-structure changes, speaker changes, etc. Not to mention the pickups, which need to be open-sounding.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

I love my DSL 401, (cheers Kyuss rock). I love the cleans, and I really dig the medium gain channel. I think it takes pedals really well. If it's distortion you're referring to, I find that the amp does crunchy rhythm tones on it's own, but the singing leads come better with a pedal. I use a SFX-03 to do this, usually just on the clean channel, as SFX-03 rhythm tones are a little flubby in the bottom end.

I think the most obvious, fundamental thing when it comes to pedals is, the better tone before the pedal, the better the tone comes out. If you have an awesome cleans, that's a start. You could use this amp on just the clean channel alone.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

Well, i dont know joe bonomasas is, but when you say versatility from acdc to high gain the only thing that i can think of that isnt ridiculously priced is the laneys.. the vh/vc amp or the newer TT amps. That is if you can deal with that fuzziness inherent in laneys. There was nothing my vc50 couldnt do, and i mean that. The 401 will NOT do high gain, even with an OD pedal. You would have to get a mean sounding distortion pedal to do it, just too much feedback at higher volumes.. unless you keep the volume at 1 all the time.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

the 401 is not to be compared to the DSL head- they just sound different. yes, the 401 sounds very fuzzy, not quite the usual Marshall drive tone.
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

i've just fallen in love with mine over again..

volume up, gain down, guitar volume to taste.. sounds like a pissed off AC30 in yellow mode - rory gallagher would smile in his grave!

the red mode? yeah. you've got to be careful with treble - but it's a 1x12 combo, i dunno what you were expecting metalwise?

it's a versatile amp, and with a bit of experience you can get some awesome tones. but for £450, it's not going to pretend to be a JCM 800, an AC30 and a 5150 all at once- remember it's EL84 based!
 
Re: Marshall DSL 401

thats like $800 US.. hell i got mine for 400! And the one i had was very warm, i could dime the treble easily and get that classic crunch no prob. That was with the stock speaker too.. just dont use t75s or you will have a treble problem, even with it on 1. I tried that..
 
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