Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

[poweredbysoul]

Looking at one of these as well as the JCM 600.
Looking to get the DSL head and a 1936 2/12 cab.
What your experiences with the DSL.
I play Classic Rock, Blues, Hard Rock and Metal. Looking for good marshall tone and crunch. primarily with Les Pauls.

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

Looking at one of these as well as the JCM 600.
Looking to get the DSL head and a 1936 2/12 cab.
What your experiences with the DSL.
I play Classic Rock, Blues, Hard Rock and Metal. Looking for good marshall tone and crunch. primarily with Les Pauls.

DSLs are fantastic unlike their very distant cousin the TSL! All the TSL amps I used were noisy and unreliable. If you want that classic Les Paul through a Marshall sound you can defintely dial it in. The DSL is a convincingly versatile amp. The orange channel crunch is the best part of it. The ultra gain sounds better with single coils.

It has a very warm sound. It doesn't have the clarity of a JVM but you can get better results with tube swaps on a DSL than a JVM. Changing from stock tubes on a JVM no matter what brand you use isn't going to be much of an improvement. Put some JJ, Mullards or Tung-Sols. The DSL will sound better then.

You can dial in some convincing clean sounds but the orange crunch channel is where it's at. The DSL50 vs DSL100, well the DSL100 is not as loud as a Plexi 100w. It's not bad at all at lower volumes. There's a lot more headroom on the 100 though. Both of them, when you play very loud, you have to dial back the gain because they can get a little muddy.

The DSL 401 is a different beast. I don't like those amps. They sound like solid state. For a little 40w combo you sure have to get it loud to get a half way decent tone! Stay away from those brother.

Hope this is enough to get you going bro!

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

I really liked the DSL50 a former bandmate used. It's a great workhorse amp, and I think anybody who knows how to turn knobs could find a good usable tone from it.

it's not the BEST tone by any means but it's definitely a good, workable one. The cleans aren't quite Fender but they're not bad by a long shot, and the OD is great for 90's punk rock and modern hardcore. If I wanted a Marshall and it was going to be my one and only amp the DSL50 is probably what I'd end up with.

I've thought about picking one up to try and subvert my craving for an Orange Rockerverb but my old Fender head is fine for the stuff I do...and buying a Marshall when you want an Orange would be kinda like buying a Ford when you want a Chevy.

 

[y2stevo]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

I'll second what Yngwiestein said about the DSL,
I've been using the DSL 50 with the 1936 2x12 cab for the last 2 and 1/2 years every week at gigs.
I play in a cover band, we cover everything from Green day, Zepplin, Abba to Van Halen.
I find it's a very versatile amp, I especially love the "jangley" cleans when you roll off the volume on the guitar with the Orange crunch channel Yngwiestein was talking about.

 

[metlking]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

I bought one to try out and thought it was a great all around amp though I would've prefered seperate EQ's. I could've easily lived with it and been happy but I also owned a Splawn Quickrod and frankly the DSL50 was no match for the QR....none the less, still a great amp that can be had on the cheap!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

Speakers make a big difference of the character of that amp too! Personally, the JCM900 1960AV is the better choice for versatile tone out of it, due to the Vin 30's. The stock cab for it though is the 1960A w/G75's, which is crunchier and more scooped.

 

[JohnnyGuitar]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

Have no experience with the DSL but I'll second anything bad that Yngwiestein had said about the TSL - please don't thing about it as a replacement to anything.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

I like the DSL50 but the 1936 cab is junk. The newer ones are overpriced particle board.

 

[lex666]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

I <3 my TSL602 :28:

 

[Yngwiestein]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

I like the DSL50 but the 1936 cab is junk. The newer ones are overpriced particle board.

That's not true. I bought a new 1936 only a few weeks ago and it was made of baltic birch plywood. Good construction, great speakers.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Marshall DSL 50, user reviews....

It's a great amp. I rented one a while back, and was able to get quite a few nice tones out of it. As gear mentioned, speaker selection is key to getting what you want out of it. Vintage 30's will give you a fatter, more mid-heavy crunch, and the G12T75's will give you a harder-edged scooped tone.

I think it's one of Marshall's best amps in recent years. It has just enough features and knobs to make it versatile, but it is simple enough that you don't really have to worry about tweaking it too much to get a nice tone. Surprisingly good cleans, and all the Marshall crunch you could want.