So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

[Nostalgic Distortion]

So I literally just ordered a new DSL40C. I was originally looking at getting the 100W head but for my current situation the 40W combo is not only cheaper but it's also more practical. I've got a couple of questions about it for you DSL owners, first & foremost what do you think?

Secondly, if history is any indication of the future I'm probably not going to be a huge fan of the stock Seventy/80 & I plan on swapping it out for a Creamback as soon as possible. Unfortunately I'm going to have to pay off my credit card first! I've got a 75W WGS Retro 30 just kicking around, do you guys who've tried them think that this speaker would be a good replacement for the Seventy/80 until I can get the Creamback in it? I mean would it even be an improvement or should I just not bother?

See, I don't think Seventy/80's are bad, they're just not all that great either? I don't know if anyone has tried a retro 30 in a DSL40 or something comparable but if so I'd love to hear your thoughts.... Thanks!!!

 

[skyydogg01]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

What could it hurt? Do it

 

[Lampy H]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

It'd probably sound rad.

 

[ken361]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I have the amp did a retube and put a Warehouse British lead, the speaker really warmed it up nicely! im sure putting that other speaker would work great. I still run the amps treble at 3 and presence 5 works for the Les Paul. Crunch has a nice ac/dc sound and the red for 80's rock. One of the most satisfying amps I owned and i had many!

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

The Seventy/80 sucks so hard I would put that WGS in there without a thought.

DSL's are great.

 

[JeffB]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I have one of the Sweetwater specials with a g12m creamback. It's better than a 70/80, but I don't really like g12ms in a open back all that much.. the v30 sounds excellent in the combo cab.

That said, I run mine through a 212 with a m20 and a h30 and only use the green channel. Red channel sounds OK with a strat but don't care for it otherwise. Nasal, thin.

Preamp tube swap-early 60s yellow label mullard in v1, modern ehx in v2/3 and a sovtek lps in the PI. I'm back and forth on the tad str EL34b's it came with and the mullard ri el34s. They both have their merits.

 

[czarokrates]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I've got 100 DSL H version plugged into 4x12 G12t-75 and is amazing, they are underrated (in place where V30 and GB are overrated) but sounds as it should so. Go for G12t-75, even one sounds good

 

[Liam1963]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I've got 100 DSL H version plugged into 4x12 G12t-75 and is amazing, they are underrated (in place where V30 and GB are overrated) but sounds as it should so. Go for G12t-75, even one sounds good

+1

 

[JeffB]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I jinxed myself.. my old yellow label started to get all weird last night and this morning. Amp got fizzy and thin.....started howling... It's had it.

I ended up moving the ehx's to.v1/2 put one of the Marshall branded tubes back into v3. Hate to admit it, but it sounds damn good. Maybe better than when the os mullard was still functioning correctly.

 

[dystrust]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I jinxed myself.. my old yellow label started to get all weird last night and this morning. Amp got fizzy and thin.....started howling... It's had it.

I ended up moving the ehx's to.v1/2 put one of the Marshall branded tubes back into v3. Hate to admit it, but it sounds damn good. Maybe better than when the os mullard was still functioning correctly.

Maybe it's something to do with higher gain preamps? Several years ago I had the chance to A/B EHX and NOS Mullard 12AX7s in my Jubilee 2555 and I was honestly shocked at how close they sounded. I still use EHXs today because they sound great and it's hard to argue with the price. OTOH at the same time I was also borrowing a friend's '73 PTP 100W Superlead and that thing ABSOLUTELY preferred the Mullards. They were smooth and fat whereas the EHXs were bright and a bit harsh.

 

[JeffB]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

Maybe it's something to do with higher gain preamps? Several years ago I had the chance to A/B EHX and NOS Mullard 12AX7s in my Jubilee 2555 and I was honestly shocked at how close they sounded. I still use EHXs today because they sound great and it's hard to argue with the price. OTOH at the same time I was also borrowing a friend's '73 PTP 100W Superlead and that thing ABSOLUTELY preferred the Mullards. They were smooth and fat whereas the EHXs were bright and a bit harsh.

Yeah. Could be. I only use the green crunch mode, but the EHX just kinda tightens and opens things up. Less fizz, a little more beef/focus. The os yellow label mullard was more.compressed and higher gain.. Could just be the ehx's a better match with my guitars/speakers/pickups.

I am.gonna roll a few other tubes into V1 to try out. The svetlana is similar build to the ehx but a bit sweeter and a tad more gain. I don't find them as reliable but I do like the tone a bit better generally. I gotta get another ordered up. My class 5 killed my last one.

 

[Wattage]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

The other guitarist in my band has the DSL40. First we swapped in the creamback, that made a nice difference. It smoothed the harshness out a bit. Then he swapped some of the tubes out. they cooked pretty quickly IMO. It's a little beast now. Sounds like and does what a Marsha should do

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

Thanks guys, it's looking like I'm going to end up with a Vintage 30 in there. I had some Greenbacks laying around and I found someone who wanted to trade so he could do the whole V-30/Greenback in a 2X12 thing? I'm going to give it a shot, I've always been more partial to Creambacks but the Vintage 30 may focus the low end better in a semi open back cabinet & I don't have to pull $165 out of pocket to pay for it!

There's a good chance that I'll end up sticking it on top of my G12T-75 loaded 2x12 when I need to fill more air but ideally I'd also like one great speaker inside the combo for practice purposes. I'll toss in the WGS for now as it can handle the speaker load, plus the dude who has the Vintage 30 is out of the country for the next month, when he's back I'll try that. If it's not what I'm looking for I'll try the Creamback, exe...

 

[astrozombie]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

i have a vintage 30 in my older marshall DSL401. I never heard the original but the owner said these small amps benefit from a darker speaker. I understand the 7080 is a "75" style speaker, I'd opt for something darker.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

There's a good chance that I'll end up sticking it on top of my G12T-75 loaded 2x12 when I need to fill more air but ideally I'd also like one great speaker inside the combo for practice purposes. I'll toss in the WGS for now as it can handle the speaker load, plus the dude who has the Vintage 30 is out of the country for the next month, when he's back I'll try that. If it's not what I'm looking for I'll try the Creamback, exe...

Id probably take one of the g12T's and stick that in the combo and see how that goes too. You might find its got a bit more low end.

FWIW....if you do decide you need to spend money on a speaker...have a sniff around for a used g12H100. Those are excellent in an open 1x12 format with a marshall and usually can be snapped up at a good price.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

Sweet! Should be a cool amp! I don't have any experience playing them but I was intrigued by them.

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

Id probably take one of the g12T's and stick that in the combo and see how that goes too. You might find its got a bit more low end.

FWIW....if you do decide you need to spend money on a speaker...have a sniff around for a used g12H100. Those are excellent in an open 1x12 format with a marshall and usually can be snapped up at a good price.

LOL, you actually just reminded me that I've got a G12H-100 just sitting in a box! It's been in there for about 5 years now but I just plugged it into my 1X12 & it sounds great! I yanked that out of a random 90's Fender combo some old guy gave me when I was doing his roof. When I got it the amplifier was D.O.A., it was just a early 90's S.S. 1X12 & probably not worth fixing if I could...

Plus there was the danger factor, I could tell that someone had been messing around inside it at some point. I'm 99% sure that the speaker wasn't original & there were a few other things that were off as well? LOL, I didn't like having to plug it in, let alone having to go tinkering around inside of it so I kept the speaker, lost the chassis, & built a cabinet for a friend with the rest of it. The cone on the G12M-100 has a small deformity in the center but it doesn't seem to affect the sound or tone at all?

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The DSL40C should arrive sometime tomorrow morning as long as UPS isn't lying to me again!!! I'll try out the speakers that I've got on hand & see what works best, although I'll have to wait a bit for the Vintage 30? That actually kinda sucks because I'm guessing that's the one I'll end up liking the most but we'll see, I've been surprised before....

Now that I'm thinking about it the G12H-100 might be a good choice? It's not British voiced but it's not U.S.A. voiced either. They sort of live right in between & work well in a variety of amplifiers, plus it's definitely already well broken in!!! I'll let you guys know how it turns out.....

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

Sweet! Should be a cool amp! I don't have any experience playing them but I was intrigued by them.

I'm definitely pretty pumped about it! To me they're kinda like a MIM Strat's, they are good out of the box but with a few small tweaks and by throwing a few dollars @ them they can be amazing! If all goes according to plan it should make 2-3 of my little 5W-15W lunchbox heads obsolete (@ higher volumes anyhow). It would just be super if I could get those same tones all from one amp and sell off a few of the others, for the sake of room if nothing else!!!

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I'm definitely pretty pumped about it! To me they're kinda like a MIM Strat's, they are good out of the box but with a few small tweaks and by throwing a few dollars @ them they can be amazing! If all goes according to plan it should make 2-3 of my little 5W-15W lunchbox heads obsolete (@ higher volumes anyhow). It would just be super if I could get those same tones all from one amp and sell off a few of the others, for the sake of room if nothing else!!!

I agree, don't think it will take much to mod/upgrade to an awesome combo!

I was interested in these amps but ultimately went with a Fender Blues Jr...never even tried the DSL. lol

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: So I Just Bought A New DSL40C, Anyone Else Have One?

I agree, don't think it will take much to mod/upgrade to an awesome combo!

I was interested in these amps but ultimately went with a Fender Blues Jr...never even tried the DSL. lol

I know how much you love your Fender Blues jr.! I've nearly bought one several times myself but always opted for something else in the end? I don't know if you're in the market for another head but if so I can give you a pretty insane deal on a Blackstar HT-5R or a Orange Tiny Terror. P.M. me if you want...