To those curious about "boutique" amps...

[Red_Label]

Save yourself the dough and just get a good example of the classics that the so-called boutique amps are based-on.

I won't say that the boutique amps don't deliver. Most of them do! And I won't say that I didn't love my Bogners (or VHT, or H&K, etc). Cause I did!

But this past week and a half with my new [to me] Marshall DSL50 has been quite a revelation to me. This beeotch sounds every bit as sweet, juicy, chewy, organic, roaring, etc as the Bogner XTC Classic that I sold a few months ago did. Yes, the Bogner had superior cleans, and MIGHT have had something in the low-end that the Marshall doesn't have. But honestly, this DSL sounds so sweet I don't miss the Bogner at all. And I could buy 3-4 DSLs for the price of the Bogner!

I spent several hours yesterday re-doing my pedal board, and wiring my TC G-System back into it as well. I've got the G-Sys switching channels on the Marshall, as well as giving me a volume boost on solo-lead patches. All-in-all I couldn't be happier with my rig right now!

BTW... I played through a bunch of older rock like ACDC, Def Leppard, and a bunch of "newer" rock like AIC and Collective Soul and the Marshall just slayed for all of it. Besides scooped-Mesa type metal and country or jazz... this Marshall will do anything that any of the boutique amps I've owned or played will. Add to that the fact that the classic Marshall roar/kerrang is often not exactly duplicated in supposedly much more "capable" amps. My Bogners had something of their own for sure (low mids). But the high-mid Marshall sound really does it for me like no other. At this point I'm not really drooling over other amps. Just at the possibility of getting a second DSL50 to have as a spare/stereo setup and all at a price that's half of the boutique amps.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Just playing devil's advocate here....

I traded a DSL100 for a VHT Deliverance Sixty, straight up..... Just saying.....

That being said, I do agree with the concept of get what works best for you.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Just playing devil's advocate here....

I traded a DSL100 for a VHT Deliverance Sixty, straight up..... Just saying.....

That being said, I do agree with the concept of get what works best for you.

Different strokes for different folks. And most decent amps have their strengths and weaknesses. But there are a lot of guys out there looking for more or less a "hot rodded Marshall" at 2-4X the price of a good used Marshall. I was certainly in that camp. And now that I've been through the process, I realize that I was mainly doing it to satisfy my curiousity. Because there was nothing wrong with my Marshalls.

I will say that my epiphany regarding Marshalls and the DSL in particular came when I realized that Gary Moore did and Iron Maiden still does make great music/tones with their DSLs (and JMP-1 preamps).

In my earlier thread I noted also that a good friend of mine (who mostly got me into the boutique realm by selling me his Triamp and got me lusting after Bogners), fell in love with my DSL for the day he had it and if he didn't already have a brand new, custom ordered Splawn Quickrod on the way... he'd be looking for a DSL50 like mine. This guy's got an XTC, Twin Jet, Elmwood, and Aiken sitting in his basement right now. He's been a long time Marshall user (since the early 80s) and it even surprized him how well the DSL did against his much costlier amps. And I'm sure not missing mine.

So I just wanted to throw this out there for some of the younger guys who find themselves GAS'ing for a boutique Marshall style amp... that it's possible they can get the tone they are looking for without having to spend $2K +/- to get there.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

I agree. If you want a hot rodded marshall sound, why not get a Marshall? The JVM is also a really good amp.

DOn't know if you're all about the mod thing but voodoo man and Fyj (?) do some nice mods to the dsl.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

I agree. If you want a hot rodded marshall sound, why not get a Marshall? The JVM is also a really good amp.

DOn't know if you're all about the mod thing but voodoo man and Fyj (?) do some nice mods to the dsl.

Yeah... I've heard about them. I've got a former bandmate who's got a DSL100 that's got one of their mods. But I've never noticed anything spectacular about his tone. Of course... it might be HIS fingers... LOL! He's not really a player's player. But if there is one mod I would be interested in, its a mod to better match the Classic and Ultra channels in terms of that big tone. The Classic channel in crunch mode with an OD hitting the front end is like a classic JCM800 2203. HUGE! Kick-in the Ultra channel and it thins-out more like a JCM900. That's pretty much my only beef and if I can correct that, I'll be 100% satisfied.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Yeah... I've heard about them. I've got a former bandmate who's got a DSL100 that's got one of their mods. But I've never noticed anything spectacular about his tone. Of course... it might be HIS fingers... LOL! He's not really a player's player. But if there is one mod I would be interested in, its a mod to better match the Classic and Ultra channels in terms of that big tone. The Classic channel in crunch mode with an OD hitting the front end is like a classic JCM800 2203. HUGE! Kick-in the Ultra channel and it thins-out more like a JCM900. That's pretty much my only beef and if I can correct that, I'll be 100% satisfied.

There is a simple mod like snip the c24 or c14, which in turn makes the red channel more like the green/orange.

If they made both channels similar without a shared eq, it would probably get more cred than it does.

Probably would cost more though.

I heard though upgraded ot/pt to Mercury, some better components and upgraded tubes do help make it more beastly.

That's the one amp that any OD/distortion i had sounded amazing through.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Speaking off tubes, there's a mod that will let you run kt88's in the dsl.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

There is a simple mod like snip the c24 or c14, which in turn makes the red channel more like the green/orange.

If they made both channels similar without a shared eq, it would probably get more cred than it does.

Probably would cost more though.

I heard though upgraded ot/pt to Mercury, some better components and upgraded tubes do help make it more beastly.

That's the one amp that any OD/distortion i had sounded amazing through.

Nice! I'll have to look into that. I've certainly done simple mods like that before. Yeah... I really like the way my OCD sounds through it, and my Plexitone as well.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Speaking off tubes, there's a mod that will let you run kt88's in the dsl.

Interesting... will have to keep that in-mind in case I get bored after a while. LOL!

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

I believe it is the c24 if I recall. Should be able to google c24 mod for dsl or check out Marshall amp forums, they have a step by step layout. It's as easy as snipping a cap bc that's exactly what your doing. Have you ever modded an MXR Phase 90 to sound more like the Script version? It's the same thing, snip a cap. There's a few other DIY mods you could try.

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

I stand corrected it's the C12 mod.. My apologies. Been a few years hahahaha

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

check this site out shows u how to do the c12/c17 treble bleed mod, install a choke, and a few others....

http://www.bustedgear.com/repair_Marshall_DSL100_transformers.html

 

[mwalluk]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Well I tried removing the cap and it did make a big difference. The red channels definetly sound more like the green and it feels and sound more huge with the gain around 5. It definetly feels like there is more low end and less treble but I am pretty sure it took away some of the gain as well, not allot but some. The EQ for the two channels match really good as well. Basically it sound more like a extension to the green channel which is a good thing to me. I definitly am going to keep it this way."]Well I tried removing the cap and it did make a big difference. The red channels definetly sound more like the green and it feels and sound more huge with the gain around 5. It definetly feels like there is more low end and less treble but I am pretty sure it took away some of the gain as well, not allot but some. The EQ for the two channels match really good as well. Basically it sound more like a extension to the green channel which is a good thing to me. I definitly am going to keep it this way.

 

[xxxplorer]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Lol... I always read Red Labels old threads and would get curious about the Bogners and such, and yes they are great sounding amps, but non of them did what I need any better than my Marshall 2204. I sometimes wanted to pipe up and say something, but I didn't want to rain on anyone's parade so to speak haha! Never nice when someone is feeling great about their rig and then someone bashes it!

Interesting journey and seems like you've basically re-kindled with an old friend! I had similar things happen with stuff.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/3262/marshalldslc12mod.jpg

Awesome dood! Thanks! Dunno if I'll have time to snip that tonight, but I'll guarantee it'll happen by next weekend!

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Lol... I always read Red Labels old threads and would get curious about the Bogners and such, and yes they are great sounding amps, but non of them did what I need any better than my Marshall 2204. I sometimes wanted to pipe up and say something, but I didn't want to rain on anyone's parade so to speak haha! Never nice when someone is feeling great about their rig and then someone bashes it!

Interesting journey and seems like you've basically re-kindled with an old friend! I had similar things happen with stuff.

Naw... I hear ya man. I can't deny that I really did love my Bogners. They were great amps. But outside the cleans... they really were no better than a good tube Marshall that's been biased right and purrrs like a kitten (or ROARS like a big cat). At least not if you're looking for that Marshall roar (and I always have). It's easy to get caught-up in all the hype... but the fact is, many of the best rock tones in history were done on classic Marshalls with an OD pedal up front. And it sure got us all through the 80s and 90s just fine! (Though I can still live without all of my pointy guitars and Floyd Rose whammy bars just fine!)


BTW... I do have to add though... that PCB or not, custom shop Bogner's are miles ahead of most factory Marshalls in terms of build quality and as such I would expect them to be a lot more road-worthy. But the difference in cash will buy a lot of tech time! ;-)

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Here's the thing - didn't DSL's go for near about $2K when they were new?

They're only so cheap because they're EVERYWHERE. When you compare new mass produced against new boutique, I'd go for the boutique much more than the mass produced.

That said, I'm not much inclined to buy a new amp, so your message rings true over in my little corner of the internet.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Here's the thing - didn't DSL's go for near about $2K when they were new?

They're only so cheap because they're EVERYWHERE. When you compare new mass produced against new boutique, I'd go for the boutique much more than the mass produced.

That said, I'm not much inclined to buy a new amp, so your message rings true over in my little corner of the internet.

Honestly... I'll admit it... I was drawn to Bogner not only because the tone, but also because of the exclusivity. You feel like you're in an elite club when you own something like that. But I get bored with such clubs... LOL! I was in the "PRS club" back in the late-90s. I had a pair of Custom 24s and they were awesome guitars. But I got bored with them after a few years. I find that I actually play better when I'm just playing on gear that no one gives a crap about. It was cool having people show-up at gigs and go "wow... is that a real PRS" or "wow... that dood's got a Bogner". Nobody really does that with Marshall. But at the end of the day, all that REALLY mattered to me is that people dug my PLAYING. Not what I was playing on/through.

So like last-month's percocet buzz, the exclusive club membership high was a very fleeting high. ;-) Hence, my willingess to loudly proclaim that I'm every bit as proud to be an owner of an amp that's considered to be very pedestrian on gear boards. I also proclaimed it on another of my favorite gear whore boards (Rig Talk) where half the guys own more boutique amps then an upscale music store. So I'm not too proud to be vocally happy with my plain-old DSL, even in the midst of gear-snob-central. All though I haven't bothered mentioning it at TGP... as most of those guys scoff at anything with more than one channel and two preamp tubes. LOL!

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Haha

Yeah, I totally get that. I've joined a lot of those clubs lately - Analogman, Wampler, Diamond, and soon to be Skinpimp... But I only do it for pedals. It doesn't feel as bad for some reason - probably because pedals don't cost nearly as much as an amp. I'll be happy to play my bassman until the day I die.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: To those curious about "boutique" amps...

Haha

Yeah, I totally get that. I've joined a lot of those clubs lately - Analogman, Wampler, Diamond, and soon to be Skinpimp... But I only do it for pedals. It doesn't feel as bad for some reason - probably because pedals don't cost nearly as much as an amp. I'll be happy to play my bassman until the day I die.

Nice! I really do wish I could be happy with something for that long. Who knows... maybe the DSL will be it! I'm already looking at picking up another as a "spare"... LOL. I drive my wife crazy. Whenever I find something that I really like, I ALWAYS have to try to get a spare. I'm just paranoid that I'm gonna fall apart if something happens to my "baby" and I have no spare.

That actually started back in the 90s when I just had one PRS and then when I'd break a string in the middle of the set, I'd have to pick up this cheap mexi-strat that didn't play or sound remotely as good as the PRS did. And I would just HATE the rest of the set until I could change a string, and often didn't play my best because I was so disgusted. So I bought a second PRS. And I've been doing crap like that ever since! :eyecrazy:


ETA: I gotta say though... for rock I've been happily playing my ESP Eclipses (and Ltd ECs) for a good decade now and I could not be happier. I wouldn't trade them for any guitar. So I guess I've found a home where guitars are concerned.