What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

Lucid_Lunatic

Lucid_Lunatic

Rebelyellologist
Around 05, Marshall discontinued the DSL amps. At the time a halfstack (head & 1960A cab) was going for around $2000. The last couple of months, I have been seeing new ones that are marked in the sales catalogs as "Special Edition". They are around $1200, which is a really cheap price for a new Marshall tube head and cabinet.

I asked a buddy why they were so cheap and he said he thought they had a cheaper cabinet and that they are made in China instead of England.

Anyone know for sure the specs on these and why they are so much cheaper?
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

I used this amp at a jam a couple of weeks ago through it's matching 2 x 12 cab. It belonged to a friend so he gave me permission to tweak it as much as I liked. I used my SG which usually sounds good through just about anything and I really hated this amp. Lots of gain but totally gutless. I got some barely acceptable rhythm sounds out of it but the lead tones were rubbish. However, it's the only DSL I've played through so I have no idea whether it sounds any different to the originals. Also, bear in mind that the last Marshall I had that I liked was the Studio 15. I think Marshall lost the plot years ago.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

richard parker said:
... I think Marshall lost the plot years ago.
Click to expand...

I have to agree, the last good offerings IMO were the Jubilee and the 20th anniversary 3 channel heads. That said, a good 800 will make them both run away screaming bloody murder... ;)

The 900 series (1990-2000) were the beginning of the end IMO. Grainy diode distortion, no balls to the tone... the only one that sounded good was the Super lead mark 3 with 2 footswitchable master volumes. Then Marshall decided to replace it with the SL-X, a box of overgained mush that went over great wioth some od the undefined sludge metal acts of the day, but really sucked a lot worse than most want to admit. Most of the mos t brutal tones of the 90s were actually created on Plexis, 800s and Valvestates, and not on what were then current Marshall tube offerings (the original Valvestate 8100s actually were current at the time, and were IMO one of the best things to come out of Marshall in the 90s).

Unfortunately, the new milennium appears to have brought more of the same both to and from Marshall. Excessive amounts of gain, unnecessary features, and watered down often undefined tones are more popular today than ever before :(
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

I'm guessing some stuff in the newer heads are cheaper since they are selling the new "Special Edition" halfstacks for what the original heads sold for alone. I have an 05 DSL and I love the thing. I have tried 2 of the new ones at GC and they remind me alot of a Crate Blue VooDoo. Kind of thin and the distortion sounds more like a bunch of pissed off bees than anything else. They don't sound anything like the original series of DSL's.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

I have a really early DSL100 head from 1999, and I love it! aint no way I'm getting rid of it anytime soon, its been the corner stone of my sound now for over 5 years,

I've played a handful of other DSL heads and a few combos and I must admit there did seem to be slight variations in sound, one imparticular sounded very thin and trebley :cool2:

There's also alot of mods which you can do to the amp to voice the lead channels closer to the crunch channels, aswell as OT, PT and choke upgrades from mercury magnets, which I hear sound awesome, but costly
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

i have a 1998 Orange Crush. I played a newer one at a Sam Ash a week ago becuase I wanted to hear the guitars through an amp I was familiar with. These new ones sound like crap. Maybe the speakers need breaking in? I have no idea, but mine roars like the best of them. I don't really have any desire for a new amp.

Unfortunately, these $hitty low price amps will do two things: 1) Give the DSL's a bad rap, and 2) make the resale prices even lower.

I'm glad I'm very happy with my amp because I know I'd be f*cked trying to sell it. I paid about $1800 new retail back in Nov. 1998.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

I bought a used DSL 50 last year and my experience so far is that I love the green channel in crunch mode but can't really find a sound I like in the red channel. Still undecided as to whether I should sell it or look into modding it to get the red channel sounding closer to the green channel.

I would love a 50w EL34 master volume tube head that has two identical channels with independent gain, volume and EQ!
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

Simon_F said:
....

I would love a 50w EL34 master volume tube head that has two identical channels with independent gain, volume and EQ!
Click to expand...

I would buy that in a heartbeat, even faster if I can get a third channel with separate gain and MV controls that shares an EQ with the clean channel. I´m finding 2 channels ever more limiting tehse past few weeks.... Kind of wishing I´d have bought that Mk1 Triamp when I had the chance a few years ago....
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

Simon_F said:
I never said nuthin bout no clean channel!
Click to expand...

Neither did I.... I just want a lead channel with identical voicing and eq settings to the clean but more gain added on top. I´ve realized that my "lead" tone is practically identical to my clean tone, just with 20-30dB more gain pummeling the tubes. :beerchug:

Clean + eq
Crunch + eq
Lead (takes eq settings from clean but has it´s own volumes)

;)
 
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Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

I've already clipped C12 in my DSL-100. I'm thinking of trying the amp with the G12H30 speakers to see if it calms the seriously snarky upper mid spike the amp has with Vintage 30s.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

Gr8Scott said:
I've already clipped C12 in my DSL-100. I'm thinking of trying the amp with the G12H30 speakers to see if it calms the seriously snarky upper mid spike the amp has with Vintage 30s.
Click to expand...

I've got 75's and 30's in mine. The 75's in an X pattern really make it shine.

I'm going to Georgia tomorrow to check out a 2002 model DSL 100 halfstack with a 1960A that's suppossed to me mint. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

Me and Glassman were talking about these amps yesterday while we were tweaking my 5150 head. This new DSL head is supposedly made in china, and thats coming from a friend of mine who works for a reputable guitar store not called guitar center. After everything is built, it is then sent to the UK where they put the tubes in, bias it, do a final inspection, put the chasis into the head cab, try it out then tell themselves now it's made in the UK. The newer DSL's also have a thinner head cabinet just like the overseas models aswell, in pictures it's not noticable but in person you will definately see it.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

mrfunnyman said:
This new DSL head is supposedly made in china. After everything is built, it is then sent to the UK where they put the tubes in, bias it, do a final inspection, put the chasis into the head cab, try it out then tell themselves now it's made in the UK.
Click to expand...

So? Just because Chinese people manufactured it does not make it suck. It's not that humane to take advantage of the Chinese because they work for so little money, but that's another issue entirely. The issue I have is when a company rips off the intellectual property of someone who paid for the research and development and markets it as their own. In my opinion, the country of manufacture is irrelevant, especially if it's coupled with decent quality control. (That being said, I'm a vocal supporter of Eminence speakers, but that may just be because I'm a proud nationalist American.)
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

misterwhizzy said:
So? Just because Chinese people manufactured it does not make it suck. It's not that humane to take advantage of the Chinese because they work for so little money, but that's another issue entirely. The issue I have is when a company rips off the intellectual property of someone who paid for the research and development and markets it as their own. In my opinion, the country of manufacture is irrelevant, especially if it's coupled with decent quality control. (That being said, I'm a vocal supporter of Eminence speakers, but that may just be because I'm a proud nationalist American.)
Click to expand...


But they do suck. I had been told by a couple of people they were being made in China with cheaper parts. It really shows in the tone from these newer ones. I'm not saying it's Chinas fault, but they are using inferior parts.

Anyways, I gotta jet over the state line for a littlewhile. If anyone is in the Cave Springs, GA area, hit me up while I'm there.
 
Re: What's The Deal On The DSL Price?

misterwhizzy said:
So? Just because Chinese people manufactured it does not make it suck. It's not that humane to take advantage of the Chinese because they work for so little money, but that's another issue entirely. The issue I have is when a company rips off the intellectual property of someone who paid for the research and development and markets it as their own. In my opinion, the country of manufacture is irrelevant, especially if it's coupled with decent quality control. (That being said, I'm a vocal supporter of Eminence speakers, but that may just be because I'm a proud nationalist American.)
Click to expand...

I agree 100% on all points.

That being said however, who do you think is more likely to build a good amplifier consistently: Somebody who´s been doing it fopr 20 years making a decent living off of it, or somebody that was just taught how to do it 2 years ago and barely earns what could be considered a wage, even in China?

My money is on the experience. ;)

:beerchug:
 
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