Members pureanalog Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Hi folks. Today I received by UPS a Marshall DSL201 20 Watt all tube amp. 4 12ax7 preamp tubes and 2 EL84 The amp sounds well when played at the clean channel with the clean channel gain control under 4-5 and master volume at moderate to quite loud levels. When gain is turned up or when I switch to the dirty channel I get this nasty distortion. Not the kind of distortion one wants but rather a buzzy and fuzzy distortion like the speaker has a problem or something. But no it is not the speaker. I did this test. I hooked up the PODxt to the Effects return input and used the POD as a pre-amp. Everything sounded pretty fine. So the problem must be somewhere in the pre-amp section right?? I swapped the pre-amp tubes positions with one another and nothing changed. I emailed the guy who sold the amp to me and he claims that the amp was working fine before he sent it. I also noticed that the REVERB has an effect on this problem. When turned up its nastier. But it doesnt change anything drastically though. This buzzy distortion makes the amp unusable. Any ideas or suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SQUAREHEAD Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Did you play one BEFORE you bought it?Sell it and buy something else. Kw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kannibul Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Replace the tubes Have the bias checked when replacing the power tubes. Turn it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted March 1, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Originally posted by SQUAREHEAD Did you play one BEFORE you bought it?Sell it and buy something else.Kw Yes I played one but not the particular one. It doesnt sound like this normally if that is what you are implying. I bought it off ebay btw. Kannibul, I turn it up and the problem persists nothing changes. I cannot just change the tubes and spend like 60 EUROS to find out that they are not the problem. So I need to hear some suggestions ideas from past experiences first or what people think... The power amp tubes have been replaced and rebiased right before i bought it supposedly. And as said above the power amp section seems to work ok. thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kannibul Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Originally posted by pureanalog Yes I played one but not the particular one. It doesnt sound like this normally if that is what you are implying.I bought it off ebay btw.Kannibul,I turn it up and the problem persists nothing changes. I cannot just change the tubes and spend like 60 EUROS to find out that they are not the problem. So I need to hear some suggestions ideas from past experiences first or what people think...The power amp tubes have been replaced and rebiased right before i bought it supposedly.And as said above the power amp section seems to work ok.thanks guys The tubes could have been damaged in transit, and the guy could have lied about just changing them out. How old are the preamp tubes? What brand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted March 1, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 The pre-amp tubes are SOVTEK most probably the ones that it came with stock. I thought that pre-amp tubes need a swap every 2-3 power amp changes or so. The thing is how dow i check if the problem is due to the tubes and not the amp itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members clay_finley Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 I you own a tube amp, you'll probably need spares anyways. Just for debugging at the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Filter500 Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Simply put, that amp sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaXu Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Originally posted by Filter500 Simply put, that amp sucks. I agree. IMO the DSL combos are pretty crappy. Nothing like the DSL heads. The combos have weak tone even cranked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BenoA Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 I don't know if can helps, here are my settings from last evening rehearsal using my DSL50... My ears are still ringing... Deep switch- On Presence- 3 Treble- 6 Middle- 8 Bass- 8 Tone shift- Off Reverb (Ultra)- 2.5 Reverb (classic)- not using it Volume(ultra)- 5 mode switch- Lead2 Gain(ultra)- 4 Volume(classic)- not using it mode switch- not using it Gain (classic)- not using it Speaker/Cab Configuration- 1960A 4x12 cab Preamp tubes- JJs Poweramp tubes- Svetlana (42.5 mV) My band plays mostly RATM music with some Deftones, RHCP, Chevelle, Korn and similar shit like that. When i need a clean sound, i simply roll back the volume of my guitar. Main FX are running in front of my DSL50: Boss V-Wah and Digitech Whammy. BenoA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kannibul Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Wow, I didn't notice it was a combo. Sorry, it's got {censored} tone. You'll be lucky to get anything worthwhile out of it. Change tubes when they sound {censored}ty, not by a schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JKD Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Originally posted by pureanalog Hi folks.This buzzy distortion makes the amp unusable. Any ideas or suggestions? Does it have reverb - have you checked eitehr the reverb driver tube or whether the reverb tank has been misplugged? Try unplugging the reverb tank and see if it goes away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Highgrade Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Originally posted by pureanalog Hi folks.Today I received by UPS a Marshall DSL201 20 Watt all tube amp. 4 12ax7 preamp tubes and 2 EL84The amp sounds well when played at the clean channel with the clean channel gain control under 4-5 and master volume at moderate to quite loud levels. When gain is turned up or when I switch to the dirty channel I get this nasty distortion. Not the kind of distortion one wants but rather a buzzy and fuzzy distortion like the speaker has a problem or something. But no it is not the speaker.I did this test. I hooked up the PODxt to the Effects return input and used the POD as a pre-amp. Everything sounded pretty fine. So the problem must be somewhere in the pre-amp section right??I swapped the pre-amp tubes positions with one another and nothing changed.I emailed the guy who sold the amp to me and he claims that the amp was working fine before he sent it.I also noticed that the REVERB has an effect on this problem. When turned up its nastier. But it doesnt change anything drastically though. This buzzy distortion makes the amp unusable. Any ideas or suggestions? I bought the DSL 50 head yesterday and returned it today for that same reason. The clean channel was sweet Marshall clean and punchy but the lead channels suffered in my opinion at least at volumes one plays in their home/basement/garage. I got the MESA BOOGIE F-50 combo instead and its sweet! P.S. I personally did not like the spring reverb it had. Sounded artificial to me. My Marshall MG HDFX100 head (soilid state) had better reverb than the DSL 50! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Filter500 Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 I don't even think the heads should be compared in this thread. I once tried a DSL201 in guitar center 3 or 4 years ago and it was a fuzzy buzzy mess. I then plugged into a TSL head and there was NO comparsion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members telephant Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 the combo's tend to suck... My TSL combo is a bright ill mess... *cringe* That said, I disagree with the statement "they sound horrible at low volume.." I think my TSL sounds better at low volume than it does turned up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaXu Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Originally posted by Highgrade I bought the DSL 50 head yesterday and returned it today for that same reason. The clean channel was sweet Marshall clean and punchy but the lead channels suffered in my opinion at least at volumes one plays in their home/basement/garage. I got the MESA BOOGIE F-50 combo instead and its sweet!P.S. I personally did not like the spring reverb it had. Sounded artificial to me. My Marshall MG HDFX100 head (soilid state) had better reverb than the DSL 50! I, on the other hand, liked the spring reverb a lot. Basic, but quite good sounding IMO. And the DSLs don't really sound so great when the volume control is under 3. That's where attenuators come in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted March 1, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 sorry if the title of my thread confuses you. But I am not complaining about the amp's sound. I am refferring to a distortion (dont confuse this distortion with the overdrive distortion, its sort of like a buzz and not on all frequencies, it is a problem. I have listened to another amp like this one at a store without that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted March 1, 2005 Members Share Posted March 1, 2005 Be sure that you have your tone controls on "0". Most Marshalls say "0" to "10". *To me*...that means that you are adding EQ. Any time you ADD EQ (as opposed to subtracting...lowering), you can add noise. For some reason, guitarists need to have everything 5 and dimed. Go to "0" on all your tone controls. Slowly bring them up as the volume comes up....(depends on how the EQ is put in the circuit).Keep the highs as low as possible. All this will depend on your volume and gain. Also...I don't understand why there is such a difference in the head or combo. Can it REALLY be the elctronics? I thought they put the same guts in the combo and head. Could it just be going into the right cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted March 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 the thing is only at clean channel with gain turned up high and the dirty channel. normal cleans seem to work sweet. The distortion has the problem. STill havent figured out what it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeadNight Warrior Posted March 2, 2005 Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 Originally posted by 17 Tubes Be sure that you have your tone controls on "0". Most Marshalls say "0" to "10". *To me*...that means that you are adding EQ. Any time you ADD EQ (as opposed to subtracting...lowering), you can add noise. Not really, unless it's an active EQ. With a passive EQ section like on most amps, the controls only subtract, not add. As far as I know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaXu Posted March 2, 2005 Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 Originally posted by DeadNight Warrior Not really, unless it's an active EQ. With a passive EQ section like on most amps, the controls only subtract, not add. Exactly. Afaik all Marshalls have passive tone controls that only cut so no extra noise will be caused by the EQ controls. And even if they had active EQs they would be setup so you can both cut and boost, therefore 5 would be the neutral position with no boost/cut. The DSL combos also have a completely different circuit and different power tubes as well compared to the DSL heads. So they are not just the head stuffed into a combo (which IMO would've been a much better idea). Do you have the amp connected to a grounded outlet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted March 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 Originally posted by LaXu Do you have the amp connected to a grounded outlet? Yes,but its not humming problems I am experiencing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted March 2, 2005 Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 Originally posted by DeadNight Warrior Not really, unless it's an active EQ. With a passive EQ section like on most amps, the controls only subtract, not add. As far as I know... That's why I later said it depends on how the eq is installed in the circuit. Sometimes you need to add EQ for the signal to make it through the system.... Make sure to read the whole post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeadNight Warrior Posted March 2, 2005 Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 Originally posted by 17 Tubes That's why I later said it depends on how the eq is installed in the circuit. Sometimes you need to add EQ for the signal to make it through the system.... Make sure to read the whole post. Sorry, but IMHO having "depends on how the EQ is put in the circuit" in brackets amidst all the other stuff does not equate to "Oh, by the way this is only really if you've got an active EQ in your amp, which chances are you don't, so this doesn't really apply". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pureanalog Posted March 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2005 guys you are taking it off topic now. Can you help on the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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