Jammed on a 5150 III and new DSL100H

[sahlomonic]

Went back to GC today in hopes of finding a decent volume pot and maybe some preamp tubes, and saw they had a used 100 watt 5150 III and a new DSL100H in the "Vault". I was very fond of the DSL15H so I was anxious to try the 100 watt version.

Same setup as last time I was there. Played a Sterling AX40 into the 5150 III, into a Marshall 75 loaded cab. Didn't play these a lot so my "review" is short and to be taken with a grain of salt. First and foremost, I like the simplicity of the control layout. EQ, gain, volume, and presence for each channel, and no modes or boosts. Channel 1 can get a nice clean tone, and you can also crank the gain and not only get killer breakup, but you can have a nice chunky rhythm tone if need be. Channel 2 seems to start where 1 ends, and the same with 3. I guess each channel has another gain stage added from the previous channel (?) Channel 3 can get downright {censored}ing brootal . Not a lot to it, and would make a great amp for live use if you needed 3 channels. I found a hissy trebly quality in it that reminded me a lot of what the Peavey 5150 series have been known for, and by the time I had it dialed out with the treble and presence knobs, it just killed the tone and made it muddy/lifeless. Could be worn tubes - it had a lot of grime on the knobs so it looked as if it wasn't well taken care of

Went on to the DSL100H. I was a little familiar having owned a JCM2000 for a little bit, and was impressed enough with the DSL15H I wouldn't have trouble dialing it in right. Took a while to figure out if I liked OD1 or OD2 more, but OD2 just seemed a little more saturated and compressed, even when compensated by rolling off the gain a touch. Both OD channels sounded great, much like what I remembered my JCM2000 DSL to sound like. Digital reverb was a step up from spring reverb, but I didn't use much of it. Like the DSL15H you have to roll back the gain quite a bit, as it seems very muddy and way too compressed if you push the gain past 2. Makes the rest of the knob sweep very unusable, again I think someone will have a mod that will make the gain knob more usable. Like with the 5150 III I found that buzzy trebly noise that I couldn't quite dial out unless treble and gain was taken down further than I would like to keep it. Wasn't as bad as what I experienced with the 5150 III, but I was puzzled and thought it had something to do with the cab, maybe the guitar, or where I was sitting . . . .

. . . . so I went to my car and brought in my JCA100H. Went from sitting in my car in less than 50 deg weather for a day and a half, into the vault and immediately powered up after letting it "warm up" for maybe 30 seconds. Played through it for only a few seconds when I realized it wasn't the cab, guitar, me, etc. Chalk it up to not being that familiar with the two other amps, but it made me not like either of them nearly as much as my JCA100H, or maybe inferior tubes/bias. Now I did play everything through Celestion T-75 speakers, and I really wish it was a V30 loaded cab, because I'm sure I would have had a more pleasurable experience with all those amps.


I'm willing to bet that the JCA100H isn't as dependent on power tube saturation as the other two amps are, which is why mine has always sounded good (I use that loosely) even at bedroom volumes, and the old DSL I had just sounded weak played that low. What really puzzles me is the OD gain control on the DSL amps. Such an enormous amount of gain to be had, but only a small fraction is usable and able to be heard without sounding like mud.


I won't even dare to say the new DSLs suck (because they don't), as there are so many variables that could have contributed to my interpretation of how it sounded. I did play one of those POS MA amps a while ago, and that was just plain awful. To my ears sounded like the MG amps with the guise of real tubes in the circuit. I'm very glad they only lasted a year or so.

I'm glad I finally got to play a 5150 III becuase it's been on my list of amps to consider when I finally go shopping for a 3 channel. I think I need to spend more time with both amps and get a better cab hooked up to really make a judgement.

[koen77]

Good to know. I have a jca 100 but am always wondering if returning to a dsl or a jvm would be a good idea. Glad to read a good review on the jet city. It keeps the GAS in check and makes me appreciate what i have.

[tech21man]

If you check a bit on the "soldano" circuit which your JCA is based on you will see that it employs both, carefully designed fullness in the preamp and a very very good addition to the result from the power amp the more you turn up. Soldano needs his PI relatively clean though. Maybe that is why he insists with the loop thing and all.

5150 III I haven't tried yet but the more I dug the internet (was eager to buy the 50 watter but it seems to be a...ghost amp in europe stores!) the more it seemed super picky about speakers, cabs or even the speaker cable in a thread (it even comes with its own). Anyway T75's aren't supposed to match well with this amp but I haven't tried it. I don't even like T75s with the exception of some amps to be totally honest.

[madrigal77]

Originally Posted by tech21man

If you check a bit on the "soldano" circuit which your JCA is based on you will see that it employs both, carefully designed fullness in the preamp and a very very good addition to the result from the power amp the more you turn up. Soldano needs his PI relatively clean though. Maybe that is why he insists with the loop thing and all.

5150 III I haven't tried yet but the more I dug the internet (was eager to buy the 50 watter but it seems to be a...ghost amp in europe stores!) the more it seemed super picky about speakers, cabs or even the speaker cable in a thread (it even comes with its own). Anyway T75's aren't supposed to match well with this amp but I haven't tried it. I don't even like T75s with the exception of some amps to be totally honest.

With the EVH, speaker cable IME makes no more difference than with any other amp. It DEFINITELY sounds much better with GB flavored speakers than anything else though. I also though it sounded kind of crappy with 75's. It sounds ok with V30's, but a little overly bright. Once you hear it with GB's though, you really realize that's the speaker it's meant to be played through.

[nwright]

Tone is subjective, once again. I played the JCA100 right next to both my 100 watt 5150III and my 50 watt and I couldn't like the JCA any less. I played it in a studio with the owner of the studio, my bandmates, and the owner of the JCA all standing in the room. I played a bit on the EVH's, switched to the JCA and instantly everybody looked like they had just eaten a lemon.
Granted I play metal, and I don't think that's the JCA's strong suit. With a boost, I got a usable tone, but I was really let down by the JCA.

*shrugs*