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I think the Marshall DSL 100 is the only amp I'll ever need


dcooper830

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So I got a DSL 100 off Ebay last week.... and I used it on the gig for the first time last night.

 

I was playing it through a Lopoline 2x12 16ohm cab with Celestion V30s.

 

I was so blown away by how awesome it was I'm getting ready to sell off a bunch of stuff that I will probably never want to use again:

 

Peavey Valve King, Fender FM 212R, Peavey Classic Chorus 212, Line 6 Spider II, various rack processors - - Roland GP-8, Roland GP-16, V-AMP PRO, POD XT PRO, Digitech TSR-12, DOD G7, and much more........

 

I don't think I'll ever use any of that stuff ever again. The only thing I ever want to play through is either my DSL 100 or my DSL 401.

 

I would like to get another DSL 100 to have as a backup.

 

It sounded so good last night. So much better than pretty much every rig I've ever used in all my 20 years of playing professionally.

 

So crisp and phat sounding. So full. So big! So responsive!

 

And I'm playing in a country rock band and it worked PERFECTLY for every song.

 

I should have gotten an all tube Marshall head and cab YEARS ago!!

 

The Marshall DSL 100 is the only amp I will ever need from now on. :thu:

 

 

 

 

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The DSL is a great amp. I could definitely get by using one too. My brother has one and I've played it a ton of times. I prefer my Bogner of course, but its a luxury that is already paid for. If it got stolen and I had to replace it I dunno if I could drop that kind of coin again, when you can get something like a used DSL for not too much coin.

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I tried the JVM and I think it is a great amp. But I don't need all those channels, and I couldn't justify to pay what they're asking for it...

I am very happy with my DSL and 2 channels is more than enough for me.. actually most of the time I stay on the lead channel and use my volume knob to get different nuances.

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I had a DSL in okay shape and I loved that thing. I sold it to take advantage of a great deal, but a short while later I'm already missing it. The JVM could very well be a great amp, but like my opposition to the TSL, its got a lot of things I don't want in an amp. Most I want is two channels, a crunch and some dirty clean. I think the DSL fits that for me, and is why I seek out to by another one, but this time, in good shape.

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Yeah.. it's really cool! It just sounds great no matter what tune we're playing.

We do quite a variety of stuff .... Toby Kieth, Fulsom Prison Blues, Brick House, Mustang Sally, Life in the fast lane, Every Day I have the blues.......Crazy Train, Man in a Box....

No matter what song we're doing it sounds GREAT!!

When I do clean chicken picken it sounds great.

Country rock Toby Kieth.. Tim McGraw type stuff..... it sounds GREAT!!

Blues....... It sounds great!!

Classic rock...... GREAT!!!

Hard Rock/Metal..... GREAT!!!

And I don't do anything but switch from the clean to the dirty channel and use my guitars volume and pickup selector to get all my tones.




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i struggled with my TSL for years- when i got it back from FJA i felt the same- it is the only amp i'll ever need.it does heavy rock and metal and blues excellently now.
but need and want are two different things--:)

granted i only have one cab to play it through-

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It seems like it might be too much volume so I was considering the one of the 50 or 60 watt Marshalls. Do they sound the same? I can play the DSL in stores but you never see the TSL.

My issue with two channel is the inability to tweak a totally different lead tone. I prefer a thick, midrange heavy lead tone and I remove some of the mids and raise the highs for rhythm. That is where a three channel head with separate EQ comes in handy.

How do you guys handle lead tones? I like to switch to a mid heavy lead tone that standas out, but would prefer to avoid to many extra pedals like boosts or EQs. Does the DSL footswitch have any solo switch?

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It seems like it might be too much volume so I was considering the one of the 50 or 60 watt Marshalls. Do they sound the same? I can play the DSL in stores but you never see the TSL.


My issue with two channel is the inability to tweak a totally different lead tone. I prefer a thick, midrange heavy lead tone and I remove some of the mids and raise the highs for rhythm. That is where a three channel head with separate EQ comes in handy.

 

 

As far as too much volume in the 100 watters.......

 

In this video of the DSL 100 he has the master volume at 3 which is moderately loud but not quite band volume. And even though the amp is not cranked to power tube drive....... it still sounds great (to me anyway).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2XB0W26ycw

 

 

 

 

 

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i struggled with my TSL for years- when i got it back from FJA i felt the same- it is the only amp i'll ever need.it does heavy rock and metal and blues excellently now.

but need and want are two different things--
:)

granted i only have one cab to play it through-




What did FJA do for you?

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It seems like it might be too much volume so I was considering the one of the 50 or 60 watt Marshalls. Do they sound the same? I can play the DSL in stores but you never see the TSL.


My issue with two channel is the inability to tweak a totally different lead tone. I prefer a thick, midrange heavy lead tone and I remove some of the mids and raise the highs for rhythm. That is where a three channel head with separate EQ comes in handy.


How do you guys handle lead tones? I like to switch to a mid heavy lead tone that standas out, but would prefer to avoid to many extra pedals like boosts or EQs. Does the DSL footswitch have any solo switch?

You should definitely try out an EQ in the loop. You can boost or cut any frequencies you want, and have up to 15 db of volume boost, which should more than enough for solos :thu: A boost pedal would be good as well, but those are more useful for adding gain and a small amount of volume instead of tone shaping.

I generally stay away from pedals as well, but the two I have are making me very happy :D . And they're both under $40 :idea:

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What did FJA do for you?

 

 

he installed a merc.mag. output tranformer and a merc mag choke, and i also had him modify the amp for metal tones(he did something to the insides).

it has alot more gain now- especially on the lead channel-i should say it has alot more "usable gain". it has alot more bottom end and clarity. it just sounds like a great amp now that really cuts through and punches- instead of getting thin and weak when i try to chunk out heavy rythms like it did stock.

i mostly play on the crunch channel now- it sounds like an 800 to me with no noise at all. the lead channel is more gain saturated and really gets heavy- 5150 gain levels- it does have a little bit of noise, but i dont have any noise reduction right now- i'm sure an ISP decimator would take care of that. it works good as a lead boost that the other guy was saying he wanted- just switch over to lead from crunch.

i'm really happy with it.

he also sent me two different clips to choose from while he was tweakin it.

if i had it to do over again-- i would probably go with a TSL100 because they have 4 power tubes instead of 2 and a seperate EQ for crunch and lead, but oh well- i'm happy with this amp.

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Is your DSL stock? Maybe my VHT was just voiced too loud. The VHT heads are really loud. Maybe three times as loud as any Marshall I have heard. I had my Mesa Dual Rec at rehearsal and couldn't get the master past 9:00. We'll see with our gig Friday.

I see Voodoo and FJA do some great mods in addition to replacing the power transformer.

Maybe Marshalls work better at lower volumes and aren't as loud...which is a good thing!

What about the solo tone issue I mentioned?

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he installed a merc.mag. output tranformer and a merc mag choke, and i also had him modify the amp for metal tones(he did something to the insides).

it has alot more gain now- especially on the lead channel-i should say it has alot more "usable gain". it has alot more bottom end and clarity. it just sounds like a great amp now that really cuts through and punches- instead of getting thin and weak when i try to chunk out heavy rythms like it did stock.

i mostly play on the crunch channel now- it sounds like an 800 to me with no noise at all. the lead channel is more gain saturated and really gets heavy- 5150 gain levels- it does have a little bit of noise, but i dont have any noise reduction right now- i'm sure an ISP decimator would take care of that.

i'm really happy with it.

 

 

How much did all that cost? What does the merc.mag. output tranformer and a merc mag choke do just make it quiter or does it affect the tone also?

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Is your DSL stock? Maybe my VHT was just voiced too loud. The VHT heads are really loud. Maybe three times as loud as any Marshall I have heard. I had my Mesa Dual Rec at rehearsal and couldn't get the master past 9:00. We'll see with our gig Friday.


I see Voodoo and FJA do some great mods in addition to replacing the power transformer.


Maybe Marshalls work better at lower volumes and aren't as loud...which is a good thing!


What about the solo tone issue I mentioned?

Look up two posts...

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