2018 Dsl 40cr Full Review...

[Jon C]

i know this is an old thread but had some questions : i have the newer version of the DSL 40 (post 2018) and find that the trebles, while better, can still be strident / ice picky I think the bright cap in the new DSL's are C73 for the red channels and C61 for the green.

Does anyone know if this is correct? Has anyone dropped in lower value caps at these positions ?

Can you make out the Values on the existing caps ?
Is C73 somewhere in the 470 Pico realm still ?

 

[EC Strat]

Can you make out the Values on the existing caps ?
Is C73 somewhere in the 470 Pico realm still ?

yes I think so. It says “471” on it and then 1KV in C73.

I can’t see any writing on the C61 cap but an exact same looking cap near it says 221. Hope this helps

 

[Bull Rock]

My bad. Carry on.

 

[Jon C]

yes I think so. It says “471” on it and then 1KV in C73.

I can’t see any writing on the C61 cap but an exact same looking cap near it says 221. Hope this helps

I can't confirm the Treble Bleed cap locations on the CR .. Sorry
If it's still around 470pF then they did not change it much ( if at all ) since the 40C ..
I added an Option Switch to my 40C with 470pF / None / 100pF .. @ C19 of course
The 100pF is the Sweet Spot for TV Volume !!

 

[EC Strat]

I can't confirm the Treble Bleed cap locations on the CR .. Sorry
If it's still around 470pF then they did not change it much ( if at all ) since the 40C ..
I added an Option Switch to my 40C with 470pF / None / 100pF .. @ C19 of course
The 100pF is the Sweet Spot for TV Volume !!

Appreciate the replies. Yeah, eyeballing it it looks like C73 is the red and C61 is the green based off of where they are positioned and where the lines are running. I bet they’re the same values. But for sure, Marshall made a ton of improvements to the line in 2018. It’s not as harsh and fizzy with volume differences like before. But I’m really having to roll off the trebles on my guitar to 5-6 and set the amp trebles at 9 to 11 depending when playing leads. But when playing rhythm need to increase the highs for a good tone Need to get it sorted.

 

[EC Strat]

I can't confirm the Treble Bleed cap locations on the CR .. Sorry
If it's still around 470pF then they did not change it much ( if at all ) since the 40C ..
I added an Option Switch to my 40C with 470pF / None / 100pF .. @ C19 of course
The 100pF is the Sweet Spot for TV Volume !!

I can't confirm the Treble Bleed cap locations on the CR .. Sorry
If it's still around 470pF then they did not change it much ( if at all ) since the 40C ..
I added an Option Switch to my 40C with 470pF / None / 100pF .. @ C19 of course
The 100pF is the Sweet Spot for TV Volume !!

I can’t find the schematics either.

 

[Lukas]

Bias points are still inside the chassis like the last dsl40 combo

No they’re not

 

[SkyMonkey]

i have the newer version of the DSL 40 (post 2018) and find that the trebles, while better, can still be strident / ice picky

Many just put an EQ in the loop. I use a tiny bit from my GT. Much safer and easier than modding.​

I can’t find the schematics either.

The schematics can take years to leak out for a relatively new amp design.
You will know about it when they finally do surface.
A wave of CR/HR modding threads will start appearing.

Are you using a particularly trebly pickup?
I have a range of pickups in my guitars (signature) and find a flat EQ (w/treble @6) with no Res or Pres is fine for all, whilst still letting them sound individual.
I am getting older though, so maybe the top end is going from my hearing.
Still, folk rarely complain of the CR being too trebly like the older C.​

 

[EC Strat]

Many just put an EQ in the loop. I use a tiny bit from my GT. Much safer and easier than modding.​

The schematics can take years to leak out for a relatively new amp design.
You will know about it when they finally do surface.
A wave of CR/HR modding threads will start appearing.

Are you using a particularly trebly pickup?
I have a range of pickups in my guitars (signature) and find a flat EQ (w/treble @6) with no Res or Pres is fine for all, whilst still letting them sound individual.
I am getting older though, so maybe the top end is going from my hearing.
Still, folk rarely complain of the CR being too trebly like the older C.​

Yes my strats pretty bright

 

[SkyMonkey]

Get an EQ.
Totally reversible, and fairly cheap.
Preserves the original amp EQ for other guitars you may get down the road, and resale.

 

[Carlos G]

So I received my new DSL 40 this afternoon and gave it a couple of hours of tweaking, here are my findings. This review is compared to my old JCM2000 DSL 50 that I have had for almost 10 years. The Reverb is still Meh! Don't care I have pedals.

First of all, the 2 added master volumes give you an entire new range of gain and volume sounds when blended with the gain and volume of each channel. you can crank the channel volume and back off the master to get a much more pushed power section type of tone if you want, and also get much better cranked sounds at lower volumes using the masters.

The EQ itself it much better sounding all around. No more ear piercing clanking highs and no more flubby lows, (although you can dial in extremes using the resonance and presence). But no more living on 2 with your treble and presence when you use the ultra channel.

Much more balanced EQ between the channels. No more huge volume jump, and only minor EQ tweaks needed between Classic and Ultra channels.

More gain on Classic, and less gain on Ultra. Subjective to opinions, but much better balance IMO. Classic Crunch now does close to Slash type gain if cranked, and Ultra is dialed back a bit, plus it's a lot more open and less compressed sounding.

V-Type speaker... Very well matched to this amp. I'm a huge V30 fan and my old JCM800 cab I use has 2 V30's and 2 H30's, this speaker is very well matched. Nothing offensive sounding out of the box.

The most surprising thing is that Ultra 2 is actually useable! No more flubby low end and fizzy highs! Kick it in with modest gain and put the mid shift in and it's an amazing EVH brown sound. Lows are much tighter and punchier on all channels. Much more like an old 5150 than the previous DSL. The low end is tight and chunky.
Overall I'd say Marshall nailed it 20 years later with the DSL. LOL! I'm sure it will sound even better after a good tube swap and a bias adjustment.

Did you adjust the bias and had an improvement ? Where did you set it for the best sound?

 

[Randy Rhoads]

Anyone know where I can get the 6 button foot switch for cheap?

 

[SkyMonkey]

£79 or more new in the UK.
Never seen one for less, or 2nd hand.

 

[Tom Drouhard]

Has anyone measured the plate voltage for the 40CR?

My dsl40cr plate voltage varies anywhere from 426dc to 433dc depending on where I have the bias voltage set. Right now, the bias is at 38.0 and the DC voltage is 426 with line voltage at 121 V AC.

 

[mpaisan]

Thoughts from reading this thread; initially came here looking for info on the two master volumes; here are my thoughts on that and more.
Master Volumes: Not needed; the design logic is centered around having the optional (not stock) footswitch. There is no other way to switch between the volume masters "live" for a "boost" whilst playing. There are some confusing descriptions of how these work. Each "channel" has two modes; both channels are controlled by one or the other master volume. I pretty much dime my master volume, doesn't matter which one because I only use one (for both channels). Use the channel volumes to balance between them for switching from clean to OD. Live, I dime my clean channel and run up the gain control to get the volume needed - keeps it under clean control that way. The OD channel, whatever floats your boat, I usually run gain at 11 o'clock and adjust OD channel volume to match the clean channel output, maybe a touch louder. I use a clean boost pedal for lead on both the classic (clean) and OD channels - that basically negates the dual master volume optional pedal dilemma. It also adds flexibility to amount of boost (gigs just get louder as the night goes on) and also adds a degree of tone control if the pedal offers it - I use a Strymon Sunset for this purpose.


Bias: I've tried several settings and found 34mv the sweet spot - above 35 is just noisy, maybe ok if all you do is hard rock/metal with an aggressive noise gate, but if that's the use case - a different amp might be a better choice. I got the 2022 DSL40CR for it's tonal stage flexibility and recording purposes, the speaker sim out is actually pretty half decent into a daw. 32mv results in very nice cleans, but that's just barely enough plate voltage to keep the tubes hot - depending on the main power available, you may get dropouts running below 34mv. 34mv also helped with some of the screechiness, down from 38mv as I received it. BTW; the bias connections being external (on the latest models) and super easy to use are a huge perk for experimenting with a simple/cheap multi-meter - that feature alone is pretty darn cool.

The Celestion type-V speaker just simply does not do this amp justice - in fact is it the cause of most of the peaky, screechy, ice pick treble response. Marshall had to scrimp somewhere to hit the sub 1K mark, and this is where they did it. I know this may be a bit beyond the reach of many here; I replaced the stock Celestion with with a Ted Weber Alnico Blue Dog - 75 watt 16 0hm Hemp cone. The difference is night and day, that speaker, plugged into the 8 Ohm out jack is so rich, clear, usable and responsive - it might make you cry, just amazing.

Overall given my comments above; if you gig and perform a variety of styles from clean/dirty blues to classic rock (cream, hendrix, santana, eagles, et al) to harder rock sounds like GNR, Zep, BS, DP, etc... then this amp can do it - a true swiss army knife type amp that does many things extremely well. It will fall short of modern or thrash metal; it won't stretch to a triple rec, aside from that... it's a terrific amp.