DSL5c - The Ultimate Lo-Power Amp

[Micky]

If you order one, be sure you can return it if you don't like it.
Shipping is expensive though...

The 5c is a different beast in comparison to the 40c.

The 40c has gain and volume controls on both channels, as well as 2 modes per channel.

As you know the 5c has one mode per channel. and no gain control on the Classic Channel. It is like the 5c has Classic Crunch and Ultra 1 only.

Best advice is to try one. Even if you have to drive a ways to get to one. 10 bucks for gas is a lot better than a $700 mistake if you don't like it.

 

[deanproxy]

I'm looking. Nobody from shops I know about have one within 30 miles of me. I kinda live in the middle of nowhere.

Is the 5c tonally different to the 40c on the Ultra channel? Can you get the same crunch sounds out of the 5c as you can on the 40c? I doubt I'd use OD2 on the 40c... That's really what I'm curious about. I don't think I'd need it if the amps sounded identical.

 

[Micky]

See, that is just it. They are not identical, only vaguely similar.

At least the 5c has a gain control on the Ultra channel like the 40c. It is more like a cross between Ultra1 & Ultra2 on the 40c.

Sound from the amp has more to do with the speaker than anything else. It sounds to me like you have the 5c sounding pretty good, so if you get a chance to play a 40c, do it. Sounds like there is no rush...

 

[Duffy49]

I have a DSL5 and love it. I run it through a 1x12 cab. I did actually do the 12" mod that Micky and others did, but I liked the sound through the external cab a bit better.

How does this amp compare to the DSL40, other than wattage? I mostly play at home and just jam with friends. 5 watts is ample for my needs, but I'm curious if the DSL40 would be nice to have since it appears to have a lot more features such as a crunch channel. Does the crunch channel on the DSL40 sound better than just lowering the gain in the ultra channel in the DSL5? Right now I get sorta dark crunch sounds by sitting on the ultra gain at around 1/4 and rolling my guitars volume back a tad, but I do like to play some classic rock and blues sometimes and I'm wondering if I'm missing something. Unfortunately, no shops around me have the darn thing in stock so I can't play it for at least another month. I was considering ordering it online...

My DSL40c is a real nice amp, even at low volume. It has a lot of controls and gain choices. My stock speaker is broken in and sounds good, but I'm sure that that a Texas Heat or Swamp Thang would sound better.

It is flanked by a couple real nice amps. One I have at arms length is my Blackstar HT5-RH head with reverb plugged into my Avatar cab with twin Eminence Swamp Thang speakers. It sounds very good.

Another amp I'm playing a lot recently is the Roland Cube 80GX I just bought new for 350, plus I'm supposed to be getting a 50 dollar mail in rebate. The Cube has great models and some decent effects and sounds great. It has three channels, starting with the JC Clean that emulates the Roland Jazz Chorus amp of some fame. Then there is the versatile "Lead" channel with ten amp models from blackface to screaming overdrive - quite nice actually. I dig this digital amp.

Anyway, I think that a DSL40c would be a great amp to add to your collection. It has a lot to offer in terms of versatility and the sound is great, plus you can crank it up if you want to shake the house. It also has a half power switch. It's a very cool amp. I have played mine a lot and continue to play it a lot. It is a favorite for sure.

Good luck and I hope you are happy with the DSL40c if you decide to get one; which I suppose you will be, to say the least.

 

[blase]

At least the 5c has a gain control on the Ultra channel like the 40c. It is more like a cross between Ultra1 & Ultra2 on the 40c.

40c has a lot more gain?

 

[Micky]

Let me go measure it... Not!
How can anyone tell? Past 5-6 on the gain knob and I can't tell...

 

[astr0z0mb1e2k14]

Well, I did it.....

Finally, install a 12" speaker in mine and boy am I glad I did....

Everything I was missing with the 10" is there now. Can't wait till this weekend to jam with the guys and watch their expressions.

Since I used my craftsman rotary tool and a dremel attachment to route it, the slot wasn't hard for me to cut into the cab.

After that, I put a fresh coat of paint on it to restore the factory look.

I went with a 2003 MIE Celestion 12H30 70th anniversary. Must be broken in well cause I am not getting the ice picky sound that most complain about this speaker.

If you are able, I recommend upgrading from the 10" stock speaker to a 12".

Off to enjoy the fruits of my labor

 

[Marshy]

I just got one of these today and it's a great amp...but it seems to make quite a lot of noise. Even with nothing plugged in, on the green channel, with all knobs a zero there is quite a load hissing and buzzing. Can you guys (honestly) tell me how much of this is normal?

About 2 weeks ago I went into a different music shop from where I bought this one to test the DSL5c and see what it was like. I remember paying quite a lot of attention to it's noise floor and was pretty pleased with it, from what I can recall. But this one I have now seems pretty noisey. I am going to go back into the first shop again tomorrow to check out their display model once more to compare.

On the one I have now, The noise floor is much more acceptable when you use the 1 watt mode. But I swear the 5 watt mode was not this noisey on the first one I tried.

Another thing I find odd with my amp (can't remember if the shop one was like this)...is when I unplug the guitar lead from the amp I can still hear the speaker hissing and buzzing away...eg the signal is not being sent to ground when no input is plugged in, which is quite common for amps, is it not? Do your guys DSL5c do the same thing with no lead plugged in?

All of this is quite ironic..as I only made a post on here about a similar problem with my old VS100 a while ago. I bought this DSL5c as an upgrade to get some quieter recording ability. (and nicer full valve tones at more manageable volumes of course)

Thanks for any info.

 

[Micky]

Something is not right.
If you just got it, take it back, get another if possible.
You have a 5-year warranty, use it.

I would suspect a bad tube, it may be something as simple as that.

 

[Marshy]

Would you be able to check if the amp should go to ground when no lead is plugged? And your saying that your amp is making pretty much zero noise when the green volume is at zero? It's not I don't trust you , it's just I don't trust myself, this sort of thing seems to happen to me a lot! I want to be 100% I am not hearing some thing that is normal.

Thanks for assistance

Ps, I am rocking away on it right now, just ignoring the noise for the moment and enjoying the sweet sounds out of this little box...man it really does sound nice.. so loud too! Makes me not want to go through the pain in the butt that is the returns process. :/ But if it has a problem then I will have too. I'll never be happy with it other wise. Plus I want to be able to record it..and that requires the lowest noise floor possible.

 

[andomar]

I just got one of these today and it's a great amp...but it seems to make quite a lot of noise. Even with nothing plugged in, on the green channel, with all knobs a zero there is quite a load hissing and buzzing. Can you guys (honestly) tell me how much of this is normal?

About 2 weeks ago I went into a different music shop from where I bought this one to test the DSL5c and see what it was like. I remember paying quite a lot of attention to it's noise floor and was pretty pleased with it, from what I can recall. But this one I have now seems pretty noisey. I am going to go back into the first shop again tomorrow to check out their display model once more to compare.

On the one I have now, The noise floor is much more acceptable when you use the 1 watt mode. But I swear the 5 watt mode was not this noisey on the first one I tried.

Another thing I find odd with my amp (can't remember if the shop one was like this)...is when I unplug the guitar lead from the amp I can still hear the speaker hissing and buzzing away...eg the signal is not being sent to ground when no input is plugged in, which is quite common for amps, is it not? Do your guys DSL5c do the same thing with no lead plugged in?

All of this is quite ironic..as I only made a post on here about a similar problem with my old VS100 a while ago. I bought this DSL5c as an upgrade to get some quieter recording ability. (and nicer full valve tones at more manageable volumes of course)

Thanks for any info.

If you're getting a buzzing sound with nothing plugged in and with all the controls set to zero, something may be wrong. However, if it is a hissing sound, that may be normal. This amp has a really high noise floor caused by the effects loop design. You can verify this by plugging a cable into the effect loop return and shorting it out with a jumper. This basically zeros the input to the power amp. If you still hear the hiss, its probably normal. If it goes away, there may be something wrong in the preamp. My amp drove me crazy, you could hear the hiss across the room. I spent days troubleshooting only to find out there was nothing really wrong, just a poorly designed circuit. I ended up changing a dozen components in the effects loop to get the noise floor to an acceptable level for recording.

 

[GuilliHo]

I have a quick question about this amp. I’m fairly new to tube amps, in fact this is my first tube amp ever. I’m more of a blues/rock player and I find this amp’s gain a bit too much. I was reading a book about tube amps and the author recommends to use 5751 tubes on V1 and V2 and 12AT7 on the phase inverter to even out the ration between preamp gain and power amp gain. I decided to try this idea so I ordered 2 5751 and 1 12AT7. Now my problem is that I don’t know the position of the tubes on the DSL5C. The book says that “usually”, the phase inverter is the tube that is closer to the power amp and V1 is the tube closer to the input jack. I just wanted to double check with you guys since you already know this amp inside out. I attached an image showing how I think it is. Can someone please confirm if this is correct or not? Thank you!

 

[Murray]

Your layout is correct.

 

[Micky]

The DSL5c is a little different in comparison to other amps as far as the tube layout is concerned.

You are correct that V1 & V2 are the preamp tubes. V4 is the Phase Inverter and V3 is the final power tube. V3 should be a 12BH7 or an ECC99.

 

[GuilliHo]

Excellent! Thank you so much guys! I’ve attached an image with the layout and the tubes I used to tame this amp since it might help somebody else.

This definitely changed this amp. It lower the volume, which in my case is perfect because I only use this amp for playing at home and it was way too loud.

It also produces less distortion from the pre-amp (way cleaner distortion too) and you can tell that now the power tube is working harder (since I need to turn up the volume more) … I love it … the amp is way more responsive and dynamic (I don’t know, it just came to live hahaha … I’m feeling the connection hahaha).

I’ve only played with it for a few minutes but I’m loving it thus far! I’m finally able to use the ultra-gain channel.

FWIW I also changed the speaker a few weeks ago. I installed a Celestion G10 Greenback. I’m really enjoining this amp now!

Thanks for all your help! This threat is full of awesome information!

 

[Murray]

Just out of curiosity, what brand 5751 & AT7 are you using?

 

[GuilliHo]

JJ -> I got them from Amazon. Here are the links:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ELWYH4/"]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ELWYH4/[/ame]


[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UMFQHA/"]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UMFQHA/[/ame]


It was like $45 total.

 

[Murray]

Thanks, GuilliHo. Glad you're happy with the sound. The Greenback makes a big difference too.

 

[Robo]

I just got one of these today and it's a great amp...but it seems to make quite a lot of noise. Even with nothing plugged in, on the green channel, with all knobs a zero there is quite a load hissing and buzzing. Can you guys (honestly) tell me how much of this is normal?

About 2 weeks ago I went into a different music shop from where I bought this one to test the DSL5c and see what it was like. I remember paying quite a lot of attention to it's noise floor and was pretty pleased with it, from what I can recall. But this one I have now seems pretty noisey. I am going to go back into the first shop again tomorrow to check out their display model once more to compare.

On the one I have now, The noise floor is much more acceptable when you use the 1 watt mode. But I swear the 5 watt mode was not this noisey on the first one I tried.

Another thing I find odd with my amp (can't remember if the shop one was like this)...is when I unplug the guitar lead from the amp I can still hear the speaker hissing and buzzing away...eg the signal is not being sent to ground when no input is plugged in, which is quite common for amps, is it not? Do your guys DSL5c do the same thing with no lead plugged in?

All of this is quite ironic..as I only made a post on here about a similar problem with my old VS100 a while ago. I bought this DSL5c as an upgrade to get some quieter recording ability. (and nicer full valve tones at more manageable volumes of course)

Thanks for any info.

Hi

I am new to forum. It has been a pleasure to read that thread.

Just to say , an awesome sounding amp !!!

I myself am thinking of changing a speaker to 10" celestion gold , which hasn't got mentioned here yet. It is an expensive one , and while you guys may suggest 12" one , i need a real good quality for quiet evenings playing at home .
But that will wait...

I too have come accross a hum also called by few others buzz or noise while nothing is being plugged in . Hum doesn't change its loudness or character if volume knobs are turned up , however i want to point it out that hum level is changing when bass knob is turned upor tone button is on .
Basically it is a pain in the a... It is so annoying!

And as some one here also mentioned i get that nasty pop when switching from utra gain to classic.

It's a second hand unit so no warranty but i have just dropped it off at my local tube wizard to have a look at it.

So to all of you affected by this fault , come back shortly and i may have an answer to your pain.

 

[stillrockin]

i would like one but i think my fullbore metal mxr is better for metal