JCM2000 DSL 50...... Thoughts

[charvel2]

Hey gang,
Plan on buying a JCM 2000 DSL 50 this weekend. Found a used one at guitar center and they are asking $549.99. Looks to be good shape so price seems reasonable. Just was curious to some thoughts on this amp and experiences good and bad. Have a Egnater Renegade now and I'm having some issues with
and I find myself craving that bad to the bone Marshall tone. I've played DSL's before and thought they sounded fantastic. Back in the day I had a couple JCM 800's and never had a issue with. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[dreyn77]

I'd grab it if it didn't have any mods!
It's so good at making lots of sounds!
I just dialled in the 100 watter to get a really good Randy Rhoads 'Bonus Track, 12 'RR' from the reissue 'Blizzard of Oz' cd.
I just kept playing the song and improvising for half an hour last night!

 

[dreyn77]

76 LP custom straight into the DSL 100.
How good is that?!
I can also add reverb to the sound as well!
How many amps can you do that with?

 

[POWERFARM]

My Jube and BB have been resting quite a while now since I got my DSL 100/1960V....yep it's pretty darn good!

 

[Adrian R]

I'd grab it and then mod it with a Lydian O/T and a choke..

Then it will sound beyond awesome!

 

[Marshallmadness]

I have a dsl100 and it really sounds great and can do just about any Marshall sound well. Put a boss sd1 in front and enjoy wicked metal tones too.

 

[charvel2]

I'm a little hesitant about the 50 watts but my JCM 800's were 50 watter's and they were plenty loud! I figure with the 50 watt, can get them tubes working a bit.

 

[Chris.W]

At full blast there is only about 4db difference between 50 and 100 watt heads. So yeah 50 is loud enough.

 

[Georgiatec]

Great amp, do the ground mod if not already done (link all the speaker output grounds to the 16ohm socket ground).

 

[Savior17]

I'm new to the forum, but have been lurking lately. I, too, am looking for a Marshall, did some research, and think I narrowed it down to the DSL. Now it's between the 50 and 100, but I am leaning toward an older 50W. Like you, I have been perusing the GC used gear. I say grab it. I will be grabbing one in the near future.

 

[mott555]

Great amp, with a bit of tweaking you can get all the classic Marshall sounds from it. 50 watts versus 100 watts is a non-issue in my opinion, personally I'd prefer lower wattage because there's less heat output, fewer power tubes to replace, and lower chance of blowing speakers.

Egnaters are fun amps, but they just aren't quite Marshall.

 

[soundboy57]

The DSL50 is the only 2000 series that sounds great, even without mods.
Had one, but needed the headroom of the 100 watt, which still rocks, even stock.
Good tubes, correct bias, and

You can add a tranny and choke, and it will even further rock your
world.
For the money, it's a no brainer for classic rock...

 

[Savior17]

Damn...so now I have to budget in the mods, and find an amp tech nearby.

 

[Fiat Lux]

Damn...so now I have to budget in the mods, and find an amp tech nearby.

No. Just go buy the amp. Its great as is and the mods can come if and when you want and can afford them.

cheers

 

[All4Tone]

I love my dsl 50. Plenty of power and no mods needed to get great sounds.
The difference between the 100 and the 50 is the same as between any two speaker types that are 3db apart in sensitivity. It's not a lot, but the 100 watter puts forth a bit more oomph..

 

[dreyn77]

Buy the marshall that goes slightly louder than you'll ever need!

 

[grimlyflick]

Nevermind the mods, just but the damn thing.

A stock DSL50 sounds great anyhow, it you want to tweak it after cool, but there's great tones in there before you look at modding. And I bet once the rhythm section kicks in 99.9% of people would never notice anyway.

Great amp, love mine.

 

[poeman33]

DSL 50 is my main amp, and has been for years. Great amp and easy to maintain. It's Marshall's best selling amp for a reason.
The ground mod has been discussed many times on this forum. Some guys have an issue with it...me and others have happily used the 8ohm jack for years with no issues ever...but it is something to consider. It's an easy mod.

 

[Ken]

I love my DSL 50 as well, but I'm not so sure the 100 wouldn't be a better choice due to headroom. Mine is plenty loud since I have 100 dB cabinets; but when I use cabinets with G12T-75's I really have to crank it. It's a loud amp though.

Agree to do the speaker mod.

Be sure to bias around 36-38, NOT the 45 Marshall says. Too fizzy there. Buy all new tubes when you get it; it makes a significant difference in this amp if they're worn out, which the power tubes will be if they're old and biased at 45 mV.

Mine has no mods but the Lydian tranny and choke mods have my attention and that's less than $200.

The GC price is excellent for GC, I must admit! $500 is the street price and for the extra $50 I'm sure they'll have at least a 30 day warranty or something; be sure they stand behind it or you should just pay $500.

Besides the speaker jack mod, common issues are bad jacks in general and broken solder connections. These are easy to fix. Most DSL's are robust and will be trouble free.

Ken

 

[mott555]

Don't forget the C46 cap mod if it's a JCM2000. It's an under-rated cap that needs to be either removed or replaced with a 1000V version. I replaced mine myself, only cost about a buck and a few minutes of time (I had the amp opened up to fix other issues already).