Looking at a used DSL50

[clutch71]

Thats correct.... The DSL50 has been discontinued as of 07 or 08 I think.

Actually they are still in production. 1923 and available minus the white piping. It's now black.

 

[chuckharmonjr]

Ive had my DSL100 for a week and 1/2 now, and absolutely love it. $500 is actually a great price, I paid 6 for mine. You might want to look into the 'Joey mods' sticky. If you are handy with a soldering iron and can read a schematic, it looks pretty simple, especially with the instructions and photos in the thread. I'm looking to do that and a re-tube/re-bias in the next 2 weeks time period. Read the cautions carefully tho-there are power supply capacitors that can kill you on that chassis, so make sure they are drained properly before touching anything with your bare hands. Good luck and happy tones!

 

[TwinACStacks]

Get it. Do the Joey mods (especially the Trans and Choke, Use Marstran output, the 128 or 139 the 128 has a buried 100v tap and is rumored to have a Tad more Bass than the 139, and Lydian Power Trans. from jcmjmp, and a 3h choke) and be prepared to drop jaws.

These amps are definitely the "Diamonds in the Rough", that I always suspected they were.

TWIN

 

[JCM1959RR]

500 dollars for an all tube Marshall with EL34's is a steal - I just picked up a 2004 DSL50 for 595 shipped in near mint condition with all new tubes - I would pay 600 - 700 for a DSL just because they sound good - Enjoy

 

[guitar76]

In case anyone cares I got it for $430 but the factory footswitch doesn't work (no big surprise). The reverb springs rattled quite a bit on the drive home. I am planning to get a Voodooman switch off of e-bay. I got two extra Russian and one Marshall tubes with it although I don't know if they are any good. It sounded pretty good to me but I didn't have a whole lot of time to play with it and didn't have my guitar, cab, etc. I'm pretty excited though. Using it with my setup for the first time at band practice tonight. Where is the best place to get tubes?

 

[Ken]

In case anyone cares I got it for $430 but the factory footswitch doesn't work (no big surprise). The reverb springs rattled quite a bit on the drive home. I am planning to get a Voodooman switch off of e-bay. I got two extra Russian and one Marshall tubes with it although I don't know if they are any good. It sounded pretty good to me but I didn't have a whole lot of time to play with it and didn't have my guitar, cab, etc. I'm pretty excited though. Using it with my setup for the first time at band practice tonight. Where is the best place to get tubes?

DSL footswitches never work for long. Buy an electronic replacement and the volume drop won't be as severe when you switch channels.

DSL reverb tanks rattle like no other amp I've owned! Just be sure all the corner springs are connected. Mine had one that fell off from all the rattling...but even when connected they are too loose IMHO.

Mixing preamp tubes is a common tone chasing technique but power tubes should be the same. You didn't say which was which but those Marshall tubes are old so I'd spring for a new set. Keep the old ones as emergency spares. eBay is good for tubes as are on line vendors like The Tube Store. I bought all new Tung-Sols from them and am very happy with the tone.

One other tip: solder a ground wire to the case of one of the 4/8 speaker outs! They get their ground from the 16 ohm out and it frequently fails with age. Several threads on this...

Ken

 

[DSL100 Dude]

In case anyone cares I got it for $430 but the factory footswitch doesn't work (no big surprise).

Awesome!!! Congratulations!

The reverb springs rattled quite a bit on the drive home.

Mine do that all the time. Annoying but no worries.

I am planning to get a Voodooman switch off of e-bay.

There are lots of good options for footswitches. I personally like the Boss switch.

I got two extra Russian and one Marshall tubes with it although I don't know if they are any good. It sounded pretty good to me but I didn't have a whole lot of time to play with it and didn't have my guitar, cab, etc. I'm pretty excited though. Using it with my setup for the first time at band practice tonight. Where is the best place to get tubes?

Marty is our resident tube guru. He works real hard to keep a decent stock of great stuff for your amp. Give him a try.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

 

[GuitarGuy503]

generally speaking...after 4 years, those tubes need replacement to get the best performance out of the amp... but i know people who are using the same tubes after 10 years or even more

A tube change once a year is a general rule of thumb but I think it mostly needs to be judged based on your playing situation and how often you play.

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Actually they are still in production. 1923 and available minus the white piping. It's now black.

The DSLs with black piping are DSL100s. The "Regular" DSL50s (in which the thread is about) are no longer in production.

 

[black70bird]

In case anyone cares I got it for $430 but the factory footswitch doesn't work (no big surprise). The reverb springs rattled quite a bit on the drive home. I am planning to get a Voodooman switch off of e-bay. I got two extra Russian and one Marshall tubes with it although I don't know if they are any good. It sounded pretty good to me but I didn't have a whole lot of time to play with it and didn't have my guitar, cab, etc. I'm pretty excited though. Using it with my setup for the first time at band practice tonight. Where is the best place to get tubes?

I recently traded a Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 even for a DSL 50, long story. I am looking at retubing the amp as my original plan was to just turn it and sell it, now I think I want to keep it. I was looking at the Eurotube standard kit: matched set JJ E34L, four ECC83S's (1 balanced) for $69. Then I saw that the Tube Depot had the Electro-Harmonix 6CA7 EH available, it would cost me about $10 more to go this route. Any opinions on the EH 6CA7 tubes?

Thank You
Brian