Marshall tube amp for home

[MrFledermaus]

Hi everyone,

New here. I am aware that this must have been discussed before and I have seen a few threads, but found varying opinions on this matter (which confused me even more, to be honest), so would like to get some advice.

I am looking for a Marshall tube amp for home-playing only (apartment), no gigging. The music I play is mostly Led Zeppelin with occasional Cream, Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, etc. My favourite tones would be live Jimmy Page from early 70s (which was a bit different every year but still) and Beano-era Clapton. My current setup is a Les Paul and a 20w solid-state amp with an 8-inch speaker. I usually play at 90db on an average (105db max) with the phone db meter placed one metre from the amp, which is quite loud and I probably would not want go past that mark (which may be a problem for a valve amp, so an amp with an attenuation feature seems like the way to go). Price-wise, would not want go above DSL40CR unless absolutely required (meaning a higher price warrants a much better amp for my situation). Never owned a tube amp.

I am based outside of the US and Europe, and do not have a chance to test out all the below options, so will be ordering online in each case:
1) Marshall Origin 20C: played one a few years ago, so my memory of it is quite blurry: I thought it sounded good overall, but rather thin and quite loud (needed volume to achieve breakup). I do not have any memory of how it sounded at 3w and 0.5w though. The bottomline is that I liked the amp but wanted to explore other options (but never did!), so my opinion may change for the better though. Currently out of stock at the store where I was testing it.
2) Marshall DSL5CR: sounds like the way to go when it comes to wattage with its base of 5w and the low power mode of 1w. My concerns are that it has only 2 channels ('Classic Gain' is clean and does not break up, while the 'Ultra Gain' is too gainy / fuzzy sounding, from what I heard - happy to be proved wrong though), no master volume, and for a few hundred more I could upgrade to Origin 20C or DSL40CR (do I need to though?). Never played this amp.
3) Marshall DSL40CR: seems like one of the favourite amps out there and probably the most versatile of the three: it has the 'Crunch' mode for 'Classic Gain' channel, which seems like the best channel for the tone I am looking for, the amp has the master volume, and I have found the sweet looking vintage edition in cream colour with the G12 Greenback. The amp goes down only to 20w though - how tameable is the amp in the home conditions? I am aware of the master volume but heard from some that it is more of a gimmick: can you really reduce master volume without losing the breakup or will I need an attentuator? The other minor drawback is that it is heavy as hell. Never played this amp either.
4) Other valve amp: open to other options, even non-Marshall.
5) Solid-state: if a valve amp is a crazy thought for my conditions, although a bit reluctant, I am open to explore non-valve options that would get me closer to the desired tone. I have considered a Roland Blues Cube Hot for a while: although it is rather Fender-voiced, I have heard several clips where I thought it sounded even a bit JTM-ish. I am aware of the Marshall-voiced Blues Cubes but have not seen it on sale.

Well, anyway, would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

to the forum.

If you ever plan on gigging I'd suggest the 40cr. Folks here say that they also sound great at low volume because of the 2 master volumes. So you can have the best of both worlds, all of the DSL features with enough power to gig, while also being able to sound good at TV volume. They are heavy though.

 

[chronos1701]

I’ll second the DSL40CR. It can be turned down to bedroom levels yet can be loud enough to hang with a drummer if you plan to jam with some friends someday.

 

[Marcomel79]

I had the DSL5C (not 5CR) and the ultra gain channel i perfect for all the tones you listed above. Just keep the gain down... also if you still think its too much you can try using an ECC81 in V1 for less gain...

 

[GregM]

Or a 823??? Can't remember the numbers , doesn't touch the clean channel circuit and only does the high gain channel with less gain .
The 5cr is awesome maxed out on the green channel , but it's loud !
And that being said my 5cr is just a lil grab n go cause my ac15 is heavy , and my sc20 is head thru a 2x12 .
Great lil amp but if I started again I'd probably go the 40 cr

 

[Wildeman]

For straight up home use, 5 watts is perfect, It can get loud enough for light jamming too, not through a 8" speaker though. The 40cr has a 12" so you're probably money ahead getting that one if you ever think you'll be jamming. I'm not chained to one amp so these kinda threads are hard for me, but if I was only gonna have one amp, I'd need at least a 30 water, you can always turn down. Marshall should sell the 5c with a 12" speaker, I love my AC4- 12".

 

[fitz]

to the forum.
I'm a home only, just for fun player and I have a few different amps - Marshall & others.
First suggestion - look at head / cab configurations.
Most small watt combos have small speakers.
12" speakers make a huge difference in a low watt amp, even at lower volumes (90-100 dB)
I love my Origin20H and DSL20HR - both amps will get you tones like the bands you mentioned.
And having a 12" speaker cab (or two...) opens up your speaker choices to everything available.
For a non-Marshal, I have to say that my Egnater Rebel & Tweaker are both kick-ass classic rock amps.

 

[GregM]

Enough said for me , dunno how to say It better

 

[Matthews Guitars]

100 watt plexi with a power brake.

 

[Force235]

YOu need a Marshall that has a master vol and a channel vol, also good gain, my 1996 Marshall JTM-60 does a great job, my 6100 half stack does a great job, and my latest JVM 215c, all dual vol and sound great at low volumes

 

[purpleplexi]

40CR. No question.

 

[paul-e-mann]

Hi everyone,

New here. I am aware that this must have been discussed before and I have seen a few threads, but found varying opinions on this matter (which confused me even more, to be honest), so would like to get some advice.

I am looking for a Marshall tube amp for home-playing only (apartment), no gigging. The music I play is mostly Led Zeppelin with occasional Cream, Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, etc. My favourite tones would be live Jimmy Page from early 70s (which was a bit different every year but still) and Beano-era Clapton. My current setup is a Les Paul and a 20w solid-state amp with an 8-inch speaker. I usually play at 90db on an average (105db max) with the phone db meter placed one metre from the amp, which is quite loud and I probably would not want go past that mark (which may be a problem for a valve amp, so an amp with an attenuation feature seems like the way to go). Price-wise, would not want go above DSL40CR unless absolutely required (meaning a higher price warrants a much better amp for my situation). Never owned a tube amp.

I am based outside of the US and Europe, and do not have a chance to test out all the below options, so will be ordering online in each case:
1) Marshall Origin 20C: played one a few years ago, so my memory of it is quite blurry: I thought it sounded good overall, but rather thin and quite loud (needed volume to achieve breakup). I do not have any memory of how it sounded at 3w and 0.5w though. The bottomline is that I liked the amp but wanted to explore other options (but never did!), so my opinion may change for the better though. Currently out of stock at the store where I was testing it.
2) Marshall DSL5CR: sounds like the way to go when it comes to wattage with its base of 5w and the low power mode of 1w. My concerns are that it has only 2 channels ('Classic Gain' is clean and does not break up, while the 'Ultra Gain' is too gainy / fuzzy sounding, from what I heard - happy to be proved wrong though), no master volume, and for a few hundred more I could upgrade to Origin 20C or DSL40CR (do I need to though?). Never played this amp.
3) Marshall DSL40CR: seems like one of the favourite amps out there and probably the most versatile of the three: it has the 'Crunch' mode for 'Classic Gain' channel, which seems like the best channel for the tone I am looking for, the amp has the master volume, and I have found the sweet looking vintage edition in cream colour with the G12 Greenback. The amp goes down only to 20w though - how tameable is the amp in the home conditions? I am aware of the master volume but heard from some that it is more of a gimmick: can you really reduce master volume without losing the breakup or will I need an attentuator? The other minor drawback is that it is heavy as hell. Never played this amp either.
4) Other valve amp: open to other options, even non-Marshall.
5) Solid-state: if a valve amp is a crazy thought for my conditions, although a bit reluctant, I am open to explore non-valve options that would get me closer to the desired tone. I have considered a Roland Blues Cube Hot for a while: although it is rather Fender-voiced, I have heard several clips where I thought it sounded even a bit JTM-ish. I am aware of the Marshall-voiced Blues Cubes but have not seen it on sale.

Well, anyway, would really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks!

Ive been real happy with a 15w Tweed Deluxe lately, does all the tones youre talking about and sounds full. I got a multi-effects pedal for it and setup a clean, crunch and lead patch, plus footswitchable effects.

Dont get a DSL unless you like compressed tone.

 

[scozz]

From your list the 40cr is the best choice imo.

 

[mrjones2004x]

I’m gonna say get the bigger 40watter as I owned maybe 20 amps in the range of 1-20 watts and the day I got my jcm900 mk3 50 watt amp I never looked at another amp.
I play at home at about 90-100db and it has balls and thickness a lower output amp never had. Most of the lower wattage amps were el84 output tubes and this was my first el34 so maybe that makes a difference? I wouldn’t go small again for home use.

Just my opinion tho

 

[Deftone]

This is my bedroom rig.

 

[steveb63]

Looks like it's that time again

 

[Eric'45]

Yeah, the obvious choice, you should get the DSL.

But all kidding aside, the DSL is a lot of Amp for not a lot of Money. If it's the right Amp for the OP's mostly Vintage- oriented Music, is debatable. It really is a modern sounding Amp, even when using the green channel. It's very good for playing at low volume- and that rules out every other Marshall with a Vintage flavour.

Another option would be to look at other manufacturers- if you don't want to stray too far from the british Sound, Orange could be a hot contender. The Orange Rocker 15, for example.

 

[Joesatch]

i have a Super Lead 100 on my book shelf. Good tone with my morning coffee

 

[Joesatch]

i have a Super Lead 100 on my book shelf. Good tone with my morning coffee

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

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