NAD: DSL20 combo.

[Sir Don]

Ok, so I bit the bullet and bought a new amp. I'm not a fan of the seventy/80 speaker that comes with it so I've swapped it out with a 75 Creamback.

So far I'm enjoying it, I have it rigged up to my GT1000 four cable method. It does still tend to have a bit of a boxy tone but the speaker is far from broken in.

I'm gonna gig with it this Saturday night after I set it up a bit more with the GT.

Keep on rockin' peeps.

 

[TheKman76]

Oh yeah! Have the 40CR with a 75 Cream back and a GT-1000.

Interested to hear how you go.

 

[PaulHikeS2]

HNAD - congrats!. Certainly a gig-worthy combo. Interested to hear what you think once you've played out with it.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

HNAD
Congratulations on a fine amp

 

[Deftone]

Congratulations! I always liked that DSL20

 

[Sir Don]

I've set it up with my GT1000, sounds fantastic, louder than I expected too.

 

[Dega500]

HNAD!

Congrats!

 

[GustHFS]

Happy NAD!
Nice to know that a DSL20 has enough fuel to burn in a gig. I'm in the process of building up the courage to put my DSL20HR to growl live, lol So far my MG50CFX has been doing the job, it's amazing how loud it is, and I almost always don't need to take many pedals. My (eventual) gigs are in very small venues, a 50 watt SS amp is more than necessary, so I don't think I'll have too many problems with my DSL.

Gust

 

[fitz]

HNAD!
Good speaker choice.

 

[Seventh Son]

I used to have the combo version and now have the head (just because it is more “metal” and saves space in my small apartment; aside from the form factor, both sound the same, despite the open back/closed back difference—yes, I’ve A/B them in the room). Lovely amp. I‘ve tried pushing the mids past 5 for a thicker tone at bedroom volume, but keep coming back to the noon position (the sweet spot for the mids on this amp, in my opinion), as pushing the mids results in a boxy/quacky tone. I keep Treble around 2 and use Presence at 6 to get a thick and bright tone. Bass anywhere between 5 and 8, depending on preference. A touch of Resonance and Reverb. Gain around 6 seems to give the best sustain while keeping noise and compression at check. The loop is very nice for a basic loop. It has a bit of a volume drop and some slight high end loss when engaged, but it is quite useable.

 

[TheKman76]

The loop is very nice for a basic loop. It has a bit of a volume drop and some slight high end loss when engaged, but it is quite useable.

Really? the DSL20HR you're talking about?

The 40 has the same loop and I noticed none of that. Maybe it's your signal chain?

 

[scozz]

Congrats on the new amp @Sir Don.


The Dsl20 is a cool little amp. It really shines with the master up on the green channel imo.

The power section of the 20 has some balls when the volume pushed, unlike some other DSL’s.

 

[fitz]

The power section of the 20 has some balls when the volume pushed, unlike some other DSL’s.

agreed. I goose the loop with an EQ - no volume loss that I'm aware of.
I also like the green channel..., slammed with an OD pedal, or 2.

 

[Seventh Son]

Really? the DSL20HR you're talking about?

The 40 has the same loop and I noticed none of that. Maybe it's your signal chain?

I've tried linking the effects send and return with just a patch cable to remove my signal chain from the equation and got the same result. It's only a small volume drop and loss in high end, nothing major.

 

[Sir Don]

Update.

No problems gigging with it. I'm really liking the tone this thing puts out.
I'm not bothering with the onboard reverb, just using the GT1000 reverb in the loop.

This thing can get loud but what I most like about it is the portability. The 40CR is an awesome amp as well but much heavier. I'm an older guy and carting around heavy stuff is taking it's toll on me lol.

I also rehearsed with it on Sunday last with great results too.

It's a keeper (along with the other multitude of amps that I have).

 

[december]

That's the same speaker I put in that amp, along with KT77 power tubes, trying to brighten it up. While it was an improvement, it was still muddy and fizzy on the Ultra Gain. And distortion pedals were excessively bright and harsh on the green channel. A 5 band parametric EQ in the FX loop still wasn't enough to dial out the excessive mids.
So I sold it the other day. I let the guy try it out louder than I ever used it, louder than I could get away with on a regular basis, and it sounded a lot better at that volume, with his guitar, and his style of music. I was like, wow, you're actually making this sound good, and without the EQ in the FX loop! My neighbors tolerate much higher volume than most would in an apartment, but it seems like this amp doesn't open up until it's even louder than that.
I guess this amp just wasn't meant for my pickups or my kind of music. The Peavey ValveKing II 20 is a lot closer to the sound I'm looking for. And I think the smaller EL84s don't need to be as loud as the EL34s or KT77s to hit a sweet spot.

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

Hnad!

Glad it worked out as you hoped.

Crank it!

 

[CVS]

Hello everyone,
I'm using a DSL20H with a 1x12 cab with a celestion creamback H75.
Sounds great with it ! I only use a Boss SD-1 in front to have/make 2 extra channels, so i'd have:
clean / clean+SD = crunch / OD / OD+SD= OD2
In the fx-loop i put a Boss DD3 and a TC spark Mini so when i activate the FX i have an extra master volume for solo's and at the same time delay in these solo's.
Works very well and i use this mainly with gigs in pubs or smaller venues and at rehearsal.
For outside or larger venues i use my jvm and a 2x12 cab.
grts

 

[Sir Don]

Hello everyone,
I'm using a DSL20H with a 1x12 cab with a celestion creamback H75.
Sounds great with it ! I only use a Boss SD-1 in front to have/make 2 extra channels, so i'd have:
clean / clean+SD = crunch / OD / OD+SD= OD2
In the fx-loop i put a Boss DD3 and a TC spark Mini so when i activate the FX i have an extra master volume for solo's and at the same time delay in these solo's.
Works very well and i use this mainly with gigs in pubs or smaller venues and at rehearsal.
For outside or larger venues i use my jvm and a 2x12 cab.
grts

Sounds like a great setup mate. Cheers.