Deep Purple fan
Well-Known Member
I am not one of those guys who thinks that he won the lotto when I picked my DSL40C. I got the amp in brand new shape for $400 from a guy working for the French Embassy in Washington who was une xpectantly returning to Paris. Here is my totally unbiased review from a guy who has been playing 40 plus years and has tried a lot of top end kit.
Bottom line up front for the impatient - Really good FKING amp. What it is - a solid Marshall tone, two clean and two dirty modes with reverb and fx loop. It is drop dead gorgeous to look at. It has the Marshall family growl. It's suitable to gig with. The clean channel is adequate while the Crunch and OD tones are pure Marshall. It takes pedals well. It's moderate weight so easy to move around. I like that it's a breeze to swap speakers. Finally, you can hook it up to an external cab. All in all, for a street price of $699 and a generous used market of $350-450 it's a great fist tube, first gigging, first real Marshall thing. You can certainly play ACDC, GNR, LZ, Purple/Rainbow/Whitesnake family, Aerosmith, Clapton, Moore, etc.
I give the amp four of five stars based on its price point. There were areas I did not like. The stock speaker is awful. In fairness, I played with it twice over two hours and it was awful but not fully broken in. I tried it with Celestion EVH Greenback, vintage G12T75, V30, and G12K100 all with very good results. To my ears the EVH sounded best. Beyond the speaker, the FX loop is not bad but it was not completely transparent. There is tone loss. The reverb is adequate and it takes pedals well.
The amp certainly is a Marshall. The great debate is when DSL40C users make claims they've a/b it with a plexi, JVM, 800, you name it and the DSL40C nailed those tome. IMHO, that is hogwash. It is none of those iconic amps but it certainly is a good amp. Quite frankly, it's a ridiculous argument and I don't care what videos or pedals are presented in defense of the claim.
I'm really writing this for the guys thinking of getting a DSL40C. For you, my advice is expect a good solid Marshall tube tone with a very good OD pallet and adequate cleans, reverb and FX. EXPECT TO SWAP OUT THE SPEAKER. Many good options are out there. Expect decent bedroom tones and a gig worthy rig. No worries playing tunes played by the big boys in the Marshall legacy. But, don't expect it to be a PLEXI, JCM800, JVM2/4 series - those amps are noticeable leaps ahead. As long as you keep expectations in the world of realistic and you are on a budget, you will be very happy. If you think you're getting a plexi or 800 on a budget you will be unhappy. If that is what you want, hold off and save more money. There are a lot of ridiculous claims about the DSL40C and equally invalid hate for this amp. In reality, it's a good amp at the right prkice point. I see a lot of these at give away prices, I see a lot of negative reviews, and I think it's because of unrealistic expectations and limitations of the player. The amp is really true to what Marshall claims and where they position it in the market.
I've had the amp two months and it's for sale. It will probably be gone today. But I'm glad I gave it a try as its a fun amp.
Bottom line up front for the impatient - Really good FKING amp. What it is - a solid Marshall tone, two clean and two dirty modes with reverb and fx loop. It is drop dead gorgeous to look at. It has the Marshall family growl. It's suitable to gig with. The clean channel is adequate while the Crunch and OD tones are pure Marshall. It takes pedals well. It's moderate weight so easy to move around. I like that it's a breeze to swap speakers. Finally, you can hook it up to an external cab. All in all, for a street price of $699 and a generous used market of $350-450 it's a great fist tube, first gigging, first real Marshall thing. You can certainly play ACDC, GNR, LZ, Purple/Rainbow/Whitesnake family, Aerosmith, Clapton, Moore, etc.
I give the amp four of five stars based on its price point. There were areas I did not like. The stock speaker is awful. In fairness, I played with it twice over two hours and it was awful but not fully broken in. I tried it with Celestion EVH Greenback, vintage G12T75, V30, and G12K100 all with very good results. To my ears the EVH sounded best. Beyond the speaker, the FX loop is not bad but it was not completely transparent. There is tone loss. The reverb is adequate and it takes pedals well.
The amp certainly is a Marshall. The great debate is when DSL40C users make claims they've a/b it with a plexi, JVM, 800, you name it and the DSL40C nailed those tome. IMHO, that is hogwash. It is none of those iconic amps but it certainly is a good amp. Quite frankly, it's a ridiculous argument and I don't care what videos or pedals are presented in defense of the claim.
I'm really writing this for the guys thinking of getting a DSL40C. For you, my advice is expect a good solid Marshall tube tone with a very good OD pallet and adequate cleans, reverb and FX. EXPECT TO SWAP OUT THE SPEAKER. Many good options are out there. Expect decent bedroom tones and a gig worthy rig. No worries playing tunes played by the big boys in the Marshall legacy. But, don't expect it to be a PLEXI, JCM800, JVM2/4 series - those amps are noticeable leaps ahead. As long as you keep expectations in the world of realistic and you are on a budget, you will be very happy. If you think you're getting a plexi or 800 on a budget you will be unhappy. If that is what you want, hold off and save more money. There are a lot of ridiculous claims about the DSL40C and equally invalid hate for this amp. In reality, it's a good amp at the right prkice point. I see a lot of these at give away prices, I see a lot of negative reviews, and I think it's because of unrealistic expectations and limitations of the player. The amp is really true to what Marshall claims and where they position it in the market.
I've had the amp two months and it's for sale. It will probably be gone today. But I'm glad I gave it a try as its a fun amp.
and scrap the preamp tubes.The bias has been a hit or miss with these amps some were off the charts!
