yet another DSL 40c review

[John BNY]

well, the dsl40c is back in the original box and headed back to zzounds. no amount of tube changes or speaker changes made much difference.

also, od1 and od 2 had to be dimed to have any useable sustain. that aint normal. something is wrong with this particular amp and i dont want to get stuck with it.

warmed up the jcm 800 and practiced my set. great tones as always.

fwiw, i've got a tsl 601 and dont like it's tones either.

i figure its just my ears used to hearing a certain sound for half a century

Good move. You like what you like, and that's all that matters. Good luck!

 

[ken361]

See I don't agree with this. The 100H is a great sounding amp, the DSL40 is not. They cant possibly be the same thing.

not the same? lol

 

[paul-e-mann]

not the same? lol

They certainly dont sound the same thats for sure.

 

[Jethro Rocker]

well, the dsl40c is back in the original box and headed back to zzounds. no amount of tube changes or speaker changes made much difference.

also, od1 and od 2 had to be dimed to have any useable sustain. that aint normal. something is wrong with this particular amp and i dont want to get stuck with it.

warmed up the jcm 800 and practiced my set. great tones as always.

fwiw, i've got a tsl 601 and dont like it's tones either.

i figure its just my ears used to hearing a certain sound for half a century

Yep, there's issues if you have to dime gain on OD2 to get sustain or OD1 for that matter. Problems with that one, unfortunate. Go with what you know and like, JCM800.

 

[Georgiatec]

well, the dsl40c is back in the original box and headed back to zzounds. no amount of tube changes or speaker changes made much difference.

also, od1 and od 2 had to be dimed to have any useable sustain. that aint normal. something is wrong with this particular amp and i dont want to get stuck with it.

warmed up the jcm 800 and practiced my set. great tones as always.

fwiw, i've got a tsl 601 and dont like it's tones either.

i figure its just my ears used to hearing a certain sound for half a century

I can record my playing through 4 or 5 different Marshall amps and be hard pushed to tell which was which. My ears will always take me to my comfort zone. I can tell the difference, but the basic tonal quality (or lack of it ) is always pretty close.

 

[Dmann]

They certainly dont sound the same thats for sure.

In my experience having owned and used both, and taking them out with my band to test at gig volume, with the same speaker, and the exact same PEQ and GEQ settings in the loop, they did in fact sound identical, my band members even commented to this fact.

The manual even states " the exact same beast except in a 40 watt 1x12" combo form."

Anyways, that was my experience. YMMV

 

[otter5555]

got up early
drove 150 miles to a GC

took my jackson with me.

plugged into a dsl40c on the floor

3 minutes of tweaking and had GREAT sounds.

left with it.

this amp sounds NOTHING like the one ups just hauled off

sounds like the youtube videos......great. being on the floor
the speaker is well broken in.

oem tubes and all, i am happy

 

[Jethro Rocker]

Excellent good for you! There's definitely a problem when the gain has to be pinned on OD2 to get any sustaon. Tube issue, or....
Anyhoo, glad you like it, it really shouldn't be miles different from any other Marshall.

 

[Georgiatec]

got up early
drove 150 miles to a GC

took my jackson with me.

plugged into a dsl40c on the floor

3 minutes of tweaking and had GREAT sounds.

left with it.

this amp sounds NOTHING like the one ups just hauled off

sounds like the youtube videos......great. being on the floor
the speaker is well broken in.

oem tubes and all, i am happy

Congrats on being subjective and persistent. You heard the clips and your amps tone and came to the conclusion the amp was faulty. A 150 mile trip is sometimes worth it to be vindicated....and stop it doing your head in.

 

[ken361]

got up early
drove 150 miles to a GC

took my jackson with me.

plugged into a dsl40c on the floor

3 minutes of tweaking and had GREAT sounds.

left with it.

this amp sounds NOTHING like the one ups just hauled off

sounds like the youtube videos......great. being on the floor
the speaker is well broken in.

oem tubes and all, i am happy

haha congrats! I knew you would like it, had to be a problem with that other one. It will get better with time also.

 

[ken361]

In my experience having owned and used both, and taking them out with my band to test at gig volume, with the same speaker, and the exact same PEQ and GEQ settings in the loop, they did in fact sound identical, my band members even commented to this fact.

The manual even states " the exact same beast except in a 40 watt 1x12" combo form."

Anyways, that was my experience. YMMV

and plus theres a resonance and reverb!

 

[Sournote]

Glad you got it sorted. Definitely sounds like your first one had an issue of some sort.

 

[otter5555]

love the new dsl 40c
no real gripes

but...

i just spent 15 minutes doing the c19 mod to even out
the eq differences between classic gain and ultra gain

the mod did a great job

now both channels carry the same eq VERY well

also plugged in a bogner red and WOW!

instant 3-4 channel amp (if you count the bogner boost channel)

clean-crunch-gain-hi gain all at your feet

this amp was MADE for the bogner

any how, stock speaker and tubes sound fine. no need to go there.

no excuses, playing till the fingers are sore and it takes a LOT to make my fingers sore

 

[ken361]

I had the bogners with the fenders I owned, prb better with the EL34's over the 6l6 I had. I have 20 loud hours on mine and its sounding great,doesn't hurt to change the speaker cable!

 

[otter5555]

well, the new dsl40c died today

power light is on, no sound, also channels won't switch

fuse is good

played till bedtime last night just perfect

it is headed back to GC

 

[jericbrazier]

They certainly dont sound the same thats for sure.

Ones pushing a single 12", and ones pushing a cab. The cab will sound fuller. They are the same circuit. Only the 15 watters are different as they use el84s. I put a Eminance Swamp Thang (over compensation maybe), and it sounds killer, especially after break in. I've also have a Mesa Studio 22 plus, and rarely play because I like the Marshall so much.

 

[Matt_Krush]

I'm still on the fence about buying one.
It'd have to be used and cheap, because all I want to do is pull the chassis and make into a head.
There has never been an open back cab that sounded good to me.

But I first want to see if Marshall introduces anything worthwhile this summer.