You guys with the DSL 50/100s need to...

[Adrian R]

Mercury Magnetics does, but they are really costly, and slated as a replacement, not an upgrade. I emailed classic tone 3x and did not get an answer yet so I don't think so.

This is something to consider...Most likely the money you invest in these DSL heads you are not going to be able to retrieve when you sell the head.. Logic tells one imo, to spend as least as possible because of this...

Of course though in the end I am doing this for TONE!!!

There is no way I'd sell my DSLs for less then what I got into them..which with the mods is around $850 +/-..

 

[dslman]

Thanks AR, I'm definitely looking into it,the Classictone stuff looks good and is easy to order from their site. How much soldering did you have to do?,I can't tell from the pics what will be required. The Classictone stuff looks to have the wires already attached to their trannies as opposed to the Mercury Magnetics.

 

[Adrian R]

Thanks AR, I'm definitely looking into it,the Classictone stuff looks good and is easy to order from their site. How much soldering did you have to do?,I can't tell from the pics what will be required. The Classictone stuff looks to have the wires already attached to their trannies as opposed to the Mercury Magnetics.

Dude, no soldering required...You just have to go to your local hardware store and buy some female terminal clips. (0.187..for 22-16awg)...For the choke though you will need to solder two wires to the back board...after you remove the resistor...brain dead...You will need to drill two holes in the chassis...simple...soft metal...

Here is a link with simple instructions for installing the choke...I followed this for perfect success. It's for a DSL100 but it's the same for the 50watter...

DSL100 | Choke Installation

If you are to lazy, don't have enough time, and money isn't to much of an issue. I am sure you can find a local tech to do the job...it is not hard and they shouldn't charge you more then an hour or so bench time.

********************************************************
I just got back from band practice...and I played though my head without the new Classictone P/T...wow, what a difference...The amp just doesn't sound as good...I mean not as authentic...not as clear, or warm..not as punchy..more harsh and less Marshall sounding....I now know why the '800/JMP' only folks don't like the DSL...However, I am POSITIVE they would once they hear one with new trannies and a choke...HUGE difference...turns the DSL into one hellova amp man!

I am convinced man...the trannys in the DSL heads are simply not as good man...and is obviously a cost cutting measure by Marshall...

 

[dslman]

Cool. Thanks again AR
Adrian, Did you have to lift the circuit board to solder in the choke wires or did you solder from the wire side? Probably a stupid question.

 

[dreyn77]

balanced weight when carrying.
more distorted sound when playing.
fatter tone.
lighter.
can turn it down
etc...

Me Like.

they've reduced things even further with the new model.

at some point you're gonna find the amp which is right for you.

why didn't you just buy the JVM adrian, it's got the upgrades for the 800 sound. then they gave the user more adjustment room too.

I've a/b'd the DSL with the 1959RR and the sound is inbetween the RR's 2 modes. I don't see any need for more.
they got it right at the time, way back when.
I have 3 brilliant marshall sounds, all very close to each other and all slightly different. all have the qualities which I expect from them.

so NO I don't compare to the 800, ME LIKE 1959RR, it's BETTER!

 

[dreyn77]

when I bought the DSL I trusted marshall would give me the sound similar to the mister rhoads custom sound but the easy access version cause they knew guys were searching the world looking for the modded marshall versions.
so yeah, they did make it.
it's not as thin as the old amps, but guys didn't want that. it's not a full on as the modded amps, but it's got all the characteristics of that darker sound and then it's got it's own way of making a marshall sound, the more distorted sound version.

sure with more power the sound out of the cab is more spread. maybe that's what you've actually done.

I think you have a 4th version of the sound. great for you. enjoy.


the distortion out of the ultra channels can be really fullon. they can be made to sound like no other amps prior.

what happens to those max gain sounds from those channels with your amp now?

are you running the gains on maxed or on the numbers?

are you using the full stack or the double floor cab setup? or just a half B cab?

 

[Dmann]

This is something to consider...Most likely the money you invest in these DSL heads you are not going to be able to retrieve when you sell the head.. Logic tells one imo, to spend as least as possible because of this...

Of course though in the end I am doing this for TONE!!!

There is no way I'd sell my DSLs for less then what I got into them..which with the mods is around $850 +/-..

I'm not one of those whom buy stuff with resale value being a key factor, nor am I a collector, or a "flipper" (buy cheap and sell at a profit.")

I buy stuff to use it.

I recall when I was modding my 78' JMP 2203 with a Metro Amps Zero Loss FX loop.... I had so many people tell me I was crazy to mod it as it will lessen the resale value... I just laughed. Then a couple years later when I decided to part with it, I had at least 50 morons try to undercut asking in most cases almost 1/2 what I was asking, because it was modded... LOL. I just said no, I'm in no hurry to sell. It still sold for the price I was asking after about 3 months of listing.

Anyways, I'm still considering doing the OT/PT/Choke on my 2014 DSL100H, but I must have a special one off, cause it roars and I'm really happy with it.

 

[CRobbins]

When I bought my 1998 JCM 2000 last year the previous owner had already upgraded the OT to a classic tone, and had added a choke. And had done some other sort of mods. Sounds good to me.

 

[rmlevasseur]

If someone could post some damn clips I could actually tell if I agree...

 

[Adrian R]

If someone could post some damn clips I could actually tell if I agree...

Here is a live clip of my amp before the P/T...This is just with the O/T and choke...Tungsol 34Bs...GE and Raytheon preamp tubes...boosting with FD2...Dimarzio Tonezone bridge P/U..

I apologize for those whom already seen this...

With the new P/T of the 'mess' you hear in my tone is utterly gone...amazing how clear the P/T made it...

Solo parts all done with red OD1 channel...

https://youtu.be/L4AudDbRuig

https://youtu.be/z2vne4IoEws

 

[dreyn77]

I listened to the suiside solution clip adrian.
it's a great bright sound. I was impressed.
I was waiting for any pick scrapes in the solo section but that didn't eventuate.

I reguard your version there to be 'the modern slightly less stuff in the sound', version.
it works and is great! well done.

I'm supprised you took whatever pickup was in that gibson, out of the guitar.

tone zone gets you the warm sound alright.

when I crankup the gain with the 490 gibson pickups and ultra1 channel the sound is unique and it doesn't remind me of any artist out there. but dial the gain down to say number ~ 6, there's a great marshall cracking distortion happening there.

ultra 2 and the gibson 490, and that sound is also able to be adjusted to have a typical marshall 'cracking' type distortion sound but it's more full on. the dial can be turned up alot more from this location, and the amp revieals some extreme distortion sounds. once again nothing like any recorded tone outthere.

If you put abit of reverb on your sounds, they can seem to fuzz alittle bit which adds to the RR type of effect. and drop the presence slightly.

 

[ken361]

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYQyS9yDVIo

 

[Adrian R]

Stock P/T on the right. Questions?

 

[Adrian R]

I listened to the suiside solution clip adrian.
it's a great bright sound. I was impressed.
I was waiting for any pick scrapes in the solo section but that didn't eventuate.

I reguard your version there to be 'the modern slightly less stuff in the sound', version.
it works and is great! well done.

I'm supprised you took whatever pickup was in that gibson, out of the guitar.

tone zone gets you the warm sound alright.



**Thanks Dreyn dude....You are right man...and I know you've been saying this for awhile..but pickups do have quite an impact on your sound...I just love TZ pickup...as I do *most* pickups that use the Alnico V mag.

 

[What?]

I somehow ran across this thread, and I am intrigued by the claims that upgrading the iron in the DSL's gives them much improved clarity and beef. Both of those are what I think the DSL-50 is missing, as well as the dynamics being too flat, especially when cranked up.

If Adrian R is still around, I'm curious to know what he thinks about the upgrades a few years later. And if anyone else has done it, I am curious to know what you think about it.

Also, is there any specific well regarded iron for the DSL-50?

Worse case scenario, I pony up for some iron and end up taking a a little monetary loss after reselling it to find out what difference it makes.

 

[What?]

I contacted Classictone asking about what I might expect from upgrades of power and output transformers and adding a choke to the DSL-50. Essentially, the reply was that all customers have reported being very satisfied with sonic improvements for output transformer and choke upgrades, not mentioning anything about a power transformer upgrade. I take that as, read between the lines.

 

[DannyB]

I bought a TSL a few months ago. I decided to make it a keeper. It worked fine. The main board was modded for bias drift. I bought both Classic Tone tranny’s and a choke. I also installed the issue 20 main board, just for giggles. I got lazy and didn’t install the new P/T. I custom cut the leads on the O/T and soldered the connecters with silver solder. Installing the choke only took half an hour. Pretty easy! Installing the new main board was fairly easy also. I used the “old” tubes for test purposes, and the before and after was like daylight and dark.

I installed the new preamp and power tubes, set the bias @75 mils and monitored for 3 hrs.

It’s every bit as killer as my HJS.

Sheesh! It feels like it’s 20lbs heavier than the HJS! It’s not, but it makes me glad I have the RnR cart R10!

EDIT: the upgrades are well worth it!! This JCM2000 TSL is a monster! A beast!

 

[What?]

DannyB, can you say anything about specific sonic changes that you noticed from upgrading the output transformer and adding a choke?

 

[charveldan]

I traded my 2009 *DSL for a Custom Stratocaster.
Not because I didn't like it but because I wanted the Stratocaster.
My DSL sounded great stock as do most.

 

[paul-e-mann]

I somehow ran across this thread, and I am intrigued by the claims that upgrading the iron in the DSL's gives them much improved clarity and beef. Both of those are what I think the DSL-50 is missing, as well as the dynamics being too flat, especially when cranked up.

If Adrian R is still around, I'm curious to know what he thinks about the upgrades a few years later. And if anyone else has done it, I am curious to know what you think about it.

Also, is there any specific well regarded iron for the DSL-50?

Worse case scenario, I pony up for some iron and end up taking a a little monetary loss after reselling it to find out what difference it makes.

Adrian swears by those mods and loves his DSLs to this day. If you have the cash and know how do it.