NAD: Ye Olde DSL40c

[Maggot Brain]

Shhhh, let them think like that. Keeps 'em cheaper for us smart folk. 😉

Also @bobpick68

Sound is 100% subject BUT ... I'll catch flak from someone taking this personal BUT I believe a lot of people that bag on gear like DSLs, Origins, Solid State or modern modeling amps etc etc etc... I feel they just feel threatened by something else that isn't their prized amp/tone or they just try to reassure themselves what they own or like is superior...

Yep, it's ok DSLs and Solid State suck.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Also @bobpick68

Sound is 100% subject BUT ... I'll catch flak from someone taking this personal BUT I believe a lot of people that bag on gear like DSLs, Origins, Solid State or modern modeling amps etc etc etc... I feel they just feel threatened by something else that isn't their prized amp/tone or they just try to reassure themselves what they own or like is superior...

Yep, it's ok DSLs and Solid State suck.

And the Origin’s

 

[Maggot Brain]

And the Origin’s

Of course and JCM900s! 😄

 

[Neptical]

Another Boogie Man converted to Marshalls. 🤟

I played Boogie Mark IIIs ( still own them) and a DC-5 head (I sold) for many years and decided to get my first taste of Marshall with a DSL50 head to go with my JCM 800 1960 cab.

That was game over.

Best musical decision I ever made. I can't get enough of them now and own many.

Enjoy your new amp OP! You made the right choice!

 

[scozz]

Congrats on the new amp @bobpick68.

@PelliX makes a good point about taming the red channel a little with different tubes, preamp tubes for the most part.

12at7, 5751, are two choices that work great in Dsls’s, there are other choices too.

They make the Dsls’ red channel more useable imo.

 

[end user]

This was a DIY Hack Job on my part …… Added the C19 Option Mod too !!
View attachment 113759

Looks like a damn good "hack job" if you ask me. I wish I had any kind of skills with power tools cos I'd save myself the 300+ bucks the Stagecraft shell is gonna cost once taxes and shipping are figured in.

 

[end user]

Congrats on the new amp @bobpick68.

@PelliX makes a good point about taming the red channel a little with different tubes, preamp tubes for the most part.

12at7, 5751, are two choices that work great in Dsls’s, there are other choices too.

They make the Dsls’ red channel more useable imo.

Yeah I put a NOS GE 12AT7 in V1 in it and it was an instant improvement to my ears.

 

[end user]

Also @bobpick68

Sound is 100% subject BUT ... I'll catch flak from someone taking this personal BUT I believe a lot of people that bag on gear like DSLs, Origins, Solid State or modern modeling amps etc etc etc... I feel they just feel threatened by something else that isn't their prized amp/tone or they just try to reassure themselves what they own or like is superior...

Yep, it's ok DSLs and Solid State suck.

Yeah and a bit ( or with some folks a lot) of confirmation bias. "There's no way your modern cheap amp sounds as good as my pricey booteek or vintage amp".. Eh as they say que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. However as someone who has been running sound for bands in many venues for many years I have witnessed many so called legendary amps sound terrible, and many so called terrible amps sound fantastic. It's not just the player's touch that helps make the tone but the players ability to use their gear to it's fullest or worst potential.

 

[PelliX]

Yeah and a bit ( or with some folks a lot) of confirmation bias. "There's no way your modern cheap amp sounds as good as my pricey booteek or vintage amp".. Eh as they say que sera sera, whatever will be, will be.

There's age and there's design - unfortunately, so many get these things mixed up. Survivorship bias ensures that many think "oh, those ones made back then were all AWESOME", when in fact many were nothing special and some were crap. Just like today. Adding to that, many people (myself included) are generally not great fans of the more modern sounds like the JVM's, DSL's and so on. As these circuits simply didn't exist in ~1965, they get the rough end of the stick for being new ("because vintage is always better bla bla") and for not sounding like the older amps (without some coaxing).

In a valve amp, there is not much reason that an el cheapo (DSL for example) amp can't produce a tone that's just as appealing as a vintage 1959. The problem is, they aim in totally different directions and are hard to compare in that sense. Note, I have a DSL - it does what it's meant to do quite well, certainly at its price tag. I don't plug in to a VOX some days because they're "better" - they just sound different. I can't get those tones out of a Marshall. Likewise, when I want a Marshall JCM tone, I don't run to an Orange, right...

 

[emann]

Great Purchase!

 

[end user]

There's age and there's design - unfortunately, so many get these things mixed up. Survivorship bias ensures that many think "oh, those ones made back then were all AWESOME", when in fact many were nothing special and some were crap. Just like today. Adding to that, many people (myself included) are generally not great fans of the more modern sounds like the JVM's, DSL's and so on. As these circuits simply didn't exist in ~1965, they get the rough end of the stick for being new ("because vintage is always better bla bla") and for not sounding like the older amps (without some coaxing).

In a valve amp, there is not much reason that an el cheapo (DSL for example) amp can't produce a tone that's just as appealing as a vintage 1959. The problem is, they aim in totally different directions and are hard to compare in that sense. Note, I have a DSL - it does what it's meant to do quite well, certainly at its price tag. I don't plug in to a VOX some days because they're "better" - they just sound different. I can't get those tones out of a Marshall. Likewise, when I want a Marshall JCM tone, I don't run to an Orange, right...

Right it goes back to expectations. Some think if they plug into a Marshall amp they are going to get Plexi or JCM800. The DSL does neither of those (though some will argue it's Plexi'ish on green channel) I have owned a real Plexi 1987x and a real 2203 JCM800 and used them on stages and recording. Totally different amps from the DSL but the DSL is a great sounding Marshall amp. being made in Vietnam or on Mars doesn't make it any less Marshall than a 1968 Superlead 100.

 

[end user]

Just to add..The biggest reason I don't own very many expensive amps these days isn't because I can't afford them. I am not rich by any measure but I can go grab a 3k amp right now without worrying about it. It's that I realized that I do not "have to" spend that much to make me happy and to sound good. it's similar to driving to work in a Escalade just because you can as opposed to driving to work in a Honda Fit. Both will get you to work just fine.

After I sold off my Mark V 90 and bought 3 amps with the proceeds and had 400 bucks left over is when I really realized I didn't have to drop north of 1k on a single amp to tear it up.

 

[Rokinroller]

Got my 40C this past spring . Addictive to say the least . So much tones and power to spare ! I use it mainly through my 2X12 V30 - GB cab . Its so killer ! I've also had JCM 2000 Dsl 50 and 100 . My biggest regret was selling my super mint TSL100 head. That , to me was the ultimate DSL . But .... my DSL40C eases the pain quite nicely ! Dont see me ever letting this one go . Yup , to me its got the mojo .

 

[PelliX]

Just to add..The biggest reason I don't own very many expensive amps these days isn't because I can't afford them. I am not rich by any measure but I can go grab a 3k amp right now without worrying about it. It's that I realized that I do not "have to" spend that much to make me happy and to sound good. it's similar to driving to work in a Escalade just because you can as opposed to driving to work in a Honda Fit. Both will get you to work just fine.

After I sold off my Mark V 90 and bought 3 amps with the proceeds and had 400 bucks left over is when I really realized I didn't have to drop north of 1k on a single amp to tear it up.

Yeah, same. If I encounter an amp that I cannot get for less than 3K, but ONLY that thing will do the tone that I want, and I can't even get close any other way - I'll buy it. I doubt this will ever happen, but I also said I'd never pay more than 500 for a guitar waaaaay back when...

 

[end user]

Yeah, same. If I encounter an amp that I cannot get for less than 3K, but ONLY that thing will do the tone that I want, and I can't even get close any other way - I'll buy it. I doubt this will ever happen, but I also said I'd never pay more than 500 for a guitar waaaaay back when...

Cetainly. If you are going for something specific all bets are off. As far as the guitar thing goes, I luckily have gotten really good at modifying,repairing, upgrading electric guitars so I havent had to spend more than a grand on a guitar in a long time. Even my Les Paul was snagged on a blowout sale for 450 bucks.

 

[Maggot Brain]

Right it goes back to expectations. Some think if they plug into a Marshall amp they are going to get Plexi or JCM800. The DSL does neither of those (though some will argue it's Plexi'ish on green channel) I have owned a real Plexi 1987x and a real 2203 JCM800 and used them on stages and recording. Totally different amps from the DSL but the DSL is a great sounding Marshall amp. being made in Vietnam or on Mars doesn't make it any less Marshall than a 1968 Superlead 100.

This little area is where I don't quite understand others, that the DSL can't do Plexi or JCM800 etc. I've owned both a 1959 and 2204 that I had plenty of experience with and I'd say the DSL can definitely approximate either amp. The DSL definitely has it's own character but I think it's greatest strength is approximating all of Marshall's sounds thru the decades, from JTM to JMP to JCM and beyond. I know us guitarist can be pretty OCD and picky about "tone" so I'm not sure if that's it? It's not EXACT so therfore it doesn't count. I still believe a lot of it is like I was saying, I think a status quo has developed with "lesser" gear and a lot just agree in order to fit in...

 

[end user]

This little area is where I don't quite understand others, that the DSL can't do Plexi or JCM800 etc. I've owned both a 1959 and 2204 that I had plenty of experience with and I'd say the DSL can definitely approximate either amp. The DSL definitely has it's own character but I think it's greatest strength is approximating all of Marshall's sounds thru the decades, from JTM to JMP to JCM and beyond. I know us guitarist can be pretty OCD and picky about "tone" so I'm not sure if that's it? It's not EXACT so therfore it doesn't count. I still believe a lot of it is like I was saying, I think a status quo has developed with "lesser" gear and a lot just agree in order to fit in...

Right I was talking about exact stuff.

 

[end user]

Stuck these puppies X pattern style in a 4x12 I had kicking around and WOW! I have had a hard time getting along with G12T-75's but with the V30's? Whole different ballgame. Pretty sure I had a 1960a I got off someone some years ago with this combination in it and I dont remember digging it as well as I am now. Maybe cos these are fully broken in?

I disconnected the V30 I put in the DSL40c and just ran this cab into it and did a rehearsal with it today. What a difference (in a good way) this rig made. I had been going direct with a Helix LT with the band I jammed with today and everyone else had the same reaction I did. Blown away at how much better the tones are. I wasnt even really playing that loud and it was still punching hard and sounds so much fuller.

 

[Leonard Neemoil]

Congratulations on the great amp and new speaker setup.

I've been debating on trying that combo too.

Jam it!

 

[PelliX]

Congratulations on the great amp and new speaker setup.

I've been debating on trying that combo too.

Jam it!

Not a bad amp at all, just Marshall and the semi-open back combo... don't quite flip my switch like running it through a cab. If you have a cab for it, you could do a lot worse! (@Mitchell Pearrow will back you up, too)...

Personally, I kept the DSL20 after some A/B'ing, but that's taste. The 40 sure sounded better than the 20 *as a combo*, though (stock speaker upgraded, of course).