Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 50

Not bad, it has what ya need to get almost any job done. 50 watts, 2 EL34's, 4 12ax7's, deep switch (nice), tone shift switch for metal players, crunch and clean switch for the calssic channel, 2 channels (footswitchable), reverb (footswitchable) and an effects loop. What it has that really blows a** is a shared EQ, this sucks and on top of that, it is not very resposive for an EQ. You get a good clean tone dialed in, well as good as you can get with this unresponsive POS, and then you screw up your dirt tone.

Okay, let em start this portion off by saying that I have a review in for this amp already. I have owned it for 3 years now and the first review I gave it, well, I was way out of line and I think I was just more excited that I owned a Marshall half stack then anything else. I can deffinetely say that this amp has lost it's "NEW CAR" appeal. So here it goes.

This sounds like putting your ear up to a freshly opened pop can, nothing but fizz. It does'nt matter what channel you use, classic or ultra, nothing but fizz. I have tried many different techniques to cure the amp of this, but to no avail. I even tried inserting lower gain preamp tubes (12AY7) and this did nothing to cure the fizz, although it did drop my gain considerably, which I enjoyed a lot more. But it was still fizzy lower gain. I switch it to the classic channel and it is still the same crap, fizz. I have played many a Marshall, including vintage and re-issue, and the Marshall site says that this channel was modeled after the 1987, bull sh*t. The 1987 and 1987x re-issue sound awesome, my favorite Marshall, no fizz from them. Nothing but great harmonic overtones, note articulation and classic crunch. They have a great balance of highs, mids and lows and the EQ works, not the greatest but better the this DSL. Nope, the DSL classic channel sounds nothing like any classic amp on the planet let alone a classic Marshall. No deffinition, no crunch, harmonics are drowned out by this fizzy harsh drive, and no matter what I do I just can't EQ this damn thing.

Secondly, the amp seems to be made from 100% pure treble. I can turn the presensce right down to 1 and the treble down to 2 and it is still to ear piercingly painful. I know what everyone is thinking, it is his guitar, we it is not. I have 3 Les Paul's (all Gibson). One is a Classic Gold Top, one is a Swamp Ash Studio and the last is a Double Cut Faded with P-90's, plus I have owned and ran many a Fender through this amp. I have tried all of my guitars through different rigd to determine if it is the guitars and they all sound beautiful, espescially through my buddys JCM 800 2204. So, if it is not the guitars, maybe it is my signal chain? Nope, I unplugged all of my pedals and ran direct and the same garbage tone comes flying out of this overpriced piece of crap. Treble and fizz my friends, treble and fizz. When the deep switch is on, the bass pot is rendered useless. I like the deep switch, but I also like being able to control the bass, and you can't, so you turn it off. Then, all of the sudden you have No bass, no matter how much you turn up the bass.

Also, I switched the tubes right away, because the stock ones sounded even worse then it does now. I put JJ's in it and I like them better, but tubes can only do so much when there is so many other things that need to be changed. I have heard of a lot of mods that can be done to this amp, unfortunately I am no wizz with a soldering iron and I only have so much money I can spend on something before enough is enough, and I am saying enough is enough. I should have saved my money and bought a Ceriatone, Orange or something better then this but hey, it says Marshall and that looks cool, idiot.

The only thing I can say that I like is the classic channel with the gain around 3 and the volume around 2 and a half to 3 with crunch button activated. This is actually pretty nice if you like a little bit of hair on your clean and if you don't, then turn off the cruch button and it will be crystal clean. Shockingly clean for a Marshall, seriously. Very nice. I like it the way I stated earlier though, a little hair on the clean and then I add my Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS-9) to provide my dirt channel. I refuse to use that god awful ultra gain channel, because to me it is just not useable, maybe to a metal guy but not me. I play modern hard rock (www.footsoldierband.com), we need gain but I don't want to sound like this.

Actually, this thing is a tank. I throw it in my car, in the trunk, in the van and I have done countless shows with it without one single issue. Unfortunately, I do gig without a backup and I should'nt but I have never needed one anyways because this thing is a consummate performer. Never even blew a fuse on it. Gotta give it a 10 for 3 years of faithful service to me, espescially the amount of times this amp has had the crap beaten out of it.

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Very reliable, could be versatile with the right mods and sounds like crap without them. I am not willing to spend the money on modding something that already cost me $1700 (CDN) just to bring it up in t 2000's!!!!! I wich it sounded better. I should have done more homework and compared it to some more amps in the same price range, but I did'nt and now I am paying for it. It it were lost or stolen I would be happy, I would call my insurance company and I would have a different amp. There is not too mcuh I love about this amp and there is too many things to list that I hate, so I will leave you with this. Try it, you may like it, but try other amps as wel, and do your homework. Read up on what other people are using to get the same tones you are after then try those amps as well. Save yourself the headache.

I bought this amp and it is the best one I have ever heard.
It has a really creamy sound all a very deep feel.
I got it today (2009) and I am so happy with it!

Couldn't ask for more!

Amazing

Great!

Got everything!

I am so happy with it!

Two channels. Reverb. Loop. Tubes.

Great sound. I have two, one is the 100 watter. I like this better, still moves air but a bit more power tube sag with the 50 watter. The loops in these are totally usable. Has a switch so you can use PEDALS in the loop. How's that for handy? Rack stuff sounds great too at the line level setting. This thing is fierce, scares little children and pets away. With a Les Paul you can't get any better than this. Really. I have piles of amps in my basement. Old and new. This is my go to when I want to rock. All I do is run an old Alesis microverb in the loop, there you are. Saw Blues Saraceno doing a Marshall clinic years ago, that is exactly the setup he used. Plugged straight in, started to burn, no problem. This is the sound of rock. All you tube amp snobs can piss off, I have em' and I prefer this one. And you can get them CHEAP!!!!!!! Got this used for $375 shipped. Needed some cold solder joints fixed. Sounds like new.

As stated above, they run hot. PCB's expand/contract. Occasionally break solder joints. Any decent tech can remedy it. This one has Drake trannies in it, I believe some of the newer ones are a different mfg' company. This amp kills me how good it sounds.

Find a good tech, they are accross the pond and sell amps for a living. They don't want them to last 40 years like the old ones. Can't blame them.

Every rock guitarist should search one out and buy it. THE SOUND OF ROCK!!

Dual Super Lead 50 watt, 2 channel amp. Made in 1998. More power than I'll ever use. Simple controls and easy to find good sound settings. Channel switching and Reverb on/off can be controlled by optional foot switch. Uses 2 EL34 power tubes and 4 ECC83'S in the pre-amp and phase inverter slots. Classic channel has clean and crunch settings and Ultra channel has high gain Lead 1 and higher gain Lead 2 settings. These settings are chosen by depressing push button on front panel. 4 channel eq, bass, mid, presence and treble, deep button for added bass, and a tone shift button which scoops out the midrange. Separate gain, volume and reverb levels for each channel. Reverb is decent, not great. Good versatility. Can get clean, crunch, or high gain distortion. I have two gripes however. It should have separate eq. controls for each channel and the channel settings should be selectable by footswitch.

Playing a 75 Telecaster with a humbucker in the neck position and slide on a vintage 63 Epiphone Crestwood with mini-humbuckers for slide. Going through a 4X12 slant bottom which has lots of bottom and a huge sound. Using clean channel on crunch setting and switching to overdrive channel lead 1 setting for solos and slide. Lead 2 has too much distortion for my style which is mostly rock and country. Best tone and sustain of any amp I have owned and incredibly responsive to pick attack.

Amp was purchased used in knowingly non-working condition (hence the low purchase price) after being used on a cross country tour. Had it repaired, re-tubed, and biased for $300. Amp had broken solder connections in switching circuit. In its defense, the amp is 11 years old and was subjected to hard use by a touring band, even though it is in very good cosmetic shape because it was kept in a soft case. Now working perfectly.

Amp was purchased used. I am the third owner.

Been playing 40 years. Nothing I have ever played through can even come close to the tone, sustain, and response of this amp. Have always played through combos, Fender Twins, Vox Valvestates, Mesa Boogies, but this is my first Marshall. Have never played through a vintage point to point wired Marshall, so I have no opinion on whether this modern mass produced printed circuit board amp is even close but they are also a fraction of the price. Avoided half stacks because I hate hauling around heavy equipment. Too big for practices and smaller venues so you do need a second amp. An attenuator is also recommended to keep from blowing your band mates off the stage.

Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 100. I bought mine used a couple years ago from a music go-round for I hate to admit $800.00.

This thing kicks major ass when it come to a hard rock sound. Reverb is ok and clean's is ok. This amp is made for hard rock in my opinion and for that it delivers. Both dirty channels kick ass! My band plays AC/DC, Metallica, Buckcherry, Skynyrd, Nugent, STP, Black Crowes, etc. and the sound is great for that music.

POS! That stands for piece of shit. From day 1 I have had the same problem. I wish I would have returned it within my 30 days after purchase. Now I am stuck with it. The very first day I brought it to band rehearsal within a half hour the sound just faded out. I took it back to Music Goround, they kept it and had their tech look at it and he fixed. It then worked great for about 6 months, then channel/footswitch noises started happening, then sound started to fade out again. I have since had this amp in the shop 5 time in the past year, it has died at gigs 4 times, and no one can figure out its problem. I am taking it back in for the 6th time today. If you get this amp you better have a back up if you are gigging.

By the way if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.

none

Sorry Marshall, i love your sound, but I play in working band and need something that I can rely on.

Bought the DSL 50 second hand in immaculate condition from guy who had owned from new and never taken it outside the house. Two channel amp with two modes per channel and footswitch to change between the two channels (although not between modes). Effects loop. Shared EQ between both channels.

Will mark this down for the shared EQ however this is a minor thing and the benefits of the amp outweigh the desirability of the seperate EQ.

I use the DSL-50 to play an eclectic mix of 80's metal such as Megadeth and Metallica as well as rock tones ala AC/DC, Guns n' Roses. Playing both an 81 Les Paul Custom and a Jackson Soloist SL1.

I bought the DSL after owning a Peavey 5150 and a Marshall 900 SLX. The main reason was the 5150 whilst it has it's place is a very one dimensional souless beast and the SLX was an amp I never could quite get what I wanted from it. The DSL50 on the other hand is the best amp I have ever owned and here are the reasons why; after spending an hour of playing with this amp all on the original stock tubes, it sent shivers down my spine with the tones of my favorite songs leaping out. The JCM 800 the Plexi is right here or as near as dammit without the limitations of those amps. It does as others have said introduce a modern take on these classic amps however that is not a bad thing.

This amp can sound really full and warm with creamy thick distortion through to blazing in your face lead tone.

And the clean is the best clean Marshall I have ever heard. Putting the cleans to just on edge of break up and then using an overdrive is pure heaven.

I absolutely love this amp.

Since having the DSL I have had no problems although quickly burnt through the stock power tubes through frequent use. I have replaced all the tubes, using NOS Mullard 12AX7's in V1 and V2 and an EH in V3 with JJ ECC83S balanced in the V4 position. The tube change smoothed out the amp with the mullards sounding typically smooth and organic.

I can't really fairly judge this as owned the amp for around a year but not had any reason to doubt it's reliability, I have played it almost daily since owning it.

Marshall in the past have been fast to respond to my questions and as a company I personally believe they are a safe bet.

Played for 30+ years, in various bands in my youth and through adult hood. Have owned too many guitars and amps to count including a 1959 SLP Plexi and a JCM800, JCM900 SLX, Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, Peavey 5150, JMP1 amoung others.

My thoughts are the DSL is perfect for me, it gives me enough variation to be able to capture the sounds I want without having to kart around several amps. There is no doubt in my mind that the DSL will achieve similiarly legendary status as the 800's and the Plexi's have, in years to come.

I tried out a JVM in a music store and my mind boggled with all the knobs, etc. This amp is just right. The EQ makes a big difference in tone, the scoop button adds a new set of tones. I leave the bass boost always on. I'm playing a '75 Les Paul Standard with a Dimarzio PAF and a Seymour Duncan pickup and you can actually roll the volume back on the guitar and still get good sounds.

The channel switching is my only complaint. The foot pedal is not electronic and you get a momentary drop off in signal. Not cool live at all. And I wish the clean/crunch option could be switched. Reverb switching is useless.

I love this amp's tones! It goes from clean and warm to nasty and saturated, and everything in between which is really the best thing about this amp. There are many distortion tones that have the whole Marshall range and all are usable. It does the 800 and 900 series tones as well as pretty much eveerything else. Even at bedroom volume it's quite nice and of course after 5 on the voulme it really comes alive. I love the built in compresser that seems to work in the more overdriven settings. You get wonderful sustain; just amazing. Frankly I can't think of anything this amp lacks.

I bought this amp used and so far it's been reliable. The only problem is a vibration that sounds like it's a spring in the reverb tank. It's not in the signal, just in the room. Maybe a broken spring? Should be an easy fix.

I've been playing over 30 years and always had old school tube amps, like a 70's Music Man, the Traynor bass amp that's supposed to be a "poor man's Marshall" and a couple Fenders. I play rock and blues and this amp is perfect for me. You can get all the classic tones as well as create new ones. I love the front panel layout the best. There's enough flexibility to get lots of variety but it's not cluttered and you don't need to read a 50 page manual to figure out how to get good sounds. Plenty of power too; this thing is LOUD, but not at the expense of low volume tone. I will always have a DSL, and for the price I can't see why everyone shouldn't have one.

All the essentials

2 Channels

Clean/Crunch
Gain/Ultra gain
2 Footswitches needed, one for Reverb and one for channels.
Shared EQ
Presence
Deep button for added low end
Tone shift for scooping out the mids

FX Loop

What more would I ask for?

Single footswitch, an EQ per channel but that is about it.

It does clean(ish) tones right through Hendrix, AC/DC, to more hard rock and finally ending off with plenty of gain quite well, I rarely use the Ultra gain switch on the Gain channel, it's just too much IMO.

The amp doesn't start sounding good until the Volume is at about 4 on both channels, that's where I feel it really starts to kick in, its a valve amp, they're meant to be cranked. For those that are wondering if it is 'Loud enough' and whether they should spend another $200/??150 on the 100w version, don't bother, there is less headroom on a 50w but it really will make your head hurt in your bedroom even at half way, in prolonged exposure. I play through a 4x12 1960a cabinet.

The amp is versatile, with intelligent tweaking you can get a fair amount of famous tones without having to use all your foot pedals. Even a modest PLEXI (but not as good as the real thing of course)

If you're looking a Marshall tone, this is the amp. If you're looking a fender tone or w/e else , you have no reason to be reading this.

It does have a bit of harshness in it, but after you play with the amp for a few hours you'll know it's ins and outs tone wise.~ It's simple to program your desired tone, but you might want to find a good setting for the shared EQ

This one was bought summer 2008, it was manufactured in early 1997. Has 1 gig mark on it and the backplate has taken abuse.

It's solid. Stand on it if you like.

The only support they can give me is 'have you heard our new JVM range'

To which I reply 'no thanks'

I would like to replace this amp if stolen

But they are dear as hell brand new and used ones on Ebay are rare.

It just screams marshall, it's one of their best selling amps, if you aren't into this amp you aren't really into marshalls.

Mine is a 2008 model. I play old school heavy metal and bought this amp to gig with as I don't want to take my older Marshalls out too often.

I use Stratocasters with high output single coils and s/c sized humbuckers (Quarter Pounds, Hot Rails, JB Jr etc.). I could never get satisfactory sounds out of the ultra gain channel until I performed a small modification - the removal of capacitor C12 (the treble bleed capacitor). Before this modification, the sound was always too bright, hard-sounding and brittle. Now, the sound is thick, warm and full and much easier to dial in.

The classic gain channel has a very pleasing sound, with an excellent clean sound.

-50 watt head (4 ECC83 preamp valves and 2 EL34 power amp valves)
-2 channels (Classic Gain and Ultra Gain channels both with 2 modes)
-A Deep switch that adds a resonant bass boost for a meatier bottom end, and a Tone Shift that scoops out the mid frequencies
-Reverb
-Effects loop
-Footswitch

I don't have many complaints about this amp but if I could change anything I would have a better footswitch. The one that is included simply changes the channel and it would be nice if it could also turn on/off the reverb or let you turn on/off the 2 "modes" for each channel. This amp has plenty of power and can be very loud if you want it to be. I run it through a 2x12 Marshall 1936 cab. A VERY versatile amp.

I play rock, metal and blues. I play it through a 2x12 Marshall cab. I've owned Fender, Mesa and Peavey tube amps and this amp has the best crunch/gain of any amp I've owned and is very well suited to my particular taste. For blues and rock it has the most amazing tone of any amp I've played. Not harsh like a Mesa. You can get great metal tones as well if you are playing things like Ozzy, Van Halen, 80s metal etc. but if you want Pantera type gain you would have to use something like a Boss Metal Zone which is what I use for over the top metal tone. I keep the Deep Switch on all times on this amp. At lower volumes it makes the amp sound fuller. I don't use the Tone Shift button all that much. The best thing about this amp is that you can get great tone and high gain at reasonable levels, however, tube amps always sound best cranked! As far as "noise" is concerned, as you turn the volume and gain up on any amp there is always increased feedback and noise but I don't believe that this amp is particularly "noisy". In addition, I can get a great clean sound out of this amp by turning the gain down on the first channel. Sounds great with single coils and humbuckers.

I have had this amp for about a year and have had no problems.

I have emailed Marshall with questions about their products via email and they always get back to me with an answer.

I have been playing guitar for about 15 years and have purchased and sold several amps. I feel that I have finally found the sound that works best for me. If this amp were stolen I would replace it with a new one. I love the tone and flexibility of this amp. The only thing I don't like is the limited footswitch. It should at least turn on/off the reverb and perhaps the 2 modes for each channel.
The DSL series is now discontinued.