Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 401

This amp has just what you need...clean channel, two distorted channels, all-tube, spring reverb. Not too happy with the foot switch quality. It did okay until I started transporting it to gigs.

From what I have read here, I need to replace the tubes. I generally like the tone (needs bottom), but I cannot get any volume out of it. My bandmate never puts his master volume past 4; I never have mine as low as 6. I use a Fender American Standard Strat, a few Boss effects, and a Cry-Baby. Sans effects, the clean is clean, and the louder distorted channel has some nice crunch, but not a lot of bottom. Once again, I have loudness issues, so I suffer from background noise due to the high volume setting at which I usually play.

Haven't had any problems in the 6 years I have owned it. Except that time I brought the amp to the gig and left the power cord in the garage.

Had I the chance to do it again, I would probably look for a Music Man 50W tube amp for light duty/studio work. On stage, a 100W Fender tube amp, or the classic Marshall stack with a 100W head. Too much power? Never heard of it.

1999?
a nice clean channel and two other overdrive channels.
effects loop

First and foremost you have to install a vintage 30. Now with the vintage 30 you can get a nice sound from the clean channel. Use your pedals for distortion and colors. The dirty channels are no good. I always use humbuckers. The bridge humbucker works nice for clarity and crunch. For a fatter lead sound use the other. The Ibanez TS 808 is a great overdrive for this amp or any other amp for that matter. For a heavier distortion use a metal zone. Ive had good luck with pedals that are true bypass like the line 6 stomps. A good stand can help you hear this amp better on stage. I had to basically hot rod this thing to make it sound good.

Dont crank this baby past 3 or 4. Mine heated up and burned up something and I had to have it replaced at the shop. If you need this thing to be louder mic it to a PA. Plus at higher volumes the sound clarity is lost.

Another tip to put the cleanest tubes you can find in it, perhaps groove tubes #10 or sovtec cleans.

Ive been playing for 15 years. I had to hot rod this thing to make it sound good. It still lacks volume. If I had it to do over again I'd get a mesa F-50.

2001 model I think, purchased in the uk. Definitely a rock amp.

Own several guitars but mainly play a Peavey Wolfgang. Iwas very disappointed when I purchased this amp. There was no bottom end (unlike the valvestate 80) I had previously. The sound kept fading and the box got hotter than hell.
Then one day I spoke to Derek at Watford Valves in the UK. He recommended a valve transplant. Good God, what a difference. No more fading sound, a very rich warm sound. I prefer power amp distortion and even at low volumes this now sounds impressive. I also use a Keeley modified Boss sd1 and last but definitely not least, a fantastic pair of real guitar leads made by Wil Halligan of excellentleads.com based in the uk. Take my advice, revalve it, use a top notch overdrive and invest in the best leads available. With these you will have all you need to cover everything from Zepto Halen and even Metallica.

Following revalve I am much more confident in reliability.

Never used

Playing 15 years. Own shed loads of equipment but never use most of it. I love the simplicity of my current setup, ie WolfGang, boss sd1 and great leads. Bottom end absolutely sucked but has improved since revalve. Have just ordered a 1936 cab to go with it. Have also ordered a speaker lead from excellentleads.com. Dont underestimate the importance of any equipment that is to be attached. They all have an affect on the final quality of the amp.

pretty plain, just what you need no extras

Great sound. this what i bought it for

heres the problem. channel 1 sound fades out. Took it in for repair
came back with no channels working. took it in agian now the reverb
does not work. ill save you some time DONT BUY THIS AMP
WASTE OF $700.00 ,,, IT WILL BREAK ON YOU

VERY HARD TO GET A HOLD OF MARSHALL
There is a good waranty though.

Ive been playing guitar for about 10 years.
If lost or stolen i would buy somthing else.
Although the sound is great what good is that if it doesnt work
half the time.

2003
everybody has mentioned the features,so no need for another walk-thru

I play for the most part heavy rock,KISS,ozzy ,weezer and similar.this amp gives me some really good tones for the money.Now I have read the instruction booklet that i`m sure a lot of the reviewers below hasnt .Read it and learn how to get the best tones out of this amp.you know there is a simple way of reducing the buzzy quality.I think it sounds great.it aint a jcm 900 or similar,but how can it be??? full score

it gets hot,but nothing has happened as of yet.yeah i would gig with it

nope

been playing for 17 years,this is my first valve amp,as i have bought guitars instead,and played thru shitty transistor amps.this amp may not be the best ,or greatest sounding amp ever,but it still is great considering all.

Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 401 Dual Super Lead
40 W - Full Tube

3 Channels (Clean, OD1, OD2)
3 Band EQ for Clean and OD1/OD1

4x EL84 Output valves and 4x ECC83 Preamp Valves

I miss a Tone Shift & Deep Switch - but that's not a problem!

I use the DSL 401 with my Fender Custom Telecaster HH FMT and it sounds awesome!

I mostly play Rock and Metal and it's the pefect amp for my needs! I am very suprised by the clean channel - cristal clear - you can get from a nice clean tone to some jazz & blues distortion by using the gain knob clockwise.

The amp is very, very and I really mean VERY loud - you can easly gig with it!

The OD1/OD2 channels are not noisy at all and the distortion is just amazing - the OD2 channel gives 20 db extra boost.

I think it's a very reliable amp - hasn't broken down!

Didn't contact them yet!

Very good amp! If lost, stolen or damaged I'd get another one!

No frills. I like that. But that di output is very useful.

The speaker in this amplifier seems to be voiced for the clean channel. My advice to anyone sweating about this amp is to buy a vintage 30 16, install it in a seperate cabinet and don't use the stock speaker. Don't go running both because the gain channel is stilll crap no matter how much you twiddle and fiddle with the pots Don't go removing anything if you have a warrenty because these things break down every other week. Once done, the amplifier is really rather impressive. The clean channel is shite through the vintage, may as well be od 3, but the gain is worth it. The new speaker hisses like a bastard but breaks up with none of the boxy quality we all know this amp has.

Shit. Burns hotter than a frenchman's underpants.

This amp has been back and forth more times than i can remember. Marshall are great, very accomodating, but jesus it's inconvenient.

sounds great. Love the quirky little turd. Marshall have slipped up in tryin to incorporate a a good clean channel in this high gain combo. Good amp, limited by the speaker. Leaning over and switching the jacks around at the back is not conducive to a professional stage presence.

Same as below. All features are useful to me except the reverb is too loud on the od channel. Reliability sucks until it's resoldered.

The OD channel is OK for classic rock. 20db boost is cool too. Clean is great as well as the clean channel OD. The speaker compensated DI is very good but an off-axis, close sm57, is fool proof. Much more fool proof than these "hassle free" DI remedies. Friends don't let friends DI.

The amp get hot as reported which puts stress on the mass produced solder joints. I lost power to the 3 preamp tubes and found the rectifier needed re-soldered. While I was in there I repaired many cold solder joints and installed a fan on the power switch.

NA

Decent mass produced amp but it's over priced due to the well reported reliability issues. This amp should cost as much as a crate or fender or traynor. Much better quality and value found in MESA and boutiques.

my dsl-401 was made in 2001. i bought it "used" from a sam ash in philadelphia. pa.

it is a pretty basic amplifier. it fires 40 all-tube watts into a single 12" speaker. it is part of the dual super lead line of tube amps. it had reverb that can be controlled via a foot pedel. it also carries a fairly useless effects loop. however, this amp has something special: a "third" channel between the clean and the heavy overdrive channels. this channel offers what i believe to be a great distortion, especially for classic rock or when you just need more bite in your playing than the clean channel can provide. the amplifer has enough wattage to play small gigs (it can drown a drumset) but i would recommend an additional cabinet for a larger club.

it is a pretty basic amplifer with great warm, thick sound. it doesn't have any digital effects or anything like that, but who needs those? it is great for what it is. those that want extras should get a line6.

i play a lot of avant-garde/ambient post-rock/punk and alternative music.

fender stratocaster (w/ stacked bridge humbucker)>dunlop mr. crybaby>EH big muff pi (russian)>eh small stone>signal flex delay>boss flanger>scores of crazy effects

i also use this amp with my mircokorg keyboard. it rumbles beautifully. it can capture highs through lows with sweet marshall charm. it also makes a tolerable bass amp with the gain down and the volume up.

i can use this amp in conjunction with effects to emulate artists or create entirely new sounds. depending on my mood, i can dial in great classic rock sounds, as well as more moderm settings. the amp is basic, yes, but it still offers a lot of versatility.
*sigur ros also uses jcm-2000 series amps, as well as scores of other musicians from all over the sonic sphere.

this amp has changed with my varying styles. it barked for heavier things, and now it shimmers for post-rock. it also hums and beeps when told to.

the reverb in this amp is nice. however, it can sometimes be a bit hissy. if the hiss is a problem, just use a holy grail or something.

the clean channel breaks at a low volume, and there is no clean volume knob. this makes it hard to have sparklingly clean sounds at high levels, but if you wanted that you would have a fender amp, right?

with the gain and volume entirely cranked on the OD2 channel i can create amazing barking distortion. it is almost sinister. the amp can be a little noisy at times, but that is all well and good for me. if anything, i wish it were a little more noisy.

the bottom line is thus: i use this amp for certain sounds. if i want to do something this amp cannot, i reach for my fender twin reverb.

i used to live in philadelphia. i purchased this amplifier after my used peavey bandit exploded for no reason. fearing that i may have a repeat incident, i took out a one year warranty (thanks sam ash). as luck would have it, there was no problem. this amp has been used at full volume for countless practices, gigs and general screwing around. the amp has survived being hit, knocked around and generally abused with no damage or complaints.

last year, i had to pack up my bags and head back home (in western canada). i threw the amp in the back of my sunfire and covered it in all my worldly possessions. it was a bump ride and at times i thought i was going to destroy the amp at some point during the 3500 km trip. but alas, not a problem.

it has been almost three years now, and this amp has not given me a lick of trouble. even though i bought it used the amp still runs like new. i, like many of you, am worried about the heat problem. i have burned myself many times after using the amp for hours and then touching the faceplate. nothing has happened yet, and it doesn't seem to be a problem. i am still using all of the original tubes.

i bought this amp used in philadelphia three years ago. i am back home here in western canada. i am sure sam ash wants nothing to do with me.
if something did go wrong, i would just take it to my local amp repair shop. they did wonders for my '62 fender tremolux.

i have been playing seriously guitar for close to five years now. in addition to this amp i own a '62 fender tremolux, a '65 fender twin reverb RI and a peavey bandit 112 (repaired, of course). each amp has a purpose (besides the awful bandit). and each amp does this purpose well. this amp and i have been friends for close to three years now. it was my first tube and and it helped usher me into the beatiful world of analog circuitry.
if it were stolen i would probably hunt the thief with such ample precision that he would wish that he had not made the earlier mistake. seeing as how this is both impossible and improbably, i would probably either buy another or spend the extra cash to get a dsl-100 half-stack.

this amp does what it should, and that is why it deserves a high rating.

i see this a good existence. while most other amp makers are going ahead and replacing all of their combo amps (and even some of their higher end heads) with digital components and transistor circuits, marshall is conitinuing to make quality tube amplifiers. the sound can't be beat. this amp is the next best thing to a dsl-100 and i love it dearly.

Ordered this new from musicians friend. By now if you don't know the features, read some other reviews.

I run a Jackson DXMG and a Gibson SG Special into this amp. The reverb is kind of crappy and the effects loops sucks, i think. I replaced the stock speaker with a vintage 30 and the reverb "hiss" has gone away. You really have to add a little reverb to make this thing sound really good. I wish marshall would have added a Deep switch to tighten up the bottom end on this amp cuz it sucks. They should have done that instead of adding a third channel. you either have to play the clean channel or the +20Db of gain channel, because the other one just sucks. I tried the TSL 122 at guitar center and that amp's lead channel distortion beat the fuck out of this amp. reverb was also a lot better

i had this amp for no more than 3 months when it crapped out on me. 3 tubes in all were failing, but i don't know if that was marshall's fault.

never delt with them

I've been playing for 5 years. if this was stolen, i would probably save up and buy either a TSL 122 combo, or like a DSL 50 halfstack.