Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 401

Year Made: 2002
I play mainly blues/rock/pop and the amp is fine for each of these. It is a 2 channel valve amp with an extra 20db boost on the lead channel making it effectively 3 channel. It has a footswitch to access each of the three channels, a parallel FX loop and a line out to external speaker if required. The power valves used are EL84's apparently the classic Marshall sound is with EL34's which have a warmer tone, but this amp sounds fine to me, even the clean channel sounds better than a fender princeton 65 that I also own. Power wise its OK, but the guy that plays in our band with me has a 50watt amp with 2 speakers and so I have a hard job competing.

I use single coil Tele/Strat and the amp is fine for clean through to blues and beyond to 70's rock. Anything beyond that i.e. screaming metal and forget it. As mentioned before the clean channel is nice, and can be fattened up nicely via the overdrive. I don't find the middle channel that useful If I need extra drive I go straight to channel 3.

This had a faulty speaker, which produced a buzz at higher volume/drive levels. I thihk this was probably because the amp had been misused at the Shop where I bought it rather than any fault of Marshall, but as with all Marshalls you get 3 years warranty (who else offers that!) I got it fixed straightaway. Other than that slight problem rock solid performer.

Absolutely superb, drove it over to the factory in Milton Keynes and it was fixed within 4 days, they even replaced all the valves and put a mod on the amp to reduce the heat output.

I have been playing seriously for the last 2 years, but first picked the guitar up over 20 years ago. If it was stolen/lost I would probably buy it again or upgrade to the TSL602 (which has the EL34's and two speakers). Before buying I compared it to Engls, Fenders, Mesa Boogie, Crate, Peavey. Whilst all these are great amps I found the price/performance and most of all 3 year warranty the deciding factor. In addition the amp is quite light (for a valve amp) and not too big, which for me who has to play at home a lot is quite convenient.

Made in 2002. This amp is your usual Marshall. The features are fairly good. Would be nice to have a volume for 3rd channel. Use it for gigs, easily loud enough for a school hall.

Its a Marshall Great for rock and blues. I love the tone. Stands up very well at high volume.

First of all the reverb had a mind of its own. Sent it in to be repaired. (see below) Now the whole thing has stopped working without warning. I got it in Januarny 2003.

When it was being repaired they took 3 weeks and then returned it without the footswitch. It took a month for the to send the right one.

I would probably get something else if it were stolen just because of the reliability and also, i'm never satisfied. Hopefully other people dont have reliabilty problems. If so it would be near perfect.

2002 JCM 2000 DSL 401, clean/OD1/OD2
Sounds great playing lead riffs and power chords on both overdrive channels when eq and gain set right - I have not been completely satisfied with just switching absent some tweaking. Then again, those knobs are made to be twisted...Not a huge array of sounds, but that awesome crunch is why this little combo amazes me. Good package for practice and sets in small, medium and even large venues. Plenty! But you may want more if you are outdoor (see powering a 4x12, below)

Using a DOT with humbuckers. Play mainly rhythm, but have a few licks perfected to pretend I'm lead guitar. There is a slight bounce on the clean channel when cranked up (with bass set midway) but overall, this thing really sounds terrific on all three channel settings and at a range of volumes.

It seems to be OK (no smoke!) I've had it 4 months - no problems. Play daily often hours on end, and it sounds consistent throughout. Have not had any cutting out or crackles regardless of time spent - although anytime it's turned up over 4, I have ear protection, so slight variations I may have missed.

Been playing for 8 years, own 3 acoustics and the 335 copy. Have an upgraded Line 6 Axsys212 w/floorboard, Fender Twin, Line 6 MM4, Boss DS-1. Switched from unplugged covers of Nirvana/Staind/Incubus etc to electric only 2 years ago after finding the Gibson and Twin at the same used gear sale. Always wanted to crank it up, but until I owned my own stuff, was afraid to admit it to friends who were starting to jam regularly. Found myself practicing their Green Day/Smashing Pumpkins-type songs and general garagepunk sound. I keep an eye out for quality products but can't afford much else - the $400 paid for the DSL 401 was the most I've spent so far on a single piece other than my acoustics years ago - the DOT/Twin purchase was a package and I got a steal on that ($600!). The MM4 I got for $35 if that gives you an idea how cheap you can find some used gear. Axsys 212 was only $100 and it had already been upgraded (the floorboard controller for it cost me that much!). But the Marshall is by far my favorite thing to plug into for rock. I have gone through the DS-1 and MM4 for certain sounds, but like the Marshall distortion so much by itself, I usually don't use any extra effects. I had read a few reviews about powering a 4x12 cab with the DSL 401 and I had the opportunity to try it last week with a friend's vintage Marshall 1960B. Holy crap! My ears are still ringing. Set off car alarms a block away. My friend was twisting the gain and volume knobs and generally playing around while I played the chorus riff from Nirvana's 'Aneurism'. Literally, the walls shook. We both should have had earplugs in when he tested for loudness - that caused some permanent damage! So I also have my eye on a Marshall 2x12 cab, but the guy who owns it won't part with it unless I have a buyer for his $400 Ampeg 50W Retrorocket head (anybody? - he just had it serviced with new tubes). The 4x12 seems a bit excessive unless a large venue or outdoor setting requires that much, but then there should be a PA to mic the amp anyway. I expect almost any 100-150 watt cabinet with 2-4 12" speakers would add that much more depth and punch, but would like it to be a Marshall because they look so nice stacked. On the lookout.

I purchased this amp brand new a little over a year ago from guitar center for $650 flat instead of $699+tax(another$42). The amp is all tube design with 4 el84 power tubes and 4 12ax7 preamp tubes. The amp is rated modestly at 40 watts. It is two channels + boost button(clean,crunch,lead) which adds 20db and is footswitch accessible which is supplied. It has 1X12 marshall Goldback speaker which is made by Celestion for Marshall. It has a gain knob on the clean channel which I found very usefull along with the master volume and master reverb. There are seperate tone controlls for the clean and overdrive. I Think that this amp has the perfect balance of usefull features without going overboard or over complicating things.There are also outlets on the rear pannel for recording or extention cabinet and effects loop. I play Rock N Roll and think this amp is the best Combo in its category and I like it better then even the more expensive Marshall Combos. It is very versatile and I have had no problems with overheating yet although I did notice it gets pretty hot after a while but then again most tube amps do.

I Play Gibson Les Pauls playing rock, punk , whatever, I dont really like categories. This amp suits my style perfectly. It is easy to get a variety of great crunch sounds on the clean and overdrive channels. I rarely use the 3rd Boost because its a very heavy distortion equal to the 3rd channel of the Marshall TSL series but it sound great for metal. The reverb sounds a lot better then past marshalls like the older jcm series. With reverb on the clean channel you can get a cool surf sound and on the overdrive the reverb can be used to get a different distortion sound. I love that they included the gain knob on the clean channel, With the gain and the master volume you can go from total clean to a classic bluesy breakup. On the crunch channel you can go from bluesy crunch to a pretty heavy distortion ala Jcm 900, But it doesnt stop there, if thats not heavy enough you still have the boost button which takes it up to full meltdown distortion.Unlike tube amps in the past, with this amp you can still get great distortion at low volumes such for bedroom playing or practice. THe advantage of using a smaller watt tube amp is that you can crank it up to get that great tube overdrive without being rediculous. I think that they rated this amp modestly at 40 watts because this amp is really loud when cranked. Perfect size for all around use like band practice , bedroom playing, but still plenty loud for the bar or small club circuit gigs. This amp is pretty versatile for a marshall but it still is a Marshall and we all know what They do best. I played several others before buying (fender hot rod deluxe, Marshall valvestates, Crate blue voodoo, but it was an easy go even with the extra cost for the Marshall. I couldnt imagine using anything other.

I read other comments about overheating but fortunatly I have not had this problem yet and I have owned it for over a year now. I did notice it getting kind of hot after playing for a couple hours(as do all tube amps) but it never affected the performance and I never smelled anything burning. The amp still sounds great and it gets used about 8 hours a week at high volume. It came stock with EI brand el84 power tubes which are cheaper then el34 tubes and provide an awesome sound. The preamp tubes are 12ax7 labelled marshall but I am pretty sure they are sovteks.I have never had a problem yet and I hope My good luck continues with it.

I have never had to deal with Marshall yet but I have heard that they are pretty fair. I had a friend who had an overheating problem with his JTM 60 combo. He sent it back twice and it kept braking. The 3rd time he sent it back and they gave him a Jcm 600 combo at no charge. I think that that was pretty cool But then again they should stand by their products.

I have been playing guitar for about 4 years and have owned several different amps(marshall vs 265) Marshall Tsl 602)Marshall jtm 30) Traynor master reverb) ampeg reverbrocket)Crate blue voodoo 2x12)etc. I like the marshall dsl 401 the best. It is plent loud for all around use and still is easy to carry. It it pretty versatile for a Marshall. It has an awesome overdrive crunch tone. It blows the Crate Fender and the rest away. I even like the tone better then the more expensive Marshalls such as the TSL line. If it were stolen I would definatly get another one. I would still like to try the Mesa Rectoverb 50 watt 1x12 combo because I have heard great things but then again they are $1299 and the Marshall Dsl 401 Is $699.

Here is an update to my last post (below) regarding this amp. Basically in my opinion, this amp is not usable without the fan modification. In my case, the amp would get so hot afterplaying briefly (1hour) and would smell slightly of burning components. I am convinced that this is THE MAIN problem with this model and is responsible for 90% of the breakdowns. THE GOOD NEWS is that after installing the fan mod (see earlier posts), the amp no longer gets hot at all. In fact the faceplate now becomes merely warm to the touch-as any amp would. I am fairly confident that this will result in a fairly reliable amp because the stress on the components and solder joints are greatly reduced. The rest of this amp is well constructed and strong. MARSHALL SHOULD HAVE INSTALLED A FAN ON THIS MODEL-PERIOD. There is no excuse for this. In fact I believe that the AVT models have fans. I am sure that the later model DSL will come equipped with a fan. If you dont like fan noise, then do not get this amp. This mod is a necessity in my opinion, not an option. I will update with reliability status report in future.

This is a brand new amp, so It was probably built recently.
I like the simplicity of this amp. Very easy to get the sound you need. Im not sure but for some reason I cannot get into OD2 using the footswitch. Do others have this issue? I will use this amp in jam sessions and practicing on my own. maybe in the future on a gig.
I dont lik all kinds of effects so Im happy that this amp is pretty spartan. Its got everything I need.

OMG(oh my God). This amp sounds so beautiful. Believe me I did NOT want an all tube amp-with all of the hassles that come with tubes. And this sucker has 8 tubes! I really wanted to get the AVT. But let me tell you when I heard this thing I could not resist. I did not even bargain that hard (rare for me) I was just captivated. It really adds a new dimesnsion to my playing. Dynamics are important to me and this amp is all about dynamics. Deep growls, searing highs. You can really build the sound up. this is the best amp that I tried at guitar center ( although I was only looking at Marshal and Mesas).
I am playing a Gibson SG Standard with only a Thomas Wah pedal.

I am not sure. I can tell you that based on many of the comments here I did NOT buy a used one but ponied up an extra $150 to get it new so I can have the warranty-AND the FIRST thing I am going to do is put a fan in there fast. Also I am a bit worried about moving this thing around. I think you have to be VERY careful with these amps. On the way back from the store I had it in my car and I could hear things boinging and rattling as I drove over normal roads on my way home. So I am going to really baby this thing and keep it cool and THEN let you all know in 6-9months what I think about reliablity. At least the Warranty shows that Marshall stands by their product 3/5 years.

3/5 year warranty Parts/labor

I have been playing bass for 15 years, guitar for less that 1 year. I would get this same model again if it was stolen. I LOVE the sound, I HATE how delicate it is and the HEAT. Im not sure, but I cant get into OD2 using the footswitch-anyone else?

If you are like I was and are considering the AVT. I would recommend trying the DSL to make sure that you have at least tried them both. I am someone who prefers reliabily and hassle free use of the "perfect" tone. However, when I tried the DSL I was convinced that I wanted it regardless of any future unknowns. As far as price, the DSL was less than $200.00 more for an amp that i KNOW I Will not need to upgrade. And since amps are not the most high-tech things around I will do whatever it takes to maintain it for many years to come.

Update to my earlier review. Well, even though this amp sounded fabulous, I had to get rid of this amp. Problem? No way to boost the volume for solo's. I tried using my trusty old MXR micro amp as a cleam boost, and no matter what couldn't get a boot. Tried a Zvex SHO....same problem. Tried it in front of the amp....no boost. Tried it in the effects loop.....no boost. WTF???!!! Even with the volume turned up ALL of the way the amp acts like a big compressor/limiter and knocks the volume right babck down again. Not so with my DSL 100. Next, tried to put my volume pedal in the effects loop to use it as a master volume control. In their inifinte wisdom Marshall deployed this amp with a true "parallel" effects loop. Meaning that even with the loop mix turned all of the way up, you can't decrease the volume of the amp with a pedal (one signal runs though the pedal while the second "parallel" signal runs straight. Dumb.......dumb. After spending weeks speaking with boutique pedal makers and screwing around with this amp to get a decent solo boost I finally got rid of it in frustration. Too bad....it sounds pretty damn good. By the way, neither one of the above mentioned problems exists on my DSL 100 head. Between the reliability issues others have experienced and this, I seriously don't know what the hell the Marshall designers were thinking on this one. STAY AWAY FROM THIS AMP AT ALL COST. If you are looking for a decent tube combo try the H&K Duotone, or the Blue Voodoo.

This has the clean crunch and marshall hi gain w/enough growl and punch to keep me busy. effects loop and fx mix knob a plus -- extra control in dialing in fx w/o corrupting tone of guitar. 40w sounds xtra big and lush with all tube power. hey its not a mesa road king, but it covers most of the styles that I play and my fx fill in the gaps.....

I play an LP studio and it really nails the bottom end clean or on od1/od2. Anything from George Harrison to Tool... it sounds great. Marshall sound in a convenient gigging package with good speaker emulation that is decent over a pa. wow no mics.... Some light hum clean and more distorted, but its a non botique tube amp... whaddya xpect... Loud and overdriven at acceptable/tolerable volumes (well, acceptable for a smaller gig.... not yer apartment at volume 10). The 1/2 stack for the coffeehouse/small bar/parties. And yes, the distortion is brutal.. Plus an fx pedal dialed in heavy mixed 1/2 way really sounds good too. It likes the punishment.

In a later post it mentions the fan option for cooling the tubes mentioning a radio shack fan and part number you definitely should get if you own this amp. $20 fan, 2 screws&lock nuts, lamp lead, 2 "butt" insulated crimp electrical connectors, and the overheating problem is history. The heat will fry yo stuff. Get the fan, install it or have an amp tech do it for you. It took me (and I'm a girl) about 15 minutes. Amp runs cooler than my old solid state and fan makes little noise. Mesas come standard w/fans and Marshall f'd this one up by not adding one. Really runs hot even at lower volumes. Do not gig without a fan folx... its like playing russian roulette. Mine is really relialble so far since addition of fan. no volume fading problems, cutting out, etc.

good warranty -- do not know about. heard can be awful, but im keeping fingers crossed...

I really like the sound, options, size, and how it really "colors" your playing. Before this I had a Crate that I really did dislike and is my first tube amp. I played Vox, Fender, and DualRec Tremoverbs and this really spoke to me for the sound and the cash. Yeah if I had $1500 to blow I might have really considered the used Mesa, but I could have traded in some additional gear I really do not need to get it and didn't. The Mesa overall had to been an 8.5 and this rounded up at 7.5-8. 2.5 times the price did not bridge that small gap. Plus the

See everyone elses

Using hard-tail Strat with humbucker in bridge. See review under Allparts. Not the quietest, but pretty good considering its valve.

I reviewed this before but recently changed all the valves and it sounds different. I put in Sovtek valves as they were reasonably priced and claimed to last a long time.

At first I didn't like the sound and found it really thin. However, I put the amp in to have the bias adjusted and now it sounds damn fine.

There is a little more punch to the sound now, probably due to the new valves, but the is more gain available. I don't use a lot of gain, but it is sounding good.

I should point out that the amp really needs to be cranked to get a truly satisfying sound. This is the nature of valve amps and is true for all of them.

It took about 6 weeks to get the amp back from the guitar shop, but this was due to things outside their control.

One of the reasons for this was that when it came back after 4 weeks it wouldn't work in the shop at all. It went back to the engineer who found that there was a dry joint in the amp and had broken. This would have been there since it came off the assembly line.

Other than that no real problems.

Never had dealings with Marshall.

Pretty good but not perfect. I am thinking of upgrading to a half stack in the next few months, or using an extension cab with different speakers to change the sound slightly.

this is a feature packed amp that I bought to replace my valvestate 8080 as I missed the Marshall overdrive when I changed to Laney valve amps, also the low power rating meant I could turn it up more in small venues.

I use an american series ash tele with stock pickups wich is all I need, I have to cover all sorts of styles supporting singers and choruses in shows,the overdrive is just classic with od1 giving crunch to die for and od2 giving screaming sustain,although this isnt a metal amp as it stands,it really needs a boss metalzone or similar to sharpen up the tone for that.the clean sounds are not as glassy as fender but still the best from marshall yet,the problem with the clean is it soon crunches up as the volume rises! there are three ways to sort this one mike it up,two use the D.I. to the p.a three and this is what I have done,use a fender dynatouch at the same time ,if you kick in overdrive on the Marshall the fender clean still tracks giving a very full sound plus you can use one amp for effects, I did find the sound a bit buzzy and harsh on overdrive and replaced the el84 tubes with jj teslas, the tone is now better than when it was new! another thing I have done is make an extension cab in birch ply with the same goldback 16ohm speaker, this can be used with the combo or plugged in instead of the combo speaker,that thing sounds better than the built in speaker! on its own it gives a clearer sound with a tighter bottom end and you can put it where you like.

this is where it starts to go tits up,the heat is ferocious and maximum ventilation is essential! yes mine too did the fading volume trick, sadly I forgot it has a 3 year warranty and took it to my local (brilliant) amp tech, he returned it next day fully repaired and told me that the heater wire to the preamp valves had been dry soldered. sounds familir looking at the other posts? otherwise the tubes degrading is one that can creep up on you. the dynatouch is my insurance.

any querys have had with Marshall they have been extremely helpful
but I do live in the UK so I can contact them direct

I have been playing about 20 years and have sold a lot of my gear as my tele and two amps with a boss multi effects does everything I need, I have had Les Paul standards,335"s, blueshawks,hollowbodys,pointy headstocks and I wish I had just got the tele first,and I would be a lot richer now.Leo got it right first time!If it was stolen or lost I would replace it but perhaps would also look at some modelling amps although the early line six amps I heard were not in the same league.

40 Watts of EL-84 tube power. 2 discreet channels. Three channels total (channels two and three share eq, gain and volume). Parallel Effects loop with mix control. Has speaker emulator out (nice feature), no headphone jack. The speaker emulator out comes in handy for a quick conection to your PA. It's not the loudest 40 watts out there....but still plenty loud enough.

My main axe is a Gibson Les Paul Studio with stock pups. The gain on this amp is surprisingly high. No pedals needed here. Not at all as noisey as my dual recto. Has a very nice clean sound.....much more sparkle than my recto. The gain channels have a very nice cruch with plenty of bottom end. Sounds absolutely killer through my 4X12....so good in fact that if it had three discreet channels I'd probably make a head out of it to replace my recto.

HEY GUYS LISTEN UP. There is a very easy fix for the over-heating problem on this amp. The "volume cutting out" issue I've seen posted on this board over and over is definately an overheating problem. Here's what to do. Go to Radio Shack and purchase their brushless 115 volt AC cooling fan (part number 273-0241). Make sure you purchase the brushless fan......the others while cause noise) Remove the top rear grill on the amp by removing the 5 screws (1 in middle of grill, two on each side). Solder a lamp cord on to the fan leads, or if you are good with electronics you (or any electronic shop) can solder the leads to the amp transformer and on/off switch, so it turns on automatically when you power on the amp). Mount the fan (label up) such that two mounting screws (2 1/2 inch sheetrock screws work great) mount into the lip of the horizontal structural support (where the botom of the metal grill touched the amp cabinet). The fan will be pointing up, and will cool the tubes and amp chasis. If you are cheap, simply use the lamp cord lead and make sure you plug it in each time you fire up the amp. The fan spins quietly (as quietly as the fan in my old Boogie Mark III) and the amp runs as cool as a cucumber. I would invest the $15 to have your amp tech connect the fan leads to your amp switch.

Problem solved!!!

I made this mod as soon as my amp arrived and I've never had a single problem with it. These amps get HOT. Jim Marshall made a poor decision not to install factory fans in them, as the electronics and solder joints literally cook them to death without it.

Never dealt with them, but I hear they can be tough to contact in the States.

Been playing for about 20 years (man, I'm getting old). I consider myself primarily a hobbyist, although I've owned a buttload of gear and have been in my share of gigging bands during that period of time. What do I love about this amp? I love the gain on channel three as well as the sparkle on channel 1. What do I wish was better? I wish this amp had three discreet channels as well as a footswitchable effects loop. I think I'll be replacing my Boogie Dual recto with a TSL 100 head soon.

Don't need to write a full review as its been said already here.

HOWEVER............ i think the major problem of overheating is caused, in least at my experience, by an effects pedal. Without one conected my amp shows no sign of heating to a worrying temperature. With one it gets hot but it remains at a high temperature when it gets there. It has never failed on me yet and i have had it for months plus it is second hand and i have had it running for hours. so i must have got a good one!!

ok, this is an update from my earlier review. I paid over 500 quid for it, and a few months down the line it's not working. I can't speak for everyone who's had a problem with theirs, but I think there's a dodgy connection to the preamp tube heaters. took a look thru the grille at the back and the output valves were aglowing fine but the preamp ones looked as dead as doornails. if yours kinda fades out as if the volume's turned down, this could be the problem. quite frankly, the build quality of this model is so patchy there could be bad soldering all over the board. hope that helps.

2 channels, clean and "dirty". The dirty has an extra boost.
All are usable, and all sound awesome. Can switch to all channels
easily via foot switch. From clean, to light growl, to screaming
growl, it's all there. Has seperate controls for clean and dirty, so
it's easy to switch channels and maintain the same volume, however
adding the boost, "significanltly" increases the volume.

All three channels sound great. I use a Les Paul Custom, and
two strats, one vintage noisless, one Lace Sensors.
Can't beat the Paul going through a Marshall :-)
Clean is very good.
Dirty is Great, and add the boost to the dirty, and
it screams. I sampled 2 of these amps, side by side,
right out of the box, brand new, and they sounded quite
a bit different.
One was total "brown" sound, with a smoother growl.
The other had a bit more bite and scream. I took
the screamer. Can nail Zep, Santana, Cream tones
and more easily. This is an AWESOME sounding amp.

Sounds great at low levels as well

No problems. I first bought a used one, but returned
it because I "thought" the reverb didn't work. Then
I checked the reverb on the new ones, and only noticed
a slight difference on the clean channel. So reverb
isn't it's strong point. But Tone and Growl is :-)
No reliablity issues over here

Haven't dealt with them directly, but been
to there web site, and it had all the info
I needed

By far my favorite amp. Sounds great at low levels as well.
Bought it shortly after I got a Blues Junior, and don't think
I've turned on the Junior since (Junior don't do dirty that well)
If lost or stolen, it would be my top priority to replace it ASAP.
There is actually nothing that I would change on it.

I bought this amp new and immediatly returned it for another. The first one had a crackling sound while switching between channels.
If you are reading this review you already know most of the features this amp has. The two that I espeacially like are the Gain adjustment on the clean channel and the Level Adjustment on the FX loop.

I use a Gibson LesPaul Studio in stock trim. I play out about two weekends a month. I play styles rangings from Ben Harper to (oldschool) Metallica. The combo itself does not pack enough punch in a band situation. At high volume(on the clean channel)there is NO bottom end and the highs are annoyingly ear piercing even after tweaking tones and EQ's.
Then I bought a used Marshall 1966A 2X12 cabinet for $250 dollars. This instantly solved the poor low-end sound and the annoying high tones at high volumes.
Keep in mind the clean channel is no Fender but it is very effective, and the overdrive channels Crunch like a Fender wishes it could. Overall the combo itself lacked the punch to play in a band situation. But if anyone out there owns one of these amps and is looking for a better sound, buy a 2X12 cabinet. It is night and day.

I haven't had any major issues but it does get HOT! It hasn't let me down yet.

N/A

Overall this amp is very effective. It is easy to transport compared to a stack. If I had to replace it I would probably suck-it-up and get the Mesa Sigle Rectifier Solo 50 head.(but that is twice the cost)

Stellar.

This is an update to my prior submission. At that time, the amp was feeding back horribly, the repair facility having tried to square it away twice. At that point the dealer [Zone Music] stepped right up & forced Korg [the US distributor] to replace it! I've had it four or five months now & played the hell out of it with no problems whatsoever. Would I buy one again if this were stolen: absolutely [from a good dealer]. My first review began with a warning not to gig with it without a backup. I don't worry about that anymore, & no regrets at all.

As far as features go, its a little lacking. Its got 2.5 channels, a clean, and a dirty, with a 20db switch on the dirty side. Selectable speaker output, channel footswitch, optional reverb footswitch, reverb, and an effects loop. Seperate 3 band EQ for each channel. Pretty basic as far as features, but versatility is a different story. You can set this amp up to your hearts content! It has a master volume for overall, gain for the clean channel, and gain and volume for the dirty channel. These can be configured numerous different ways to get different sounds out of each channel.

I play a bunch of different guitars, but mainly a modified strat, with the stock neck pickup, a telecaster pickup in the middle, and a SD HotRails in the bridge. I've also played through it with an upscale ibinez, a gretsh, an SG, and an Explorer. You can set it up to sound good with any. I've owned it for almost 3 years, so i've explored all the possibilities. The clean is gorgeous, especially for a Marshall. It has a nice open sound, great for single coils or humbuckers, and the gain allows you to go from super clean compressed sound to open overdrive, reminiscent of early marshalls hotrodded. The tone controls are extremely sensitive, so you can morph your sound a lot. The OD has a totally different character, but you can turn up the volume and turn the gain way down to get a really nice clean sound, or you can turn the gain all the way up and cut the volume down and get a nice crunch on OD1. You can't really take the gain past 5 on OD2, or it just starts to get muddy, so i set it anywhere from 2 to 5 and i have my choise of nice classic rock overdrive on OD1 to smooth distortion on OD2. Or if i just want a really nice overdrive sound, you can leave it on OD1 and take the gain all the way to 10 if you really want. The reverb sucks. But thats okay, i didn't buy it for reverb. The DI out sounds really great! Lately i've been using the actual amp as a monitor and running the DI out to the PA. I own a recording studio, and a lot of times bands will choose to use my amp over theirs, because it mikes up great! Sounds awesome recorded! When i play gigs, i generally run it through a vintage marshall cab. It makes it sound a lot bigger, and the tone is that much better. I think i'm gonna take some peoples advice and put a Vintage 30 in there, but i'll keep the other speaker on hand cuz it records so nice. The clean stands out on this amp though. If you play really clean sparkly stuff this might not be the amp for you unless you plan on miking it cuz it breaks up pretty early. But not distortion, its a nice smooth break up. You can set the master volume to about 6 or 7, the clean gain to about 5, and you can completely control the amount of break up by how hard you hit the strings. All around a great sounding amp.

I've read all the posts, and i honestly feel sorry for them. This is a great little amp, and its too bad that their experience was tainted. I don't deny what they've experienced, i'm just thankful that i haven't had the same problems. I've worked this amp hard, probably played over 100 shows with it, and i practice at least twice a week, and its been very reliable. I always bring a back up though, cuz it does run very hot, and its a tube amp. I've actually dropped it about 6 inches and it was still fine. The reason for the 6 is this.......the grate on the back rattled when i first bought it on certain notes, but hasn't since i tightened the screws. Also recently theres been a reverb circuit problem, which doesn't really bother me cuz i don't use reverb, but all the sudden it started to sound like the reverb was turned to 10 when it was down at 0, and it kinda cut in and out. I just disconnected the reverb and it solved the problem. Besides that i've had no problems. I'm kinda crossing my fingers though.

Haven't dealt with them.....

I've been playing for 7 years, and gigging for 5. I really couldn't ask more from a smaller amp. It has big sound, especially when played through a 4x12, but it works great in practices or small clubs by itself. It mikes up nicely. I think i'll eventually pull the actual amp out and put it into its own head, and just put it onto a 4x12. That way i can vent it and modify it the way i'd like. If it suddenly disappeared i'd probably replace it, but i might upgrade to a TSL halfstack set up for the added versatility, but if i was looking for a small combo, i don't think i'd buy anything else. I've played a Mesa Nomad, and this little marshall has a lot more character. The only thing i wish it had would be footswitchable effects loop, and a switch to switch it to serial rather than parallel. That would make the amp essentially 3 full channels. Great amp though if your lucky and get one that works. Don't let the reliability stuff stop you though, talk to the salesperson and make sure you have the option of returning it within a month. Play it hard for a full month....max the volume, play for hours. If something doesn't go wrong within the first couple weeks your usually set.....that is the case with almost all electronics. If something does go wrong, you'll be within the return period and you can return or exchange it. Anyways if you have questions you can email me. I've done about everything you can do with this amp so i'm pretty knowledgable about it.

I think my DSL401 was made in 02. I started looking on Ebay for an older tube amp a few weeks ago, but didn't have much luck because people kept bidding ridiculous amounts for used tube amps (way more than what they were worth). So I started reading reviews of various amps here on Harmony. I saw several reviews that were praising the Marshall AVT50H and decided to go down to Sam Ash Music and check it out. After playing with one for a while I decided it just wasn't what I was looking for. In the same parking lot as Sam Ash is a vintage and used guitar and equipment store called CowTown Guitars. I went inside and looked at several amps. He had the DSL 401 sitting there brand new. I tried it out and really liked the sound so I picked it up for half off list ($512) New. All I was looking for in amp features was really good clean tone. The feature were exactly what I wanted, good clean and simple operation.

The reason I pruchased this amp was the tone. I love the clean channel of this amp. The clean tone for me is the key to getting what I want out of an amp. If there is a good clean, than it's not hard for me to get the distortion I want out of it. While this amps built-in distortion is fine, I use a Digitech GNX1 for all my effects. I think the this amps kicks ass up to a point. Here's where I would take some time to consider what you want. If you really crank up the volume on the clean channel of this amp you will get additional distortion out of it that may be problematic if you are using pedals. I think this is an excelent amp for home and small club giging (probably with a mic on it), but if you are looking for real volume, you will probably need to look elseswhere.

This is one area of possible concern. I bought this amp prior to reading any reviews on it. That's not like me. Once I started reading reviews I started seeing over and over issues of this amp overheating.

The second night I had the amp, after playing for about an hour at a volume level of about 5, I could not touch the front faceplate of the amp (too hot). I called Mark at CowTown Guitars and he thought this was extreme. He had me bring the amp back, and after looking at it, he is having the bias settings re-configured. The amp tech seems to think this will correct the over heating problem. I will let you know as soon as I find out for myself. If this indeed corrdcts the problem, many of you that are experiencing heat issues could resolve them the same way. Keep your finger crossed!

I don't know about Marshall, but Mark at CowTown kicks ass in the customer support area.

I have been playing for about twenty years. I play a little bit of everything, blues, rock, and even a little county. Although the Fender amps are know for their clean sound, I really like the sound of this amp. However, if you start to get on it (turn up the volume) you lose the great clean tone. I wish it had a little more balls. As far as what I would do if it were stolen? I am at a point right now where I could easily get my money back.

Even though I know there have been some of you who really don't like this amp, I still do. If I can rectify the heat issues, I want to keep it.

I've got a 2001 DSL 401 - The features are great, I think. It's easy to use and does a lot of things very well. The OD is very versatile.

I used a gibson SG with this amp while I had it. And altough there are a lot of problems with this amp, the sound is not one of them. It really does sound good.

This is the PROBLEM! Mine just quit one day. It's been in the shop of a very good technician for over four months. It Sucks! I also had a microphonic tube. The heat is excessive, we're sure that it is the cause of all the problems.

Send it to Marshall?

Been playing for a long time and I got smoozed into this one with it's great sound at a local store. I thought it would be the perfect little jam amp, it's just that I haven't seen it in 5 months!Sounds great for a couple of months, don't buy this amp.

I think everyone else has done a good job listing all the features.

I'm playing my Epiphone Dot into the amp and it does a great job at producing the Oasis sound I'm looking for. The only problem with this amp (and its not much of a problem) is that it is meant to be played loud. Its an all tube amp and to get the true Marshall sound you really have to crank the volume and saturate the tubes. The clean channel sounds fine at all volume levels but the OD channels tend to buzz and sound generally bad at low volumes. As you turn up the volume, the better it sounds. This amp is not meant to be your everyday nice and quiet practice amp. If that's what you're looking for then I suggest Marshall's AVT 50, it even has a head phone jack for those of you who don't like to annoy others. So if you like the true Marshall sound and like to play really loud this amp is for you. If you want better sound at low levels, save some money and get a solid state or hybrid.

I've had this amp for a few months now and I love it. I haven't had any problems with it except that it runs very hot. But that should be expected, the heat from the tubes has to go somewhere. The amp is built like a tank and is very sturdy. I'm not looking forward to the day when I have to replace the tubes since there are 8 of them. But tubes wear out so that's not really an issue.

I think it might have a warranty. Not really sure. Even if it does, dealing with them overseas might be an issue. I hope I never have to use their customer support.

I love this amp. It produces all the sounds I'm looking for from massive crunch to incredibly clean...cleans. If it were lost or stolen I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd probably try out some other all tube amps but eventually come back to this model. The other amps I use are a Vox Cambridge 30 and some cheap Peavy practice amp. The Marshall is just in a completely different catagory than these other amps and comparison is hard to make. The vox has a nice sound to it but just can't produce the amount of sound the marshall can. The marshall just sounds much richer. Of course the marshall costs twice as much as the vox. That being said, the Marshall is a bit pricey. But for an all tube amp I feel it was worth it. I was originally going to buy an AVT50 but saw this one was only 200 dollars more. So I dropped some extra cash and have yet to regret it. If you want something better than plan on dropping a few grand on a stack or a Vox AC30. The price to performance ratio of this amp is great and is (in my opinion) very hard to beat.

I purchased this amp in 2001 so I would assume it was made in 2000.
I find the OD1 channel is the only usable sound with the mids knob at 0.
What features do you wish it had? I wish the OD2 worked without buzzing and sounded like an overdriven Marshall. Maybe that is wishful thinking for a combo.

I play a Fender Telecaster and a Gibson Les Paul Standard for my guitars and I have been playing for about 10 years. I bought this amp to get Marshall tones similar to The Sex Pistols "EMI", Lenny Karavitz, Slash, Jimmy Page etc. Alot to ask of a combo when those guys use 100 watt heads and stacks I know but I figured for the price it souud be reasonably close.
Od1 is the only usable channel and that is if you turn the mids down to 0. I have to agree with the other reviewers that found the OD2 channel to have a buzzing or bee hive sound trailing the distortion. This is not a classic Marshall sound or a usable sound period. A cheap Fender solid state amp with a cheesy overdrive button sounds more like a Marshall than this does. The clean sound is ok but why not use a Fender if you have one.
I play a DSL 201 in a store at low volumes and chose the 401. Although I like the OD1 channel it would be nice if the OD2 did what it says it can do.

This amp heats up a little more than expected. I would bring a back up to a gig. I don't trust it.

Customer support is useless in North America for a Brit amp.

It's a 1x12" full tubed combo, it's got your standard 2 channel amp features, EQ on both channels, reverb, paralel fx loop etc., my only moans are that it would be nice to have a seperate reverb control for each channel, footswitchable fx loop, and a channel volume control for the clean channel, as when using poweramp OD at lower volumes, its impossible to get a nice clean at the right volume.

I'm using an Epiphone G310, Digitech XP100 whammy/wah, EH Big Muff NYC RI, Boss PH2 superphaser, EH worm and a boost.

I'm after Adam Jones style huge crunch, with utterly obscene amounts of bass and low end, and considering the stock speaker is an openbacked 1x12" it does this very well. I can't wait to hear how much better it does it with a closed back 2x12" or 4x12".

I'm rating this bearing in mind the price range, of course it won't compare to a Diezel or a Bogner, but for the price, it can't be beaten.

The cleans are great, altho with the poweramp cranked to get my od sounds, i lose nice cleans, particually at lower volumes.

For OD, and a monster crunch, I advise cranking mids to 10, a fair dollop off bass (at least 6 or 7) and roll the treble back a bit, not much gain, max the master and control volume with the channel volume control.

My amp is noisy, but that's only because of my fx, straight into the amp, there is very little sound.

Reliability issues have been bought up in previous reviews, I've only had the amp around a month, so can't commment, all I can say is that the amp does get very hot, if you crank it, the front panel can get to hot to touch.

Don't know, haven't needed them yet.

If you're looking for a versatile amp, capable of delivering Tool/ACDC/Zepplin type crunch, anything with plenty of lows and mids, for under #500, your search ends here.

Drive channels are easy to control the tone throughout the volume range; tone stays consistent. IMHO, you have to fiddle more with the clean channel to reign in the tone.

I play G&L ASAT guitars, and they all sound outstanding through this amp. I traded my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, which has similar specs, and I actually prefer this amp for straight blues. It just seems more sophisticated than the Fender. Like other reviewers, I have noted that the reverb is almost non-existent on the clean channel, but it comes on like spacey Hendrix on the drive channels. Odd. Anyway, the way I would describe the distortion is, well, "controlled creamy." It just seems to me that this distortion is consistent up and down the volume range. The Fender Hot Rod just seems more ragged. BTW, I have found that this amp sounds much, much better if you set it on an amp stand. Setting it on the floor or, worse yet, on top of your bass player's rig, makes it sound like mud. Do yourself a favor and get an amp stand for this li'l guy!

I've had the amp for about two years now, and I have no complaints. The tubes are probably about 3 years old and will need to be rolled in about a year or so.

Never had to deal with.

I like this amp for the consistent tone. It provides enough volume for blues gigs--as long as you play at a "sane" volume. I'm an old jazz cat, and I'm used to playing at volumes where sterilization is never an issue . . . Metal Heads will want to go for the 100 watt head option.

Prob made in 2000, but only bought it in august 2001. Does everything I want it to - sparkly clean, gritty crunch, warm overdrive. Twin channels are brilliant, as is the OD1/OD2 boost thing. The lack of presence control is my only gripe, since I like to use loads of treble. It's certainly loud enough, but I may use a 4x12 cab as well when I get round to gigging.

Usually, I play a '77 ibanez artist (with humbucker pickups), thru a Boss CE-3 chorus and an electro-harmonix big muff pi nyc reissue. Chorus sounds amazing, but there's not quite enough mid range in the clean channel (not much of a problem as long as the bass is kept around midway). This is especially noticeable when using the big muff, which needs a more compressed tone to give the smashing pumpkins-type fuzz that I want. The power tube distortion is a bit buzzy and the reverb isn't as evident in the clean channel as the overdrive one, however. Apart from that, the sounds are fantastic - warm distortion and crystal clean that marshalls are renowned for despite only having used it at home, but there's just one major flaw...(see below)

Ok, I've read some of the other reviews, and this is really quite worrying. A few weeks ago, the sound one mine faded out, as if the standby had switched off. There was no sound at all for a couple of hellish minutes, but it seemed to fix itself. A few days later it did it again. For a company that makes (in my opinion and personal experience) the best sounding amps, thais shouldn't happen! And yeah, it does get very hot on the front panel after an hour or so. But hey, there's eight tubes in there! But I am a born worrier.

Since I live in the UK, I should be fine if this sound problem gets any worse. For you guys in the States, I'm not so sure!

I've been playing for nearly five years now, and this is the best-sounding amp I've ever had. For only 40 watts, it makes a wondrous noise, but the operating temperature and scare stories are starting to worry me. By all means, try one out but check the warranty first!

I bought this amp a few weeks ago and so far I have been impressed by its sparkling clean channel and its classic overdrive bite. However, this amp can't cover every genre of music without a little help from pedals. There is not enough saturation and gain in the overdrive channels to play modern rock or metal. I knew that before I bought the amp, so I am not dissapointed. If you want to get a "new rock" or "metal" sound with this amp, I recommend you try using the Boss MD-2 Mega Distortion pedal. It sounds absolutely wicked! (wicked means good) This amp is equipped with speaker emulation output; which is good for home recording, parallel effects loop, and 40w of power delivered to a single 12 inch speaker. My only complaint is that the reverb is almost unoticable. But hey, this isn't a vintage Fender amp.

I am currently playing a 2002 Gibson Les Paul Special with it right now. This guitar is a perfect fit for this amp. The amp is absolutely amazing for classic rock tunes from artists like Skynyrd, CCR, Hendrix, and Zeppelin. I would not recommend this amp for someone looking for any type of high gain rock sound you hear on today's radio, unless you are prepared to use a pedal. Pedals sound incredible through this thing.

I haven't had any kind of noise problems with this amp. Just gets shaky at super-high volumes due to the large amount of bass this amp puts out. I have yet to have any problems with the clean channel distorting at high volumes either. My only gripe is that the overdrive channel doesn't have enough balls for today's music, and even at its highest gain it can seem extremely distant at times.

I don't know if I'd gig with this thing. I mean, come on. This thing only puts out 40watts. You would have a hard time powering a cab with it. I haven't had this amp long, and so far it has been operating just fine.

Haven't had to contact them.

I have been playing for six years and this is obviously the best amp I've ever owned. If was stolen, I would buy it again but not for a higher price. I love the clean channel more than anything. Pedals sound so awesome through this amp, and the effects loop works great. I just wish it had a more versatile overdrive.