Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 401

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Great Clean, rich and creamy, not much headroom. Distortion is over the top. I Use a Gibson SG Standard.

3 bad input tubes. 1st week.
2 bad pots. 7 months.
1 dead amp. 8 months.

Great help,.... but the amp is dead.

Great sound, playable at low volume, sweat clean channel.
630 bucks for Dead Amp in 8 months.

this is 2000 model. i play 60-70-80rock-blues-pop. 2/- channels with the 2nd channel kiciking to third/infinite sustain area. my only complaint is like most fairly inexpensive good tube amps this baby runs real hot. i work mostly in smaller clubs. it's got pleny o juice.

i use strats and pauls. i've never really noticed it being noisy but haven't recorded with it yet. i'll run the od channel cranked then roll in as much dirt as necessary. i guess my only complaint would be it would have been nice to have seperate master volume controls for each channel. sure the clean channel will break up if i crank the channel and the master volume. the bottom line is it's a pretty versatile amp.

i can't believe this amp hasn't popped something. knock on wood. it just runs way to hot. i never take a backup amp to a gig. i don't like carrying one amp. but once again so far so good.

when i first got the amp i e-mailed marshall with my concern about it running so hot. maybe they didn't get it cause i've never heard from them. as far as the warranty goes i never read it. when it does have a problem i'll find somebody to fix it. it's not brain surgery.

i've been playing 30 plus years. i also own a music man 110 rd 50 love that solid state clean channel hate them 6l6s. thinking about a mesa blue angel head or vox ac15or30. also just ordered a motion sound sr-117 that will be fun. i hope. i do have to say that i love this amp.. if it were lost? whoever lost an amp? or stolen i've had more than one stolen. i'd buy another one. i don't know what the "kids of today" like but i wish this amp had been around in 74. just a note i do use a closed back cabinet with this amp as an ext. speaker lowers ohmage runs a little hotter sounds a lot better.

It was made in 2000. It is a valve powered combo. This amp is versatile enough for me, but in fact I don't use a lot of sounds. I play mostly progressive hard rock. This amp has 3 chanells - clean, overdrive1(OD1) and overdrive2(OD2) (overdrive chanells with one equalisation there's only 20dB boost difference). Chanells are fully switchable (You can preswitch OD1/OD2). There's no headphone jack. Parallel effect loop is included and it's possible to set value of effected signal. There's beautiful accutronics spring reverb. I use this amp at home and at small club gigs and so 40Watts is enough power for me.

Sound is great, I love it. My guitar No.1 is Ibanez RG550EX (quite specific sound), but I also tried to play on Fender an Gibson models and the sound was also beautiul (maybe better, but it depend on everybody's likes). I play mostly through clean channel and OD2. OD1 is nice with Fender's single coils or Gibson's full woody sound, but with my Ibanez it's flat and "dry". Clean channel is beautiful, but it goes to saturation quite early (it' Marshall) - somebody likes it, sometimes I do, but when you want to have loud and clean sound - you have to go down with instrument volume. In fact in higher volumes sound starts with overdrived sounds through clasic crunches to heavy metal leads (but still warm valve ones).

I have it only for about 2 months. No problems yet.

The support is good.

I have been playing for about 6-7 years. I have another amps - solid state 20W Hohner (for home playing) and Messa/Boogie Mark II valve combo (2 channels). Marshall was my choice after a long time of testing others in stores (Hughes&Kettner, Laney, George&Dennis, Line6, Peawey and Crate - all simillar price only). I'm happy with it. I would buy it again (maybe for bigger gigs it's better stack, but for me it's enough of power and weight). Last thing I want too say is that those AVT2000 models are also good - the sound is nice and effects included beautiful and practical, but in high volumes is my amp very dynamic (it does everything I want, sometimes more...).

this amp has two channels plus a gain boost. It is an all tube amp.

I am using this amp with a jackson ps3t with dimarzio distortion and a route 101 solimar with hot rails. I play metal and blues. It is very good for clean blues. The clean channel is great. it almost sounds like the tapping of glass. the overdrive 1 is great for blues when the gain is low and good for hard rock like zakk wylde when the gain is full. overdrive 2 can do the metal thing very well. it is not noisy. the clean channel does break up a little at full volume.

I had this thing a two or three weeks before it broke down. I was driving to a band practice and i had it in my car. I didn't put it down on its side like i should have and it tipped over. When i got to practice the thing had gone microphonic. it eventually started to fade in and out with sound and it finally died. It is still in the shop being fixed. It was my own fault but i still won't play it without a backup.

It is a great sounding amp and i would buy it again. I might buy a crate or some other solid state just to take to practices.

2001 model. 3 channels, blah, blah blah... read the marshall website.

I mostly use Strats w/single coils and humbuckers for blues and hard rock. From SRV to Megadeth, Satriani, Lynch, Crue, EVH. This amp suits these styles really well. It is NOT noisy. Period.

The clean channel is really sweet and full, especially with a strat with the neck+center p/u's on. Very responsive to playing and gets just enough dirt at a gain at about 6 - 7. I am completely amazed at this tone.

The OD1 is voiced and eq'd with OD2. OD1 is mello with single coils and crunchy with buckers. I don't use this channel much.

OD2 is pure marshall through and through. Snarling, fat, and sweetly saturated. Add a OD pedal and it's sonic tube nirvana. I can't get over how sweet this amp sounds.

BUT... If using only the 1 x 12 speaker, the amp doen't show it's potential. I hooked it up to another 1 x 12 cabinet and the amp is pushed to a greater degree because of it. Without the extra speaker, the amp sounds too middy and bright. Distortion seems brittle too. With the extra speaker, the amp is everything I though it would be.

I can't knock off many points here. I wanted a fairly low power tube amp so that I could reach the power tube saturation at reasonable volumes. Having a single 12 inch speaker is my only complaint. A 2 x 12 would have added bulk, but I think it adds so much more to the amp. With that in mind I give the tone a 9. No amp has come closer to a 10 for me than this...

I haven't had it long enough for this...

No clue here either.

I've been playing for 25 years now. I've done the rack stuff, the boogie, soldano, fender thang, and the POD, but this is my first marshall. I've done some studio work - enough to know the drill. I'm a bit pissed that I didn't buy a marshall sooner than this, then again this wasn't out last time I bought an amp. For what I needed, it's perfect.

I'm not a tube snob, but there's something that solid state amps can't do. It's about tone - the difficult to define characteristic of the amp/guitar/player combination that makes things either sound cool, or lame. This amp is really cool. I give it a 10.

Two channel 1x12 combo built in 1999. It has a clean channel and a two mode overdrive channel. The main features are as decribed already below. This is an extremely versatile combo. I have been playing over 30 years and this amp suits my style better than any other amp I have previously used. I play mostly rock and blues typically Free/Bad Co/ Cream/ Hendrix/ SRV stuff.

I use a Powerhouse Strat with this amp and the combination works really well. The clean channel sounds superb for a Marshall and I like the fact that you can overdrive it for a crunch chord work and then switch to OD1 on the second channel for soloing. You can also just use OD1 for crunch chords with the guitar volume down around 5 and then just wind it up for solos. And if that is not enough you have OD2 though I dont often use OD2 as it tends to introduce too much gain. OD1 is good enough anyway. The reverb is also excellent.

I have replaced the standard Celestion Gold speaker with a Vintage 30 which resulted in a beefier sound and more volume. Another improvement is to replace the speaker lead with a decent quality speaker cable and angle jack - the original is pretty crappy and mine would sometimes cut out.

I love the sound of this amp it is also pretty loud for 40W. I use it un-miked at the local pub jam night and the drummer is pretty loud using an old Ludwig kit. I love this amp so much I have gone and bought another, which I hook up via a footswitch to have one or both amps on. I have also hooked them both up via a chorus pedal which produces an awesome stereo sound with great spread.

With regard to reliability, so far I have not had any problems, although I have had a couple of troublesome pre-amp valves, but that can occur with any valve amp. I would have scored this as 10 but for the crappy speaker lead provided as standard

Warranty is 3 years and so far I have not needed to use it. I have on occasion spoke to the service department for info or advise and they have been first class, although you must ask for Phil Wells - he knows his stuff.

If this was nicked I would go nuts. I would have to replace it - which is another good reason to have two of em. This combo is excellent value.

The distortion sounds dry and shitty. Like it's behind a wall of pillows. I feel like hiding my face in shame when playing it. I'm going to be selling it on ebay soon and pray that someone has a use for it. I use the damn thing for just it's clean tone which sucks because if I turn the damn gain past 4 it gets gritty, it's got no headroom what so ever. What was marshall thinking? What was I thinking?

I came back to the store and went through 3 of them, seeing if it was just my amp that sounded shitty, and they all went up. Sounded like the end of the world was contained in the little piece of junk. I treat my like gold I hope it doesn't end up like the others I've played through.

I've been playing for about 7 years and was finally ready for a nice tube amp. I used it at the dealer and it wailed at lower volumes. It didn't really hit me till I hooked it up to a 4x12 and cranked it that the sound fell apart. I hate this thing. Completely useless live.

40 watt all tube 1x 12"combo, 2 channel with boost option on overdive channel. 1 master reverb, fx-loop mix knob at frontpannel. Lead channel has gain and volume, the clean channel has only gain and no volume. 1 master volume. No precence knobs.

Clean channel distorts to early and therefore tou're simply not able to cut trough "clean" at higher levels of decibels. Even with my "lace sound" pickups on my fender strat plus the clipping occurs whith gain settings over 3-4. The lead channel is nice and pretty versatile and the eq-knobs work very well. There are lots of sounds available and the all have that typical lovely marshall sound what makes a fender come alive... The boost option adds more gain and little more sound level, but this boost depends how gain is set. Higher settings, you'll gat more gain little boost, Lower settings less gain and more sound level boost. Nice sounds at lower volume settings due to 4 x el84 tubes. When you compare this amp with little non-tube amps up to 50 watts i think you''ll be very satisfied about the lead channel. Again the clean channel lacks volume. But when i compare the overall sound of the 401 against my Mesa-Boogie DC-5 then the marschall sounds a little bit "BOXIER" or like i always call that sound "Breadtoaster sound"(haha).
Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of marshalls letting the wood of the guitar comes trough and the singing lead tones but i also like the heavyness and power and the more versatility of my Mesa-Boogie, but then again the boogie compresses too much and does not let the feel/ wood come trough enough for my liking. I'm really looking for an in between sound.. So when you have any idea's, i'll be glad to hear!!
Overall the 401 is a good sounding amp for it's pricing and you can do small gigs with it (exept the clean channel)

When i first turned the 401 on i could smell a burning odor coming out of it. The amp worked fine nevertheless. The frontpanel gets really, really hot when playing for about 1 hr, I dont think that is gonna tribute...BUT I really can't tell, I've brought the amp back to the dealer cause i'm looking for bigger sound (saw the mesa nomad there with 6l6/el34 switch!! 50/100 watt switch very expensive). though!).

I informed for a friend to convert his jcm 900 dual reverb form 6l6 to el34 by the company and i got an answer( more like a redirectory to a distributor in the netherlands) a few days later.

Nice amp when you go from solid state to all tube. Think though that the valvestate series offer more for your money and really got good sound and you don't have to retube now and then (savings). I have an orange-crunch valvestate "vs 100"and for the price i like it better than the 401. When you used to bigger amps, this amp is a little bit dissapointing and sound a little boxie and not quite as much headroom like an el34 ore 6l6 powered amp(ok, i know thats normal).
Ask me if you want to know something about the 410
Greetings from holland!! Happy picking..

This amp is only a couple months out of the box (summer 2001). I had it shipped to my local guitar store from England because the one they had in stock was acting up. This amp is versatile, and has enough useful features without over-complicating matters.

2.5 channels (clean, OD1/OD2), parallel effects loop, master reverb, master volume, two sets of treb mid bass (one for clean, other for OD 1 and 2), one 12 inch Celestion speaker, one extra output for another speaker, some other stuff... if you want all the specs visit the website or something... I'm getting lazy...

In any case, I think this amplifier has a good, good set of helpful features. I use most of them except for the effects loop. It is 40 watts RMS, and is quiet enough to turn up to ten somewhat comfortably. This amp does sound better on ten, in my opinion. Sure, the clean isn't exactly, well, clean at that point, but it has a very thick sounding overdrive with every note and it really sounds pretty darn good! It is loud enough for most club gigs. I am kind of young, and I just go to open mic nights, and it is plenty loud for that. Also, this amp has little floor noise, even when cranked, unless you are on the OD 2 setting. It is, of course, all tube.

The only feature I *WISH* it had was a volume on the clean channel along with a gain. This would have been very helpful. I don't understand why they couldn't add one more knob! Because of this, I can only give it a nine.

I have a Carvin DC 127, a Fender Telesonic (rocks!!), a Fulldrive Fulltone II, and a Budda Bud-wah, which I play through this amp. The Carvin has humbuckers, the Fender has two big-ass single coils by DeArmond USA. I mostly use the Fender, so any refrences I make will probably refer to that guitar. I play blues and classic rock.

First off, both guitars sound pretty good through this amp, depending on what type of sound you are going for. I like the clean channel A LOT better than the OD channels. In my taste, the OD channels don't respond well to my picking, don't sound natural enough, and I can't find very many tones I like. I think this is just my taste. It DOES work well for certain styles of classic rock (such as the main riff for the song Aqualung, Black Sabbath, or AC/DC), but it doesn't fit what I want for blues. It doesn't react to how hard I pick, and the distortion is too heavy for me. When I play chords besides standard barre chords, there is just too much distortion for my taste. And if I turn the gain lower, I just don't like the sound. The clean sound is pretty good, and when you crank it up you get some distortion, which I really like. I usually keep it on that channel and use my Fulldrive for more saturation. This works well enough for me.

I thought the OD channel was basically okay, but after a while I started realizing that what I wanted was not in this amplifier. The clean channel is great, and both the OD channels are good for certain applications (as mentioned above), so I'll give it a 7.

This I can't really comment on. It has a good warranty on paper, but I haven't dealt with the company or the store. It has never broken down. I don't have the money, nor the need to have a backup for open mic nights.

No idea about the company it's self, but warranty is five years, if I recall correctly.

I've been playing for 4.5 years, and I haven't owned too much stuff. I'm still trying to find what I like, and I've been trying to keep it simple. If this amp were stolen, I'd be mad because that was 600 bucks down the drain. I plan to sell this amp, my Carvin, and my pedals to buy a Budda Twinmaster, because I fell in love with it at the store. I did compare it to other products, mostly other Fenders and Marshalls in the price range. I chose this one because it had a solid set of features, and the OD was a hell of a lot better than a Fender Hotrod's!! The low wattage was also a factor. I like being able to turn it up. This is a solid amp for the money, but when I hear it I think it would be better suited towards modern rock and metal than blues and some older classic rock. Of course, if you are considering one, try one for yourself, and have fun!

This is a new amp, very versatile. I am writing an addendum to my last post.

Love the sound, it cuts through really well.

It has performed well since I screwed the reverb tank back to the bottom of the cabinet.

I emailed Marshall about the screws being too short and got a quick response. Here it is:

Hello- Thanks for your input. We apologize for the problem you experienced with the reverb tank and are making efforts to see that it doesn't happen again.
Thank you! Hugh J. Gilmartin
Product Support Specialist
Marshall / Vox / Korg Toneworks / Tuners

I've been missing that Marshall tone ever since I sold my Jubilee, and now I have it again!!!!!! Happy day...

2001 model. 40 watts RMS into 8 or 16 ohms. 4 ecc83/12ax7 tubes in the preamp and 4 el84 tubes in the power stage. a 12" 16 ohm 100 watt speaker. parallel effects loop. 4 footswitchable channels. 2 buttons on footswitch. clean/overdrive & OD1/OD2. 0D2 has a 20db gain boost good for solo's. also an additional input for a reverb footswitch. an DI emulated output(speaker emulated output for direct recording or running through a pa). The basic front panel features(gain eq reverb volume). Even though it says its only 40 watts. it sounds more. 40 watts tubed is considerably louder that 40 watts solid state. its about 55 solid state. Which is plenty for most gigs. the only gigs that you would need more is at say an ampitheatre. But places that big will mike the amp and run through the pa. add a cab and you increase your spread and spl, by simple physics.

I playing a epiphone dot with gibson 57 humbuckers. I play emo,punk,hardcore, and ska. Its has a great sound for all these. you just have to know how to use your eq. cut the mids for core, ect. od2 has just enough gain for you to not over use it. The clean channel distorts to early. I have to keep in at 9 o'clock to keep it absolutely clean. but that because of the el84's. they're highly respnsive and distort quickly, which is heaven for the overdrive channel. but a sacrifice for clean. The clean at all times though, isn't ever harsh and still retains a nice whole tone. Much comparable to a vox's classic clean. alone it lacks a low end. but add 4x12 and its all there. The distortion is perfect for me. hi gain, doesn't suck tone, great presence, and not over the top.

It appears and feels solid. Its a marshall, and they're a quality company, especially in this field. The front panel does get very hot. but hasn't a difference in sound or structure.

90 day warranty on tubes. 3 years on service and speakers. 5 years on other parts.

If it were stolen I would buy another. I love and hate the responsiveness. I compared it to the DSL 50 head(which sound over top and the distortion was fuzzy and bacon on the fryer crackly), and an AVT 50 head( the same with a 90% lack of tone, for the low price and the fact that it solid state in the power stage, it sounds great though).Considering the 401 combo came with a speaker, was all tube, and was only about 200 more that the AVT head, I went with it. Simple, bare bone, what you really need features, great tone, great sounding clean with adjustment, smooth and riping overdrive.

This is a 1x12, 40W combo w/EL84 Power tubes. Two channels w/a footswitchable 20DB boost on the lead channel. Parallel effects loop. I used to own a 2558 Silver Jubilee combo and I loved the tone, but it had only two channels and no boost. I like the boost function, although I think it is a little excessive. (maybe not at a gig. I just got this amp and haven't gigged with it yet).

I have a multitude of guitars: Les Paul w/mini humbuckers, Strat w/stacked humbuckers(Hot Rails, JB Jr, HS3), Strat w/single coils, Carvin DC135 w/Dimarzio SuperDistortion bridge, JB Jrs. in the middle and neck, Carvin Holdwsorth HS-2, Peavey w/Seymour Super Distortion Trembucker and EMG91, Hamer Slammer w/humbuckers, Sigma Martin acoustic/electric. I demoed the amp in Guitar Center, actually playing through lots of small tube amps (Crate, Fender, Marshall). I didn't like the TSL series, too raspy. The DSL 201 didn't float my boat either. I REALLY liked the DSL 50 watt head - great distortion channel, really smooth and cleaned up when dropping the guitar volume, but I wanted a small combo amp. I tried the DSL 401 and found that I could get a great tone out of it also. I was trying all these with a mexican strat. The DSL's were really quiet, even with a lot of gain. I paid $700 for the amp. I love the parallel effects loop!. I can play my acoustic through the amp and dial in the amount of effect if I need it to be different than with the electric guitars. I used to have to use a mixer to do that. The amp seems to have a natural tremolo, too, nothing extreme, just very musical sounding. I love it...I've always regretted getting rid of my Jubilee, but that amp was actually using diode distortion. This one is all tubes (as far as I know, anyway...I haven't seen a schematic yet). I play in a cover band doing 50's, 60's, 70's and so on. I don't see any reason that I can't cover all the bases with this amp. By turning the guitar down when I hit the boost, I effectively get three channels out of the amp.
I've owned a Boogie MKII and a Boogie MKIV for years and just like the distorions from this Marshall better. I also own a Carvin Vai Legacy 2x12 combo which has Fabulous Tone, but it weighs 64 lbs. This amp will save my back and give me all the tone I need.

I DID have some squealing happen at rehearsal. I assumed it was a microphonic preamp tube. When I got home, I took the back off and found that the reverb tank had come unscrewed from the bottom of the cabinet and was stuck to the back of the speaker. This may have been the problem. I used screws that were 3/16" longer and screwed the tank back down. I didn't notice any noise after that. I'll have to see what happens when I play my next gig with it. I never had any problems with my 2558 and I didn't expect to have any problems with this one. I will be emailing Marshall about using longer screws on the reverb tanks. As far as a backup, I never go anywhere without a backup amp or a processor that can be played through the PA. Hard lessons I have learned. Nothing is certain.

I've never had any contact with Marshall. I did have an 80/80 amp serviced at an authorized center here in San Diego and they did a lousy job. I should have taken it to Top Gear. This amp is under a 5 Year warranty, so I should be ok. If I haven't blown it up in five years, it ain't gonna blow.

I love the tone and the features. I love the size and I especially love the sound of EL84's. I have two stereo power amps that use EL84's and I love the tone, so that was a big factor in my choice of amps. El34's are cool, too, but I don't really care for 6L6's. I've been playing for 35 years and own lots of tube, non-tube and modeling gear. As much as I like fooling around with the processors and modelers, when I want real tone, nothing beats a tube amp. The only thing I wish this amp had is the ability to switch to 4 Ohm output. I have a 2x12 cabinet with Vintage 30's (16 ohms each, 8 ohm parallel) so I can either use that cabinet without the internal speaker, or the internal speaker + 1 of the Vintage 30's. Not too big of a deal, I reckon, but it does limit what I can use a little.

This amp is a 40W all tube combo with a clean channel and 2 od channels. the od isnt really 2 channels because od2 just has a lot more gain than od1 and the eq/volume... controls are the same for both ods. it comes with a footswith to change from clean to distorsion and from od1 to od2.
Theres a parallel fx loop inputs for a channel and reverb footswith and you can add on anothe cabinet to it.
I put 9 because i wish there was a separate volume for the clean channel

I have a DeArmond guitar with humbubkers and when i play the clean channel with my neck pickup on im in heaven! it has such a warm tone! its actually very warm too on the bridge pickup! also, if you like, you can set the gain on the clean channel very low and turn up the volume for that sort of 'twang' you might me looking for. the clean doosnet get more distorted at high volumes unless you put the gain up...you can even get a nice bluesy distortion from the clean channel with gain at max.

As for the distortion, it can be very brutal if you want it to! the thing is that for tho most gain you can get, you have to put it on od2 and turn the overdrive's channel volume at max. then your forced to turn down the master volume a bit (this thing can get VERY loud!) so then your clean channel gets a bit weaker in comparison because there is no seperate volume just for the clean channel. you have to either turn up the gain and play softer of get an eq pedal for a volume boost. it doesnt really matter because thats probably more gain than anyone needs except if you want that Metallica Kill'em All sound wich is easy to achieve with this amp.
But the distortion is great at any setting. that goes for both od1 and 2.

since this is an all tube amp, the sound gets better as the volume increases because the tubes fuzz up (wich is a good thing). i play stuff like Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Offspring, some classical and much more. this amp fulfills all my needs! Although theres no fancy dfx (except a nice reverb) like the valvestate 2000, this amp is very versatile. besides, who buys an amp because of effects? if you want effects get pedals. or if what you REALLY want an amp with effects, get a line 6. I have a zoom effects processor and the distortion on it sounded crappy and 'fake' on my 15 watts Marshall (solide state) but on this amp, its fucking wicked! i also play a crybaby a lot with it and i love it. im pretty sure this amp will make any digital effects sound great. plus it has a parallel fx loop so you dont lose the signal.

I read a lot of reviews saying this amp is a POS in terms of reliability but i think that if you take care of it (ie switch it on standy a few minutes before you start playing..) there should be no problems. Althought ive only had it a few weeks, it seems very sturdy. the only thing that concerns me is that the PC boards are close to the hot tubes......

never dealt with them

I really love this amp. at first, i was planning to buy the Valevestate 2000 AVT 100 because it had so many fx, scoop and britgh swithes a 4 way pedal three channels, etc... then a guy at the store said 'ok, you like one? but before you buy it, just listen to this...' and showed me this amp. i just fell in love with it! the tone of tube amps is just unsurpassable! i mean if the AVT2000 100W was 900$ with so many effects and this 40w tube amp was 950$, you wonder what you paying for. in the avt, for sure at least 20% of the price is for effects. this relatively simple amp was 950, and its worth every penny. you get what you pay for! i what you want is a wonderfull warm tone and not 80 types of reverbs then this is for you.
I love Rage against the machine. Their guitarist Tom Morello has a Marshall head with old tubes in them that give him that nice fuzzy sound. I cant wait for my tubes to get old to have that sound. I'm telling, instead of getting a amp with many effects, get this amp. you get a great sound and if you want effects, you can just build up upon it.
If it were stolen, I'd find the guy and kick his ass. Great amp

I was looking for a great sounding amp that had some flexibility and did not weigh more than a brick wall. I kept thinking for some strange reason that solid state was better/easier/more reliable and more flexible than tubes. I owned a Line 6 that I thought was neat for awile-then I owned a Yamaha DG-80 which is one of the better sounding digital amps. But I'll tell you something-you ain't got that groove if you ain't got them tubes!Marshall does a great job of being simple with the features-I actually use all of them! The two channels create a wide palat of sounds...and the OD2 really screams. It has ample power for most stage gigs, unless you play to ear-deafening volumes. The El-84 power tubes are very responsive to touch and distort fairly easily. I would like a Presence control as it tends to sound a bit dark at times...but I like it. I love the fact that it weighs only 45 pounds-10 pounds less than that tubby Yamaha.

I play a PRS soapbar,PRS Hollowbody and Fender American Series Strat. Overall I like the sound of my PRS Hollowbody through the amp, but that's just because that is my favorite guitar. All 3 guitars sound very different and the amp brings out the uniqeness of each guitar very well. The reverb is fine...not as smooth as Fender. But the reverb is not as obnoxious as Fender. You have more control...I always wish Fender used a different calibration on their reverb. The clean channel is smooth and gets reasonably loud, but doesn't really crank until you dial in a little more gain...which is no problem. You play softly and lo and behold...no distortion!You apply a little pressure and you get this nice warm distortion. Like I said...You ain't got that groove until you get tubes. But you probably know that already. The OD1 channel gives you alot of range in distortion...and OD2 heats up your own hand.

I haven't owned it long-about a month- but it has been at several jams already and It seems rugged.

I have been playing guitar for quite awhile-the last 2 years I have gotten into the electric guitar like crazy. I compared this amp to many others and the oeverall flexibility with minimum poundage and very reasonable price tag all swayed me.I am very happy with this amp.

40 Watts 1X12 , all tube except solid state rectifier and reverb.
2.5 channels , clean with its own EQ and gain knob, OD1 and OD2 which share an EQ.
No presence control.
FX loop, master volume, DI output for recording.
Comes with a 3 way footswitch.

This is my first tube amp. At the store I checked out some other Marshall equipment including the new AVT2000 50 Watt combo.
The salesman tried to convince me that the valvestates sounded as good if not better than the DSL. But on listening to the Valvestate I heard what sounded like an annoying buzzing sound present whenever distortion was used. Turns out this is a characteristic of solid state distortion , no matter which amp its coming from. This ruled out a possiblity of buying another solidstate amp. The DSL lacked that buzzing sound completely, and was warm and very musical (as it always is in the store). So I took a chance and shelled out the hefty sum (equivalent of 1000 US dollars!) .
I fell in love with it again at home.

Clean is really great, marshally (not fender glassy and not Vox Chimy :) , it gets those clean parts through, although dont expect Jazzy sustains . Its mostly a utlity channel. Turn up the clean channel gain and you've got classic tube distortion without pumping your powertubes. Amazingly musical.

Distortion is.. anything you need it to be. Brown Halen sound to Ataris punk , Slash solos to Smashing pumpkins like fuzz.
Contour knob turns your sound 180 from Hardrock to Grunge powerchords.
The two OD channels are footswitchable and complement each other nicely.

Im using a G&L Legacy Special (all humbuckers) which means of course that its dead silent even with the gain on 10.
The G&L's sound is dark and heavy and I find myself cutting the bass frequencies on the guitar itself to make the clean sound a little brighter.

All in all, a great amp. Words cant do it justice, go listen to it at your local store, what have you got to lose?

3 monthes and not a hitch..
been carried around to band practices, friends, smashed against walls.
Tubes havent complained (knock on wood). Something rattles in there but I guess its the reverb tank :)

Amazing. My first tube amp and probably the one thats gonna be with me for life. I never get tired of playing it, it massages my ears and gives a touch of proffesionality to my playing (that is desperately needed :)

Features are the same as the below, the FX loop is parallel, so you
need to understand this before using a bunch of in-line stomp boxes.
My DOD stomp boxes diddn't work well in this amps FX loop, since
they have no wet/dry setting.. I wound up with an Alesis Nanoverb
which really fits the bill (running it wet, and attenuating the loop
level - which is too high in this amp imho).

Mostly for practice, bedroom setup.. strat/lp/godinLGX.. the amp
is voiced good for lowpower strats, i find myself backing off the
guitar volume on the LGX and the LesPaul.. the +20dB gain difference
between the OD1 and OD2 channels is too much.. OD1 sounds AC/DCish,
whereas OD2 is modern, scooped - more Slash'ish. I REALLY like
the clean channel.. breaks up nice and smooth, very rounded, even
harmonics.

First amp was the floor model - I noticed the reverb tank had actually
been ripped lose from the bottom, and was stuck to the speaker magnet.
Second (replacement) amp shiped with a defective EL84 power tube (the heater circuit wasn't even connected to one of the pins). Guitar Center (gasp), gave me a matched pair of SovtekEL84's.. which
diddn't do much for me, since you really need a matched quad.. Other
local authorized marshall dealers said I had to wait at least 2 weeks (yes they hold my amp), before they could simply replace the
bad tube with something presumably missmatched...

I finally called KORG-USA (Marshall distributor), and started asking
them tech question, 'cause I wanted to rebuy all the power tubes.. the promptly asked for my address, and claimed a matched quad was
in the mail ... so kudo's for KorgUSA.. hint: email their technical
support addres -- do not call the droids at their generic helpdesk, I could get different answers to the same question in every call; it
was more of a fun joke after a while.

Don't call the droids at the KorgUSA helpdesk - email their technical support people. The droids will give you disinformation, the techs will mail you replacement parts no questions asked. The
dealer was Guitar Center - totally worthless - have no idea what the
amp is or how it works.. however, they do understand matching prices, so get a verbal quote from "rolls music", then give that
quote to GC, they'll beat the price by 1 dollar.. worked for me.

Best bang for the buck - that's what I'm after. I'm not a pro, and
I don't need bleeding ears.. I dumped my solid state fender stage 112SE (in fact I might turn it into an extra speaker cab for the DSL), and my Line6POD for this amp ..

2001 model 3 channel 1-12 combo with reverb. Gain control on the clean channel, gain and volume on the drive channels. Seperate tone controls, master volume, shared reverb, reverb on/off not included in the supplied pedal.

Yuck. I had this amp for six days and couldn't find a usable sound in it. I have a 2000 Gibson Les Paul Custom, a 1999 Gibson 1961 SG reissue, a 92 American Standard Strat with Texas Specials and a JD telecaster with Tele Texas specials, so guitars weren't the problem. At low volumes, the Strat sounded ok in the clean channel with the gain backed down. I never found an overdrive sound that was decent. The gain channel on this amp was harsh and raspy sounding. Turned way up with the gain backed down, it produced passable power chords, but only barely. A good lead sound was nowhere to be found in the clean or gain channels.

Lasted six days. On day six it started producing a microphonic squeal regardless of gain settings. With the guitar turned off or even unplugged this thing squealed like a stuck pig. When I discussed possibly buying this amp with the owner of the local guitar shop, he spend a good 20 minutes trying to talk me out of it. He even went and got out a fistfull of repair tickets for channel switching Marshalls to prove his point. Not believing they could be that bad, I bought one anyway. He was right, they're that bad. You'll see other review here where people had to try several amps to get one that worked. I wasn't that enthusiastic, so didn't try any others. This is my third Marshall. The others lasted years with no trouble. This one made it six days.

No idea what Marshall support is like. Sam Ash was very good about it. They took it back with no trouble at all. They also offered me a replacement or the chance to get this one fixed, which I declined.

Been playing around 30 years. Owned a bunch of amps and two other Marshalls. This wasn't the worst sounding amp I've owned. That honor would go to a solid state Peavy, but it was by far the most disappointing Marshall. Based on comments here and experiences with other Marshalls, I really wanted to like this amp. I'm glad it died so quickly, so I could return it within the 15 days offered by Sam Ash. Really, really disappointing amp.

1x12 40W alltube combo 2.5 channels... see other reviews for the rest.
The only other feature I wish this amp had is a level control for the effects loop. The level is too high to put through some of pedals without distorting.

I mostly play rock/metal. Metallica, Pearl Jam, Satch...
My guitar is an Ibanez RG507 with a FRED pickup in the bridge, stock V7 in the neck and the middle torn out.
I find that I can get plenty of useable sounds from the amp. I doesn't quite get that Metallica sound but then it was much cheaper than any Mesa. Overall I like the sounds available but it would be nice to have a real 3rd channel.

This is my problem. I have had it for just over a year and I have had to take it back to be fixed twice. The first time was a dry solder joint. The second time happend today when it just totally died and left no signs of life.

Both times I have had it fixed it has been under warranty. I have never talked direct to Marshall. But I have had no problems with SoundControl where I bought it.

I have been playing for 4 1/2 years and this is the first decent amp I have owned. Before this I had an SS Laney HCR50. Ughh distortion sounded more like a buzz saw then music.
I would love it if it was more reliable but then I love the sound anyway.
If it was stolen I would possibly get the same again or maybe try a TSL. (It would be nice but then my budget is kinda limited)

UPDATE TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW.

Still using MIM Strat with EMG SA/SA/89 and ME-8.

The rule of thumb is, this amp sounds great cranked. If you practice without cranking the amp, you'll be surprised that your tone changes when you bring it onto stage and set the volume at 8 or 10. But I really love the way the power tube distortion growls. Beware not to run too many effects when you are using the OD2 channel. It makes a lot of unwanted noise, like when you slide you fingers along the strings you'll hear this howl.

This amp has more apparent volume (what you hear) than actual volume (what the audience hear), so be sure to crank it louder than you like. I made the terrible mistake of not making it loud enough and screwed my solo.

Really reliable. Extensive use and abuse plus lots of transportation and storage in school (which is 400m from the beach, very humid). But just be careful because the reverb tank seems very fragile.

Nope, the local Marshall dealer does not know his stuff. Forget it.

Should not repeat what I said earlier. Basically a versatile and great amp for all skill levels and most genres. *Most genres* only. Do not depict this amp as metal-only. I use it for jazz and rock and it sounds good.

This amp has a clean channel, Overdrive and boost. Effect loop, line out, reverb

I have the basic Guitars, Strat, Paul reeds, Brian Moore.
I can get a good sound out of about any amp.

No you can not depend on it. I have had Three 401's. The first one was used it had a little noise in it. The last two were new. Both Broke with in a day. The over drive channel went out. Piss poor quality control. I will never own another Marshall. It is a good thing I bought them mail order I got my money back.

Did not call them send them back to dealer.

I have been playing for 30 years. You cannot run fast enough to give me another. If you want a good amp buy a Fender or Ampeg or Hughes Kettner.

Brand New Amp!!My First marshall.I am a keyboard player and guitarist with the keys being my principal instrument.(GO KORG)What a pleasure to play.No fuss No hassle 2 channels easy to switch.We play a lot of 80's rock which includes Van Halen and Whitesnake and this little amp kicks tail.

Great Sound.The other 2 guitar players use Marshall stacks and sound wise this little power pack holds its own.I am in the proccess of purchasig the 2 12" cab to add.

Only had for 6 weeks but the name says it all!!!!

% years is a lot of gigin.Alot of time to break in and be comfortable.Great warranty.

Buy one you will not be let down.

2001 brand-spankin' new amp. It's about as versatile as they come while remaining simple. I play alot of Van Halen and Slash style guitar (Im not as good as them of course!). All of the controls/features have already been covered. I use this amp for practice and in a church band. It has enough power, I just wish it had another speaker...but the option to add cabs works for that. Tube amp of course, and a darn good one too! Some people have mentioned heat problems, and it does get HOT, but I dont worry about since it has a 5 year warranty. And I dont think that sound engineer who called this amp crap knew crap. I know a good sound, and this amp has what it takes to go down in history, and even if he's right and it blows up after five years I dont care, I'll just go get another one because its got such a good sound.

I have had this amp for about 3-4 weeks and I am going to say that I havent played a better sounding amp. Of course I havent played all the amps out there, but I have played enough to know a good sound, and this is it! I would have to add that a cab or two would help the sound out alot. When I get the money I will invest in one. I have gotten a Van Halen "brown" sound out of this on the gain boost channel with bass 7-8 mid 0-1 and treble 5-6 along with my Fender strat. My only complaint is the reverb just doesnt seem to work until 6+ and then it doesnt even come close to a Fender reverb until its on max.

This is Marshall's real problem right now. Marshall has great-sounding amps, and poor quality sometimes. The first one I got was microphonic on the clean channel half the time, which I could not tolerate, so I took it back promptly to Sam Ash and they gave me new one almost immediantly (they needed to hear the ringing first). The replacement has been superb so far, but then, I've only had it two weeks.

Never dealt with them.

I have been playing 1-5 hours almost everyday for 1 1/2 years, and I know a good amp when I hear one, and this is one of those amps. I play a Fender Strat and I love the all the channels on this amp: clean, crunch, and lead. My favourite channel is the lead channel though, so I can *attempt to immitate Van Halen.
I love this amp, and if someone stole it, and I found him, I would strap his head between two cabs max volume and teach him. Of course with this amp, I can't see how he would'nt have an enjoyable experiance anyway :-)
Some people complained about a presence control, but I think they're asking too much, this amp's controls WORK people! I think it leans more to a darker sound, but I can't understand how anyone would want it brighter, I can get both sounds with ease. I sorta wish it had a depth control though, sorta like a chorus-depth sound, but its not a big deal, its already fairly deep as it is.

bought 1/00, this amp is a dream 2 channels plus a boost for channel 2 that purrs like a wild dog--perfect for tommy bolin screeches

guitar: modulus blacknife pickups; bridge duncan jeff beck neck damarzio hs 1 middle p/u is a dimarzio hs 2. This is the best p/u configuration period

Neck position gives me a smooth sustaing tone in od 1 (ala Santana)
bridge position screams like a wild banshee just like Beck, Page before he got fumble finger

I use a Mxr 100 phase and its all the effect I need for a 'RICK DERRINGER LIVE" SOUND circa 79

ive used this amp for a year and a half playing up to 8- 9 hrs straight full on about once a week and I it sounds better than it did out of the box. Runs hot but no problems so far.

no problems with this amp, I bought a 2203 in 1976, and a JCM 50 watt in 1977. both blew tubes right off the bat so I had to put fans in them. This amp Ive driven harder and it gets hot but no problems so far.

This amp is a gem. The clean channel would be better if it had a bright switch or prescence to 'fenderize' it. In other words the treble switch should go to 15 instead of 10:-)

This is the best amp ive owned in 30 years of playing Fenders and Marshalls exclusevly. 2nd runner up is a bassman head through a marshall 4x 12, but thats another story!!!

This amp is awesome!! I play mainly hard rock with a bluesy influnence. This amp is has 4 el-84 tubes, has 2 distortion channels, an effect loop, and a headphone jack. This amp pumps has 40 watts of power, but is so much louder than a normal 40 watt amp! Perfect for jam sessions, clubs, gigs, anything!

I basically use my gibson les paul standard, and my gibson goldtop deluxe. My music stlye goes along the lines of Slash and Angus Young.
This amp nails the sound with the lead channel, and the overdrive channel is pure rythymic bliss. The clean channel is also excellent.

This is a marshall!! There built like horses!

Never had to deal with em'

I have a marshall jcm 900 half stack, and i choose this amp over that!! Thats how great this sounds. You can great anything from blues, to any kind of rock, to even some classical on the clean channel. Thats what i use if for anyways!
The bottom line is, if you got the 600 bucks lying around, and you need an AWESOME amp for the money, GET THIS!!

made in 2000 around summer/autumn (perchased in November 2000). basically the 3 channels do anything u want it to and the footswitch for them, but not one for the reverb which is a bit annoying.it has effects loop and space for peaker cabinets, D.I out etc.
it has everything i would want it to have, and plenty of power but it would want to be p.a'ed for bigger than smal venues.
mines also the limeted edition version with the "eric clapton" grey grill.

i use a strat with it, and it really beefs it up...hendrix? its all there, clapton and beck etc also.
the clean is perfect for that plexi head sound, especially when driven with a bigg muff or something similar.
od 1 perfest for similar stuff, the who, britpop etc.
od 2 crazy heavyness if u want or with gain down, singing lead like heavy hendrix.
the distortion can be as heavy or as light as u want really - awesome amp.

havn't had it long, but the guy in the shop said they r usually pretty damn good. and if it does break u can take it to the plant in milton-kenes (or where ever it is) and take it in foe a service or repair. 1 advantage of living in england.....

havn't dealt with them yet, but they did send me a nice letter for buying it...

thois is amazing - probably not as good as the plexi's but amazing none the less...nuff said i feel.

Pretty nice features - versatile. Separate eq's (treble, bass, mid) for each of the 2 channels, effects loop, reverb, master volume, and direct line-out recording which sounds great. Would be better if it had a presence control.

I've been playing for about 30 years and have tried just about every amp imaginable. If you are into rock or blues, this amp is great. The clean channel makes an attempt to reach the chimeiness of an AC30 and gets pretty damn close. The distortion channel is simply fantastic - you can easily dial in that classic "hollow midrange" growl from this amp. The "high gain" second stage distortion also sounds great, although I personally prefer the "OD1" setting. At high volume, this baby really rips with it's 40 watts of EL84 power - aggressive yet sweet Marshall drive with a nice tight bottom-end. More than enough headroom and plenty of punch - it's a loud amp if you want it to be. The beauty of this amp is that it also sounds great at bedroom volumes without having to use a stompbox - I really like that feature. Add a single 12 extension cabinet and you will kick up the "pushing air" quotient significantly - I highly recommend doing this - it truly adds a "three dimensional quality to the sound with the increased bottom end. (TIP: If you can locate a JCM 800 single 12 cabinet, it matches up perfectly both size-wise and aesthetically with the DSL 401). Let me a settle the "stock speaker" versus "Celestion Vintage 30" controversy that has erupted in several of the reviews I have seen here. I have tried both speakers in the amp, and I will share my experience with you. This amp leans more towards "brown and round tones" versus super bright tones, which I personally feel is a good thing. The bottom-line is that I found that the amp sounds too dark with a Vintage 30 Vintage installed. After switching between the speakers, to my surprise I much preferred the sound of the stock speaker which was voiced specifically for this amp. The fact that the amp doesn't have a presence control further supports my recommendation that you stick with the stock speaker. Yes, the Vintage 30 is a more expensive and heavier (in terms of weight) speaker, but it simply does not improve the tone of this amp. If anything, in my humble and subjective opinion, it actually detracts from the tone by making it sound too dark, and that's coming from an old school rocker that was raised on Vintage 30's. I recommend that you not waste your time and money switching to a Vintage 30. It's your choice.

It appears to be built solidly, although I haven't owned it long enough to make a determination as of yet. My amp has never broken down, although a couple of pre-amp tubes were slightly microphonic so they need to be replaced. Marshall replaced them under the warranty without a hassle.

I have found the Product Support Specialsits at Korg/Marshall to be incredibly helpful, so don't believe the negative feedback that you may have seen here. They have gone the extra mile in answering my questions and assisting me in general whenever I have contacted them.

The bottom-line is that this is a great little amp that can stand tall with a hard hitting drummer or "stand small" with a wife and kids sleeping in the house and still sound great. Great classic Marshall crunch with a damn good clean tone at a reasonable price - and it's portable. What more can you ask for?

usual feature you would expect from an amp at this price

Bought the amp new as a replacement for a vs100.Thought it was fine back then but I have since played many others and I have to say that this is a dreadful sounding amp.What on earths going on at Marshall.Bland gutless clean channel,bright tinny and horrible with an equally horrible overdrive.
Ive put all my strats and teles throught it.I cant find a decent tone anywhere.
I owned it for 18 x months,hardly used it as it sounded crap regardless of any knob fiddling and traded it 6 x months ago.

IF YOU WANT A DECENT SOUNDING SMALL MARSHALL VALVE COMBO BUY A JTM312

My JTM312 blows the DSL clean away and to think that the JTM is now discontinued it staggering.


I cant for the life of me understand why some people are rating it at 10 on the sounds!!.
Its sh!te

hardly ever used it as it sounded crap (more fool me for buying it)

again no need to contact them.

The only thing I would say is that is a horrible nasty sounding piece of junk

I must have been out of my mind the day I bought this amp.
AVOID IT

Ive been playing now for 27 x years and basically bought it as I needed a valve combo for gigging.The local dealer only stocks marshall.
I should have made that 100 x mile trip and demoed loads more.
You can bet your bottom dollar I wouldnt have bought this piece of junk.
I now own a vox ac30,peavey bandit,marshall superlead 100 head and 1960 4 x 12 and a fender twin AND of course a JTM312.

best amp?? the JTM

This is a versatile amp. It sounds good clean, there is a nice reverb inside, and the distortion also sounds good. And it's louder than you might think.

I think this amp sounds best with a humbucker guitar. But it also works well with a Stratocaster.

I did not have a good experience with the reliability of this amp. Afer about a year, it stopped working. I gave it to the dealer: a company called "Music Unlimited" in Massachusetts (that's what you have to do, you can't contact Marshall directly). They sat on it for a few weeks then finally sent it in. Marshall's service center in New York then sent it back unrepaired. I guess they couldn't find the warranty information (the dealer told me it had been given to them with the amp). The dealer then took another couple weeks to send the amp back. The second time the service center said the problem was tubes, which they would replace at my cost. I knew that couldn't be right because I had already tried replacing the tubes. They sent the amp back and it was then taken to a local warranty shop that I was told had a good reputation for repairing amps. They found a crack in the circuit board or a bad connection or something (I forget which), and that fixed the problem. Marshall then refused to pay for the repair since the warranty had expired. Needless to say, I think MARSHALL SUCKS when it comes to customer service. I sold the amp for next to nothing just so I wouldn't have to look at it anymore. I admit, Marshall makes amps that have a nice distorted sound, but there are others out there that also sound good. If you buy a Marshall, you should just figure you are buying it "as is" (i.e. you are on your own if anything goes wrong).

In terms of customer support Marshall is the worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. They make used car dealers seem reputable and caring.

The DSL's are decent enough sounding amps. But the warranty experience I had was so bad I wouldn't buy another one if it were the last amp on earth. If it were free, I'd take it, but only so I could take it outside and destroy it with a sledgehammer. By doing that I would at least be able to work out some of the frustration I endured trying to get the one I bought repaired.

a nice two(2) channel,with a boost on the lead channel, combo-amp
that does the job at hand with ease. The EQ sections of the amp are
by far the best features, in the clean channel the EQ is "before"
the pre-amp section and the overdrive channel has the EQ "after" the
pre-amp section giving more control of the sound.

I use an old Kramer with EMG89 pickup and an "83" Gibson "Heritage"
Explorer with "dirty fingers" for the pickups. Playing many styles
is a bit more easy,with the different sounds this amp plays.As far
as settings try them all and you will see the range this combo has.For
all out "jams" this combo can keep up with the best of them

so far it has had no problems and always has tone, what worries me
is the heat from all those tubes in a small space, do I cool it or
was it designed for tone through this type of heat ?

n/a

Playing for over 25 years, for the money this amp is the best, I also
use an 87 JCM2550 head that has a sound of its own. If I lost this amp
I would replace it because of the simple combo setup gives me great
tone with little to carry and a lot of power, 40 watts of "tube"
power is more than you need when you learn your tone settings, I
check out other bands with the Master volume at 3 and have plenty of
punch for any basement settings.Maybe a "presence" control in the
overdrive section would have been a great idea for a bit more bite
when driving through overtones that blend a bit too much

40 watt all tube amp. 3 channels - 1 clean 2 overdrive. Effects loop. It has an amazing 40 watts. I play for a hobbie in my house. Never completely cranked it up - don't want a visit from the police. I know it is only good for small clubs, I wanted the tub amp sound and this is more than enough amp for a residential neighborhhod.

I play an Epiphone Les Paul. The stock pickups were too muddy for the OD2 setting so I replaced them with Seymore Duncan '59 model P.A.F. pickups. Now the sound is beautiful. The distortion from the overdrive channels is great.

I don't play it hard and I follow the manufacturers recomendations for care. Had the amp one year - no problems

Did not need support.

I love this amp. I play for a hobbie, but I still want good sound. I was very impressed when my amp was delivered. The craftsmanship is exact. Top quality. I expected less volume for 40watts (I have a 15 watt amp and know sound wattage ratings are not linear - meaning if you double the wattage you don't double the volume), but 40 watts of Marshall power is louder than most of the competition. I was first impressed with the sound and the ability to feel power cords hit my chest. I like hard rock with controlled distortion. This amp delivers.

Brand New, just got it home tonight from Guitar Center in Concord. Features all named belowin other articles, I give a solid 8. Three damn usable sounds within two clicks of a pedal. Would like to see a few things, all of which have been said before here. It's not the end all be all of features, no. It's got just the right amount to allow some friggin awesome tone (with minimal noise and cool sounding feedback). I don't like amps that have too many features, as they tend to add noise, which I detest.

My axe is a 1976 japanese imitation strat with the fender noiseless vintage pup set. This damn guitar has seen 10's of pup sets, and 20+ amps in it's day. It has never sounded nearly so quiet in it's life. I frickin love quiet rigs. BIG PLUS with me, since it's mostly for studio work at this point (though damn if this thing doesn't make you want to JAM with people and show off your fat (B)Tone.
1. Clean is very passable. Give 7.5 roughly, could have a little more glass, but basically a pretty solid section, particularly in comparison to most Marshalls I've played.
2. Overdrive channels are Marshall bliss. You like good Marshall tone, you get it hear.
I traded in the Cyber Twin (louder, yes) but it just had roughly 0 great sounds. Despite the hype it's the Cyber Twin's really not the greatest sounding amp. It's fun, but kinda harsh and I felt like it'd break and be costly to fix. And it lacks the critical 'single good sound'. I don't know, maybe someone can mod it somehow, but for now it ain't really RFPT. No Joe Montana or Michael Jordans. Just a lotta different versions of Kerri Collins.
However, this new Marshall blows doors out of the Fender I just returned. Simply for it's balance and solidness of all the three (2.5) channels, the usable control of them I get via the footswitch and the overall QUIETNESS I get from this rig. It really just has good controls and a solid layout in general. Plus now I also can get the Boss GT3 and the celestion V30 for LESS than the CT. I'll be pretty set then I think.... But please read on...

IT GETS WAY TO FRIGGIN HOT. Just idling it's fryin. This REALLY concerns me. I want to keep this thing, but I want to know if there's a way to cool it down. I'd like to avoid a fan, but if it'll help a lot, I'd definitely do it. But it's for recording, and I do want to mike it at least sometimes. I'm worried a fan will likely add an odd noise to that miking, yes? What do I do to cool the el84's down? They are the yugoslavian kind. Is there something better, or do they need a bias adjust, or what? This is my first tube amp that wasn't 1000 years old, so I don't know what to make of it. With these PC boards inside, isn't that heat gonna toast that board quick??? All that has to happen is the amp is on, and the front of this sucker gets to feeling like a hunk of the steel out in the Vegas Sun. What gives? Anyone figgered out how to cool the beast?!?

So far seems like a solid nine - feature and sound-wise. But the HEAT frightens me here. Feel free to email me your experiences with any mods you think are good on this amp. I'm aware of the V30 thing, think I'll try it. Want to know what tubes to buy for it, too (especially COOLER ones). TIA for any help/emails! I do think this is destined to be a classic, if they don't just all melt one day...

Reckon mine was built in 2000.
Has a choice of three sounds,clean plus two overdrives which you can choose between with the channel footswitch(supplied).I play in a semi-pro covers band and do a wide variety of covers from 50's rock n'roll to stuff like Toto,using clean and distorted sounds,this amp is perfect for this type of work.It has an effect loop and a D.I.output which is very important for me as I only intend using this amp as a monitor.
I traded in a Fender Blues Deville against this amp.The store price was #620.00 Irish pounds.The Deville is a great clean amp but unfortunatley it weighs a ton and as most of you know,people that design clubs usually put the stage on the second or third floor of the building just so you'll be seen to earn your money!! I've been trying to get lead sounds like this with various distortion pedals for years without success.It is the perfect amp for small to medium gigs providing you can go through a P.A.Only have it two days ,I think its a winner.

Using a Telecaster Plus and a Strat Plus Deluxe.This is the first time that the strat has sounded as its makers intended it to.
The distortion is perfect,has a very warm thick sound.

Have e-mailed Marshall only yesterday re impedances.Awaiting reply

I,ve been playing since 1980.
Again I wanted an amp with versatile sound that I didnt need to break my back carrying.This amp,althogh not completely featherweight,is quite manageable and wont take up too much space at home or in you car.Sorry for being so practical,but after years of squandering money on very large,loud and unneccessary equipment,sense has finally prevailed.

The amp was built in 2000. It has the basic clean, overdrive 1 and overdrive 2 (20db boost) channels. Master reverb, fx loop, and master volume. Both the channels and reverb are footswitchable but only the channel footswitch comes with the amp. I bought the amp for use at home for recording and practice.

My only guitar is a 1992 Les Paul standard that I put Classic '57 humbuckers in to replace the stock pickups. I mostly play blues and rock and this amp gives me the tones that I was looking for to compliment the Les Paul's pickups. The amp really sweetens the tone much more so than I thought it would. I tried out a Marshall DSL 201 and it was a really noisy amp with the overdrive channel kicked in. I returned it and tried a Mesa Boogie Rocket 44. The Mesa amp seemed very dark and muddy in the clean channel and the contour channel didn't sound any better than the Rockman handheld amp that I use on vacation. I was really disappointed in it. So, I went back and got a DSL 401 and found a good one that has a really clean channel and overdrive channels that give a good range of tones for what I like to play. Depending on the settings you can use on the amp you can get just about any classic Marshall tone that you want. However, using a Les Paul I don't get really sparkling clean Fender type tone, but if I wanted that I'd get a Strat. The distortion channels have plenty of distortion for any possible sound you'd like. The verstility of the amp is quite impressive. I had a 1975 Marshall 50 watt head and it never sounded this good.

I haven't had the amp long enough to give an honest answer on this catagory but in the past I've had two other Marshalls, a cheap valvestate and a 70's 50 watt head and never had any problems with them.

I emailed Marshall a couple of times to ask some basically stupid questions and they were kind enough to actually answer them for me. Also, if it makes any difference, there are quite a few Marshall amp bulletin boards on the web that makes it a lot easier to find answers to questions from other users and that helps a lot. This one is pretty good - http://www.webervst.com/wwwboard/marshall/marboard.html

I've been playing guitars for almost 30 years now and have paired all my junk down to one Les Paul, two effects pedals, and two amps. I'd buy this amp again if it got ripped off because it definately has the Marshall tone that over the years just seems harder and harder for other manufactures to create in their amps. I'd recommend this amp to anyone looking for a good tube amp that they can dial in for recording and practice. Again, I tried the 201 model but didn't like it and the 401 was simply more amp than the Mesa Boogie. I guess I just don't get the Mesa thing.

tis a stock currant model, exept it has the EC front grill, which is grey, instead of the back one. This is like any other marshall, it will do anything, blues, jazz, rock, punk and metal etc. it is 3 channels - clean, OD1 and OD2 which r footswitchable. The reverd isn't foot switcable but that aint too much of a problem. this amp is ample for small gigs, it is a lot louder than you think. and for larger gigs, just PA it.

i have a fender strat, and this amp really suits it, i mainly use neck and bridge p/up as the middle one bottoms out, like most strats. I lay mostly hendrix, zeppelin stuff and the like, and this suits them perfectly. This amp is so much loader than u think it's going to be. there is a ot of variety, in sounds, as mentioned above, and the stock speacker (a rebadged celestion) is fine and has great response and tone.
the clean channel doesn't distort at high volumes at all really, and ther distortion can go anywhere from silky smooth to metal heavy.

at the bargain price i paid (it was in a large sale in Peter Cooks - near ealing broadway - the best guitar shop ever) this amp is evan more of a bargain than at rrp. it sounds great and has features aplenty and is just really nice.

I think this is the amp I've been looking for. Simple enough that you don't have to spend hours dialing in the sounds you want, plenty of versatility for anything that I play - blues, classic rock, jazz, etc.

I've been playing an older Strat with EMG's in the neck & middle with a SD Hotrails at the bridge. Anything I want I've got it, crystal clean, slightly overdriven blues, saturated leads, crunch, even metal although I would never consider this amp a "metal" amp. I recently bought a new Strat but am replacing the pu's, the hotrails sounds great here. I've played a Fender Concert for the last 15 years and I never knew how good a Marshall could sound, I wanted that crunchy to super saturated distortion sound along with some versatility and I got it, clean channel sounds GREAT too. Granted, I've never played through some of those "vintage" Marshalls but from what I hear and from what I've read as well you can't beat this amp for versatility, value and overall sound. I'll try the Celestion Vintage 30 speaker like some have suggested but so far it's great.

N/A, 1st Marshall.

Never dealt with Marshall.

I love this amp, especially compared to the Fender Concert which was a great amp but this amp with 20 watts less, a single 12" as opposed to 4 - 10" speakers simply rocks. It is at least as versatile as the Fender with a better crunch sound. I'm extremely happy and can't wait to hear this fucker with the Vintage 30 speaker.

Bought used, basic 2 channel amp with a gain boost on the lead channel. I play blues, punk, classic rock, alternative, metal. Best for punk and metal when you add an extension cabinet. Seems to have plenty of power and I would mic the thing for a show, but does have a direct out. Pretty basic on the features

Sounds are great, the cabinet is open back, giving me a different sound than i am used to, I am thinking of upgrading the speaker to a celestrion White Back. Can turn the clean channel to about 5 before it starts to get that overdrive sound. I like the gain and distortion knob on the second channel. Reverb is not like a fender, but is enough for most things. This amp is great for a dark clean and good overdrive sound, but its not the fender clean, if you want that buy a fender hot rod deluxe.

No problems, i bought it used, just make sure you remember to turn the amp on with standby. I have had no problems like some of the horror stories I hear about marshall's as far as reliability is concerned

Waranty is 5 years, need to have the receipt

It was between this and a Fender hot Rod Deluxe, I got this 1st although I want the fender clean sound, so I will eventually get the fender hot rod. Sounds much better with an extension cabinet especially through a 4X12 cabinet. Great amp, not worth 700 though, only pay $650 new at max. The fender hot rod deluxe is a better buy for the money at $520 new.

1999-2000 Marshall dual channel tube combo. 40 watts, very flexible. Clean and Overdrive channels (Two footswitchable sounds on overdrive channel) Parallel FX loop. Only 40 watts but plenty enough for me. I sort of wish it had a deep switch or a presence knob but even without gets versatile sounds. Only been using in the house because I just finished paying it off yesterday. Spent plenty of hours playing it in the store, though

Using with two guitars so far: Yamaha Pacifica 112 (hum/single/single) and Gibson "The Hawk" with dual humbuckers
Not much noise here, even with the old circuits in my house and several other appliances being used, certainly not as noisy as my Fender Champ. On the clean channel very glassy sounds can be dialed in. As expected, when the gain on the clean channel is cranked and I am using my Gibson a very grinding bluesy distortion sound is produced (It IS a Marshall). I play everything from Green Day to Pink Floyd to jazz and blues and this amp will never fail. I have played the hell out of it even though I just brought it home yesterday. As for the distortion, you can get a very subtle yet cool distortion on the OD1 setting. (Very nice with the single coils) And when you select the OD2 sound you get a highly saturated, heavy distortion sound which is great for metal and hard rock, as well as punk. Leads soar here. Of course, if you roll back the gain control you can get a slightly less distorted sound.I also should mention that the reverb on this amp really adds to my lead guitar sound. You have to hear it to really know how good it is. And without the reverb, you get a very nice rhythm sound.

Well, I just got it. But it looks sturdy as long as I'm careful with it. I banged it a little bit when taking it out of the store, as it's a bit heavy. Nothing happened at all. I think this amp could take a beating.

My first Marshall so I haven't dealt with them yet. They semm friendly. Decent warranty on it, but I forget how long. I got the Sam Ash extended service plan so it will be about five years before it runs out.

I've been playing for 4 years now. I have the Yamaha and Gibson I mentioned, a Yamaha 12 string acoustic-electric and an Ibanez acoustic. I'm looking at new guitars now and I know they will only get even better sounds from the amp. If this baby were lost or stolen, I would make sure the thief would never have children. There is nothing that is really bad about this. Nice all-around sounds. I'm glad I got it instead of a heavy half stack. If you think the price on this is a little high, trust me, it's not. Even those horrible Valvestate amps cost almost as much as this. For a British tube amp with this kind of sound, you CAN'T do any better.

I bought this amp for $650 in 1999. The features are pretty basic. It has 2 channels: clean and dirty(!) with a +20 dB gain switch for the dirty channel. No presence knob, but each channel has an independent 3-band eq. Footswitchable reverb and channel switching (2 button switch included). Effects loop.
For the money, the features are pretty good. I prefer a simple set-up, and this suites me. I wish there was a little more tone-shaping like a presence knob and deep switch. The components of the amp are pretty cheap- I replaced the original Yugoslavian tubes with Mesa-Boogie tubes, and the tone was vastly improved. The "Custom voiced Celestion speaker" is custom-made to be as cheap as possible. I will replace it when I have the money.

I play a wide variety of styles- I play grunge and classic rock with my friends, and I play in several jazz bands. This is my only amp and it covers the styles well.
At first, I thought the distortion wasn't quite intense enough for playing heavy grunge. Then I replaced the tubes with good ones and the tone tightened up and the distortion had much more edge. If you buy this amp, get some Mesa Boogie or Groove Tubes for it. The clean channel is absolutely awesome. For jazz I play it with a Les Paul Studio and it gives a great warm sound. With my strat it gives a good punchy, funky sound. The hi gain setting sounds good with both guitars, especially the les paul. I would like a little more tone control though. Its one 12 inch speaker sucks and it lacks a tight bass when you have the volume real high. I'd guess that if you hooked up a 4x12 cabinet to it that it will fix the bass problem.

I haven't had any problems with it yet. It seems well made except for the tubes and the speaker. I can't comment on this category yet.

Again, no problems yet.

Overall, this amp suites my needs and fits my budget. It was about the cheapest real tube amp I could find, and it is much more versatile than the equivalent Crate and Peavey tube combos. 40 watts isn't a lot, its fine for jazz, for a rock gig I'd bet a 4x12 cabinet would make give all the volume you need. Its a good volume and great tone for practice. Basically I needed a mobile and relatively cheap tube amp, and I found it. If it died and I bought a new amp, I might try for a Mesa Boogie, but I won't regret my purchase.

2.5 Channel tube amp. 4el84's in the power section, akint to a VOX AC30, which I also own. Clean & drive channel available, with a boosted drive channel selection. 1x12, 40 watts. Effects loop, DI out, footswitch included. Nice features for the $$.

Ya know, when I first got the amp I didn't like it all that much. Compared to my AC30 it was lacking. But, that is not really a fair comparison. At first, I ended up driving the clean channel w/ a Fulltone II, and not even touching the drive channel at all. I run a 52 Tele as my main axe. But, I refused to give up on this little bugger, because the size, weight, and volume is just right for gigs, and I was convinced that somewhere in the amp, there was a good tone. Well, my persistence paid off, and even I am surprised at how well. First off, I changed the speaker. I find w/ most production amplifiers, the speakers can be lacking. That was definitely the case here. The stock Celestion was very fizzy, and un-forgiving. It made the drive channel sound rather harsh, espescially when cranked (which is how you wanna run this amp). Despite the speaker's 100w rating, it sounded ugly when pushed. I replaced it with a Vintage 30. Big improvement. More headroom, smoother tone, better harmonics, nicer mids. Now, I started messing w/ the gain channel again, and lo and behold, I discovered that the amp indeed has a very nice tone. I love the drive 1 channel now. It took some major eq tweaks to get the Tele to sit where I wanted it to sit, but it's there. A nice, jangly, fat, angry sounding Tele w/ tight, "fast" Marshall over-drive that lets the low notes grind, while not being too harsh on the highs. The V30 had a whole lot to do w/ the tone improvement for sure. I also noticed that how you dial in the clean channel affects the drive channel in a subtle but noticeable way. I like the clean channel as well, and use it regularly.(a wanna-be a Vox tone, but not bad) The only down-stroke to the amp, is because of it's inherent lack of clean head-room, when you turn the guitar down, the tone darkens up a bit too much. My AC30 rules in that category. But, that amp costs @ $1750.00, not $400. I've been able to get this little Marshall to do pretty much everything I need it to do. I like it alot, and I think the soundman at my next gig will too.

So far so good. I didn't get a lemon.Will replace the cheap Yugo tubes soon, although none are micro-phonic. Just think some NOS Rca's will sound much better.

Never had to call on Marshall for help.

I think this amp is marketed toward semi-pro players, but as a pro I can attest to the fact that there are useable tones in this little amp. Quite good tones. I find that when I am playing through it, I am enjoying myself. The amp need a little help (speaker change), but with that and some careful EQ-ing, the tone has really come together. And I have a bevy of amps to compare it with, including the VOX, plus over 25 yrs. of tone searching expereince. Is it the best sounding amp I've ever heard. No. But is it very cool, affordable, and user friendly, from a size/weight/volume standpoint......yes, definitely. I am a happy customer, and would recommend this amp to any rock guitarist.

This is a 2000 model, I think - bought a floor model from Guitar Center. Wanted to wait a few months before submitting a review so as to be able to give a better opinion. By the way, I really appreciate the reviews of those before me!
As for versatility, I didn't buy this amp for versatility as I have always been a basic player - plug it in, turn it up and play.....! The 3 channels are perfect for me, the clean I didn't expect to use, but once I heard it, it has a definite place in my style - blues/rock.
When I hear clean, I think Fender twangy clean, but this sound is sweet! The distortion 1 channel is my preferred channel, and can be backed off from full blown distortion by some careful fiddling with controls. I only use channel#3 on 'special occasions demanding that screaming lead sound.
I miss the prescense control, not so much the sound, I'm just used to 'em after 4 Marshalls.
This amp will be for practice and small clubs, although miked up, I don't see why it couldn't make do anywhere! I would also like 10 more watts just for security.. I gave it an 8 not because I'm unhappy with the features-they're great for me, it's just that some of these amps have so many bells and whistles? Keep it simple, I say!

I'm using this baby with 2 strats, one new American Deluxe with the 'noiseless p'ups, and an older one with aftermarket Seymour Duncans, as well as a vintage Les Paul with humbuckers. It sounds great with all three, all quite different. This is the sweetest sounding amp I've ever heard after 30+ years of playing through countless amps, including those other three old 'vintage' Marshalls (love 'em anyway)
Lotsa variety, the clean channel starts to break up at about 1 o clock and the #2 channel sounds great in a variety of settings. I tend to favor gain about 1 o clock, treble at 3, bass and mid between 10 and 2. Distrtion can be 'brutal if desired, but if you're looking strictly for that sound, find another amp!

Too new for reliability questions, although I would trust Marshalls anytime, anywhere due to my past experience. (I read with interest the engineer's comments and I'm hoping he,s being a bit premature, but we'll see and I love this amp anyway)

Good warranty, bought it from a major dealer, so i feel confident, also because of my past experiences with Marshall

Playing since age 14 (now 46) already mentioned other gear, yes I would buy another asap. I tried every other comparable tube amp and nothing else had that unique "Marshall Sound". If there were no Marshalls, I probably would have gone with Mesa Boogie, but they were a distant second to my ear. This amp is a great buy, but I would happily pay much more for it - it is an amp that will be looked back on fondly in years to come.

This amp features 2 channels with a 20 db boost on the dirty channel. A master volume control... Great Addition. Also has a 2 button footswitch (which I had to have repaired 2 times for cable problems)

I use a 88 American STD Strat with stock pickups in the neck and middle position and a SD JB Jr. in the bridge position. The sound is great when you crank the amp, it is kinda weak when it is a low volumes. The Distortion channel is a little tinny for my liking. I have added a 2 12 cabinet for more bass. You can use internal and external speakers together, just don't go below the ohms min...

I have had some MAJOR issues with this amp. The first one I got was bad right out of the box. I was microphonic and had a bad squeal, I returned it for another new one, same issue out of the box. I returned the second one for a third one. I got what I thought was a good one. Well after about 5 months of using it often and loud, it began to pop and hiss at me... Marshall is now involved. They want to see the amp and are kissing my butt to make sure I get satisfaction.

Customer Support is great... But I would rather have an amp that WORKS rather than having it in the repair center at all...

I have had Sunn and Ampeg amps int he past - No Problems... I really wanted the sound that only a Marshall could produce, But if it come at the price of crappy quality, I will look other places for an Amp.

It has a clean channel and a drive channel with an extra gain boost, which is foot-switchable,reverb, which is not, a DI out and an effects loop. I feel the dsl 401 has plenty of features for the average musician. The extra gain boost on the drive channel is awesome and the clean channel is the best sounding clean on a Marshall I've ever heard.

I use this amp with a US Strat with Seymour Duncans and a Epiphone Les Paul. Both guitars sound amazing to me. The clean channel is very nice. It doesn't sound quite like a Twin Reverb, but very good, It has plenty of headroom and very versatile. I like to set the gain on about 5 and use the master volume. If you want a little more, crank the master and turn the gain down, very nice! Sparkly clean to good blues drive.
The drive channel is absolutely what I've been looking for. It can get an awesome classic rock sound and with a little tweaking you can get pretty heavy,not Korn or anything but crunchy, and can still keep great tone. The extra gain boost is perfect for solos or just when you need a litte extra crunch for rhythm. I'm surprised at how much bottom end it has for a small amp. With an extension cab it would have even more, I'm sure. This amp is very versatile. My band plays everythin from The Beatles to SRV to ZZ Top to The Cure to Metallica to the Cars to Rob Zombie and Lenny Kravitz and everything in between. I use only 2 pedals; chorus and flanger, and I can do all that and more. I got rid of my distortion pedals, you basically have 3 channels and reverb built in.

I haven't had it too long, but so far, so Good. It does come with a 5 year warranty and if you buy it from a reputable dealer, I'd say you're in the clear!

When I was on my quest for a guitar to use with my band, I tried out Fender Hot-Rods, Mesa Nomad, Hughes&Kettner,Line 6. I thought that this was the best sounding of all of them and also about the cheapest price. The Mesa and H&K were very nice amps and also had very nice price tags. I wanted an amp that had enough power for small gigs, was a good value, versatile and last but not least, would not kill the pocket book. This is the amp!! In 20 years when these are "vintage", all the modern amp haters will be raving about them. Great tone, Great vesatility, Great value! Vintage...Schmintage!

This amp is brand new so im assuming it was made this year. In the short period that ive had this amp ive grown attatched to its two distortion channels and its sparse control layout. As is the same with the mojority of these reviews the omission of a prescence control marrs the amp slightly. But on ly slightly. For my style of music (punk/tasteful) it copes fine. I was concerned with the output being only 40 watts. Why couldnt they have made it 50??

The guitar i used was an old Fenix tele. This guitar has a lot of beef and does sound like a monster through this amp. Although for gigs and rehersal i use a boss metal zone pedal for my main distortion the overdrive channels were very versatile for a boost in volume for solos/white noise bits. The clean channel is unbelivable. Althogh i play punk i do actually use gentle clean sounds in a large part of or music and i can safely say that the clean sound is the best ive ever heard from any marshall. I took it very high with out distortion on the clean channel. The overdrive can be satisfying. BUt it does sound a bit fizzy for my liking. Although this amp is a 40 watter. The sound it pushes out is more like a 50 watt than 40. After reading these reviews the majority seem to say that this amp is more suited to blues styles. I can safley say that it isnt. Its a most satisfying amp to play hard music with.

Well. Ive not had it for very long. But from past experience marshall have been very good for reliability. A 3 year warrantary on the amp is great.

Well from past experience ive found it to be good.

Ive been playing for around 4 years. This amp is probably the most versatile and best value for money i have found. I love its sound. I hate the way it calls me 'tiger' all the time. I wish that it had that elusive prescence knob and an extra 10 watts of power.

Reviewed before already. Nothing new, nothing fantastic. The faithful old Marshall kind of control with the added bliss of master volume.

Didn't change my guitar. Still the Strat with EMGs. This time I played it at a concert. Absolutely awesome. No need for extension cab or PA equipment. It just cut through the whole band, especially on single-note riffs. I was very surprised at the volume and the clarity of the amp at high volumes. It was a crowd with 300 people and everyone could hear the amp. Great!

Now that's the important part. The concert was held open-air at a location near the sea. It was humid there. And I left it there for approximately one week. A little dulling of the metal screws but everything was okay! No frills!

Have not visited Davis for a while...

Once again, this is a great amp, and I think it is priced cheap here in Singapore. Read many previous, good reviews about it. I don't need to tell you again how good it is. Those of you who own this amp, GREAT CHOICE. KEEP GOING!

Not going to say much here other than it has a good basic set of controls that I can understand and get on with - I also have a Marshall Valve State Combo and the controls on the DSL seem almost a logical development.

Very interested to see some of the other comments on this page - I have used this amp with a Tele, Strat, Epiphone Les Paul and Ephiphone Everly Brothers electric acoustic.

I play basic early seventies style heavy rock and blues type of stuff.
Don't use pedals at all - prefer to rely on finger technique and the dynamics of a good guitar....

The clean channel is awesome.... and overdrive 1 with careful adjustment will give you an excellent blues sound. Overdrive 2 is a bit OTT but if you like thrash metal is ok for one-note riffs.

What I found most interesting here is the quality of tone you can get from an electric acoustic guitar. Care is required here due to vagaries of feedback.

But if you use the DI output from the pre-amp you get an excellent recording set up for slightly overdriven country blues that I have never heard anywhere else on this planet. So don't be put off by the comments of certain other recent correspondants. I managed to get an almost perfect "Blind Faith" type sound with no trouble at all.

On overdrive 1 using a Hotrodded Strat I can get some excellent bluesy sounds - but the amp seems very sensitive to the controls on the guitar - if you are getting too much distortion try turning down the volume a couple of notches.....

The tonal output on overdrive 1 is also very sensitive, and careful adjustment is required here - one or two of your other reviewers have mentioned EQ settings and these are very helpful.....

By careful adjustment on the clean and overdrive channel 1 and using the footswitch where appropriate I can get a fair approximation to No Quarter (Led Zep), Ramblin' Man (The Allman Brothers), Fire & Water (Free)- so as far as I am concerned if you are playing early seventies style classic rock the thing is bloody marvellous chaps....

One reviewer also mentioned keeping the gain down to three or four on overdrive 1, and this is well worth trying out for yourself because the sounds are far more mellow and subtle.

Recent purchase so can't comment - I have had my Valvestate Amp for five years tho' with no problem......

A very good amp that has tremendous potential with a bit of care and experimentation - sounds wonderful with a Strat - sounds nice with an electro acoustic.

Agree with other correspondants - the absence of a Presence Control is a little unusual in a Marshall.

I also have a Fender Blues Deluxe by the way - but its too damn loud to play at home.... The DSL will overdrive at more reasonable volumes if you are worried about frightening your mum / the neighbours cat / adjacent villages etc. At the same time you can still put it through a 2 X 12 or a 4 X 12 if you want more balls....

If you like Eric Clapton, Robin Trower, Gary Moore, Peter Green type of stuff go try one out......

On the other hand, if you like playing at nine hundred miles an hour with all overdrive on full and fourteen pedals it may not be for you...

$700 is the price in England for the Eric Clpaton vintage style version by the way folks....

Would be interested to hear from more people with intelligent comments to make about set-ups.......

This is a clarification on my studio review on the DSL 401. As a pro producer and mixing engineer who's worked with mega platinum acts, I work in the trenches with serious equipment. I AM FED UP WITH ALL THE JUNK THAT YOUNG MUSICIANS ARE PAYING HIGH DOLLAR FOR. Marshall has never been known to widely utilize pentodes of the EL 84 variety, as they break up early and are in no way similar to the EL 34 that has a great deal of headroom. The EL 34 is the basis of many Marshall legendary amps. Conversely, the Vox AC 30 has always used EL 84s in the power stage (a/k/a 6BQ5). Features: channel switching - great! But let's take a look at the inferior plastic pots, corners, inputs or outputs. Let's also take a look at a PC board with hot tubes and components underneath it. Do you think it will last? Will the DSL 401 and many of the other high priced junk being sold today be around in ten, twenty or thirty years from now? I think NOT! You're better off buying a vintage amp in excellent condition, re-cap it, starground it and add a three prong plug, and you'll understand why point-to-point wiring is the way to go. There's no PC board with cheap circuits to fry once tubes and trannies start cooking. The soldering on most amps today is a discrace. AS A CONSUMER AND YOUNG MUSICIAN, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO DEMAND QUALITY. The bottom line is SOUND & QUALITY. Many companies that produced great amps years ago are now suddenly emerging from obscurity and on the RE-ISSUE BINGE. DON'T BUY INTO IT! The DSL 401 is overpriced, and made of inferior materials. This extends to the majority of other amps being made today. If you do find a good vintage amp, use good caps (Sprague, Xicon, etc), access good quality trannies, and have your amp tech properly sheild and ground your amp, and modify it to your needs, you will then have an amp that will probably outlive you. I've seen too many musicians drag in new equipment, only to realize their amp doesn't really sound that great on playback. Resulting in David! Can you fix it in the mix? No! Let me pull out a real piece of equipment - now let's try another take.

Please refer to review below.

Please refer to review below.

Please refer to review below.

Please refer to review below.

Looks like a 1999. Got to test this out on a recording project. As a pro producer and mixing engineer, I get to try out a lot of equipment.
Because I work on high end Neve and SSL consoles, I am picky about sound. This amp is basically another cheaply made overpriced Marshall product. Inferior plastic & pots that won't last, and a PC board that will eventually fry because of the hot tubes (valves). Shoddy cabinet with cheap plastic corners. Another amp based on the legendary Vox AC 30, using the EL 84 and dual triodes of high mu, 12AX7 , with the exception that you can switch channels. After close miking this amp with an SM 57 slighly off axis and using an AKG 414 distant mic, which running it through a Neve preamp, I finally dragged out an old beaten up Alamo amp with a 12" speaker and tracked a song with a rocked out chorus. The Alamo sounded far better than the Marshall. Sorry I don't hear anything from the Marshall that I haven't heard before. If it was not so cheaply mass produced it might possibly last, but I seriously doubt it. No point-to-point wiring on this amp. Sorry, plastic components don't get me excited!

Didn't hear anything soundwise that a number of vintage amps can't do better, including some new el cheapos with EL 84 tubes.

Seriously doubt this amp will last. This extends to other brand names as well. PC boards and tubes do NOT MIX.

Once corresponded with the UK headquarters about a valvestate. Not impressed. Neither will you be when things go wrong!

It is an okay sounding amp, but nothing spectacular. Since the one I used was at the studio, I certainly would not buy it. Too expensive and materials are inferior. Plug into a real vintage Super Lead Plexi and you'll hear the difference. NEW MARSHALL'S SUCK!!!!

This amp has basic features, it's user friendly and really easy to dial in fantastic sounds (more on that later) It is versitile, and consistant at the same time. Meaning it can travel the spectrum but still remains to hold it's own great tone no matter if clean or over-drivin. It has 2.5 channels. 1.Clean 2.O/D 3.O/D + 20db of gain.
I use this amp to jam with my band and to play small clubs.
It's all tube (except for the rectifier which in my opinion is a plus)
It's got everything you need if you tend to come from the Simple is better" school. Which I do.

I use a Strat with custom Dimarzio pickups. Humbucker at the bridge.
I play blues, and fluid-sounding music with distorted tones. The amp gets a little noise when cranked, but no more than any other tube amp.
The sound that comes from my JCM 2000 DSL is second to none, and I mean that. I've played for almost 20 years, and have owned may tube amps. This sound is very satisfying, particularly due to the fact that Marshall has decided to use american size tubes in this amp. The same as mesa boogies. I don't know why this makes such a difference, but it does. The amp (when cranked) get the most thick and bluesy sound I've ever heard. It's very responsive to the guitars tone and volume controls. The clean channel has enough clean headroom to stay clean cranked, but the gain must stay about at half. The amp can go anywhere from a Greatful dead type clean to a Stevie ray, all the way to Van Halen land. (early Van halen land) this amp is raw and loooooves to be pushed. Don't put the gain up past half way (to retain clarity). Instead I push the amps master and preamp volume. A great setting ison the bridge humbucker, roll the tone doum and crank the O/D2 with the volume maxed---that'll give you a great Warren Haynes type of distortion. This amp creates the type of sound you want to eat cause there that fat, and delicious. It is a ral accomplishment on Marshall's part. I rarely give ten's, but my hat is off to the JCM 2000 DSL 401!

I've had it for 5 months, and she's hasn't given me any problems yet

In my opinion, this amp takes the cake. Some would not like the fact that it doesn't have every feature and you can't get certain sounds out of it, but I'd rather have an amp with a tone of it's own, and a sound that is almost legendary. I would not be suprised if these amps don't become saught after collectables and are viewed in the windows of BOutiques in ten years. You got to here it!

To compiment what " Matt The Squid " wrote on 4/28/00. I agree with most stuff he had to share with us. I took the orginal speaker out of mine and replaced it with a Celestion vintage 30. It took that amp to another level, the clean channel is incredibly dynamic and much bigger and smoother sounding. The drive channel just became better as well. The speaker seems to handle everything that the amp has to offer much nicer than the stock one. I just wanted to share this with people for what ever it was worth.

While amp shopping I considered everything from little two knob Fenders to the massive and confusing Johnson Millenium. After playing all these, the Marshall was the perfect middle ground, with enough controls to shape your sound without getting overwhelemed. The two and a half channels controlled by the footswitch give almost any sound you could desire. Two speaker outputs with switchable ohms let you add external cabs for more punch. The feature that impressed me most of all though is the Speaker emulated DI output that sounds great for direct recording and can be used instead of a mic live which really simplifies your setup and ,more importantly, sounds great. Of course the amp is all tube, like any real Marshall should be.

This amp is extremely versatile. The two channels and gain boost cover every possible sound you could desire, except for surf twang or country. With an Epiphone Sheraton the clean channel is very warm and jazzy on the lower gain settings and down right evil with the clean gain cranked. With full gain the clean channel has less definition than lo gain distortion, but is much heavier with huevos to spare. With a Strat the clean channel is bright and spanky, gritty at higher gain levels. The distortion on this amp is amazing. When you get your hands on this amp, in your house or the local music store, play around with the two overdrives for a plethora of great sounds, far too many to describe here. A little hint:just because it's a Marshall doesn't meas it has to be at full gain all the time. Try turning the gain down and the master all the way up for extreme crunch. Or if you have a warehouse to play in, just turn everything all the way up. This amp not only sounds awesome but even at outrageously high volume levels is so well balanced you can stand five feet in front of it without blowing out your eardrums (Warning, try this only in a huge room like a warehouse or airplane hanger. Even though this amp is only forty watts it is loud! I assume no reponsibility if you try this in your bedroom and blow your brains out your ears.) Distortion-wise, there are no bad sounds in this amp. If you find one, email me. Another great feature of this amp is the DI output that sounds great. Plug straight in to your four track to record silently or in to the PA and never worry about microphones again. This amp works great in any environment and covers every guitar tone except for the really shimmery Fender stuff. But hey man, that's why you got a Marshall!!!

I've been playing it for a few months and haven't had any of the trouble other Marshall users have complained about so I'm happy. We'll see how it stands up so no rating for now

Haven't had to deal with anything yet but the warranty is five years so once again no opinion for now.

This amp rules. It has great tone, wide versatility, and works as a practical working amp. It looks cool too! I'm completely satisfied.