Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 50

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Couldn't ask for more!

Amazing

Great!

Got everything!

I am so happy with it!

Two channels. Reverb. Loop. Tubes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amp was purchased used. I am the third owner.

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

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

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

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

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

none

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I absolutely love this amp.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All the essentials

2 Channels

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

FX Loop

What more would I ask for?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To which I reply 'no thanks'

I would like to replace this amp if stolen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2006 model I picked up used,you know the features or check out marshall site for them.

I bought this after owning many amps, and many marshalls...sold my jvm410 to pick this up.This has the authentic marshall growl,thats why I bought it and thats what I was looking for.I retubed it with Rubys el34bstr and svetlana 12ax7's.Way better than the stock tubes more low end,and a tighter response.The clean is great,the clean with the drive has plexi written allover it,hit it with a wah and it just shines.I like the distortion channels my setting is Lead one,tone shift out,deep in,Bass 9/mid 4 /treb 8 /pres 8/gain 7.

I rate this on what I wanted and got it.Jvm didnt cut it.

everything breaks sooner or later

Real marshall tone...Marshall attitude and growl all the way.

> Made in 1997, In England. I've had it since it was new.
> All tube amp
> Mine has the nicer Drake transformers. From what I understand, the newer ones have cheaper trannys (but this can be fixed with good aftermarket transformers by Mercury Magnetics or Heyboer)
> Footswitchable Reverb and Channels
> The 2 channels and modes give me all the flexibility I need.
> I've used this amp for 99% of my shows since I've had it. Plenty loud


A 3rd footwsitch jack for selecting the green channel's mode and "deep" mode and this would be perfect. Do I really need it? Nah...
Also missing is a real choke instead of just a resistor. At 25.00 retail, I don't understand why Marshall doesn't put these in. This is a mod that I'll be doing real soon.

Lately, I've been playing this amp with a '74 Gibson LP Custom, a Fender Strat Ultra with the SCN single coils and a jem or two. I use the amp through an Marshall 4x12 with G12T-75s (made in England) or Celestion Centurys.

The one thing I'll say about Marshalls - Make sure they are biased properly. This is crucial. I'm still on the original Svetlana EL-34 tubes (Biased at 70%) which still sound strong. The preamp tubes were replaced with JJs because I'm not a big fan of the stock chinese 12AX7s Marshall uses. Also, the master volume has to be set around the 4 mark for it to really start to sound like a Marshall. Below that value, the feel of the amp goes away. This is loud though. For practicing, I don't mind playing with the master at "1" but if you're going to evaluate the amp, don't do it with the master set to somethig like "2" or "3". A THD hotplate on -4/-8 db attenuation is a nice add-on for this amp so that you can crank it and keep the volume down.

I play 80's metal, classic rock, hard rock, rock/blues. This means Metallica, Maiden, Ozzy, Clapton, Van Halen, Top 40 rock (for the working cover band), Deep Purple, AC/DC, Hendrix, Balck Sabbath... you get the idea.

For all of the styles above, this is the only amp that can cover it all and do a great job at it. Does it sound like a JCM 800 or a plexi? Well.. no, not really, but it has that grind and crunch that gives it the trademark Marshall sound. I love my '82 jcm 800 but its a 1 trick
pony and it hard to play different styles with it. This is where the DSL absolutely shines.

Clean Sounds - Love it. This is the Green channel in mode 1. I set it up just so it on the edge of clipping. Nice jangly clean with a bit of dirt on top. That's the way I like it. You have to know how to tweak the amp's settings for it to sound good. This mode is perfect for stuff like Chili Pepper's Under The Bridge. Just very clear and full.

Crunch Sounds - Green channel in mode 2. You can get nice crunchy sounds at low levels. This is the big AC/DC style crunch sound with the gain dimed and the master past the 4 mark. I can do a lot of the Hendrix style stuff on this channel too (like say, Purple Haze). With a TS-9 in front, the classic rock lead sounds are pretty much where I want them. I'll also use this mode with an SD-1 for stuff like Randy Rhoads or Van Halen. This mode sounds big. With a TS-9, I get an awesome Cream era Clapton sound. My Smoke on the water sound is pretty convincing too (from what fellow guitarists have told me)

Distortion - Lead, Mode 1. This is what I use for playing stuff like Maiden or a lot of the heavier stuff that plays on the radio these days. I'll use this with an overdrive in front for extra kick for solos and real heavy parts like say Enter Sandman (mid scoop switch engaged) or No More Tears (no mid scoop).

Lead mode 2 - I never use it. I just find it too much and it lacks clarity and note definition.

I often get complimented on my sound by the sound engineers at shows. in the 10+ years I've had this amp, I have never grown tired of its sounds. It just suits me really well. I still play my '82 JCM 800 when I can though. The DSL is a different beast and I really appreciate it for what it is.

Other amps have come and gone (Peavey 5150, '64 Fender Bassman, '01 JCM 2000 DSL 100w, '98 JCM 2000 TSL 100w, Marshall JMP-1, Line 6 rack POD, Fender hot rod Deluxe, vintage Marshall 1959, Peavey Classic 50 and others I'm forgetting right now) but this one, along with the JCM 800 are the ones that I've kept after all these years.

I'm a picky guy in terms of tone and I don't give perfect scores easily but this amp deserves it. I don't understand why some people knock these DSLs. I had one guy with a DSL 100w that kept on complaining how bad his DSL was. I had to agree - it was weak sounding, dull and lifeless. I checked the bias, it was way cold. 10ma too cold. set it to the proper value and voila! tone galore. LIke I said at the top of

I've gigged this amp for 11 years. Its still going strong and I have not had a single issue with it... not even a fuse. I take care of it though. I don't bang it around, always set the impedance switch properly etc.
Built to last. The insides do look a little complex compared to the older Marshalls though.

Never really had to deal with the company for the DSL. They're pretty responsive via email when I did have questions.

If it were stolen or lost - I'd try to find a replacement ASAP, hopefully one that has the Drake transformers.

The amp is two channel, with 4 modes. Would be nice to have independent EQ but the two channels are shaped well enough with one.

As a side note. this amp was given to me by Jim Marshall himself. i won it during a competition as i had always wanted this amp but was a poor uni student with no $$$.

The dsl is not necessarily the amp for you if you are a one pickup player who has no idea how to use his hands to control an amp. something like a JVM is better because you have 4 channels opposed to 2.

This amp is a great middle ground for people who like an amp which can change channels but WILL respond well to changing guitar parameters such as volume etc. Additionally this guitar responds incredibly well to your hands. Hit the strings hard and it will respond, hit strings softer and it respond; similar to vintage marshalls.

Not to mention this amp will play chords well during gain settings with all strings being audible. eg ACDC.

Not that i am trying to pick on people, but I have had this amp for many years and people who say it has a bad clean sound obviously have not spent enough time with it. On a les paul of strat i can get a great clean sound.

Quick lesson: Clean channel with crunch button in. Put your volume to 8-10 (gain at 0) and use the gain as the volume: it has a preamp with a tonne of clean headroom which WONT break up (even with humbuckers) and a real fender amp dynamic snap (without being brittle).

I play mine through an american strat and a VOS 59 les paul RI and it works really well with both. This is an amp which will let a guitar breath and show the tone of the guitar too, which i think is very important. So if you have a guitar which is a s close as it comes to a turd, guess what your going to hear coming through.

One last thing with this amp is that this amp sounds great cranked and still very nice at bedroom level (however more trannyish as the valves dont play as big of a role), so you dont need to have a second amp for practicing/gigging.

I call mine "the mule" jam this thing at volume 4 through two quads 3 times per week since 05 and never had an issue.

No idea

i would say this amp is definitely a 9. if you are specifically looking of vintage marshall tone such as ACDC, this wont necessary give it to you perfectly as it has a modern twist on the tone, however it is an incredibly versatile am which doesnt try to fool you with more knobs that a space ship. it is an amp which loves to be controlled and shaped by a good guitar with a good pair of hands behind it.

I love the 50w model, it has more tone than the 100 (and i am not just saying that because i own the 50w model) because the valves get to work hard. I also own 100w marshalls and i will never get 100w heads again, just cost more and are more expensive to change the tubes.....pointless.

I just want to comment that it has a lot of features I was looking for without getting too crazy.

When I got it home and plugged it in I was using my strat and was a little let down that I wasn't knock out by it. It was a bit edgey and a bit thin. I had bought some replacement tubes for it before hand thinking i might need them. I took off the rear panel and measured the bias and it was amazingly low. The one side was set at 34mv and the other side was 8mv. I replaced the tubes and reset the bias to roughly 39mv on both sides and then played my strat through it and it was amazingly better. It doesn't end there, when I played my Les Paul it was instant heaven. The Marshall loves humbucker type pickups and pedals are amazing through it. I have about 7 riggs and the dsl 50 is my favorite at this time.Riggs:Rivera KR55, Holland Bassman, Stiletto MB, Fender Supersonic, Vox AC30CC and a few others.

I haven't gigged with it yet.

This amp is a lot cheaper then most boutique amps out there that cost 2-3 times as much and they're trying to sound like this amp. My opinion is that if you're having trouble with it adjust the bias and change the tubes. These larger companies save a lot of money by cutting the cost of these cheaper tubes.

Made in 2005 and a "as new" store demo unit, it was released from demo service just prior to being discontinued in the USA, as the Vintage Modern and JVM series seem to have replaced it recently. The amp is actually fairly versatile for a two channel amplifier, with channel switching, reverb, effects loop. It comes with a footswitch for channel switching, but it is an option for the second footswitch to turn the reverb on and off. We tend to like simple amps and we also own a couple of Marshall AVTs 50 H and 50HX which are 50 watts as well. This DSL 50 is an all tube 2-EL34 & 4-12ax7 amp where the AVTs have a single 12ax7 preamp tube and are a solid state hybrid. The AVTs are now discontinued in the USA as well. 50 watts is plenty of power for us and 100 watts is just out of the question. The DSL sits atop a 1960BV with 4 Vintage 30s. It does a nice job in a full auditorium without even being turned all the way up and at home at very low volumes. The AVT's are also excellent amplifiers for the home, but the DSL has more of what you need on the big stage. Now discontinued, the JCM 2000 DSL 50 is a very good bargain right now for the prudent shopper. We really like this amp, but don't like giving out 10s either.

In this price range it is a very good deal right now. We use this amp with both single coils and humbucker equipt guitars. Our single coils are Fender Custom 69s, SCN, and American Standard Telecaster, and the Humbuckers are a mix of Tony Iommi and Angus Young Gibsons. Rock, Blues and Metal style, but nothing too crazy and it fits well. Our pedals are a normal grouping, phaser, chorus, Q, distortion, overdrive and they are a bunch of EHs some with 2- 12 ax7s and a Boss Super Shifter. We have a handwired PTP Dr. Z 18 watt Maz Jr. combo too, together with the DSL and the AVTs it covers just about everything we need right now. Marshall tube amps - like Harley Davidson motorcycles are not for everyone. We just happen to love them, but you meet a lot of people who don't appreciate the tone, so you really have to believe in what you are standing for. Many people can't believe that a solid state amp like the AVTs sound great, but they do, just put the right pedals in front of them. The DSL Clean channel is passable, but it is not what it is all about, as it functions more as an older sounding Marshall Plexi type tone from the past and called Classic Gain. It sounds really good, just not like Fendery clean, or boutique. The second channel has rocking heavy distortions called Ultra Gain that they didn't have in the old days and you will not find in the really old models, but more like an 80s model, of course the amps were all hand wired back then and these new ones are circuit board models and a lot like computers. We recently tried the Vintage modern combo (it's a single channel amp) and the 4 channel JVM and preferred the JVM, but it is all personal preference. You really should try it out to see if you like it, before you buy anything. Go to all the guitar stores nearby and sit there trying amps with your own guitars. Unless you plan on playing huge venues 50 watts is really plenty and probably in some sense, overkill as you would be surprized what you can do nowadays with handwired in lower wattages and microphoned with a PA.

Marshall is dependable, no backup, but we have it checked out before a big show, (especially since it was a demo unit). The amp sits very still, with covers on the speaker cab and head until needed. The tubes were replaced and biased immediately with real Svetlana EL34 Winged C. The preamp tubes were replaced as well, with 12ax7EH in 1 & 2 and 12ax7EI in 3 & 4 (Low risk of Microphonics). The service work cost an extra $200 including the tubes, bringing the total cost just over a grand. We record off of this DSL/4x12 cab as well. This amp rips - see it on You Tube!

The company is large and overseas, but have reps in the USA and plenty of service centers and a pretty nice world wide web site. Marshall is one of the largest amp manufacturers, so there is plenty of avenues for support, mods, etc. You can email them with questions and they respond. Service is conducted through one of their service centers locally and I only had to drive a half hour away to get to one.

We don't anticipate replacing it, and probably couldn't easily replace it either, in it's great condition. We may actually replace one of the AVTs soon as the 18 watt Dr. Z combo has moved into it's territory (it has a different, but awesome sound though). Certain Marshall amps have a cool sound that we really love and the DSL is not going anywhere anytime soon! We also like the castors on the cab for moving it around easily. The cab is just a little large and heavy, but it just fits in the car's backseat.

Purchased in 2006. If you are reading this you already know the main features of this amp. Primarily, it is two-channel simplicity with gain variations on each. EQ section is straight ahead with a mid "scoop" button and a bass boost button (my favorite). No degree in engineering required as this is very straight ahead. The new JVM is great, but too many combinations of gain stages, who needs all that?. Simply, this is an all-around performers amplifier that covers all the bases from clean to distortion, great for live and studio and easy to operate; and that's what it's all about.

The 50 watts are just right, great at low volumes too! My set up is simple, Marshall 1960A Cabinet guitar into pedal board with gain pedals going into the input and modulation pedals going through the loop. Guitars: Les Paul, Gibson Spirit II XPL, Music Man Axis. Pedals: EB Volume/Dunlop Cry Baby/Modified Tube Screamer/Fulltone OCD out to input. Modulation: Vis Sound H20/EH chorus/EH small stone phaser (that's it). The clean channel is superb, really it's crystal clear and full of warmth and tone in all setting ranges. I go for low setting and then add pedals to it. The anolog man modified Tube screamer in front of the clean is perfect to give it that added crunch and the OCD gives you bedroom level thump at low volumes. So it gives me all the variety I need of a clean/crunch channel, responds well with all pedals. The Overdrive channel I use all on it's own on the low settings for that "Classic Rock" heaven. Push in the gain button and you are in all the Metal you can handle. No pedals required, just pure Marshall, full of warmth, thump and clarity...YOU come through the amp! Note: The OCD through the clean really gives you the feel and vibe of the new Vintage Modern, it's really worth looking into! Bottom line, Marshall makes everything you add to it sound better.

Marshall, Made in England, used the world over...enough said.

I have never had to call Marshall for any maintenance issues, but my contacts with distributors in the US have been excellent. They stand behind their product.

I've played and recorded for almost 30 years. This 50 watt Marshall just fits. If you want an amplifer that gives you tone, warmth and acts as an extension of what you are "feeling" as a player. This is the amp. The 100 Watt models I find a bit too much, this is just right! As far as pedal set up and the like, throw away the digital modeling units and keep it simple. A guitar, cable and this amplifier are all you need; add pedals to "flavor" it, not hide it. This half stack is easier to move than any lunky 212 Combo out there (I've owned them all too). Trust me I'm 5 ft nothing/100lbs soaking wet and can move this baby! Just get it, your guitar will thank you! At 50 watts, your house will still be left standing...almost. Bottom line...a true tone machine for all styles...Way to Go Marshall

Everyone knows the features. Less is better!!

I Use several Fender Masterbuilt Clapton Strats with Lace Gold Sensors with occasional Crybaby Wah and Boss Chorus Pedals and additioanlly, but rarely, a Vintage Tube Screamer 808. I also use a Framptone amp splitter to A/B the Marshall DSL played through a Marshall Vintage Slanted Cab w/ 25 watt Greenback Celestions and a 65 Fender Blackface Super Reverb 4x10. Style of music is Classic Rock and Blues Style.

I have found my "holy Grail" of amps in the DSL. The sounds I can get from this amp with my setup and unique guitars are amazing. I got rid of many amps once I got the DSL, including a TSL 100 watt head which to my ears, sound sterile compared to the DSL. Don't get me wrong, the TSL is more versatile and has features the DSL doesnt have (Three seperate footswitchable channels, emulated line out, VPR making it a 25 watter, seperate EQ for all three channels, etc....) but comparing the two, the DSL's tone was more to "MY" liking.

Because it's shared, The EQ is fixed as follows: Presence 5, Treble at 8, Bass at 5, Middle at 6 and Clean channel reverb at 6 with the Lead channel reverb on 5.

When I'm not using my Fender for cleans, I use the DSL's crunch channel as my clean channel w/ volume at 4 and gain between 5 & 6 and I can get a really nice clean with just a bit of bite/blues character. With my Clapton midboost at 2, and volume at between 4 and 5 and tone on 10, its clean and creamy in a bluesy way. Roll up the midboost circuit on the Clapton Strat between 6 & 7, Boom!!!! You have a solid crunch that can go from a solid blues crunch to more of a ballsy crunch by putting the guitar volume up between 7 and 10 depending on how hard you dig in with your picking hand.

For Leads, it's all about the Ultra lead channel. For my style of playing (again classic rock/ Blues)I keep the volume between 4 and 5 with the gain on 6 and the guitar volume between 7 and 10 with the guitars midboost on 10 and I get that Clapton/ Buddy Guy like Lead tone. The Ultra lead is just so much better than the classic lead.....more sustain, harmoincs, and just inspirational.

Never had a problem

n/a

This amp was made in 2007. It's very versatile considering that it has a shared eq with the clean and distortion channels. I play alternative rock but I switch between the clean and distortion frequently. The DSL sounds great with both channels. One thing I really like is with the shared eq on both channels sound very balanced. Marshall did a fantastic job calibrating it. Very simplistic...Presence, Treble, Mid, Bass, gain and boost. That's almost as simple as it gets along with reverb. The DSL has your standard effects loop, speaker output and line out. With 50 blistering loud watts this amp can handle any gig! It's equipped with 2 x EL34's from Winged C....Love em! I've tried the JJEL34L's they do sound a bit deeper and robust but the Winged C has better breakup for my taste and it sounds a bit more clear. I've replaced the stock 12ax7a's with NOS Mullard, EI Elite, JAN Philips, Telefunken in V1-V4 in the order.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Classic and ESP EC-1000 both with SD JB/59 pick ups for my style of music. Those pickups sound amazing! I know there are others out there like WCR, Fralin, Tom Holmes and Bare Knuckle that are better but for sheer value and tone The JB sounds great! It does clean and distortion extremely well. I don't have any plans forking out 150-200 bucks per pickup. Not worth IMO if you have alot of dough in hand to spend. The DSL suits my style perfectly. It's a classic amp or will be and it has just great Marshall JCM 800-1959SL tones with more gain! To be honest I have my gain barely on 4 and it's more than enough. This amp is not noisy IMO unless you crank the gain to the max. I have my eq set to presence 7-8, treble 5-6, Mids 10, Bass 5-6 with red channel boosted and gain on 4. I use the green for sparkling cleans only. The Clean sounds are very impressive for a Marshall. It's warm with great clarity. I love it. This amp has solid state diodes.....but I don't care...all it matters to me is the sound! That's the bottom line and the DSL delivers the goods! The sounds are great either low or high volumes the cleans stay clean and focus unless you turn up the gain and the distortion is killer!! You can get metal mayhem to alternative hard rock. It's a Marshall! You know what you're going to get! Great tone! You know what they say...Can't go wrong with a Marshall!

Not sure. It's brand new like and only time will tell. So far it's been very reliable firing it up and rocking out with it!

Never dealt with them.

I got this amp new like in a box with the footswitch and manual. This is by far one of the best amps out there for your dollar..other than a Laney. Laney amps are better value for you buck...both amps are great, I have both the VH100R and DSL and I'm very happy with either one. You'll find better values on the DSL because there are so many of them out there. I've been playing for 12 years and have owned quite a bit of gear over the years like Orange RV50, Rivera K55, Laney AOR 50II, LH50R, and TT50H, Mesa BoogieStiletto and Ace, Marshall 6100 (BLue), Engl Thunder 50, Carvin MTS. There are others I haven't mention or forgot too. I have to say that out of all of them listed here. The DSL is my favorite. It just rocks! And it's so fun to play!

I don't exactly know when this amp was made, but it is sweet. I use this amp for playing mostly original hard rock, modern type of stuff with a good amount of gain. So it suits it very well. it has 2 channels, footswitchable of course, an effects loop and it has multiple switches for changing your tonal charecteristics such as a deep switch and a tone shift to name a couple. I don't think I can really find anything that I would like to change about this amp, or I wish it had. Maybe it could use a lead boost, but then it would be a TSL would'nt it, and thats what I probably would have bought. It is 50 watts, all tube, and it has plenty of power for any venue. I can't really complain about this head, I mean I did trade a 1972 Fender Bassman head for it with an ass load of other stuff. One thing though, the tubes in it suck. They produce a seriusly cold sound and I think alot of these companies should seriously invest in running JJ tubes in there amps. I did it, and it seriously warmed up my overall tone and beefed up the drive in this amp. JJ's are where its at, I run them in every amp I own and so do the other members in the band I play in. So fot the shite tubes I will take away 2 points.

Well, if I still had the original tubes in it, I would probably give it a 7 or an 8. Because they were shrill and cold, but were'nt totally unbearable. I mean the amp still sounded awesome, just not as good as it does with the JJ's that are in it. I play mainly my Gibson Les Paul Studios through it and my Gibson Les Paul Double Cut Faded with P90's. It takes well to the Humbuckers and P90's very well. It can give me a very good modern metal sound and at the same time (on the classic gain channel) it can give you the very same sound found in a ton of classic rock albums such as Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix. I use the classic gain channel as my clean channel, it gives me a little bit of dirt so I don't sound too clean. Which in my opinion works well for our style of music. The lead channel is excellent, I don't know why people stick to these "boutique" amps like Mesa, Bogner and other companies for there gain when you can get an excellent and very versatile lead channel from the Marshall JCM2000 amps at about $1000 less. I mean this lead channel has everything any kind of rock guitar player could ever want. It can go from light, smooth and creamy to full on balls to the wall saturation for that Metallica, Soulfly or any other type of high gain metal sound. It can do alot, but I would'nt perscribe it for anyone that plays country (not to sound like an idiot) or Jazz. But pretty much any other style it can do very well, if not perfectly. I run mine through a 4x12 Crate cab that I loaded with Celestion G12T-75's. It is now essentially a Marshall 1960A cab at half the cost. I will give it a 9, because the tubes made it less of a contender but the JJ really made it that much better. Try it.

Hey, Marshalls have never failed me before. They have never failed anyone I know, and they are great pieces of gear that anyone who owns them can swear by. Strong and powerful, and they have always been dependable for me, all the Marshalls I have owned including this one.

I have contacted them previously about my old JCM800 1x12 combo, and they were fast and accurate with the answers to the questions I had asked them.

So, all in all I am extremelly pleased with this amp. I have a great modern rock tone now. People constantly compliment the tone I get from my rig and, you know I have an opinion that your tone is 25% speakers, 25% guitar, 25% tubes and 25% amplifier. If the quality and tone of these 4 work well together, and are of the type and design that you seek, then you will acheive probably the exact tone you want. With all that crap said, I love this amp in conjunction with everything that I use with it. I have an awesome rock tone, and I don't think this amp will ever leave me. If it were lost or stolen I would get another, I have insurance on it so I would be able to get another. I am happy, and you probably will be to. Just try the amp with some JJ tubes, you will love it that much more.

Check out the other reviews for the specs...
2 channels, 3 band eq with presence control. Foot-switch for channels, and fx loop (if you need that) and everything else is standard Marshall.

Nothing I wish it had, It has enough power for practice. I keep it at around 6 for the band, and 2 or 3 for my apartment. I haven't played live yet but when I do I play on cranking this. I've noticed that it sounds better at higher volumes.

I'm giving it a 10 because It has everything I need and Marshall kept it simple. I'm coming from a Fender amp so the "presence" control is a bit foreign to me. With this amp its all about dialing in the eq.

First off, I don't like the clean. I had a fender hot rod deville before this amp and if I wanted to play clean I would switch back. I can hear the difference on recordings between a marshall clean and others now. The marshall has a clean sound of its own and is almost like a very light overdrive. I use it as such and just set the gain higher. With a footswitch it's now a shift between all an out distortion and overdrive.

Now, about the distortion. At first I wasn't to into it. I bought the amp because I was switching genres and I'm in college. Basically I wanted to play in a rock band and went out and bought my marshall. After tweaking the eq the distortion improved and I like it alot but it's not a very modern amp. If you're into ACDC and classic rock this is your sound, if you want to play 90s I might think about a mesa head instead. I still really like the distortion thought, I won't be changing anything soon, and I got this amp used at such a bargin ($1000 even with cab... but okay it was really beat up). I'm looking forward to changing the tubes, I think this will help out the clean.

Oh, I play an SG. I've ran a Strat through this amp alot. I think the muddy gibson sound is better suited for marshalls, though the Strat wasn't bad. I play 90s alternative and grunge.

Solid so far... it's not very noisy and seems easy to keep up. I'll swap the tubes soon to, hopefully, improve the sound. I think the owner never swapped out the originals so I'm expecting this to help out a bit.

I like how simple the amp looks, It's very dependable.

N/A

I got it for a great price. I wanted the look and sound of Marshall and knew I could get a good sound out of it. I think for more modern stuff I would have shopped around more, but my sound is changing all the time and I'm relatively new to guitar (3 years).

I had the fender amp before. I have to give it up to fender for the clean tone, but this Marshall has no pedal awesome distortion. I'm hoping with new tubes the sound will improve, but its great now after I've taken time to get to know the amp.

I chose it because of the deal I got and the name. No regrets, nothing I wish it had. The 50 watts is enough, probably makes it sound better because I can crank the amp more than I would a 100 watt head. I'm sure the higher end models like a jcm 800 would sound better, but for the price I was going for I'm more than satisfied. I'm no rock star and I don't hear an extra thousand dollars worth of tone when I listen to plexi heads. I guest when I hit it big I'll upgrade...

Two channels, each one has a switch for different gain structures, shared EQ, reverb for each channel. Very straight forward amp.

The stock tubes didn't sound too great IMO so I swapped them out for JJ's and the amp sounded a bit clearer. The clean channel is pretty good for a Marshall, plug in a strat and Hendrix songs sound damn good. The lead channel is AC/DC heaven, but perfect for any kind of classic rock really. I mostly play with Les Paul and you really can't go wrong with this combination. Play along with one of Slash's solos and you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference in tone. The reason why I gave this an 8 is because it isn't as versatile as I would like it to be. It has already been mentioned here but I'll say it once again, you either love that Marshall sound or you don't. If you do love the Marshall sound, you will love this amp. I personally prefer a darker and more modern voicing and something with much more depth. No matter how much I tweaked the DSL I couldn't get the sound that I was looking for. Don't let this steer you away though. This amp has great tone and die hard Marshall fans will definitely love it.

Lots of people say Marshall amps aren't reliable but I've had this amp for quite a while now and haven't had any major problems. The clean/crunch switch on the clean channel does make a weird noise when you press it, but it goes away after a second or two and never affects the tone.

Never had to deal with customer support!

If it was stolen I would buy something else but that's just because I would want to try something different instead of spending all that money on something I've already owned. This is a great amp and for the money it is a really good deal. 50 watts is more than enough for most people so if you don't the extra power of the DSL100 save some money and get this one.

2007 Marshall DSL 50 Head. All the features have been reviewed so lets move on. It fits the bill. Blues based Rock heaven.

After owning a hand-wired SLP, a stock re-issue SLP, the JCM 800, the JCM 900, the DSL 100, a Fender Vibro King, Fender Bassman, Twin, and Super Reverb, and Music Man HD 130 (a very nice amp if you can find one), and a couple of "Botiques, Ive settled on this one. Fact is, having 100 watts is no big deal, and infact, sometimes a liability. Lets face it...today, NO-ONE goes into a club and cranks a 100 watt'er cause theres just no need. Mic'ing has become the standard practice. Sure, you can use a power brake, (if your akin to replacing tubes often...NOT! Marshalls sound their best cranked, and with the 50, you can still be too loud, but the TONE is there at lower volumes as well. While the 50 watt Plexi sounded great, I feel this one is a hell of a lot more versitle.

What can you say? They're not hand-wired like years gone by, but keep in mind, (and this is directed at all you other tone snobs, myself included), I've had or seen plenty of them screw up too!
If you treat the thing with reasonable care I dont see a problem.

Had a letter answered by JIM MARSHALL himself! Nuff Said.

30+ years playing...

To those who sit in the house: You'll love it
To those who are trying to look cool: cant go wrong
To those who play Death Metal: Dont even think about it
and finally, to those who actually gig regularly: NO WORRIES!

Fairly basic amp, two channels with two modes each and a shared EQ. In my opinion, the simpler the amp the better unless you really like having lots of knobs to tweak your tone, this one strikes a good balance between versatility and simplicity.

First off I play through a Les Paul most of the time, occasionally with my strat but they both sound really good through this amp. I almost never play on the clean channel so it wouldn't be fair for me to rate it, but the few times that I have it sounded fine. I didn't buy this amp for the clean channel though, I bought it for that famous Marshall distortion. When I first got it I wasn't that impressed, but as soon as I swapped out the tubes the amp really came to life. I replaced the preamp tubes with JJ ECC83's and the power tubes with JJ E34L's and the amp has much more clarity now. Lead 1 on the Ultra Gain channel will get you an AC/DC crunch perfect for classic rock. Lead 2 is where I spend 99% of my time though. While I wouldn't consider it to be extremely versatile, I can't rave enough about the distortion. It's great for almost any type of rock. With the deep switch in I can get a really thick beefy sound that's great for rhythm and heavy riffs. Don't get me wrong, it's not going to be as heavy as an amp with 6L6's (like my old Mesa Boogie) but it is still quite satisfying. Too much bass is overkill and the sound will just get muddy. I always leave the tone shift out though, when it's pushed in it just completely sucks out all the mids and in my opinion a guitar amp relies on the mids to get a great sound. One of my biggest fears before buying this amp was that it would be really thin sounding because I played a few TSL's and even some Valvestates and I couldn't get a heavy sound out of them. I found the DSL's to be warmer sounding and have that heavy crunch I was looking for. For lead work and solos I turn off the deep switch and turn up the gain pretty high, think Slash and you'll know where I'm going with this. I give it a 9 for overall sound quality because its best characteristic is also one of its few downfalls - it will only sound like a Marshall. If that's the sound you have in your head then you will love this amp, but if you know you want something else or are unsure you should really test it out and see if you like it. Spend plenty of time adjusting the EQ because too much treble and this amp will sound like a buzzsaw, too much bass and it will sound like a farting goose. The mid is the most important aspect of this amp.

I have heard that Marshalls aren't the most reliable amps around but mine has been mostly trouble free, mostly . . . I have had the amp for a year and half now and the only issue is that when I push the Clean/Crunch button on the clean channel it sometimes makes a weird noise and the amp cuts in and out. It's odd. Like I said before though, I rarely use this channel so it's basically a non-issue for me.

I haven been playing guitar for 12 years and I have owned Marshall, Peavey, Mesa, and played dozens of other amps. I would have to say this is my favorite out of all of them. I loved the bone crushing distortion of my Mesa Rectifier but this amp has a sweeter, warmer tone that will make you want to play for hours on end.

I got this amp in 2004 to play in a band that played altenative rock. i used a lot of effects but never touched my reverb pedel. The marshall had seperate reverbs for both channel. Since then it has played classic rock, hard rock, country, and jazz. It has more than enough power to play any venue with out micing the speakers. The reason it does not get a 10 is only having one eq for both channels. All in all this is a very versital amp

Its a marshall. You use a distortion pedal when you want another amp to sound like this. Being only 50 watts, you can get the real tube distortion at lower volumes and not sacrafice tone. The reverb is heavenly and the clean channel has just enough bite to make your guitar sound distinct.

I have had this amp for almost 4 years and never had to make any repairs. I have played in smokey bars, outside, and in dusty garages; suprisingly it works and sounds just as good as the day I got it. ( Cross my fingers)

Never delt with customer support. Thats good.

"Behind every great guitar player is a marshall amp". This quote says it all

Whetever you pay for one of these tube/valve amps it will be worth every penny - classic rich Marshall tone with enough features to keep the beast under control! Volume and variety of tone controls. I had a 1987X head that sounded wild, too wild really for home use but this one can be tamed for home use and let off its "lead" when necessary.

Classic Marshall tone is what you get, volume control and a selection of clean and distorted tones, lots to play with. Plenty of bass, very warm sumptous sound overall and brilliant crystal cleans, and crunch option for extra ooomph if needed. Love reverb on an amp and here it is. My Fender Telecaster even sounds thick and strong using hthis amp with two 1936 8 ohm cabs, the amp set on 4 ohms for two, and 8 ohms for one cab. Distorted tones are amazing, no need gfor pedals - best sound in rock! Worth getting tube amps, they are miles beter than solid state.

Nothing is 100% reliable, problems arise occasionally but Marshall have a great reputation for customer service and have the trust of thousands of pro musos.

In UK never any problem getting spares if in the unlikely event of a breakdown, Marshall are really on the ball with their fast friendly customer service, dealers I know agree.

Wouldn't use anything else, I have a collection of Marshalls, not many would touch a Marshall for quality, price/value.

this amp is not a bogner xtc for features but it shure sounds better then one i know i had one a few months back,,..but hey it as reverb COOLLL.......hey who needs features wen you can get tone to die for.

if there were a 20 it would be here, in the past 3 years iv add them all from peavey 5150 all the way to bogner 100b classic in between there was ,vht,soldano,splawn,randall,egnater,mesa,engl,peavey jsx,demeter,line 6,and im missing a whole bunch now for the fist time a buy a marshall WOW JUST FUCKING WOW this is the shit poeple this is it no other amp can sound like a real marshall i never got myself a marshall before because poeple give them a bad rep for some reason,but mine sounds like a wall of tone better then my bogner xtc ever did even better then my soldano and i really liked that one, for a fraction of the price you can get a marshall and sound better then a soldano or a bogner xtc or anything else on the plannet ,.
clean is just that clean its a good clean for a marshall but thats not what im after..

i run mine in modern mode and its crushes everything else for only 1600$ including cab that is a steal i paid 2800$ for my bogner head only and it never add tone like this i paid 3100$ new for my soldano and it didnt have tone like my marshall as marshall is the best amp for rock and roll metal or hard blues and that is that no one els makes em better so dont even bother buy anything else ever...

never broke yet

for the price and tone you get this amp is out of this world..you canot compare this with nothing bying built now if you want and need tone and you or a tone slut like me be done with it and get a marshall..

Features are well documented below......

At the time of this post, the overall rating for sound quality is only 8.6. I believe this is a completely unjustified number.

If you dont completely love the sound of this amp, and rate the sound quality as a 9 or 10 then there is either:
1. Something wrong with the amp
2. Something wrong with your guitar
3. You just dont like the sound of a Marshall amp


Ive had this amp for about 6 months now, and I cant find anything about the sound that I dont like.

Ive read all the posts here on Harmony Central on most of the good amps over the last several months now, because I finally had the money for an all tube head, and I wanted to get the best sounding amp money could buy.

But Ive taken a realistic approach that im not going to buy a Marshall just because every guitar player I have ever admired has used it, but with an objective opinion guided by the hundreds of real guitarists opinions provided here on Harmony Central.

I knew a Marshall was probably going to fit the bill, but listening is believing.

I decided to get a 50 watt amp because I dont gig anymore,
(I'm 45 and have been playing lead guit in bands for years through a solid state 2x12 amp with good OD and effects, because I couldn't afford a real tube amp until now)
and I wanted an all tube amp that would sound good at non-deafening levels in my basement.

I was worried (due to alot of posts here) that any Marshall you get is going to sound like crap unless you crank it until your ears hurt.
Man was I wrong!

This thing sounds sweet at LOW VOLUME! Yea, there will be some mids and highs that wont be there unless you crank it up to a "mix with drums" level, but even at a tolerable practice volume, this thing sounds like heaven!!

Ive been playing through an *unmentioned* solid state 2x12 combo with good OD and other
affects for (most of my) 30 years experience - yea the money thing - and ive usually been able to get a good sound that was close to a Marshall but never the real deal until now.

I am so impressed with the sound of this amp I could die! It HAS the sound that you would expect from a Marshall without hurting your ears getting it.

This baby should do fine for recording, another thing I was worried about until I heard it with my own ears. Loud amps (100 watters and up) arent easy to record with, because of the sheer volume needed to reach a good "break up", but there's no doubt in my mind that some sweet sounding tracks WILL be recorded with this baby at ear and microphone tolerable levels!!

The thing that irks me about the overall sound quality rating here in this forum is
that there have been a few low ratings from people that play country. - If you play country, buy a clean amp like a Peavey or Fender. Dont buy a Marshall and dont cut down Marshall because it doesnt sound like a country amp, stay out of a Marshall forum, and dont skew the sound quality rating of an amp you dont happen to like by giving it a 4 - prick!

Another sound rating of 1 by someone who had a malfunction - Yea be pissed at the amp and give it a 1 for a sound rating you MORON!!!

Heres a 4:
A complete Idiot wrote :
> Great for impressing people with your fancy chops if that's what you want. The tone
> will NOT impress the girls however!!
Where the hell is this dangle berry coming from - He's obviously not a REAL guitar player!!!

And even more low ratings from people that need that "Brutal", "Over the edge", "Death Metal" sound that completely disguises the true sound of the quitar, covers up SLOP and MISTAKES with enough distortion that only a Mesa with $250 worth of tubes every year or so can possibly deliver. If thats your deal, then get a Mesa, but dont cut down Marshall because thats not what Marshall (and most of the true kick ass guitar players you've ever heard who have lived in the last 40 years) are all about.

With that in mind, even a Mesa needs a boost from an OD when playing a lead in a live performandce e

No problems here, but I only play in my basement - no giging

Never had to deal with it.

If you want a 50 watt head sitting on a 4X12 cab that sounds like heaven at lower volumes, look no further

I got my Marshall DSL and a Marshall 212 cab in 2003 and to be honest I was first swung purely by the looks alone! A Marshall rig looks fantastic set up on stage ready to go and it just screams ' I rock!'. Brilliant!
Generally this is a perfectly good working man's amp but there are a couple of little quirks that should be pointed out.

The factory-fitted EL 84s squashed dramatically on the low notes. Hit a big open 'G' chord and you could physically feel the low 'G' compress almost to nothing. This changed for the better after I fitted a set of Watford Diamond Valves (from Watford Valves in the UK). The amp's tone dramaticaly improved, with less compression and a brighter 'bigger' sound. EL 84s aren't my favourite tubes due to their lower headroom but most typical Marshall users enjoy the lower distortion threshold, so it isn't a fault, just a characteristic of the amp.
Tip: Ditch the standard tubes and fit some good-quality aftermarket
types, you'll feel and hear the difference straight away.

There is a slight time-delay when changing channels using the standard footswitch; with an audible 'sag' as the volume momentarily dips between channels. This isn't good but is typical for a modern Marshall amp. They have a reputation for building top-notch gear but more often than not you'll find quirky and occasionally annoying ticks, such as the weird channel-switching delay.
I will take the amp to a tech to see if we can fix this and I'll update this review when we have had a go at sorting it out.

FX Loop: An FX loop is always useful and welcome but this one does suck the living daylights out of the tone. It always seems to sound 100% better without the FX loop engaged. With the FX engaged, the amp sounds slightly 'damped'. The calibration switch on the back doesn't make much difference, either.

I don't use the built-in reverb because I don't like it, but it does work well and having independent reverb controls on both channels is a great feature.

With a Marshall, you expect a very direct 'square' sounding distortion and indeed, the DSL does convey this at first. However, when your ears adjust, this is a very warm-sounding amp with a fairly versatile range of tones.

Hard rock and metal players will probably appreciate that you can dial-in just about every shade of overdrive you will ever need, with a 'mid-shift' switch and 'Deep' switches adding extra weapons to your armoury.
The 'Deep' switch is basically a simple form of resonnance control that toggles between two presets from the power amp to the speakers.
One setting adds extra low-end by allowing the speakers to flap around inside the cabinet more. The second setting is a tighter sound, with - surprise- no low end boost.
The mid-shift scoops out some of the mid-range, exaggerating the low and high-end; the result is instant thrash.
The standard EQ controls are a bit more flexible than many Marshall's I've used before while retaining the typical treble-biased basic Marshall tone.
However, this is much easier to adjust because the tone controls actually work!
I am currently using the amp as an all-rounder, so I use the Classic Gain channel as my 'clean' although it isn't really clean, more of a soft crunch that I control with my guitar's volume pot.
This set up helps add a bit if character; it's a bit like a Fender Deluxe Reverb wound up quite high, clean when you back off a bit and a nice crunchy edge to help beef up rhythm playing without getting too distorted.
The lead channel is set up with a bluesy overdrive but not distortion in the hard-rock sense, although I do use it in the vein occasionally. If you are into working with feedback, this isn't an easy amp to coax feedback from, funnily enough, because this Marshall doesn't have a lot of natural upper mid-range. If you like to work with feedback, try and outboard EQ in the FX loop and a compressor.
Overall, the DSL is a good, honest working man's amp. Not particularly sophisticated or outstanding but it is reliable and changing the tubes improved the sound no end.
It can be a bit noisy, though. I use a US Std Tele and a Strat and the amp does amplifly the single coil 60-cycle hum quite a bit.
Par for the course, though. I might invest in a noise gate but it's not bad enough to make me consider changing the amp, or my guitars!

I play out with this amp most weeks and it seems very reliable. I look after the tubes and make sure that the amp is cooled down before chucking it into the car but generally I have no complaints, apart from the dodgy channel switching and soggy-sounding FX loop that I mentioned earlier.


Contrary to what the kids say, modern Marshall amps are not built like tanks and you need to treat them with respect.
Look after them and they should be ok, this one hasn't let me down and I'm on my second set of tubes in 4 years. It sounds fine.

Personally I've never had to rely on Marshall customer support for this product but I know from past experience that Marshall UK take this aspect of their business very seriously.

I have been playing for almost 30 years, mainly semi-pro but to a high standard. I know gear and know what does and doesn't work for me.
If this amp were lost or stolen I wouldn't lose any sleep over it -apart from wondering how I could afford to replace it - but nevertheless I enjoy using this Marshall and would recommend the DSL to anybody looking for a good honest amp without too many whistles and bells. In fact, the fewer whitsles and bells, the better it sounds. If you are a straight ahead rock/blues player who doesn't use many effects and likes a nice solid old-school tone, then the DSL is a perfect partner for your Les Paul!
It looks beautiful too!!!

Bought 2007 probably built in '06. With the huge number of reviews you probably know the features already: 2 channels/2 modes each/reverb/FX loop etc. This amp has surprised me with it's versatility but it takes some effort to discover all the possibilities. Like other reviewers I wish you could switch modes on the fly but I use this amp mostly in my studio so it's not too much of a problem. Lots of newer amps have more features so it gets a 7. If great TONE is the most important feature for you then consider it a 10

I'm using the stock 1960A cab with g12t-75's and it sounds very good. Classic channel clean can do country with a Strat or a Tele (even a Les Paul with both P/U's on and the volumes balanced carefully) The brightness that some have complained about lets you dial in shimmer and snap with the presence and treble controls. For Humbucker guitars I've been running the presence @ 2.5-4 and the treble about the same.

Crunch mode on the clean channel is fantastic! With gain @ 5-6 you can find just the right amount of "fur" on the notes with your guitars volume control. Then crank it up for a lead type tone with more grit and sustain. No pedals required.

The Ultra channel has tons of gain in both modes with Lead 2 having a bit more UMMPH!
Just as with the Classic channel if you're testing one of these amps out you have to remember to try each mode with the gain NOT just cranked all the way up. You're missing out on a broad patch of tone landscape if you don't.

A couple of important points:
It's been said before and it's true-Strats sound good but this amp/cab are amazing with a good Les Paul or Humbucker guitar in general. I think my ES335 sounds really good with it too. There is enough top end to make your neck P/U much more usable than with other amps and that's with the Deep switch in.

You NEED to be flexible with your guitars volume and tone controls to find great sounds with this amp. People who have said it's a one trick pony probably expect to just plug in, turn everything up to 10 and blast. OR they may need to invest in a better guitar (or at least better P/U's).

I'm not going to say I've played through or owned every amp out there so take this with a grain of salt but for me the magic of this amp is all in the subtle gain structure. I've found usable tones with my guitar volume down to 2 or 3! Same goes for your tone controls If you switch to the Ultra channel and things seem too bright roll off your tone. Bridge P/U with the tone down to 2 or 3 is a whole other sound to use compared to tone wide open. Other amps I've used weren't capable of bringing out these tones just by way of the guitars controls.

Also you may have noticed some people saying it sounds great quiet and some who say it sucks quiet. My feeling is it can sound very good at relatively low volumes ie:vol@1-3 depending on where the gain knob is set(not whisper levels obviously) IF you either sit right in front of the cab or stand back 6 feet or so. STANDING close enough to touch the amp does put you in an odd tone "Black hole" and I can understand folks who think it sounds buzzy and not great. Get your head in front of the cab either by sitting down (great for studio playing a bit odd for gigs) or stand a bit further away and it sounds great.

I'm impressed with the variety of tones I've been able to get so far and I haven't put a pedal in front of it yet!

I gave it a 9 leaving a 10 for those bootique amps that probably have all the sensitivety of the DSL50 with a few more bells and whistles ie: the ability to swap different tubes etc..

Haven't had it long enough to worry about it

Been playing almost 30 years. Use with an '99 historic R9 59 Les Paul, '95 Dot-neck reissue '59 ES335, 92 Strat Plus w/Gold senors, '02 Custom shop '56 NOS Strat. Amps include Mesa Trem-o-verb 100watt combo, Fender Cyber Twin, Vox AD50VT.
If stolen I'd buy it again in a second. Great Marshall look and sound with more versatility than I expected. If I REALLY wanted to nit-pic I think with all the newer products Marshall has out now this 10 year old head could come down in price a bit but overall very satisfied.

Purchased it about 2 months ago. has 2 channels with 2 modes each and a reverb control for each channel. You can switch channels and control the reverb via footswitch. You'll need to buy a second one for about $30 to be able to do both. Overall, covers the bases from country to blues to classic/hard rock very nicely.

I play a Strt with Lindly Fralins and Les Paul Custom via this amp and an Avatar 212H Special with a Hellahound 60 and 30 (they are just a Celestion Vintage and 12H that have been pre broken in). I do not use any pedals since I try to minimize the impact on my guitar's/amps tone. Kind of a purist in that regard.

I know ther are a tone of amps out there and they all have their strengths and weaknesses but for blues to classic rock this one fit the bill very well.

The clean is really nice as others have mentioned in their reviews. Nice enough for me to Ebay my Fender amp with no regrets.

I have owned a Fender Pro Reverb, Mesa Nomad 45 and Mesa Stiletto and they all worked well for me but sold them all off after I purchased this amp. The clean is great and the distortion range hits all the sounds I need. I think this just provides me the the sounds I hear in my head.

I've read some less than positive stories on Harmony Central about the Marshalls. I actually called Marshall an asked their customer service if they could aleviate my fears. To be honest they were very nice on the phone and said that if I did ever have any problems that they would be there for me. Even gave me their name. I hope that the amp lasts and I don't have to take them up on the offer.

Again, they were nice an reassuring prior to my purchase and basically convinced me that they would be there to assist. That's really all you can ask for in a company.

Overall I could not be happier with the sounds that I am getting. The amp is capable of producing the tones that suit my musical tastes that are primarily blues and classic rock.

It's a 2006 with stock features 2 channels, 2 modes deep switch etc. It would be nice to be able to switch the modes in each channel as well but I can live with just two channels. I play in a semi-pro covers band gigging on average once a week. We play all sorts from ska to soul to new wave to rock. Venues vary from 100 capacity right up to outdoor events 20,000 (largest audience to date!!) and the 50 is more than loud enough. Also had a TSL100 until recently, I had to sell it as I needed the cash but I prefer the DSL sound it's less harsh.

It's a Marshall! I use a Vox tonelab SE in conjunction with this amp and get some quality tones IMO out of the amp. As mentioned previously I find it slightly warmer than the TSL all the tones are there ie. AC/DC through to some great blues sounds. I've owned plexi's, JCM800's, JCM900 and the TSL100. Its not as nice as the 800, can't remember the plexi's although I remember they were loud, 900 was awfull too fizzy.

Amps been great so far although I'm definately going to get another head soon as a back up and because I want to. Maybe a 1959SLP or a 1987X. The one thing that's not been great is the footswitch it stopped working after 3 months!! I've replaced the cable myself come on Marshall sort them out! Stops it getting a 10.

3 year warranty and I live an 90mins from the factory I'm not worried.

30 years plus playing and owned numerous amps including many Marshalls this ones a cracker. Bought this as a replacment for Vox AC30CC (after the fifth one breaking I lost patience took it back and went for the DSL). This ones a keeper.

Reasonable amount of features for a two channel amp. All the basics plus reverb, effects loop, and some tone adjustment buttons that vary the voicing of each channel (deep and overdrive). I rated the features as a 7 because for this amount of money I feel Marshall should have stepped it up a notch.

Ok, here's the problem. This amp sounds like a marshall and that it. If you want an AC/DC or hendrix sound then by all means this amp is probably for you. The lead channel produces the GnR slash lead tone to a T, and the clean channel is one of the best I have ever heard. Very warm and full. Each channel breaks up with higher volume...including the clean channel. It has great classic rock sounds but thats where the fun ends.
For starters this amp does not produce a decent sound at any volume below 4 or 5. Don't be fooled by the 50 watt rating. 50 watt amps are only about 80 or 90 decibles quieter than 100 watt amps. Trust and believe that a 50 watt amp at 4 or 5 will make you go deff in a hurry. Not to mention really piss of your neighbors or your wife. Also, this amp will not produce any tone other than that classic rock marshall sound. If you are looking for metal/hard rock tone then look else where. This is a very one dimentional amp. I actually took this amp home and played through it both at home and at band rehersals over the course of several weeks and could not find the hard rock tone that I was looking for no matter how much I adjusted the controls (keep in mind that I have been playing seriously for 12 years and know my way around guitar amps). It simply doesn't have that tight chunky bottom end or that clear distorted top end sound (think tone like metallica, disturbed, pantera, breaking benjamin). Like I said, classic rock and thats it. I ended up taking it back to guitar center and buying a peavey JSX head. By the way if you are looking for a new amp, as I suspect you are since you are reading this, then you owe it to yourself to try a JSX. It will nock your socks off!
Anyways, if you want classic rock and a marshall sound, then this amp will probibly work for you. If you need some tonal flexibility and play any other style of music then look elsewhere.

I only owned this amp for a few weeks and never had any probs. After speaking with several amp technicians ever one of them said that maralls are a total nightmare. According to them the craftmenship is just not there and they are plauged with problems. I pulled the back pannel just because I was curious and was not impressed by the quality. It looked second rate, like something you would see in an amp costing a fraction of the price (think crate). Also, the control nobs and buttons were extreamly flimsy. Not very road worthy at all. Just walk up to one and monkey around with it and you will see what I mean.

No dealings with marshall customer support.

I rate this amp at a 5 because of the one dimentional tonal qualities, poor construction quality, and in my opinion serious lack of good sounding high gain distortion. Marshall may have been the best of the best back in the 60's and 70's but times have changed and marshall has not. Have no illusions about these amps, the majority of your hard earned money is paying for the name and not the tone.

This is more of a recap now that I've had the amp for about 2 years now. Please keep in mind that I am NO pro player. I'm just an at home player who's been playing for about 10 years now. While I certainley wouldn't consider myself to be a great player I think I'm a fairly decent player. I guess you can interpet that anyway you see fit because the last thing I want to do is to come across as something I'm not. But I think I know what sounds good and what doesn't. I play the DSL 50 thru a Marshall 1960 BV cabinet with 2, 25 watt Greenbacks and 2, 30 watt Weber Blue Dogs. Guitar is a Les Paul Standard, Seymour Duncan Custom Custom bridge, stock Burst Bucker Pro neck. This is also the first Marshall I've ever owned, played thru and have any experience with.

Okay, in MY basement (drop ceiling, panel walls, carpet on the floor), with MY guitar....and in my VERY humble opinion...it took a while for me to tune it in to my liking. First off, the treble on this amp is very excessive. Of what I gather, Marshalls can be trebley and if true the DSL 50 holds to that claim. I wound up putting a Weber Beam Blocker in front of each speaker and this helped quite a lot in dispursing the high end. I also did a lot of experimenting with differant preamp tubes and the best I found for taming the highs are ECC83S JJ Eurotubes in all 4 preamp positions. The other thing I needed was an attenuator and I settled for a Weber Mass Lite 100. This unit REALLY helped in calming down the high end, thanks to its two dials for attenuation. One for the Lows/Mids and the other for the Mids/Highs. Made an amazing differance. The last thing I did was to take the stock Burst Bucker Pro bridge pickup out and put in the mentioned Duncan pickup. That was the icing on the cake for me, as I found the BB Pro to have too much bite in it for me. Quite a lot, but I did what I felt was needed. But in all fairness the louder you turn the amp up the more it seems to even itself out and a lot of that excessive treble seems to calm down. But it's got to be RIPPING loud and I don't want to go deaf. But even with all of the changes and things I added I found that I cannot turn the treble control past 2 on the dial. Why that much treble is built into an amp is way beyond me.

Even though this amp has two foot switchable channels with an extra mode on each, I still call it a one trick pony. I say that because when going from the Classic to the Ultra channel the EQ doesn't even out at all. The trick for me was in finding "THEE" trick that would work best for what I like to hear. The Ultra channel has more treble response and less bass than the Classic channel, so the two don't even out. I tried everthing I could think off to try and even the channels out too. EQ pedal in the loop and differant combinations of various makes and grades of preamp tubes. For me nothing worked out to my liking. I found that I much prefered the Classic channel over the Ultra, so I don't use the Ultra channel at all. All in all I found it to be way too high gain for my liking. Others may differ and that's fine.

Basically I found two ways to use the Classic channel and both work pretty good. But still, you can only use it one way and not the other. One way is to use the Classic set to clean and use a pedal for your overdriven tone, while the other way is to use the Classic channel with the gain button engaged and use a OD pedal for a bit of extra kick. After all the changes I did I think that the clean channel is actually very good. I get a great clean tone from my LP using either both pickups combined (think rockabilly, CCR, etc.) or by using the neck pickup by itself. Strong, clean and clear. I've tried a few OD pedals and believe it or not I found I like Digitechs Bad Monkey the best! For $40.00 it is a great little pedal and thru the DSL 50 and the 4X12 it works great for things like Van Halen and Led Zeppelin.

Okay, lets say you prefer a tone that's a bit on the gainier side. I also like how the Classic channel sounds with the gain button engaged. I've got the gain set at around a 12:00/1:00 position so it's not too extreame. You can then turn your guitars volume knob down to clean it up a bit (won't be totally clean) and then as mentioned you can also add an OD pedal for a bit extra kick. I recentley bought a ZVEX Box of Rock and in this application it works really well. Outstanding, actually. I don't at all care for the BoR thru a totally clean channel, but with the amp being slightly overdriven and then adding the pedal...wow!! Tonal rock bliss!

So again, it's one way or the other. 1) Clean channel set for clean with a pedal for OD, or, 2) Gain button set for a mild crunch, add an OD pedal for a bit more kick.

As mentioned, I've had the amp for almost 2 years now and so far theres been no reliability issues. But then again it stays put in my basement. The amp works fine and the effects loop works very well also. I use a Boss DD-3 delay pedal and it sounds very clean in the loop.

Basically once you have it seasoned to taste it's a pretty cool amp. It's just a matter of finding what works best for you and of course that differs from person to person because we all hear things bit differantley. I like versatility, and if I was in a cover band I would probably use the amps Classic channel set to clean with a pedal for my overdriven sound. Each of the two ways I mentioned sounds very good but again, it at depends on what works for you. Again, I'm no expert and I know some will differ with what I've had to say and that's fine. I just hope this may be of assistance to someone. Rock on, folks!

I have no idea what year this amp was made. I bought second hand.

Very versatile. I play mainly metal and rock alternative. But occasionally i play pop, a bit jazz tune with it.

It has 2 channels, and total 4 modes. fx loops and no phone jacks.

I WISH THE MODES CAN BE SWITCHED WITH THE PEDAL. Man i wish that can happen, it would be soooo greattt.

You all know marshall's sound right?? yeah, thats the one. crunchy, raw, gritty rock n roll. Also very smooth, if you crank the MASTER volume to 3 - 5. AT first i kinda dissapointed coz the distortion kinda sound bad, but i tried to crank up the vol. until 3 - 4.5 (when i jam with my mates) and then the sound has come to life.

I would say, the distortion is not brutal, it is smooth coz of the 'valves' are el34. If u guys want BRUTAL amo go find rectifier, xxx, 6505 or anything with 6l6 valves. I'd prefer the el34 coz i can get the smooth feeling out of it. really nice IMO

The clean is great for me, i dont know if u compare with fender and such ... but marshall has got its own class.

I use humbuckers with it, and i can get sounds that i want.

I can be noisy in the distortion channel modes 2 but its normal coz of the gain. No drama i just hit my noise suppresor DONE ^_^

Well, i havent really gigged with it yet. But Judging from many famous musicians use this, I think i can depend on it. I.e Trivium (they use dsl 100). But if i ever got a chance to play regular gigs, I would always get backup. At least another marshall dsl's, i just love them.

Been playing for 15 years, but actively playing for 10 years.

I have a variety guitars, godin freeway (w/dimarzio airzone, fasttrack1, tonezone), yamies aes620 (w/ dimarzio evo and megadrive), ibbie sz520 (w/emg's). I play all kind of music.

If its stolen (stupid question!!), I would get another one of the dsl 50 for sure.

Yeah, at first i was comparing with rectifiers (too many knobs and very priceyyy), hughes n kettner trilogy and triamp (sound wise very nice, but still priceyyyy and with all the things that i dont use such as midi gadgets), peavey triplexxx, jsx, classic 50 (they are good products but i need something simple and nice for the price), Laney tt100, vh100r (absolutely nice sound, but for the price nothing can compete marshall)

I wish the modes can be switchable.

Dont get me wrong this is a perfectly good amp. Nothing less than a Marshall. But switching between modes are a drag. The cost of this amp you should be able to switch with a foot controller instead of a button. Such as lead one and lead two and so on. I have been playing for 25 years and I try to use everything an amp can offer. But my hands are full and the only thing open are my feet for feature switch. The eq is easy to work with and like most Marshall amps have to really try to mess up the sound unless you are doing something really stupid.

Sound is nop notch. Like I said nothing less than a marshall. With a hundred watt 4 12 cab and a flat eq and presence and the volume on ten and the pre amp on one or two look out it is pure pleasure. The distortion is smooth and fat with all the low end you could want. I have never had an ear piercing sound come out of this amp. With the right cabinet like the 16 ohm 1960A with 4 15 watt greenbacks you can turn ever eq and presence knob on 10 and face it to the wall and you have the over driven sound that only a marshall can bring you. But I love to play around with the over driven clean channel (what I call the Bad Company sound) The classic 1959 plexi It delivers. I have had this next to a 1959 plexi and with a couple of eq udjustments it sounds very close, just as clean and quiet. I have glossed over a few of the review here and I ahve to say if you buy a Marshall, remember it has bounce it's way all the way from England and if you are a pro you need a tech to look at it befor you play it for any length of time. You can put these amps side by side and both will have slightly differing sound. This is common. My dsl50 sounded muddy out of the box, had it gone through and ended up having new tubes put in at no cost to me. To me the 50 watt is better than the 100 watt as I can get that screamin sound at a lower volume. The 100 watt amps I allways did the AC/DC trick every knob on 10 and face it to the wall.

100 percent!!!!!!!

Never had to deal with them. None of my Marshalls have ever broken down!

As I said I have been playing for 25 years and allwasy give a shout out for Marshall amps. If it were lost and stolen I would buy another one. There are other quality amps out there but I have allways found that you have to go out and spend more money to dial in the tone. Which I call the bbe sonic maximiser trick. With the dsl50 or the 100 all you need is the amp and an ok cabinet with reputable speaker and it will sound better than the really costly stuff. I would suggest a dsl50with a 1960A cab with 15 watt greenbacks if you can find them. I found 4 in england for a 1000.00 bucks on ebay and it is worht it. The sound engineer will love you. So even with the drw back of the button pushing deal I stll give this amp a high 10!!!

Please read other reviews for full features, no point in repeating.
EQ settings are common to both channels i.e lead and rythym, but in practise with this amp it is not the problem you would expect.
Perhaps footswith should control both reverb and channel, the inputs do exist to do this, but Marshall only supply a floor switch for channel selection i.e with one switch. In truth its not important.

With a 1960 2x12 Marshall cab plugged in and the volume above 3 on classic lead channel, the Marshall power and big bottom end sound is there. The clean sound with this cab is amazingly sparkly for a Marshall and is Fenderish in quality helped by full size accutronics reverb unit within the head. Well done Marshall, but it was about time!

If you change power valves (EL34`s) make sure you bias them properly, check out website: Eurotubes.com , this American firm will teach you a lot about biasing and valve tones. He even provides a free video to show all us non-techs how to do the job. Brill! Marshall tech dept was also very helpful and said that Marshall bias at 45mv on DSL50 as they feel its the sweet spot using Svetlana EL34`s. Tone wise this Marshall DSL50 is seen worldwide as one of the best Marshall Valve Amps ever made.

Built well and very good value for money. It will take a lot of hammer providing power valve biasing is done by a pro or properly by the user with a few simple tools. Second hand DSL`s should be checked out for valve types and biasing as soon as bought, if you want the best Marshall sound. As to Marshall reliabilty I own five Marshall amps MG30FX,2 AVT50`s,30 watt Acoustic Amp, a JTM 30 and a DSL50 head and 2 by 12 cab.They have all worked perfectly for years and all have that BIG Marshall soul. The AVT 50 and DSL 50 especially.

Great people to deal with, especially the tech`s no bull just facts and useful advise. They must know their stuff to design amps sounding like the AVT 50 and DSL50.

The JCM 2000 DSL50 set up correctly and matched to a good cab is as good as it gets. A head and cab set up will always have a bigger sound at volume than an open back valve combo. Obviously you have more to cart around, but if a big valve sound is needed at volume, then try a DSL50 with the right cab. All we want now is a 6 to 10 watt Marshall pure valve combo with a closed back cab and matched 12 inch speaker i.e a mini DSL50!

Dual channels with dual modes in each channel. Ability to footswitch between channels, but not between modes. Bass boost switch, mid scoop switch, separate reverbs for each channel. Pretty flexible overall though the ability to footswitch between modes would have been nice.

Prior to a modification I made, I would rate this as an 8, my rating reflects the tone after the mod which I will describe below. Previous to modding the amp, the clean channel was fairly sterile sounding and the distortions had a bit of a grainy sound. I replaced the factory tubes with a set of JJ preamp and power tubes and they made a significant improvement in the tone quality biased to 43ma). The mod I made was to upgrade the output transformer with a Mercury Magnetics Axiom tranny designed for the DSL50. The difference it made was dramatic, it just opened the amp up tonally. The clean channel has a lot of depth and chime now and distortions are fat and thick. The clarity and sustain increased significantly. This mod takes the amp to boutique quality imho. The output tranny is the audio link between the preamp section and the power tubes so it does have a significant impact on tone. I highly recommend this mod, the tranny cost me $150 plus $30 for my amp tech to install.

I usually play an American Deluxe Strat or Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III and both sound great through this amp. With the mod, the tonal qualities of the individual guitars really shine.

Seems well built, but tube amps can be finicky.

Never dealt with them.

With the modded output tranny, this is a killer amp. Without it, it's a good amp but seems to leave me wanting more. Now it sounds the way I expected it to sound. If you changed the tubes and still weren't happy with the tone, try the OT upgrade. Here's their website: http://www.mercurymagnetics.com

nice and simple
gain, eq, reverb
perfect

the greatest sounding amp i have ever heard period.

don't know, but hope its good
going on three years no problems

very helpful

there is no better sounding amp made!
this is the one!

Features are good,
I think you should be able to switch between modes though.

Heres my review.
The amp had master volumes at noon, a STD Fender USA Strat with stock pickups was used.
The amp was biased to 40ma per tube before hand.

Channel 1, Clean/ I didnt really enjoy playing this channel much, it felt "rubbery" somewhat like the F#%der Hot Rod amps, while some people praise these amps clean characteristics, I do not.
It sounds and feels a little artificial to me.

Channel 1, Mode 2/ crunch, This channel was loud n clean, with gain maxed out there is almost as much as an early non master volume amplifier, it did sound good but again, it did sound artificial.
I believe Marshalls spiel on this channel was to market it as a plexi/800 type of tone.
while it is reminicent of an 800 in EQ, I didnt think there was enough to tie in with that statement.
It sounds like a Marshall ,all Marshalls sound like Marshalls with their larger than life sonic crunch but there is a purity that the early metal face amp has that the DSL just cant reach.

Channel 2, Lead, Mode 1, this was my favourite channel of all,
I was quite happy using this channel for rhythm and lead.
High notes sung for lead work, all notes in a chord came through nicely, BUT.. one thing I just couldnt help but notice was that dry, hollow mid sound that could not be dialled out.
The amp also sounded a bit mushy all round.

Channel 2, lead 2 mode, this was a natural extension of channel 2 mode 1, with more gain on tap.

I didnt find a use for the deep switch, there was plenty of bass with the 4x12 can I used, these resonate low end naturally anyway.

Mid scoop is something I would never use.

Reverb was good, it was a welcome suprise for me because I own all non master amps with no built in reverb.
non as bright as a F#%der style amp, a little darker which I think is voiced well.

I didnt get around to checking out the series FX loop.

Marshall service sucks in Australia,
you could be waiting for a replacent part for a loooong time.
this is a major downer and I am even hesitant to buy any more Marshall stuff for that reason alone.
The amp however is reliable, maybe even more so than the 900's, now thats saying something.
Sure PCB mounted tubes plastic pots [not unlike the hot rod series of amps mind you..]are not the best way to make a roadworthy amplifier but Marshall has always used cheap parts no matter what, as long as they all function correctly and sound good there is no problem,,unless youre a real amp snob.
but those people arent whinging about the vintage 70's Marshalls are they.. these were also made with cheap parts, for instance, carbon comp resistors.. these are not normally used in much these days, known for being unreliable and changing out of spec over time these were technically a design flaw.. not desirable at all, amp snobs are most likely unaware of this fact. off the shelf transformers, although trannies were made bigger and tougher in the day.
tubes, NOS tubes were more reliable than todays specimens. blah blah blah.. its reliable

Not good at all. I dont know if this is Marshall themselves or just Marshall in Australia.
We also only get a 1 year warranty here unlike the 5 year in the States, thats a big gap isnt it?? whats up with that?
F#%der offer a 5 year on their top of the line stuff.

Ive been playing for 28 years, Im now 33.
I play in a rock cover band for the main part and travel sometimes to do other umm..projects :}

I own a few old Marshalls which I love, have never found any other amp that Ive been happy with.

I love amplifiers and have tried most big name brands, most Fenders, all Marshalls, etc etc, I basically cant walk past an amp without plugging in and am always on the hunt for divine tone.
this one has something to be desired but just fell a bit short for me.

This amp is extremely versitile, i can acheive just about any tone i want, from country to metal, you name it, you can dial it in. There are sub-channels within both of the channels that can give you completely different sounds. Channel A (clean) gives you a smooth crisp clean, but with the push of a button you have perfect crunch tones. Channel B (distortion) gives you a nice well rounded distortion along with a full out, balls to the walls, high gain distortion. The presence control can add a lot of life to the amp along with separate reverbs for each channel. Also the tone shift and deep options can help you to perfect that tone that your looking for. Also comes with an effects loop, i've never used it, but i'm sure it works fine. The head can hold up two speaker cabinets with a 4 or 8 ohm switch and one cabinet rated at 16 ohms.

my only problems with the features is the master eq and the inability to switch the sub-channels with a foot pedal. The way this amp is set up, your eq settings are the same for both channels A & B. this could be fixed by buying an eq pedal, but that's too much work onstage. also this amp would be so much better if you could change the sub-channels by foot instead of walking over to your amp and pressing a button.

This amp sounds amazing. Think of a tone, any tone, and you most likely can acheive it. This amp gives you a perfect clean, a crunchy bite, a smooth gain, and an ear-splitting distortion. I would suggest buying a tubescreamer for this head, it will smooth out your distortion and produce perfect harmonics. Marshall prefected the spring reverb for this unit. I keep the head plugged into an 1960's marshall 4x12 cab and a jcm800 2x12 both set to 8 ohms and i can't beleive the power this thing can pump.

my only problem with this head is that i don't particularly love the sound of it when cranked. I think it gives a little too much of a bite and you loose your bottom end. Then again, i always mic my amp at practice and shows so i don't have to deal with it too much.

This head is built to last. I received the head with a loose spring in the reverb, but it doesn't affect my sound in any way. just sounds funny when bumped around.

Haven't had to deal with the customer support, but the website provides manuals which can be handy.

I've been playing this head for 2 years without a single problem. If this head was ever stolen, i wouldn't think twice about buying a new one, i'd be out there right away. My father owns a jcm900 hi-gain combo, and the dsl blows it away. personally i hate the jcm900's but marshall made a huge upgrade 10 years later with the jcm2000 series.

The Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 50 is a top notch amp. I bought this amp head used off of ebay and at first I was a little skeptical about how it would sound, but when I plugged it into my Marshall 1960A cab.. I was sold. This amp has 2 channels. Classic gain, which has a really great clean to light crunch sound.. and Ultra gain, for that in your face hard rock sound. Each Channel has 2 seperate modes. On the Ultra gain channel you have lead one and lead 2, and on the classic gain channel you have clean and crunch. Another positive thing about this amp is that it is possible to run an effects loop. If your looking for an amp to play at home, or an amp with built in effects this really isnt the one you want. The amp is very loud, and it is very basic meaning no effects. Those of you who prefer a "back to basics amp" then this is the one for you! Tons of flexibility without having a million knobs and buttons.

The sound quality on this amp is phenominal. You can achieve anything from excellent clean sounds (doesnt happen often in a marshall), to that Aerosmith, Slash, Angus Young style distortion, and even newer music such as Green Day and Billy Talent. Since the ideal sound and tone people look for varies from person to person.. I recommend you go out and try the amp before purshasing it. If your looking for metal stuff like Megadeth, Bullet for my valentine or system of a down, I would really recommend this amp because your not going to achieve that sound without pedals, if at all. Its more of a rock based amp.

Ive never had an issue with the amp breaking down. However I wouldnt play without a backup amp, or at least a spare set of tubes. I bought it used and the previous owner took very good care of it.

Never had to deal with marshall yet. The only thing ive ever taken it in for was replacing tubes, and getting them biased since this was my first tube amp and ive never done it before.

Simply one of the best marshalls out there in my oppinion, next to the JCM800's of course.

2006 Dual Super Lead 50. Other reviewers have already described the features very well. I will say that I had my eye initially on the TSL series Marshalls because the panel layout makes those amps super flexible with individual channel controls for everything. As I found though careful listening, the sound of the DSL was simply better -- and apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. So compared to the TSL the feature set is a little sparse, with shared EQ on two very different-sounding channels. I'd like more control and the footswitching capability of the TSL, but tone rules.

The power level of the amp is good -- quite useful. Like most tube amps, it likes to be turned up, but 50 watts is better for getting to the "sweet spot" sooner. The amp was designed to sound better at lower volumes, according to designer Steve Grindrod, thus you don't need to crank it to get decent tone.

I had never owned a Marshall before a few months ago when I purchased this amp, and I never owned a stack amplifier -- only combos.

The sound is truly unique. So they're right: Nothing sounds like a Marshall. Though there are some tones it does better than others, the versatility is really top notch compared to the many amps I've owned or played on. What I like is that it has a very nice clean, not totally Fender but awesome for a Marshall stack; it also has a very good blues (lower gain) tone, which is difficult for many amps to get; and it has two FANTASTIC higher-gain modes on the Ultra channel. To top it off, the amp sounds great with distortion pedals, another tough feat for some amps to do well. Overall, I love the sound of this rig. It NAILS my favorite tones: "Stone In Love", "Lucky Ones", "Bridge Of Sighs" and many others like Slash's tone and even modern rock (Mesa) tones.

I use it with a custom Marshall cabinet in which I installed two Celestion Vintage 30's and two Celestion G12H30's (in an X pattern). I didn't like the stock G12T75's, and experimented with sets of the other two Celestions before reaching what I feel is the ultimate combination for this rig. V30's are warm and full, H's are crunchy with more highs & lows. They are not drastically different, and actually compliment one another well. Best of the old, best of the new.

I also changed all the stock tubes to JJ's and rebiased the amp (it had been set cold). Noticeable smoothing and improvement to the tone.

The noise of the amp is fairly low in relation to the amount of gain on the signal. Naturally, the higher-gain stuff is going to be noisier because you're multiplying the noise floor along with your guitar signal when you gain it up. Negligible noise level for a band setting and decent enough for recording, IMO.

Well, for a well-reputed manufacturer like Marshall, the quality control of their amps seems to be lacking somewhat. My first head had a wire sticking right out of the front panel and a broken tube in the chassis! The head I have now seems okay, but has been a little quirky on rare occasion. My advice: Get a good one, don't abuse it and you'll probably be fine for years to come.

N/A

Been playing for 24 years. This is the only guitar amplifier I own, but I have my eye on a Fender (don't tell the wife!)

I sold a Vox AC-30 to buy this. I miss the Vox, but I love the Marshall, so whatever I guess. I compared the DSL to a Mesa Stiletto Ace, a Peavey Valve King and a Line 6 (just for perspective). Wanted to try a Rivera, a Dr. Z and a Peavey JSX also. But perhaps too many choices for me would have been not-so-good. I can get confused about amp comparisons, and the Marshall was had at a great price, so the ending was happy.

I would probably buy it again.

Purchased new in 2006. Dual switchable channels, clean - crunch. Perfect for what I like to play. Marshall supplies a single foot switch to control channel selection. The back panel has a jack for using a seperate reverb footswtch (which I use), but they should of combined them in one housing.
With a little tube upgrade you can take this amp from the bedroom to the stage. See my "Sound Quality" comments. As far as power...more than enough.

This amp is terrible straight out of the box!!! Tooooooo much treble, and the gain settings are muddy. I replaced the stock Marshall/JJ EL34 power tubes with matched JJ KT77's and the stock Marshall/China ECC83 preamp tubes with JJ ECC83S's (balanced phase inverter tube). I adjusted the bias (Eurotubes.com has a video that shows the exact bias setting procedure for the DSL 50/100) to 40mv each tube. This is the sound I was looking for!!!! Pure Marshall tone!!! The presence and treble controls are actually usable now! The Marshall sound at any volume. And using overdrives pedals (in moderation) adds a little extra to an already great sound.
I rate it 5 before the tube replacement, a 10 after.

I would depend on it w/o a backup. If I wasn't confident in it, I wouldn't of purchased it.

Never had to use C.S. w/any Marshall I've had.

I've been playing for almost 30 years - Classical to Metal. I use this amp half-stack with the 1960A cabinet for extra clarity on the clean channel. It's a good combination.
I give this amp a "10" overall! Just plan on spending $60 - $80 for a set of good tubes. And Marshall made setting the bias extremely easy w/o the need to take it to an amp tech. All you need is a $10 DVOM and a small screwdriver. Any questions, contact Bob or Jay at Eurotubes.com. They've got the right tubes at the right price too!!

50 watts, el34 powered Marshall full size amp head. two channels, each with two modes.

classic channel has "clean" and "crunch" with volume and gain knobs.

ultra channel has "lead 1" and "lead 2" with volume and gain knobs.

each channel has it's own reverb setting. the entire amp uses a three band eq (bass, mid, treb) with a presence control. this amp also features a "deep" switch (adds lots of bassy resonance to the sound) and a "tone shift" switch (scoops some of the mids out of the sound). it has an fx loop, and speaker outputs for 4 or 8 ohms (there are two of these outputs, and they are switchable) and a 16 ohm speaker output (non-switchable).

the amp comes with a one button footswitch, but there are two footswitch ports on the back panel, one for channel and one for reverb on/off. it seems kind of silly to me that if i want to be able to switch both channels and reverb i would have to buy ANOTHER one button footswitch. but, i wouldn't change reverb that often anyways so i'm okay with just using the switch to change channels.

i use this amp in a theatre room at my university that seats about 300 people. i use it on a weekly basis. the speaker cabinet i'm using is a Marshall 1936 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's.

when i take the amp and cab back to my dorm room for safe keeping, i use a PowerSoak to keep the volume levels reasonable and the guys on the hall my friends :)

i give it a nine because the whole footswitch thing baffles me. why not a two button setup? i mean, c'mon.

this amp sounds KILLER!!! i was using a JCM 900 combo through the 1936 cab until i bought the DSL 50 off of my room mate. the sounds it made were MUCH MUCH fuller and richer and basically blew the pants off my JCM 900! my room mate sold the amp because he bought an Orange ADTC 30 combo. personally, i like the way the Marshall sounds. the orange is kind of gritty, and harsh to my ears.

on to sounds.

biggest surprise - the clean channel is REALLY nice! it will stay clean at really high gain settings and volumes, even with my Les Paul which is really hot and pushes amps hard.

favorite sounds - the classic channel set on "crunch". this setting sounds much fuller than the JCM 900's Channel A. with the gain cranked, my les paul sounds great, with lots of touch sensitive dynamics and plenty of drive. my stratocaster sounds really good here too, really nice blues lead sounds...but not near the gain levels that the les paul can achieve.

Ultra channel - this channel sounds much more compressed than the classic channel. it feels like the sound is more reigned in, compared to the raging roar of the classic channel on crunch with the gain cranked. the ultra channel DOES sound really good for true lead work, playing single note lines and patterns high up on the fretboard, and i think it sounds better for a band setting where there is more than one guitar and maybe some keyes and stuff going on too...since it is a more compressed and focused sound compared to the classic channel. i don't use the ultra channel on lead 2 mode...only on lead 1. to my ears, lead 2 mode has less of those classic marshall crunchy mids and sounds a little more muddy and sloppy when playing chords. but...the difference between lead 1 and lead 2 doesn't seem to be all that significant, just small subleties.

when i bought this amp, i was looking for that classic crunchy marshall tone, and it pretty much nails it for me. i don't use the deep switch or the tone shift. i think the amp shines with those disengaged. it is a MARSHALL...and i wouldn't want it to sound nu-metall-y or try and make it be anything that it's not...and somehow i feel like those buttons are trying to get the amp to do just that...be something it's not. it's NOT a drop-tuned rythym chugging amp! you shouldn't buy this amp if that's your gig. Marshalls are famous for their midrange crunch...and this amp has plenty of that.

i should also mention that it's LOUDDD. i really want to meet somebody who can actually use 100 watts of Marshall power, cause the 50 watts sounds PLENTY loud to me! tons louder than the orange and the Classic 30 that i own and keep in the dorm room.

The amp seems like it's built like a tank. no problems yet...and my room mate never had any problems either. but, we take care of it cause i know tube amps are delicate things...but they reward you with awesome TONE

never dealt with Marshall

i also own a Peavey Classic 30...and (of course) the marshall sounds way cooler. the amp really wakes up with a hot guitar plugged in, like my '76 les Paul. i really do think marshalls and gibsons were meant for each other!! the strat sounds good too...but it sounds better with a cleaner amp, like a fender. i've been playing for about seven years...and i've fallen in love with the Marshall sound and the DSL 50. if someone stole this amp....i would definitely get another one. it has great tone! it's a real workhorse of an amp. i love it.

I waited to till I played a gig before posting this...I have allways been a die hard Fender twin fan...they are a great amp. I got my Marshall JCM2000 from the guitar center. The EQ on this amp is very responsive. Unlike other amps way more head room in the EQ. The only thing I would change about this amp is there isnt alot of crunch. But you know what I dont miss it that much anyway the tone makes up for it. Im 42 yrs old and I have been playing since I was 9 yrs old. This amp does it's job, then some. My first gig on this amp was outside at a well known club in Waco Tx. Im the only guitar player in my band. And it was time for the lead, "other amps I have had, Thats when I get nervus about my volume...i allways used a volume pedal to push myself thru the lead...well I forgot my pedal, and with my volume on my guitar aready on 10, I was wondering how or if I would push thru the mix" When I hit my first note, the amp did it's job and my leads pushed right thru the mix...my buddy was there and told me.."welcome to the world of Marshall" I'm now sold on this amp...

I choose the 50 watt head cause it doesnt take that much volume to find the sweet spot on this amp...I recommend if you gig to plug in your head before setting up your eqp..that way the tubes are nice and hot when you go on...the overdrive channel rocks, My band plays Hendrix, Clapton Kenny Wayne Shepard, SRV, and some new stuff...This amp can go from Dimebag to Eric Johnson...who could ask for more?

I got a nice case for the head...the amp is built like brick house

I have never delt with Marshall on customer serv so I have heard the are good

I have been playing a very very long time

2005 DSL50

Very versatile amp for a Marshall. I owned a late 80's Plexi for a couple of years and it sounded great, but I needed more versatility. The cleaner channel with the gain boost on sounds like my Plexi did - I stay there %75 of the time - pedals for drive and it cleans up well. The heavier channel on the lighter mode sounds like a JCM800 - gain and sustain for days. Really aggressive and classic Marshall tone.

I play at one of the largest churches in the country in Atlanta, and we cover everything from Nickel Creek to Nickelback, so versatility is a must. I play an '06 PRS 513, which is also incredibly versatile, an '81 Les Paul custom, a '97 Strat, a '52 Tele reissue,and a '00 Guild Starfire III and this amp sounds great with all of them. The amp is very quiet. I use in-ear monitors in most environments, and I've thought the amp was off at times, but it was ready to go! I turn the presence down to about 3, the treble to around 6, the mids and highs to around 5. I also use a 2x12 Bogner closed back cabinet.

I bought mine at a Guitar Center as a display model. Turns out they had replaced the tubes with lower power ones than recommended, so the output transformer got fried pretty soon. The warranty covered 3 different visits to the shop before finally Marshall just gave me a brand new one in the box - it's still rocking! The 5 year warranty rules.

I've played guitar for well over 20 years, play in studios for a living - I'd buy another one of these amps - wish it were a stereo rig, but I'm considering buy another one so I can do that. Great amp - it rocks - plenty of versatility - classic Marshall tone.

This amp has all the features you would need for a 'classic rock' amp. In its entirety the DSL is a tribute to Marshalls past with some modern gain bells & whistles on top. The clean channel on classic gain is nice and sweet, and on engaging the mode button, you are met with classic ac/dc style rock tones. Alot of people are mentioning the volume difference between the two modes, but as these modes are not used together it isnt really a problem. Ultra channel is higher gain and full of mids. A much darker channel in comparison to the Classic whic is very 'chimey'. Independant volume and reverb for each channel are just what is required for rhythm & lead channels. I understand alot of peoples comments about not having seperate eq for each channel. When switching between the two there is a difference between the very bright classic channel and the very dark ultra channel and some compromise has to be made on your eq so as not to make the contrast so apparent ie classic could do with treble taking out a bit but if you take too much out the ultra channel may sound a bit bassey. Perhaps a couple of push buttons on the classic channel to cut certain frequencies would have been welcome, but I feel that independant eq would over-complicate and add too many buttons & options - this is a plug & go amp. The extras that this amp to cater for varying musical tastes are a great extra.

Playing classic rock - hendrix, clapton, blues stuff. This amp is spot on. I noticed alot of people dissing the sound - some saying too trebly, some saying too mushy. I believe you really need to get to know this amp and make the eq work for you to get the best sound. The eq is 'passive' meaning that it takes away frequencies already there. So by having bass on full, you are not adding more bass but simply leaving the bass as it is. The thing that makes this amp is the 'presence' knob. Which does exactly that. It adds to the treble frequencies to give clarity to your tone and to make you definable in the mix. However the presence knob is located in the power amp section, not in the same place as the bass, mid & treble. The presence allows when turned up will allow you to cut through the mix in a carpeted dull room, whereas having it down will cut out the highs associated with a wooden floor. Presence should be determined by the venue and how hard you are running the amp. If you engage the deep or tone shift buttons it adds bass to your sound. This will make the amp sound quite mushy, but by pushing your presence level up you then sit in the mix nicely. - Its all about interaction of the EQ.

I've tried a few cab configurations. Alot of the people saying this amp is too trebly may have been using a standard marshall 4x12. I noticed when running this at 4ohms, the speakers were not being driven as hard and the treble was greatly reduced compared with 16 ohms. However I now run this though a 4x12 with vintage 30's in and it sound fantastic. But its all in your sytle of music as to what you prefer.

For me I use the classic channel with the gain on about 2-3 o'clock. The manual says this is JCM800 territory. I'm not too familiar with JCM800's but it reminds me of my old JCM900 head - smooth humbucker neck pickup tones to die for that aren't muddy but full of life. Bridge pickup tones are gutsy and jump out of the cab with vigour. The ultra channel I use for lead and rock rhythm with the guitar volume backed off. I use mode one which is 'mid city' Think Gary Moore 'All your love' or Slash on Live & Let Die. The stage compression of this amp is the best I've ever played. Blows my Cornford combo out of the water. Moving from rythm to lead on the same channel without changing volume on the guitar and you still come out over the top of everyone else. I use a prs mccarty as my main guitar, whether set to humbuckers or single coils this amp shines.

I waited until I had done my first gig before sumbitting a review. Nothing is perfect in this world but I know that should anyhting fail Marshall aftersales is second to none. This amp does contain PCB's as opposed to hand wiring. My hand wired cornford packed in when I needed it most so there's no guarantee that even the best quality amps will not fail. With a 3 year warranty on this thing if it does fail, I can be confident that I can send it back without any complaints

Can't be beaten. Marshall have had their quality issues in the past, but the thing about them is they care about what their customers think and listen to their comments

After messing around trying to get the perfect sound by buying a seemingly perfect amp and adding lots of effects to it, I have had an epiphany. Marshall head, 4x12, plug and go - no contest. This is how it was meant to be.

Nothing is perfect in this world, but there are so many options in this amp for classic rock through to more modern styles. This is not a jack of all trades, master of none. Nor is it a one trick pony. It is a master of tone, done in the best way possible.

One EQ - great for me as I use the dials on my instrument (apparently this is a lost art!). Not so good according to the meathead emo-screamo hardcore kids who clutter this place up with terrible reviews.

Anyway, I digress...

This is a very versatile amp and contrary to what all of the vintage tone freaks would say, I think this has got one up on the 800/900 series JCM's. For a start, it's WAY more versatile. You've got pretty much any distortion, crunch sound you'll ever need, with the addition of a clean channel with a lot more depth than many other Marshall amps. I put this under features because tone, after all, is a feature in itself!

Great mix of simplicity and decent design.

Ok, so the clean channel isn't up to HIWATT, Orange or Fender standards... but then again, none of those can boast about their hi-gain sounds so you take the good with the bad.

The overdrive is great. run the gain on the 'crunch' setting on ultra with the master cranked and you'll have something mighty impressive!

I would suggest that you steer clear of the REALLY high gain sounds - for starters, you lose a lot of clarity and it's far less cutting than when it's cranked on a lower gain. [unless you love the compressed, 'nu' gain sound].

Not much else to say. Does two things, quiet clean, and loud gain. What else do you need?!

As a final note - for those guys bitching about the single EQ and 'disappointing distortion... why, oh why didn't you think about trying the amp out before you spent #500 on it?! Anyone with half a brain doesn't just order an amp out of a bloody catalogue! PLEASE: try before you buy! It might reduce the amount of aweful reviews on this otherwise useful site!

Anyway, this review is an opinion, don't just buy it because some other guy likes it - you might find your taste is completely different.

Never broke. Not a great build but it's a cheap valve amp so what do you expect?! If you want an amp with the best ever build quality, best tones and complete control over your sound, you should buy a Matamp. 60 watt head for #936 and you can make it as custom as you want.

Marshalls are great amps. If you don't like it, don't knock it unless there's a valid reason - not just, 'one EQ - that SUCKS!' - Bloody fool.

Nice people, Busy people. Don't forget how large this company is. If you've got a problem, don't email them, phone them... they're usually very helpful and pretty down-to-earth

As above, if it were stolen, I might buy another if I had the spare cash. If not, I'd save and get a Matamp. All in all a decent guitar amp - don't forget, both Jeff Beck and Gary Moore have been known to use these in their live rigs... trust them?

Right, first things first - if you're into running a billion effects into an amp which has flashing lights and tiny buttons that do everything but make dinner... this may not be your cup of tea! The controls are simple, but within simplicity there are a vast array of usable tones... Basic controls as follows:
- Presence
- Bass
- Middle
- Treble
Ultra Gain:
- volume
- gain
- two different voices (revved up crunch and hi-gain)
classic:
- volume
- gain
- two voices (clean and classic crunch)
- deep (adds low end)
- tone shift (scoops middle)
- Master volume

As I said, these heads give you the best of both worlds - usable tone in a tidy package.

The clean channel is as good as you're going to get from a Marshall. I like it, personally. I have wired my humbuckers in parallel and can get a wonderful, glassy sound from this setting. A piece of advice - the EQ is for both channels so set it up for the best gain sound and just use your guitar's tone controls to do the rest. Really, it's a shame people rely so much on pedals and amp EQ to get their sound - use your instrument!!

The gain is extremely versatile - again, use your instrument!! For me, the crunch on the higher gain channel works best. There are similarities between this and older Marshall amps but if you really wanted a JCM800/900 you would've already bought one! Really, I can't see what the fuss is with those amps - the 800's were useless unless you had another few amps onstage for everything else. And the 900's were just a higher gain version of the 800's!

Seriously, if you're looking for an amp that will cater for all your needs and not blow it's top because of some electrical novelty, this is for you - sounds terrific!

Never broke. Grab some matched EL34's from Watford valves and it'll increase it's lifespan. Marshall builds have never been fantastic but I haven't had any problems with this so far (had it about 6 months).

Get a flight case, don't let anyone handle it if you wouldn't trust them opening a can of beans etc... a bit of common sense will make it last forever.

Never dealt with them. What's the point?? Just go find a decent amp shop and let them do the work. It'll be cheaper than sending it to Marshall's factory and at least you know the guy who's working on it!

Sayong that, I did once have a dodgy footswitch and they sent me another...

Great amp - much better than the 100 watter unless you have a weekly slot at Wembley! Plus you can crank it up for a better tone and not split your face in half! You'll get far more out of this amp by improving your technique and using just the amp and your instrument than relying on hundreds of pedals!

i just bought a new marshall dsl 50 watt head. it's perfect for me. i'm from the old school of sound and knobs on amps.( not too may knobs). this is a 2 channel amp. i use the classic gain channel for what i play. i can dial up the gian on that channel 3/4 and volume up 1/2 and it rips. i use strats and teles with emg's. so the pick ups keep it from going overboard. the tone is fat!!!! also, i use a peavey 115e classic cabinet. stock speaker. huge sound!!! the ultra gain is the same as above. the mix between guitar, cabinet, head make this a great combination. i suggest you try it. thanks!

same as above.

don't know yet.

don't know yet.

so far so good. huge tone with the mix as i said above.