Marshall JCM-2000 DSL 50

Really only use the crunch channel, the clean is good too. would be great to have separate EQ's for the red and green channels,

Play a custom strat w duncans most of the time I also own a 69 strat which sounds unbelievable thru this thing... this amp can cut thru anything.. but there is a warmth thats missing.. tried an attenuater which helped a lot but still leaves somthing to be desired, as you can tell by now not totally thrilled with overall tone.. I've owned fenders all my life and am about to switch back... great metal amp but not warm and versitile enough for me...

We play every other week... Hendrix.. Doors, J. Winter .. Sabbath
when i first got it I used a thd hot plate.. sounded awesome,
played It -4 db m vol 10 , pre around 4.. But blew a heat fuse..
and had to send it out... tech said tubes biasd to hot, when i got the thing back.. it sounded 100 times better... my advice to anyone buying a marshall is get something older jcm 800 maybe and have a good tech retube it... and check it out, I dont think there is a lot of consistancy with the new heads...

Came from Guitar Center CT... Support was great !!

I quess for me expectations where high, I'm 44 now and playing since 8 th grade.. I bought it cause I could finally afford it after all these years... If your a serious player into tweeking your amp then by all means get it... just remember that all those great marshall tones ie van halen, beck (and i do mean Jeff), zz, aerosmith are the results of modifications... this amp sounds good at the store, but it takes more than the name plate to get those legendary tones..

Its all you need one clean channel and one distortion. I don't like alot of buttons on my amp. Keep it simple.

I have two main guitars i mainly use through this amp, an ESP EC1000(with seymore duncons) and a 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio. When i play with my ESP i wouldn't trade my amp for anything in the world, but however when i use my Gibson my marshall allways sounds like it has too much treble in it for me. And its not my settings because i have my Pressence at 0, my Bass at 8, my Mid at 7, and my Treble at 2. Its all in the guitar. The clean channel os also good but i lifted my pickups to get more gain so it messes with the sound but i love it.

My amp never messes up.

IDK i got mine off ebay

I have been playing about 2 years. I play in a Post Hardcore/ Screemo band and it works perfectly. If you want this to play metal well then, uh, look at like a mesa/boogie, not this amp. I like this amp alot but i want to see what a 5150 sounds like. Chyea Chyea.

I bought my jcm 2000 in 2005 using only a few pedals, compression, wah, eq and chorus. Am sooo glad i bought the 50 watt head as oppose to the 100 watt. I play in what i consider a loud rock band. i have never had it past 6. So god knows what a 100 watt head would sound like. It does'nt have a contour level like other marshall amps which is a shame as i miss it. Effects sends and recieves are handy for delays and booster pedals (although a little noisey) Its a basic amp.

FIRSTLY - This amp is only good for vintage rock - AC/DC, Hendrix, deep purple or Led Zep fans. You get classic marshall early rock and thats it. So dont buy it for your bedroom or metal band.

If you want distortion this baby only works at gigging volume otherwise the sound you get is really very poor. by gigging volume i mean 4.5 plus this is a marshall and its loud! the valves get better and better from 4.5 onwards. Bearing in mind pub landlords usually start twitching at 4.5 its not ideal for pubs and honestly much past 5.5 you will start twitching. There is a high gain setting but its extremely noisey so noisey that for me it became a problem so i never use it. tho you can get a controlled feedback which is nice think Foxy lady intro.

Clean: The clean sound is pretty good the amp does not need to be cranked up to get a descent sound far from it. At about 1 you can get great tones.

I always use the deep button and tone shift.

I had originally bought a second hand dsl 50 head. Rather stupidly. The reverb was not working but i thought i know some good engineers i'm sure it will not be a problem (thinking this amp had never left the bedroom)Big Mistake!! I had several amp electricians look at it and no one could solve the reverb problem. In the end i took it back to the kid and got my money back and bought a new head with the warranty. The new head has never let me down. Thats more then i can say for other marshall amps!! MG series (crap fans) & mono blocs beautiful but blow fuses not very reliable!
The new head has not been a problem.

never used it.

Good for classic rock and vintage rock sounds only. Not very versitle but then you dont buy these to sound like steve via or george benson! Dont buy unless you gig in a loud rock band or you will never use it and it wont work well for you. Its a basic amp with two sounds. If you are buying it to put a multi effects pedal infront of it shame on you! Go and buy a line6.

This amp is massively versatile. I would suggest extreme metal aint it thing, if you want huge bass chug look to a Mesa or Peavey 5150 or something, but this gives a great sound for everything from clean to heavy metal like Iron Maiden, and also hard rock like Guns n Roses, and this is where it unsurprisingly shines the most. 2 channels but each has a boost on (although it would be nice if this were footswitchable. This amp has plenty of power for me though, and, with my ts808 tube screamer, absoloutely sings!!!

This really is a great sounding amp, however, I will say, to me it sounds best with the standard Marshall 1960 with 75 watt celestions, I tried it through an engl vintage and it sounded fairly harsh when any treble over 2 was dialled in. With g12-75s though, it really does sound great especially for heavy rock. It doesnt quite have the tonal colour of, say, a cornford hellcat, or bad cat amp, but for the money I could not ask for more. People say that it doesnt sound quite as great as the jcm 800, and for heavy rock,but tbh you have to crank an 800 loads for it to acheive that great sound, and it will never be as versatile as this, and this really is a great rock sound in its own right!!! well worth buyin, and better than many other amps I have tried at this price!!!!

only had it a few weeks, nowt wrong so far. I aint had trouble with any of the other 4 marhsalls I have had so hope this is the same!

not had to deal with the company!!!

I have been playing four about 4-5 years, but am really into my gear. I have played many great amps, my favourite being the Cornford Hellcat, and while this amp is not quite a Hellcat, i really is a great amp, especially for the price. I would recommend the Marhsall 1960 cabs for this, They may not work well with some amps but it seems the dsl 50 was designed with it in mind. Definitely try one out and dont be put of by people telling you it isnt as good as a Mesa or Engl. Those amps cost a lot more and for, in my opinion, little gain. I play a schecter c1 blackjack and Tokai MIJ love rock through it , and both sing, but the Tokai is glorious, as was the SG I tried it out with in the shop. It seems that those who say Marshall's and Gibson's go together very are totaly right!

Amp purchased new in 2005. I tend to like simple front panels, so this was perfect. Two channels, two voicings for each plus additional tone controls. 50 watts is pleny of power, especially when coupled with a 4 x 12 cab.

Played with an American Telecaster and a Carvin SC90 (Neck through, fixed bridge, dual humbuckers). Perfect for Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, basically everything from classic rock to heavy metal. The head is a natural mate to the 1960 Vintage Series cabinets. I use a 1960AV, which makes for a perfect combination of deep bass and cutting midrange bark. The amp sounds awesome with the very little use of the tone controls. The clean channel is very warm which I tend to prefer over an overly bright/brittle sound.

First amp ordered failed in the store as I was trying it out. Appeared to be a failed tube. Marshall factory replaced the head the following day. No problems now. Seems to be well made. Fit and finish are excellent, head construction is plywood. The black, gold and white makes for a very attactive amp. Very nice overall.

Customer support in the UK is excellent. Have called the Marshall factory on several occassions and always had questions answered by a tech literally within minutes. Specifically I asked about converting the head to US voltage when I return to the states. They said to bring it in, it would cost about 20 pounds and I could tour the factory if I wanted while it was being done. Good people.

I've been playing 15+ years, and have more gear than I care to think about. My practice amp is a Traynor YCV 50 Blue, which is like this amp reduced to a portable size. Same pre-amp tubes, same power tubes, same Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. I bought this amp because after years of buying amps that claim to sound like Marshalls, I thought it was probably best to buy the real thing. No regrets and I'll never sell it.

This is just a slight re-cap here. Thought I'd write to share a few things seeing how I've had the amp for a few months now, minus one more for being in the shop.

This amp is a high gain amp and it has enough treble to rip your ears off. Even when using the Classic channel with the gain button engaged. One thing which helped out considerably was a Beam Blocker from Weber. This helps to dispurse the highs so they're not going straight at you. I would highly recommend trying these if you find the treble hard to control.
I've noticed how the bass differs between the two channels. The bass on the Classic channel can be a bit loose, where the bass on the Ultra channel is nice and tight. When using the Classic channel with the gain engaged I also use an OD pedal set very low. OD pedals have a tendancy to cut bass, and it really helped to tighten up the low end on the Classic channel.

Here's where things went a bit awry. One night while playing at home the amps volume went down by itself then back up. Down and then back up again. I turned the amp off for a while and checked a number of things out, including all of my cords as well as the connections inside my speaker cabinet. Turned it all back on and all for fine for the next hour.
While playing the next night the amp started to hum very, very loudly. I mean LOUD! The hum was'nt coming from the speaker but from the amp head itself. I turned the amp off and took it to a great amp tech that I know the following day. I've read that DSL's can be rather unpredictable and sometimes totally unreliable. With that in mind I told the tech to keep it until it's fixed. He called me up one month later and said dispite all efforts he could not get the amp to act up. He tried it out in 4, 8 and 16 ohm operation, ran effects thru the loop, checked the tubes, the bias, connections, checked this, checked that and in his words, "I ran the shit out of it. I mean, I pushed it hard and nothing. It works fine." Great. All I can say is hopefully it was just one of those things that won't happen again. As of now I'm just playing at home. I would have hated to have been at a gig when it started to act up on me.

I've never dealt directley with Marshall so I can't comment. Anytime I have an amp problem I always take it to the tech that I mentioned.

I'm not dissing Marshall here although it sounds like I am. And I have learned how to get some good sounds from my DSL 50. Some great sounds, actually. But of what I've read (and have experienced for myself) it sounds like the DSL's are a 50/50 proposition. I've read of people who've had nothing but repeated bad luck with them, and I've read of folks who've never had a problem after years of use. I've read of a lot of people complaining how Marshalls quality has taken a real dive by using the cheapest components these days in thier amps. So I guess you just take your chances and hope for the best. Should'nt be that way considering how much you pay for them these days. Hell, I paid $425.00 for my Peavey Classic 30 about 3 years ago and that little amp delivers everytime. Everytime.

Simple features, which was what I wanted. You have a clean sound and a distortion sound. Would be nice to have a lead boost.

I researched every head in the $500 - $1500 category I could find and I tried several of the heads in this price range. All other amps left me a little disappointed. The main thing I was looking for was an excellent distortion sound without any effects required. When I plugged into this head, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. I play in a pro metal band with a loud drummer and bassist. Turning this thing up to 6 when running through a 4-12 cab, I can destroy them live. The distortion of this thing is absolutely brutal. I get a ton of compliments on my sound. FYI- I use a B52 cab. I compared it side by side with several Marshall cabs and I prefer the B52, and the price cannot be beat.

No problems yet. Marshall has a great rep so I am not worried.

No experience with them.

Marshall is legendary for a reason. I could have saved a few dollars but my sound would have been compromised and that was not acceptable to me. I highly recommend you check out this amp if you are looking for a head in this price range. I found nothing that was even close to as good.

2005 model jcm2000 Dsl 50 has 2 channels individual reverb for each channel. clean channel is bad its always distorted ecc83 preamp valves and el34 power amp valves. for a 50 watt its pretty loud

im using a epiphone g400 with seymour duncan invaders. ive had the dsl for about 8 months. the distortion is crap its pretty disapointing i expected a lot more from a marshall it had no balls
but some parts are ok. i play punk\hardcore and this amp is just totally wrong it would suit 70's and 80' rock good . the jcm900 hi gain amps are supposed to be better

built like a tank. i don't see it breaking down. but still i would
use a backup

Clean and distortion. Both channels share an eq....which sucks.

I was dissappointed. Distortion was ok, but not what you'd expect from the legendary Marshall name. Marshall isn't Marshall anymore.
They are catering to new music...Nu Metal. And this amp isn't even great for that. I played it live and it was just muddy. No balls, no meat. And the channel switching is AWFUL! You can hear like a gap in sound when you switch. How can Marshall do this and sell this for the price they do? Every amp repair guy I've talked to has stated that the new Marshalls are horrid. Cheaply made, sold expensive.
I sold this thing on ebay (I would have gladly traded this for a grilled cheese sandwich), and went back to my JCM800s (I have 4 of them). Those were the last good amps Marshall made. I also have a JMP 100w head. It is interesting to note that whereas I love the 800s, there are guys that grew up before me who dog the 800s as I dog the 2000s! Maybe it is a generation thing. Nah....the 2000s are still just plain hopeless.

Didn't have it long enough. I'm sure it would have broken down.

For some reason Marshall just won't admit that their older amps, the amps that gave them their legendary status, were better amps. They actually feel that the 2000 are the best amps they ever had.
I mean I asked why there is a sound gap when switching channels.
One guy actually said that it was just the way they were designed!
Is that a freaking answer? WHy would you design something like that. And every one of these in every store did this. From what i know, it is just bad/cheap relays. Thanks marshall.

So many amp companies used to try to emulate the Marshall sound. Now marshall is just trying to copy the Boogie Rectifiers (don't even get me started on them! I sold a Rectifier that I hated and replaced it with the 2000....another bad choice). I think it is ok maybe for kids that are just starting out, but then again, the price is ridiculous.

My amp is a 2005 JCM 2000 DSL 50 Head. Bought the DSL 50 because I do not need the extra Power of the DSL 100. Most folks know about the features of the DSL Heads: 2 channels, 2 modes per channel, individual reverb controls per channel, effects send and return, bootom boost and mid cut buttons, footswitch to change the channel. All tube preamp and all tube power amp...another "Marshall Classic". I run the head through a Marshall 1960A Slant Cab.

I added this amp to my rig with an A/B Switch for added tonal felxibility (now this is a Mesa/Peavey/Marshall rig). The two channel/four mode configuration of the DSL 50 is very nice, but it would be cool if Marshall added another button to the footswitch that would let you change modes from clean to crunch in channel one and from lead 1 to lead 2 gain in the lead channel. Other than that, the amp has what I need. The amp has more than enough power for me as I play in a home studio, recording, small clubs and small parties. All tube...tube is the only way to go if you can afford it.

I use a Fender American Deluxe FAT Strat, PRS Custom 24 and a Vintage Les Paul Custom through this amp and all of them sound great thorugh the Marshall...to my hear. I have not had the amp that long, so I'm still tweaking it to get the right mix between the three amp setup I use.

The DSL 50 suites my style well as I play everyhting from soft to hard rock...60's through 90's style. The overdrive tones are nice (maybe not as "sweet" as my Mesa. the Marshall is more "harsh", but I like it) and their is plenty of gain for my needs. Given my style of music (classic rock/soft-hard rock/some country), I do not care much for the mid-cut button, but I'm sure MetalHeads love that feature. For my needs, there are three things I like about this Marshall configuration:
1. I was suprised to find that I really like the clean sound you can get out of channel one. It's very pleasing to my ear...not as harsh as a small combo's clean tone.
2. The bottom boost does just wat it says; it boosts without making things muddy. So you cann really "feel" the music when you want to.
3. The combined sound I get when I use both the Mesa and the Marshall. All I can says is Overdrive Tube Heaven!

The amp is no more noisy than any other amp I have. And I would expect that MetalHeads could get all the overdrive grind they may want. If not, add a Marshall Powerbrake...if you can afford it.

The one complaint I have is that there is a slight delay (somewhat noticeable) when you change from channel one to channel two with the footswitch. not sure what is going on there (Marshall, are you listening?), but many other reveiwers have said the same thing.

To new to judge, so I'll hold off on making a judgement here. Given Marshall's reputation and the fact that they have been around since the 60's, I hope to have no probelms with it. I take good care of my gear, so if if I do have any problems, I hope Marshall steps up to the plate.

I am not sure I will lug this thing around for gigs. Small gigs, no way. But for a larger show, I would bring it. As stated, I have a three tube amp rig now...so I have a backup. I would never gig anywhere except a casual small party without a backup.

Have not had to deal with them yet. I can say that I did try to use their website to get a question answered and their website did not work at all (Marshall, are you listening?)

I'm 45 and have I've been playing guitar (and other instruments) for over 40 years now. I played on a professional basis earlier in life, recorded (2 albums, several singles, etc.) toured, blah blah, but gave up the professional musician career many years ago. Consequently, I own or have owned too much gear over the years to list. Now I just play in a band for fun and I'm constantly searching for the ultimate tone and flexibility in my guitar rig (I guess I'm a gearhead). I own other Marshall stuff and knew what I was getting when I bought this...the Marshall Tube Head/Half Stack Sound...most love it, some hate it, but to most folks, Marshall is the most recognized name and sound in rock music.

I did comapre this to other products (Mesa, Peavey, other Marshall, etc.) but decided to add this to my mix because of the Marshall Sound.

If it were lost or stolen, I hope my insurance company would replace it.

Bottom line, if you like the Marshall all tube/half stack sound, this might be the most flexible and best Marshall ever. It's not a modeling amp...it's a flexible two channel. But do you want to play guitar through a REAL Tube Classic Marshall...or a computer simulation of one? I love it.

This is my first Marshall! How MANLY!!! Bought the amp brand new in late September, 2005. You know the features by now: two channels each with an extra mode, one set of EQ's for each channel to share. Effects loop that works pretty good and each channel has it's own reverb and a pretty nice reverb at that. Might be nice if each channel had it's own set of EQ's but then that might make a mess of things, maybe not. But for my needs and the way I use this amp it works fine. Great, really. I bought this amp for a few differant reasons. Ive always loved the Marshall sound but tried to get that sound "on the cheap" with OD/distortion pedals. Bought some nice pedals but they always left me with the feeling that something was seriously missing. Seems like all pedals have that fuzz (to some degree or another)that permiats the entire sound. What I wanted was that underlying crunch with that crisp top end and while some pedals may be close none are quite there yet. When I bought my last pedal in June of this year I swore it would be my last if it did'nt meet my expectations. It did'nt. Enter the DSL 50. They got pretty good reviews and the price was within reach compared to some other Marshalls. Two weeks after owning my DSL I took out some of my pedals. UGH!!! Can't believe how they all sound like cheap toys to me now. Hey if you want chocolate you buy chocolate, right?

Okay, I'll admit that at first I had my doubts about this amp. When I first tried it out at the music store it seemed to be very treble sensative to me. But I reminded myself that it's a whole new thing and that I just was'nt use to it yet. Besides, I had 10 days to try it out and if I did'nt like it there would be no questions asked. So I got it home and plugged it into a 1X12 cabinet I have with an Eminence Legend V12. (16 ohm operation). Again, even with the treble on 2 it was enough to rip your ears off. Same thing with the mids. Any higher than 3 was total overkill (with the treble on 0) and when you added treble...OWWWWWWWW!!!!! I even tried the bass boost on with the mid scoop swithch engaged and while it helped it still seemed a bit much. Hmmmmm, what to do here?
I finally hooked my Boss GE-7 EQ into the loop and tapered the far right sliders downwards and I'll tell ya, that did the trick! Now I can fine tune the tone using the treble and mid controls because I took all of the "shrill" out with the EQ. The tone is now much, much warmer and more workable.
I found that I prefer using the Ultra channel, but not with the mode switch engaged. I've learned to get a pretty good tone going that has the qualities I was looking for. Like I mentioned, that warm underlying crunch with that crisp top end. Not that damn pedal fuzziness on every frequency. It's a great rock tone that shouts Marshall that I can use for just about anything.
I can't compare this amp with other Marshalls because not only is this my first one but it's really the only Marshall that I've played thru at any great length. Of what I can tell from recordings I've heard throughout the years it's not that "Plexi" type of sound but it's still a very good, very workable sound.
The one bad thing is that clean channel (used clean or with the Classic Crunch engaged) does'nt even up with the Ultra channel. The Clean channel in either mode is much more bass heavy than the Ultra channel and when you switch from one channel to the other the bass response does'nt even out at all. The bass on the clean channel almost seems kinda flubby while the bass response on the Ultra channel is nice and tight. But like I mentioned I prefer the Ultra channel anyway. So far the guitar that seems to sound the best to me is my Peavey Wolfgang Special that has a Dimarzio Air Zone in the bridge position. Just seems to hit the spot perfectley.
I found a way to use the clean channel to my liking with my Rickenbacker 330. I plug the Ric into a Line6 AM4 amp modeler that's set to the Tweed 4X10 setting and use the Line6's tone controls to shape the sound and it works pretty damn good! Gives me a great, workable clean sound.
So my setup is: Wolfgang into the 'A' side of my A/B box.
Ric into the Line6, into the 'B' side of my A/B box.
Line out from A/B box into the Marshalls input.
The EQ on the Marshall is set to use for the Ultra Channel. I use the remote switch that came with the amp to switch from the Ultra to the Clean channel, then I use the Ric thru the Line6 for my clean sounds. Other than the EQ in the loop the only other pedal I use is a Boss DD-3 delay pedal which is also in the loop. For me it all works pretty damn good, too.

Hmmm. I've read the good, the bad and the ugly about this amp and not just on this forun either. No guts no glory, right? It's an imperfect world we live in and there's no guarantees that it's all going to go exactley to our liking. I sure hope the amp does'nt act up on me but if it does I know of a great tech that I can take it to. so I'm not too worried about that.

Same thing. I've read good and bad. So I'll rate this a 5 based on "we'll see."

I'm an older guy (52) and in my younger days use to be a full time bass player. Put down the bass in favor of guitar in 1996. I'm primarily an at home player and progress has been slow due to heavy work hours. (5 night's a week at 12 hours a night=60 hours. But I'm starting to learn how to make a pretty decent noise! My son is grown up and out of the house and I'm divorced and single. So I gotta have something to do, right? I've been working on original material with some other players lately and the DSL 50 has been working out great! Even though I'm older I'm in no way "mellowing out" when it comes to music. I know what I like and I know what I like to hear and I can now finally hear it the way I've been wanting with the Marshall DSL 50.
In researching this amp I came across a lot of guys who really dissed this amp. Maybe some of them had good reason. But then a lot of them are just downright snobs when it comes to certain things. Some are of the type where if you don't have a point-to-point hand-WIRED amp you're not welcome in our little click!! I'll bet that half of them can't even play! You know the type. Ton's of vintage gear, huge stacks behind them to make up for their small.....well, nevermind!
In my very humble opinion this is a great sounding Marshall. I found out that once I took a bit of time to figure this amp out I was able to tame the beast in a way that worked for me. Finally, finally I can now get rid of all of those damn pedals that I've collected throughout the years and play the way I've been wanting to which is guitar, cord and amp! No regrets with my DSL 50. And Jeff Beck uses them too!

Bought it used. It looks brand new, guess it can be 3-5 yrs old. I play metal and classic heavy and it works great for both styles.
It`s got two channels divided in two modes: Classic/Crunch and Ultra gain lead 1 & 2. The other guitarplayer in my band`s got a Marshall JCM 800, 50w and the crunch channel on mine reacts the same way (conserning heavy it might not cover your needs for a 800 if you`re doing something else). It`s got tons of distortion and I`m all set with lead 1 on about 8 on gain and 3-4 on volum, flat eq.
It`s got an fx loop by I haven`t used it.
I wish it had two separate fotswitchable volumsetings for each channel to boost leads. It`s got some eq-colouring knobs which I could`ve done without. Maybe I`ll need `em in the future, who knows...
I`ve played everything from pubs to 1300 venues and 50 watts is all you`ll ever need!
It`ll cost you less to repair/overhaul since it`s only got 2 powertubes.
I sold my Marshall rack setup JMP1 + EL34 to buy this and I`ll never regret it!

I`ve a guitar maniac and use it with several guitars and pickups. Flying V with T500 sounds best I think. Also play with EMG 81/85 which also works fine.
If an amp snare the distorion I need I won`t trust it if it doesn`t hum a little so the noise is ok. I`ve read reviews of it were it says that it quiet on dist settings, I don`t agree, but it`s no problem.
The clean channel is a bit "thin" i think, a little reverb helps. Crunch channel breaks up in a nice overdrive and the lead channels `ve gor tons of dist.

If it breaks down in a consert I`ll find some solution. I live in Norway and bought it used from US. So it`s been "on the road" already. I trust it. If I were to buy a backup amp I guess I would just buy another one just like it.

Mailed Marshall and asked if the amp could be modyfied from 110 volts to 220. They gave quick feedback and Marshall makes just one trafo and it can easily be rewired. It cost me approx 50-60$.
The radio guy had never done something like this so he wouldn`t give any warranty tough.

It looks way better on stage than the old rack!
My band if you like: www.MindGrinder.com

This is your basic rock amp with basic rock amp features. I don't even know why they bothered with the clean channel. I, personally, never use it as I think it sounds somewhat "fake," for lack of a better term.

The distortion channel sounds great if you set it up correctly and can play well. I keep my treble low because I feel that Marshalls are quite brite, and my bass low because it makes my band's mix sound far less muddy.

My settings are approtimately: Presence-0, Treble-3, Mid-2-4, and bass-3. I use OD1 w/o Deep or Mid Shift selected, and gain is set at a little less than half. If you can't make a DSL 50 sound good with these setting (change tubes to JJs also) then it's probably because you're not a very good guitar player or have selected the wrong amp for your style. Everyone from Metal School to Jane's Addiction is using these, and they sound GREAT live.

I blew a transformer because I tried to set the bias myself. If you take care of this amp and have it check out by a tech occasionaly, you should have no trouble.

I'm a big fan of this amp. For the price ($650 used), I don't think I could have done much better.

I've owned a few other amps including a JCM 800 and a Mesa Boogie Nomad 100. The JCM 800 sounds a little better in optimal circumstances (which rarely occur) and the Nomad 100 was good at everything, but great at nothing.

I go see bands play quite often, and I often feel that many players would sound better with the JCM 2000 compared to many more expensive amps. (Especially Boogies, which usually sound like pure mud in a mix.

this thing is only 50 watts of tube power but thats enough to bust a couple skulls. alot of people have the problem with the volume drop going from clean to gain, this is because the tubes arent being driven to hard on the clean and they need time to catch up with how hard there being driven.

the distortion on this is brutal and as i have said before, enough to bust some skulls.i use double humbuckers from my les paul and flying v, no whimpy single coils. i like metal and stuff and this is the perfect amp for that.

ive had this for only about 5-6 months and when i got it, it was used but in very good condition and the store put new tubes in before i got it. i have never neglected this thing, it sits covered with a marshall cover. this thing is very rugged and you can gig with it, just look at anybody's rig and you'll see marshall's everywhere.

there is marshall dealers everywhere for service and such and the marshall has lots of help on there website.

i own a marshall 4x12 and 4x10 and a marshall 8200 valvestate head. i never even considered any other amp but marshall, because marshall rules.

Made sometime in the early 2000s I think. 50 watts of tube power, which is enough to drive a full stack easily. It's got two channels that share an EQ, plus seperate reverb and gain controls. It can carry a 4, 8 or 16 ohm load. It's a fairly simple, but versatile head.

Like most Marshall, it has nice clear cleans, and crisp dirty distortion. I personally pretty much never play clean (only heavy hardcore/punk/metal). I play with a Boss OD/Distortion, Boss EQ, and Digitech effects pedal (basically just as a noise gate though) in front of the clean channel with the gain up half way. It's all the distortion I'd ever need. I can play anything from Black Flag to Slayer and it sounds perfect. At high volumes it sounds phenomenal once the tubes get cooking, especially through a full stack. With this head you can easily get a clear rock tone or a quick metal tone with pretty much no effort.

When I bought this, there was one problem with it. When switching from the clean to gain channel, I get a quick half a second drop in volume before it fades into full volume. It's really small, but it's definitely enough to notice. I never get the same problem going from gain to clean, but it's always been like that (ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN THIS BEFORE, EMAIL WITH SOME FIX IT TIPS, PLEASE!). So, that's the main reason I just stick to the clean channel, because I like molding my sound with pedals anyway. Other than that, it's held up just fine. I transport it at least once a week without a protective case, so the tubes do get rocked around a bit, but when I flip it on it never hestitates to reign brutality upon my ass.

Had difficulty tracking down a customer service number to ask them about my volume drop problem (ANY HELP IS ALSO APPRECIATED - EMAIL ME!). Maybe I'll modify my review when I get a hold of them.

It's a great head if you want something straight forward, or a mainly clean slate to put lots of effects in front of. If it were stolen, I would probably pick up another one. I've always loved Marshalls for their versatility and unique distorted sound. Basically the only thing I don't like about it is that pesky volume drop, but I'm sure that's the fault of the previous owner, since I did get it used.

Bought it second hand in 2004, the amp and speaker cabinet cost 10.000 SEK together. Year of manufacture 1999. The features have been well explained elsewhere so I don't need to go into any detail.

There are two ways of looking at this amp:

(1) There is very little that is switchable: channel and reverb, the rest have to be done by hand. You could look at this being limiting..

(2) On the other hand there are numerous ways of setting up your sound, once you've got it.. its a dream.

I previously owned a VOX AVT120W - the digital modelling thing. I found out that in the end I spent more time tweaking it, going from one setting to the other without actually playing anything! Very frustrating. NOW I've got my sound its just a question of plug in and play.

Summing up it is a very versitile amp to get your "sound", the rest is in your fingers: As Zappa said - "Shut up and play guitar"

I've got two Amercian Series Vintage Strats (a '57 and a '62) plus a Gibson LP standard. Effects wise I use a Marshall Governer to load the pre-amp and a Marshall Supervibe and VOX Wah Wah. I've also a THD HOTPLATE to tame the beast. I play through a Marhall 4x12 with the 70W vintage speakers. Thats it.

The rest up to the amp and my figures.

The clean channel is used in crunch mode, I get nice Hendrix sounds from this, backing off the volume on Strats cleans it up very nicely. Doing this on my LP gives me a nice Zeppelin sound.

The lead channel is used the Lead 1 mode. This gives more than enough distortion for classic rock. Blackmore sounds are not impossible here. Again using volume control on your guitar works wonders.

Kicking in the Govener boost pedal really gets both channels to rock! Its a question of loading the pre-amp to get it working. The THD hotplate allows me to set the power amp halfway. The result is supurb.

For me its a 10! I can to cover most styles. Enough said.

I have had no problems. Its 6 years old now, so what more can I say.

Haven't used it.

Its all in your fingures. Set up your sound and play. This is for the serious musician who knows what he wants, you dial in your sound and go for it! I haven't touched the tone controls for weeks!

2002 model, all tube, 2 channels, 2 modes per channel, one row of knobs, effects loop, reverb, mid scoop and bass boost.

Let me start by saying that if you cannot get a good sound from this then it's not the amps problem: You need to look at what you are doing instead. I play an LP Standard, a Washburn Idol 68, and an LP Custom through this and they all sound amazing. I play alot of hard rock and metal and this amp is just about perfect. It is based on a 59 SLP and a JCM 800. Before you say anything, shut up because NO this will not sound exactly like the amps, but it comes very close without the need for digital modeling. This amp is probably the most versatile thing I've played through. The Classic channel clean setting is amazingly responsive when cranked (the way a good tube amp should) and the crunch setting plays really well with a TS9 in front of it. On the Ultra setting, I can very easily get 800 and 900 type tones, like I said, not perfect, but good enough. Let's put it this way, if you wanted a 1959 Super Lead or a JCM 800 2203, you shoulda bought one. If you want a great Marshall with a vast array of tones, get this.

It's a Marshall, what more can I say?

Don't know

It's a great, no bull amp. I've played and owned just about every Marshall amp head, and this one is up there with the rest of them. Give them about 5 more years and people will be killing each other to own one.

I bought this amp in november 2004.

you know what its got by now lol

at the moment i am mainly using a gibson sg, and a epiphone les apul.

when i first bought the amp head, it sounded a bit harsh, but to fix this problem i bought 2 vintage 30s and 2 class lead 80s) i put the vintage 30s in the bottem because they have tight bass and lots of mids,
i then placed the class lead 80s on the top these speakers are great for the high end....

i also bought 4 high gain jj pre amp tubes, this made a very big difference took away the harsh high end and made it smoother,
i also put 2 jj e34l power tubes in and biased them at 39mv i found if i put it at the 45mv that marshall says, it was to muddy, and any lower than 37 was to thin, at this setting omg the sound is perfect.

ok after all that i now have the perfect amp head for me, its dirty, smooth, soft, harsh, heavy, fat bass or soft bass, it does it all,

i liked the first strum with this amp head thats why i worked with it, before this i bought a mesa boogie single recto but hated the first sound so i didnt waste my time tryin 2 like it,

clean- i find this to be good, can get some great blues,jazz sounds from this, or crank the gain and get that 60s bite,
crunch, well i love this alot, very fun to mess aorund with and put a overdrive pedal in front and boom its heavy metall all the way,

lead 1- this is kinda like what you get with the overdrive pedal in crunch mode but i feel its not as powerfull

lead-2 i use this live it cuts the mix very well, is very fat sounding, i eq it so this sounds smooth and fat and when i use the clean i simply roll my neck pickup bk and select the clean chanel and its perfect.

im giving this a 8 because i had to change speakers and tubes to love it but i did, and i love it

well i havent had any problems with it yet so fingers crossed.

i know 3 ppl who have owned 1 for over 3 years and neve rhad problems, one my them (mike) hasnt changed tubes and it still sounds great lol

well i must say after owning alot of marshalls, about 5 ive never dealt with them lol...

well i must say it doesnt cost alot about #1000 cheaper than the mesa boogie single recto and i love it about 1000 more, (thats for me tho) the reason i bought the mesa is because i liked how it sounded on cds but i couldnt feel it when i was playin,

overall i love this amp, i feel like a little kid when i turn it on and wait for it to warm up.

its like every thing in the world some ppl will gibve a 1 some will give a 10, all i can say is take these reviews with a pintch of salt and try it out ya self

50 watts EL34 powered amp. Awash with useless and pointless features such as tone shift and deep switch , or make that tone robber and one note bass. Its plenty loud indeed but I feel its a one trick pony , versatile ............no.

I used it with my 01 R9 Les Paul thinking it would be excellent....a mistake !! Ive now gotten into real amplification i.e Cornford and the Marshall DSL 50 is just a bad memory. The DSL50 is thin sounding , Classic Channel is passable, Ultra Lead 1 is weedy and Ultra Lead 2 is an illdefined soggy bass heavy mess. Tone controls aint versatile and i found the qmp pretty underwhelming. It is a mass produced low to mid market amp trying to convince buyers its a pro one, well...........it sure as heck aint pro, not by a long long way. For nu metal or stuff like that, why not , for passionate music, forget it.

11 hours use and it sufferred a major malfuntion. you read it right .......11 hours. Marshall 2005 = cheap parts, cheap amps, cheap tones , unreliable amps you can rely upon to let you down. Buy a Cornford, Buy a REAL amp. Marshall should be ashamed filling shops with junk like DSL, TSL, AVT , JCM900, Mode 4 ,real amp building in terms of marshall ceased in 1984.

dont even go there.they couldnt give a rats ass about anything other than your money.

playing for 23 yrs. i rejected my pile of junk 11 hrs old DSL50 that sufferred BIG TIME clap out . Disposable amps made with Disposable parts by folks who couldnt care less. Companies like Cornford, THD , Soldano , THEY know how to make amps , Marshall aint had a clue since 1984. DSL = Junk ................avoid.

Read other columns for more. 2 Channels with verb.

Clean channel is very clean and the highs are a little piercing. I play this through a 2X12 V30 closed back cab.. I find the clean channel works best for reggae. As a matter of fact, it does clean reggae better than any other amp I've used. I can only play a few reggae tunes a night so this doesn't work live.

The dirty channel is quite nasty in a nice way. I tend to be able to use less tecnhique with this amp than others. Smear licks work great and it's very easy to do great SRV and Hendrix tones. This amp goes nowhere near Santana type tone and jazz is not a stregth on either channel.

You've got clean that's ok for ballads and reggae, maybe even some dry funk (then again, the tone doesn't inspire funky double and triple stops). Highs and lows with no mids so bad live as mids is what my band needs as I'm the lone guitarist. This amp doesn't sound near big or warm enough to use live. I've played about five gigs with it and a Fender 2X12 but it was a hassle and the tone never felt comfy. The lead channel is super fun in a good transistor amp kind of way. Great for impressing people with your fancy chops if that's what you want. The tone will NOT impress the girls however!!

Can't use this amp for covering mutliple styles. I used it as a distortion box in my studio and then sold it. It was superb with a '52 tele ReIssue. Fine with hums or single coils. Overall the amp is bright or maybe harsh would be better. It's just ok. I must admit however that the amp is fun for wild ass solos. You'll impress yourself. You'd think that would be enough....well it's not. No warmth, depth or flexibility. Kazoo like sounding...slop sounds cool.

I used this once in a trio gig w/o my trusty key player and it was quite fun. I had a great rhy section that night so I could really ride the waves of dirt. The amp does not belnd well with keyboards or horns. This is all just my opinion as you may love this amp. I would use it again for a trio gig although I own much better amps.

I only put about 100 hours on it and no problems.

I didn't like this amp much and really never trusted it. Seems a little cheap.

The tone is not reliably inspirational unless you're really loaded and want to play acid rock with a power trio. Strat, wah, univibe, delay and your off.

Very few people will pay you for that.

I got this mail order and had no problems.

This amp is fun but really lacks any real beauty in it's tone. Try to play the lines from any Santana tune and you'll see it's not useable as in it's really bad. I've even played those lines through a tele and any other amp and it worked. I could play every tune in my ten sets with it if I had to. I much prefer either a Fender, Boogie or Vox type tone. THIS Marshall was a bummer for me.Channel One no mids in the clean which is great for reggae skronk but who really likes that tone?? The lead is great for anything like Moore, Hendrix, SRV etc. but it never really makes magic. Tone settings are typical Marshall. The distortion may make you sound good but the audience can't hear notes distinctly which is why you might sound better than you are. I like warmth in tone and found this amp less useable than others I've owned. I've owned several and currently like the Boogie Lone Star. This amp would be good for blowing over techno grooves and shit like that I think. Playing the dirty channel is VERY self indulgent.......I think that's a bad thing. Definitely a goof jerk off guitar....

A two channel amp will never have a huge number of features. I'm coming from owning a ADA MP-2, which had way too many options. Now I'm not sure if I have enough. May pick up a separate preamp for a few more options. Most guitarists can get away with one or two channels. Some can't live without dozens (modeling, racks, been there for both). I think once i have about 4 channels to choose from I should be completely happy. But, still, two channels and they share EQ (which sucks) so I gotta give it a 5.

I got Sovtek power tubes and electro harmonix preamp tubes in it right now, by the way.

I'm really liking the high gain sounds of this thing. I think that's where it excels. I'm using a very dark sounding 4x12 with Celestion G12-75t speakers in it.

I don't play death metal, so maybe it doesnt have enough gain for that. I play mostly rock with lots of power chords and solos and some atmospheric stuff just for fun. You can fake a good alternative/atmospheric/shoegaze sound with TONS of reverb and stuff, but thats not its strong point. It gets pretty brutal, I like the second channel. I would say this is primarily just a regular rocker's amp. I find that the crunch sound isn't really as nice. It's cool, but its by no means a JCM 800. I'm completely happy keeping it high gain. In fact, I have the gain around 6 and its still more than enough for me.

You'll never be able to 100% compromise with a shared EQ. I've found something I like: mids up around 9, bass around 6, treble around 3 or 4. Honestly, the amp (like a lot of Marshalls) has kind of a harsh treble. Playing on the high strings on the clean channel, pick lightly or take down your tone knob or you're gonna hurt your friends', bands' and your own ears. Icepick, unfortunately. A separate EQ and a bunch of reverb works nicely with it, but its by no means a great clean channel. Stays pretty clean at high volumes, can crunch up if you attack the strings. But, really just not the most pleasant clean i've heard.

It's a pretty bright amp, so thankfully I have such a dark cab. On all the other amps I've owned I've had the treble almost cranked or close to it. On the DSL 50 i've had it on 0 and it still sounded alright. I found around 4 its just about perfect. Again, another compromise, you get a little more definition with the treble cranked, but to my ears it doesnt sound as nice. I'm gonna have to pick up a boost pedal to compromise.

Like any high gain amp, yeah, noise can be a problem. Get a nice noise gate and you should be fine. It's not anything horrible. I've played a tele through it and didnt have too much of a problem.

Being honest, of course there are nicer sounding amps. This is a great sounding amp for the price I paid. A Super Reverb or AC-30 or some Mesas will have a better clean. The drive channel is great for pretty high gain stuff. I'm sure some Mesa's, Diezel, Bogner, Soldano, Hughes/Kettner, etc would do it better. It's by no means the last amp I'll buy, its not the "be all, end all" tone. It's just a very good gigging amp for working class rockers.

I was having some issues early on with the sound cutting out. Thought it was the amp and got pissed. Realized it was just shitty cables. Silly me. So far so good. I've had it for about a month now. Can't really guage it yet. Maybe I'll report back after I go on tour, but, probably not.

I don't forsee it being a piece of crap.

Like with any tube amp, you're gonna have to replace tubes, just how it is. I could use a case for it. Hearing the tubes bounce around when its sitting in the back of my car isnt too fun.

I don't deal with them. But the guy I bought it from is very nice. If i needed help repairing I'd probably go back to the same guy or bring it to any store that sells Marshalls. Shouldn't be too hard.

I wouldn't have paid any more for it than I did. I got a very nice deal on it from a friend of a friend.

It could be better. Could have 2 more channels. A nicer clean, a better breakup/crunch sound. Could clean up a little better with the volume knob on the guitar.

That said, could be a lot worse. It's got a great high gain sound. I'm sure with a line of EQ pedals you can make it do just about anything you want. Not very handy, but its a two channel amp, what do you expect?

Obviously as I said, wont be the last amp I ever buy. I may buy another 2 channel amp or a separate preamp to use in conjunction with the sound of this amp. Maybe try the clean channel as a crunch in that case (which sounds a bit better than using the crunch on the high gain channel).

Definitely a nice amp to check out if you can get it pretty cheap and dont need a ton of flexibility. Nice for the working class rockers out there.

They're stated many times before, but I'll repeat anyway: 50 watt all-tube head: 2 EL34s, 4 12AX7s. Two channels each with two modes, so four voicings total. Reverb control for both channels. Shared EQ - presence, treble, mid, bass. Mid countour button, Deep Switch button - one scoops the mids, the other adds lots of bass without muddying. Each channel has volume and gain. It's all pretty simple.

This is, of course, a Marshall - and thus has "that Marshall sound." The four voicings are all very different. The clean/clean is the typical Marshall clean channel - not meant for clean at all, that is. The Marshall clean sound is VERY ripe - it sounds at all times like it wants to distort, like it's right on the edge of doing so. Being this way, it's muddy and not glassy like a Fender. That's ok - who is looking for a JCM2000 to sound like a Deluxe Twin Reverb anyway? For what it does, it's actually very good. Turn the gain up and max out the volume and it reproduces a Plexi fairly accurately, while giving it's own sort of inflection to it... staying faithful to the old while advancing a little ways. It shouldn't be used to replace a Plexi by any means, but it's a good way to approach the sound.

The clean/crunch combination is a great one. It sounds almost exactly like a vintage JCM800 2203, which is a good thing. It has a wonderful thickness and richness to it, and the crunch is both solid and pliable - it reacts well to player input, unlike some other major-name amps I've played through, where dynamics didn't really seem to matter. Turn the gain all the way up and you've got some fantastic sounds churning out of this thing.

The ultra gain channel's Lead 1 voice is a favorite. It's what distinguishes the JCM2000 as "not the 900" and "not the 800." That is, it's a very new sound while remaing The Marshall Sound. It's still heavy, full of gain, but still has the Marshall crunch that players everywhere always want... it also has an incredible about of definition. The inbetween settings on a Fender Strat actually come through on this channel despite the huge gain available. Very supple, which is impressive.

The Lead 2 voice has massive amounts of gain involved, and some of the longest sustain I've ever encountered. It's even richer and thicker than Lead 1, but at a trade off of some definition and some clarity.

All four voicings respond very well to EQing... I like having treble and presence dialed in prominantly with mids and bass also at about two o'clock. I tend not to use the Bass switch or the Mid Cut switch... but if needed, I'll use the Bass one in certain situations. I don't ever use the "mid cut" sound, so that one is only for guests to use, or in that rare Slayer mood.

Reverb is surprising. It goes from subtle (2-3 on the dial) to mega-surfer/80s-B-movie superlush (9-10). There is lots of variance. It's not Fender reverb, which is justly huge and spacious while retaining full tone and impact... but it is actually very useful and good sounding.

Amazingly, this amp is dead quiet, even with single coils on the highest gain settings. Cemetary quiet. Library quiet. Until you hit the strings, you would hardly know it was on.

No problems so far.

This amp represents everything that is good about Marshall - faithful to the old sounds while carving out new sounds, all in the same great amp. Great rock tube tone, which is the bottom line.

2000/2001 model. 2-channel EL34 powered amp.

I mainly use humbuckers ('59 Duncans) in the bridge on my Teles and Strats. I play originals in a Classic Rock/Punk/AC/DC/Thin Lizzy/Social Distortion-inspired band. A great amp for the money, however nothing is perfect. I've owned and played through many Marshalls -- it is the best sounding amp I've had the pleasure of playing through. The only thing better might be a Plexi cranked up, but for those of us who actually play clubs (unlike many of the reviewers) you know this is impractical. I stay with the clean channel most of the time (crunch setting) -- this gives a great Young & Young tone. I do agree that channel 2 is a too thin, it could definitely benefit from a second EQ. If I want a little more gain I use a TS-9 in conjuction with channel 1. I will mention that channel 2 does work good for leads as you can really boost the output of the amp (most people running sound could give a shit less to boost the leads for a guitarist -- DO IT YOURSELF!) In my opinion if your switching between channels, channel 2 is really only usable as a lead boost -- its a little rough around the edges in most settings. The main point I will mention is that in order to really make this amp usable you need to run an external EQ (most amps can benefit from this as well.)

This Marshall has been very reliable. Its played outdoor festivals, smokey clubs, and has endured many, many, many drunken loadings into a beat up Econoline. It lives in Wisconsin and has endured some rough winters riding around between shows. It works. I can't say that about all Marshalls, but if you want a Marshall dependability is not always a given. My other Marshalls have not been as reliable as this one.

Never dealt directly with Marshall

I've owned numerous JCMs and JTMs and would definetely rank this the best for my style of music. Very versatile -- take some time adjusting the tone controls and ADD AN EQ PEDAL TO YOUR CHAIN!!! Wish it had a separate EQ for each channel. A very dynamic amp/responsive -- cleans up well by varying picking style/rolling back guitar volume knob.

tube amps are great but very old technology. I bought the line 6 spider II new amp and it's Ok for what it does until I found the tube tone. the tonebone hot british distortion box. here's the trick and this turned my new spider II amp into a marshall tube amp. I use the spider with no digital over-drive (raw) and the TOne bone hot british dist pedal. wa-la...it's all there tube tone . quite amazing and all I have to mantain is one tube in this product . probably comes with a cheap chinese tube so when this oges I'll get a good tubethat I've resarched already. the effect is a little pricy but look at the what you get, tube tone easy maintence (one tube). it's as close as you're going to get . there are a few tube dist pedals out there but this is the best . I hve no use for other pedals, mxr dist +, mxr 10 band EQ, selling them both as the tone bone has 6 knobs and switches to get EQ.

great but the maintenance it horrible. stick to one tube. so easy

as reliable as one tube can be

good but their are better things out there nowadays.

I have had this amp for about five years, so I think I know it's every strength and weakness, at least when it comes to overdriven tones. I play mostly the Ultra 1 channel.

I own lots of other Marshall amps: Silver Jubilee 2550 (1987), JCM 800 2205 (1988), JMP 2203 (1977), JCM 800 2203X Reissue, 50W Super Lead Reissue 1987X (from 1991), TSL 60W combo, and a 100W DSL. I have one slanted cabinet with Celestion 30H reissue speakers (not Vintage 30, I used to haved those but have replaced them) and another straight front with Greenback reissues.

I have recently done some comparisons of my 50W amps. The 50 Watters sound better through the cab with the 30H speakers, whereas the 100W speakers seem to sound better through the Greenbacks. I was comparing the high-gain tones, so the 1987X stayed out of this comparison because it is a totally different animal (it requires at least volume on 6 to sound good and for high gain tones it sounds best with a treble booster through the "normal" low sensitivity input).

I was quite surpised that I kept coming back to the DSL 50, over the Silver Jubilee and the 2205. The only complaint to the DSL may be that it has some extra "fizz/buzz" that the other two don't but in the overall tone and sensitivity it seems to come ahead. I did my comparisons with a 1975 Flying V. I am a Schenker nut and was trying hard to get to like the 2205 better. Now, let me be clear, the Jubilee and the 2205 sound great too but I liked the DSL better. I should point out that, after five years, I have figured out a setup with a very low (or zero) setting on the presence knob which sounds great with how I play.

People know how good the Jubilee and the 2205 are but I don't think everyone who bought the DSL realizes how great an amp it is. There were times in the past five years when I didn't like it either but it was probably because of trying to use different guitars with the same knob settings or not using the best speakers.

Al lower volume my DSL 50 sounds better to me than my DSL 100. At higher volumes the 100 Watter may sound better.

I also like my two 2203 amps a lot. They are totally different animals than the high gain 50 Watters. I have found a few treble booster and overdrive pedals that work great with them. But I would say that it is only at high volume that they sound better than the DSL 50.

I am glad I have been patient with this amp for five years and haven't sold it.

1996 JCM 2000,arrived with incompatible power tubes installed by previous owner, so would make weird whistles for about ten minutes, retubed all, now it's very useable, covers a lot of various styles, I do country to metal, people complain that you can't foot swith between clean and classic overdrive, properly tubed the amp becomes reactive enough that you can use your volume knob to clean up overdrive to get a warm clean with a little edge, I'm right fond of onboard reverb , and the ultra gain channel can be very fat, loads of harmonics, it's true that the shared EQ is not so good , needs tweaked between regular and crunch channels. Mid scoop sorta works, deep works but reEQ again or you'll be muddy.

I use lots of guitars thru this amp, built a V set it up like a hb bridge stat,Dimebag @ bridge,Reflex actives @ mdl and neck, Jackson locking trem) another set up like a Tele(tele hot stack br.,hot stack midl,lil '59 neck), Jackson DK2s Jb hb brdg, Duncan dsign single mdl, sustaniac nk, Epi dot,3 duncan lip sticks wired to any combos are in series, Gibson Les Paul,'59 brg, Slash nk, Stieny Spirit(before it broke) JB hb brg,hot stack mdl, jazz hb nk,Ibanez Destroyer,pearly gates hb brg,chandler rail sc mdle, chandler hb nk Sears Maya LP clone loaded w/ 3 P90's,bridge is duncan stack, mdlr p3, nk Gibson, it works great with 'em all, of course tweek EQ when switching guitars but really that's any amp. I don't notice any xcess noise out of this amp, clean is too clean, but roll vol. off on crunch and warm edgy clean is rite there, can get really metal on ultra channel especially with Dimebag hb, controllable feedback on tap, but this is a Marshaall, it only sounds good turned up no matter what you're playing. Played it outdoors at a good sized show and still had vol to spare, unusable in a small room but most 50 watters are. You can get ultra gain plumb rude. You can do country to metal with this amp.

This amp sucked as received, but was bought used and previous owner had installed incompatibe power tubes. These amps must have low efficiency power tubes in them, that's what they were designed for and there simply is no way to get GT E34LS's or Electro harmonics hot rod el34's to work properly. Good choices are GT R's and GT new 6CA7 power tubes, these work perfectly and you can go from British to early EVH tones without rebiasing if you buy tubes with the same GT# no problemo. Amp hates all PR devices, I've tried GT, THD, and Tone Bones and it hates them all, you have to keep big bottles innit.The preamp wants a different phase inverter tube than stock and also a GT Mullard innit, it's been totally reliable since I did as Groove Tubes suggested, of couse being a GT dealer I'm biased.I would use it sans backup.

No experience, purchased used.

Been playing 30 years,other amps are GT Solo 75,45,Lexicon Signature 284. Favorite amp is Solo 75, main stage amp is Lex 284 coz. only 3 watts, ever since I recorded backing trax for 100 tunes and went one man show I need uber controlable volume and the 3 watt a side 284 gives me that. Got the Marshall for recording purposes, only Marshall sounds like Marshall and properly tubed this thing screams I Be Marshall. If it were lost or stolen I'd find another used one and fix it, they're cheap! I love that it sounds so Marshally, I hate the high volumes neccessary to make it sound great,love the dynamics tho. Not as organic distortion as a JCM 800 but better for Hi gain. Kinda wish it came with a usable on board volume brake.

I bought the DSL recently and its got plenty of enough features, the eq is very good and im very fond of the deep switch. Tone shift is ok. It could do with a master volume though, strange that it doesnt have one.

The clean is the best ive ever heard except maybe for the twin reverb. With the reverb on 4-6 this clean is amazing. The lead is very nice as well, its got a better sound than the dsl 100 cus its got more natural breakup as the tubes are pushed more. To all the twats who go on about how bad the sound of this amp is, what the hell do you expect? This will give a better sound than any current day marshall; ok some vintage ones may have a slightly better sound. If youve got a problem with this youd better expect to be spending 5000 on a SLO 100 or an Uberschal. The sound of the dsl is excellent

Not amaazing; its a tube amp, theyre more delicate and fragile. Its got a nice encouraging weight to it though and i duruable finish (that elephant-arse effect). Its about as reliable as all other tube amps. The lack of reliability compared to solid states is worth it becasue of this things tone

Havnet dealt with them, but my friend has a 1962 bluesbreaker combo where part of the circuitry broke. It was fixed. And i hear marshall are ok to deal with

I think this is an excellent amp. If someones got a problem with it, they are very stingey and should get a soldano SLO-100. This dsl is better than the 100 version and it rules. Best current-day marshall

you know it

Honestly it sounds horrible. It has a very muddy distortion sound. If you like old school rock may be it will make you happy but for metal forget it. It is miles away from sounding tight and if you like fast palm muting an stakato riffing this think will give you a very shitty sound out believe me. So I bought a engl Tube TOner an just used the marshall clean channel it worked good but still not satisfied.

It broke up to times. First time the stand by knop was out of function but the amp worked still. After a year it broke down. The guy in the guitar shop who repaired said that over 1 Amper flowed between the tubes all that time. It was a resistor who broked that caused that the stand by knob didnt work. The second time i mean now a tube has blown away. I hate this think so i will sell it with my tube toner and buy a Triple X

The guy in the guitar shop fixed it well.

Some old school rockers will think i'm a fool to sell it but it sounds for me awfull and i like to play Iced Earth,Slayer style Power Trash Metal. So don't buy it please

Mine was made in 2001. Like so many true 2 channel amps out there today, this one has only 1 eq for both channels.(yuck) Who likes the same eq setting on thier clean channel as thier overdrive? On the other hand I love the separate reverb control for each channel. It has EL 34 type tubes which means you have to work your ass off because they arent reponsive at all. 6L6 would have been much better-they almost make it seem like your pickups are hotter. Everything else as far as features should be a given with a modern amplifier at this price level.(footswitchable reverb, effects loop, etc)

I am using an american Tele with an aftermarket pickup in the bridge postion. I play top 40 country (which calls for clean as well as modern high gain) I use this amp every weekend in class A and B clubs-very large rooms. It is always run through a monster house PA. Thank god because the overdrive channel is thinner than skim milk. I am horrified by the sound of this amp's overdrive. It sounds like a buzz saw and most solid state amps you can buy for under $300 sound about the same. The people here who are giving it 9s and 10s in thier sound rating have no clue about good tone and/or have never played through a great sounding amp. Part of the problem is that when you run one of these through a 412 cab, its only 50 watts and 50 JCM 2000 watts is not the same as a 50 watt marshall made in the 70's. Think I am kidding? Put a 70's-era 50 watt JMP next to a Marhsall Mode Four (I think they clam those things are like 300 watts?) and tell me which has more balls. Imagine if you took a massive front of house PA system and powered it with a NADY 100 watt studio monitor amp. Yeah- it would sound pretty thin. But like I said, the 412 thing is only part of the problem. For the benefit of the doubt, the 100 watt version may sound a little fuller with a 412 cab. With new technologies and cost-cutting endeavers by mass production amp makers, we get left with 50 watt amps that have all the balls of a peavey bandit. The only reason I am still using it is because I dont wanna ab two amps. (I would only truely be satisfied with a boutique amp for overdrive and they are all one channel so I would need a separate clean channel)Its a huge pain in the ass and I have been working for the last year on simplifying my rig. I solo with clean 70% of the time anyway so I just grin and bear it the other 30%. Ahhh, now that I have that off my chest. The clean channel is the best I have ever heard on any amp. Period. No, I dont think you understand. I have an early 70's Bassman and an early 70's Super Reverb which have some of the best clean tones ever created. This amp makes them sound muddy. I am giving it a 4 for that sweet clean channel- the overdrive gets a zero.

Here's the good news: The fine folks at Marshall have built this buzzsaw like a tank and I have been putting it through hell for 3 years. It rides in the belly of an MCI bus with not so much as a dust cover for protection and I am sure it gets bounced around down there all the time. It has never let me down.

I think the warranty is 3 years. I havent had any trouble so I havent had to deal with Marshall.

Overall, its ok for a working musician in my situation that is playing clean most of the time. If you were only using it for clean sounds all the time, you couldnt find a finer sounding amp. But If you are playing classic rock or modern rock for the same price or less, you can get a 70's made Marshall head and have yourself some real overdrive.

i don't know when the amp was built exactly, but the shop i bought it from had it coming straight from the factory so i guess 2004. Got it with a jcm 2000 1960a cab.

I think it has all the features i need in an amp. But i might get an eq pedal to make my clean tone a little more sparkling by getting some of the Bass out and boosting the middle's a bit(I set de middle halfway when using ultra gain).
I use this amp for band practise and when me and the other guitar player (same amp) set the volume a little over halfway we blow away our drummer, and the doesn't play soft you know. So it has enough power to getting hear when gigging, and if it needs to be louder they should put a mic in front of it and use a PA.

I play an Ibanez SZ BBL, my sweet love, it has 2 humbuckers and sound different from most Ibanez guitars i have ever heard. It is way more rock than those RG-types which sound way to metal for me.

The amp it self is really quit when i use it. I use the following settings:

EQ
-presence: 5
-bass: 8
-middle: 5
-treble: 9

REVERD
-channel a: 0
-channel b: 0

ULTRA GAIN
-volume: 6/7
-switch: gain 1
-gain: 9

CLASSIC GAIN:
-volume: 7
-switch: normal
-gain: 5

I play in a punk/hardcore band with on occasion a bit of ska and it gives me the sound that i was looking for... before this one i had a 120 watt Red Bear MKII Full tube lead going into a peavey 412j cab, but that thing would only sound a little good when used with effects. Now i just plug in right into the amp and i get the sound i love so much.

I think the full gain sounds really much less cool when volumes are turned down... but when the volume button turn over 4 it sounds like a beast ready to be unleashed onto the crowd.

If you play punk/rock you really should consider this amps tone... but when you try it out in a show turn up the volume to really get the right tone out of it.

Never had a problem with it but i just have it for 1,5 month. I gig without a backup.. but then again i don't have a backup yet. I trust this thing, but after moving the thing i always am a bit worried if it will still work... but i'm just a big pussy i guess.

haven't called em yet...

I saw in an other review here that someone said that if you are nog playing for at least 5 years, don't get it... That is B*llsh*t. Why should someone that plays for 2 or 3 years not get an amp that gives him/her the tone they have always wanted? I play for 3 years now and since i started i always was looking into tweaking my guitar sound into the sound i wanted, i have bought stupid stuff because of this. Now i have found it and i am the happiest guy i know(small things please a small mind).

If you are looking into an amps with balls but at the same time can be clear as no other, give this thing a try.

and i would replace it if it burns down or something like it... it can't be stolen i'm hugging the damn thing all the time :)

This amps is very versitile, works very well for almost all styles. IT has two channels, an effects loop and simple operation. enough power for doing gigs great tone at all volumes. 9 because I would like swithable effects loops. no big deal.

Im using a jackson soloist with a jb in the bridge and hot rails at the neck. perfect for metal,rock,blues whatever. the clean is great I put mullards in the pre and a mullard 12at7 in the pi slot and wow the clean is even better now. the people who say that channel two is to thin are from a diffrent planet. At first I can see how you might think this playing straight into the amp. This amp needs and eq in the effects loop (mxr 10 band) thats what I use and this thing blows away anything I have heard. I have played mesa boogies no comparison the lead guitarist in my metal band has a 5150 with eq and the whole deal cant even come close. dont let those idiots fool you this thing is sick

Purchased New for Christmas present in 2004 at Guitar Center. I have a son who was playing a full stack (Valvestate 100watt) Marshall but had kind of "outgrown" the mostly solid state head sound. I had given one of his older brothers a DSL 100 watt head and a 1960B cab a couple of years ago and that was the sound that this son wanted too. We live in the Dallas, Texas area and most of the clubs in this town aren't really large enough to get the full effect of a 100 watt tube head (playing on 2 1/2 volume isn't getting the best overdriving of the amp. So for this son I went with the 50 watt head and a JCM 900 1960A cab. The amp is a MARSHALL. It has the MARSHALL sound, that is great for many styles of music and the rock that these two sons play is just right for the MARSHALL sound. Others have listed the features and they haven't changed. GOOD AMP for the money.

MARSHALL amps = ROCK. I've been a musician since the late 50's and when the Marshalls finally hit the beach we started using them. The 60's would have not been the 60's without Marshall Amps. (Ok, so we had some cool Fenders and HiWatts and Kustoms, etc etc etc. but let's talk MARSHALL) This can be a noisy amp with some guitars (Fenders? or other single coils) but still has the classic sound. We use various guitars wirth these two amps: Fender 50th Anniv. Stratocaster w/ rosewood fretboard, Fender MIM Stratocaster w/ Maple Fretboard, Gibson "1960's" Les Paul Standard, several Epiphone Les Paul Classic and Standards, and a few bass guitars and acoustics and stuff.

Do Marshalls break down on you when you really need them? YES<YES<YES<YES -- NEVER gig with only one Marshall head or one day you will be left stranded. It has happened to all of us (if we play long enough) In fairness, most tube amps are fragile and can let you down without notice. Take care of the tubes and remember to warm them up and to let them cool down and try to keep the temperature of the storage area kinda consistant...and it will still break down, but not as often. STILL IT IS A MARSHALL...just keep somekind of "extra" head around for the backup.

When I was young and had records in the "national top ten" Marshall was very, very receptive to any comment or desire we had. Now I'm a nobody (you fickle fans just quit buying the records...or maybe it was your grandparents..but someone stopped buying them!) and that's what Marshall treats us like. There are good warranty locations in Dallas and so we have been able to repair the other Marshalls without much trouble. This "new" DSL 50 has not been a problem yet.

I have played since the late 50's. I have sons that have played between 7 and 10 years. Other guitar amps we own include the above mentioned Valstate head and two cabs and a 1/2 stack "Blue Voodoo" 120watt tube rig. Also assorted bass rigs and small "practice" amps.
If it were lost or stolen...my insurance company would be more upset than I...they would have to replace it. But for this son, I would certainly purchase the same DSL 50 head and cab setup.

Channel switching reverb in a 50 watt EL34 head. How many companies make this combination? Maybe three? (forget about the rediculously high priced bedroom amps)It has more combinations than I wanted, but I am very pleased with the tonal variations available. This one can be used by real working guitarists. I'd rate higher but it doesn't have flashing
lights inside or out.

I use dual humbucking guitars. This amp can make any sound. It has more than enough tone controls to get from bright to deep, from buzz to grind. Throw in a nice clean sound with reverb and it's all there.
I don't like a buzzy sound, but I can get it if I want to. The tone controls are all very responsive, it can get very bassy or very bright, as I have said, it's all there. This is the best amp Marshall makes now, IMHO. I am very pleased I bought it. Those people who say it has no tone or variation of tone must be hard of hearing.
"How brutal is the distortion?" No, brutal isn't the word. This is why I bought an EL34 amp, I wanted the softer, smoother sound. This amp sounds very, very good. Ah.

My other Marshall still works after 1 1/2 years. Otherwise I don't know.

Great! in the UK. I don't know about USA service.

I started playing when the Ventures (late 50's guitar band) came along. I am so old I saw Elvis live on Ed Sullivan. I own about 14 amps, all 100 watt except a couple of 50 watters. I am so old I saw Elvis live on Ed Sullivan. Did I say that? Told you I was old. This Marshall amp is very good. Of all the amps I have, as far as tone, this is tied on top with my best hand wired tube amp. One more thing, this amp has the tone you need and the Marshall name you need. There is a reason Marshall is so hot. Got Marshall? I recommend this amp to anyone who wants a lot of tone and something sh/he doesn't have to apologize for.
I mean hey, people are shallow, it's a Marshall! Until something else comes along, this is it.

Ahh yes the JCM 2000 dsl 50. Two channels(foot switchable), 50 watts (more than enough), reverb, and effects loop. The two things that would make this amp better; seperate EQ's for each channel, and footswitchable effects loop, otherwise the amp is good as far as the features go.

I am using several guitars through this amp. A Gibson Les paul standard with burstbuckers, a Jackson Randy Rhoads with EMG's, a Jackson Pro with a Seymoure Duncan Dimebucker, a Fender standard Tele with a hot rail at the bridge and a vintage noisless at the neck, a Gibson Les Paul special faded with P90's, and an Epiphone Casino. I have been playing guitar for 11 years now and I have owned several amps. I also own a Hot Rod Deville 212 and a Peavey 5150 II.
I am running this head through a Marshall 1960a and a 1960bv cab. I bought this amp because the other guitarist in my band needed a better amp. My band plays metal along the lines of Lamb of God, Slayer, Pantera, Meshuggah, Unearth you get the picture. This amp has a great rhythm sound, with a descent eq pedal you can get some seroius chunk uot of this baby. After about an hour of serious A-B testing between my 5150 II and the DSL50 without using any pedals, I have drawn several conclusions. The DSL50 has a much better clean tone than my 5150II. The DSL50 is very quiet (using monster cables). I cannot get a satisfying lead tone that I like. I really like the tone of this amp for rhythm, but no matter what I do I become frustrated when I play a lead or single note progressions. There are guitar players out there that use this amp for lead work and they love it, not me. The gain on this amp is good the clean is badass, but compared to the 5150II the gain does not hit half as hard. If you are in the market for a classic rock or hard rock amp this is a good choice. There is no doubt that this is a good amp. It is more versatile than my 5150II but not nearly as heavy. If you are into metal then go for a Peavey 5150 or a VHT.

No problems so far.

I work at Musicians Friend and the reps from Marshall are always cool.

I like this amp, If it were stolen or lost I would buy a different amp, probably a VHT pitbull, but only because I am a gear junkie and i like to try everything. I have personally owned many guitars and amps and the Marshall DSL50 is second only to my 5150 II. Overall it deserves a 9. Any questions send me an email.

First year production model DSL 50.
Versatile? Absolutely. I play a mix of modern rock originals and covers, however, it wouldn't matter what style of music I played, this amp would cover it. The only feature I see it lacking is a global master volume. I also never use the reverb, I prefer a slight delay via foot pedal.
I use this amp in small to medium sized venues and the 50 watts of power is plenty.

I use Carvin guitars with their stock pickups (dual and single coil).
As with any tube amp, this thing sounds best at high volume levels and sustains for as long you can shake the strings. Very low noise unless the gain is maxed out. I love the fact that the gain can be adjusted from a light crunch to a heavily saturated bass heavy distortion perfect for modern metal. Forget about mesa boogie's single target market sound. You get that numetal sound plus classic legendary rock sounds and the best crisp and full bodied clean sounds from this very simply layed out format.

There are some reliablity issues with this amp as with any mass production amplifier in todays market. However, I've only had it serviced twice in the six years or so that I've had it. I guess I feel somewhat fortunate compared to some other reviews I've read here. Maybe I expect more than the average performing musician. I never bring along a backup amp, I do however, always keep extra fuses and tubes in my gig bag, even though I've yet to have to pull them out at a gig.

I've never dealt with Marshall directly.
Both times I had it serviced were by authorized service centers/dealers in my area and based on the fact that I had many to choose from, I would have to say that marshall has done well to stand behind their products. Fortunately as well, both services were performed under the five year factory warranty, which has since expired. Crossing fingers.

I've been playing for 27 year, about 22 of those professionaly.
I also own a VHT 50 CL, which has similar distortion tones but it lacks the excellent clean tones the DSL offers up.
I would most certainly replace it with another, I love this amp.
I chose this amp cause I always wanted a Marshall, but could never find one that had the versatility I wanted.

Bought it new in 2003. Go to marshallamps.com or see reviews below for a full breakdown of features. I mostly play radio rock, classic rock, and blues. I love the clean/classic channel. I'd be happy if Marshall removed the lead channel entirely. Great effects loop too. I don't mind the shared EQ as I don't use the second channel. I've used the amp for gigging as well as practice and it has plenty of power for any situation.

I play Fender guitars loaded w/SD Hot Rails bridge pickups. I use a Peavey Triple XXX 4x12 cab or a Marshall TSL 2x12 cabinet with the amp. I've also retubed it with JJs (eurotubes.com). The amp suits my style of music perfectly. I love the clean/classic channel but I think the lead channel is very thin sounding. I'm not so sure the amp would do metal well, but I've never tried cause I don't play that kind of music. I keep the clean channel in crunch mode with gain around 7, keep the treble and presence set low, mids around 5, bass around 7. With Deep and tone switches off - I get a big fat sound!

I've used it for frequents gigs and it has never broken down. As a matter of fact, I've owned a TSL122, JCM800, ValveState combo, and a Mosfet and never had a problem except once when the presence knob on the TSL went out. That's it.

My experiences have been positive.

I've been playing a long time and have owned a lot of amps. This is a great amp. I want to buy another one so I have two.

C'est une tete Marshall DSL 50 watts fabriquee et achetee en 2000(equipee d'origine de lampes Svetlana et transformateurs Dagnall).Elle est branchee a un baffle Marshall 1960 AV equipe de 4 hauts-parleurs Celestion Vintage 30.Je l'utilise pour un repertoire allant du blues (son crunch)au heavy metal et hard(Judas Priest,AC/DC Ted Nugent ...)La tete possede 2 canaux avec reglages de tonalite communs et reglages de gain, volume et reverb separes pour chaque canal.Le canal 1 ,via un switch en facade, offre 2 modes :sons clairs et sons crunch;le canal 2 ,via un autre switch est devolu aux sons satures et tres satures.Il est complete par un autre switch qui creuse les mediums pour des sonorites plus trash.Un dernier switch nomme Deep ,commun aux 2 canaux,permet d'accentuer les basses frequences sans assombrir le son.Les 2 canaux sont commutables au pied via un footswitch (fourni).Une boucle d'effets(cablee en serie,non commutable,avec un switch de selection de niveau d'entree permettant d'acceuillir des pedales ou un systeme en rack)est installee au dos de l'ampli,ainsi que les sorties jack pour les hauts parleurs(1 en 16 Ohms et 2 en 8 Ohms ,un commutateur d'impedance complete le tout.L'ensemble beneficie d'une construction tres soignee qui inspire confiance.

J'utilise la tete DSL 50 avec 3 guitares :1 Washburn Eagle equipee d'EMG 81 et 89,une Gibson Lespaul equipee en Seymour Duncan Distortion et Custom Custom et une Blade avec un Seymour Duncan Hot Rails (chevalet)Je joue sans aucun effet(sauf parfois une wah wah ).L'ampli respecte les personnalites de chaque guitare.Les sons clairs,qui le restent meme avec des micros puissants ,sont assez secs,compares a un ampli tel que le Fender Twin Reverb 65,mais restent musicaux et exploitables (il est vrai que l'on achete generalement pas un Marshall pour jouer en son clair!).Les sons crunch et satures sont fideles a ce que l'on attend d'eux :tres definis,precis,reponse tres rapide(facteur d'amortissement tres court),les harmoniques sifflees sortent tres facilement,la compression varie en fonction du gain mais est beaucoup moins prononcee que sur un Mesa Rectifier.Bref,le son Marshall est bien la.Pour avoir possede une tete 2203(de 1977)et 2 tetes JCM 900(SLX et DUAL Reverb High Gain)je peux vous dire que la DSL 50 leur est bien superieure en sons et en possibilites.Elle n'a pas besoin d'un overdrive pour saturer ,donc plus silencieuse(pas de souffle genere par une pedale de gain)et elle est beaucoup plus polyvalente(elle couvre tous les styles musicaux necessitant un son allant de crunch a heavy/trash ...).Les reglages de tonalite sont differents dans leur action selon les canaux et les modes,il faut donc experimenter.Pour ma part ,voici mes reglages(valables pour mes 3 guitares):Presence 2,5 Aigus 2,5 Mediums 8,Basses 9 canal 2 (sature) sur mode 1 Gain 10 Volume selon local(de 1,5 a 4),canal 1 clair Gain 3 Volume 4,ce qui donne un son de type Marshall 2203 booste,donc un sacre son!Comme toujours,n'oubliez pas que chaque ampli possede sa propre identite sonore ;donc ,le Marshall DSL 50 est tres different d'un Mesa Rectifier :j'ai la chance d'avoir aussi une tete Mesa Single Rectifier Solo Head 50 serie 2.Les deux sont complementaires:le Marshall compresse moins la dynamique,est plus precis ,plus tranchant et defini,plus polyvalent,possede le legendaire son Marshall,le Mesa Single Rectifier a un son plus punchy(compression),plus riche("opulent")plus moderne(moins "roots")affectionne particulierement une main droite puissante pour les riffs trash,accepte un peu mieux que le Marshall les accordages bas(rendu des basses bloquees impressionnant)mais laisse un peu a desirer pour la definition sonore en solo(sauf avec une pedale wah-wah).En resume si vous aimez les sons Marshall et Mesa Rectifier ,achetez les deux!Si vous ne le pouvez pas,achetez celui qui couvre majoritairement(en nombre de morceaux)votre repertoire.

Je l'ai depuis 4 ans ,pas de souci(tout comme les 3 autres Marshall que j'ai eu).

J'ai 45 ans et joue depuis 27 annees.J'ai possede de nombreux amplis(voir l'essai du Fender Twin Reverb 65 Reissue)J'ai actuellement le Marshall DSL 50 avec le baffle 1960 AV,la tete Single Rectifier Solo Head 50(voir essai)et le Twin-Reverb 65 Reissue.Ces 3 amplis sont sont complementaires par leurs sons et registres.Trouver l'ampli omnipotent releve a ce jour de l'utopie.Certes le numerique progresse,mais sa marge de progression reste...importante!Jim Marshall peut encore dormir tranquille,le Marshall DSL 50 reste un ampli de reference.

This is a follow up to my original review of this amp. I started using a Weber MASS-50 for direct recording into my soundcard with the DSL50, and was very pleased and surprised at how good it sounds when the speakers are bypassed. When I started playing through my cab again I did so without the use of the H&K Tubefactor that had been necessary to get an acceptable sound. I started freaking over how bad the head sounded as is, and decided to turn down the bias voltage all the way to see if it would help, and it transformed the head into what I thought I was getting when I first bought it. The factory specs for bias voltage is 45mV, but when turned down, one tube reads 38mV, the other 35mV.

Less voltage really sweetens and fattens up the clean channel. Putting the H&K Tubefactor in front of the clean channel is a very pleasing experience.

The high-gain channels have a little less gain with the bias turned down, but without the mushiness and lack of definition encountered when factory bias settings are used. The sustain and tone on the high-gain channels is helped considerably by reducing the bias voltage.

The brightness and harshness of the head has also vanished with the most recent bias adjustments. I can set the tone controls however I want, and get usable, pleasing sounds.

50 watt marshall head, all tube. has a bass boost and a mid scoop switch but i don't really mess with them.

Do you know what year the amp was made in? nope.

Is the amp versatile enough for you and the styles of music you play? What are those styles? this amp has alot of tones in it and it's more than enough for me. i play mostly grunge/punk but also hard rock and metal kinda like godsmack.

How many channels? Does it have channel switching? Effects loops? Headphone jack? 2 channels (footswitchable), 2 modes each, 4 bases for sounds. clean/crunch and OD1/2. it has an effects loop but i rarely use it.

What features do you wish it had? Why? Are there features you never use? i wish i could switch between OD1/2 with a footswitch. that would be really handy. nothing else bugs me with this amp.

Where do you use this amp? Does it have enough power for you? i use this amp in my practice space and bedroom. it has enough power to get heard and that's all that matters to me.

What guitar and pickup styles are you using it with? i use an epiphone les paul: stock; and an epiphone slasher: stock. why should i change my pickups to sound like someone else when i like how i sound now? i play it with a marshall AV 4x12 cabinet. that's the "guns 'n' roses" cabinet for not that familiar. on the floor i have a jimi hendrix wah and a marshall jackhammer overdrive to kick it up for some parts.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)? this amp suits my music style very well, i play grunge/punk and some hard rock/metal. the OD2 channel is really great for chunky balls out heavy rhythms while OD1 can be used for things like pearl jam or modern rock styles. the crunch channel is really good for playing many seattle inspired riffs. it's just so loose and jangly, i love it.

Is it noisy? On what settings, and in what environments? it's noisy if i sit in front of it...um but isn't that every amp?

What kind of sounds can the amp make? How much variety? like i said it has 2 channels with 2 modes each and that is at least 4 sounds. you need to play around with the knobs.

Is the clean channel distorted at high volumes? In what settings? the clean channel breaks up and it sounds great through my marshall AV cab with the celestion 30s.

How brutal is the distortion? the distortion can be sweet and creamy to ball shaking. with the bass boost on it becomes very zakk-ish.

Can you depend on it? Would you use it on a gig without a backup? i depend on this amp alot. i have not used a backup but i should buy an AVT 50 just in case.

Has the amp ever broken down? Because of neglect of
regular servicing (as in tubes), or just plain neglect? not yet but it is due up for new tubes.

never dealt with marshall

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own? i have been playing for 3-4 years. yea i know but shut up.
i own the following:

marshall DSL50 halfstack with marshall AV cabinet
marshall VS232 2x12 combo
epiphone les paul standard
epiphone les paul slasher
squier strat
takamine acoustic
jimi hendrix fuzz wah
marshall jackhammer OD pedal

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else? if it were stolen or lost i would buy a new one but only if i can't find the guy that took it and beat him to a bloody pulp.

What do you love about it? What do you hate? i love the simple-ness of the amp. i hate the fact that it was produced geared towards nu-metal with the bass and mid switches.

Did you compare it to other products? Which ones? Why did you choose this one? i compared it to a JCM 800/900 and a TSL60/100. this is the one that fit me the best. i needed dual channel capabilities and something affordable. this one was perfect for me.

Anything you wish it had? i wish it had a select between OD1/OD2 but that is nothing that an overdrive pedal cannot fix at times.

Anything else you'd like to share? i would like to add that this amp is all anyone would really need to play. i used to have to run several stompboxes in my old marshall but this one made me get rid of most of what i had on the floor.

PS: the best way to play this amp is with the mids cranked and the bass rolled back with both switches off.

OK, two channels and bought in 2004. bought it new and was skeptical at first. i didn'twant to post a review after i had just bought it so here it is about 6 months later and i have to say i am pleased. good distortion and a good clean very versatile, trust me use a volume pedal (a good one) and you can make this amp work for anything you want to do. also 50watts is perfect you get that good tube saturation when you turn it whereas 100watts is a little to loud when you get that good tube tone, the 50watt head is perfect for tappin into that tone zone.

i would have to give this a rating of 9.5 it is almost pefect. the clean can stay crystal clear and loud and the distortion can be anywhere between bluesy riffage to all out metal assault. humbuckers sound good and get little feed back at a club volume versus a single coil which will always give you more feed back. with a good volume pedal though this is all manageable, so the amp is very effective for many styles.

I have had no problems but i have only played about 10 live shows with this amp amd the rest of the use has been practice. i have not had any problems but i have heard Marshall amps and footswitches especially can break rather easily. good reason to fill out the registration card though. most people who have had to deal with the marshall company directly have had good things to say.

I haven't dealt with the company but i would expect fullsupport from them especially for the price of these amps.

I have been playing for awhile and i have used solid state amps exclusively until recently. i have had several tube amps but have just never found the right one. but i would have to say that i think i have found the right one. i would buy another one because they are flexible and a hell of a lot less than a mesa and i think the tone is every bit as good

50 Watts , But bloody loud!!!

Im using a left handed Prs Custom22 with Mark tremonti pickups and a left handed Gibson Les Paul Studio with stock Pickups, Boss chorus,Boss noise suppressor,Boss delay and Jim Dunlop Dime wah into two Orange quads.
( Beeeewwwwdifull ).
I play in a signed band in Australia, similiarish to Killswitch engage, 36 Crazyfists, Avenged sevenfold e.c.t
This combination isnt noisy at all with the noise suppressor.
Very good Distortion for what i play and a clean tone that will rip your face off.

Never failed me yet, fingers crossed
Built pretty solid.

Havent needed support so far.

Ive been playing for around 12 years, I also own a Line6 flextoneII head,Mesa dual Rectum frier and Hughes and Kettner duotone head.
If it were stolen id steal someone elses.
I love the simplicity of the apparatus, very easy to operate even when extemely wasted.
I love this head better than everything except Bogner Uberschals.
Very affordable amp for its quality, you can pick on up easily for a third of the price used like i did.

I bought my DSL 50 head about 6 months ago. I wanted Vintage tone with modern features and reliability and i think this amp comes close to my ideal setup. It has two footswitchable channels, each with two seperate voicings that can be changed with a button on the front of the amp, and it has an effects loop which i never use. I use this amp with Marshall cabinets and the volume is incredible, i usually gig with the volume on about 4.

I play a Les Paul Standard, mainly for classic rock (Thin Lizzy, Free) and i get the sound i want by turning up the volume on the clean channel until it distorts, which produces thick warm tube overdrive. The distortion channel sounds quite thin by comparsion, and i haven't found a way to balance both channels properly. Its a very bright sounding amp, i turn the presence to 0, treble to 3, and mid to 4 and it still has a very cutting sound. The amp cleans up nicely when you back off the guitars volume, and this sound is just godsent; warm and clear with bell like overtones.

As a rule, I dont trust Marshall equipment, Ive had a lot of it break on me, but ive had no real problems with this amp so far. The reverb tank mysteriously unplugged itself once, but that is the only thing that has ever gone wrong

never dealt with them

It does what i want it to do, and so far i cant fault it for that. Could be better, but for the price, i cant find anything to beat it

Don't know the exact year it was made - bought it used on EBay - it's very pretty - good cosmetically so it must be rather new - Features - channel A - clean - channel B - fuzzy - reverb on both - what more do you want? - onlt one input for your guitar so your "buddy" cannot run through it - YAY - You know it is a big head but does not weigh that much really - very portable - now the speaker cabinet - well that is another review

Strat & Gibson LP
I play Marshal amp music - he he - you know what I mean
It is noisy when I play through it - oh you mean like staticy? - nope it works fine

Has not failed on me once

Amp made in England - I am in the US - not much customer support going to happen in this case.
If it break I will take it to Pro Audio in MD - they fix everything

I have been playing so long - I got blisters on my fingers - I would buy another again - I love it - my first "real" Marshall - has the tone I have always tried to get with other amps. It looks pretty - I feel I play better when I am using it - every rock guitar player would like to have one (come on admit it) I also have a MusicMan 212 65 combo so I have the clean machine and the Marshall sound - best of both worlds!

you already know

it was reliable while i had it

Well i had it for a week and a bit and after a while I just couldn't stand the sound. The distortion was still nice except for one problem....the harsh treble sound that it created. The clean channel is very warm compared to the lead channels. I tried turning the presence, treble, and mids down to the point where it sounded bad. It could just be that my guitar (2000 peavey predator plus) gave the amp that harsh treble but i have rented one before with a mesa recto 4x12 cab and it sounded fine. I'm not saying this is a bad amp, it still has some decent sounds and I like the clean sounds, it's just that for the money paid it wasn't worth it and i was very disappointed so i had to return it. Maybe others may like it and the treble is really good for cutting through the mix. Well just wanted to let everyone know and make sure you try the amp before you buy it.

Mine was made 2001/2002. 2 people had it before me.

The features on here are awesome and all ya need.

I play a Charvel: Model 4 (w/EMG81) and the distortion is awwwesome on this beast. Lots of it.. infact, I play alota' KSE, Chimaira, LOG stuff I only use 7 out of 10 for gain. On Ultra, lead 1.

Lead 1(Ultra) - The best!
Lead 2(Ultra)(Pushed) - .. I never liked it.. its.. I dunno.. someone told me its more for Single coils..
Clean (Classic) - Veeeery nice clean tone!, very warm & extremely bright!
Crunch (Classic) - Once again, very nice; nice light distortion.

Everytime I fire it up after a standby for roughly 2 minutes, I get like a staticy sound for the first 5 minutes but then dies. Might be the tubes, thats my guess.. wa-unno.

I also experienced a small strange Reverb leak odd(Reverb playing with the knobs are set to 0) time-to-time, however no one else experienced it.. ah wells.

But other than those 2 small probs, its built likea' tank!

Never dealt.

Awesome amp!.. but I traded mine back fora' DSL100 for more of the ultimate 'whoomp' sound.

New purchased in July 04. You all know the features. The combined EQ doesn't bother me as I am able to find settings that work well for all channels. Actually, it's hard to dial in a bad setting. It's a very simple head to dial in a good tone. The one thing I don't like is the fact that you can't use the foot switch to move between clean and crunch on channel A. A small price to pay for an otherwise well designed head.

The tones that come out of this head are unbelievable. Channel A takes to from a "country" clean to a classic rock sound. Channel B picks up from there and takes you to an over the top distortion. I generally use the pushed channel A setting and switch to ultra 1 on channel B for a boost. Many reviews here say that channel B is too thin sounding. It is at very low volumes, but when you get above 2 or so it really thickens up. Channel A pushed just plain sounds good at any volume that will move your speakers. Channel A clean tends to stay clean unless you really hit the volume. This is a very loud head for fifty watts and I can't see why anyone would need the 100 watt version short of trying to fill a stadium.

No problems so far but the head is only about a month old. Keeping my fingers crossed. I traded in a troublesome TSL 602 for this head and a 1960 cab.

See above. Contacted Marshall about my TSL and they were very less than helpful. Had the amp for less than a year and it failed three times. The same problem all three times, the bias kept changing and was blowing power tubes. All Marshall would tell me was to take it to a service center for repairs. Three times for the same problem? How about a replacement on an amp less than one year old?

If you're looking for a simple to use head you won't go wrong. You can dial in about any tone you are looking for with this head. More than enough power and more distortion available than I would ever need. No need for a distortion pedal here. Don't think you will come close to the price I paid because my local shop cut me a deal due to the problems I had with my previous amp purchased through them. Even at the regular retail price it's worth every penny.

This is a 2001 model. This being about the 120th review, I imagine you guys get the idea of the features. I use this amp with a 1960Ax cab with Greenback speakers. It was once owned by my bass player and I've been hearing the amp for a good 2 years now, but only actually owning it for about 3 weeks. I bought this amp so I can preserve my hot-rodded 50 watt MK II JMP.

Though you'd think my sound would just scream classic rock, it doesn't at all! I use this set up for a very hard punk/hardcore and Metal band. Think Helmet, the Unsane, Black Flag, Nick Olivari songs from QOTSA.

So my need for channel switching is minimal, and any switching I do goes from the mild overdrive on the clean setting to high gain. So I don't mind the bare nature of this amp. Afterall, I went from a one channel modded Marshall to this as a main amp! So to me, channel switching is almost a new idea in my arsonal!

I mainly play with a guild S-100, and a Shecter Tempest with a JB in the bridge. Both are really solid and hot sounding guitars.

Through the stock tubes the amp does sound very buzzy and at first to my ears very bad (especially with the greenbacks) and it sounded so sterile with the stock 1960 cabs (75 watt celestions.) But the amp was retubed with EH tubes, and it brought out how a Marshall should sound. It gave it the balls and the personality that this amp deserves to have! So I'd highly recomend a re-tube of the amp! I'm sure any different tubes would make it sound better. I'm just a loyal EH user!

The amp can make a variety of sounds due to the deep switch, and tone scouping. I however keep the deep switch in, and the mid switch in, while I keep my presence at about 7, treble at 6, mids at 5, bass at 10 and my gain at about 8 (depending on the mood of the tubes pretty much.)And with the greenbacks, it still has a bit of high end to it, but it still cuts through the mix of the band very well. At first it didn't cut in as well as my JMP, But I just cranked the mids more, and it seems to do the trick real well.

The lead channel is tight and packs great punch. Just make sure you're not scooping your mids, otherwise YES you won't be able to hear yourself in the mix of a band.

The clean/ overdrive setting packs a lot of depth (think the opening chords to Chevelle's "the Red.") Another cool thing to do with the mild gain setting is to put any overdrive in front of it. A big muff is fun and will suit anyones "stoner rock" or Black Sabbath needs.

very solid amp,

I used to work for the store I bought it from. They're great, but you just have to stay on top of them.

I've been playing for about 7 years and have been playing through the JMP for about two. The JMP is completely rocking! But as I said, I want to preserve that amp. And the DSL 50 isn't as balls out 100 percent up to the same level as that amp...but with the sound and the features, it helps give it a run for its money. And will be a great work horse amp for me.

My only complaint however is the channel switching from the clean/od to the ultra channel has a little bit of a delay. But I believe that's from the first few generations of these amps.

I might have looked into a Mesa Boogie Single Rectifier, but the price was right on this one.

i think i bought this amp about 2001. it's versatile enough, i don't mind the shared EQ, and having seperate reverb is a bonus too. like some others have said it would be handy if you could change between clean and cruch with a foot switch, but it's not the end of the world. i would personally choose an amp with limited features over one with hundreds of channels and switches

i pretty much agree with the opinion that the clean channel is great but the distortion leaves a lot to be desired, it's not a bad lead channel, but i've found this amp has days when it sounds wicked and other days when it sounds cheap. i use either a les paul or a tele. the clean channel sounds great with the tele, if you have the gain up full it slightly distorts but i find this a bonus. i also use an orange AD30R and prefer the marshall clean tone to the orange, although the orange cranked up kicks the shit out of this amp, it really dosn't have a very good lead channel in my opinion. i would rate channel one a 10, channel two about 5.

the only troublr i've ever had with this amp was when i put my foot through one of the speakers and smacked the head off with my guitar, although i accept this is not really marshalls fault. on one occasion the bass player in my band threw his bass accross stage and knocked it clean off the stage and it was fine. so you can't say fairer than that.

never dealt with em

if i had to choose between this and my orange combo, the oronge would win hands down, although it did cost considerably more, if it was stolen i wouldn't buy one the same, i would probably buy a plexi of summat a bit more vintage. the clean channel is great though, and it is a nice amp. if you have a nice overdrive peadl you couldn't ask for more.

i use this amp with a 1960AV cab (the one with v30 speakers). It sounds great for the modern rock/ punk/ emo/ hardcore styles that i play. I use a stcok Gibson SG Standard with this amp and cab and i've almost got the perfect sound for my style. My friends are blown away with the sounds i get....way better than the other guitarist in my band who has a jcm 900/1960A set up.

This amp can get really fat, heavy sounds perfect for palm muting and heavy riffs. the clean channel is good too and sounds great with a litlle chorus and delay. i was suprised at how much treble the amp produced. i have to turn the treble down less than half way so it doesn't sound harsh on the the OD channels. Both the cab and amp are new so i might post an update when both have 'broken in' properly.

Due to the 4 modes this amp is really versatile, it can go from mellow indie style overdrives on the classic gain channel to very scooped, brutal distortion on the ultra gain channel. More distortion than most will need, but its always nice to have it there just incase. i highly recommend this amp for modern rock styles.

I intended to get some kinda Mesa Boogie but this amp has so much personality to it and is loads cheaper. It does modern rock sounds very, very well and of course all the classic rock sounds are there too. Great sounds and great value.

Only a few month old so i cant really say.

not had to contact them about this amp though i have about other products and they've been very helpful.

A few notes.... I had the TSL60 for a short while before this and the DSL sounds FAR better than the TSL. People think the TSL is more versatile due to the 3 channels but the DSL has 4 modes and IMO is more versatile. It is widely considered to have far better tone than the TSL. This amp really is great. I can only think the people below giving low marks made a mistake in purchasing a 'Marshall' thats why they gave it low reviews...not because the amp is bad (because they are great...there' a reason the DSL's are Marshall biggest sellers!) but because they weren't after 'the marshall sound'.

Ive always wanted a Mesa Dual Rectifier for that modern high gain rock sound. Now i've got the DSL50 im not bothered for a Mesa at all now. They're about 4 times as much to buy as the DSL and the Marshall does everything i need AND sounds really good....lots of character. This amp is GREAT. I'll probably swap the stock valves to eliminate the slightly high end harshness, but this may dissapear when the amp and cab are broke in. Also, get the 1960AV w/v30 speakers to go with it. Don't just opt for the standard 1960A cab, they dont do the amp justice, making it sound thinner and weaker. The 1960AV makes it shine...fat, rich, warm sounds are got with this cab! I really love this amp and set up.

I use a DSL50 head in my classic rock band & I like the head enough that I bought another for a backup. I like the footswitchable channels, although I wish you could switch between "clean" & "crunch". The clean is the best I've ever heard on a Marshall, & the pushed clean, or crunch, sound is very similar to the old Marshall MKIIs or a hot-rodded Plexi. The lead channel to me leaves something to be desired. It's a bit thin, not nearly as warm as the crunch clean channel. I am not that concerned that both channels share an EQ, I just wish I could switch between clean & crunch. One of my DSL50's has the Chinese preamp tubes which sound good, and the other has Marshall preamp tubes. I don't know if the Chinese tubes came in that head because I bought it used. I've ordered a set of Electro-Harmonix 12AX7EH tubes to experiment with in hopes of achieving a warmer lead channel sound. I do like the Svetlana EL34 power amp tubes these amps come with. All in all the heads have been dependable & I get compliments on my tone. I have 3 cabinets right now but the best sounding one is the 1960AX with the greenback reissues. I have always been a 50-watt user because, in my opinion, the 100-watters have more headroom than I've ever needed. As far as features I never use, I'd say the midrange scoop & the deep switch. Some players might find them useful though...

I use Les Pauls exclusively (a '90 Standard, a '93 Standard & an '87 Custom) and they all sound good paired with the DSL50. About the only time I plug my Strat into it is when we do a Pink Floyd cover. I do have to make a few adjustments to my EQ when switching to the Strat or it will sound pretty shrill (especially the bridge pickup). The combined pickup settings on the Strat (& on the Les Pauls) give by far the best tones. I never turn the gain knob past 6 on either the clean/crunch channel or the lead1/lead2 channel. The head has gain to spare.

My DSL50s so far have both been very dependable, but so has every other Marshall amplifier I've ever owned. I always bring a backup just in case but I've never needed it. Hope I didn't just jinx myself...

I've never had to deal with customer support so I don't yet have an opinion in this category.

I've been playing in front of audiences for 29 years (I'm 44 now) & other than my first amp, a pre-CBS Fender pro reverb, I've been using Marshalls exclusively & they've always given me a nice, rude, useable tone. Again, if I could change anything about the DSL50, it would be to make the clean-to-crunch footswitchable, since those are its most useable sounds. If I liked the lead channel a bit more I would rate this amplifier a perfect "10".