Marshall JCM-2000 TSL 100

2004 model of the TSL 100 head. Features everyone knows about now, 3 independent channels, mute button, VPR etc. The amp is amazingly versatile, anyone who says the tone is weak or it sounds shit or there's no balls to it obviously is either deaf, a complete idiot, or listening to some bullshit band using mesa/boogie amps that just muddy everything up to cover up the lack of talent. The amp is loud as fuck, at band practise i run it at 25w on volume 7 and that's loud enough to cut through loud drums, a 300w bass amp and a PA system for the vocals. I ran it on 100w just to see the difference on the same volume of 7 and the floor was shaking. The amp loses no guts or clarity played on 25w, and has the advantage of allowing you to drive the valves harder to get that sweet tone Marshall are renowned for. The back panel has 3 output sockets, 1 for a single cab at 16ohm to run in mono, and a separate 2 to allow you to run a full stack at either 4 or 8 ohm. Also has 2 effects loops, one for clean channel and one for crunch/lead

I use a Tanglewood Strat copy, a 1994 USA 40th anniversary Fender Strat and a BC Rich NJ Classic Mockingbird, and this amp suits them all. The first 2 guitars can go from nice sweet bluesy sounds, crystal cleans, to balls out roar. The Mockingbird really brings out the rock-side of this amp, the twin humbuckers give that balls-to-the-wall Marshall slam you want, and roll back the volume on the guitar and it cleans up nicely. There's nothing this amp can't achieve, except for muddy fucked up sounds, which is great. Whatever your style of music, this amp is for you

Built like a tank, typical Marshall. I wouldn't gig without backups with any amps because anything can happen, from a blown fuse to a loose connection to a blown valve, so whatever my amp i always have a backup, but i have no problem is this amp on its own if i really had to, and at practises i only use the single one, and i trust it implicitly

Warranty is 90 days for valves, 3 years for parts. No problems yet so haven't had to deal with them, but i hear Marshall are great with customer support

I've been playing for 10 years, and i own a Marshall mg250dfx which muddied up when i turned it up, lacked any sound clarity, and was basically no good for a regular guitarist, but good for beginners or as a practise amp. If it were stolen i'd hunt the fucker down who did it and smash it over his head (because it weighs a ton) and then make him buy me a new one. I love everything about the amp, the only thing i dislike about it is that you can't switch from crunch to lead using the footswitch, you need to unplug the footswitch and use the button on the front of the amp. It's not a big deal because i won't use both channels in one song. Maybe it can be done another way and i just haven't figured it out yet, i haven't spent much time trying to figure it out to be honest. Overall the amp gets 10 out of 10 for having wads of features that allows you to do anything, being as solid as a rock and having the nicest sound you can imagine, no matter what your style of music

2004 Model.
It has three channels - Clean, Crunch and Lead - These are more than just channels though as each has it's own volume and tone controls with no master volume.
One great feature is the power reduction switch which reduces the output from 100 to 25 Watts for more manageable practice levels. A Much improved footswitch (an expensive extra on my beloved Engl Screamer) and bucket loads of classic rock tone.

All of my guitars sound great through this amp from the jangle of my Ric 330, to the growl of my SG and my Les Paul Doublecut with P90s. They all sound just as they should through all three channels. This amp does exactly what I wanted it to. I bought it because my Engl combo just couldn't cut through with a live band. I love the tone of the Engls, but couldn't afford an Engl half stack. Have not been dissapointed with the Marshall, It is not better or worse than the Engl - just different. The only improvement over the Engl is the volume level - this thing is LOUD (but it is 100 Watts compared to 50 Watts from the Engl - having said that, the Marshall manual claims 125 Watts). I play classic rock and that is the sound that this amp was built to make - perfection. It might not suit everybody, so shred heads should go and buy a Line 6 or some such modern monstrocity.

Seems solidly built.
Was worried about the foot pedal due to previous reviews, but that seems to have been fixed in late 2003 / early 2004 - the power of the people!!
Marshall are offering a 3 year warranty on the amp, so it must be reliable - they wouldn't do that unless they were confident in the product.
Hope I never need to find out how good the warranty is.
My only worry is the loud rattle that the reverb springs make when you move it.

Don't know - hope I never need to find out.

Have been playing for about 15 years. I use 3 Gibsons (LP Custom, LP Doublecut and SG Standard), Ric 330, Fender Highway Strat and an Ibanez EDR 470 (hate it). MOst of these are rock classic which suit the music I play (The Who, The Stones, The Darkness etc). This amp sounds exactly as I need it to. It lacks some of the warmth that my beloved Engl Screamer has, but is still an excellent amp. I have connected them both to the stereo inputs of my cab and invented a whole new tone - a blend of the best of both amps.
The best feature of the lot is the fact that each channel is TOTALLY separate - tone controls, volume, the lot. The Engl has different gain settings, but all of the channels use the same master volume and tone controls. Marshall have delivered the goods with this one. When I bought the Engl, I tried the Valvestate range which sounded like crap - I was pleasantly surprised by this amp and will cheerfully grind anyone who steals or damages this amp into pate.

By now, you guys know all the features but here is a quick rundown. It has 3 channels-Clean/Crunch/Lead. Independent Bass, Mid, Treble, Gain, and M-Volume for each of the 3. And 2 of each of the following that is shared betweeen the clean channel and the Crunch/Lead channels; Presence, FX Mix Level(2), Reverb, ToneShift, Deep Switch and on the back, 2 seperate send & return effect loop connections. There is also a "Mid Boost" button on the clean channel only. This monster has 100 Fu****n Huge Watts of power. There is a "VPR"-(virtual power reduction) button, that lets you cut the wattage down from 100 to 25 watts, to have the tubes being driven hard but at lower volume levels to get that, you know, "being pushed and punched" sound. They're a lot more features, but that is for another day. I HAD A DSL-100, the 2 channel model, but I disliked the fact that both channels shared the sam EQ, amongst other things. I definitley didn't have a problem with the DSL's tone or the sound, but the TSL looked more attractive with it's features, so I wanted to trade up. Plus the 2 seperate effect loops caught my ear also. The Triple version, has twice as many features as it's brother-the DSL, and before my 30 day trade-in policy was up, I went for it. I play and love several types of music such as Blues, Metal, HardRock, Classical, Jazz. I grew up with the Priests, Testaments, Maidens, etc, etc, on the Metal side. Older 80's stuff rules. IMO, there are no more good guitar players in this arena. Even Metallica's last album, didn't include any lead work! I think the hard rock and so called Nu-Metal of today suck. Nothing I hear presently floats my boat like the old shit. As far as other types, I love the master himself, HENDRIX, and he taught me (didn't he teach everybody?) the beauty of learning the blues as well as many other things. Anyone can wail and play fast, like that Swedish guy. But if you don't have any soul or "feeling", you don't have shit. "One night in San Fransisco" is one of my favorite albums to date, with Dimeola, McGloclin, and Paco DeLuca. Some of those tracks still give me the chills, and make me want to practice until my fingers bleed. They were really "in the zone" on that night. I like to blend all of my musical tastes, including jazz, and classical, and write or play my own Metalish, hard rockin type of stuff. That is not to say I won't play some classical or really cool jazz from time to time. And I am alway into playing some form of the blues. Whether it's BB King-ish, or Albert Lee-ish, or even Red House-ish! As most of you guys know, it usually depends on what kind of mood your in at the time.
This amp is capable of helping me achieve all my styles of music. But for my old Judas Priest older Metal type stuff, this thing RULES! KICKS MAJOR ASS!! Hey, even the new Pantera and/or DamagePlan stuff isn't to bad either on this thing. THE TONE IS GRADE "A" PURE MARSHALL. And I'm talking guitar-cable-amp, straight into the unit, nothing in between the signal, no processors or stomp boxes, nothing. The bottom line is that this amp can dial in ANY nasty/heavy distortions or hard rock Metal sound you can come up with. I think the clean channel is pretty good, good enough for me anyway, but I'm sure there are better "clean" sounding amps out there. In fact, duh, of course there is. Surprisingly though, I thought the clean channel was excellent for a Marshall. But if you're getting a Marshall, you're getting it for a reason. Especially with a Marshall 100 watt head! There is no other feeling in the world than plugging straight into a 100w Marshall head, (at least one M4X12cab)and feeling the hairs on your back and arms when you're power chording, wailing it, or just in your own zone. It's up there with sex. Not as good, but up there!

What can I say, FREAKIN AWSOME! I was very happy with the tone of the DSL before it, but like I said, the Triple model seemed to have more bells and whistles. On the DSL, I'd get a good sound on one channel, but when I changed the channel, I'd have to play around with the EQ again because both channels shared the EQ's. Not so with this, you can setup all 3 channels like you wish, and switch between them. One thing I was scared of with the TSL compared to the DSL was the tone. The DSL had awsome tone, and most people (including myself), thought the TSL model wasn't as good tone wise. Everyone said that the TSL's didn't give that "Marshall Roar" like the DSL could. I kind of agreed, because every time I tried a the TSL in the stores, the hi-gain sounded "grainy" and saturated, kind of digital-like compared to the DSL. Not as good Marshall growl with its destinctive tone and punch. Even a guy at Marshall told me that most people tell him that the DSL has more of a bite to it. Plus the "cleans" weren't that nice and sounded twangy to me on that channel. So I took the safe bet, and bought the DSL, beause I knew I wanted the best all-valve amp for the money. With the tones I was getting out of it, I couldn't go wrong with it. Classic & Mordern Marshall tones and worth my investment-(cause I'm not going to have the $ for another one). So, after playing the DSL for about a month, and dealing with it's annoyences, (not the sound), I took a chance and traded up for the TSL. I really wanted the 2 seperate effect loops because I figured I can put either my GT3 or POD LIVE on the clean channel, and be able to switch to either the Crunch or Lead channels for the staight no nonsense Marshall tones. Oh yeah, the 5 button footswitch vs. the 1 button the DSL had, was another point.
Well, when I got this thing home, I was very, very, happily surprised that I made the right choice. I thought I'd be bringing it back because the tone wasn't as good as the DSL, but boy was I wrong. I am so happy that I took this risk and love the TSL. The clean I think is great. I had it pretty cranked, and it still kept it's tonal characteristics, and sounded close to the Fender family line of amps. The reverbs could be a little better, but their not that bad. In the short time I've had it, I have to say that the Crunch and Lead channels are excellent. Marshall tone all the way. I can dial in differnt gain and EQ settings and get pretty much any sound I am looking for. From Metallica, Priest, the new crappy metal and anything in between. So far though, the Crunch and Lead channels sound pretty much the same to me. But the distortion is brutal, not "fuzzy" sounding like I thought. I don't know what I was listening to on the floor models I tried, maybe they were bad or something, but I wasn't at all disappointed with the gains, and tones of the TSL compared to the DSL. Now I'm saying all this, and I really haven't "cranked or pushed" the amp yet, so this opinion could change, but I don't think for the bad. You can get ANY Marshall sound from the past in this thing. From Plexi, to Super Lead jumpered, to a cranked JCM800-2203. Plus get Mesa/Solodanish, to a nice fender like cleans too! I absolutely love this thing and am so glad I made the right choice.

I heard some horror stories and that they had problems with the footswitches in the past on the TSL's. Before I got it, I called Marshall in NY. The guy told me that they fixed that in the later 2003, and 2004 models. So it was very important to me to make sure my serial number started with the 2004 numbers in which it did. Haven't had any problems yet-(knock, knock), but Marshalls have been around a pretty long time and I wouldn't think reliablitly is a problem.

So far, So good. Every time I needed to talk to a live person, I got one on the phone within 5 minutes. And the guy was always ready to answer any questions I might have. In fact, when I talked to him before trading up to the TSL, he told me that many people have told him, and feel the same way, that the DSL's have more of a Marshall roar and bite to them than the TSL's. But he also said that is a matter of opinion, for many top Metal players use TSL's in their rig, and by no means, is there a problem getting the most nastiest and brutal distortions from the TSL, as many Metal and Thrash players already do.

I've been playing for 24 years now, and I've been around a little. Guitar wise, I have Gibson Ace Frehley, Fender Voodoo, Jackson RR1, original-(early 80's) Charvel, Gibson Ionmi SG, original Ibanez Destroyer, and a couple of others including I think my fav, a Washburn Dimebag model. I have the Vetta head which in my opinion is one of the best setups money can buy, especially solid state wise. But I wanted the "best" tube amp to have the best of both worlds, and the TSL wins that competition hands down. This amp rocks and is so versitile for a tube amp. I can't wait till the wifey goes out for a couple of hours so I can crank this thing and see what it can really do. WFO-WideFu**nOpen baby! Like all valve amps, the harder they are pushed, the better tone and sound you get. Bottom line is this; The Marshall JCM2000 TSL-100 RULES! I would get another one in a hearbeat. If it were stolen, I'd shoot the guy with my Bushmaster or AK, and then play my little Marsall practice amp in my cell until I get out.

SORRY FOR WRITING SUCH A LONG AND BORING REVIEW, IT'S MY FIRST. I JUST FIGURED I'D WRITE CAUSE I READ THESE ALL THE TIME. I THINK THAT HC IS THE PLACE TO BE WHEN YOU'R LOOKING FOR ADVICE, RESOURCES, HC RULES!

You know what this amp has! 3 channels, each with independant eq, volume and gain. 100 watts of power. dual effects loops. 55 lbs, 22 kg... its fairly heavy, and the strap on the top is a practically useless feature, if you want to NOT bump it into doorways on the way through.

This is the tallest marshall head I've ever seen, and the only one I've seen that has vents in the top.

This is a newer one than my old one and the red power switch is pretty lame on this one. Instead of the deep red my last one had, it's kinda orangey and is my only gripe about this amp.

I was ROBBED about 7 months ago and was pissed off. Insurance reimbursed me and I have a new one. It doesn't sound the same. It sounds awesome, but not the same. Using the same guitar and pickups. I play every style concievable (like acoustic rock, rock, hard rock etc.) and play on many recordings both studio and live. I alsways get good tone with this amp.

this amp is reliable. I have used it on gigs without a backup, but since I have a halfstack I usually just take my combo mesa dc-5 for live stuff and use this for recording. It's live, so I'm not worried about having the best tone in thbe world although the mesa is a decent amp.

For recording the amp's DI is very useable, although I prefer micing it up.

The Marshall Distributer here in Canada which is Yorkville helps me with anything to do with this amp. When I bought my new 4x12 to replace the stolen one it just said 1960 lead in the corner, not jcm900 lead series so I asked them about it and they shipped me the older (and better looking) badge.

When I have contacted Marshall in the past they have sent me magazines, speaker cables, handwritten letters, they are just awesome.

I have been playing 11 years now. This amp really does it for me. I have heard bad reviews about it and I did have a problem with my old footswitch like other people did but it's a great amp. I really wish that the eq said what frequencies they controlled and the Q instead of "low mid high" because that doesn't really help when trying to use it in conjunction with a graphic eq.

this amp has the best features on the market today, save for anything by crate or peavey. i like to use the jcm (which stands for Juicy Crunch Machine) as a means to amplify my guitar (Samick all the way baby!!!) but i am sure it can be used for other things (i'm thinking of running my car stereo through it)
alls i can say is if you like rock n roll, look no further or maybe look further.

this is where the amp truly shines. it's sound. it's soundful without being too "soundy." you jewish guitar players no what i'm talking about. this amp makes my peavey sound like a crate when i a-b'd them. im not sure what a-b means and the manual that came with the amp didnt say anything. but i made up my own method of a-b, which i am submitting to the government for an authorized patent.
this amp snarls with a lick and a promise.

this amp has completely unreliable. but then again, so are mexicans, and we still use them right?

the customer support is Indian, like DELL.

i used this amp until it broke and then i used my peavey crate combo monster thing i built in shop class.
i'd buy another one though because i'm a shop-a-holic!

1998 year of make (or so it says), bought used (no user's guide or floorboard), this is my first all-valve amp. You'd know the drill by now: 3 channels with 2 separate eq's, scoops and spring reverb. A welcome feature is the valve-saturation button. 2 effects loops and emulated line out.
I feed it with Gibson and Fender electrics, and the sound flavour fits hand-in-glove with that of my Gibson acoustics. I've got a Boss/ Roland GT-6 that adds some sweet choruses and distortions that work immaculately with the amp. EQs and effects loops separate for each channel would have made it a 10.

A few words say it all: rich vanilla icecream. Now all of you who assume that a Marshall equals Plexi-style heavy and aggressive distortion are gravely misstaken. I use mine with a vintage 1960A that delivers a smooth, bell-like valve sound. Think old-school rock and blues. Yes it has to handle some sound volume to ring out fully, but I must say the VPR does a good job adding valve saturation at lower volumes. It never sounds harsh, just different degrees of sweet.
When distortion is turned on full lead, the sound really gets messed up, but the sweetness never dies.
Suppose I'd want some overpowering dist I'd buy an aggressive top. Another genre, another amp - if you want a plexi, buy a plexi.

It's currently awaiting a change of valves as the pre-amp has begun making klicks and noices when slightly pushed. I've only used it about a year and it has worked impecably thus far (apart from the worn out valves). Never had it on a gig, but it's clearly built to last.

As above, no problem so far.

I would not sell this piece of tubing for all the whisky in Scotland. If I was to part from it I'd buy another one just like it.
I compared it with some U.S. made tops and the Marshall Mode 4 top, but the JCM 2000s were above the competition.
I wouldn't say metal is a suitable field of use for it. However, if a sweet, warm, fuzzy and likable valve-sound is what you're looking for, a JCM 2000 will do it for you.

everyone should know by now what this thing has!

This thing is bone crushing!! if you can't get it to sound good; you simply don't know how to set up a guitar amp.
I've had this for 3yrs now and i'm blown away each time i turn it on.
i'm playing this with an Engl vintage 4x12 and it's huge

footswitch died on me too, but that's ok coz i'm now using midi :)

have had no probs with the actual amp itself though

overall this amp is great for hard rock, jazz.. you name it.
If you like the sound of marshall you'll love the tsl100.
it kicks absolute ass!!

Mine is made in 2002 I think. Very versatile, can do any sound you wanted to. 3 Channels, like the other reviews msut be great to have the EQ separated on the crunch and lead channels. I'm a weekender and the power is enough. All pure tubes sound. I think Marshall is gaining their reputation on this one.

Humbuckers are married with Marshalls everybody knows that. So for this Baby I use Les Paul Customs. Although Strats with Lace sensors works fine too.I play variety but right now we are in Classic Rock (from cream to G&R). Its the cleanest Marshall sound I heard and I own JCM800 1959 and JCM800 2203.They are all good amps but not as quite and clean like this one. The lead channel can carry all metal sounds. The distortion is amazing just lower the mid for those alternative and grunge sound.

I just had this for 2 months bought it second hand in Japan from a recording studio that used it 3 times total of 16 hours. No comment yet

Never dealt with them . I'm in Japan

I've been playing profesionally since 1975. I'm 47 yrs old now. about 28-29 years. From 1976 to 1983 I play 5 days a week at least cause it's my Job. I'm a Filipino Band playing 6 months contracts in Japan. I think I'll beat most of the guys if you talk about experience. Music is Bread and Butter for me. I'm a real musician. I love this amp for it's versatility. I also have Peavey Classic 120 amp with Rockmaster Pre amp , Mesa DC-5 which is also versatile. JCM800 1959, JCM800 2203, Musicman HD130 I have a 2 Parker fly, 2 American Standard strats one is stock and one is Jeff Beck style Ultra , 2 Les Paul Customs and for Cabinet I have 2 Marshall 1960A,one with G12M & one with Vintage 30. But here's the secret since I love this site I will share this. This amp came with crappy EL34 stock tubes and it sounds Bity and harsh that's why the Studio sold it. I happen to have spare tubes in my house for backup and one day i decided to experiment and change the tube. I switch the tubes to Groovetubes C and I was amazed. It sounded fantastic Do this and you will be surprised!! I did not re-biased the tube yet but it sound excellent now. marshall should change the stock tubes to Groovetubes. I am not working with groove tubes. In fact these tubes were just my spare cause they sound bad on my other Marshalls. Also they are quads I bought from Musiciansfriend a couple of years ago. If you have one of this amp you should replace the tube. This amp is a keeper for me and it sounds good at Bedroom levels unlike my other amps. All amps are good if you take time tweaking them. It took me 3 years to appreciate my Mesa DC5 I almost sold it. The bottom line is "Know your Gear" buy professional stuff, do not use digital pre-amps they sound like computer sound cards beleive me cause I had a couple of them when I was doing solo gigs with a sequencer. But thats another review.

Head is a TSL 100, 2004, 3 channel, Great clean, Sweet and low Crunch and Lead channels.More than enough Power.

Use a Gibson Les Paul and SG through it. What can I say but Great sound. The Higher the volume, the better is sounds. That Marshall Roar sounds great through the 1960TV cab. Yes it does have a THD hot plate. Would tell you to buy one.Clean is fabulous, and the crunch and Lead channel are all Marshall.

HOPE the foot switch does'nt break from other reviews.No problems yet after a week or so, 20 hours runnin.

Recommended a hot plate, bought a THD,Thanx ED.

It's the sound I've air guitar'd for. Only a Marshall. Now its me. Go buy one and set yourself Free.

One of the best sounding amps i've ever heard. I play rock, metal and blues and this amps covers every style perfectly. I also play some jazz (very little) and it sounds amazing aswell. The clean channel produces a very large sound and fuck it's clean. The crunch sound is more for a tradition blues sound and the lead is for a full on blues. The fx loop is really handy for soloist because u can adjust the volume so when u turn it off it goes back to full volume and u can break out into a sexy solo. The amp has a xlr line output which run into my comp to record. The virtual power reduction is very usefull for bedroom usage aswell.

I use an Ibanez RG570 with IBZ v7, v8 and s1 pickups. A vantage with god knows what pickups and a Franpton with seymore duncan lil 59's and JB JNR pickups. I use a korg AX1500G and a morley bad horsie 2 wah. The ibanez through this amp sounds just like steve vais on an album. The louder u crank it, the better sounding it gets. Persnally i use it with the gain around 5/6 and the master volume around 8 while jammin. It sounds so sweat yet dealdy and is perfect for jaw dropping solos. The vantage sounds soo grunty and with a pair of Zakk Wylde extra low strings u get the best sound Godsmack/Black Label Society sound from it. It has alot of deliveramce which is important when playing with a loud drummer.

I would never think about taking a backup amp to a gig. It has never let me down and i don't think it will. The only problem i've had was with the footswitch, the crunch channel button stopped working but the warrinty covered that. No problems besides that.

Everyone knows marshall and would probably deal with marshall. Customer support is not hard to find.

I have used olid state amps b4 this amp and the difference between solid state and an all valve amp is breath taking. Valve is alot more clearer and has a lot more grunt, more balls. I compared the amp to some other amps such as Ashton, Peavy, Laney, Randall and other Marshall all valve amps. This amp was the right value and had the sound i wanted. I wouldn't buy another type amp ever i don't think. It sounded great and looked sweet. If it says marshall on it, ur only gonna get quality.