Marshall JCM-2000 TSL 100

You have seen them. Very flexible for a tube amp.

This amp sounds great!!!. If you are so picky that you are looking for some tone that "exactly" fits your tastes then good luck. I play both a Led Paul and a Strat thru the amp and they are drastically different (surprise!). The Les Paul has alot of gain itself and combined with the amp can sound a bit harsh unless the amp gain is reduced. I use a 1960 AV slant cab. The speakers also affect the final sound so mix and match.

I did replace the marshall tubes with some GT mullard copies for the preamp and a different set of EL34s in the power amp. It definately made a difference. Its still all Marshall but a bit tamer. Of course the most noticable difference was when I replaced the first pre-amp tube. There seem to be more harmonics now very sweet.

The clean channel chimes if you work with the amplifier settings.

The crunch channel can be set from a nice smooth tone to a growl.

The lead channel has high gain. Many seem to associate this with metal sounds but you can get really nice blues leads also. This channel is very responsive and dosn't seem to hide bad playing.

The bottom line for the tone is a combination of guitar, guitar vol and tone settings, amp, amp settings and speaker config. If you want classic Marshall at its finest, go buy it. If you like the "Recto" sound get a Mesa Boogie (excellent amps). Get Fender if clean is your preference. However this amp has incredible flexibility for playing all aspects of Rock and Roll.

With respect to some of the other comments, yes it does sound like a Marshall !!!

Have had no problems myself but baby the amp. With all the channel switching circuitry and other features, be careful!!!. This isn't a classic tube amp that is simple and built like a brick shit house. Anytime you get an amp that is flexible and loaded with features theres more to break.

A tube amp, flexible and alot of features (for a tube amp). Sounds great if you think about the whole rig and not just the amp. It would be nice if it were built for punishment but would probably cost alot more. The price as is should be about $250 less (IMO). But overall a great TUBE amp.

Very good for a 100w valve amp, 3 channels all with EQ - and heaps of other stuff as mentioned below

One incredible amp if you can set it up right!

It can be a bit of a pain (coming from being used to an SL) but after i spent some time with it i've come up with some very savy results.

The clean on this amp is pretty much the only other Marshall i have liked since my SL, it's very clear & with the mid boost engaged your able to conjur up some nice sparkle. turn the volume up otherwise it wont sound that good.

With the crunch i found myself using the volume on 3 o'clock and the gain on very low (say 9 o'clock) - it's quite loud & still quite clean when you back off your guitars volume, but strum harder & it overdrives easy, if you run an SD-1 it's heaven!

Lead channel was probably the least versatile of the three. It's got a fair amount of gain which sounds buzzy unless you have the gain set low. I thought crap until i turned up the volume again on this channel & it came to life! I never thought to turn gain lower before but it just worked so well here. It's not Mesa heavy, it's hot rodded Marshall sound.

Reverb is ok, but one thing i learnt is that unless you can turn this amp up, your not going to get what it can offer.

No probs with mine, service it & it will be fine

Never needed em, but it's got a warranty

Great amp that really shine if you use it well.

Don't use the regular G12T-75 speakers (i.e standard Marshall cab) with this amp cause it'l sound bad. This amp needs V30's , G12H30's or Greenbacks!

Volume is everything with this amp & if it's turned down your not getting anything compared to what it can do at full tilt.

This amp is picky & offers allot of features which means it's not a 'plug in and play' amp. Everything you do will effect the tone from Guitars to tubes used (and esspecially speakers!!)

See below - thre channels, separte EQ, loops, etc. Very versatile.

I was disappointed with this amp. I AM really scared to post things like that about a 1.5K Marshall amp, which wa sprobably designed as Marshall's own reply to Rectifiers, but.. We rented the amp with a 1960A cab for a whole month in the studio as the second / double track amp. Now, step by step:

1. clean channel. It was not bad. Cranking master and gain would turn it into a rather dynamic sounding ACDC crunch, quite nice. with gain low, it's your standard Marshall clean, a bit chimey, with even low end, but, GENERIC. Very generic. I mean, it doesn't distort on high volume settings, and it gets chimey enough for you phunkers, but it is generic. Like electric guitar in Britney's early recordings.

2. Crunch. That was probably the amp's highlight. Goes from clean to early metal, though you can get into the new metal area, too. Generic sounding, Marshall-esque and "cold" overdrive.

3. Lead. Use it for one thing - SLIPKNOT. Not that SK are a bad band. But this channel is made for one thing only - buzz. You get enough gain with the dial on 10 o'clock. I did the overdubs with gain on "2" and master cranked, which helped a little, but it was still too "gainy" because of the channel's voicing.

Deep switches help add some tightness to this otherwise bassless and flabby amp (Mesa Mark IV and Recto Dual are my benchmarks in this comparison)

Well, it's tough. Built well.

It is a very versatile amp, if you want fizzy metal. The overdrive section is cold, the Lead channel is cold and incapable of smooth tones, so it is only okay if you play extreme metal. It is probably a decent amp, why would Marshall put out crtap, but it is for sure cold and generic sounding.

I tried with a Les Paul and EMG equipped fender, and this amp NEVER sounded fat, even with master on 10. Sorry, I did my best to like it, but I couldn't.

The amp comes fully equipped with three channels: A clean, a crunchy, and a power lead. I've been recording and gigging with this amp since I first bought it 3 years ago. I am a typical Van Halen, Rush, Journey, Ozzy, etc. kind of a guitar player. I seek sounds more closer to the rocks of the 70s, 80s, and early part of the 90s. Don't care much for the later 90s and modern sound. I think Marshall designed this model to target those with the same likes as myself. For all those who have negative comments...well, it could be that they're seeking for the type of sound you commonly hear on the radio or perhaps even something along The Beattles(cleaner). A really super cool feature on the amp is, it has a direct simulated lineout to a PA or recorder and it is fantastic. I have always been against connecting my amps direct. As some of you know, this causes your sound quality to drop or change dramatically. I mean, it adds alot of buzzy sounds and takes away its natural roar produced by the cab. But this amp...well, by plugging direct, its sound is transformed directly onto your PA, etc. Ilove this amp dearly. No more micing headaches. Yaa hoo!!! I understand some people say that this amp requires some modification before it can sound like a marshall tube. I think that's just bullony. I love the deep bottom ends, the clearity, the definition, the roar, the sweet sustains, and the full mid section this monster produces with its stocked transformers & tubes. I use a Steve vai Jem guitar and a Gibson Les Paul double cut-away for my setup. The Jem guitar brings out the sweet tones of the 80s with strong sustains, whereas, my Les Paul defines the thick chunky rhythm that of AC/DC or the earlier 70s etc. If the sound appears muddy, it's because it responds to every touch of each fingers on the strings. What this means is that, if you tend to be a rather sloppy player, you're gonna have dirty, muddy-like tones. Not to insult anyone, but if you're good and have good hand controls, the amp will actually work in your favor. This amp is an all-in-one unit. Perfect for playing real solid rock & Blues. Complete Clean players may want to consider other amps.

At low volume, the amp sounds kinda buzzy. At higher vol., like +3 to 5, the amp roars its true sound. There's increased bottom ends and sweet mids with nice sustains. Because I'm a very versatile player...I go from soft, med, hard, to occasionally heavy, I just wish, this amp can produce more reverb. I occasionally need this for songs from Journey & stuff. "A great guitar player can only sound as good as the amp", a great guitarist once told me.

My guitars houses, Dimarzio Evolution & Gibson 489/490T pickups. Two different entities sharing one common amp. Both sets sound awsome.

Great amp. Rocks everytime. I've gone through 3 footswitches though. Terrible design on the wire connections. After a few months, the wires in the footswitch will start to lose contact, etc. and then cause you to have a nightmare during the middle of a set. My third footswitch can no long switch me to the clean channel. In addition, there's always a price to pay for choosing tube amps over a valstate while on stage. You'll never know when one of the tube is gonna give-in, so always remember to bring extras during every performance.

I've gotten so upset about the footswitch ordeal that I emailed a two page complaint over to someone at Marshall and, by surprise, received an apologitic response within the next business day. Other than this, I have yet to call them.

I am 33 years old and have been actively playing for over 24 years. I own quite a few things. I have a marshall accoutic amp, a fender ultimate chorus 2x12, 6 string - 12 string accoustic guitars, an ibanez 560, Ibanez Jem, Gibson Les Paul, Gibson Epiphone Les Paul, Marshall TSL100 stack, full 32 channel PA system with state-of-the-art effects, JBL speakers, McCaully Subs, various guitar pedals, an 8 piece Sonor 2003 fusion drumset, casio keyboard, Roland RS-70 keyboard, Roland VS-1824cd workstation,,..and too many other items to list. Though I have more than one amp, I am tied to the TSL100 sound. My other amps just can't give me all the things I've described. Before making this commitment, I've tried other Marshall amps, Johnsons, LINE 6, Crate (terrible), Ibanez, Fender, Peavy, Randall... I actually liked the Johnson amp (forgot the model) that was going for $1799.99. It had alot alot of different setups to choose from. But ultimately, I didn't buy it because, there's too many things I'm paying for that I probably would never use. Because of the many digital features, I fear of having add-on problems. Besides, it just doesn't rock like the TSL100 (clean,groovy,yet hard).

This is an Extremely versatile amp, if you want to spend some time and work with it. It has 3 separate channels, 3 and a half if you count the gain and the mid-boost on the clean channel. You can get almost any sound out of this amp except for maybe nu-metal (but who wants to play that crap anyway?!).

The sounds I get out of this amp are as follows: Ac/Dc, Zeppelin, Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, Van Halen. The Crunch has the ability to sound close to vintage plexi marshalls,but when cranked sounds like a jcm 800 or 900. About the Mesa vs. Marshall thing I would like to add I tried the mesa and found it was to bassy and It was very muddy and no clear properties at all. I think all the negative reviews on this site are from people that like way over-the-top distortion to hide their really bad playing and I think they should play with no distortion and see how badly they sound.

Seems very reliable, but I've heard the footswitch is bad, but this should be covered by the waranty.

Have not had for long but the customer service cant be worse than, Fender!!!

It is an awesome amp well worth the money,but I'd like to see it a couple hundred dollars cheaper just for all the not so rich people like me! If you have any more questions or unsure of something email me.

You can read all the features. Very flexible for a tube amp. If you want clean, crunch and lead channels, independent eq for each channel, channel, reverb and effects switching its here.

Why not a 10 you say! Well the perfect sound is very subjective. Have I found it yet? No but I am getting very close with this amp. However, having your ultimate tone and the flexibility to play different types of music is not practical unless you have a custom designed and built amp. If you are a brain surgen or sue happy lawyer, go for it. For the rest of us this does the job if you like different types of Marshall sound. I use a 1960 AV cabinet with a Les Paul and Strat copy. The Les Paul roars. I don't use effects anymore, don't need to. Have to work the eq on guitar and amp as well as gain and volume. It takes time. If you need to "plug and chug" good luck with a tube amp. Try a "computer amp" with the proper presets.

To vary the tones you also need to adjust the Gain and Master Vol controls. You can get a nice blues type tone (Clapton, Hendrix.. etc) if you go low on the gain and crank the volume.

Remember, guitar and speakers matter as much to tone as the amp. Also tone is subjective to the individual hearing it.

No problems yet. I have read about the problems others have had. I have seen many amps and Marshall is no worse then Fender, Crate or others. Mesa has quality workmanship but they also can have problems. I take good care of my rig and so far so good. I can't give it a high score because of other problems and I have only owned it for about six months. But I have cranked it and wailed away on the guitar an no problems. Remember to use speaker, not guitar, chord between amp and speaker.

I bought this amp new and have not had problems and have not tried them. If I do have problems Korg better help out. This makes me a bit nervous. Bottom line, with any piece of music gear, buy at your own risk.

This is a great tube amp. Its not cheap but provides all the tones I need. If you want a Marshall amp that can closely "resemble" a vintage or newer Marshall amp this may be for you. You have to play the guitar and tweek the amp for your settings. I have found this to be true of almost all guitar amps.

This is my third review for this amp. This will probably be the final one, because I kept on changing my mind before but this is the final review. The amp has a bunch of features, they're all in other reviews and on the website, etc. Sure, it's versatile. By the way, this amp is not worth $1,400. I'd say it's worth about $500 with the stock sounds that it gives.

Rating of 3 when the amp was stock, Rating of 7-8 if you get the mods. I'm using a Strat and Tele, both with Seymour Duncan Hot Rails. Here's the downfall for this amp and why I would reccommend not buying one ever. When this amp came stock it sounded terrible, high-end that could kill you, even with the presence and treble at 0. The overdrive was thin and bland, boomy undefined low end, really muddy chords. The clean channel was really bland and lifeless, basically what I'm saying here is that is sounded like a joke. Here's where the amp really comes out. If you are willing to spend about $250 extra, here's what you need to do, you need to get rid of the stock Dagnall output transformer and get a better one, you also are going to want to have some circuitry mods/pre-am revoicing if you know any amp technicians who can do this. I had a Mercury Magnetics Axiom output transformer installed for $200. I had some other various circuitry mods which re-voiced the pre-amp etc. And the amp sounds very nice now, it actually sounds like a Marshall and not a solid state amp, which is what a TSL sounds like if you get one stock. I went through 2 full sets of tubes before I got the mods. I just got the mods and a set of JJ E34Ls and Electro Harmonix 12AX7s. Completely different amp. The FX loop makes noise, it's kind of quiet but it's enough to make me not want to use it. It's loud, definitely loud enough. so here's the bottom line with the Marshall TSL 100 head: IF YOU ARENT WILLING TO SPEND $200-$300 ON MODIFICATIONS FOR THIS HEAD THEN DO NOT BUY IT..YOU WILL BE MASSIVELY DISSAPPOINTED WITH IT.

Never broke down on me once. I know they're making these with cheaper parts now but it has been with me for over a year and I haven't had a problem with it. Here's the bad part. The footswitch is junk, an absolute joke. Broke after about a month of light use. They'll send you a new one when it breaks but you shouldn't need to get a new one, you should get all quality parts if you are blowing $1,400 on a head. They sent me a new one and that hasn't broken yet and I've had that one for about 10 months now. Rating of 5 because the amp is reliable but the footswitch is a joke.

Very good, helpful with the footswitch, sent me a new one in 2 days.

The amp is a joke if you don't modify it, bottom line. Even after the mods I'd still like something with a bit more flavour. I don't know what all of these people giving it a rating of 10 for sound quality are thinking, unless they heavily modified it and forgot to mention it.

This amp sounds AWESOME.

When you try this one, make sure of:

- Having the bias set correctly for the power tubes: 80 to 90mv matching each couple of power tubes (the bias is very simple to adjust from the back of the amp).

- Change preamp tubes to Electro Harmonix 12AX7's and power amp tubes to Electro Harmonix EL34's. More tightness, absolutely clear, musical and harmonically rich.

Stock power tubes are nice, but stock preamp tubes are too harsh and brittle (cheap sounding), not a good choice for this amp i think.

I spent 109? changing tubes and now i have a BEAST.

Remember (very important), for solos, use the lead channel with gain NOT ABOVE 5. With the gain at 5 i can NAIL Van Halen tone (think eruption, also the tapping part, very sweet and harmonically full). Keep the mids at least at 7 without the tone shift, the treble at 4-5, bass at 10 is perfectly tight and punchy without loosing definition. If you have not enough bass still, use the deep switch on.

For the crunch, use the gain at 5. For mild overdrive keep the gain at 5 and lower the guitar volume a tad. WONDERFUL crunch. JCM800's sound really good at tremendous volume, this amp can nail their sound at the volume of 2->3 which is quieter than normal band volume even for practising.

With new tubes, it sounds good even with the vpr on, which is awesome for practice by your own or if you are using a greenback cabinet (crank the amp to 7 with the vpr with your band and tell me if it sounds bad).

So, keep fresh tubes and check the bias setting constantly (once a week at least), it's very quick to do.

This amp is AWESOME, the clean is fender twinish, the mid boost make it like a fender twin cranked.

I tried TONS of amp, this is the REAL tone machine. Don't worry about spending 100$ on new tubes and 5 minutes a week to adjust bias settings... you'll be rewarded.

If after doing all these you still think this amp is crap, well, learn to play guitar man!

Feel free to send me any e-mail for any advice about it (settings and any other problem).


Bye and HAVE FUN!

Take care of it, its a tube amp, it's not true it is not reliable if you know how a tube amp must be treated ;-)

3 years, everything perfect, change tubes every 6 months / 1 year maximum. It is worth it. BTW, it depends on use.

Plug and unplug your guitar with the standby on.

All covered previously. I have bought this to replace the combo version which I had all sorts of rattle and resonance problems with.

TSL-100 with 1936 2x12 Cab. Great sounds as covered in my review of the combo. Clean with Rickenbacker 12 is a joy to behold. Crunch with Les Paul (Burstbuckers) is my main sound but this channel also takes my strat tuned to open G for slide. A magnificent sound. Lead has got it nailed for "Still Got the Blues" and Santana type sounds. A versatile rig covering country, blues and rock. It can even handle Fairport type of folk rock. Clean is as good (better) than Fender. The whole rig with 1936 Cab is portable and works well. What else could anybody want?

See my review of the TSL 122. No problems yet but I am glad of the 3 year warranty!!!!

Not great

It's got 3 channels, and a lot of knobs, and a 5 switch pedal.

I'm using my Ibanez Talman TC-420 on this thing and I really like the sound it gives me.

I'm still tweaking around to find the right setting for me, and it definately helps when the amp is turned up.

The clean channel is decent. Not really something to be excited about in my opinion. It's not bad but not good either. I'm also having some dificulty finding the right clean volume to match the crunch channel.

The crunch channel can make anything from a light crunch to a serious overdrive. I play rock music so I have the gain at 10, which some people might frown upon, but I like it like that. It gives a nice Slash type of overdrive. It's ideal for rythm parts. If you punch in the Tone Shift button it gives you added bottom end which is great for metal overdrive.

The lead channel is basically identical to the crunch channel. It's a way to have another channel for different parts. The obvious way to use it is as a boost for solo work. I use it for that and have a higher volume as well as the tone shift button in.

You can also use it as an alternative channel. I sometimes use it as a lo-fi overdrive channel. Just turn the middle up, and treble and bass down and there you have it.

I haven't had any problems with the amp yet.

I like this amp a lot. I don't know if it's "my" amp, I still have a lot of amps to try out before being able to make such a statement. I'd love to compare it to an Engl or Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier head, but I haven't been able to do so.

But so far I enjoy this amp. It has some pretty good sounds for what it's worth.