Marshall JCM-2000 TSL 100

My amp was acctualy a triple super lead Combo 122 made in 1998, although turned it into a head, mainly because of the overheating problems (it got REALLY HOT) on the combo version. This amp has 3 channels switchable by a 5 botton FS, all 3 chanels have their own independent volume knob, 2 efx loops switchble , DI Output, 25 mode operation (VPR), DEEP switch for clean and OD, spring reverb, 4xel34 in the power section and 4x12ax7 preamp section.

I use this amp with a 97 Fender Strat MIM with a vintage giovanni pickups set (really good), as well as my Ibanez artcore AS. I plug it into a DIY Toneark closedback 2x12 using the speakers that were in the combo (1x celestion vintage; 1x12 celestion Heritage) IT sounds AMAZING!

Clean - You can read by a lot of user reviews here, that the clean in really good, in my opinion the best clean marshall made so far (never heard the JVM's yet), I play jazz and who would ever thought that I would like the ssound of a TSL HIGAIN TUBE MARSHALL HEAD while playing jazz:D but it's true:)

Od(crunch) - by putting the controls at 12:00 and messing only with the gain knob you can get from jtm45 to jcm800 tones. it clean up great, great sound from clapton to jimmy page, Hendrix,G&R, it goes on and on great marshall TONE

Lead- this is in my opinion a JCM800(2003) hot rodded,if you max the gain knob and turn the "tone shift" ON, you get the Heavey, REALLY heavy modern tones that I personaly dont like that much

I dont rate this amp a 10 cuz of the Efx loop it's kindda noisy.

Exept for that this the most versatile amp i've owned.

No problems so far:)

I posted this review cuz i've heard and read so many people saying bad things about this amp, I thing it's not fair, first of all this is a TUBEAMP, so you have to takecare of it:) 2?? the speakers and cabinets that you plug you amp into are 40% of your sound, 3?? if you have a good guitar and you can play it!!! IT will sound good, there is no way that this is a bad sounding amp, dont expect a MESA, or a orange, if you want a MESA tone BUY A MESA!!!!

I'm a jazz guitarist but I also play pubs, rock, funk, this amp does it all
I've been playing for 15 years now, i've owneed:

Marshall JMP 2003
Fender Bandmaster
Marshall JCM 900 2100 SLX
Marshall JCM 900 4100
Marshall JTM 600
Sovtek MIG 100
it goes on...

I can tell you that this amp is the most versatile amp i've owned and played, I how never traide it for a MESA Dual Sha la la ;) no offense, MESA builds great amps, but no way this amp is worth less than a Dual Rec.

ps- sorry about my english:)

greets

3 Channels with pre & post gain for each is great if you need a bit of diversity. The tone shifts and mid boost can give you variations on each channel if you desire. this was enough for me!

I'm rating mine after it has been modified with some simple tweaks. Stock i'd give it a 7, but after some adjustments this amp can shock a lot of people who are negative to the TSL100.

I'm running Mercury Magnetics output transformer and choke, and brought values in the circuit to reduce the fizz & high treble that is common on the DSL & TSL amps

I'm a bit of a Marshall whore and also own a 2203, DSL50 & JCM900 50w SLX (Very underated amp!!) The TSL has that more modern sound in my opinion and is very useful cutting through on stage. Don't waste a 100w valve amp for bedroom use only, turn it up, use the tone network to your liking and theres a large variety of Marshall flavoured tones to be had.

I think a 7 is fair here. Marshall's JCM2000 line has suffered from some reliability issues that were eventually sorted out. Still They (The 2000 series) don't rival a Mesa in terms of quality, which really is a shame.

Of course there will be duds floating around and also people who just don't like it (Hence the neg reviews) But honestly if you have a good example, biased correctly with decent valves you should be fine.

It's a great amp that can be had for a very cheap price on the second hand market. Try one, if you dont like it you can always piss it off to somebody else.

2004 all valve 100 watt amp powered by 4xEL34's and 4x ECC83's, made in good old blighty.

I play in two rock covers bands with the odd blusier and poppy numbers thrown in and this amp covers the styles I need easily.

The amp has three channels (clean, crunch and lead) and is footswitchable as is the reverb and FX loop. Each channel has a 3 band EQ, gain and volume control. The clean channel has a mid boost button and the 2 drive channels have a shared mid cut switch. The master section has two sets of controls (one for clean and the other for the 2 drive channels) which include presence, FX mix and reverb.

This amp features two loops. One is a master loop for all channels and then dependant on how you wire the loop, it can be made assignable to only the clean or only the drive channels. Both loops can either be paralell or serial dependant on the FX mix. It starts as a paralell loop and if you turn the FX mix all the way to 10, it becomes a serial loop. On the back of the head, there are various extension cab options and a DI socket. The front also has a power reduction button to take the amp down to 25 watts and a silent record button. As for features, this amp has loads and if you need anything more this is surely getting into the realms of overkill!

I use this amp for gigging and rehearsals and both the 4 and 5 piece bands I play in (one of which is very loud), there's more then enough power. Marshall 100 watt heads are built to fill stadiums.

I mainly play with a 1958 Gibson VOS guitar loaded with Burstbucker #1 & #2 pickups playing mainly hard rock. This is obviously a very classic rock and roll setup and it's easy to see why this is so popular as it the Les Paul and Marshalls were virtually made for each other and sound awesome. I run this amp into an Orange PPC412AD 4x12 cab loaded with Vintage 30's at gigs and into an Orange PPC212OB for rehearsals, again, loaded with V30's plus various FX both up front (tuner, wah, tubescreamer) and in the loop (chorus, reverb, delay, tremolo).

As for other styles of music, as before mainly rock, blues and some pop and this amp covers those styles with ease. Being a 3 channel amp that goes from mild to wild, whilst it might not be the best amp for say country music, I'd dare say you could get a decent enough country sound out of it it you tried.

The clean channel is very good by Marshall standards, it's never going to be a twin but there's a decent amount of headroom and nice clean sounds can be obtained very easily without the amp breaking into overdrive if you keep the amps gain under half way.

The two drive channels is where this amp is really at. The crunch channel can go all the way to a very high gain sound and the lead channel even further beyond. There's so much gain in the crunch channel that I use it all of the time for my rhythm stuff and really just use the lead channel with pretty much the same settings and a higher volume for soloing.

Unlike most Marshalls, the gain on the drive channels is very smooth and VERY thick and doesn't have the horrible fizzy distortion of say a DSL whilst still retaining that very strong mid range sound that Marshalls are known for. One thing I will say, whilst this amp can cover right up to metal, some people moan it sounds thin. You need to get the volume above 4 on the drive channel and crank those mids before it really starts to come alive.

For some of the tube "purists" who moan about Marshall and this amp specifically using diode clipping(and all of their post jubilee amps), what I can't understand about these idiots is that they'll say it's not a pure valve amp but then stick a tubescreamer or equivalent in front of their "all valve" amp to get that thick distortion but sit happy at night, on the assumption they have an all valve tone. Guys, wake up! Marshall are using the same diode clipping that's found in a tubescreamer, they've just built it into the amp instead! It's no less pure then your "all valve" amp and pedal in front.

I'm still going to rate this as a 10 as like the description of a 10, it sounds awesome, however, if there is one let down in this amp, it's the reverb, it's just very lack lustre so I use an EHX holy grail in the loop (FX mix set to 10 so it's running in serial) and that sounds awesome.

Had this about 6 months and gigged the hell out of it. I bought it used and the guy before me gigged it a lot. So far, touch wood, not a single problem. The known weakness on these amps is the footswitch but the guy I bought it from had 2 so he gave me both and I accordingly have a spare.

Would I gig without a backup? Never. I've owned a few problem amps in the past and always take a 2nd head just incase (currently a dual rec but about to get another TSL 100 head) the worst happens.

I always get my amps serviced regularly as I probably do in the region of 60 - 80 gigs a year with them.

Not with this amp but as a massive Marshall fan, I've owned so many of their amps down the years and have had numerous dealings with the factory direct (being that I am based in the UK fairly close to Marshall).

Every time, I have dealt with them, Marshall's service has been superb whether I ring them, drop them a mail or just order merchandise from them. I've even had a few freebies out of their parts department a few times! Marshall know how to look after their customers (well certainly in the UK)

I've been playing for around 15 years and I've owned so many amps including:

Mesa Dual Rectifier
Mesa F50
Orange Rockerverb
Orange Tiny Terror
Marshall Jubilee
Marshall 800 / 900
Marshall Slash
Marshall JTM
Marshall JVM
Fender Supersonic
EVH 5150 III
Hughes and Kettner Switchblade

Whilst a few of these amps might have had one thing it did better then the TSL, the TSL overall I personally found is a much more flexible amp and more akin to my needs and style.

I'm about to buy another one for backup but yes if this were lost, stolen or damaged, I wouldn't bother going out and trying other stuff again (I've been through so many amps anyhow) and I'd just buy another TSL end of.

The thing I love about this amp is the amazing drive tones that are easy to coax out of this amp plus the overall flexibility. I wouldn't wish for anything more on this amp

I had it one afternoon... Seems to be versatile, has a ton of knobs&functions, quite confusing if you ask me.
Best thing is the parallel fx loops (one per channel) but you have to use a 100% wet effects device to avoid phase problems.
Noisy, rumbles constantly even with new tubes installed.

Let me clear, this amp ain't sounding good at all. Very slim, no substance, no dynamics either, it is a shame for Marshall.
And it squeals like a slaughtered pig (tried 12 quality guitars) with the gain only on 6 and the master on 4 (box is a 412 good tempered).
Unusable IMHO.
Now, if you need to be heard in a band this amp delivers since it's relatively clear sounding (no bass on its own, since you already have a bass player in the band no problem) and you certainly find your niche in the band. And with 100 watts you don't need to push it too far, which is always a good thing.

BUT, it doesn't sound like tubes at all, we are far away from a simple crate V1512 in the tone quality and lushness (15 watts or not).
So it is a major disappointment I find.

For the good it does, it is reliable. According to forums the switching devices inside can act but overall it is quite ok.

I am happy not to own this. It seems my line6 spider3 has more character in some sounds (I mean the structure), sorry guys.
In fact this tsl is not a proper tube amp at all, it has far too much transistors and op amps inside, no wonder it sounds so poor.
If you can have one for cheap and the tone suits you, then match it with a bass-heavy box and you could enjoy it for some time. The 5150 cab seems a good match (the sheffield are lively speakers, very good and organic).
I would take a 2266 vintage modern any day instead of the tsl... No multi channel, but good tone. Choose your team, pal!

This amp is pretty damn versatile. I can play ska, reggae, country, hard rock, and metal tones very easily on this amp. the only amp I think might beat this amp in versatility is the mesa road king, the mesa roadster, and the marshall JVM 410. all amps I like a lot.

I use several different guitars on this amp and they all sound great for the proper application.

in ten years that I've had this amp, it has broken down on me one time. keep in mind that the only reason it did break down is because a "friend" use my amp which is mono on a marshall 1960 cab set in stereo.
the repair was covered under warranty and I paid nothing to get it fixed, and then I got rid of the friend.
in ten years I've replaced the power tubes three times and the preamp tubes twice, and this amp still sounds great, even though i never had it rebiased.
and yes, I know what a good amp sounds like, I've been playing for 20 plus years.
the only issue I've ever had on this amp is the foot switch. they break fairly easily, but I've gotten all mine as free replacements from marshall via the warranty. since the warranty is only for 5 years, I guess I'll have to buy my next one, but I haven't had one break on me in 6 years now. the foot switch problem is the only reason i give this amp an 8 rating.

marshall has always treated my right with dealing with warranty issues. In the US you'll have to go through Korg, who handles marshall's warranty issues, just keep your receipt with your amp, and any marshall repair guy should honor the warranty. at least my repair guy did.

I've read some of the bad reviews on the TSL 100 and I felt I had to get on here and defend this amp. I've owned this amp since 1999, and it has always treated me well. I've played through all kinds of marshalls, new and old, mesa's, fenders, etc. and I keep coming back to my marshall TSL 100.
I been thinking of getting a another amp, either a mesa boogie road king, roadster, or a marshall JVM 410. I think the mesa's are made better, but I don't like the crap load of tubes in them. and I've had bad luck twice now with a road king. I'm not one of those guys that want to bad mouth mesa boogies' , I just prefer the marshall tone a little more.
I wish marshall would step up a notch on there quality, like the older marshalls were. but over all I'm really happy with their products.

This is an all-tube amp built my Marshall in 2003.
I play mostly hardcore and metalish-type music, and this amp works well without any pedals.
There are three channels, Clean, Crunch, and Lead. I usually use the lead channel, and it works wonders, from shrill pinch harmonics to thumping palm muting that shake your body.
This amp has a deep switch, which is much like a loudness button on a stereo, and a tone shift, which scoops the mids. I use both features.
It has a spring reverb, which is quite subtle.

I use a homebuilt guitar with a basswood body and maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. My bridge pickup is a Seymour Duncan SH-6, and that is the pickup I usually use.
It is a little bit hissy when you turn up the volume all the way, but it's not really bad, and you don't notice it when you're playing.
The clean channel is very bell-like. It does break up when it's played at VERY high volumes, but I have found that its not bad until you turn the volume past about 8. If you want Fender cleans, get a Fender. Otherwise, the clean channel is fine for most anything.
The crunch channel makes a very good vintage sound, I can get sounds out of it that resemble old style surf music.
I usually play on the lead channel with the preamp gain at about 8 or 9. At low volumes, the amp does sound plasticy, but when it is turned up past about 2, it sounds quite natural. This amp has enough drive for hardcore music.

I have had the amp for about two months, and nothing has happened yet. Just like all tube amps, it will eventually need re-tubing and biasing.

Never needed customer support. The amp originally had a 5 year warranty. Routine maintenance is not hard to do.

I really like this amp. I also own a Marshall MG100hdfx. The MG's sound is tighter than the TSL's. However, I judge amps on how energetic their sound is. Running both amps through the same cab, the TSL sounds like a floored car, whereas the MG sounds like a car with the gas pressed in quite conservatively.
I would definately buy this amp again.

This amp is NOT for people who are looking for a sound other than a modern Marshall roar. It should not be looked at in the same light as a vintage amp.

2005 marshall tsl100 head.3 independant channels.all tube.wish it had dual master volumes but hey...i got boosters.

I play hard rock, classic rock and blues.i have a prs singlecut,prs singlecut trem and a us strat.
I have never liked marshalls..ill state that right away.ive owned Engl's, Mesa's, peavey valve stuff, fender etc etc etc.I record through a podxt as its just so easy but have used the marshall once or twice and got very good results.
Clean channel is good but not fender deluxe good
Crunch is great..blues through to angus and more
Lead channel is good but could get fizzy at high gain.....even though i use little pre amp gain and lots of power amp squeeze.
I replaced the tubes pre and power, with eh tubes..no mods..the result was fantastic.No more fizz just great power and clarity..even the clean sound is miles better.
I now have a higher regard for marshall although i wish they made em sound like mine out of the factory.I have thought about downsizing to a 50 watt combo but every week when i plug in and turn up i just smile.The other guitarist in our band uses a dual rec with a boogie cab and a gibson Les Paul, people cant believe that my marshall sounds as good if not better!!!
Bottom line : its the guitarist not the gear!!!! If I use his rig I sound like me....he uses my rig...sounds like him! If eddie van halen used my rig...he would still sound like eddie!!!!!!
Gear is only a minor part of your tone.Learn how to set your controls to find your tone.8 rating cos the clean channel could be better.

Gigged it every week for the past 12 months.Only problem has been the input for the footswith came loose...5 minute fix.
I dont throw it about,drop it or spill my beer into it so i dont envisage a problem apart from valve problems but i change them every year anyway.Wouldnt ever take a back up as Im only in a pub/club band not Van Halen and I have to carry it and set it up!

never needed to contact them.

For me this works...may not be the best amp in the world but after trying other amps ,Mesa,engl etc this one works best for me and i saved a bundle selling my powerball to buy this.
Each to his own i guess

Lots of features, you can spend years figuring it all out

Clean channel is great. Lots of overhead. Thick too.
Crunch channel is allright. Very thick. Usually sounds like 80's rock unless totally dialed in. I always thought it sounded like Def Leppord or something. That was not what I wanted.
The led channel is like Kurt Cobain...and is prettty noisy.
The amp sounds nice...but really, its kinda plain.

Ive owned this amp for 6 years. Ive gigged quite a bit. This amp breaks down in an expensive way atleast 2 or 3 times a year. Its totally complicated amp to work on and few people qualify to fix it. Ive had people try and mess it up more, or fix something that ends up breaking something else. So much trouble when it gives you trouble.

Oh yeah, dont use the footswitch unless you want to break it. And they usually cost atleast a hundred dollars to replace if you can find one

nobody wants to deal with a jcm2000 customer. Wait and see..

Its okay while its working. Its pretty versatile. Its sounds good, not outstanding. If your not gigging and moving the amp around a whole lot you MIGHT be okay, but theres so much going on inside this amp that when something goes wrong...and it will, it really goes wrong. Dont let just any dummy try and work on this amp.

What a piece of CRAP! I am a repair tech and one of these came across my bench. What poor quality, but I was most appalled by the abundance of undersized and even unnecessary components that fail and cause severe damage to the really cheesy PCB. The PCB were so thin I was afraid of breaking them getting them in and out. They flex terribly and this is the main cause of PCB failure. the transformer appear to be pretty small for a 100 watt amp. And the design is a nightmare to service. Get a real marshall like an old JTM or JMP hand wired or even the early PCB ones are mich better than this CRAP.

Really not so good. If you ever heard a great amp like a Trainwreck or early JTM or JMP, Fender tweed etc.

Very Poor. open your wallet.

emailed Marshall for support , NONE EXISTENT.

how low can you go. I can't believe all the high marks people are giving this. Maybe they have no experience with a great amp. Or Marshall's Advertising works as advertised. They should their money into making amps not ads.

What a piece of junk, very poorly made and a lot of under rated components. Had a shorted C14 cap( that is a small ceramic that bypassed a 22 uf 450vdc power supply cap. Took out the whole power supply. Thing is there is no need for this cap at all! The cheapo PCB is toasted and the traces are burnt. Got it fixed but for how long?

Never buy this amp, oh , it really does not sound that good.

so so, try a real marshall or a Trainwreck, or a vintage fender .

VERY POOR !

emailed Marshall, NO Response!

-1 , only a sucker work own one of these.

Anyone who has looked at this amp will understand the complexity of the many knobs and buttons on the TSL 100. I count 21 knobs and 9 switches on the front panel alone.

It has 3 channels, clean, crunch and lead, which is plenty for me, I rarely use the crunch channel. There are loads of small useful features like a 25% power mode and an output mute for recording through the DI on the back.

This was sold to me from a guy who rented amps like this, and he said it was too complicated for someone to use only once, so he had to sell if for something simpler, so this does make me think; are there too many features?

First of all, I noticed even in power attenuated mode that this amp is LOUD. I've had this amp for about 4 months now and I have never turned off the power attenuation switch. Even for gigs in medium sized venues it's got plenty of volume at 25%, so maybe if you're just playing at home I would go for a TSL60.

I really like the clean channel on this amp, you have to push it quite hard to get it to break up, but it's beautiful when it does. I like to take a bit off bass out of my clean channel because it can be overly bassy and this can ruin the nice high end of this channel.

The crunch channel does what is says on the tin; it has a nice crunch to it. I don't use this channel as much as the other two but it's the easiest to work with. It doesn't take much tweaking to sound great.

I use the lead channel the most and this is the most disappointing for me. I've spent so long tweaking it to a good sound, it should be easier than that. The gain has a nasal frequency to it that immediately made me take away the high end. After a few weeks I realised that this wasn't the way to go and understood the distortion works well in a mix, but not always on it's own.

However, when you crank up this amp this channel begins to sing and all plastic nasalness begins to fade away.

Overall this amp is very versatile and I could almost guarantee you that you'd be happy with this amp whatever genre of music you play.

I have only had this amp for 4 months, and of course there have been no real problems, but there have been a few small ones.

The footswitch:
The footswitch itself is built like a brick s*ithouse and will NEVER break, but the cheap plastic cable that comes with it will. The footswitch stopped working on me mid-gig which was incredibly frustrating, however it seems to work fine if I loop it through the handle of the amp before plugging it in, the pins may not be aligned properly or something?

Also, there is a loose spring in the reverb unit, and this rattles whenever you move the amp. There is nothing actually wrong with the reverb unit, it's just a bit annoying rattling away while driving to a gig, and was quite an alarming sound at first.

But as I said above, these are both minor problems and overall this amp has been rock solid, even second hand.

For a while I owned this amp without a speaker cabinet, and decided to try and plug it into the inbuilt speaker on my AVT combo. I wasn't sure if the impedances would match up so I emailed the Marshall Customer Suport, and they came back with an answer 3 weeks later that was barely related to my question and didn't help in the slightest.

I emailed another two times and got similair answers (one being "you should not connect the outputs of the AVT or TSL to anything other than a speaker"), so I emailed the guy I bought it off and he gave me the all clear.

So this rather long and strange story is to say that from my experiences with Marshall customer support they haqve not been helpful at all.

However, saying this I've had friends who've sent amps off to receive them a week later fixed.

Overall I do love this amp, I believe I got a great deal out of it for ??320, and I play on it a lot. The small disadvantages don't outweigh the advantages of this amp at all and it is great for me.

However, if it were lost or stolen I think I would look at purchasing a DSL100 as I don't use the crunch channel that much.

I think this amp would be better if the gain was a bit more toned on the lead channel. I am planning to buy a graphic EQ to put in front of it, and I shouldn't have to do that. I still adore this amp though, and would reccomend it.

I bought this amp used and it's a 2003. I believe the guy before me had it in a head case so it looks like it's brand new. I play alternative and heavy rock music and I find the amp versatile enough to get all the tones I need. I like the independent reverb per channel feature since I only like a lot of reverb on the clean sounds. The FX A and B I haven't really found a use for yet ... maybe I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with. I love the VPR switch but It defiantly deadens tone but at least you don't deaden your ears while practicing because it is pretty loud. Why is the actual cabinet so huge though? Ow well ....

I use a Gibson BFG and a BC Rich platinum mockingbird. The FX I use are a EB jr volume pedal and an EB wah in line. Through the send I used a Boss CE-5, PH-3 and a DD-7. I can make very small adjustments with the FX level on the amp which isn't possible with other amps ... It's usually on or off. Im running the amp through an Orange PPc412 so the vintage 30's RIP! at first I found this amp a little muddy but I turned down the bass and hit the deep switch which seems to be a frequency below the bass in this amp probably at the 150 HZ range. Im not overly fond of the clean tones in this amp but I've tweaked it enough that I've gotten the sound I'm used to. Overall I like it

Haven't had it long enough for it to die. I know the foot switch midi thing is crap because Peavey already showed the world how much they suck. My only complaint is why the hell does a $1500 amp have plastic jacks? ... what ever

Marshall in my neck of the woods is hard to deal with directly. I guess I would have to deal with grant rustle of Ericson Music. He's a cool dude ... Marshalls don't break down very often so I think customer service is gonna be ok

I love it

A three channel Marshall. Each with its own voicing. Spring reverb is great. Has a power reduction feature that works well for low volume situations. Separate tone sections for each channel. Quite a few other features you can read about on HC or elsewhere.

Sound quality is excellent. Use a Les Paul, the TSL 100 and a 1960 AV 4x12 cab with V-30s. With proper setting of guitar and amp settings the rig chimes. With the Les Paul volume not on max and the crunch channel gain not too high it chimes. The clean channel is awesome also. For each of the three channels the sound quality depends on amp and guitar settings.

With a Stratocaster the rig sound awesome with guitar vol maxed out. Again, time was spent finding the best (IMHO) amp/guitar settings for the tone I am looking for.

I'll give it a 9 if you spend time tweeking in the tone. You can get that Marshall roar and not destroy your ear drums if you work the guitar & amp controls for best tone. Especially on the crunch channel when strumming chords can make the distortion somewhat brutal if using a Les Paul and all guitar controls are maxed out.

Using either a Les Paul or Strat, the amp has very sweet harmonics, a signature of a good tube amp.

Yea, the footswitch and cable could be a bit more robust. Treat the footswitch gently as you should the amp. I have had no problems with the amp since buying it in 2005 but I take good care of my gear.

Took it in for a checkup at a certified Marshall amp shop. They were great but be careful about who you let work on you gear, just like a car. Don't like that you can't get a service manual for those of us who know how to work on guitar amps. Seems like a justification to get you to take it in for service like a car.

Awesome amp. You will have to spend time to tweek in the tones you like for each channel.

Many reviews list the features.

I have had this amp for 5 years now. I changed over from a Mesa Dual Rectifier. The mid range frequency response was the #1 reason...this amp punches through and sits in the mix very well. No competing with the bass for frequencies when you tune standard.

Using a cab with V30's is the ticket for the tone I like. responsive and thick. I bought and sold a 1960A cab quickly. Used it for a couple gigs, and the tone was just too thin and bright. While this could work in a 2 guitar band, I play and sing for a 3-piece and need that thickness.

I don't use the effects loop or the tone / deep switches. I run this amp into a Mesa Rectifier Traditional 4x12 cab with V30's. I ALWAYS keep a THD Hot Plate betweent he amp and the cab. This enables me to lower the stage volume when the venue requires it...without miffing my tone too much. At rehaearsal I always keep it at 4db of attenuation. And it's still LOUD.

The amp itself has performed thorugh at least 200+ gigs. With regular tube replacements (JJ's), I have had 0 problems with the amp itself.

But, the cord for the footswitch sucks. I cut it at both ends and ocnverted it to use a Cat5 jack (computer network cable). This has worked like a champ, with not problems afterwards. It's too bad they didn't set it up this way in the first place. AND...unfortunately there's not really any room in the chassis to add a jack cleanly.

I'm writing this review because this amp fricken ROCKS. You can get just about any tone you want out of it without pedals, tons more with.

The only thing I wish was a bit different would have been the ability to use a regular footswitch, instead of their proprietary switch with a daughter board and crapola cable.

I occasionally play with other bands that have guitar players that live on the internet, and all that it is. You have to play out to really understand how tone and all this stuff works. One time a guy saw my TSL and scoffed at it. Said I should have a Mesa head on the cab. I just smiled and said the TSL sounds great for me. After the show, he said he had no idea a TSl could sound so good. Doh!

I have been playing for 16 years, live for the last 8. I play a Les Paul into a Fulltone Wah, and that's it for the guitar rig.

Mine is an early production, 1998. These had some incorrect parts installed, and although I used and enjoyed it, the bias feed resistors on these early amps are 220K, instead of 5.6K!!!. My bandmates TSL always sounded better, until I discovered and corrected this anomaly. So that is MY FIRST TIP on these wonderful, versatile amps.
The second is to lower the value of the treble bleed capacitors on the crunch and lead channels. Yes, you may need a tech to do this, but you want classic bluesy rock tones, don't you? These are bright beasts out of the box. With the gain at about 6-7, a value of 100-220pf is a wonder to behold, compared to the stock value of 470pf. WAY too bright. Of course, if this cap is totally removed, it is the same as diming the gain...it is out of the circuit on 10. My bandmate plays a strat, and his are simply removed.
The clean channel has only a 100pf cap...and it sounds great from the factory.
I never use the reverb, or the effects sections. Although they are both more than decent.

Sound quality for my amp is rated AFTER the following simple upgrades. Without these upgrades, they can sound fuzzy, indistinct, and have a lack of "feel".
1. Upgrade ALL of the tubes. I prefer JJ tubes. Was a huge improvement over showroom stock. This is a MUST.
2. Put a Mercury Magnetics output transformer in. THIS IS NIGHT AND DAY. The stock unit sounds lifeless and two dimensional in comparison.
More chime, clarity, warmth, balls, crunch with growl, etc.
3.Put a Mercury Magnetics choke in the power supply. Not as huge as the tranny, but noticeable, with more feel and smoothness of tone.
4. Make sure that the treble bleed capacitors across the gain pots on the crunch and lead channels are lowered. They have 100pf on the clean(perfect)...but 470pf on the others. I ended up with 220pf. Way nicer and less biting with gain settings of 6/7.
5. Make sure, if you have an early production model, that the bias feed resistors are the correct value of 5.6K. I am not the only one to have discovered this....do a google search...
I use Marshall 1960A Vintage cabs, with two G12H anniversaries in an X pattern, and usually mic the G12H...
I also have a mint pair of older JCM800 2X12 1936 cabs with G1265's in them for rehearsals....
Both of these cabs types and speakers are hands down better (in every way) than the standard G12T75 cabs, especially with these heads, for classic rock tones. I am not a greenback fan with these higher gain amps.
These amps have all the gain you could ever need for any type of rock, other than modern metal...however vintage Judas Priest is metal, and these can nail that easily and more...
These aren't a "living room" amp. They sound great live, whether in a club or on a large stage outdoors.
My crunch/lead settings are Bass 12 o'clock, mids 12 o'clock, treble 9 o'clock, presence 9 o'clock. No mid scoop...ever...

I have played mine for over 8 years, with never a single problem....I do have an extra footswitch, but haven't had a problem with the footswitch in over 6 years of gigs....but then, I take care of it, and pack it well.

Never needed.

I am 50 years old. Have played over 35 years. I play a 1993 Les Paul Standard with classic 57 pickups. I also play a 1997 Lonestar strat with upgraded seymour duncans in all three positions.
I have played on stages with national acts, as well as casinos, private shows, and many, many clubs, like all of us old timers. I have owned the old school 50 watters back in the day, and they were great, unless you needed to play clean, or wanted to hear any of your solos.
I am still lucky enough to play in a busy (twice a month) traveling classic rock cover band. This amp makes it a joy to play. My bandmate also has one, and is thrilled, especially with the upgraded tubes and Mercury transformer. He plays a strat, and both treble bleed caps on the crunch and lead are clipped on his. Sounds better than great.
Considering the prices on these on ebay lately (some under $800)...spending another $300 on tubes and tranny would get you an unbeatable amp for classic rock and blues.
Nothing touches the lead channel on the ones I have...
Hope I helped someone to get the sound they are looking for....I love these amps, can you tell?

Has everything. 3 independently eq's channels, reverb, effects loop.

I can't say enough about the sound for this amp. I bought mine about 7 years ago and loved it. Well, I kinda grew tired of it and did not think it was a heavy enough amp for me. I bought a Peavey XXX and a Line 6 Spider III to try to get a heavier, more saturated tone. When it was all said and done, I sold those amps...and kept this. Sure, you can't get the heaviest tone out of this thing, but you can get a heavy enough tone and a great tone. This amp really is a great amp. The clean channel is really the best clean I have every heard. It is very warm and doesn't break up that much. The crunch channel is great for the classic sound and blues. And the lead channel has just enough punch to play any type of music. This amp is extremely versatile. If you don't think it's heavy or bassy enough, I learned a lesson a long time ago. A guitar and amp may sound good by itself, but it's how it sounds with a bass guitar, drums etc that really determines how useful it is and how good it sounds. In other words, if it's not heavy enough for ya, just take it to band practice.. You will be pleasantly surprised. This amp is very articulate and will be easily be heard and will not get mixed out. Trust me...this amp is the real deal.

I've had this amp for 6 years....never had a single problem. I haven't even replaced the tubes and it still sounds amazing.

N/A Never had to deal with them.

I can't say enough about this amp. I will never get rid of it. If it were stolen, I might consider getting the JVM 400, because it's more of the same just with another channel, but I love this amp. It sounds good for every time of music.

3 channels, presence and reverb controls are shared between crunch and gain channel, clean has its own set of controls. 2 FX loops with level switch so you can get pro rack gear or some foot pedal in there. deep boost button, mid scoop button on gain channels, mid boost button on the clean, 25-watt button

I've had it for like 3 months now, initially I bought a 1960A cab with it. I wish I hadn't done that. Last week I got a 1960AV cab with the vintage 30's and the difference in sound is unreal. It's like having a new amp. It didn't sound all that bad with the 1960A cab to start with, but I definetly recommend everyone to use v30's with this amp.

I'm running a gibson les paul standard faded through this thing.

All 3 channels are pretty awesome and extremely versatile. Clean channel doesn't stay clean if you don't want it to, does so if you want it. The gain channels provide pretty much every rock sound I tried to get out of it, ranging from slightly gainy to completely mid-scooped metal (I don't primarily play this genre so metal purists better try it first I guess). All the knobs are very sensitive and considering the tube nature of the thing, the amp is also very sensitive to your guitar settings, by which I mean you can almost get a perfect clean on the high gain channel if you turn down your guitar a lot.

The amp will sound quite different with different guitars. It didn't sound as good with a Jackson professional with hot rail pickups as it does with the bigson 'zebra' burstbucker pro's. It also will very clearly make you hear any mistake you make in a very defined way.

I could go on and on because I absolutely adore the versatile sonoric qualities of this amp.
Playing in a hardcore band and a rock/ska band this amp gives me all I need and then some.

I got it used and there was a buzz on the clean channel. After taking it out for a gig, this buzz disappeared and hasn't been back for over 2 months now (I own it 3). I can see what other people say, the foot switch is going to fall apart at some time, but mine is still in prime condition. Everyone who has bumped into this thing knows it... TANK! Take out the tubes and I'd be surprised if you can break it without resorting to tools.

no clue

Very versatile, very analog/organic, superb clean channel (not just for marshall imo), only thing I can really say is that this thing is the sh*t when attached to a Vintage 30 cab.

It took me a few months to get to know how it would behave when turning the buttons, so don't judge it after 5 minutes of yanking in the store and don't buy one with celestion speakers!!

TSL 100 has many features that other amps do not have. 3 independent channels, separate eqs for each channel, 2 different fx loops switchable by the footswitch, reverb, power reduction button, direct out for recording.
Certainly takes some tweaking, but once set it sounds incredible. Very versatile with 3 different channels that go from F*nder clean to over the top gain. Channel 1 is clean and can get old Marshall push or Fender cleans.
Channel 2 is JCM 800 and 900 crunch. Many different sounds can be achieved with this channel.
Channel 3 is gain drenched, I actually use this as a solo channel to get a little bit more drive, but boost the volume significantly.
TOO much amp for smaller clubs, but perfect for 500+ capacity venues.

Channel 1- Clean is very un-Marshallesque. Very impressive. Takes away from having to A/B Fender Twin and Marshall amps. Stays clean even when pushed.
Channel 2- Classic drive and crunch ala 800 and 900. Put about 6 on gain and crank. SOUNDS GREAT!
Channel 3- Searing gain and solos. AWESOME!!!

Unfortunately, this amp did not sound its best until I purchased a THD HotPlate for my rig. That made all the difference. This amp MUST be pushed to sound its best.

I play everything from classice rock to new pop and top 40 in a popular cover band. I use it with my Gibson Les Paul Classic, and Fender American Fat Strat Texas Special. Both guitars get THE rock and roll sound I need. I run the head with a 1960AV cabinet. THE MARSHALL SOUND that defined rock and roll.

I have not had any problems. I usually have my Line 6 Pod XT as a backup because I play at some of the top clubs in the country. You can't take a chance.

N/A No warranty as I bought it used. I've replaced the preamp and power tubes, helped warm up the sounds.

Great amp for my needs. Love the versatility. Does take some tweaking and needs a power soak to get the best sounds. Wish I had a 1960AC cab, sounds very warm when paired with this amp. But, my 1960AV sounds incredible as well. Would definately replace this head if something happened.

Same specs as listed in other reviews. This amp has more than enough features to dial in the marshall tone you are looking for. The XLR out for recording is great for scratch tracks and capturing your ideas, but if you are making a record, stick with a 57 you like and drop the power down to 25 watts.

Not only is this amp very versatile, it sounds amazing. Marshalls tend to have dirty clean channels, esp at louder volumes. This amp keeps the cleans clean. The crunch/lead channels avoid the brown sound and work very nicely with rack gear. In fact, you can run your clean channel through it's own FX loop, and the leads through another. This amp produces superior Marshall tones - if you are looking for a Mesa sound, buy a Mesa. If you are looking for a plexi sound, buy a plexi. This amp will give you a great overall marshall tone, and ample opportunity to let you make it your own.

I've had mine for half a year now, and it's been through at least a dozen big stage gigs. I hear bad things about the foot switches, but as long as you don't wind the cord around the footswitch (cord is VERY long), you should be OK. Typical reliable Marshall amp - it can fall off your cab during a show and nobody would know the difference.

I haven't had the need yet. I hear Korg is the US CS middle man.

I've played though a lot of amps. I hit up the music stores in my region weekly to play around a get a good feel for what different companies and different amps bring to the table. This is a great rock amp for guitar players that like the marshall sound. The three channels give you a natural clean / chunk / lead setup that reduces the number of pedals in front of you. The independent FX loops let you decide how to integrate your effects and your rack gear. The XLR out gives you an easy way to record your ideas w/o bleed in live jam sessions. The FX mix pots let you decide how much of your FX loop signal bleeds into your final output. This amp was though out very well. You get what you paid for.

Very versitile amp. 3 Channels. Its been discussed many times over so no need. 3 Channel ROCK amp.

Excellent sounding amp. I have had the amp for 2.5 years with no problem. Like other Marshall Tube amps, sounds best with the master volume cranked up a bit like 12 O'Clock. I use a Hot Plate attenuator for more flexibiltiy in driving the power amps EL34s and adjusting the gain. This amp can blow your ears out and needs to be worked with unless you have a barn or concert hall. I thought about selling my TSL100 and 1960 AV cab. After trying out other amps I decided to keep my rig. I like the "growl" of Marshall amps. Also using a Black Finger Compression pedal. It sounds great into the crunch channel.

You really have to work the guitar controls as well as those of the amp. It may take time but thats part of the fun. I use a Les Paul and a Strat. Working on the best settings for each. It takes time. It seems easier with a Strat but using a Les Paul, means "business".

The clean channel is great with lots of headroom in my openion. With the volume and gain setting set properly it chimes.

The footswitch mechanical design is a bit weak. But go easy on it. Don't slam it when you switch. Be smart about it. Don't wind the cable tightly and it should be ok. Tube amps do not stand up to the abuse that a solid state amp can. Tubes are much more "mechanical" than transistors or FETs. Treat the amp well or buy a back up ($$$).

My amp was made in the UK. Look at where they're built now. In China? Better than Mexico.

Don't like the fact that KORG is in the middle. However I had some work done on my amp due to neeeding new tubes and with good results. Your Marshall amp repair shop is important. I had a micorphonic tube but didn't know it. The repair shop fixed that at no cost to me.

This amp has tome from Marshall rock and roll growel to very clean. In between these two the amp can be set for long sustain with alot of harmonics. But you hve to work with it, spend time working the controls. Remember to work the guitar controls also. The tone cannot be better than what the guitar is supplying.

This amp is feature rich which include:
Dual FX loops - though never use because I suffer severe volume drops because it is circuiting through the preamps and not the power tubes. Run everything straight into the guitar jack. Have your Wah be first in line, then delay, tremolo, phaser etc.
Emulated line out (useful for recording late at night)
Three channels: clean, crunch, and lead.
Separate EQ for each channel: Unlike the DSL, where you had to dial in the EQ and you were stuck with it for both channels, the TSL is very versatile in this area.
Mid scoops take the mids out giving you a more metal sound.
Bass boost which will give you an added low end.
Super easy to bias, (a fourth grader could do it...Bob Pletka - Eurotubes)
Footswitch: have read numerous reviews saying it is bad, that may be the case but mine has never failed me and I play 3-4 shows a week plus practice.

ABSOLUTE MUST DO:Stock tubes on this amp suck. Depending on what style of music you play, they may or may not be sufficient. My suggestion, call Bob Pletka at Eurotubes www.eurotubes.com and he'll fit ya right for your style. For Hard Rock/Metal go with the JJ E34L's for power tubes and the ECC83S's. This is a high gain option with a bias cranked to 80-82 will blow your skirt up.

Very nice sounds. Clean is better than solid state but not quite a fender Twin reverb sound. Very good sound quality is also dependant upon what kind of speakers you use. Am running a 1960A cab with 2 Vintage 30's and 2 Weber Silver Bells. Totally Killer for hard Rock Metal Thrashing - See HateBreed -these guys use the Marshall TSL.

Also, single coil do not sound as full in these as humbuckers.

Have used it time and time again and it has never failed me.

Had questions about biasing. Initially my amp had a problem with running too cold, about 60mv. That was what it was at it's highest level. I contacted customer support and they recommended replacing the stock tubes from when I bought it which I still had. Did that and no change. Took it to a qualified Marshall Service Center in which they fixed the problem at no charge because the amp head was still under warranty. Marshall also responded within a day of my inquiry so gotta give them a 10 on that. Only thing I don't like bout their support is you have to email, there is no phone number anywhere on their website.

Been playing for 14 years, and own a Line 6 Spider II, Marshall 1936 2 X12, Marshall 1960A, Gibson Les Paul, Alvarez Yairi

Line 6 DL4, Dunlop Cry Baby Wah (fasel conductor)

Made in 2002 - Versatile amp with tons of flexibility. 5 button footswitch is good and the FX switch can be used as a volume boost if you don't mind losing your effects. Having two FX loops is a bit of overkill, I never found a way to use both FX loops at once. Easy to bias. Emulated line out is a nifty feature, but I never found a use for that as well. I'm not sure what it was designed to do, but I hit the output mute button when I'm switching guitars, which is a great feature. I wish the amp had a footswitchable volume boost and I could keep my effects on.

Great classic Marshall tone. Best clean tone on any marshall ever. I leave the mid boost on all the time and get a really deep, ringing clean sound. The mid scoops on the crunch/lead channels make it muddy through the 1960B straight cabs, but leaving them off can make the tone really dry and trebly at low volumes. The virtual power reduction is good for fixing that problem at low volume and is a great feature. Sounds awesome once you crank it up. One of the best sounding Marshalls I've ever played, although the DSL 100 sounded a little better than the TSL, but I couldn't pass up on the three channels.

The footswitches are pieces of crap. My buddy and I have each been through 3 TSL footswitches in the past 5 years and they're not cheap. Mine seems to be in perfect working order but consistently blows HT fuses as the worst possible time, about three or four times a year. My bandmate owns two TSLs and one mysteriously stopped working (transformer problems, most likely) last year. I love this amp but knowing what I know now I would have opted for a more reliable model.

Some of the footswitch problems were resolved under warranty for a while, but recently I've been having to buy new ones when they break. The authorized service centers have been more than helpful and they seem to be familiar with the problems new Marshalls are having. No experience directly with Marshall, though.

Been playing 10 years, had this for 5. I play it with a Les Paul classic and an American strat. This is the only pro amp I own, and if I needed another I would probably go for the DSL and figure out a way to make two channels work, they seem to be more reliable and have slightly better tone. I've also been thinking about Mesas lately but I definitely need that Marshall sound. I love this amp but the footswitch problems and the HT fuse dilemma ruin it for me. If I had no problems with it, it would be invaluable.

made 2003 or 2004?

lets start with the clean channel. one of the best sounding clean channels the only other that has a great sounding clean channel that compares to the TSL is the Framus cobra. the crunch goes from plexi to JCM800.The lead is an all out Marshall sound.I play Metal, and some classical.this amp will go from super clean to a hi gain marshall
roar.

I have had no problems with it.

N/A

I have been playing for 15 years. I own a JTM60,Mesa Stilleto,Line 6
HD 300, Framus cobra, Guitar that I use are 50th aniversary fender strat, PRS custom 22, Ibanes destroyer, Charvel Model 2, Homemade
soloist and 2 Les paul copies. all sound great thru this amp. My favorite of my amps ( FRamus very close ). Power reduction from 100 to i believe 38 Watts. I also have used the direct line out for late night recording into my computer. I tried the Mesa triple Rec before
buying this amp and this marshall won hands down. No regrets with this amp.

if your reading this you probably already know the features . It has all i need . If you need more that 3 channels and 2 effects loops your a premadonna effect junkie and should learn how to play without all that crap.

this is a 2 parter . the first part is for the stock amp and how it sounds straight out of the box .The second part is how it sounds after a slight modification that anyone can do .
Let me add that I have been playing for 33 years and have owned 8 marshall heads
part 1 . the amp sounds week and pissy like a marshall wanna be the distorsion is fizzy sounding . To much treble no mid and not enough bottom .
part 2 . change the pre amp tubes to groove tube 12ax7r . this takes care of the treble problem and adds some mid and bottom. it also gives the amp a little more gain . crank the bias up to about 90 and this takes the pissy fizzy sound away and makes the amp sound like a marshall should. After these simple mods the amp is one of the best sounding marshalls I've owned .

so far it been dependable. all my marshalls have always been rock solid

n/a

I love this amp . I own a couple of mesa boogies also and there is no use trying to compare them . A mesa is good for the mesa sound and a marshall is good for the brit sound.

You've already heard below reviews.

Would like the pentode/triode switch that Genz-Benz and Mesa offer on some models (Road King).

Would also like the rectifier tubes and option of rectifier tubes or solid-state rectification.

Sounds pretty brutal with my ESP EC-1000 with dual EMG's. I play mostly hard rock and blues with this setup. Sounds good with my American Strat as well.

Best clean of any Marshall I've played (which includes JCM800, 900, valvestate).

The crunch channel is not exactly like the JCM800's but it's great for hard rock or classic rock. Lead channel sounds very similar to crunch, more gain and compression possibly. I used as solo boost.

With a 1960a 4x12, it's loud enough to compete with cranked 1200 watt Ampeg SVT-4 and multiple speaker cabs.

Doesn't make popping sound when you switch channels like Mesa footswitches do.

I submitted a lengthy write up that never got posted.

Footswitch is unreliable. The FX loop switch died on me so I bought 2 NOS footswitches.

More importantly, the output transformers are poor quality on these and apparently the JCM 900's as well. If you plan on running gain=10 and vol=10 in clean, be forewarned. My amp tech said a customer of his had a TSL 100 who would use the amp like this and blew a few output transformers and one in the JCM900 as well.

Quality/reliability on Marshalls plummetted after the 1980's. And they're not cheap dollar-wise either.

If you play speed metal forget about this head. It doesn't respond quick enough like JCM 800's for shredding. Amp is good for sounds and features but think about this:

On marshallamps.com, why is there no artist list like other amp makers? What pro do you know who uses a JCM2000? And why hasn't Marshall released another all tube amp (or revisions/upgrades like Mesa does) since the JCM2000's in the late nineties?

It's loud as hell, never turned it past 7 on gain channels with active EMG's. Haven't changed the E34l JJ tubes for almost a year and still running strong. Haven't yet had any issues with the head itself, only footswitch. I recommend checking out new Mesa Stiletto.

1999

Well suited for blues and hard rock and some metal (the slow, heavy kind, not speed metal)

3 channel w/ unreliable footswitch (my FX button stopped working)

been using for almost 12 months at studio usually setting volume pot b/n 5 and 7 on gain1 and gain2 and 10 on clean

you can bias this amp yourself (there are external tabs on the back of the amp) w/o opening the chassis

Lots of features, some useful, some not so useful.

I use TSL 100 for rhythm and leads for my hard rock/blues band. Effects I use are wah, phaser, whammy pedal, delay. Guitar is usually ESP EC-1000 STBC and American Strat with lace sensors. I have been using this amp with these guys for almost 12 months now. I used a lot of simple jazz chords and blues scale, Dorian mode a lot for leads.

Best clean of any Marshall (JCM 800, 900, valvestate) I've played and has plenty of headroom.

Reverb sounds very deep (I set that to 2 on dirty and clean, it's very strong).

Using JJ E34L output tubes with Electro Harmonix 12AX7's. Plenty of bottom end with bass boost button. Haven't changed tubes for almost 12 months.

Amp gives good controlled feedback (don't max out the gain, I set mine to 7/8/9) with my 4x12 1960a cab.

Footswitching is clean (no popping sounds like Mesa's).

Crunch channel is my favorite although it doesn't sound exaclty like a JCM 800 (not as crunchy).

Lead channel doesn't sound much different (probably some more gain and compression added) than crunch channel. I turn the volume up on this channel as a solo boost.

Clean has a decent amount of headroom to compete with a 1200 watt Ampeg SVT-4 bass without micing my 4x12 1960a cab.

Effects loop is good and there is an effects mix pot.

Preamp doesn't respond as well to wah as my JCM 800's.

This amp is more bass/mid oriented whereas the JCM 800's are more treble-oriented. This is a major difference.

Does not respond as well to pick attack as JCM 800.

Unable to play thrash/speed metal (e.g. Master of Puppets) cleanly/easily with this amp. The cheap transformer(s) or something else seems to cause the amp to not be ready for the next notes. My Mesa Road King blows away this amp in the thrash category.

Overal as far as sound is concerned for most purposes, this is a pretty good amp.

Marshall is very poor nowadays in terms of reliability. Two examples specifically regarding this amp to substantiate my (and others') claims.

1) footswitch FX switch stopped working after several months. Bought two more as backups from ebay.

2) my amp tech at Ampcrazy in Hollywood said that the output transformer for another client had blown when the guy played using only the clean channel with volume at 10 and gain at 10. He replaced the output transformer two more times and they both blew as well. The guy switched to JCM 900 and it blew as well (900's and 2000's use the same part for the output transformer). He now replaced the JCM 900 output transformer with a Fender one which is what Mesa uses in their amps. I have run my clean at volume=10 and gain=6/7 for about 12 months with no issues.

I have also heard about volume fluctuation problems from an acquaintance with the TSL 100. Be very wary. Marshall is making money from their name, not quality anymore.

This amp is definitely not worth $1499 new. I bought mine for $850 used and have spent $80 more for two NOS footswitches.

Only reason I'm still using it is the bass player really likes the sounds. It's also the only 3 channel Marshall other than the 6100 which is very similar in terms of features.

No experience with Korg.

Playing 13 years. Own three JCM 800's (the split channels!) and a Road King and a few guitars.

If the output transformer dies on me, I'll have it replaced and sell the amp on Ebay. Footswitch is a great idea (FX loop on/off is a great feature rather than turning on/off all effects one-by-one). But I already had a problem with the FX switch on the original footswitch.

This is a great rehearsal amp, but I would be afraid to use this for a live performance. You'll end up embarassing yourself in front of the audience if the footswitch craps out or the output transformer (or other internal component) craps out. Bring one or two backups.

I'm thinking about replacing this with a Mesa Tremoverb with EL-34's but not sure it will have the same sound and crunch the Marshalls have. The Mesa Road King is very good as well but is too complicated for most users.

I definitely would not purchase this head for $1499 new. That's just a total rip off after considering the reliability/quality issues. It used to be $1749 on musician's friend.

Bottom line: buy this head and use it for rehearsals. Marshall quality and reliability has dropped significantly after the 1980's unfortunately. Damn shame for such a badass sound.

It's damn loud too with active pickups. Never have turned it all the way up yet (and yes, do use ear plugs!)

3 channel amp. Clean, Crunch and Lead. You all know this stuff.

The amp is versatile. It does every sound you'll need well and if it doesn't, you need external things like Graphic EQs and boosts etc.

Parellel FX loop which i don't like but it'll do.
VPR switch which turns the amp into around 30 watts - Very useful for bedroom playing.

I'm not a fanboy of Marshalls so i'll review this properly.

The clean channel is a bit sterile and bland. Compared to my old Plexi it isn't as 3D or warm. With a hint of reverb and chorus it's a great channel though. It won't break up easily unless you want it to.

Crunch channel will give you the Plexi through to JCM800 zone. I feel it isn't saturated enough for metal styles but better for classic rock. If you want metal sounds out of this, you'll need a clean boost infront of the amp to work it harder. Even then i prefer the Lead channel. In a band context though, the crunch channel is better then lead for rhythm guitar.

Lead channel will do some great lead sounds. Smooth if you want. It can also do nice distorted rhythm sounds when a graphic EQ is in the FX loop and a clean boost out infront of the amp. Once those two factors are in play, this amp's distortion is up there with the best. Mine sounds a bit like a H&K Triamp MKII but more Marshally. More growl and slightly darker. When turning off a clean boost, it sounds muffled and your ears will need to get used to it. With a clean boost the amp is tighter and clearer.


I'm using Ibanez guitars with Dimarzio pickups on this amp. The cabinet is a 1960A 4x12". It's very bright and ice picky so you need to turn the treble and prescence quite far down.


Overall, if does most styles well. Not perfectly as some one-trick-pony's, but it'll get you there. Very decent amp and with added pedals like a graphic EQ (or parametric) and a clean boost, this amp will come into it's own.

The footswitch sucks so always have a spare. The amp works well though.

People believe the amp is crap because it fades out and in when switching channels but that's to control the reverb. Rather then cutting off the reverb when switching channels like Mesa's and such, the Marshall retains it and fades out and in when switching channels thus ensuring the reverb doesn't overpower the other channel. I prefer the cut-off method of channel switching reverbs but at higher volumes this feature is barely noticeable.

As a note, put the lead channel on with moderate reverb and clean channel aswell. Hit a staccato chord and switch to the clean channel quickly and you'll hear the distorted reverb fade through to the clean channel. That's what i'm talking about

Never really spoke to them. If you live outside England it's a bitch but i live in England.

They were very helpful and nice about my Plexi though so i'm marking them high on this. However, if you live outside of England, you're screwed basically.

Great head. It'll do lots of sounds and is versatile. A great addition to anyone's collection and/or a great amp for beginners to tube amps (as it's rather cheap in England secondhand).

I would advice this over the other Marshall amps (Mode Four, JCM900 etc). Mode Four's were crap when i tried them out. Too digital sounding. The TSL slayed it.

I wish the TSL had my Plexi's clean as it sounds so much more 3D. Then again, with so much going on behind the amp's shell with all circutry i'm not suprised. If it was a one channel amp it'd sound warmer and 3D but then you wouldn't have the versatility. Overall, great amp. There's only a handful of "10" amps and few more "9" rated amps, so i'm giving this an 8

the most versatile amp Ive played.. it is a 3 channel amp which is getting pretty common now adays...this head has a variable damping switch when in it is good for lower settings...and I record my guitars direct and there is a xlr lineout with built in cabinet simulator that sounds amazing.Ive been around the simulator block (palmer ,ada (both so-so) and the awesome behringer GI-100..but this is the best I've ever heard.there is an output mute so the cabinet is quiet but channels sound only thru your near feild monitors. the footswitch is excellent and functions great despite some users complaints!? hard to understand why they couldnt read the manual..but I have a good idea. effects loop has 3 different configurations...this is a loaded head..like owning a cadillac.

Ive tried 5 other marshalls and this one can do all tones!!!when I went to buy a marshall head I didnt go in thinking about this head and didnt want to spend this kinda dough...I tried a dsl, 800,900,avt 150,mode4,and this one...thinkin Id be buying a jcm900 for sure I demoed all of them in the store and this is what happened:
I was using the identical guitar I play at home .(Jackson soloist)jb duncan in the bridge. clean I use my ssl-6 neck single coil and sounds really nice on the clean channel of the tsl (unlike some of the reveiws- I got a great clean sound)has a midboost that is cool.crunch sounds exactly like judas priest "another thing comin" lead sounds like gate 7 or king diamond "the eye" or opeth and early children of bodom. nice and thick distortion...a bit bright ...I love the tones of this because no matter what I play you can hear every note...even on alot of gate 7's speed riffs...so I plugged into the others and they all sound great but...they all pretty much do one dirty tone and a clean but the tsl does them all...I tried a krankenstein cabinet with this head which sounds totally different than the 1960a cabinet..you lose that marshall trademark sound like it wasnt voiced properly with that cabinet.I have the half stack tsl and it sounds mean and best of all when your picking your notes thru the scale you can hear every note.now some of these sloppy punks that come into the guitar shop thinkin they are all that and play all this "blurry tone" it is most likely because they cant hear their fuckups.(which you can tell by watching and laughing they do alot)..this amp is crisp.I play metal and like it heavy and melodic.you can definately hear when you fuck up. makes you a better player.... this amp IS awesome for metal...most people under 20 cant define metal anyway. they never were around when real metal was fresh.. you have to remember that your fingers and your guitar has alot to do with it...take your guitar down to test ...unless you find one in the shop the same as the one you play.you need to properly set up your guitar also...a duncan jb in the bridge likes to be close to the strings for nice distortion...have had 8 or 9 guitars with that pickup and all like it in the same spot 1/8" from string with 24th fret depressed.

don't imagine I'll have a problem..need to see the quality up close .it is built as well as anything..need to properly warm up your valves for a good minute before hitting the stand by and cant imagine if you follow the same habits that you'll have a problemnever had a problem yet

havent dealt with them

been playing for 16 years. I play a jackson soloist and a fusion both with jb's in the bridge, straight into the tsl 100. in the effects loop I run a t.C. electronic g major effects unit controlled by a rocktron midi xchange and the stock marshall footswitch for the channel switching.if it were stolen I'd run an insurance claim..I have theft insurance. I have a nice job, make lots of money and take care of my investments...get all dressed up for my career, come home ,xchange the suit for my metal shirt and white camo shorts...metal is in the heart,not judged by what you look like or what you drive.drive a mercedes and still crank my tunes with the windows down!!!I love eveything about this amp and hate nothing....I carefully selected it and this is my sound...try it out..maybe it isnt for you...maybe it is.To me it is the best amp I've ever play and exactly what my "dream tone" in my head sounded like before I heard this amp .it has everything I have ever wanted and when I heard it for the first time I fell in love....

3 Channel 100 watt head with 5 way footswitch. 4 x power valves and 4 x preamp valves. All said before..

I love the sounds you can get out of this amp - when it's working but more of that later. The clean channel is pretty good and holds a fairly clean tone even at high volume.

The crunch channel is sweet. It has a nice, thick punch to it which suits nearly all rock and heavy music. The lead channel has more than enough saturation for my needs and still holds tight as you rev it.

This thing has stacks of power. I use the matching 1960A cabnet and it easily drowns out our drummer.

Now, here's the drama. I've owned the amp for a week and have played it for a grand total of 45 minutes. The opinions mentioned above are from using the same amp - just not mine!!!

The first time I used it, it was fine, no problems and sound brilliant. The second, only two power values came on and got extremely hot to the point that I could smell them burning. The last time it seemed normal again but to be sure I took it to our local amp guru.

Anyway, all valves replaced and the bias maxed out on the cold side and it still won't stay stable. Bigger resistors before the power valves and it still won't stay stable. Anyway, my amp tech is now trying to speak with someone at Marshall for help.

In short, this amp will probably be reliable...when it's working!!

I'll have to ask the amp tech. He's been trying all day to get a response with none forthcoming. Hopefully for my sake that all changes.

How do you rate something that hasn't workied properly. They are a ferocious amp and I'm hanging out to get working.

2002 TSL 100 watt head, all standard three channels etc. I play in a pro gigging band and use the amp on average 4 times a week. The band I'm in play a range of covers from soul, rock, ska, blues to Punk. I use USA Fender Roadhouse Strat, USA Tele and a Godin ST1 and occasionally a semi accoustic into the clean channel. I also use the DI socket into our PA from time to time just to give a good spread of sound. The 4x12 can be very directional.

Its got a good clean sound typical of Marshall however I wouldnt say its warm. The crunch and lead channel get the most use. I back the volume off the tele a bit and get a nice rythm sound pump it up and hit the lead channel and it cooks. There's enough distortion for me. The only pedals I use is a line 6 delay modeller with the tube echo warms it all up a fraction and a Jim Dunlop cry baby. I also own a 50w DSL and I would say the distortion on that is a fraction warmer, I think this is because its a 50 you can get it cooking at lower volumes.

Rock solid only problem I've had is the strap handle's falling apart. ie the rubber coverings coming of the metal strap, otherwise great. I never leave it in the car or van overnight as I fear it might get damp and I try and leave it for a good 1/2 hour after use before I move it to let the tubes cool down. Changed the EL34's after about 2 years and will change the 12ax7's in the not too distant future but thats valve amps.

Never had cause to use em, however there Head office is 50 miles from me so not a problem. They also give 3 year warranty in the UK.

Yep if it was nicked I'd replace it I wont be selling it. I've tried other amps Mesa, Vox and Fender and IMHO you cant beat Marshall. They aint subtle.....

I love the FX loops and 3 channels. Doing a variety of styles, I need options and many sounds. TSL provides what I need. It definitely saves me from hauling 2 amps to gigs.
The delay in sound when switching channels is a bit annoying but, something I have learned to anticipate and work around when channel switching. An overall gain boost / loudness boost that applies to all channels would have been nice (a la the Mesa Road King).

I love each of the channels. The change in sound, gain and colour are amazing. However, the TSL has its own unique sound. I don't expect it to emulate an 800, a Fender or a Mesa, and it doesn't (and I don't care!!!). I have played several Fender amps and the Mesa Road King side by side. I was prepared to pay what ever it cost for the best sound (money was no object) and I chose the TSL hands-down over the MESA. Although I love the Fender sound, I find the Tonemaster too limited - it does one or two sounds REALLY well; the TSL does MANY SOUNDS REALLY WELL. I am concerned, however, with the Lead channel noise.

I have owned the TSL-100 for 3 years now. I have played it on average 12 hours per week in performance in clubs. I have had ZERO problems with the AMP. The footswitch, however, is crap, as has been stated in numerous reviews. However, the problem with the FS has been only the FX switch. There is quite simply a design problem. I have overcome this problem by openning the footswitch case and reinforcing the circuit board.

N/A Never asked; never disappointed. Therefore, I rate highly.

I have been playing for 15 years. I am playing the TSL with several guitars .... Parker Fly, Les Paul & Gretsch White Falcon. Each guitar pulls a distinctly different sound from the TSL. I am using various pedals including Ibanez Tube Screamer (the real one!), Boss Metal Zone, and various real time effects (delay/chorus etc. are through the FX loop and the dist/pre-amp pedals are direct in).
My cabinet is a modified 1960 with 2 Vintage 30s and 2 Greenbacks; all the Marshall "interfering electronics" in the cabinet are removed it's just AMP-CABLE-SPEAKERS.
Overall, I love the amp. I have nothing negative to say. I still like the Fender Tonemaster for that classic Fender sound. I love the TSL for the now classic TSL sound!

I own a Marshall TSL JCM2000 and it serves me well. I mainly play rock and metal and this amp gets the job done for me.

As far as the channels go, i like having three.
The clean is really nice but it takes some time to get everything set for a really smooth tone. I like the crunch, many people say that they don't use it but i like it for more bluesy stuff, and of course the lead is one of the most used channels. It may not have the greatest "metal" sounding gain but it's great for solos.

the clean is good for hybrid picking, and it sounds really nice for tapping with a little delay added. (i use a boss dd3)

the lead is pretty good for fast picking/solos, but as for shredding on this amp, it really depends on what type of guitar or the pickups you use. everythig i have gets a deifferent sound. Right now, i use a fender strat which sounds really nice on the clean channel, and jackson dkmg loaded with emg-hz pickups, the jackson is nice for leads and it has a trubocharger that makes it a little louder on the clean, and adds a little bit more distortion on the crunch and lead channels. But for the lead, i have to turn the gain down to about 3 or 4 to use it because whenit's up to high and the turbocharger is on, it sounds to fuzzy. And finally i have a schecter c-1+, i love this guitar, it sounds like a les paul does through this amp. this guitar sounds great on all channels.

There are better amps out there. but not many can produce a lot of different tones. Don't get me wrong, i've played through a dual rectifier and it sounds great and that solo channel is nice, But no matter what guitar i use, they all sound the same. The tsl is just more versatile.

I've heard a lot of stories about marshalls not holding up but so far mine has had no problems and i've had it about 3 years, andcarted it around for about 2 and a half.

usually when i take it to shows i put my two cabinets (2 1960a lead slant cabs) with a little extra padding and the head rides shotgun with me. I try and be gentle with it cause it's a nice investment

Marshall amazing, i love mine, and i'll always use it,

but if it were stolen, i'd get a Madison,they're like a step up from mesas but they're as versatile as marshalls.

the amp was made probably in 2000.

its not as versatile as i want it to be. it has to be either really heavy or not at all. It doesnt get a very smooth low gain tone.

3 channels. The crunch is pretty nice and the lead is good only when its loud but thats not too surprising for a marshall.

The amp has plenty of power

i run it through a marshall 1960A cab. It's really picky with certain guitars. If you dont have a very well made guitar its not going to sound good.

I play a dean cadillac, a carvin sc90 custom, a les paul, and i just got an endorsement through fernandes and the amp doesnt work well with the fernandes. the clean channel is great. Hasnt distorted for me i dont put it past 5 with the gain matched. any respectable club mics the amps anyways.

the distortion isnt exactly what i would call brutal. I almost wouldnt even call it distortion its just alot of gain. my carvin sounds the best with this amp. I use a duncan JB pickup and the neck varies from a 59, jazz, and a full shred and all are great.

i put the gain at about 6.5 bass at 5 mids at 7 and terble at about 6.5. i dont use the tone switch. prescence at about 5.5 and crank it. with the jb's this gives me the perfect sound. every guitar and room will sound different.

for the first 6 months of having it i had no problems.
I bought it used so when i got it i changed the tubes. i put it in Groove Tubes E34LS and Groove Tubes AX7C's. (this is for heavier players) i get em at about a 5 rating.

if you move this amp around alot you might have to baby it. i dont know if its because it was used or what but the can was busted after about 6 months. i do take it alot and to different places and i dont have a case for it (probably should) but the can busted and the reverb went out. (i use reverb) so i had to get that fixed. and a month later whenever i plugged it in and it gave me a low humming sound that wouldnt go away and was on whether anything was plugged in or not. blew a circuit in the amp. so .. so far im not too pleased with the reliablity but when it works .. it sure works

ive been playing for about 14 years. this is my 4th amp owned. its not a bad amp. it really isnt i guess most old schoolers hate it because they consider the real marshalls to be like the plexis or the jcm 800's. distortion pedals arent too great to run through em because of the clean also having a gain channel so you have to experiment with it alot. if this amp were stolen or lost id probably buy a different kind. the carvin V3 head is what i have my eye on right now.

i love the sound it gets when its just right. not too heavy not too light just enough. its more tone than anything. it really lets your guitar speak. the problem with amps like mesa boogie is every guitar is going to sound about the same through them. The marshall really lets the guitar have its own sound accompanied by that classic marshall tone.

the thing i hate about it is .. its been very picky with some of my guitars.

i really wish the footswitch pedal had a detaching cable. not one that was always stuck to it all the time. it kind of become a pain in the ass.

Almost everything has been said about this amp. I just have to add a remark regarding the preamp valves.

I had two DSL100 heads and traded one of them in to replace it with a TSL100, because I was in need for an additional really clean channel.
Everything was fine with the TSL, except for the crunch channel being not as fat and round as the DSL100 one. As I did with the DSL, I replaced the preamp valves with Groove Tubes 12AX7M, built with the exact specs of the old Mullard ECC83. This helped a lot, but still the treble range sounded a bit harsh. The solution I found was to put a Groove Tubes 12AX7C in the third preamp stage (V3). This valve dampens some of the upper treble range while sounding fat and round in the bottom and midrange. The amp delivers great sound with this setup.

3 channels... you know the drill.

i run this into a marshall 1960a cabinet and use a jackson sl1 soloist, jackson ke2 kelly, esp m-ii deluxe and a gibson les paul standard. it took me a while to come to terms with this amps tone but now i love it. yes its true you MUST turn this amp up for it to sound good but what tube amp do you not have to. the best channel on this amp is easily the lead channel, chrunch is good when it fits what your playing and the clean doesnt wow me too much. this amp has alot of treble and you have to be very careful with this, turning it up past 5 is overwhelming and very hard on your ears. the same applies for the gain, on the lead channel it loses its definition and around 4. my solution to this set the gain at 3, thats my normal tone. when i need a little bit of a push over the edge i just switch on my compressor or seymour duncan pickup booster. the crunch is similar in response to the gain, i use this mostly for very lightly distorted riff or when im in a classic rock mood, it doesnt get the classic rock tone all that well on this channel with my settings in my opinion i just really dont like this channel. the clean seems to respond very well to single coils and terribly to humbuckers and breaks up very quickly, but i like my clean to break up a bit if i dig in so i cant complain. THIS IS NOT A HIGH GAIN AMP, it has the gain there but not much usable gain it gets very fuzzy and muddy very fast, deal with it. i am mainly a lead player and play hard rock/metal and classical. this amp fits me pretty well because i tend to play fast and have excesive gain makes every thing very muddy. if your having trouble finding a good tone with this amp try this on the lead channel:
gain:3
volume:5
treble:3.5
mid:2
bass:6
presence:0
tone shifts: off
deep: off
v.p.r: off (yes this does make a difference)

its really tricky here... when i first got it no problems at all, then it started to blow 3 fuses a week for about 4-5 months then it stopped and has not had a single problem or fuse blow for over a year. these amps are known for having problems and for that simple fact i would recomend getting something else.

havent dealt with them.

i love the tone of this amp but its definatly not for every one. the reliability is the biggest issue, if your considering this amp but are worried about the reliability go with a laney vh100r, they sound very similar but the laney is more reliable and is a good $250 cheaper. this head is not for you modern high gain guitarists; in fact you would hate this amp. this amp is very unforgiving due to its very dry organic voicing. its unlike any marshall ive played. alot of people compare this to the jcm800, not at all like a jcm800 or jcm900 or plexi or jtm45 or any other marshall. if your trying to emulate some one elses tone get the amp they use because its not in here.

dont know what year.brought second hand from a mate.phenominal versatility with its effects loops,mix.play mine in a function band with lots of styles ie.rock,pop,metal,jazz and reggae.

use a usa stock strat and a mex strat.on clean setting it really sparkles(not as good as a fender amp)but hey this isnt a fender.crank up the gain and the clean gets really dirty,in a nice way of course.use a marshall supervibe through the loop system and its sooooooo sweet.od1 emits a typical rip your face crunch,adjustable with a scoop button.od2 is where this amps balls are with even more crunch.find it bewildering how so many people cant get a decent sound from this channel.they must be fxxkwits.this is where i play my lead from,i take off the treble and my strat emits creamy type of notes.lovely.

the only niggles is the god awful footswitch and connection at the back.easily breakable.on me third pedal so far .come on marshall address this problem.apart from that its reliable as fxxk.and its loud..very loud.rips my drummer a new asshole every time.hahaha;-)

dealt with them through my music shop(who were very help full:spending #2000 there also helps)and i got my pedal replaced just like that.

been playing about 26years and ive used fenders laneys and mesas and this amp is the dogs gonnads.take some time on eq and this amp will work for you.the head weighs a bit but its built like a panzer tank,i dont baby it and i dont throw it out of hotel windows either.

price paid - 700 quid - new (a couple of years ago, they are cheaper now i believe)

as im sure you know, three channels, completly independent and foot-switchable, clean, crunch, lead, two effects loops, plate reverb, and the really clever power reduction switch, that lets you turn the large- club gig ready earmelter,into a bedroom practise amp that wont have the neighbours hating you! also has a mute switch which is really usefull for recording that awesome idea late at night without waking anyone up. oh.. and a line-out, which while of couse isn't as good as miking the cab, no matter what some people claim about the emulation, is as good as line-outs get.

i think this is this is the 2003 model, but i have to admit im not a hundred percent sure. this is a fantasticaly versitile amp, i bought it,(along with a 1936 cab) to replace an AVT150 (valvestate) which by the way is an ok amp (ive heard lots of bad reviews for them) its just not professional quality.

anyway the TSL... i play in a punk/ska band (more punk then ska, bits of punky metal to) and this amp does that great, clean channel, is well... the clean sound, crunch... for overdriven rhythm sounds, and lead for the lead work, as well as for the chorus's of some of the ball-sier songs. Before i came to university i played in a hard rock/power pop, band.. (used similier settings to be honest) and the TSL does this really, really well.

also played in a big band back home, TSL does this well to, nice bright cleans, good crunchy (not too much gain) sound for songs like 'power of love' and blue brothers medleys, there are probably better amps for the bigband stuff, fender twin, and sessionette solid-state, spring to mind, but they wouldn't do the heavy rock stuff well, (been there, tried that, looked [and sounded] stupid doing so).

Cuts through the live mix of both rock and big bands really well really good string note definition even at high gain, and i dont care what others have said when comparing this to mesa's, the marshall can DO high.. no wait.. HIGH.. gain... never gets to 'muddy' either really.

incrediby versatile amp, (i've used it for a bit of funk and acid jazz at the odd pub jam night to) and especially for a valve amp has a multitude of features, i know things like the AVT, and laney modeling amps have loads of built in features, effects and stuff, but you dont get that real all tube sound, and no valve amp really has these, (their heavy enough as it is, and its just not feasable). and the footswitchable effects loops (which i havn't used in a while.. amp sounds so good i dont really need to add anything to it, unless i am after an unusual sound for an experimental track) mean this would never really be a problem anyway, you can add extras to it yourself.

i play a custom jackson, with two EMG's and a really nice Semour duncan hot rod loaded on, and also a standard Tele, that i have fitted a 'little 59' hot rod to in the bridge posistion. (incidently this is a really good mod for a telecaster, you guitar retains that great 'twangy' telecaster sound, when clean, but also lets you play high gain without all that squeal and feedback, also adds more bottem end to the overdriven sound, and makes the guitar louder!-- looks cool to!)

the amp does my paticular hard rock/punk sound really well, as well as having been good for everything i have tried (successfully or unsuccsessfully) to do. - i should add that i am not saying this amp will do everything, just that its done everything i want so far- not good for acoustic amplificaton either really, it will do it, just not amazingly well... then again theres no reason why it should, i should really go and by an acoustic amp for that!

the distortion is great i mean REALLY great, the marshall/mesa debate is not one that will ever be solved, and both are great makes, but i think it is important to point out that they have very different sounds, and for people to say one or the other is 'crap' just because they prefer the other is unfair.
its probably fair to say that the TSL doesn't have the same saturation of distortion that the mesa's do... but it has as much as almost anybody could ever possably want or need, i play a fairly heavy very high gain style of music, and i never use all the gain on offer (at least not live, recordings different)cos to much when playing really loud means that the sound becomes muddy, and you cant really hear what the guitarist is playing.. it just gets lost in the sound of the band and doesn't cut through the mix that well if you get silly with the distortion.- just a tip there for inexperianced performers ;) also that classic marshall crunch sound is just so cool.. who couldnt love it? its been the defining sound of rock and roll forever.. from 'Free' to 'The Darkness' and 'Finch'

obviosly the amp is noisier with the Tele then with the Jackson (when overdriven anyway) but no real problems with feed-back or hum, and not too much amp hiss either. only a bit when the lead channel is engaged, and i do have the gain quite high (3 o'clock for the Jackson and 4 o'clock for the Telecaster) and normally set very loud (oh yeah did i mention this thing is LOUD) so that can be excused.

what lets this amp down though is the clean channel, dont get me wrong it sounds great, its just too quiet! the clean channel has this gain setting that lets you get an old school crunch out of the clean channel, but without that turned up a bit the volume on the clean doesent quite compete with the volume of the other two channels, so it can sometimes take a while in sound check to set the amp to a really good completly clean sound. its quite suprising that marshall let this get by them actually, and it lets a great amp down, so 8 not 10 for this. great sounds, somewhat awkward channel balancing.

had the amp since 2003,
regular gigs,
band practise every week,
I run this thing Really Hot,
it gets moved a lot, and probably slides far too much in the back of my car.

and so far no problems at all! (i hope to &^%$ this doesn't jinx it!)

there is apparantly a problem with the footswitch on the TSL's so if you are gigging get a Spare! (not expensive btw) but i've had no problems with my original, so the spare has just sat at the bottem of my flightcase forever.

i have yet to change the tubes! (six to twelve months is standard) but none of mine have blown, and the sound is great so i decided not to mess with it! tubes vary a lot so yours might only last a couple months, but sometimes people get lucky and get a really good batch. (have spares on hand though!)

its smarter to have a back up at gigs, commen sense dictates this, however i don't have, and cannot afford, another amp. so i gig without backup all the time, and so far no problems.

this is a very reliable amp!!

i have never had to deal with marshall, so i cant say. however the amp does come with a three year warranty which is nice!

my local dealer is (or was back home) nevada music (if you live on on the uk southcoast you really should be shopping here!)
and i would probably take the amp here with any problems, the guys at nevada have been great over the years with all sorts that i have bought from there! they can fix pretty much anything and are fairly cheap to!

as i said, this is my only real amp, the only other that i own, is a very battered 15watt park practise amp that my dad got me as a present when i first started to learn, that sits in my room as a plug in and play mess-about amp. (the TSL stack lives downstairs as its such a pain having to cart it up and down the stairs every ten minutes)

as well as the previosly mentioned guitars i own a yamaha apx3 steel string electro-acoustic, and a yamaha nylon strung spanish guitar.

i have playing since school (about 12 years of age) (classical guitar lessons) but only seriously and regually since i put my first rock band together at 15, so about 5 years. (im 20 next month)

i love this amp, the classic sounding marshall distortion really does it for me, and there's enough here that it covers all modern styles while still having that classic sound. the only problem i have with it is that damn volume shortage on the clean channel.

if it were stolen or lost i would cry, and then hunt down and torture the guy who stole it, then steal his credit card and buy a new one!

when looking at this amp i also tried a dual recto, (which i couldn't really afford but was thinking about getting some overtime to pay for), and a laney 100 head, the laney was good, very loud, and had some super sweet singing lead sounds, but while the high gain was good, i didn't like the crunch sounds out of it (in fact i couldn't get a mid range distortion sound that i liked at all) nevertheless the laney amps are worth checking out, nice sound on clean and high gain.

the marshall TSL just did it for me (still does!!) Try these out, especially before you go and lay out #1600 for a recto head, (not that mesa aren't really good, but marshall are too!... and their cheaper, and who knows... you may prefer it!)

9 just cos of the problem with the clean channel really!... that can be a pain setting up for gigs!

Read about the features. How much do you want, especially from a tube amp?

The amp has excellent sounds, depends on your ability to use it. Don't listen to the idiots posting "Wa Wa I want a Mesa Boogie". Its stupid to compare the two because they have different designs. If you don't like the bright sound of EL-34 tubes don't buy a Marshall. This is not a heavy metal amp. Yes you can get the "brown sound" if you have intellengence to adjust the controls, use the right guitar and speakers. If you want that muddy sound get the Mesa. (Mesa does build excellent amps). The sounds are just different.

And speaking of the JCM 800, I have studied the schematics and the TSL-100 sound chain is very similar.

Have not had any problems. The footswitch design is a bit questionable but don't handle it like an ape!!!

Cant say on this one. Havn't had to contact them but I don't like the fact that you have to contact Korg USA. I would prefer a direct Marshall contact. This is one area that Mesa Boogie excels. I had an F-50 and called them and got a real amp tech.

An excellent amp if you like rock and roll. It is a very flexible amp limited only by the person using it. The sound of an amp rig is a function of the amp, speakers, guitar and most of all the person playing it. Again, its a bright sound due to the EL-34 tubes. Want the modern muddy sound get a Mesa with 6L6 tubes (again, also excellent amps).

Very average, doesn't really inspire you to play, I had one previously for a couple of years, but i found that the amp didn't really give me the buzz that i wanted from it. It kinda sounds a bit nasally and scratchy without much definition, and the gain isn't that useable either.
really difficult to dial out the harsh high end, the mids are okay as long as you keep them high, but it doesn't really have much bottom to speak of. Probably not an amp for the pro guitarist who needs a LARGE sound.
This has a small amount of character and a mew where there should have been the roar of the old 70's superleads.

went iffy a few times when gigging and just pissing around at home, although it did get quite a lot of hammer

marshall don't warrant having a customer support section on these reviews.
Crap

I switched amps recently, about 3 years ago, and had my Marshall for a few years before that. Can't say that it inspired me. Left me feeling a little underwhelmed.
The amp that i have now got is a Boogie Dual Rec and to be honest it really IS SO MUCH BETTER, it is in a different league to the Marshall, and it inspires me to play. and before you go ahead and think that "oh, he just plays metal and scoops all the mids out of his tone (even though middle is the single most important frequency on a guitar amp!)" you would be very wrong. I play EVERYTHING from 60's stuff right through to modern stuff seeing as i am in about 3 covers bands! and i am in an originals band that plays hard rock with a melodic punky edge. It is absolutely great for any style i care to play with it (the Mesa, NOT the Marshall!)
It really amuses me how anyone can say any different really unless they are just plain retards that seem to think they are buying into some kind of past heritage or something???!!! (Marshall had their hey day and now it has gone tits up for them practically.)
People who give this amp a good review are only trying to justify dumping a lot of hard earned cash on it.
BTW.
Jim Marshall is a really bitter twisted old man, I have heard some absolute horror stories about how his amps are made, and what he thinks about his employees! thats for another time though...

To sum up. If you are thinking about buying this amplifier, please take my advice and try all different avenues first. There are FAR better amps out there for the sort of money you will be willing to waste on this.

im assuming that everyone has covered the features already.
I really like the footswitchable fx loop and the voicing the lead channel has.

clean i found very nice however my girlfriends fender roc pro 1000 hyrbrid combo has a nicer/tighter clean.

Crunch channel - ROCK...and it does

Lead channel - takes off where the crunch runs out of oomph...very good for metal and leads...watch the amount of gain if ure using this as the rythm channel...i have it on half and crank the mids...scoop the treble and presence(very harsh) and crank that volume

the key is MIDS!...marshalls cut through very nicely in live band setting.

i ran the TSL100 into a Marshall MF400A modefour oversized cab.
line6 dl4,boss NS2noise suppresor and a MXR kerry king 10 band eq (to push mids and get rid of the piercing highs and fizz)

guitars is PRS CE24 with seymour duncan pup's (jazz neck and jb bridge) and jackson professional with EMGs

i love the variety of tones i get from this setup...i play metal/metalcore in my band...but at home i play alot of clean/blues and experiemental.

with the kerry king eq in the loop my rig keeps up with my other guitarists who alternates between 5150 mk1 and 2 thru mesa recto cab.

i give it a 7 on its own but with the eq in loop ill give it an 8.


lead channel distortion is brutal but needs eq to tame the highs.

i bought this amp second hand in mid 2004...the first owner bought it in 1999.
after a month one tube wouldn glow and channel was switching by itself and footswitch lights stopped working...so had to send to tech...he said had to fix a few things and reinforced the footswtich jack and fixed the lights.new tubes were also put in which were koch power tubes and EH preamp

gigged for over a year and a half and no problems.

then one tube died...this time took to same amp tech who said all the biasing was ^%$#@! and fixed it again.
this time he retubed with sveletlanas power tubes and ruby preamp tubes and alsomodded it to put out 140w and wow this thing sounded freaking awesome.

about 6-8months later ... it died again...however all the tubes are glowing.just no sound or amp noise.i opened it up and saw the tubes were burnt out and suspect one of the caps has blown.
it is now in the shop with a diffrent amp tech.

i bought it second hand so no warranty

this was my first all tube amp.i really really like it and dont want to sell it...i even got it signed by jim marshall when he came for an instore.
i love the tones and diversity of this amp but i think that mr.marshall has skimped out in parts due to mass production.
i really really dont want to sell this amp but i just bought a framus cobra which eats this amp alive...but for the price of the TSL i still consider it a really good amp.

packed with features, like half power, mid scoop,eq for each channel, great reverb.much much more. all controlled by 5 way pedal, couldn't ask for more

i like to experiment with pedals. this amp works great with pedals. i have a plexi, and that amp doesn't agree with over half my pedals. this amp will give you total control when you seek that magic sound.

once had a tube buzz, that's it

rather use a local tech, that risk shipping it.

vintage amps are fun, but they always have problems and the high prices make them out of reach for the real world. anyway, in our modern times with such great pedal varity, this amp is perfect.

I own a TSL100 head and think it's great sounding. It's gives you great "classic" Marshall sounds, aswell as one of the best sounding Marshall distortions ever on the lead channel.

The amp is pretty versatile. Three channels is enough to give me clean, slightly overdriven (crunch), and full metal distortion/solos (lead). Whatever sound you'll ever need (bare in mind it's a Marshall - therefore it'll sound like a Marshall) is on this amp as far as i'm concerned. It's a plug in and play amp rather then a "tweak" amp like Mesa's. With Mesa's, i found myself tweaking for ages before getting an amazing tone. With the Marshall TSL100 i could just plug it straight away, put it on Lead Channel, scoop the mids, put it a fair amount of bass/treble and get a brilliant lead sound instantly.

It has an effects loops for 2 channels (Clean and Crunch/Lead). I put a compressor in the clean effects loop and don't really use any other effects apart from a Crybaby wah/Morley wah so i put that infront of the amp rather then the effects loop.

I use this amp mainly in my bedroom which is fine for me even though it's a 100watt amp and 4x12" cab. This is mainly due to the (stupidly useful) "VPR" switch, which turns the amp from a 100watt amp into a 35watt amp. This makes it easier to milk up and get a "fuller" tone. I haven't used it in a live situation yet, but i have an older 1970s Marshall 100watt that sounds great live but not amazing as a practice amp, so knowing this TSL it'll sound great ;)

The guitars i put through it are mainly Ibanez. I own various locking trem'd Ibanez's with Dimarzio pickups and other mods. I play mainly metal/progressive rock and aim for that "Petrucci" tone. You can't really get it with a Marshall, but you can still get a great sound.

It doesn't really suit my style too be truely honest, but it does a great job of trying to. On that basis i'm going to be giving it a higher rating. If you're getting/trying this amp (i can't stress this enough), it is a Marshall. Therefore you will get a Marshall sound, not a high-gain Peavy/Mesa beast sound, but a nice smooth (yet quite gritty and BRITISH!) sound. Being British myself, i find it suits me for that ;)

The amp isn't noisey at all. In fact the Lead channel even with gain maxed out has NO noise at all for me. The clean channel is noiser then the Lead channel for me, but that's only because i'm running a compressor sustainner through the effects loop on only the clean side.

With the Lead channel set to:
Presence - 4.3ish (Any more and i find it too harsh)
Bass - 7-8
Mid - 3.4ish (with mid scoop button in)
Treble - 6-7ish (any more and it gets harsh)
Gain - 8.5ish
Deep switch in, VPR switch in

I have an amazing tone from this with both neck humbucker (Dimarzio Air Norton) and Bridge (Dimarzio Steve Special). It sounds great for everything from sweep arpeggios, fast alternate pick runs (especially on neck pickup!), great rhythm chugging and chordal work. I don't need to change sounds from the settings to get a good solo sound. I can just go straight from distorted rhythm into solo and still have a good sound (Just boost the volume!)

The clean channel sounds amazing. I can get it to sound like a Fender when putting the bright switch in, a fair amount of mid etc and the gain at 12o'clock. With single coils, this sound is b-eautiful :P It stays clean no matter what

Crunch channel is classic old Marshall. Think Plexi. I actually own an old original Marshall Plexi and prefer the TSL100 to the Plexi (because i can tailor the sound more, milk it up more without hurting the audience etc)

I've heard of some people getting problems such as cold-biased valves and such but i can't comment on that myself.

The amp does have a function on it where when switching from Lead channels into Cleaner channels, the volume fades away, then swells back in. This is actually a feature to the amp (i was told by Marshall) which is mainly for the reverb. It's so that the amp doesn't mush up and kill itself when the reverb bleeds into the other channel. Therefore the volume is taken down whilst still retainning the reverb. This can be a pain in the arse at lower volumes while practicing but is much less noticable when turned up or playing live. Mesa do this a different way with reverb - they cut the reverb completely. I prefer Mesa's way of doing it, but it's a matter of preferance.

The amp hasn't broken down at all and i haven't really had any problems with it. Sometimes the amp has "off" days where it doesn't sound as good as normal, but that's probably just in my ears (and my hands!)

I've only taken it back to the shop i bought it from once mainly because i thought the volume swell when changing channels was a problem, but after phonning Marshall we found out why. Also, every other TSL100 does the same thing. Apparently you can get it sent to Marshall to get the volume swell quicker but i don't see much point.

I've phoned them once and they seemed allright.

Lots of people i know have had problems with Marshall over the phone etc so that's sort of going to bring them down IMO.

That said... I met Jim Marshall at the guitar show and he was a nice chap ;)

This amp is great if you need quite alot of Marshall sounds in one head and easy switching. That's mainly one of the reasons i bought it. It also has a loverly sweet smooth overdrive, but i can get it to sound gritty and fuzzy if i want to (i'd rather not though).

If it were stolen or lost, i probably would get it again, but mabye secondhand to save money (It is SLIGHTLY overpriced IMO, but not too much. It's a good price for what you're getting, i'm just cheap :P)

I play the Marshall in a setup as:
Guitar ---> Dunlop Crybaby wah or Morley Bad Horsie2 ---> TSL100 head ---> 1960A 4x12" cab

I have TONS of effects pedal but like to keep it to a bare minimum most of the time as it ruins the tone IMO. When playing with pedals the TSL100 handles them pretty well.


I love the fact i can get any Marshall sound out of it. A bit like a JMP-1 MIDI preamp except in head format (okay that's a weird way of describing it). I can get most Marshall tones out of this amp, but can't get much else. If you're looking for a Mesa or whatever sound, i wouldn't get this. They're completely different.


When trying out this amp, i put it up against a Marshall ModeFour head and 4x12" cab. The Modefour sounded allright but just not as good as a good valve amp. The TSL head did it for me :)

I can't think of anything i wish it had. It has a great reverb allready. I guess i wish it would not swell so much at lower volumes when changing channels, but that's being uber picky. It isn't a big deal.


In all, great amp. Classic Marshall sounds aswell as a new hi-gain style Marshall amp. It has a great (excuse me) PHAT low end, bassy distortion that just can't be compared to any other Marshall.
The guy from Pitchshifter described it best in the Marshall catologue - It's the bassiest biggest Marshall ever!

You know the features.
The only reason this scores a 7 is because, well i'm a picky bastard
I own 3 full stacks.
1. TSL with 2 marshall cabs
2. Hughes and kettner Triamp mkII with corrosponding cabs
3. Peavey Triple XXX through one orange and one marshall cab

And as much as i love this beauty it just cant compare to a Triamp on features

I use a Bc Rich USA neck througk mockingbird with duncan alnico II pro's, A Fender USA Strat with EMG dave gilmour setup, and a Explorer style guitar i made... Flame maple neck through, swamp ash wings, ebony stringers, black cherry quilted maple top, EMG ZW set and a floyd rose Speedloader (no tuning machines on the Dean V style Headstock).
I use this amp mainly with the mockingbird, for me the Mockingbird is like my les paul, its the rock and roll guitar and through this thing, Damn does it ever ROCK!
The amp has a very nice variety of sounds but what the hell would i want variety out of this thing for? i've got a triamp. This beast has the classic marshall sound and thats all that counts... i can play nice clean picking, then it on crunch for the rythm stuff, and finally that incredible lead channel for, well leads.
This amp gets a 10 here for sure, 'cause anyone reading this should realise this amp is not for metal, its not for electronic stuff, its for rock and roll pure and simple

Its a beast. never had a problem with it... although i did swap out the tubes not long after i got it to groove tubes.
Footswitch on the other hand was a real piece of crap. but using some uluminium checkerplating and much better quality parts i was able to transform it into an incredible footswitch and haven't had a problem since. but i'm rating the amp here anyway not the footswitch so it gets a...

never had to hopefully never will :-)

I've only been playing for 5 years, being only seventeen afterall, but in those five years i'm not sure my hands have ever been more than 5 minutes without being wrapped around a guitar neck, and as i said i have made a guitar and to be perfectly honest its the nicest guitar i have ever plaed, and everyone i talk to agrees! (YAY)
So i have an idea what i am talking about.
If someone stole this... well most of the horror movies you may have seen would not compare to what i would do to that son of a bitch.
but hell yes i would buy it again (working at a guitar store helps)

So i hope my opnion helped if you are planning on purchasing this amp and if you're thinking of stealing mine, well... you'd better pray i never find out.

Anyhew BEST ROCK AND ROLL AMP AVILABLE.

This amp has alot of great features,3 channels, dual fx loops, emulated line out, reverb, virtual power reduction function (a cheesey attempt at a power attenuator), tone shift function, 4 x el34, 4 x 12ax7, 5 button f/s. I purchased mine in 1998 and got the second one the store had. The features on this amp are awesome, and probably what sold me on it (I was also looking at a Mesa dual rectifier, older 2 channel version). I mostly play metal edged punk (i.e. Strung Out, Pennywise, No Use for a Name, etc,), some metal (Unearth, Disturbed, Drowning pool), other punk (Social Distortion, Bad religion), 70's-80's metal (AC/DC, Metallica, Ozzy, Sabbath), some classic rock stuff (Petty, ZZ Top, Cheap Trick). As well as originals which lean toward fast, punk/metal style hard rock), alot of palm muting. So I needed something that could cover a pretty broad range. As I later found out, there's no end all be all. The amp was used primarily for rehearsal and recording (never gigged w/ it).

My main guitar is a Strat w/ 2 Duncan JB Jr's in the bridge wired in series out of phase w/ what would be the middle p/u set half the hieght of the bridge,& a little 59 in the neck, a coil tap on the bridge w/ a 3way p/u selector sw.(this was done in an attempt to drive this amp harder and reduce some of the noise & high vol. feedback on the lead ch. which it did well. I already had the p/u's, they were originally in the b/m/n std config.w/ a 5 way sw.) A Fender set neck QMT Showmaster w/ Duncan pearly gates+ in the bridge & neck. And an Epiphone Sheraton II w/ Gibson p94's(humbucker sized p90's) for clean & classic rock sounds. All of the guitars have been completely shielded. The only effects that I used was a Korg 411 multi-fx in the loop for a little chorus/delay/comp. on clean & some 80's dirty sounds. I used a Marshall 1960b cab w/ the std. g1275t spkr's. To be fair, an angled cab w/ v30's probably would've sounded better. too much bass in the bottom cab, even tried putting tiles on the back inside of the cab to brighten it up. Marshall billed this amp as having "the most distortion ever in a Marshall" It did'nt quite live up. The lead channel is noisy and lacks deffinition at the highest settings and volume. Even w/ a Jackson USA RR1 w/ Duncan Distortions it is muddy no matter what you do w/ the eq. I tried changing the tubes, adding overdives, distortions, compressors, eq's both in front and in the loops, all to no avail. It was really frustrating since this sound is really what I bought it for. The lead ch. sounds great at low volumes but loses it as you turn it up and ends up sounding not much different than ch2 no matter how much tweaking you do. The crunch channel is pretty good and covers all the ground you would expect in addition to be a great alternate clean w/ the vol set high and the gain low for a bluesey rock slight drive. The clean channel is probably the best of the 3 and should have been billed as "the best clean sound ever in a marshall" . The dual fx loops are fantastic, and the emulated line out is absolutely the best I have ever heard and the most outstanding feature on the amp. The vpr & tone shift features totally SUCK! I got better results pulling out 2 of the power tubes in the case of the vpr. I have been playing for over 20 years and know alot about tone/guitar setups and how to tweak them, and always was disappointed with this amp because the high gain sounds just aren't there. Surprisingly, I sold it to a guy in a local country band who was using a Srat w/ stock s/c's and on lead ch. w/ the gain low, the vol. up and mids boosted, produced the best sound I ever heard out of this thing. This is where the amp really excells, mildly overdriven sounds (think early ZZ top, ac/dc, Skynyrd, even SRV) are totally awesome, It's just not what I was looking for. I Know, I should have bought the Mesa if that's what I wanted, but I got impressed by all the bells and whistles, which do not a great amp make. It is very flexible, but never inspired me to play. For the money there's better amps out there for the sound I'm after (mosly high gain). I've got a 100w hybrid combo that i paid 1/10 the $$ for which does just as well, and have played through just about everything else out there, Line 6, fender, Mesa, Soldano, Johnson, Trace elliot, etc. Ive since come to the realization that the "all in one box" solution is kind of like a crescent wrench. Yeah it's adjustable and will fit almost everything, but is'nt really the best tool to use for anything. If you want ultra high gain sounds buy a Mesa/Boogie.

Never gigged w/ it, but reahearsed/recorded w/ two bands that never got off the ground. Other than a bad power tube when I bought it, never had a problem in 3 years.

What, are you kidding? If you want customer support call Mesa/Boogie, Marshalls is virtually non existent. That's if you can even get a real person on the line.

again, been playing about 23 years, and have or have owned a pretty wide variety of gear. to much to list here. I wish it were stolen so I could have collected insurance $$ on it. I ended up selling it at pretty big loss.

After 20 years of an endless search for a good tone from every kind of solid state configuration to every kind of tube configuration, this amp came through with flying colors. I cannot imagine anyone not being able to get a fabulous sound out of one of these buggers. Although you do need to play around a little to get a good clean sound, that?s nothing that a nice EQ can't fix. There's no doubt that Marshall's are not famous for their clean sound anyway but when it comes to rock whether it be the 50's, 60's, or 2006 this amp can do it all! If you cannot get that out of it there is definitely a problem. Possibly an incompatible cabinet, pedal or maybe the user was used to solid state which would be a real difficult switch to get used to right away.

Was jamming with a buddy yesterday who just bought a Triple Rectifier (beautiful amp also) and although it does have a nicer clean channel, in my opinion, it didn't have anything over the TSL 100 other than that. Both amps were screaming loudly and proudly!

I like all the features. Just enough for me. LOT'S of option again for a LARGE variety of tones. I put an overdrive pedal in front of the crunch channel just to give it an extra edge and man, talk about crunch! Also another problem I have had with MANY amps in the past is when it comes down to prove itself in a live environment. Seems every other amp I've had including earlier versions of JCM Marshall's start getting muddy when it's time to crank the thing up. I have had this thing all the way to 10 and only through a 2X12 cab and it was still crisp, chunky, and produced juicy piercing leads (couldn?t hear towel after that though)! This baby works for me!

I am playing an ESP M-II Deluxe guitar and running a Rocktron Xpression in the FX loop. I use an overdrive when I want metal (Keeley modified Tube Screamer & Boss SD-1) otherwise straight in for rock and blues. I don't use the clean channel much but have tinkered around and it takes a bit of tweaking to get a good clean sound but it is capable in my opinion. Don't know how the clean would hold up live though. Haven't tried it. The distortion is total quality and more than suitable for any kind of rock sound imaginable but when it comes to metal it needs a little boost (OD pedal pushed into it). I have not been able to get a suitable crunchy, and I mean "CRUNCHY" metal sound out of it straight through but plug an overdrive into it and watch out!

I haven't done any serious gigging since I bought this but have played through it for 2 years now and the only problem I have had is the FX loop started getting a little noisy but was told by a friend just to take it in and get the amp professionally re-biased. It took quite a beating though when I drove up to get the 1960A cab (45 min drive there and back) as I heard it slamming around in the back of the van due to taking sharp corners in hectic traffic situations at kind of high speeds. Plugged it in later that night and had no problems whatsoever. I have seen JCM's take many falls before even from 5-6 feet and hit VERY hard and still work perfectly (my old JCM 800 for example).

From what I understand there is not much if any support for these amps here in the USA. I have never had to try so I cannot comment on that one

I have been playing guitar for 30 years. I really do not own much equipment other than that mentioned as I like to travel light and don't use much other than a reverb, delay, and a little extra boost (OD pedal) for high gain situations. Once you find an amp that really pleases you in regards to tone and sound you don?t have to relay on as many gizmos to get the sound you want but again that's my opinion.

If it was stolen I would either buy another one or a Triple Rectifier (only for the change of pace). Those two amps are a toss-up for me. I love the Marshall though and plan on keeping it for life. It does everything I have ever wanted an amp to do both loud and low volume.

I have tried Rivera's (also very nice amps) Mesa boogies, Laney's (another wonderful line of products), Ampeg, Johnson - Millennium, Rocktron, Fender, and probably a half dozen others and the Marshall TSL 100 is the one I chose (although I didn't get a chance to try the Double or Triple Rectifier until purchase - don't know for sure what would have happened there?) Awesome amp! I highly recommend it, especially if you play any kind of rock!

I had been looking for an amp that would be the end all amp for me. I needed an amp that could cover a wide range of styles, and all of the different tones and options to cover those styles. Basically though, what I needed could be broken down thusly: a clean channel that is thick, yet chimey at the same time; a rhythm channel that has enough gain to give a song some serious weight; and a lead channel that could do it all, sing/scream/roar/etc. I also wanted global reverb, an FX loop, and a footswitch to readily and easily control all of this at will. From a features standpoint, this amp is fantastic. It is, however, not without it's problems, but more on that later.

I'd say I covered the sounds in the above paragraph, but for a little further clarification:

Clean channel sounds good, but it breaks up very quickly as soon as the volume gets turned up.

Crunch channel I expected more out of. While it has a fair amount of gain, it is more suited for a 60's-70's type of distortion, not really raging rhythm like I wanted.

Lead Channel is without a doubt the best on the amp. It has a warm compressed tone that lends itself well to all of the lead types that I needed it for.

This is where the problems I talked about earlier are at. A week after I bought it, the reverb quit working. 'Oh well' I thought, as I run a delay box in the effects loop anyway. A couple of months after that, right before a gig, I noticed it was running at a very, very low volume. Come to find out that a resistor had blown, and that was the source of the lack of power. When I got the resistor problem fixed, I also had the reverb tank fixed as well. The day after I got the amp back from the shop, the reverb went out again. The next week, the clean channel button on the footswitch broke, and the footswitch is only warranty protected for the first 90 days (tubes are also 90 day ONLY) and it cost $70 for a repair, $130 for a new footswitch. This is the point that I decided I had had enough and it was time for a trade in.

Everybody in the U.S. knows that Marshall support is virtually non existent.

I've played about 8 years, and I've reviewed a couple other products on here as well. This amp certainly did not live up to the expectations I had for it, therefore I would definetly not buy another one. Oh, and the trade in I spoke of earlier? I took it back to the shop I bought it from (I've spent a large sum of money there and have an excellent relationship with the owner) and traded it in on a JSX Joe Satriani signature head, and THAT is the amp I should've bought in the first place. I'll review that at a later time.

My head was made in 2003 and was blown away by its versatliy and tone as soon as I plugged into it. My style is classic rock and other stuff, and the TSL fits the bill perfectly. The VPR(Valve Power Reduction) is a great feature especially and band practices and small gigs. Oh yeh, its plenty loud enough!!

What can you say, it's a Marshall!

I have had no issues with my TSL and hope I never do. I have also used this amp many times at gigs with no backup.

I have never dealt with Marshall, but I had a friend who did and he had only good words about the quality of service.

Fantastic head, and would definitely buy another if anything happened to it. The TSL fits the bill perfectly for me, and would not change anthing about it. I did play a DSL, which was great, but lacked the versatility of the TSl, and I also tried an AVT but it didn't have that biting tone that the TSL shows.

The 3 Channels are a nice feature, however the VPR function is a dog and should only be used for keeping the noise down during practices. The multiple effects loops are a great option. The direct out/emulator is.. well.. whatever. O.k. I wouldn't recommend using it. Bottom line, lots of nice features, only some of which you will use.

I've used it with my Strat Elite, 79 Les Paul, Gibson Voodoo V, and a Schecter a-7 elite. This amp really sounds great! I didn't have any problem setting it up to get the sustain and distortion singing correctly, however it did take plenty of tinkering. Hey, I like the tinkering, so it was no problem. I rely on my rigs for recording and playing out in large live venues. This amp is a GREAT choice for large outdoor festivals, large open clubs, or even very crowded bars. This amp is NOT a great choice for rehearsals in small practice garages, or gigs in small venues, as the amp NEEDS to be turned up and will sound like dirt if it is too low. In fact, in our rehearsals, we mic'd the drummer, and had the PA cranked and this amp was still TOO LOUD. Bummer.
The amp recorded very well, the warmth came accross fantastic through the digital console. A+. The recording/direct out, in the back is o.k. at best, however I would not recommend it for recording or line out to mixing/PA boards.
There is a noticable power reduction using the effects sends, not a tone reduction, I was able to properly adjust the input and output levels on my 1 piece of rack gear (Lexicon) and it worked very well. I liked the option of turning the loop on and off via the footswitch. Beware, if you have crappy rack gear, the FX loop is not forgiving, and low signal volume and tone loss could be the result.
Even with 3 channels, this is not a versitile AMP. What is? Solid State? Please! The clean channel is great for Marshall and worked well in live situations. NO, it is not as nice as a great Fender Tube clean sound, but then again, Fender is not as good as a Marshall for the gain and crunch style that I desire. Still, with a little reverb, the clean was more than a pleasant surprise.
The two gain channels are slightly different in sound and do offer plenty of adjustment range. They worked well for Punk, Metal, Blues, however NEW Metal is a stretch. My 7 string seemed to push it sonically, then again, the cabinet was also to blame.
I have retubed mine with JJ's, and the sound is right on with a little more warmth.
Bottom line, she's a great Marshall AMP, and if you like Marshall Tone, you will like this amp. IT HAS MARSHALL TONE.

well, here is the downside, isn't it? Let's face it, giging with tube amps is a chore. I have yet to have one that was.. well.. reliable. I ALWAYS have a backup. As you have read, the pedal is junk. I hope the engineers read these reviews and take our advice, FIX THE PEDALS BOYS. I have had issues, tubes going out, that is to be expected. The pedal went out, I'm not alone on that one. The FX loop died and took the reverb with it. Bummer. I play for a living and do lots of recording, my amp travels. I guess it's the price I have to pay for draging this big beast around. Is it worth it? That's the question isn't it? YES. To me, Marshall Amps are like old Mopar's, they have quirks, but loads of style and horsepower. It's worth it.

Well, if you own a tube amp long enough you will need support. I found a local guy here in Chicago to work on the head and he has done a decent job. Marhsall themselves have always been great for me to deal with and very supportive, however they really haven't helped much with this head. I feel the pedal should be a recall, but don't we all.

I've been playing now for 31 years, and I don't mean the local sports bars, although I have done it. I'm lucky enough to play and record for a living, and I rely on my gear BIG TIME.
I hate the glitches, the crappy pedal is an insult. I LOVE THE TONE! and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's a great head, but it has it's place. For me, it's perfect.

...I'm really missing a master volume for all channels!

I'm using it with Fender Tele-/Stratocaster, Les Paul and a self-built guitar.

Clean channel: sounds O.K. Not as good as a Fender, but much better than older Marshalls.
Crunch Channel: this channel sounds terrible - far too middy. I don't know what this channel is good for! Sounds very syntethic with every guitar. Heard people comparing this channel to a JCM 800 - no way!!!
Lead channel: Very good, nice thick gain - not as rough as the DSL model or older Marshalls, some "American" influence. Sounds "Plexi" - like when Gain set to 2 or 3. Nice!

Negative: This amp can't deal with very high output pickups! My self-built guitar is equipped with a Dimarzio Super Distortion - sounds terrible - a real pitty! And: it is said that the lead-channel would offer a modern "New-Metal"-sound when using the "tone-shift"-switch - well, if you're looking for that kind of sound buy a Mesa Rectifier - this is not this amp's buisness!

The reverb stopped working after some months, but no other problems

A good allround amp - sounds better than the 2 channel brother! But the third (crunch) channel isn't usable at all! Offers a lot of good sounds with standard or low output guitars. Sounds like sh*t when used with high output pickups, which is a problem you should think about before buying - therefore I'd prefer other amps for the real hard stuff.
This is not a perfect amp - but I don't think there is a perfect amp at all, therefore I'd buy it again.

You can read it here. This amp is very flexible. I have rated this amp before. You can't ask for much more from a tube amp.

This is an excellent sounding amp covering a variety of tones. I agree with another posting, you want that true vintage tone go buy it. But those people will complain about other things with those amps like a lack of channel switching or something else.

People who claim to have 20 or 30 years experience then say this is a bad sounding amp??? Get real!!! Are you using a shitty guitar or cabinet?

This amp sounds great.

Have had it for a year no problems. I have repaired my share of amps for other people. For those who bought this amp then went to the repair shop, well you should read the instructions first. Use speaker cable to connect the cab. Check the speaker and amp impedances. Don't handle it like a monkey!. From what I have seen, most people that buy an amp like this then shortly after have it in the repair shop have done something supid.

The only issue may be the foot switch but don't be an idot in how you handle it. Don't tightly wrap the cord!. Use care in connecting it to the amp!.

This is actually better built than alot of other amps and modern electronic stuff like TVs, computers ... etc.

Want point to point? THEN GO BUY IT.

Asked for schematics and got them. No problems so far with support. No answer here because I have had no problems.

An outstanding amp. It is pricey but so are other similar amps. I think alot of the complainers are angry about paying alot for a new amp and not getting a JCM800, Plexi or other sound. I agree. If you want it BUY IT. But unless you have the guitar and cabinet and especially, if you don't have the skill you won't find the true vintage sound. How many Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, Van Halen ... etc guitarists are there? I you are rambling on this web site you probably arn't one of those.