All user reviews of 1/5 for the Marshall DSL401

I bought this unit in Canberra, Australia with my own hard-earned cash. I bought it because when tested it possessed the right tones and power that I needed. The cost was AU$1,750.

Great when working. Keeps up with the drums no worry. Good 3-independent channels.

After ONLY 2 months of using (not even that regularly) and sitting in the same place all that time, it died. It powered up but no sound!! I even had it fixed(?) and after 2 weeks without it, I got it back and surprise, surprise, it still didn't work!! I doubt the guys who were supposed to check it even touched it. NOT HAPPY!!

One word: Crap! Actually 2 words: REALLY CRAP!

BEWARE!! Don't buy unless you can't live without it. And this isn't the first time I've heard stuff going wrong with Marshall products (esp amps). I'm switching to Mesa Boogie.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I paid roughly 800 dollars for it and beleive me it is not worth the money.

The clean channel is allright, not the best one I've heard but it's rather cool sounding for practicing at home.



However, when it comes to the dist channel, you might as well plug your guitar into a dishwasher and get a cleaner sound.
The lead channel of the amp is so dirty and distorted that you actually can't hear the notes on the first 2 strings of the guitar.
So if you wanna play good Van Halen tapping solos and so forth you're better off playing witout this amp. To be candid, it sounds like a crapy garage practice amp and I can't beleive Marshall issued such a bad amp. I now bought a 30Th anniversary combo for only 400 USD and beleive me this is the best amp in the world.

The amp looks good.

If you wanna use it as a practice amp gp for it (if you have 800 USD itching in your pocket) but if you're a real guitarist throw it away or use it as a chair in the bathroom.

You guys are welcome to contact me if you have questions or thoughts about the amp.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Marshall DSL 401 is a 40 watt 1x12 combo version of the famed DSL head that is available in 50 or 100 watt models. It features two channels, a clean and a drive. The drive channel has two modes, OD1 which is more of a vintage voiced tone a-la the more classic Marshall amps, and OD2 which is more compressed and modern sounding. Each channel has its own EQ controls, and it's capped off with reverb, an effects loop with a mix control, and an overall master volume control. It is loaded with a single Celestion speaker and has the typical black and gold cosmetics throughout.

UTILIZATION

This amp is surprisingly difficult to dial in, to say the least. It seemed like no matter what I did to try and improve it, it just didn't have a tone that worked for my ears. The EQ is nearly useless and only serves to add brightness and make the tone harsher. The gain structure on this amp is downright awful as well. All it does is add obscene amounts of compressed buzziness as the controls are turned up and I found myself simply shaking my head at how awful the controls were on this amp. They serve only as very narrow adjustment and fail to make this amp sound good at all...

SOUNDS

This amp really has three core sounds available, none of which are particularly pleasing to the ear. There's a brittle and sharp clean tone with razorblade highs and no midrange to speak of whatsoever. It also breaks up way too early for my liking and sounds very unnatural. The crunch tones are weak and anemic. There is no solid punch factor behind the tone, just a very thin and underpowered attempt at the traditional Marshall sound. The low end is nonexistent, and the highs tear your eardrums off at band volumes. The OD2 mode is so compressed and gainy that it's almost useless. It sounds like a buzzier and more compressed/gainy version of OD1. Due to the single "12 speaker the tones are very one dimensional and sound anything but Marshally.

OVERALL OPINION

I really don't like this amp, simple as that. They're unreliable, have a cheap set of parts, don't sound good at all regardless of how the amp is set, and are obscenely overpriced. They simply aren't even worth a look... there are so many better amps out there that make this seem like a $1500 doorstop. Don't bother, seriously.