All user reviews of 5/5 for the Marshall DSL401

The Marshall DSL401 is a 4 x EL-84, 4 x 12AX7-powererd 1 x 12 combo amp that "officially" has two channels but really functions as a three-channel amp. The DSL401 has a clean channel and an overdrive channel. The DSL401 is rated at 40 watts and has a single 12" Marshall-designed 50-watt speaker specially designed to complement the DSL401. The Clean channel controls are simple: Gain, and the standard Bass, Middle, Treble controls. The Overdrive channel has the same controls and adds a channel master volume to allow you to better match the volume between channels when switching between channels. Then, there is an overall Master amp control section that consists of a Master volume, a Master reverb, and a Mix knob for the desired amount of effects coming from the effects loop. As noted there is an effects loop on the back with send and return controls. The FX loop is parallel, hence the Master FX control on the front. There is also a 1/4" speaker jack to connect an external speaker cabinet and there is a switch to choose between 8 and 16 ohms load. Even better, there is another 1/4" jack that is an emulated line out for going direct to a console or for recording, and in my opinion the Marshall emulated line out isn't half-bad. Other rear panel features include the mains input, fuse holders, and the 1/4" jack for the included 2-button foot switch that allows you to switch between the clean and overdrive channels, and switch between Overdrive 1 and Overdrive 2. The DSL401 is compact in stature and leads to a more compact, punchy feel, more than enough to play small-to-mid-sized venues, and larger venues either mic'ed up or with an extension cabinet. Overall, a great grab-and-go solution for when you have to have "that" Marshall sound.

I wish it had one more speaker output and a 4-ohm selection, but suppose that would be pushing it. If you need that much sound you should probably step up to the DSL50 head and 1/2 stack.

UTILIZATION

The operation of the amp is simple enough. There aren't so many controls as to make the amp difficult to use. The overdrive channel has two modes: OD1 and OD2. OD2 acts as a boost to OD1 and adds a good amount of gain to the mix, 20db to be exact, perfect for harder rock/metal or fluid leads.

In true Marshall fashion, cranking up the gain on the "clean" channel and pushing the global Master gets you that Marshall power tube saturation that just growls for days. It is conceivable that depending on the type of music you play you could crank up the gain and master and control everything via your volume knob. Beyond that, you have a myriad of tones available in this amp and are all easily accessible. The manual is downloadable from the MarshallAmps.com web site but I really doubt you'll need it. This is an amp that sounds amazing right out of the box.

SOUNDS

I mostly play Neal Moser and George Riszanyi custom guitars with a smattering of Ibanez and others thrown in for good measure. If you're looking for a truly classic rock 'n roll sound, plug in a Les Paul and let 'er rip. You won't be disappointed. Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of what I call the EL84 "grease" that comes with the overdrive channels. I haven't really heard a bad note come out of this amp, no matter what I plug into it. Even at extreme settings the amp never gets too much bass or treble--almost like they put in controls to prevent people from self-destructing. Make no mistake, though, you can take this amp from a small club gig, plug it into a 4 x 12, and play the 'bowl.

OVERALL OPINION

Before the new DSL 40-watt combo launched I did a comparison between the two Marshall 40-watt combos: the DSL401 and the HAZE 40. They're two completely different amps. The reason the DSL401 is more expensive with seemingly less functionality is because it's a true Dual Super Lead amp. This is not a boiled-down version or any type of compromise. This is a bona fide Made in England Marshall DSL Valve amplifier. The DSL401 is a no-frills rock machine but can handle any type of music. Roll back the gain on the clean channel and you've got yourself an awesome Jazz amp. If there's a type of music you can't do with this amp I'd be interested to hear about it. I don't know if Marshall is exporting the DSL401 to the States anymore, so this may become a collectible amp as well--I know I haven't seen it's little brother, the DSL201 in some time so keep your eyes open, and if you're looking for a versatile Marshall platform, the DSL401 is hard to beat.

I've heard and read about others having thermal issues with the DSL401 but I've never had ANY issues whatsoever with my DSL401. I guess the message here is that your mileage may vary, but I've never had any issues and although I can say that I would gig it without a backup the truth is I never gig without a backup rig. However, I can't buy into the claims of issues with this amp because I've not experienced any of them. If you can get your hands on one, and you're a "Marshall" player, I'd get one without hesitation.

I recently bought this Marshall combo after being dissapointed by the sound of a Line 6 AX2, there’s just no replacing an all tube amplifier, I don’t care how “close” they claim they can get to tube sound with their fancy solid state/ digital algorhthyms, it just doesn’t sound right...period. End of story. I‘d rather have one 40 watt, all tube, one 12“ speaker combo amp, than a full stack with a solid state 100 watt amp.


It sounds buttery smooth, I tried Mesa Boogie stuff, nice gear, but too much crap to mess with to get a good sound, geez, all those knobs are totally unnecessary.

The only thing I don’t like about this amp is that it runs kind of hot, and would benefit from a fan mounted in the back to cool the valves.

construction is solid on this amp, no complaints.

The Fender I tried(Hotrod Deville) just didn’t have enough distortion, and the jack was loose.

Mesa? ehhh, too expensive and too hard to dial in.



You‘ve got to try this amp out, you’ll love it.

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

I purchased the DSL 401 from Guitar Center for $600.00 (it was the floor model). I was originally looking for a Marshall AVT amp, I wanted to compare the sound of the AVT to a real tube amp before getting it. I tried the DSL and never looked back.

This amp is one of the best sounding amps i've tried. The EL84 tubes really give the amp a kind of Vox/Marhsall hybrid sound. I get a nice chimey crunch from the OD1 setting.

The OD2 setting is pretty crazy. I play a strat with Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge, and the amp just screams. I don't think that OD2 is as versatile as the OD1 channel, but it gives a nice punk sound.

The clean channel is what seperates the JCM 2000's from the other Marshall amps. The clean channel very full, and can break up nicely with the gain turned up (this amp has an independant gain knob for the clean setting).

This amp gets pretty hot. I used the play with the master volume turned to about 2 for bedroom playing, but i've recently turned each channel volume down, and the master volume all the way up. This seems to cool the amp down quite a bit, and I can still set the volume to a level that I like.

Many people have had problems with the DSL 401's. I don't know what it is, but I've had mine for a year and it still works as good as when I bought it.

3 channels: Clean, OD1, OD2.

Clean is very good for a Marshall.
OD1 puts out an awesome rock tone.
OD2 gives me a full on punk sound.

A pretty basic amp, but I think that's a good thing. I'd rather not spend the time spinning a hundred dials around trying to get a good sound. This amp sounds good at any setting. I'm mainly a bedroom player, but I've cranked the amp for a couple of garage jams. I can drown out the drummer using any channel, so I think it's loud enough for most people.

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

CHARACTERISTICS see comments Lonewolf
4 lamps in EL84 amp (12W I think they are in fact, what makes us 48W, but I could be wrong!)
4 lamps prampli.

UTILIZATION

This is my 3rd Marshall, I have never read a manual.
The sound is "Marshall" regardless of the position.
Note that this is a TRUE qual: rglages put the treble, middle and bass 0 and there is no sound (or so), it is not too hard r but even Gler qd.

SOUNDS

I put my Les Paul in and the magic opre.
I dj a smile from ear to ear when I press the "Standby".
It is certainly not an amp "mtal". Has to take a Valvestate AVT or (if the words of Marshall LoneWolf you want written on it).

But for the rest (not trs techno ...), not notice it's madness.

OVERALL OPINION

So my 3 Marshall.
A JCM800 100W bcp too powerful
1 Mesa Boogie Caliber 50 + 50W more powerful, though jou but what's also ...
1 Marshall Valvestate 100W double body (I had to be drunk to buy that crap)
1 Marshall DSL401, which made me + that rconcilier with Marshall, but also with my guitar.
I love Led Zep, Aerosmith, Black Desir ... This is exactly what sound!

J'tais fan of saturates, I just fell madly in love with my channel "Clean", which let's face it, crunch as bte when tickled. J'tais buff pedals, I have a wah and talk box.
Free, free at last with the best sound ever (MESA quique the silent frankly good too.)
In short, I just rpar an injustice we can not put 4 / 10 a Marshall lamp!
For mtal is OK but no one else is glove.
I play funky on the clean, turning the 3mm rglage Bass, I sound exactment Black Ds (last album: lost, the place upside down).
Once I us the three positions and those of my scrapes clean channel, crunch channel is attacked (the real). Angus, Slash, Perry, Page they are all home now.
Lead is the crunch boost of 20dB (I think vrifier) ​​and is the only point where I will not 10/10 because it is not in Full Control (3 true channel).
The Reverb is not denied either, but hey I never touch the knob (except qd my daughter comes with me DCON).
If I change this amp one day, this will be for a TSL601.

40W RMS attention to the ears especially the neighbors in the apartment ...
For connectivity, so good (only minus the lack of the headphone jack).

UTILIZATION

Nothing to say, easy adjustment and sound Marshall is the appointment, by the way I am even surprised at the clear sound, exellent.

SOUNDS

Various tests with several Gratt:
- Ibanez: killing in my opinion, what it spits out.
- Gibson: essential with this amp.
- TV: exellent.
- Godin: it goes, nothing more.

OVERALL OPINION

Use for 2 years, I do not regret that choice.
Quite the contrary.

Well I'm not going to repeat the technical details of the bte ... others have done and srement much better than me.

UTILIZATION

Simpler you die!

SOUNDS

So the total happiness.

I plug my Lag Roxanne standard:
- Its clear warm sound not entirely clear. a little background, but what the crunch. well snapping ... great for blues. playing with the gain we get really get a great palette,
- Overdrive 1: for beautiful rhythmic much fat,
- Overdrive 2: od which is 20 db and l. ... you fly away! the sound of Garry Moore. foot total.

OVERALL OPINION

Bought two days ago and tried the same evening at a monstrous beef at the bar of square MCON www.squarebar.net (http://www.squarebar.net) I adopted the bte in a jiffy.

40W dlivrent the Sound and should not hsiter sollicit the craft. I recommend this amp to anyone looking for sound rock, blues, hard rock. I do not agree that sr styles rclamant a precision Swiss ... but for fans of the type AC / DC, Gary Moore and his ilk ... let's rock!

40W Tube Combo (4XECC83 preamp, power 4XEL84 +), three channels, clean, OD1 and OD2 (OD1 20 dB, a spring reverb, a master volume (super convenient to not break down your walls when you play in an apartment ... ) and set the effects loop. Well, basically everything has been said before me ...
I'm not 10/10 principle ...

UTILIZATION

- The config and the handling is super simple;
- I mainly play rock, hard rock and heavy 80's, well, there's no picture, sound is there, right there! in addition, good surprise for me is clearly the clean channel (no pun intended ...), which is crappy I find quite convincing, with colors and curves heated through and crisp (!!), perfect for picking on the folk ballads and blues. Note that in pushing out the gain of the clean channel you get a really nice crunch to play rock in the 70's Creedence and company ...
- The clean equalization are effective, they are slightly less OD1 or OD2 in the channel, even if the range of settings, expanded more than respectable with practice (it's been a week since I ...)

SOUNDS

- It is perfect for my style of music and my expectations (I had tried the fender hotrod deluxe ben ... and it's not for me, j'men suspected as much but hey, Ok the clean channel is nice, but I found it too dry, especially the crunch channel is almost non-existent ... even with a good pedal ...)
- I play it with a Yamaha AES 620, with its original pickups (Seymour Duncan SH4 JB in the bridge and a micro Yamaha Alnico 5 in the handle), I intend to change the neck pickup to a SD SH2 Jazz, while the Marshall I find it really less rough than before (must say that I have abandoned my old Park 10 W I started ... yeah, I know ...)
- As said before, sounds (between the clean channel and two OD) cover well the range I was looking for ... and even more so is the clean sound a little dirty (even if you can get clear sound "clean" ) to the bluesy, up to the right of families to large distortion of the heavy (even with the metal or metallica deftones). And with a pedal and an EQ in my opinion it should not have to push to be able to bcp the large metal ...

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for a week and that's the ball!

I love everything about him!

Quality / price ratio, € 850 buy in stores with nine two-year warranty, well it's very expensive qd, for sure ... but hey, I really regret not my investment, and I must say I am more more surprised by the opinions I have read on the forums ...

I would do this choice, this combo is perfect for my needs and my tastes, because anyway, it's still a matter of taste, and must try before you buy!

Edit 11/06: after three months of intensive use, confirmed opinion, excellent, versatile, clear sound amazing, top saturation, it is a pleasure to play this combo, I took a liking to the guitar since I, and I became much more demanding with my game ..!!!

Musical greetings.

40W all-tube amp
everything is there, qualisation spare, master volume, reverb, effects loop, exit 8 or 16 ohms.
However, I regret the absence of a knob "volume" on the clean channel, I use the "gain" for a good rgler but would have been better.

UTILIZATION

Operation is very simple, it's a Marshall (this is my 3rd brand I begin to know)
is heated, it enlve stand by and live sound!
the manual is dispensable as always ..

SOUNDS

Just as good at pricipale:
this amp is really comfortable ds most playing styles, from jazz to hot grandpa hard rock (mtal?) ffrn the small son.
Clean Channel: I t is the most surprised! possd with a JTM30 rput to have the best clean Marshall, I expected a clean sound but a little goes everywhere. well I'm grossly mistaken with my Telecaster sound is warm and soft and desire, we augment Lorqui gain crunch it right! some do not love me! in bridge it keeps a good momentum for Rhythmic and handle is simply sublime in a small blues or jazz!

Overdrive channel
OD1: the crunch par excellence, we find the typical Marshall sound with my Tele I can play black or DSIR gnral rock on that channel with my LP (or other double-scratch ) then it is in its legendary AC / DC, with the gain on the bottom is nearly in the heavy and with half it's perfect for the vintage blues as it should!
OD2: principalmente I use this channel for solos, neck pickup is found in the wonderful solos of Guns'n'Roses! Low load (too?), This channel provides more dynamic and probably surprise you to use THE FIRST, adpote! In rhythmic cuts I recommend the low and add trebble to have more precision if the sound is embedded in some serious trs Submitted.

EDIT: I just bought a small boost electro-harmonix (lpb-1) and engaged with the boost on the clean channel, it has a sound between clean and crunh quite sublime is gnial for ZZ Top in the palm mute (the barn ^ ^), it's great with my tele. same with the boost in distortion, the neck pickup solos are a dconcertante ease and can attack the real solos Black Sabbath, AC / DC or Led Zeppelin. Finally, the OD1 was a powerful but tjr prcis which can switch qques riffs from Van Halen or Led Zeppelin.
I recommend this type of pedals on this amp, I redcouvert it since I Acquisition (thank you Frediani).

OVERALL OPINION

I love everything about this amp, its versatility and legendary grain (I did not have anything to marshall 3). This is the kind of amp that one child care and research gear will be more Dornava on guitars as the DSL401 Ragit much to the sound of guitars diffrent, either simple ( especially for clean and rock), double or humbeckers (for saturation dynamics and furious)
purchase of nine OCCAZ because Marshall is a big bnf (1000euros seen in France!) if I had nine ct I will sell to the same as a 700.800 ENGL thunder .
I can not wait to have my Gibson to be able to operate more in doubles.

Has good all told we will not add
40W valve amp Full powered.
Nothing is missing level connectivity and features

UTILIZATION

Good setup is as simple as a traditional amp, no need to get out of MIT to get the desired sound.
However, there is a major default configuration, the clean channel has only one button to gain, the button "volume" is not present on this cannal, distinguished engineers Marshall, a potentiometer on the grid of the tube to between, cost and makes no 50centimes teriblemen service.
Simply put, it is difficult to obtain the "pure" especially high volume, there is always a small Relan saturation, not to mention that with the gain less than 2, push the master volume "VERY" above, you can imagine the time lost balance the volume between both channels Audible.

SOUNDS

Is it your style of music?
I do not see a style of music this amp is not comfortable for a little fawn that changes its play and we play the equalizer is just typing the Will of his ...

I use an epiphone supernova (ES335) and stratocaster "Eric Clapton" in the fender. This sounds differently but in all cases, the receiver does not betray the Personal guitar.

The cannal clean is rather successful for the marshall, I like the sound a bit dark and deep, very different from the hot road on which I play sometimes.
In short I like, but if we look on the crystal-clear sound very typical Fender ben ... buy a Hot Road ...
If in addition we add the problem of the button "gain" is a bit complicated to have a "pure" high-volume
Otherwise, by turning knob that damned "gain", we get a vintage sound very aggressive and bite anything wrong, why did this aa t Designed to its mid-saturated type blues.

Let the evil cannal "overdrive". (Why we bought a Marshall I think)
This is just the cot:
Heavy Gun of the old JCM 800's type.
The rock songs from the Smashin 'Pumpkins (who play on a JCM 800 for that matter).
Rock a little more current
Through the almost frenzied punk rock.
We can even equalo with 'V' have his "texturquot; the Satriani (note that this setting is unusable Repeat ')
In short, you have all my overdrive possible "Great." Just a little time to find its settings ...
But if you already have an amp and you have a little ear no problem!

OVERALL OPINION

Well I use this amp for almost 2 years, I like it, it's a good companion, he even rendered great service by amplifying pianos and acoustic guitars sometimes.
What I hate is that damn cannal clean and potentiometer "Volume" absent and the possibility of not being able to gain "0".
I test a lot of models before but widely diffused in the marks.
EDIT: Changing the lamp took place yesterday, so I used the lights for 5 years.

On OCCAZ, it's 500 or the price of a transistor amplifier 100W nine. There is no photo, because of lamp change every 3 years an amp lamp is "indestructible" there are only passive components except lamps and audio transformer are true monsters of quality therefore nothing to fear ! Rings and die.

With experience, if the time I had a bit more budjet (twice as OCCAZ triple nine) I will opt for the head TSL100 + baffle, who owns a little more "finesse" level adjustment, presence and three CHANNELS really separate volume knob and a clean ... Tone Shift and Deep.

Even if the bulk of the base 401 is in the DSL, those who love the sounds settle their hair will shift a little frustrated ...

Finally this amp is an ideal companion for guitarists who like to play with all neighbors and have ...
EDIT: I think after 5 years use this amp, it is still gnial. The other guitarist in my group is crazy effects and uses a VOX Tonelab home course, it underfoot a simulation of all major spend hours tweaking it, I have just three sounds and I am satisfied.

With xprience and budget a little DIFFERENT, I really opt for a TSL100 4 * 12 ", but the rest of the mgalomanie and luxury. I play now on a sound and I use the DI output line OUT, again nothing wrong, except that the sound loses some of its charm but it is the fault the damn sound that is not a guitar amp g ant! Damned!

For retubing, I opt for a Kit "Hi Gain" Eurotube home.
Many say he may want to change the HP, perhaps that has brought more. In the meantime, you can dj do things so well with all original ...