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MGR/Mike Moloy « Marshall DSL2000 401 »
Published on 03/21/04 at 15:00I purchased this amp in December 2000 from Reno's music for $600 USD. I had an old Kustom solid state 130W head and 412 cabinet, but it was getting on in years and started to hum (probably a large cap failing). I was never able to get a good distortion sound out of it, and so I went after an all tube amp that I could try without investing a huge amount of money, in case I didn't get the sound I wanted.
I like the full tube sound, both clean and distortion channels are good. When running through my powered mixer witht the DI line out, I can really make it as big as I want. I have two 15" black widow wedge monitors that give this amp a huge bottom end, and I can use the mixer to adjust the highs through the crossover. It's like having any size amp you need for any gig. If you haven't used the DI, be sure to do so at some point. It's easier than using a close mic, and avoids the clutter.
I have had to have this unit serviced twice now for heat related cold solder joints caused by the lack of good ventilation to let the heat out of the chassis. I also have discovered that the additional spring can on the first preamp tube places an extreme amount of upward pressure and traps addtional heat on this tube which will cause it to go microphonic or decay after about an hour of heavy playing. This is most noticeable when I switch back to clean, the sound surges from thin and brittle to full and smooth, then back to thin and brittle. I removed the can to see if this will go away, and so far it has helped, but some tweaking of the controls is needed to get back some of the mid punch. This can also places a lot of pressure on the IC board that the tube socket is attached to. The spring could be about one third it's size and still work. I am considering installing both a fan and a top grill like the big heads have, to let the heat out. Probably will wait until the warranty runs out to make this mod, will use a remote fan until then.
Overall, the construction is acceptable and it's easy to tote around to gigs. I believe the speaker is a little thin, a greenback would probably give it a nicer edge, especially when running OD2 for heavy metal songs. I think Marshall should have done a better job of anticipating heat related issues and made better ventilation arrangements to the cabinet or chassis. The chassis is open at the top, so to put a vent in the top of the cabinet would have helped, but then dust and moisture intrusion has to be monitored (no brews on top of the amp!) I'm not big on using my amp as a drink holder anyway, it warms the beer to quick!
Overall, I think this is a great amp for it's price and size. I have a Marshall MG30FX backup practice amp, but I prefer the all tube sound. I've tried a lot of amplifiers and processors, but ultimately "I hear dead people" in those things! I can literally hear the processor doing it's thing and it's like listening to someone on a digital cell phone, it's real close but it's not the natural voice of analog cell signal.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I like the full tube sound, both clean and distortion channels are good. When running through my powered mixer witht the DI line out, I can really make it as big as I want. I have two 15" black widow wedge monitors that give this amp a huge bottom end, and I can use the mixer to adjust the highs through the crossover. It's like having any size amp you need for any gig. If you haven't used the DI, be sure to do so at some point. It's easier than using a close mic, and avoids the clutter.
I have had to have this unit serviced twice now for heat related cold solder joints caused by the lack of good ventilation to let the heat out of the chassis. I also have discovered that the additional spring can on the first preamp tube places an extreme amount of upward pressure and traps addtional heat on this tube which will cause it to go microphonic or decay after about an hour of heavy playing. This is most noticeable when I switch back to clean, the sound surges from thin and brittle to full and smooth, then back to thin and brittle. I removed the can to see if this will go away, and so far it has helped, but some tweaking of the controls is needed to get back some of the mid punch. This can also places a lot of pressure on the IC board that the tube socket is attached to. The spring could be about one third it's size and still work. I am considering installing both a fan and a top grill like the big heads have, to let the heat out. Probably will wait until the warranty runs out to make this mod, will use a remote fan until then.
Overall, the construction is acceptable and it's easy to tote around to gigs. I believe the speaker is a little thin, a greenback would probably give it a nicer edge, especially when running OD2 for heavy metal songs. I think Marshall should have done a better job of anticipating heat related issues and made better ventilation arrangements to the cabinet or chassis. The chassis is open at the top, so to put a vent in the top of the cabinet would have helped, but then dust and moisture intrusion has to be monitored (no brews on top of the amp!) I'm not big on using my amp as a drink holder anyway, it warms the beer to quick!
Overall, I think this is a great amp for it's price and size. I have a Marshall MG30FX backup practice amp, but I prefer the all tube sound. I've tried a lot of amplifiers and processors, but ultimately "I hear dead people" in those things! I can literally hear the processor doing it's thing and it's like listening to someone on a digital cell phone, it's real close but it's not the natural voice of analog cell signal.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com