Plexi vs DSL comparison

[EOengineer]

I sorta miss my DSL40 combo. Once I swapped the speaker, it was quite the killer little package. Wish I had hung on to it, if for nothing else but to practice without firing up the big boy rig. Those combos now are way too overpriced.

I hear you. I’ve been side-eyeing the DSL40CR for a couple years as a gig amp that would be more convenient than any of my head/cab setups while covering the core sounds I use.

It’s a solid amp, and often a great deal on the used market.

 

[paisleywookiee]

Correct. I am using Lead 1 with the gain set to 2.

And also with the EQ out of the way. I set my amp with the Presence on 2, Bass on 4, Mids on 2 and Treble on 1.5
The DSL EQ is what gives the DSL the modern character. Take it of the equation and it sounds like a proper Marshall.

Nuno's take on this:



This is the way with this amp. Try settings like that (give or take a few notches depending on your guitar, speakers etc) and it's classic Marshall all the way

AHA!! He said JCM2000 though, not the current DSL series!

 

[JiveTurkey]

You know what sounds good through a DSL power section?

 

[Tanax]

The fact that DSL100 is only 900€ is kinda crazy. Great value, sounds amazing.
JVM410H is like 1400€ which might be an even better deal.

The 1959HW is 2300€ so not quite 4x the price of the DSL as someone earlier said, but a little over double, so not sure if that's actually worth it.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

The best part of OP’s video isn’t the tone, it’s the camera bouncing around from being punished by those amps…like it’s tied to a chair and being tortured.

you can also hear the phone's limiter kicking in the whole time. I don't doubt that the two amps can sound a lot a like, certainly functionally so for most purposes.

 

[dk_ace]

I sorta miss my DSL40 combo. Once I swapped the speaker, it was quite the killer little package. Wish I had hung on to it, if for nothing else but to practice without firing up the big boy rig. Those combos now are way too overpriced.

Ugh I hated mine, I thought it sounded good the day I traded for it, but I must have had a cold that day and didn’t realize it.

I love the Marshall sound, but I hated that combo.

It never tricked me into believeing it was a plexi. Maybe I could have turned the knobs differently and gotten a different result, but I really doubt it.

D

 

[GuitarBilly]

AHA!! He said JCM2000 though, not the current DSL series!

The amp on the video is not a current DSL series either. It's the first reissued (13-18). Very similar to the 2000. The current DSL is completely different.

 

[GuitarBilly]

The fact that DSL100 is only 900€ is kinda crazy. Great value, sounds amazing.
JVM410H is like 1400€ which might be an even better deal.

The 1959HW is 2300€ so not quite 4x the price of the DSL as someone earlier said, but a little over double, so not sure if that's actually worth it.

yeah true. This is a 1987x. Here in the US it sells for $3k. The current DSL sells for $1300 (I think).

The older ones like this and the 2000s are more like $700-800 in the used market. So yes, they're a crazy good value.

 

[Whizzinby]

Ugh I hated mine, I thought it sounded good the day I traded for it, but I must have had a cold that day and didn’t realize it.

I love the Marshall sound, but I hated that combo.

It never tricked me into believeing it was a plexi. Maybe I could have turned the knobs differently and gotten a different result, but I really doubt it.

D

Horses for courses, I guess.

I did end up replacing the stock speaker with a Mesa V30, which suited me better. I think a closed back would have made even Moar Betterer. Like I say, I wish I’d have kept it just as a small (but absurdly loud) practice amp. I had the 40w version.

 

[dk_ace]

Horses for courses, I guess.

I did end up replacing the stock speaker with a Mesa V30, which suited me better. I think a closed back would have made even Moar Betterer. Like I say, I wish I’d have kept it just as a small (but absurdly loud) practice amp. I had the 40w version.

Mine was the 40 watt and had a cele v30.

Maybe there are multiple versions of this amp too though? I had that one probably 10 years ago and got it used, there are probably other incarnations of it that are different.

D

 

[Whizzinby]

Mine was the 40 watt and had a cele v30.

Maybe there are multiple versions of this amp too though? I had that one probably 10 years ago and got it used, there are probably other incarnations of it that are different.

D

Yeah I had the CR, which from what I recall people liked more than the original C version. (But I have no idea if anything about them was meaningfully different)

 

[spawnofthesith]

The fact that DSL100 is only 900€ is kinda crazy. Great value, sounds amazing.
JVM410H is like 1400€ which might be an even better deal.

The 1959HW is 2300€ so not quite 4x the price of the DSL as someone earlier said, but a little over double, so not sure if that's actually worth it.

The US market sure is buggered for any Marshall except for a DSL it sounds like. Crazy that the gap between DSL and JVM is so narrow over there. Here new a DSL is $1200 and a JVM410 is $3200

Used prices are pretty reasonable though

 

[spawnofthesith]

Mine was the 40 watt and had a cele v30.

Maybe there are multiple versions of this amp too though? I had that one probably 10 years ago and got it used, there are probably other incarnations of it that are different.

D

I had the dreaded DSL401 combo...

which died during my first practice with it the same day I picked it up. Really thankful the dude I bought it from wasn't shady and let me return it to him for my money back...

 

[GuitarBilly]

Yeah I had the CR, which from what I recall people liked more than the original C version. (But I have no idea if anything about them was meaningfully different)

Yeah so the DSL has basically 3 series:

The JCM2000s, which are the originals

The H series (C for combos), which are pretty much like the 2000s, except it has a Resonance Knob in place of the Deep switch, and a 1/2 power switch (the 2000s had separate version for different wattages). That is the one being demo'd in this video.

The HR/CR series is the current series. It's very different than the previous 2. They added 2 switchable master volumes (in addition to the channel volumes), MIDI, emulated out, MP3 in (??? weirdest thing ever), and a programmable footswitch like the JVM. So lots of features, but I like the previous ones better.

 

[JiveTurkey]

MP3 in

 

[spawnofthesith]

pre recorded trumpet tracks

 

[GuitarBilly]

Oh yeah, I am sure you could use a 1/8" to 1/4" cable and run your synth into it.

 

[Baba]

Oh yeah, I am sure you could use a 1/8" to 1/4" cable and run your synth into it.

 

[paisleywookiee]

The amp on the video is not a current DSL series either. It's the first reissued (13-18). Very similar to the 2000. The current DSL is completely different.

The DSL from 13-18 is completely different than the current "R" series? No, it really isn't. They have a lot more features, but they sound quite similar.

 

[Bob Zaod]

They're not that far off each other

I owned both at the same time. I sold the 1987X because I liked the tighter response of the DSL. I can confirm with the OP that YES you can get damned close sound wise. This vid makes me want another DSL100H lol