Boosted Marshall DSL?

[moltenmetalburn]

I saw the promo in guitar world at 17 years old. I desperately wanted a recto but couldn’t afford one. The marshall came in at $1100 which I could. I went to buy one at a local store who said they could order one, they didn’t tell me it wasn’t released yet. Waited a few months and had #48 lmao. Must have been first shipment to USA.

At that time all my jcm800 friends were jealous after hearing it and wanted one. I was able to use it for a few years playing modern metal with ease. Nothing wrong with this head for high gain sounds. At the used prices they go for Id grab another UK for fun. Doubt id mess with the vietnam model however, way different.

 

[Bad.Seed]

The DSL falls into my budget amps that still sound pro list.

For the price of a used Friedman BE100, you can buy a DSL50 or 100, an EVH 5150 III 50, Single Rectifier Series II and a Fender Hot Rod Deville and have every base you could need covered.

As much as I enjoy the boutique stuff, there's just something more fun about getting a killer tone out of a low priced piece of gear. That's why a beat up LP studio into a DSL50 or an EVH 50 watt into a Peavey Butcher/MS cab will always be one of my favorite gig rigs.

 

[Rick Lee]

As much as I enjoy the boutique stuff, there's just something more fun about getting a killer tone out of a low priced piece of gear.

So true. And again, Friedman pedals are so good, you can get a great tone with them through a lot of budget tube amps at a fraction of the cost for a Friedman amp. Really, anything with good transformers and a good clean sound will sound amazing with a Friedman pedal in front of it. That's why I sold my Friedman SB.

 

[Devin]

But you're not gonna get a well-sorted DSL-anything for sub-$400.

You might be able to find a used DSL40C for under $400, and it's a killer amp

 

[Bad.Seed]

As much as I enjoy the boutique stuff, there's just something more fun about getting a killer tone out of a low priced piece of gear.

So true. And again, Friedman pedals are so good, you can get a great tone with them through a lot of budget tube amps at a fraction of the cost for a Friedman amp. Really, anything with good transformers and a good clean sound will sound amazing with a Friedman pedal in front of it. That's why I sold my Friedman SB.

I ran a Friedman BE-OD into the low output of my Peavey Butcher for quite while because it sounded so damn good. You're talking a $150 for the pedal and $350 for the head on the used market for an absolutely killer modded Marshall tone!

 

[sleewell2]

honestly i dont even really enjoy expensive gear anymore. a 5153 that i got for $400 is hitting way above my ability levels lol and quite frankly sounds better than many amps i paid 4-5x times as much.

the other guitar player in our band uses a DSL100h and its a sweet sounding mix. the marshall cuts so well and occupies a different midrange.

some times i think if someone put a bone stock DSL into a very expensive headshell and didn't tell you guys would love it.

 

[Texhex]

http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/ds ... ly.107636/

 

[napalmdeath]

honestly i dont even really enjoy expensive gear anymore. a 5153 that i got for $400 is hitting way above my ability levels lol and quite frankly sounds better than many amps i paid 4-5x times as much.

the other guitar player in our band uses a DSL100h and its a sweet sounding mix. the marshall cuts so well and occupies a different midrange.

some times i think if someone put a bone stock DSL into a very expensive headshell and didn't tell you guys would love it.

I hear you. I kept a Randall Thrasher 50 over a month Multi-Watt Dual Rectifier. Have no regrets, the Randall sounds absolutely punishing.

There's so many low-priced, killer amps. I love the Peavey XXX & JSX as well. I've owned a few of those as well, and can be had under $500 any day of the week.

 

[Devilinside]

DSL is prob one of the most underrated amps of all time.
Also the whole must be green channel to me is not true.
Not that the boosted crunch isn’t good, but I prefer boosted red channel w/classic gain, and of course no mid scoop. This is an old clip of mine, and it’s my main gigging amp when I’m worried about potential bumps/bruises.
This was classic gain through a 112 cab and a koko boost in the front using mostly mid boost.
Amp gain was about 1:30 if I remember

https://youtu.be/oXmxMZ3kq2c

 

[Marshall Freak]

DSL is prob one of the most underrated amps of all time.
Also the whole must be green channel to me is not true.
Not that the boosted crunch isn’t good, but I prefer boosted red channel w/classic gain, and of course no mid scoop. This is an old clip of mine, and it’s my main gigging amp when I’m worried about potential bumps/bruises.
This was classic gain through a 112 cab and a koko boost in the front using mostly mid boost.
Amp gain was about 1:30 if I remember

https://youtu.be/oXmxMZ3kq2c

Clip sounds great and I agree completely. While I dont like.the lead od2, the red channel sounds awesome on the dsl. If it has JJ el34 and 12ax7 tubes in it you'll probably hate it because they suck the life.out of tone.

Dont use the mid cut switch it sucks. Use the bass boost, but pull the bass back to 4 or 5 or it gets boomy. Any boost pedal from SD-1/ts9 up through anything boutique sounds great with it. EQ and delay in the loop and you have a great gigging amp. Not just a cheap amp that will work for a dive bar, but a really good sounding versatile amp. I've had a lot of amps, a shitload of Marshall's, and the dsl is one of the best bang for the buck amps you can buy.

 

[Devilinside]

DSL is prob one of the most underrated amps of all time.
Also the whole must be green channel to me is not true.
Not that the boosted crunch isn’t good, but I prefer boosted red channel w/classic gain, and of course no mid scoop. This is an old clip of mine, and it’s my main gigging amp when I’m worried about potential bumps/bruises.
This was classic gain through a 112 cab and a koko boost in the front using mostly mid boost.
Amp gain was about 1:30 if I remember

https://youtu.be/oXmxMZ3kq2c

Clip sounds great and I agree completely. While I dont like.the lead od2, the red channel sounds awesome on the dsl. If it has JJ el34 and 12ax7 tubes in it you'll probably hate it because they suck the life.out of tone.

Dont use the mid cut switch it sucks. Use the bass boost, but pull the bass back to 4 or 5 or it gets boomy. Any boost pedal from SD-1/ts9 up through anything boutique sounds great with it. EQ and delay in the loop and you have a great gigging amp. Not just a cheap amp that will work for a dive bar, but a really good sounding versatile amp. I've had a lot of amps, a shitload of Marshall's, and the dsl is one of the best bang for the buck amps you can buy.

Exactly

 

[rm5153]

Great tone. I agree the DSL is a very useful amp. Does it have the ballz of a JCM800? No but with a proper boost out front and some tweaking and maybe a eq in the loop you can get everything that you need from the DSL. Ye, I agree that the Mid cut is a waste but all in all the DSL's can be had for very cheap and give you a nice clean channel and a nice OD channel. Will every amp be made that you can just plug into it and go without any boosts, or other pedals to make it sound awesome? Sound and tone is so selective and so is the tone that each one of us produce with our fingers. I find that with all the amp heads that I own, be-it I high end Friedman, Bogner, JCM800 or even down to a $200 B52 tube head, I can get all of my amps to sound pretty much identical with adding boosts or eq's to the mix.

Long story short, for between $400 and $600 the DSL is a great amp that gives you many tonal options and still packs that Marshall punch and tone.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

It's good enough for Jeff Beck now, and Matt Bellamy used one for the first 2-3 Muse albums which kicked ass.

I don't have one, but I'd rock one. I'm more partial to 900's though. Used to run a 50W dual reverb that I still miss. Good enough for Dave Navarro, Ler Lalonde and Karnivool... good enough for me.

 

[Red_Label]

I think they're great amps! Run that boost in front of green crunch. Very JCM800.

Spot on! The green channel with a TS9 or OCD boosting it (set low gain, high volume) is TOTALLY 2203ish. I had both about the same time.

 

[Red_Label]

As much as I enjoy the boutique stuff, there's just something more fun about getting a killer tone out of a low priced piece of gear.

So true. And again, Friedman pedals are so good, you can get a great tone with them through a lot of budget tube amps at a fraction of the cost for a Friedman amp. Really, anything with good transformers and a good clean sound will sound amazing with a Friedman pedal in front of it. That's why I sold my Friedman SB.

Yup. I've had six Friedman amps and four Friedman pedals. The pedals with a good clean amp base sound 90% plus the real thing. Currently I'm running a Deluxe BE-OD into a Badcat Cub III and it's awesome. Sounds like my old BE100. I also run the Dirty Shirley OD into that amp and it sounds like my old DS40. Friedman and Bogner pedals deliver the goods. I run an XTC Blue on the board as well, and it sounds like my old XTC Classic. I've also had the large XTC Blue and Red petals that nail the XTC tone as well.

Back to the DSL50/100s... they sound freakin great for the money. I didn't expect Friedman or Bogner tones out of it, but it did deliver JCM800 tones when boosted. Maybe not exactly like my 2203, but close enough for live shows for sure. A ton of big stars have used em... Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, Iron Maden, etc. Good enough for them, good enough for us internet warriors that no one knows about, IMO.

P.S. I'm finally getting over my gear whore/snob ways. Tons of amazing shit has been recorded with gear that many members of various forums scoff at. What REALLY matters is the playing, the writing, and the recording. A skilled, motivated, and inspired player with a "mediocre" amp owns a lesser player/writer/recorder with a boutique setup. That is truth. There is more great shit on YouTube recorded with cheap gear than you can even take in. I never put gear in my sig because at the end of the day IT DOESN'T MATTER what I cycle through in terms of gear. I've wasted more time obsessing over gear than I care to admit. I know this is a gear forum, and like most here, I do get inspired by new, great sounding gear. But it becomes a dog chasing its tail at some point and is counter-productive to actually doing something real... versus just scratching one's itch. I've gigged a ton of this gear, and it was cool. But only a phase at the end of the day. Get something that sounds good and forget about chasing tone. Just PLAY and share with others. Rant mode off...

 

[skullfxr]

For me, my medium between this and say Friedman or Bogner is Splawn. I snagged my PM for $1000 shipped a long time ago and my Nitro for $1150. They are not outlandishly pricey, but they deliver in spades tone-wise for me. Good feature set for me with footswitchible gains and cleans for me.

I would rock a JCM2000 DSL if I didn't have my Spawns.

On a side note, I plan on building a 2203 with heyboer iron next year. That will get my jonesing for a vintage Marshall tone. I gotta start my bass man first though lol. It will be a late night build in one swoop, lol. Whenever that happens I don't know.

 

[Red_Label]

For me, my medium between this and say Friedman or Bogner is Splawn. I snagged my PM for $1000 shipped a long time ago and my Nitro for $1150. They are not outlandishly pricey, but they deliver in spades tone-wise for me. Good feature set for me with footswitchible gains and cleans for me.

I would rock a JCM2000 DSL if I didn't have my Spawns.

On a side note, I plan on building a 2203 with heyboer iron next year. That will get my jonesing for a vintage Marshall tone. I gotta start my bass man first though lol. It will be a late night build in one swoop, lol. Whenever that happens I don't know.

Agreed. My QR was an amazing amp. Snagged it and a matching slant Splawn 4x12 for $850. A complete STEAL. Wish I still had it. The Friedman stuff was better at rolling off the guitar volume and retaining dynamics. But at full guitar volume that QR sounded as good as anything. Loved that amp.

 

[skullfxr]

For me, my medium between this and say Friedman or Bogner is Splawn. I snagged my PM for $1000 shipped a long time ago and my Nitro for $1150. They are not outlandishly pricey, but they deliver in spades tone-wise for me. Good feature set for me with footswitchible gains and cleans for me.


I would rock a JCM2000 DSL if I didn't have my Spawns.

On a side note, I plan on building a 2203 with heyboer iron next year. That will get my jonesing for a vintage Marshall tone. I gotta start my bass man first though lol. It will be a late night build in one swoop, lol. Whenever that happens I don't know.

Agreed. My QR was an amazing amp. Snagged it and a matching slant Splawn 4x12 for $850. A complete STEAL. Wish I still had it. The Friedman stuff was better at rolling off the guitar volume and retaining dynamics. But at full guitar volume that QR sounded as good as anything. Loved that amp.

That was a deal. DAMN!

I have only played a BE100 once for just a few minutes and I loved it, but they are more than I could justify, and either I am used to the kind of Splawn bite and may actually prefer it.

For one Friedman JJ, I got both Splawns and two Riveras. (knucklehead was $550ish maybe $600, but it came with =C= and the KTre I traded a guitar that I had $350 invested in). I feel that I have more fun with cheaper amps.

 

[napalmdeath]

I think they're great amps! Run that boost in front of green crunch. Very JCM800.

Spot on! The green channel with a TS9 or OCD boosting it (set low gain, high volume) is TOTALLY 2203ish. I had both about the same time.

Oddly enough, I had one at the same time I bought my first Friedman Runt 50. I kept the DSL, and returned the Runt after about a week. I ran a Spark Boost and Wylde OD on green crunch, and it was thrash metal heavenly. Beefy as fuck too. I also ran an MXR 10-Band in the loop, to be fair, with just a tick of a bump in the lows, and low mids. That, and solid tubes/good bias, yields a pretty damn good tone. I certainly disagree with "mediocre", they'll flat-out kill, if you know what you're doing.

JJ KT77's are the shit in the DSL. I'd typically use a Tungsol in V1, JJ ECC83S in V2 & 3, and Sovtek 12AX7LPS in V4. Punchy.

 

[Red_Label]

For me, my medium between this and say Friedman or Bogner is Splawn. I snagged my PM for $1000 shipped a long time ago and my Nitro for $1150. They are not outlandishly pricey, but they deliver in spades tone-wise for me. Good feature set for me with footswitchible gains and cleans for me.


I would rock a JCM2000 DSL if I didn't have my Spawns.

On a side note, I plan on building a 2203 with heyboer iron next year. That will get my jonesing for a vintage Marshall tone. I gotta start my bass man first though lol. It will be a late night build in one swoop, lol. Whenever that happens I don't know.

Agreed. My QR was an amazing amp. Snagged it and a matching slant Splawn 4x12 for $850. A complete STEAL. Wish I still had it. The Friedman stuff was better at rolling off the guitar volume and retaining dynamics. But at full guitar volume that QR sounded as good as anything. Loved that amp.

That was a deal. DAMN!

I have only played a BE100 once for just a few minutes and I loved it, but they are more than I could justify, and either I am used to the kind of Splawn bite and may actually prefer it.

For one Friedman JJ, I got both Splawns and two Riveras. (knucklehead was $550ish maybe $600, but it came with =C= and the KTre I traded a guitar that I had $350 invested in). I feel that I have more fun with cheaper amps.

I hear you, and yes... the Rivera stuff is an amazing value for sure! I've dug them ever since Damon Johnson was endorsing the Knuckleheads. He's one of my musical heros.
Gigged a Quianna in a country rock band.

You owe it to yourself to spend time with a flagship Friedman at some point, just to experience that. The newer Deluxe BEs are friggin amazing. I had a BE50 in the man cave for a few weeks recently. It very nearly became Friedman #7 for me. There's not a more versatile amp on earth. And that TONE!