Marshall DSL 50 C12 mod

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Gordo

Gordo

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I just picked up a DSL 50 modded by Voodoo amps from a forum member(MODDEDMARSHALL) Great guy to deal with btw. My only complaint is I wish the red channel sounded like the green channel. On the red channel, I turn the gain up and it gets tubby. Turn it down and it gets too thin. I am running an eq in the loop boosted at 100hz to thicken it up a bit. So my question...Would that C12 mod be something I should look into? I've been reading Jason's thread with the Fortin DSL mod specs. My brother will be performing the mods. He has built a few point to point builds but this will be his first PCB try. So any helpful hints or tricks would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
C12 mod is the easiest quickest way to beef up the red channel. You can clip it entirely, or lower the value. I lowered mine to 100pf silver mica, based on some recommendations on the Marshall Forums...gave the red channel comparable ooomph as the green channel. Easy mod to reverse too.


All that said, if Trace had his hands inside that DSL, I'm sure he tweaked the value of the Treble bleed cap (c12). Email Trace, he's a super cool dude and can answer that.


EDIT: not sure what your gain and volume settings are...remember with DSLs, they have to be cranked. I was just wailing away on mine (red channel), and it crushes....you have to crank it though. Gain was on 7, volume on 4, into Alex Attenuator.
 
Thanks for the response. We're gonna crack it open to see whats going on. Did you mod the amp yourself or have it done?
 
The C12 mod will take some of the top end away from the amp. I clipped mine completely. I thought it was well worth it. But, that won't make it any less tubby. There are a few other mods to help with that. Installing a choke is popular for tightening up the amp. I did that as well. I put a 5H Mercury Magnetics choke in mine. I may try a 10h choke later.
 
So is the DSL50 getting a bit tubby sounding on the red(high gain channel) as the gain knob gets turned up a normal characteristic for a DSL amp?

I have experienced this on a DSL50 that I heard, instead of just the gain increasing and getting more saturated it really seemed to get all kinds of muddy really almost unuseable IMO at around 7-8 as well as the green channel having more low end and fullness (but not tubby). The green channel doesn't seem to suffer from this?

This Fortin modded marshall doesn't seem to suffer from this either when I listen to Jason switching from the green channel(set clean) to his red channel.
 
I've got a DSL100 that is completely stock but with my suhr koko boost in front of it is really tight and saturation is just right to my ears. It just really loves that amp.
 
Gordo, hardest part of doing the mods is getting the boards and connections back together correctly, very easy to get them mixed up. Take your time, take lots of pics before hand, and take plenty of notes. Other than that it's just a steady hand with the iron and try not to get too much heat going on. A solder sucker is your friend for this job as well. I tried braid and a solder sucker makes life WAY easier. Radio shack has one with a built in iron for 10 bucks, get it you'll be glad you did!

I am in and out today doing tons of stuff but will try and check back in to see how its going. Good luck!
 
tweed":1c43267q said:
Gordo, hardest part of doing the mods is getting the boards and connections back together correctly, very easy to get them mixed up. Take your time, take lots of pics before hand, and take plenty of notes.
Click to expand...
Or put tape on each connector with its place on it. It's a pan in the ass while doing, but so worth it while putting it back together....especially if you're going in several times. :thumbsup:
 
Gordo, if you plan on doing some mods to it, or if you plan on changing that cap to another value...then go ahead and clip it out and see what you think. You take the chassis out of the head shell, find C12 and clip the leg you can get to with some little wire cutters. It won't take 10 minutes and you should have an idea if this is a direction you want to go. If you don't like what it does, go and buy another one or a couple other values and replace it...they're cheap.
 
Thanks for the help. Me and my brother are going to take a peek sometime this week. He's the amp builder guy in the family. I hold the flashlight. LOL!
 
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