Why shouldn't i get a Marshall SL-X?

bubbastain

bubbastain

Well-known member
I had one for a few days years ago but I returned it cause it had a problem. I have done a little bit of digging and it seems like they might be a little problematic. Any experience?
 
I shot one out between my Redbear MK120. Both ran 5881s, and they were almost identical. I gave the edge to the Redbear and passed on the deal. They are great amps though. My buddy had one for a while and it ripped. I can't speak for their longevity, but I think it's my favorite Marshall. It may very well be the last good model they released that wasn't silver.
 
I played one for a couple years (50w with El34) They are fine amps, they have a great traditional Marshall tone, can be boosted well. I prefer the DSL over it, and a 800 much more. If you play loud, I feel as though the SLX kind of tops out quick. I have never tried using one with IR's.
 
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Really happy with mine.

slx-100.jpg
 
japetus said:
I played one for a couple years. They are fine amps, they have a great traditional Marshall tone, can be boosted well. I prefer the DSL over it, and a 800 much more. If you play loud, I feel as though the SLX kind of tops out quick. I have never tried using one with IR's.
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This. They're quite good, depending on your needs, but pale in comparison to a jcm2000 or 2203

I've owned half a dozen over the years, and they have an underrated (and spectacular) clean channel, the gain channel is a bit thin, and the reverb is fantastic.

If you can get a great deal on them, well worth it. But this is one of those amps where it all depends on the price... 600$? All day, as long as you can't find a Laney GH for that price. 1300$? Not so much, there's way better stuff out there in that price range.

All in all I think they are both underrated AND overrated. People who shit on diodes hate them, and people who own them tend to overrate them - especially the gain channel, which is good but quite waspy and thin, and requires a lot of tweaking to get sounding good.
 
ners said:
Whatcha paying for it? You can find some used DSLs for great prices.
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This is the real question, how much is it @bubbastain ?

If it's inexpensive, generally there's no downside - if it's priced pretty high, there's better options
 
Be sure to get one that has el-34s.
And, get the capacitor that feeds voltage to the preamp tubes replaced with a beefier one.
That is one of the “issues” with the SLX.
 
DanTravis62 said:
This. They're quite good, depending on your needs, but pale in comparison to a jcm2000 or 2203

I've owned half a dozen over the years, and they have an underrated (and spectacular) clean channel, the gain channel is a bit thin, and the reverb is fantastic.

If you can get a great deal on them, well worth it. But this is one of those amps where it all depends on the price... 600$? All day, as long as you can't find a Laney GH for that price. 1300$? Not so much, there's way better stuff out there in that price range.

All in all I think they are both underrated AND overrated. People who shit on diodes hate them, and people who own them tend to overrate them - especially the gain channel, which is good but quite waspy and thin, and requires a lot of tweaking to get sounding good.
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They don’t have a clean channel. It’s a single channel with two master volumes. They also don’t have diodes for distortion (or so I’ve read.)

I think you may be talking about the other JCM900s?
 
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I had a 50 watt SLX and a 50 watt DSL at the same time. The SLX was a little warmer with more mids.
 
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DanTravis62 said:
This. They're quite good, depending on your needs, but pale in comparison to a jcm2000 or 2203

I've owned half a dozen over the years, and they have an underrated (and spectacular) clean channel, the gain channel is a bit thin, and the reverb is fantastic.
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We might be talking 2 different amps here. The SLX I had basically was 1 channel with a boost and no reverb. You thinking of the other 900's?
 
bubbastain said:
There's one locally on CL for $900.
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That's a decent price for an SLX (pending condition) but honestly you can find DSLs for sub $600, so personally I'd pass on it...but if the JCM 900 is the exact time you're after than you could make worse decisions than $900 (and you might even be able to haggle it down).
 
SgtThump said:
They don’t have a clean channel. It’s a single channel with two master volumes. They also don’t have diodes for distortion (or so I’ve read.)

I think you may be talking about the other JCM900s?
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SL-X uses another tube preamp gain stage not clipping diodes; mine has the 5881 power tubes. Very happy with it.
 
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