Does the DSL Still Hit the Spot? 

I freaking LOVE the most recent incarnations of the DSLs, specifically the DSL40CR. Its one hell of an amp with serious bang for buck. It doesn't even need a speaker upgrade. But man it freaking rocks and has every feature you want in a combo. The 100w version is also a monster.

I love my Marshall JCM 2000 50. I've had it for over ten years and it has never let me down. Thanks to its variability, it covers almost all musical styles. He is also very good with pedals. In my opinion, this is one of the best Marshalls ever. Btw, I love Plexi too.

great video and you nailed it about this amp. Green Crunch=2203 style no nonsense Marshall tone. Red 1 covers the modded plexi high gain style stuff, Green 1 does some cool clean stuff, and the less said about Red 2 the better. Green Crunch can sound pretty indistinguishable to my 2203 and Red 1 gets insanely close to my BE100 (in some aspects its actually better than the Friedman - its more open and lively sounding, the Friedman is a little bit more controlled). I love the old Marshalls but its so hard to beat a DSL (and Vintage Modern) for what they can be scooped up for.

I picked up my DSL 50 after watching one of your earlier videos of this amp.. Your recordings of this amp are what the damn amp sounds like. I can actually get the same tones you get on the videos at home, studio, rehearsal or live. It's a true tone machine and a blast to play thru. Thank you again for the killer videos....

I have a JCM 2000 DSL 50watt head since 2001. It's not my only amp but it's the only one that can cover so many bases so well. It's also an ideal pedal platform. If you add a boost infront and a 10 band EQ in the FX loop, there is absolutely nothing you can't do.

My literal favorite all around amp, I always used lead 2, backed down the gain a bit, turned down presence, treble, and bass and boosted the mids and it does all the throatiness

Thanks Leon! This was perfect viewing while enjoying my morning coffee!

I picked up a DSL 20 head in the fall. Great amp! Never been a Marshall guy, but I like the tones it produces. Very responsive to different Guitars. Classic gain channel is very transparent, and I love how it takes the Boss Sd 2 and Od 2. Will be keeping this amp for as long as I can. I don't think I'll need a Studio 2525H anymore. 🎸 Thanks Leon!

Hits the spot for me ;) I have a 2006 JCM 2000 DSL 100 with jubilee grey tolex. I use a rat pedal to boost it or SD1 or OD2 to mix it up. Great bang for the buck! These things will be worth a lot more in the future IMHO. Great video Leon. Cheers 👍

Nice! Sounds identical to my cheap DSL20 head. I suspect they share identical circuitry.

My first tube amp was a Marshall DSL 401. Only a few years ago I changed the speaker to Eminence. CV-75. Also in 2020 I bought a JVM 410 and think it’s amazing

Yes! He’s back with the JCM2000 DSL!!! ❤ I have tons of tube amps to choose from but my 50 watt JCM2000 DSL is my main gigging amp when I can turn up a bit. Love using it. Sit it on top of a horizontal closed back 2x12 cab w V30s. Killer sound for all things rock. I use it as a 2 channel amp and use a Boss FS-5L mounted on my board to change channels. I use the green crunch channel w gain on 3 for my clean tone. Then I’ll kick on a a good sounding mid gain pedal (Wampler Plexi drive, OCD, or Barber Gain Changer). Then when I want high gain I switch to the red channel Lead 1 with gain around 2 o’clock. So there’s my clean, crunch and high gain tones. Now to do this and have both channels sound good and sound balanced eq wise, I pretty much set all eq controls to 3 on the dial - which is less than 1/2 way. And push the Deep switch ON. Gotta have the deep switch on. This is why I have to use the crunch channel for my clean. Can’t use the clean mode because it is sooo bass heavy. But luckily the crunch mode w gain set low works great for clean. Maybe not for recording, but certainly for gigging. I’d also add that I boost all three gain stages w my trusty SD-1 that I’ve been using since 1982. Lol. Also did clip the bright cap in the red channel which really helps a lot to get rid of the ice picky highs and some of the fizz. I do the 4 cable method so my mod and time based pedals go in the loop. Your JCM2000 sounds as good as mine! Love this amp forever! I also have a JCM2000 TSL60 head that I bought new in 2000. Before I got the DSL50 last year from Reverb I was using the TSL60 head and running everything into the front of the amp using the clean channel only. That amp works great using it that way. But the mighty JCM2000 DSL50 is where it’s at for me now. So inspiring to gig with it. I just know I’m gonna crush when that amp is behind me on stage. Thanks so much for doing another JCM2000 vid!!! You were one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on my DSL50. Can’t thank you enough!

I gotta say that I love my DSL amp. It's really versatile. There's plenty of tonal changes to get from it, just by swapping an overdrive pedal. Thanks for the video Leon, cheers from Texas!

the JCM2000 DSL100 was the first Marshall I ever bought(I had always ben a fender/boogie guy). Now, 15 years and multiple amps later, I still absolutely love it.

This is one of my favorite Marshall's!! Truly a sleeper amp! Paid 600 last year on eBay after watching you and the Studio Rats show case it. It's the best money I have ever spent on a amp! After a JCM900 next. :) As always love the riffs and you channel!

I have the Marshall DSL20HR (post 2018 model), it's been my first tube amp (also thanks to LambChopper's videos that convinced me of ths little amp's potential) and I love it! I chose the head because of portability and also more flexibility of use with IRs, cabs and also loadboxes. It doesn't have the Lead 1/2 button nor the crunch switch but it has the Resonance control instead of the Deep switch so that's a bonus 🙂 I don't know if the 20 watt's Red Channel is closer to the Lead 1 or Lead 2 mode of the DSL100 & 40 but it sounds huuuge even with a 1x12. Pairs really well with an SD-1 and/or a Maxon OD808 and I also like to use the MXR EQs for sculpting the tone to my liking. The Red channel is metal in a bottle...crushing distortion even witout a boost, with a low-mid thump and a lot of thickness IMO, very good for thrash metal or death metal! I know it can't be compared with an amp like the 100 watt that has five times more power (other than more features) but from what I heard online the tone seems to be quite similar! Overall I'm very happy and being a younger player I never knew much about the controversial rep that the DSL seems to have hahahah! My 20 watt sounds great and its bigger brother (both the JCM2000 and the more recent DSL100HR) sounds killer too! If it's good for people like Gary Holt, George Lynch, Paul Gilbert and other world class players I guess it's good for us smaller players too! 😉

I have an old DSL 100 up in my attic. I should really dig it out and get it serviced. It used to scream with my 80s ProCo RAT hitting the front end, great combo for some real gnarly drive tones.

Awesome Tod I've had both the DSL 100 and 50 great amps

Love those classic rock chops and melodies. Excellent video!👍

Had a DSL40C for a while but stupidly sold it. I really need to pick up another one at some point, they are fantastic amps that cover a TON of ground.

A few things there, Gibson into Marshall was the oh yeah moment to my once very young ears, Killer !!! But you also took me back into being in Metal for Melbourne in 85 buying Ratt's invastion album, killer riffs. And also buying 1987 putting it on in my XC panel van while rehearsing in Fortitude Valley Brisbane, John Sykes one of my all time fav's thanks for the vid and memory trip And yep have had the JVM and JCM running as a pair ABY and your wright the pair up sounds killer, cheers Skip

I absolutely love my JVM, but hearing this I know that I would have been equally taken with a DSL if I had bought it. AC/DC tones are a total delight.

I bought a Marshall DSL40 Combo and it sounds great and has the perfect watts, I bought a 2017 white EVH 2 x 12 cabinet from my buddy that was a special anniversary Cab because it had the special anniversary high watt Limited Edition Celestion speakers in it and they will take all the gain that you can throw at it and stand strong like a rock. It’s a perfect combination. Not too awful heavy for one guy to take to a gig but it’s better if you have 2. The sound is a marriage made in heaven. That once in a lifetime DSL Marshall Sound with my brand new EVH Wolfgang Special Sangria . The guy that sold me that anniversary EVH 2 x 12 contact me a few months later asking me if I would sell it back to him. I told him no that this thing sounds fantastic and it’s indestructible and I play it all the time. I’ve got a 2018 Gibson Les Paul high performance and pink fade for sale and I’ll let it go below what they are goin for on reverb and eBay. It’s in great shape except for one blemish on the body. It hasn’t been played much.

We have such amp at our rehearsal base. Pretty versatile sounding amp, you can use it as high gain for heavy stuff, you can use it for hot overdriven stuff, cleans also sounding good. We play hard ock heavy metal stuff on it. Also Leon on video played some riffs which I personally used to play with it))) My verdict - amplifier at all times and almost all genres.

I love my JCM 2000 DSL 100! One wicked sounding amp! 😊👍

I've got a DSL, JVM 401 JS, JCM800 and JCM900 and love them all for their own things. JVM will always be my favourite but if I want tight modern gain I'd still choose the DSL

love the snarl, never owned one, but man love the boosted high gain tones and it does the jcm800 thing pretty well imho 🤘🏽

I love my DSL100. Its the HR, but it still kicks ass doing older and more modern stuff as well. I only wish tube amps had better clean modes. When I want a clean I want it clean and not struggling to be clean that it seems to do no matter then amp to my ears.

I had my DSL back in '97 when they came out and was my first big boy amp. To this day wish I still had it ! Caught wind that it may of been in storage but was not the case . Have a JVM410h now though! :)

For quite a few years, Gary Moore used the green channel on these with pedals and he got a great tone (of course, he could get a great tone out of anything). Kind of how he used the normal channel on his Soldanos back in the early 90s. But he was also known to run his amps pretty loud. That plays a big part in the tone and feel. Marshalls like to be cranked, even the more modern, higher gain models.

Man, that everything-at-1 tone around 11:15 was crrrrrrisp. I'm a fat strat guy (despite owning three of those Greco LPCs 😅) and it just felt right.

Had my 2000 DSL 50 for 4 years. I recently sold my Boss SD-1 for a Boss SD-1 Waza. Makes that DSL chunk out. More low end thump, than the standard SD-1. I see that guitarist Nuno Bettencourt uses 2000 DSL too. However I also love my SL-X too.

I've had my DSL50 since I bought it new in 2002...It's my home base amp in the room!

I've only played the head 100 watt at my cousins studio, but I used to have the 40 watt combo 1 x 12 and loved it.. Especially with an SD1.. It's perfect if you ask me.. Man, that Gibson Dirty fingers and that Greco are Thin Lizzy / Sykes heaven time! When I lived in Naples Fl back in 1984 ish I jammed with a guy that had one. I believe it was a Greco.. I had a Gibson LP Studio at the time and we thought we were the shit.. 😛.. We played a lot of Lynard Skynyrd, and southern Rock back then! It will teach you the pentatonic licks you need in your life! 😛 Great demo sir.. Great demo.. Can never do enough demo's of Marshall amps.. This makes me want a Friedman.. That said, I'd never buy one because for the same money I could buy an AxeFx or something.. :-) The feel might not be the same, but close enough! Thanks brother.. Great jamming as always on this channel. Love it.. Be safe and well my friend.. Tim

I bought a 40c at Sweetwater on clearance for 399.00 bucks a few years ago its all i need it is bad ass gotta set ip upright like any amp love it !

They are just like any Marshall. In 10 years everyone will want the one that’s out now. I had a JCM 900 back around 2005 and I talked myself into getting a JCM 800. Fast forward 20 years later and I really wish I had held on to both but I really miss the JCM 900. But I’ve got a JCM 2000 so I’m happy.

Used a DSL50 full stack since '98, w/stock 1960 cabinets (love those Celestion G12T-75's, I can't understand the hate). No distortion/OD pedals; I don't really care for the sounds of most of 'em, and the amp itself has all of that I'll ever need. Gain is maxed out on both red and green channels (eliminates problems w/the shared EQ, and I just ride the volume controls when I need to back off a little). Green channel volume (rhythm sound) is about 3.5 to 4, red channel volume (for leads) is about 4.5 to 5 -- LOUD! My EQ settings seem to be about the opposite of what most people select: mids are cranked full, treble is usually on about 3, presence and bass both at about 7. Rarely use the deep switch or mid-scoop switch. Main pedals I use are a T-Rex Shafter wah, Fulltone Dejavibe, and a Digitech Nautila chorus/flanger. It's never let me down, and it gets me where I need to be!

Use mine with an archer pushing the front and ev sro ceramic speakers sounds amazing has become my main amp

I got my JCM DSL 100 by pure beginner's luck. I was getting into guitar and wanted any tube Marshall head that I saw online. Had no idea what models meant what. Little did I know I was getting one of the best of all time. It MUST be paired with a quality cabinet, though. I was running it into an MG cab at first and was ready to return the amp lol.

Absolutely love the DSL! Still holds its own today

My DSL50 replaced my Splawn Quickrod because I liked the DSL more 😅 got the bias issue fixed and a full overhaul so it should be good for another 20 years in the studio and live

Have had a jcm 2000 50w head for a while. Green channel, crunch mode, boss sd1 and that's my sound. I'll never get rid of this amp. Nasty, aggressive as hell. Great clean channel too. Red channel isn't my jam, but it's good for playing at low volumes. Amazing amp. Never selling it.

I think it would be interesting to compare a Dual rectifier to the mid scooped setting of the DSL. Would you say it's a similar thing or is it totally different?

Funnily enough, I got my JCM2000 DSL 100 to replace a JVM 205H head that I just wasn't bonding with. Been using it ever since, and have even added a DSL 40CR to the family. (The 40CR is a unique and awesome amp all its own.)

Love that Amp... Great playing Leon Todd 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

Have a DSL20CR, upgraded the speaker to a Greenback. Love it. Pedal tips...EP Booster (good on both channels), Tubescreamer (same). Put a Boss DD8 and GE7 in the loop. Pump the 1k slider, a little extra volume on the GE7 and then switch them both on simultaneously using the switchable fx loop (why don't more amps have this?), for an instant solo boost. Thank me later.

Put an EQ boss ge-7 in the loop and do a reverse smiley and an od in the front. Tone for days with any Marshall.

Love the DSL 50! I had a JCM 800 2204 that I compared it to and eventually sold the 2204. The DSL got 95% of the way there with added features...Use it with the classic SD1 Level maxed Gain sub 9.

I miss my old DSL 100. It was a monster when I pummeled it with a tube screamer and an MXR 10 band EQ. Probably Marshall's most underrated amp. I never liked the JCM-900s, I could never get a good tone out of them (either the 4100 Hi-Gain Dual Reverb or 2100 SLX).

I fall in and out of love with my DSL100HR (on my second one), I always gravitate to the Vintage Modern 2466 LORD OF TONE 😎🤘(that desperately needs a retube! 😅) Once you’ve played the JVM JS head, the stock JVM sounds/feels a bit lacklustre 🤣, but the VM is the king.

Woohoo with the Greco and the boost...it almost sounds like a mesa Boogie level of chug!

I got in the dsl game a little too early. I got one around 2010, and it just did not sound that great without pedals. I don't know if they all weren't that great then or if I had one that was just off. Now, they seem to have got a bit more bite to them

Of course

I have a Tommy Folkesson modded (Europe etc) 100 watt and it is the best amp I have. I use a Malmsteen overdrive full vol no dist into a Fortin 33 and then it chugs even more brutal than a 6505+.

It would be cool to see you check out one of the newer versions of the dsl, having a full depth knob instead of just the switch was cool when i tried it

I’ve tried a ton of pedals to boost this (TS9, TS808, buxom boost, Duke of tone, Timmy, various rats, ds-1, SD-1w) and nothing beats the original SD-1 except… MXR CBA MOD. Granted it’s only a hair better but it is the best. Give it a go!

Always tempted by the DSL but never taken the plunge….. you’ve tempted me again though

I didn't have the money when this originally came out, but i just ordered one. Sounds like an underrated gem.

DSL fan checking-in. LOVE my Marshall DSL. Owned every brand of tube amp under the sun before finally buying a Marshall. For $600 American, it's actually inspired me to sell most of my other amps. Secret sauce: put a Diezel VH4 / Herbert pedal into the DSL effects loop return and basically got yourself a new amp. Love that green channel crunch too. I'll simply never sell my DSL.

sounds pofect bro

Yep, the DSL still hits the spot. Nice Les Paul you got there Mate. What model is it?

did you use a fortin grind ? sounded great !

Right up until I became a @madprofessor artist, this was my amp of choice, for 15 years of touring and albums

Of course it does. One of the best amps ever made.

I love my JCM 2000 DSL 50, but it still to powerful for playing in cabinet at home Do you play in real cab or reactive load + IR?

Aw man, DSL100 is a legendary amp. I preferred this to the TSL100 which I bought gr! Red channel, full gain, deep switch enabled, mid shift enabled, SD-1 in front, and a Boss NS-2. Either a 1960AV cab or the standard 1960. BOOM! The JVM is a good amp but the high gain channels are just WAYY too noisy.

Thanks for this. I own this head and always disliked the red channel. Your settings advice revealed why and I can go back and try to make it sound less muddy. I normally run green with a 5150 or BE-OD in front and it rocks the house.

An easy cheap mod is to get rid of the deep switch and put a pot in its place. Without the deep is too thin, with it in is a little too much. Any decent tech can get it done in 30 mins. Love your channel thanks 🤘🏻

The DSL does that AC/DC ever so good... The JVM gets close but just has a different feel to it. A back to back with the different versions of the DSL would be interesting. The clean on the older ones sounds better than the newer ones to me.

Bedroom eyes? Nice touch 👌

Does anyone know the name of this AC/DC song Todd is playing @ 1:10

Man you’ve gotta try out the JVM410HJS. It will blow your mind. Imagine a standard JVM with all the bugs and unstable gain ironed out. On another note. Do you happen to know what year Marshall fixed the bias drift issues in the DSL?

Had my JCM2000 since 2002, awesome most underrated amp ever and with Boss SD-1 in front it does metal.

FUNCKIN AWESOME!!!!

How have you found the reliability of your dsl? They are a bit notorious for faulty boards etc. despite sounding amazing

Glorious, as all Marshalls are, but does seem a little thin to my ears...but, hey, it's still a Marshall.

I like my DSL apart from the reverb which I’m not keen on .

wait whats that riff you're playing after lay it down ?

Would be sick if you did a collab with Euge for your band

Id like to see this and a Mesa badlander go head to head

To me, the amp sounds like a good miab pedal

So apparently Gary Moore Gigged these? I've watched a few of your shoot outs between a bunch of Marshalls and it really seems like you can basically get them all to do moreorless that classic Marshall tone....and the DSL is probably easiest to find cheap?

I own this amp but.......what do you mean with "deep switch"? Where has this amp such a switch? 🤔

Sounding a little thin on the clean channel.

It is such a workhorse.

Sorry! I'm on the "TSL 100 team" !! ... but I would like to try a nice DSL 100 !! ( ... and I have a weird JCM 600 - 60W Tube Head with the matching 4x10 Cab from 1996 - 1997 bought brand new, and I've never seen anybody make a review of that kind of "boosted Plexi like". Try to get one, I'm sure you would do it justice !!)

DSL is undeniable

I don't know anything about this amp at all. It sounds solid state.

DSL2000 is underrated.

Great sounding amp. But I think 15 seconds of clean sound for an album is 15 seconds too long...

Still not as good as jcm 900 mk3 2100

DSL's are cool, ive probably had about 3 or 4 throughout the years. Not really anything special about them. Theyre definately a bit fizzy, thin and quite honestly a bit generic sounding. They remind me of how Blackstar amps sound. I need an amp that has single notes that carry weight and hit like a sledgehammer. But I grew up with this amp, so it has a special place in my heart.

DSL is the okayest Marshall. Can't imagine why anybody would want one if 2203/2204 is an option, or even an 2205/2210.

Been using one for the last 8 years now, Paired with a Marshall MF280 cab it sounds huge.

Great amp! However, if Santa brought me a Wizard…

Not the best clean sound in the world?? A Marshall? Its the best clean sound ever.

Marshalls are shit. They have been irrelevant for 10-15 years unless heavily modded.

I have 2 DSL H heads i have had them for 7 years ,believe it or not but the MXR full bore metal pedal in to the clean channels is brutal people talk about the can of bees 😅but when i plug in my Alexi Lahio Greeny LTD it screams man it really does.😂🤘🎸🎛🥁🍻