THIS AMP IS BROKEN...But I STILL Love It! (20 watt Marshall Dual Super Lead) 

the marshall dsl 100hr head is still just @ 790€ here in germany, its the most affordable and one of the "best" sounding amps that marshall ever build so far imo! just imagine i got two of these heads for just 450€ b-stock in 2019 before post apocalyptic corono price mayhem happened. i prefere this over my marshall jvm410 and its half the price, mindblowing! 👌🎸

I love mine so much, it's the one amp I always come back to, sounds terrific! Bought mine used and have a confirmed 2000+ hours on it and the tubes still sound new. Works flawlessly, killer marshall tone.

That tone sounds better than alot of your demos awsome you should demo more guitars on that sound much more feel on off it i agree dont get rid of the amp !!!!!

I bought a new one this year, along with a Kramer Nightswan, and believe it or not, have not even tried the effects loop. Using the classic gain channel at full gain allows me to run any delay or effects, without distorting them into unpleasantness, right into the front end! I use an sd1 for a clean boost, and a proco rat for extra gain. It sounds amazing, and rivals the ultra gain channel in every possible way, all while keeping that guitar cord pile of spaghetti to a minimum.

The DSL20 was a phenomenal amp for 500 or less sometimes. The DSL20 is a good amp for 800 dollars I guess but there’s many options at that 800 dollar price point. Back when they were around 500 they were hands down the best high gain tube amp for your buck .

Max I had a DSL40C years ago. Wonderful sounding amp especially with the right speaker. I had headaches with it too. Sometimes it would just randomly stop making sound. It would still be on, and the tubes were lit up, but no sound. Then I'd turn it off, turn it back on, and it was fine. I never did find out what was wrong with it. Ended up trading it for a Katana. And I'll be honest, I love that Katana

I had the joy of touring in the Midwest in the early 70s with a hand wired 100 watt Marshall head with eight greenbacks. That has been my holy grail ever since. It was almost like biamping with one amp sounding surf guitar like, clean and beautiful with the other amp producing the Marshall roar. I've purchased Marshall amps since that promised Plexi handwired tone but they don't really have it.

I LOVE my DSL20 combo, which I bought a few years back when the price was a no-brainer (~$450). Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the emulated output though. I used it live for a couple of years and didn't notice a problem with the gain knob & effects loop. So, if you're looking for that great Marshall metal tone at a 'reasonable' wattage (it even has a switch to toggle between 10 watts and 20 watts), then I highly recommend the DSL20.

@Guitar MAX Thank you for explaining how the gain pot affects the volume of the loop AND the emulated out. Nobody mentioned this linkage before in any review - only that the emulated out is kind of bad and the loop behaves strange. Now I know why! - And thank you for your review as well. It is a great amp (but I will stick with my Laney :-)).

My first call would be to Lyle at Psionic Audio. He is a Master Amp Tech. Then again, you probably already know him.

Got the 1watt head myself, love it.

I bought this amp and a small cabinet a couple of years ago. I got it just to use as a practice amp but it is good enough to use as a main amp. I was pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds.

I still like the MArshall Origin 50 more than any other marshall amp...crazy! So clean and nice!

Since you seem to really like the amp, I'd get the FX loop fixed. The emulated out likely isn't very good to begin with as they usually aren't and you're better off going with a good IR if you're trying to record. but the FX loop is more necessary, I'd get it fixed and not worry about recouping the cost if you sell it. You're right, you won't get that money back but it's better to have it do what you need

Love your videos. I’ve got a backorder at Sweetwater for the DSL100HR, then I saw this. I have 2 4x12 Marshall MX412 cabs waiting for a new tube amp head. Still wanting this one but the 100 is tried and true

That's a cool amp! I think it's worth fixing.

Proud owner of a DSL1hr. Looks so cute on the 4x12. Limited to 16ohm. Got it at intro price, seems price went up 100-200.

Man I'm not into teles at all, but those Eart guitars seems to be really cool! Marshall is awesome! Love the classic Marshall JCM 800 2003 tone!

Max, your channel is great and informative! Thank you!❤️👍

I think the tone is perfect. I've looked at several DSL 40 and 20 watt combos. Never pulled the trigger.

I have a DSL 1 watt head and since day one the channel switch is noisy but... still love the amp!

I put a creamback in my dsl20cr and sounds terrific. Used live several times. No fx pedals. I carry a boost and a ts clone if I need to cut in the mix. With my charvel so cal japan with low output di marzio 36th is perfect

The effects loop in my Peavey Classic 30 is busted as well... great video, Max!

I loved my Marshall DSL 50 and I started using them after years of using jcm800's. I personally never had any issues with the DSL 50's they were great amplifiers.

Got mine 2 years ago as a b-stock for around $480 after tax and shipping. Its a 2022 model. No problems at all. Sounds good through a Mesa horizontal 2x12 with a mxr 10 band EQ in the FX loop. Doesn't need a boost pedal in the front, imo. They're sweet amps. ✌️

Owned a DSL20HR last year and sold it after just a couple of months. So much top end that i basically had to turn treble and presence all the way down, and even then it was still too harsh. Also, not usable at home because it has NO master volume. The Channel Volumes are different, you have to turn them up so that they fill out the tone, and at that point it´s way too loud for practice, even in low watt mode.

This amp is awesome, i bought one a couple of years ago when they were cheap. The emulated out is pants anyway, i use a torpedo captor.

I don’t think i have that problem, effect loop works very fine. Great amp.

I have one and I love it! Don’t use emulation out but I use fx loop for my noise gate and loop station. I love this amp so far I have found nothing wrong with it. I bought it a few years back when it was $599 and then sweetwater gave me a $90 discount promotional. It’s brilliant amp. I have a 1x12 cab with vintage V30s speaker and I also have a 2x12 that has same speakers.

Max, I just picked up a new example of the DSL20HR and can report no issues at all. My example was purchased 12/23 from MF. I'm thinking you just got a bad toss of the dice brother. I can report a metric s**t ton of good tone though. The DSL20HR is a little on the bright side, but it's got that DSL sound in spades.

When eddie was building his Frankenstein guitar. He took the humbucker out of a gibson. And nailed it into his guitar. The hammer hit the corner of the pickup and cracked it. One night he was playing and his low E string got stuck under the pickup. He pulled it free and broke a small piece of plastic from the pickup. He said it changed the sond, but he liked it. When peavey was building his first Frankenstein strat replica, the guy said we're going to have to build a broken new humbucker to reproduce the sound.

That amp is awesome! You should send it to be fixed! Cheers from Portugal 🤘🍺🇵🇹

So wait a minute! If I put my Boss Chorus pedal in the FX Loop, the gain control gets messed up and start controlling the effects mix?

I had to sell my Marshall Stack to get out of jail many years ago.... I insist along with it ,went my creative inspiration. As I have never afforded to replace it...😎 Maybe some day..

Okay, I had to come back and admit that I growled aloud twice while listening to your demo. That baby sounded so good that I'm going to look in my new Donner Arena 2000 signal chain replacer and see if there's a DSL emulation on board. Got ideas!

Man, I use York Audio IR in send output and sounds amazing. Nice video btw

If it's a blatant manufacturing error Marshall are obbliged to fix it even out of warranty. Hoping they respect their customers. Your efforts are always appreciated nonetheless, good work.

Still haven't found anything that beats my boss katana head for tone, reliability and versatility

That’s a salty lamp you got there! 😂😂😂 Love it!

Love the tone , may have to look into getting one

I would be happy just as it is!

I have the same amp i have no issues with mine ive had it about 1yr now i also have the 6505mh its about the same as the marshall sound wise my little marshall 20 watt is pretty loud and sounds great but no i dont have any problems with mine ,if you bought it new it seems like they would repair under warranty though but im sure you tried that anyway i would just use it as is it sounds pretty good, great video take care god bless

My dsl 40 shorted a tube. Cost me damn near $300 to have it repaired. OnLy works on High output . Doesn’t work on 20 watt. Still sounds pretty damn good though.

This sounds like there is probably a switch block inside the amplifier to set it to work a certain way. I think if you open it up it can be set differently.

My DSL50 is screwed.. It sounds amazing! I went in to try the DSL40CR but the master volume button thingy bothered me.. it remains in the shop.

Try some Deoxit in the jacks of the effects loop. I have the big brother of this smaller amp you have the DSL100HR. These amps are picky! Also give them cool down time about every hour for about 20 minutes. But they do rock! I love my 100 and It's loaded with pedals and works great. When its working great. haha! Thats the nature of amps and electronics, isnt it. But to me the recording EO sucks! I really never met an amp that sounds good recording that way. I also had to send my head in after a few years because the chip on the board fried for the footswitch and it kept switching into high gain when going to green clean channel. Cost me about 8 months to get the part from Poland because they is the ONLY Place who now sells parts for these amps. It was $300.00US to get mine fixed and also he changed nearly everything in it as far as capacitors. I bought mine used for $500US and got 2 1/2 years before it failed. SO I am into the amp for $800 now plus now new tubes for another $300US for a total of $1,100US. The 100 watt now runs about $1,300US. So....🤔🤔

Max, try contacting Marshall customer support. You might be able to send it in for an update for the cost of shipping, especially if there's a known design/build defect.

The only marshall I've ever played through is a JCM 2000 my dad had....I hated it. Is this better? Alot of my hero s play marshall but that JCM made me say no way.

Probably an easy fix , get it sorted particularly if it’s still under warranty ?

I would reach out to one of the amp techs on You Tube like Psionic Audio and ask him about a repair. It may be a simple fix.

I’ve had one for over a year, never noticed the gain setting messing with the effect loop level. Never used the emulated so can’t speak to that. Maybe mine is a newer version post the production fix.

That really sucks Maxx! I do have a DSL 100H. I got it from Sweetwater, It was a return for $800! I had heard there was a couple different problems early on like you said. Don't know if that was the problem with all the models but that really does suck for you. I have used mine for a while now. I run a stereo set up in my band. I have the Marshall paired with a 6505+. They sound really good together I have the speakers mix-matched with v30s and g1275s. They are really good sounding amps and they're fairly inexpensive. I run an EQ in the loop a little MXR 6 band. But yes the Marshall is fantastic paired with the PV amp you get a KICK ASS HIGH GAIN TONE. Since I run 2 big amps I don't have to turn them up very loud. The Marshall is on about 4. The Peavey on 2 1/2😊. Great video great channel 🤘👍

I bought mine in Feb of 2020 for around $500 new. I have never used the FX loop or the output so I don't know if mine has that issue. But sure sounds good and is loud for 20 watts too.

I have the exact same eart very cool 😎

I have the same amp you do and my, and I don't have this problems. I have a sliver jubilee. My are newer.

Thinking of buying one. Will there be an issue running a boss dd3 in the loop ?

Maybe reach out to D lab on the tube. He specializes in tube amps, repair. If you decide to try it yourself be careful of the capacitors. Even with the unit off and unplugged, they will store a charge, and must be discharged!!! Anyways I hope this helps. Rock on.👍👍✌️

Dude, did you buy my old amp? I had the same issue and sold it (because I bought it used for $350 on eBay in 2019). Your ping-pong stereo delay sounds killer!

It has an assload of gain on tap and it sounds better than the older DSL 40's however the clean sounds a little small to me.

I tried the DSL1 head and...meh. It had way too much bass through my 1x12 v30 cab. Sounded muddy and flabby. Putting an overdrive infront didnt help much. Maybe if I could crank it it would sound better but at normal bedroom volumes I didnt like it

Where is the link to the lamp?

I'm not sure about the dsl but with the origin you need a footswitch for the effects loop

I’m an Orange guy but I still need a Marshall. Leaning towards the Origin right now but I wouldn’t mind a DSL.

I don’t have this problem on mine, bought in 2021.

Marshal probably hoped only people like me would buy it. I keep my effects out front and have no use for the cabinet out switch it sometimes offers 😂.

I'm sure you could figure out how to fix/rewire that amp if you got the schematic. Probably wouldn't even need any supplies except wire, solder and iron. Not an amp tech, but it sounds like they just wired it incorrectly. It's most likely a very easy fix.

I have a couple of "nroken" amps that for one reason or another are still "keepers"

Is the 100 watt DSL hr amp the same way or messed up like this one?

Marshall- awesome tone. Doesn't last in working order for long, if it is in working order at all. How could yours have left the factory like that? Another channel has a DSL 1 watt that lasted less than a year. Poor value, but great sound. Get a Monoprice Stage Right and put a NUX horseman in front of it. Instant, and cheap Marshall. There. All fixed!

This is what I tell myself when I mod guitars: You only lose money IF YOU SELL IT!

Hey Max don't you know any electronic geniuses that could take a look at that for you?🎸👾

I’m kicking myself for not buying that amp for 400 new a few years ago.

Where no MAN has gone before. Say it right!!!!

My ears are bleeding, just looking at it. It would sound good mixed with a Diezel vh mini.

Yeah lol. Relatable it's bad. But still so good I can't part with it. Kinda just just sounds like thy are shorting into each other

its 400 euro in thomann idk why you say its 800

Nice

Just sucks cause it's one of those things if you start tacking it apart might never get finished or work again

BIT of a disappointment with the loop not working properly, em out, not a biggy really. Still it works FINE as a recording amp! You can ADD rev & delay etc ON the track, instead of recording it WITH it from the amp! You DIDN'T state if the built in reverb had a problem or not!

There might be a free fix for your amp's issue on shown by someone on RU-vid

It's not as bad as you think though. Just very time consuming

2nd.

Dude, don't sell it -- FIX IT!

Sounds like a cool amp.? If it worked like it is supposed to.. (but it doesn't) Don't work right? !. Fix it? 2. Sell it.? 3. Junk it.? Frustrating? Why keep it? For "Tone"? C'mon? (ya know the speaker makes the sound/tone.. right?)

$800 new??? For a couple hundred more you can get a used but mint friedman runt 20 which is an actually good amp for that kind of money.

Ah . . . if only everything that was broken could work so well.