Marshall DSL Question

D

Drew

Active member
I have a Marshall DSL50 that I use for a classic rock cover band. The green channel is fine for cleans and crunch rhythms. However, the red/lead channel in either mode sounds thin and lacks punch. A musician friend heard the band the other night and asked if the amp was solid state...

Another friend suggested just using a pedal on the green channel and forgetting the red channel. He suggested a J Rockett Archer Silver pedal. The pedals I've tried with the green channel (Hardwire Valve Distortion and Bad Monkey) made the gain sound too loose in the low end.

Anybody have any other suggestions on pedals for the green channel or ideas like mods or transformer upgrades to give the red channel more authority?
 
I'm not much help but a TS based pedal like the Bad Monkey should tighten the low end at least it has when I used it
 
I had the DSL 50 about 8 years ago, loved the green channel and with a boost in front of it, sounded great! I agree that the overdrive channels on it were very unimpressive imo. Never really used it.

BTW, the green channel with the yngwie overdrive and a strat, nails the tone to a "T" :rock:
Another amp I should've kept for sure. I always consider grabbing one again.
 
On the DSL 100, there's a simple and really popular mod that people do that I've read, thickens up the red channel. You can either remove or replace the C12 Cap. Most guys just clip/remove it. Some guys put one of a lower value in it's place. I'm not sure it's the C12 cap in the DSL50 though. Depending on the board revision in your amp, it could be something else like C17. Very simple mod that seems to be something a lot of people are happy with.

They say it makes the red channel more consistent with crunch on green.
 
dfrattaroli":3m7c9uwp said:
On the DSL 100, there's a simple and really popular mod that people do that I've read, thickens up the red channel. You can either remove or replace the C12 Cap. Most guys just clip/remove it. Some guys put one of a lower value in it's place. I'm not sure it's the C12 cap in the DSL50 though. Depending on the board revision in your amp, it could be something else like C17. Very simple mod that seems to be something a lot of people are happy with.

They say it makes the red channel more consistent with crunch on green.
Click to expand...

Just got a DSL 50 10 days ago and did this mod the next day. It is C12. Be sure to do the speaker jack mod too. Takes one minute when you're already in there.

Clipping C12 did take away some of the glassy highs, but I don't think I've noticed anything else. I'm still trying to dial mine in. I have a Joyo knockoff TS and, for boosts, turn the drive and tone all the way down and level all the way up.

I know a guy who had our local amp tech (Lowell Hunt) add a footswitch-activated boost option for the green channel on his DSL. I'm not ready to give up on the red channel yet. I just think I need to get it dialed in better.
 
Rick Lee":39686zkc said:
dfrattaroli":39686zkc said:
On the DSL 100, there's a simple and really popular mod that people do that I've read, thickens up the red channel. You can either remove or replace the C12 Cap. Most guys just clip/remove it. Some guys put one of a lower value in it's place. I'm not sure it's the C12 cap in the DSL50 though. Depending on the board revision in your amp, it could be something else like C17. Very simple mod that seems to be something a lot of people are happy with.

They say it makes the red channel more consistent with crunch on green.
Click to expand...

Just got a DSL 50 10 days ago and did this mod the next day. It is C12. Be sure to do the speaker jack mod too. Takes one minute when you're already in there.

Clipping C12 did take away some of the glassy highs, but I don't think I've noticed anything else. I'm still trying to dial mine in. I have a Joyo knockoff TS and, for boosts, turn the drive and tone all the way down and level all the way up.

I know a guy who had our local amp tech (Lowell Hunt) add a footswitch-activated boost option for the green channel on his DSL. I'm not ready to give up on the red channel yet. I just think I need to get it dialed in better.
Click to expand...

What is the speaker jack mod?
 
Check the bias. Those amps were biased way to hot most of the time. I'd go around 32mv per side. Also when using lead 1 keep the presence and treble around 3. Any higher and its pretty spikey. You can get lead 1 to sound just as good as the crunch with a boost pedal if you set it up right. You are still limited by the shared EQ section tho.
 
+100 on the bias. A friend has a DSL100, late 90s version and he brought it over and the bias was around 50ma..dropped down to 35 and it sounded much better. He uses an SD1 on the green for his dirt. Sounds very close to a JCM 800. Skips the red altogether.
 
Racerxrated":39cbdfdr said:
+100 on the bias. A friend has a DSL100, late 90s version and he brought it over and the bias was around 50ma..dropped down to 35 and it sounded much better. He uses an SD1 on the green for his dirt. Sounds very close to a JCM 800. Skips the red altogether.
Click to expand...

I have the bias at 38. I'll try 32.
 
I just checked mine and it was 43.7mV. I took it down to 36 and it does sound a little better. I have new Shuguang tubes coming the mail soon.
 
JJ e34l's or 6CA7's for tubes....

Preamp tubes will also make a difference in these amps. Make sure to roll tubes and experiment.

Best tone from that amp is green channel in crunch mode with a Tubescreamer.

I had my DSL100 sounding pretty good at one point, but ended up trading it. It just couldn't my hang with my BE 100 or Helios at the time.
 
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