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harddriver
Well-known member
I know the DSL had ribbon cable connectors and some circuit board issues but what about the TSL amp?
Did the Marshall TSL100 amps suffer from the same reliability issues that the DSL100 amps did?
japetus
Moderator
I can't speak to reliability, but the TSL60 and 100 sound like absolute dogshit. I would rather play a lot of Marshall solid state AVT/Mode 4 style amps over that amp, and I am not kidding.
SpiderWars
Well-known member
Yeah the DSLs sound good but the TSLs are very cardboardy for lack of a better term. I had a TSL before they fixed the DSL bias drift issue and I had no issues with it but I still can't say for sure they didn't have issues. The DSL bias drift sometimes took a long time running to become a real issue (tubes might redplate for quite a while) and my TSL didn't sound good enough to ever leave it on that long.
Greazygeo
Well-known member
The early ones need the boards replaced due to the bias issue. Our singer has one that I use at practice. Its ok.
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
I had a TSL 100 from 1999 . If you keep it biased it sounds great . The bias just constantly slips . I’m not saying it’s best Marshall or anything but it’s like a Rectifier. Once I put the boost on it when it’s biased right it slams. I’m selling a new mint JVM410 because I feel more into my TSL .
Bad.Seed
Well-known member
From everything I've been told by people much more knowledgable than me, they had the same bias drift issues. I believe they don't suffer from the ohm switch issue because it had separate speaker jacks for each ohm rating, but I could be remembering incorrectly.
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Deftly the bias problem. It’s pretty bad but when amp is pretty killer when biased in .
JTyson
Well-known member
They did indeed have the same drift issues, and the TSL's IMO were the worst sounding Marshalls ever built. Im not sure why the DSL's sounded better but they did. I had 2 of the TSL's and could not get rid of them fast enough. The first was bad enough that I thought "they can't all be this bad" but after 2, I moved on. I tried retube/biasing but got minimal results. As soon as I compared them to my Plexi's, 800's, JVM's, or 2550's it was over..
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turboblues
Active member
My '98 TSL100 sounded very good. In my opinion, it sounded better than my JVM 410 h. It had the bias drift but a tech in my neighborhood fixed that permanently without replacing the board. He's very good, he worked on all my amps and did all the mods on my old 1959 SLP. Last month I gigged with my Friedman and the sound man who's very familiar with us said that my old TSL sounded better for our music and in the band mix.
To be honest, I had other technical issues with the TSL, it's certainly not very reliable. I always had a second TSL100 with me to the gigs. I've had 3 TSL's over the years, not all at the same time.. But the oldest sounded the best even though they all had the same tubes. I sold them together with the JVM to finance a Friedman BE100 Deluxe but I miss that amp. I still have a ENGL Blackmore, the Friedman and my modded 1959 but for old hard rock that TSL100 punched so hard at loud levels on the crunch channel. My modded 1959 comes close but not the same.. I was hoping that the JVM 410 would be a 4 channel TSL but all the modes are voiced the same in my opinion, with just more or less gain and extremely much hiss on these OD channels. .
The channels in the TSL are very different voiced and that makes it very versatile. I am sure I'll end up with a fourth TSL100 at one time.
To be honest, I had other technical issues with the TSL, it's certainly not very reliable. I always had a second TSL100 with me to the gigs. I've had 3 TSL's over the years, not all at the same time.. But the oldest sounded the best even though they all had the same tubes. I sold them together with the JVM to finance a Friedman BE100 Deluxe but I miss that amp. I still have a ENGL Blackmore, the Friedman and my modded 1959 but for old hard rock that TSL100 punched so hard at loud levels on the crunch channel. My modded 1959 comes close but not the same.. I was hoping that the JVM 410 would be a 4 channel TSL but all the modes are voiced the same in my opinion, with just more or less gain and extremely much hiss on these OD channels. .
The channels in the TSL are very different voiced and that makes it very versatile. I am sure I'll end up with a fourth TSL100 at one time.
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turboblues
Active member
I like to add that I certainly don't agree with all the people that state that it's the worst sounding Marshall amp. The worst sounding Marshall amp that I owned was the 900 SL-X (although my friend his Dual Reverb was even worse). A guy came over to my house to buy that SL-X and also tried my spare TSL and ended up buying that one. He couldn't believe that the TSL sounded so good. He always heard on the internet that it was bad sounding and that the SL-X was the one to get.
japetus
Moderator
Different strokes, I suppose. I have an SLX and it absolutely destroyed the TSL60 we were recording with in terms of clarity and punch. The TSL100 sounded a little better, but still really bad to me. But I have heard people make amps I hated sound good, so you never know.
Greazygeo
Well-known member
They used the wrong components in the first revisions for the bias circuit. It causes one pair of the output tubes to lose the bias and redplate. They sell an updated pcb that once installed takes care of that issue.
Just had two of them come thru the shop with this issue.
napalmdeath
Well-known member
I had a TSL60, and felt the same. I actually bought it new. First, the well-known footswitch issue.. Junk. Failed almost immediately. Second, it sounded like shit. I returned it.
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
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turboblues
Active member
I didn't like the TSL 60, on that we can agree.. ?
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harddriver
Well-known member
I've heard all the negative things about the DSL and TSL's over the years I've never actually played either. I've heard some great tones out of the DSL but I was a bit surprised when I came across these vids of the TSL. I was expecting really shitty tones due to my preconceived notions about the TSL.
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