JCM 2000 DSL-100 is a rippin amp no doubt about it.

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ritchie sambora was using DSL's years ago. Nile was using them when they were the kings in the 00s. its the biggest selling marshall for a reason
 
RaceU4her said:
ritchie sambora was using DSL's years ago. Nile was using them when they were the kings in the 00s. its the biggest selling marshall for a reason
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Sambora rig ...

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Niles, Karl Sanders

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Paul Gilbert ...
 
My first real rock amp. Went in for a TSL or dual Rec but the DSL JCM2000 just had the perfect sound and feel for what I dig. Other than Friedman’s it’s sent every other amp packing or sitting in the corner. Just need a 4x12, TS and maybe delay for leads and a guitar cord.
 
When I was an early teenager and had just been playing guitar for a couple years, I wandered into a music store. I had heard of Marshall but had only ever played solid state Peavey combos, you know, the normal beginner or "2nd amp" type amps.

I saw a JCM 2000 DSL 100 half stack sitting in the corner and the owner caught be looking at it like a deer in headlights, and asked me if I wanted to play it. I said "definitely" and he handed me a Les Paul Custom (another piece of gear that was orders of magnitude better than anything I'd played before) and told me to plug in. Not to be too dramatic but for me, this was the first time I'd stood in front of a pro-level high gain tube half stack and when the store owner cranked the volume knob and let me loose, it was almost a religious experience. I felt like I was controlling thunder and lighting for the first time. Especially for somebody like me who had never even been in the same room as gear like that before.

I told myself I'd eventually get one of these, and last year everything lined up and I finally grabbed one 20+ years after its release date, lol. It's a fantastic amp though. It's not the most expensive amp I own but it's incredible at what it does. It's also quite crisp and detailed for how high gain it is. There's a certain clarity and emphasis in the high mids that makes it leap out of mixes in the best way. It's such a solid workhorse of an amp.
 
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Love the DSL100. I prefer the crunch channel with a boost. I do prefer my plexi and jcm 800 style amps, but dang it is right there with them. Just s slightly different flavor. No reason not to have a DSL100 in the arsenal :)
 
TheGreatGreen said:
When I was an early teenager and had just been playing guitar for a couple years, I wandered into a music store. I had heard of Marshall but had only ever played solid state Peavey combos, you know, the normal beginner or "2nd amp" type amps.

I saw a JCM 2000 DSL 100 half stack sitting in the corner and the owner caught be looking like a deer in headlights, and asked me if I wanted to play it. I said "definitely" and he handed me a Les Paul Custom (another piece of gear that was orders of magnitude better than anything I'd played before) and told me to plug in. Not to be too dramatic but for me, this was the first time I'd stood in front of a pro-level high gain tube half stack and it was almost a religious experience, lol. Especially for somebody like me who had never even been in the same room as gear that good up until then.

I told myself I'd eventually get one of these, and last year everything lined up and I finally grabbed one 20+ years after its release date, lol. It's a fantastic amp though. It's not the most expensive amp I own but it's incredible at what it does. It's also quite up-front sounding and detailed for how high gain it is. There's a certain clarity and emphasis in the high mids that makes it leap out of mixes in the best way. It's such a solid workhorse of an amp.
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Yep i hear folks over the years try to "mod" a JCM/DSL but to my ears Marshall got the mid-voicing right the first time.
All the knobs are very responsive and its easy to dial in, the sign of a great amp.
 
I had a DSL 50 for awhile and kind of wished I kept it. It was nice being able to bias it with the points/adjustment easily accessible, great cleans and crunch on the green channel. Red 1 was good. I always found the amp a little tinny sounding on top that I couldn’t dial out though.
It’s one of those amps that can do most everything really good, even if it wasn’t the best at any of them.
I remember when I had it side by side with my JVM HJS that the green channel crunched way better than the JVM.
 
How do y’all eq it? I struggled for a while but finally came up with some weird settings that work.

I stay in the red channel in mode 1 with no deep switch. I’ll run the gain around 2:30. If im at home I’ll use the mid cut then max the mids. Treble usually around 11:00 and presence 9:00 or off with bass to taste depending on the cab.

If im with a band I’ll have to leave mid cut off and adjust so im not too scooped. I’ve said for years it would be perfect if I could use the mid cut but still dial in more with the knob. It’s weird but it just does something cool to the whole amp but is too scooped with other guitars and such…but great for recording.

I also like pulling 2 power tubes. Seems to sweeten it up just a bit.
 
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Presence : 4
Treble : 5
Mids : 5
Bass : 4
Lead 1, Volume 4 to 6, Gain : 6-ish, slam the front w/a modified TS-9 or similar with volume up/1/3rd gain.
Deep & Mid shift button both out.
I don't deviate far from these parameters.
 
first time i saw landau at the potato he was rocking one and it sounded great.
 
Marshall DSL .... not great, not terrible :cool:

Personally I like newer version much more for heavy music. Deep switch vs resonance knob makes quite a difference. I had one DSL modded with choke and Mercury magnetic iron and no miracle happened still average amp.
 
The original JCM2000 amps were very good amps. I don't care what Marshall says, the new DSL H does not sound the same.
 
bubucci said:
Marshall DSL .... not great, not terrible :cool:

Personally I like newer version much more for heavy music. Deep switch vs resonance knob makes quite a difference. I had one DSL modded with choke and Mercury magnetic iron and no miracle happened still average amp.
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I put a ClassicTone choke and oversized OT in a DSL 100H and it was so awesome. Made a huge difference. I was up to my neck in amps then and foolishly sold it. Well, I'm still up to my neck in amps, but I'd like to do that project again if I can snag another and the iron for reasonable prices.
 
SFW said:
The original JCM2000 amps were very good amps. I don't care what Marshall says, the new DSL H does not sound the same.
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90


Totally agree and the transformers are cheap af.
Marshall didn't move production to Vietnam til old man Jim passed.
And none of the heirs want to run the company.
End of an era.
Who woulda ever thought the biggest contribution to Rock guitar would have come from a drummer ?

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