Marshall DSL100HR

[Briman24]

i have the 100H, i got it at the start of the lockdown along with a bunch of other gear and never really spent much time with it, one of these rainy days ill have to go through my guitars/boosts/cabs. i know i was disappointed in the green channel boosted which i heard so much about.

Boosted green chanel is on the jcm2000 not the newer dsl

 

[RaceU4her]

Boosted green chanel is on the jcm2000 not the newer dsl

I didn’t know that. I thought the H was close to the 2000 where the HR is a little different and more modern or something

 

[Briman24]

I didn’t know that. I thought the H was close to the 2000 where the HR is a little different and more modern or something

The jcm2000 sound best when boosting the green channel on crunch mode (button in). The newer dsl's green (clean) chanels are not as good.

 

[glpg80]

I had the head, my buddy had the combo. We both shit-canned the amp after a few months. Nothing really wrong with it but I didn't like any channel.
The Green clean channel, IMO was anemic. It took pedals like shit. Yes, they worked well enough thru the channel, but there was no tone. Anemic.
The Red "crunch" mode also sucked. With a Strat there is no decent available gain.
The lead channel......there was something in the distortion/ tone that wasn't for me. I love Marshalls. I've owned nearly everything they put out, including the JVM, the Satriani JVM, Vintage Modern, YJM100, on and on.
The DSL is cheap and IMO it sounds cheap. I don't miss it. IMO, good amp for a young kid because it's affordable. For me? A POS.

Damn right dude, killer playing.

I feel the same way. The amp is a great amp don’t get me wrong, but it’s not in the same league as some amps mentioned here already.

BUT I will say with some choice resistor, capacitor, and transformer upgrades, can be made to sound much better. I’m not talking only values, just types.

Stock I’d never run a DSL100HR, but slightly modded I could see keeping one around. I did the same thing to my 5150 II and it hangs around.

 

[DanTravis62]

i have the 100H, i got it at the start of the lockdown along with a bunch of other gear and never really spent much time with it, one of these rainy days ill have to go through my guitars/boosts/cabs. i know i was disappointed in the green channel boosted which i heard so much about.

Briman beat me to it, but the "boosting the crunch channel" thing is only really works with the 2000 series as far as I know.

IMO it works best with a decent Klone or TC pre clone.

2000s were very common as backline for years and years, and this was a lifesaving hack to get a gain sound that wasn't super fizzy - for me and lots of other gigging players.

 

[Samhain]

EVH's DSL was stock/no mods.

 

[John 14:6]

I couldn't disagree stronger lol.
Beck & Moore used the UK Bletchley made JCM-2000 DSL's
Couldn't tell you what Beck uses now but he gets his money for nothing and his chicks for free.

Beck used the new stock DSL100 HR on tour a few years ago. Still sounds like a DSL to me.

 

[John 14:6]

Well John...do you play to your own head?
Or in a legit live band mix?
That's the tail of the tape.
If I'm super picky about whatever, how's the music you created?
Not pieces mashed together blah, that's
why music sucks now, no blood sweat and
grinded gears..just sit there all perfect with the
perfect tone & tubes and create!!!
Anybody want to go all in?
Message me, let's f'n go man.
I'm ready, I'll sleep on downtown benches till the sun rises.. to go grind it out.
I have a lot to lose but I don't care anymore.
Computer's can't create human chemistry
amongst musician's.

My main amp is a Friedman Small Box and I do play live. The DSL is a great backup and most players do not want to and will never spend thousands of dollars on an amp. People say nice things about the tone when I do use it.

 

[John 14:6]

I had the head, my buddy had the combo. We both shit-canned the amp after a few months. Nothing really wrong with it but I didn't like any channel.
The Green clean channel, IMO was anemic. It took pedals like shit. Yes, they worked well enough thru the channel, but there was no tone. Anemic.
The Red "crunch" mode also sucked. With a Strat there is no decent available gain.
The lead channel......there was something in the distortion/ tone that wasn't for me. I love Marshalls. I've owned nearly everything they put out, including the JVM, the Satriani JVM, Vintage Modern, YJM100, on and on.
The DSL is cheap and IMO it sounds cheap. I don't miss it. IMO, good amp for a young kid because it's affordable. For me? A POS.

I have owned a Marshall JVM, original Jubilee, YJM100 and other Marshall amps. The new DSL is not my Friedman, but sounds like a Marshall to my ears. Even more so than the JVM did.

 

[Samhain]

Ive tried an AT7 in the PI> couldn't pull it out fast enough, tried the dirt side of the green channel w & w/o a boost, not my thing.
Lead 1 with master & preamp both at noon, slam it w/a overdrive thats where i live.
bass boost & mid shift both out of the circuit.

 

[CarlF]

I have owned a Marshall JVM, original Jubilee, YJM100 and other Marshall amps. The new DSL is not my Friedman, but sounds like a Marshall to my ears. Even more so than the JVM did.

Yes, it's definitely Marshall sounding. The JVM had this trebly, stringy quality on the notes, nomatter how much gain you used on the lead channels. Harmonics would fly off the guitar. I actually miss that Marshall 4x12 more than the head.

 

[RaceU4her]

Briman beat me to it, but the "boosting the crunch channel" thing is only really works with the 2000 series as far as I know.

IMO it works best with a decent Klone or TC pre clone.

2000s were very common as backline for years and years, and this was a lifesaving hack to get a gain sound that wasn't super fizzy - for me and lots of other gigging players.

i have a 12at to put in v1 which i think is supposed to tame fizz

 

[DanTravis62]

i have a 12at to put in v1 which i think is supposed to tame fizz

That could very well work (along with nother lower gain tube like an au7 or something) but it wasn't exactly feasible back in the day when they were backlines for gigs

 

[John 14:6]

EVH's DSL was stock/no mods.

Same with his Fender Strat.....no mods at all.

 

[glpg80]

That could very well work (along with nother lower gain tube like an au7 or something) but it wasn't exactly feasible back in the day when they were backlines for gigs

You mean you didn’t carry a drill and a soldering iron, flip the chassis, and start modding the backline’s Marshall just before the gig?

 

[DanTravis62]

You mean you didn’t carry a drill and a soldering iron, flip the chassis, and start modding the backline’s Marshall just before the gig?

I know, right? What kind of gear nerd am *I*?!

Because if I can't bring my own gear, obviously I'm going to have the space in a carry on for modding tools!

 

[Dino 939]

I have owned a Marshall JVM, original Jubilee, YJM100 and other Marshall amps. The new DSL is not my Friedman, but sounds like a Marshall to my ears. Even more so than the JVM did.

The YJM100 is a DOPE amp.
Killer EL34 cleans and holds together super good
at high volumes.
I prefer the JVM with both power/output Mercury's and choke, bias it proper with
big bottle 6ca7's and chinese preamp tubes,
I call those rice tubes btw.
My typical deranged comment really meant:
Playing to an amplifier at home is vastly different then using the amplifier live.
Y'all want some reality?
The Larry Dino, besides being uber expensive..
was too modern for a lot of stuff.
That punch is certainly otherworldly but gets
old and it's German high gain which really has
a sound and vibe that many normal Marshall guys don't jive with, especially after their ears seat.
My favorite sounds from Larry are the Rock Wizard clean channel, the overdrive is not at all a Dino and fat/loose and the Dino regular british
gain channel, not the Schaeffer high gain.
I mean no disrespect but the way amps sound/perform at home and full on live can be quite different.
Live, F-it, gimme that nasty Peavey thing but at home..let the nit picky'ness begin, which is absolute bonkers.
But I totally get it....200k in gear later.

 

[DanTravis62]

Y'all want some reality?
The Larry Dino, besides being uber expensive..
was too modern for a lot of stuff.
That punch is certainly otherworldly but gets
old and it's German high gain which really has
a sound and vibe that many normal Marshall guys don't jive with, especially after their ears seat.

I am totally a Larry super fan, and try and get this point across to a lot of people who express interest in them - it's not like a normal Marshall, and isn't for everyone.

The higher gain Larry sounds are just spectacularly perfect for me as a player, both sound and how it feels.

It of course isn't going to be the be-all, end-all for everyone - but if you're like me, it will be

 

[John 14:6]

The YJM100 is a DOPE amp.
Killer EL34 cleans and holds together super good
at high volumes.
I prefer the JVM with both power/output Mercury's and choke, bias it proper with
big bottle 6ca7's and chinese preamp tubes,
I call those rice tubes btw.
My typical deranged comment really meant:
Playing to an amplifier at home is vastly different then using the amplifier live.
Y'all want some reality?
The Larry Dino, besides being uber expensive..
was too modern for a lot of stuff.
That punch is certainly otherworldly but gets
old and it's German high gain which really has
a sound and vibe that many normal Marshall guys don't jive with, especially after their ears seat.
My favorite sounds from Larry are the Rock Wizard clean channel, the overdrive is not at all a Dino and fat/loose and the Dino regular british
gain channel, not the Schaeffer high gain.
I mean no disrespect but the way amps sound/perform at home and full on live can be quite different.
Live, F-it, gimme that nasty Peavey thing but at home..let the nit picky'ness begin, which is absolute bonkers.
But I totally get it....200k in gear later.

I modified my JVM with a Mercury choke also. The JVM Forum used to have a lot of cool mod info.

 

[Deleted member 27494]

I guess it's just one of those amps that you either love or hate. It has a certain thickness to the overall tone and more gain than something your typical JCM 800. The JVMs on the other hand are very tight on the high gain tones. I love Marshall amps that have high gain options so they both work well for me but they are so different sounding. It would be great if the JVM had a DSL mode...