NAD Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100

[AmpliFIRE]

What a badass amp this is. I had a modded one a while ago and thought it was just ok (some amps just don't need to be modded to sound good IMO). This is an all stock original JCM 2000 DSL 100 (NOT the POS H version). Nice cleans and so many classic low/mid/high gain Marshall tones. FX loop works great and takes pedals like a champ. Seriously...why are these things so cheap? I've had MANY boutique Marshall-type amps, and this one hangs with pretty much all of them.

 

[atrox]

I love these amps. FWIW, the new version is in no way a POS. To me, they sound exactly the same. That said, i had a JCM2000 DSL100 for years and it was a great amp. Considering another one to use for a backup/second project amp.

 

[squank]

I've owned 2 DSLs - a 50w head and a 100w head, and the dirt on both sounded like angry bees. I've heard there are good ones out there, but I've never played one. Congrats on getting great tone out of a stock amp. That's always a cool find.

 

[Mailman1971]

I had one and thought it sounded great!
But I never went to the 'heavy' channel or the lead one. I stayed in that rock channel and cranked the gain. It blasted thru full band with ease.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I love these amps. FWIW, the new version is in no way a POS. To me, they sound exactly the same. That said, i had a JCM2000 DSL100 for years and it was a great amp. Considering another one to use for a backup/second project amp.

The H's I've tried didn't stack up to the original version...

 

[Mailman1971]

Never tried the H version either. Mine was the original version.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I've owned 2 DSLs - a 50w head and a 100w head, and the dirt on both sounded like angry bees. I've heard there are good ones out there, but I've never played one. Congrats on getting great tone out of a stock amp. That's always a cool find.

They do need a little volume to come alive (need to get past the Phase Inverter).

 

[AmpliFIRE]

I had one and thought it sounded great!
But I never went to the 'heavy' channel or the lead one. I stayed in that rock channel and cranked the gain. It blasted thru full band with ease.

Oh yeah...it definitely cuts like a knife.

I like the vintage channel with the gain on 6-7 and then kick in a TS to push it over the top. On the Ultra channel, I like the lower gain setting with the knob at 4. It sounds nice and thick with just enough power. Add a TS and it tightens up palm mutes and just sings for leads...

 

[Chester Nimitz]

Workhorse of the music industry for the last 15+ years.

Prolly the finest amp Marshall has made in the last 20 years.

I see them for $400 to $600 all the time.

 

[megaboogie]

^True that.

One of the easiest amps to work with in a band setting. It just cuts thru the mix by itself while sounding great.

 

[halebox]

I like them too. I used on for back line with g12-65 cab and was one of best tones on tour as I recorded show

 

[ElectricVoodoo]

I also agree on the angry bees thing. But I also agree that they need volume to pass the inverter as someone stated.
I toy around with the idea of getting one used all the time. I brought mine in 07 new and have since sold it.

The newer ones imo, sound nothing like the 2000 series.

Here is a vid I did with mine a long time ago on the classic green channel. Some 35 lbs heavier back then too..

 

[japetus]

I had an older one with the Drake transformers, loved it. Boost that green channel and crank it up!

 

[thiswaythatway]

I think they're pretty good. I tried the new H one's and thought they were horrible.

Here's a video of a DSL and Mesa Stiletto. This guy sounds about the same on both.

 

[Bloodrock]

The old 2000's were all biased way too hot, most at 80% dissipation or more. Marshalls bias specs were also way high for some reason. That's why most of them sounded like shit until a good tech checked them out and put some decent tubes in them. With good tubes and a proper setup the jcm 2000's hang with the best Marshalls. I owned one of the newer Vietnam made versions but couldn't get it to sound as good as my old one no matter what I did. Sucks too because the addition of the resonance knob was great.