So school me on JCM2000's dsl 50 and 100's

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Panhead5

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I've actually been around since this amp came out but have never owned one. Now I'm thinking of picking one up down the road but have noticed certain years have bias drift --Whatever that means and I'm now seeing DSL100H models 100HR models etc. Some of the newer ones definitely have a southeast Asian look to them Etc . I see them in everyones backline in Youtube videos so help me figure this out on what to buy or stay away from . I even noticed the newer ones don't say JCM2000.

Thoughts ???
 
i have a 100H, not sure whats south east asian looking about it though, looks like any other marshall to me
 
Does it say JCM2000 or just dsl100H and where was it made ?? I was hoping you would comment !
 
The old original DSL heads are great IMO. The TSLs sucked. The old combos didn't work for me either. No experience with the newer stuff.
 
Panhead5 said:
I've actually been around since this amp came out but have never owned one. Now I'm thinking of picking one up down the road but have noticed certain years have bias drift --Whatever that means and I'm now seeing DSL100H models 100HR models etc. Some of the newer ones definitely have a southeast Asian look to them Etc . I see them in everyones backline in Youtube videos so help me figure this out on what to buy or stay away from . I even noticed the newer ones don't say JCM2000.

Thoughts ???
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I currently have a JCM 2000 DSL 50 and have had a 100 and a 40 in the past... plus have or have had many good vintage Marshalls. I have also had ridiculous amounts of high end stuff. Soldano,Bogner,VHT Cameron, Friedman, Komet, Bradshaw, Suhr, etc etc. bla bla bla. I only say all that so you know my reference point. The DSL will hold its own with any amp out there. It's not the sweetest, or most polished of the lot, but it absolutely gets the job done.
Regarding the bias drift issues, I believe that was only the 100 Watters but not sure. Also it was limited to amps prior to 2002 I think..I dont recall the exact year, but somewhere in the run they addressed that issue.

I have had zero problems with my 50. I recently got a 2555x and think the DSL 50 kicks it's ass for the most part.

Definitely one of the best bang for your buck, and no slouch regardless of price point.

Just my .02
 
Jdub said:
I currently have a JCM 2000 DSL 50 and have had a 100 and a 40 in the past... plus have or have had many good vintage Marshalls. I have also had ridiculous amounts of high end stuff. Soldano,Bogner,VHT Cameron, Friedman, Komet, Bradshaw, Suhr, etc etc. bla bla bla. I only say all that so you know my reference point. The DSL will hold its own with any amp out there. It's not the sweetest, or most polished of the lot, but it absolutely gets the job done.
Regarding the bias drift issues, I believe that was only the 100 Watters but not sure. Also it was limited to amps prior to 2002 I think..I dont recall the exact year, but somewhere in the run they addressed that issue.

I have had zero problems with my 50. I recently got a 2555x and think the DSL 50 kicks it's ass for the most part.

Definitely one of the best bang for your buck, and no slouch regardless of price point.

Just my .02
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Thanks--I've had more amps than most stores but I started out with Marshalls 40 years ago and still own a couple but I'm kind of ready to return to my roots if I can find decent sounding ones .
 
Panhead5 said:
Does it say JCM2000 or just dsl100H and where was it made ?? I was hoping you would comment !
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mine says DSL100H. i dont know where its made. the H's are better with the resonance and presence knobs instead of the button
 
Jdub said:
I currently have a JCM 2000 DSL 50 and have had a 100 and a 40 in the past... plus have or have had many good vintage Marshalls. I have also had ridiculous amounts of high end stuff. Soldano,Bogner,VHT Cameron, Friedman, Komet, Bradshaw, Suhr, etc etc. bla bla bla. I only say all that so you know my reference point. The DSL will hold its own with any amp out there. It's not the sweetest, or most polished of the lot, but it absolutely gets the job done.
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i agree, im always defending the DSL, its silly not to have one for the $500 you can find them for.
 
83stratman said:
The old original DSL heads are great IMO. The TSLs sucked. The old combos didn't work for me either. No experience with the newer stuff.
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I got a TSL 120 that rules. Keeping on the bias helps. And TSL must be boosted like a rectifier to get the low end correct .
 
The ones that say "JCM 2000" on the front are the original ones made in the 90's through the mid 00's. There were a few SKU's for the heads:

DSL 50
DSL 100
TSL 100
TSL 60
...as well as various combos, not sure about features or wattages

Supposedly the earlier 100w DSL's can have the bias drift issue but the later ones do not. The DSL's have less options on the front panel, but they sounded better to my ears. They had more heft and punch were the TSL's sounded a bit thinner in the low end.

The more recent ones are still sold as DSL 100's but aren't "JCM 2000" amps. I have no opinion on those because I haven't played them.

Here's the Marshall blurb about them: https://marshall.com/live-for-music/history/history-of-dsl-series


There's probably more to know about them, but that's all I got. :)
 
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Someday I'll spring for a new board for my '98 DSL 100. I can run it about 45 min then the right side starts to runaway on the bias. With a boost in the green channel it will rival a JCM 800 2203/2204. I've been able to do a side by side comparison as I have a JMP and JCM 800. DSL 100's from '97-04 had the bias drift issues. Not all were effected but enough to raise concerns. A new board costs $210 or you can buy a re-bias kit for about $42.
 
I got my last DSL50 here for $250. The seller had given up trying to fix it. My tech made it right for $50. I've had a lot of them. The best one I regret selling was the DSL100H. I did an OT and choke upgrade on it and it slayed all the others. You can still find the newer stuff pretty cheap and then upgrade them. I wouldn't mess with an old JCM2000 unless it had been well-sorted. The newer stuff is cheaper and more easily replaced.
 
I don’t care for the EQ imbalance between the channels. You can’t dial it in as a channel switcher. So you do Green only and work with pedals or red only. Red can be too much gain for a decent classic rock tone and green boosted sounds a lot better for that. Great back line amp but not high on my list of an amp I would want for a great Marshalll tone.
 
Had a early 50 watt ....... loved it with green backs or GT-75's ....... and boosting the crunch channel is the shit .
 
And the DSL50 was always the best amp for using up single power tubes, since each side is independently biased. So when I blow one in another amp where I have to replace with a matched pair or quad, I can use the leftover good ones in the DSL50 or two of them in the DSL100.
 
The most remarkable thing about the DSL lineage is the value proposition. Both channels are incredibly respectable. I owned an early 2000's DSL100 JCM2000 and really enjoyed it.
 
Wanted to like the DSL (Jcm2000) I had - very affordable and "working man" vibe are things I'm down with. But I don't know - I just never got anything out of it that I loved. I could certainly make it work, but I went back to my 800s pretty quickly. I did have a dsl40CR (newer model) and that thing was pretty cool and definitely more versatile. I'd be open to trying the 100HR head some day
 
I haven't owned a DSL but after finding out that's what Nuno used on the new Extreme single, I'd love try one out! I thought his tone sounded absolutely killer!!
 
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