Marshall JCM 2000 T.S.L

[leftykingv2]

Thought's and opinions on the Triple super lead by Marshall??? I have a chance to grab a half stack off a friend of mine for a real good price. I have no experience with this model so any help would be appreciated.

[P I K A]

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/123539-opinions-on-Marshall-JCM900-and-JCM-2000-TSL?highlight=jcm2000

[leftykingv2]

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/123...hlight=jcm2000

Thank you that was helpful! I am supposed to go check the thing out and play it tonight. Hopefully I'll enjoy it because the price is really great and I want the cabinet more than the head but he won't separate the pair. Even if I hate the head I might buy anyway just because he's selling the cab and head for $900.00 and the pair are in mint condition (so he says) and I figure I'll have to drop $900.00 now anyway for a new cab if I want another one. I guess if I hate the head unit I can probably get at least half my money back if I sell it myself. So $450.00 for a cab wouldn't be a bad.deal.

[Amerturk]

I've heard good things about them, but there are too many knobs for me. What type of cab are you getting with it? If it's a marshall, since you can't remove the grill, take a flashlight, screwdriver and a multi meter with you. Take off the output housing and make sure all the speakers are there...like greenbacks. Many scumbags like to swap them out with crap like crate in hopes people don't notice. The flashlight is to look inside after the house is off. If you have more time, take the entire back off and test each speaker to ensure the ohms are correct.

[Hellbat]

Well, since he says it's from a friend, it's hopefully safe to assume the guy isn't trying to hose him.

[Amerturk]

Well, since he says it's from a friend, it's hopefully safe to assume the guy isn't trying to hose him.

I agree. But if the friend bought it used and never checked..... Just playing it safe.

[leftykingv2]

I just got back from my buddy's house and I checked it out. Played it for about an hour and it sounded really good. I've known the guy since we were kids so there's no trust issues. I was there when he bought it new from Hollowood Music and sound about ten or eleven years ago. It's all original and it's been his main amp for the whole time he's had it. The head and a Marshall JCM 900 LEAD 1960 A for $900.00 bucks??? I couldn't pass it up plus he just had the head completely retubed and biased so I snatched it up! The only reason he even sold it to me was he knows I love Marshalls and he just got a brand new Egnater that's really sweet so he doesn't really have the room and he needed the cash because the Egnater set him back quite a good bit of cash. Needless to say I am happy with the head and the cab and I might even keep the head.

[DonP]

Sounds good. I've had my DSL100 1/2 since 1998 and haven't left it.

[hunter1970]

Man them orange DSL's are cool.

[leftykingv2]

@DonP; That thing is sick!!! Too bad the one I just got was all black. That's like cream it's so sweet looking!

[emperor_black]

Don, that's a beauty!!

[DonP]

Thanks. It sounds awesome too. I really like the TSL layout with separate EQ's but this one just sounds great so I don't mess with it.

[straycat]

Ooooo that orange is nice DonP.
I have played a few and can't say one single thing bad about them.
I know the Marshall purists don't give them a chance but I think they are a killer sounding amps.
They can get a wide range of older Marshall tones so its a win win IMO.
Congrats on a very cool amp and the price makes it that much better.

[ginsambo]

DSL50 sounds the best out of the bunch TSL's are a bit more even less like a 2204 JCM800, it is however even thinner and fizzier than the DSL's. Alot depends on what speakers you are running and what music you are into playing. All these amps tend to be very dry, thin sounding and brittle and are tailered more towards scooped sounds than that fat midrange Brown sound Marshall is famous for and stock GT12 75 speakers in a 1960 cab will exasserbate this....which is great if you only play modern metal. But you can dial in that old Marshall sound, all the same, especially with an overdrive pedal. I have an old 70's cab with Rola celestians in it, sounds way better than the stock GT12 75's that come in 1960 cabs, which again are scooped and better suited for metal. Speakers are as important to the sound as the amp. Build quality isn't as good as they used to be.

I am kind of happy with my DSL50, have the mids cranked and the gain half way up (Any more and you lose the bounce of the tubes) on the lesser of the two lead channels with no reverb and no overdrive and actually I'm happy with the sound now, but took me a good while to get my head around it. Mine is stuck on the red channel (lead1/2) which is a shame as the classic crunch channel is ace, but then, I just treat it like a JCM800 and it does the job and even busted I get all the tone I need out of it.

As said though, don't expect classic Marshall tones to ooze out instantaneously with a flick of the switch. They take alot of dialing in as they are thin and brittle amps and like alot of amps, ain't so great at lowre volumes, but they are ok and importantly you can dial them in, once you are used to them and have overcome your expectations and the versatility they offer is great too...um...even though my DSL doesn't offer me this, as it's stuck on the red channel with no reverb.

I don't know about over there, but in the UK, TSL's will just sit on Ebay and you can pick them up for relative peanuts, yes they are thinner sounding than the DSL, which depending on how old you are and how you remember old Marshall's, like the JMP's and 2204's etc are a world apart, but seriously they are a bargain. I picked up my DSL50 and 1960A angled and then the old late 70's bottom cab to make a stack for around $600 US. I've replaced the reverb tank for $30 and then the cold solder fault/footswitch jack or worse case something else fault occurred, which I am lead to beleive is a fairly common fault, but even so as said it's still rocks.

And BTW, these amps also have WAY too much gain.

[roodyrocker]

The DSL's are more desireable here in the US too. DSL 50 or 100, doesn't matter. That's not to say the TSL is horrible though. The JCM 900's aren't as desireable as the JCM 800 but I think they sound ok. I have a DSL 50 myself but mine has Mercury Magnetics transformers and choke. It sounds good! And yeah out of the three I like the DSL 50 best as well.