JCM 900 DSL 401-good amp?

[stevoc]

Hey all. A local shop that has been in business for 30+ years has decided enough is enough and are closing their doors for good. They are selling everything at great prices (well, great prices in their mind as they were always overpriced) to liquidate their inventory, so I went by to see what they had available. They have a Marshall JCM 900 DSL 401 amp for sale. I plugged into it and gave it a test run, and it sounded really great at a low volume. (didn't crank it as the store was pretty full. Anyways, I'm wondering about the price. They are selling it for 850.00 out the door. I could probably haggle it down another 50.00 or so. I was wondering if this was a good price.

I saw some on line for 1100.00 or so. It seems that it is a discontinued model though, so I don't know if that would be an issue.

Good price?

[Cleveland Metal]

Definitely discontinued. I personally feel $850 could be better spent on some other good amp that is better built. I just can't deal with Marshalls after the 800 series, build quality has gone south IMO.

Used to run a pair of 900/4100 Dual Reverbs. I got a decent sound out of them with LOTS of coaxing and overdriving the front end with a hot wireless system. Even wih outboard EQing, it still didn't have the low end. Always felt the DSL were flubby... I went to 5150s around then and was quite happy. Although admittedly, the 5150s didn't "quite" have the sweet lead tone the 4100's did, they crushed them with chunk and girth.

[jdr94]

i've heard the dsl are great compared to the tsl, but the tsl have been called a complete POS. again this is what i've gathered thru reviews and what not. i have no hands on experience with them. Like CMetal said, theres more out there for that amount of $$$. what are you lookin for as far as options and sound?

[stevoc]

I'm considering playing as a house or supporting band for a local thatrical company. Basically, they do plays (such as High school musical - yeah, I know!! ) and they select individuals from names they have on hand and put a group together for a show, then they play together while the show runs. When it ends, they start all over for the next show.

When not doing that, I basically like to play some 70's rock to 80's metal, ranging from JP, Ozzy, AC/DC, 38 special, etc. Would like to get together with some friends to do some garage playing,maybe do a show here and there, but that wouldn't be until MUCH later, if ever.

[horns666]

If you want a good Marshall head that don't require a stomp, find a JCM800 2210. They were the last series 800s before hey went to the 4100 JCM 900s. I had two of them and like 'em better than 900s. You can get a good sound out of a 900. You can make 'em growl and sing with the right tubes, and "coaxing" like Cleveland John mentioned. He got a very nice Criss Oliva tone when he slammed the front with a boosted wireless and geetar preamp. John G also swears by them too. The only Marshalls I can't gel with to save my life are the DSL/TSLs, but other people dig 'em.

This all depends on what kind of tone your looking for. If it's classic VH, the 4001 is doable. If you want a heavier, modern metal tone and keep it Marshall..find a used JVM. for $850 check into a CarvinV3, Peavey 6505(5150), Peavey JSX, Randal RM100, maybe even a Recto, although I don't along with them. Oh, I played a cheap 100 wt B-52 half stack with 5881s (6L6) and the fucker was fun to play. B-52 has their own generic speaker that sounds like beefier/chunkier Celestion Vintage 30 to my ears. I wanted to buy that rig for my kid. I thought it was an awesome buy for $650 out the door, and it looked spaking new. I'm not kiddin', I keep thinking I prolly fucked by not grabbing it.

If you want %100 brutality...pull the plug on an Uberschall and be done with it.

If you want a quality built new Marshall check out Splawn, or maybe our own JCF Soultone. I'd like to hear one.

[Spivonious]

Wait a minute...wasn't the DSL 401 in the JCM2000 series?

[horns666]

I'm considering playing as a house or supporting band for a local thatrical company. Basically, they do plays (such as High school musical - yeah, I know!! ) and they select individuals from names they have on hand and put a group together for a show, then they play together while the show runs. When it ends, they start all over for the next show.

When not doing that, I basically like to play some 70's rock to 80's metal, ranging from JP, Ozzy, AC/DC, 38 special, etc. Would like to get together with some friends to do some garage playing,maybe do a show here and there, but that wouldn't be until MUCH later, if ever.

Oh, the 900 is definitely that kinda tone to be quite honest. But I would still try to talk you into getting an older 800 series like a 2203.. I owned a shitload of Marshalls..old JMPs..2203 and 2210 were my faves. I may be wrong but I think you could find a 4001 cheaper, but maybe not. That prolly is the going rate on those. I don't think you'll lose money, especially if it's mint. People like "mint"..it makes 'em happy.

[horns666]

Wait a minute...wasn't the DSL 401 in the JCM2000 series?

Nah..that's gotta be a 4001 JCM900 I'm thinkin'.

[Partial @ Marshall]

DSL401 was a jcm2000 and not the 900. Had a DSL401 for a while, completely modded (except trannies) but still thinned out at high volumes with loose low end. Only payed $450 for it used. For $850 you could do WAY better. Maybe an old JCM800 combo (if your looking for portable) I see them on the bay every now and then for less than $850. '81 to '83 are the sweetest.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Marshall-JCM-800...3A1%7C294%3A50

[horns666]

Oh, it's the DSL401. I owned a 100wt DSL and couldn't sell it fast enough and it went quick..so that worked out. The only farty, flabby Marshall on earth IMO!

Had a white '82 anniversary, that was very nice. And I had a blue '92 anniversary..the 6100 I believe. I played with that for a while too. Until I settled down with my beloved my Marshall rack ensemble in '96.

[chrisolson]

I haven't hated many amps. I HATED the DSL401.

[blackendvampire]

Theres no such thing as a JCM900 DSL anything. The only era that contains the terms TSL and DSL are the JCM2000's FYI, JCM 900 did have a combo but it was a straight 50 watts, as it featured two EL34's in the power section. That being said, the little DSL401 is a fucking hell of an amp really, if you put decent EL84's in it, Yeah thats right, they have 4 EL84's in them, I dont know about the preamp section, not the tubes, but the preamp itself, but on my Crate V3112t, I have the same setup pretty well, with 3 preamp tubes, and that thing screams, I prefer it to a full size halfstack with EL34's. Not only that, the EL84's run hot all the time, so you end up with the illusion that its overheating, but if you take proper precautions it should be perfectly fine even if you burn your fingers on the knobs, which my rectifier type knobs my crate has end up incinerating anything in their path. I have played a DSL401 a few times, and they do have a fairly sweet tone, but the problem with it's preamp section is the same as what the whole JCM2000 line is plagued with, and that is, too much gain and settings, it has two channels, but it has variations on those channels, and the gain is not very smooth or creamy, its more brittle. Solution, better preamp tubes, get the preamp modded to smooth it out, and probably high gain power amp tubes so its doing what its supposed to do, if you are in fact going for high gain, I dont know, im assuming.
Now for comparison, my crate V series is almost identical except for the overdrive is very smooth, and there is simply a boost function which gives a few db of gain extra and a mid boost. Thats it pretty well, its single channel, with an overdrive button, almost like two channels, but not really. But yeah, you can make the DSL401 similar to that, which is basically an AC30/Bassman/bluesbreaker/JTM clone, just keep away from that ultra gain channel, it sounds like crap.