Marshall JCM2000 DSL401
Pros: Amazing tube tones, nails that classic Marshall sound, versatile
Cons: Reliability issues
The Bottom Line: For the everyday guitarist who doesn't play in sold out arenas.
Recommended: Yes
For a long time, I was in the market for a tube amp. I had a transistor (solid state) amp and until I actually played a tube amp at the store, I didn't know what I was missing. Tube amps have this kind of dimension to it... it feels warmer, more responsive, and 'alive'. I had to get one. However, I play in my basement most of the time and I didn't need a 100 watt tube head. I needed something around 50 watts, that could be hooked up to a cabinet. I also needed an amp that could do some metal, then some blues, then back to classic rock.
I have tried the Fender DeVilles, nice cleans, but the distortion is non-existent. Then I tried the Peavey Classic 30. Ooh man, the classic rock/blues type distortion on this amp is beautiful. Cleans up nicely. Alas, this isn't a metal amp. Couldn't do anything heavy. Something I'd think of buying down the road, but not now. Not while I still need my first tube amp. Enter the Marshall DSL401.
I plug it in and powered up the tubes. I didn't expect the cleans to be much, since after all, this is a Marshall... a line of amps that aren't notorious for the cleans. To my dismay, it was good. Pretty darn good. It must have been the EL84's, since EL34 power tubes will never clean like that. The cleans were clear, chimey, and bassy if you wanted it to be. I love how it's clean one minute, then you start picking and striking the strings hard at it becomes distorted. Another dynamic attribute of a tube amp. I fiddled with the settings on the clean channel, and I thought this was great. After I was through playing on that channel, I hit the footswitch to the second channel, or OD1 (Overdrive 1). Wow, lots of gain. Crunchy. Warm. Does AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Led Zepplin... that type of stuff. Classic marshall here. Then I hit the switch for OD2. A 20db boost from OD1. This is heavy. Massive. For that chugga chugga palm muting goodness. For most Metallica and that modern nu metal stuff (I don't like that music though).
So the amp sounds all good and dandy, but there's gotta be a flaw, right? Well, the DSL401 I have has no flaw. It's perfect. Although, from the other reviews from people that have/had the amp, most complain about the reliability issues this amp may have. Sometimes, it would just die out. 95% of the time, a bad solder in the circuits is the culprit. Once detected, it's a fairly easy fix for the tech. But the problem is not getting it detected in time, which would lead to blown tranny's, tubes, or caps. Then the price to fix the amp would be astronomical. Also, Do not run the amp without a speaker already hooked up, the amp needs a load (speaker) at all times. Serious damage will occur!
Now for the part everyone seems to want to know... Yes, 40 watts tube is plenty enough to gig and play in a band without mic'ing or PA.
As I always say, take care of your gear and your gear will take care of you. Well, I actually never said that in my life, but for now it applies in this situation. Check up on your amps and it will last forever.
Technical Stuff:
The back panel has the power supply plug, Mains and HT fuse, 2 loudspeaker outputs (40W RMS into 8/16 ohms), a select switch for 8 or 16 ohms, a speaker emulated D.I. jack, send/return FX loop, Reverb Footswitch jack and a Channel Footswitch jack.
DSL401
40watts RMS (8/16 ohms)
Four 12AX7 Pre-amp Tubes
Four EL84 Power tubes
Single 12" 16ohm 100 watt Celestion speaker (Marshall GoldBack) model SPKR-00068
Note: This was taken from my Epinions review
~Dan~