Question: Should I (redux, kinda)? AKA Marshall question

CBHScott

How did I get here?
For you Marshall connoisseurs of recent vintage, before I decide to jettison tube amps forever, what do you think of this:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DSL40CST

DSL40CST-large.jpg
 
If you don't like tube amps, that one won't convince you either.

What sound are you going for?

Headroom with a little dirt plus available crunch; nothing too high-gain. Reviews say this has a nice clean channel, and the Creamback seems to be universally well-liked.

My issues with tube amps are very personal - most of them drive me crazy between hum, rattles (both easil-solved and mystery), plus the widely-varying quality of the tubes themselves. I have tried out and am thinking of going with the Orange CR60C, which is the SS version of the Rockerverb. It had good cleans, and the OD channel is surprisingly tubeish and not fizzy.

I know that nothing sounds as good as a good tube amp, but SS would eliminate most of the personal irritants.
 
Headroom with a little dirt. Reviews say this has a nice clean channel, and the Creamback seems to be universally well-liked.

My issues with tube amps are very personal - most of them drive me crazy between hum, rattles (both easil-solved and mystery), plus the widely-varying quality of the tubes themselves. I have tried out and am thinking of going with the Orange CR60C, which is the SS version of the Rockerverb. It had good cleans, and the OD channel is surprisingly tubeish and not fizzy.

I know that nothing sounds as good as a good tube amp, but SS would eliminate most of the personal irritants.

These are pretty easily gotten amps. Go to GC and try a whole bunch of stuff. Then report back.

Looking at other amps in the same price range, you could get a Vox AC15, Fender Blues Jr, Egnater Tweaker, H&K Tubemeister, or Blackstar HT Studio. And if you really do want solid state, there's the Roland Blues Cube. Course, at that point, I just break out the Peavey Bandit.
 
I'd buy something single channel and a couple of good dirt pedals and call it a day. I actually get a ton of mileage out of the ADA Rocket that way.

You don't say... :annoyed:

:grin:
Get something Fenderish and get a Wampler Pinnacle Deluxe. The Pinnacle is voiced for a Fender Blackface clean to nail Marshall crunch. It has a boost switch which ups the output, not the gain, which can add some dirt to the amp itself if you set it up right.

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Headroom with a little dirt plus available crunch; nothing too high-gain. Reviews say this has a nice clean channel, and the Creamback seems to be universally well-liked.

My issues with tube amps are very personal - most of them drive me crazy between hum, rattles (both easil-solved and mystery), plus the widely-varying quality of the tubes themselves. I have tried out and am thinking of going with the Orange CR60C, which is the SS version of the Rockerverb. It had good cleans, and the OD channel is surprisingly tubeish and not fizzy.

I know that nothing sounds as good as a good tube amp, but SS would eliminate most of the personal irritants.
t

That's just not true.

It is true, most of the bad amps are SS but, not all SS are bad. I've never met a 5 watt tube amp I liked but, that doesn't mean all tube amps are bad.

Lots of cheap Fender SSs out there, with a great clean. Now, if you say, "nothing sounds as good as a good tube amp cranked". that's another story. Few, and far between SS with a passable distortion of any kind. That's why God invented pedals.
 
i love my DSL 40c,it gets more of the 'classic' marhsall sound. The Green Channel is very quiet and boots very well with the DS-1 or Soul Food
the Red channel can get noisy(as do most higher gain amps) but nothing tha cant be dealt with

I use the Green Channel and exclusively and cant say enough good about the amp
 
I'd buy something single channel and a couple of good dirt pedals and call it a day. I actually get a ton of mileage out of the ADA Rocket that way.

This is really the only way for me unless I want to run 2 amps. I have never found an amp that has a clean and a dirt channel that I like.


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This is really the only way for me unless I want to run 2 amps. I have never found an amp that has a clean and a dirt channel that I like.


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Curious if you've tried a MESA express?
 
Curious if you've tried a MESA express?

I haven't tried that one. But the only Mesa I have ever liked was the Mark I. I think in the early 2000's I tried everything they had, but the Express series wasn't around then.


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I haven't tried that one. But the only Mesa I have ever liked was the Mark I. I think in the early 2000's I tried everything they had, but the Express series wasn't around then.


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Well, If you happen to get a chance, give an express a spin. The clean channel is as fendery as they get (except it has more gain available if desired) and the dirt channel is pure MESA (which is great, if you like MESA's!). Both channels have two voices and both channels feature complete sets of controls (including reverb and eq - no controls are shared); it's like having two amps in one.
 
Well, If you happen to get a chance, give an express a spin. The clean channel is as fendery as they get (except it has more gain available if desired) and the dirt channel is pure MESA (which is great, if you like MESA's!). Both channels have two voices and both channels feature complete sets of controls (including reverb and eq - no controls are shared); it's like having two amps in one.

If it can sound like a Mark I clean and a Mark I cranked, then I would love it.
 
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