Which Marshall amp should I get-New or Used

[mikewlu]

Here is my situation and I dont know what to do. PLease help me.

My two options are as follows:

1. All used gear
-Marshall DSL 100 watt head
-Marshall 4x12 cabinet with greenback speakers (1960 AC model)

Total Cost= $2000 (CDN)

2. All New gear

-Marshall DSL 100 watt head
-Marshall 4x12 cabinet standard cab

Total cost = $2600

Is the second option worth the extra money to have new gear? ie/warranty and tube replacement?

PLease help me!!!

[max cooper]

DSL? Beats me why anyone would want that amp.

I'd suggest either a Seventies JMP (my favorite; I see them for about $700+ in fifty or hundred watt) or a JCM 800 (not my favorite but much better than a DSL; currrently they're pricier than JMPs)

Is there any reason you're looking for a DSL? Do you actually like the way they sound, 'cause I think you'll be the first.

Cab: greenbacks are fine; I prefer new ones to old ones.

[Protools Guy]

Originally Posted by max cooper

DSL? Beats me why anyone would want that amp.

I'd suggest either a Seventies JMP (my favorite; I see them for about $700+ in fifty or hundred watt) or a JCM 800 (not my favorite but much better than a DSL; currrently they're pricier than JMPs)

Is there any reason you're looking for a DSL? Do you actually like the way they sound, 'cause I think you'll be the first.

Cab: greenbacks are fine; I prefer new ones to old ones.

I'm with ya'. I'm not a fan of the DSL...

[James 'LA' Lugo]

I think it depends on the music. Half the rock bands nowadays are touring and recording with DSL's. They can sound really good. The 800's aren't for everyone, the guitar player in my band has an 800 and I have a DSL2000 and everytime anyone hears us they always remark that they like my sound better. To me the DSL is better with the standard cab. I'm not a fan of greenbacks, they break up to soon for my taste and blow with 100 watt heads.

[Tynan]

for the money i would opt for new. used it could sound great for a week then fart out. i would retube at least the power section
to make sure i know the miles on it and that could get expensive if you need a bias adjustment. i think those greenback cabs go for more $$ as well. maybe you could
swap cabs with someone if its not working for you.

[fuzzface777]

I would say try to find a real 12 series plexi if you can spend 2500-3500 on a head. Hard to beat that tone!
If not, the cheapest ticket to Marshall heaven is the JCM800. Not all STOCK JCM800 sound very good at all, but they are easily modifiable to sound very nice, so that would be next suggestion despite what some might say. Further HUGE tone changing mods that can done is with a power and supply upgrades, say the plexi 100watt models found at mercury (500USD but worth it ) and of course mullard nos tubes and or sylvania 6ca7's ( what evh actually used for his brown sound.

I suggest you check out metroampsforum if you REALLY want to learn about amps from the extreme enthusiasts.
Metroamps also sell their plexi models -very nice.
If you want a real early van halen tone -In LA, look no further than Blankenship amps, the maker regular services evh's amps. EVH was of course, secondarily famous for HIGHLY sought after guitar tones for the last 30 years in Rock culture.....nuff said about that.

Regarding speakers, if you want more bass reponse you will need an efficient speaker (standard ) 75 watt speakers produce more modern rock tones, and total necessary for tones in bands like Metallica etc. 75 watt speakers also can wide variety of tones with little worry of frying them with a 100 watt head. Celestion speakers will work, or many others like: peavey's sheffields, Mesa's Black Widow or the MANY killer Eminence speakers to choose from.

If you don't need to play stadiums, :) then you probably won't playing a real 100 watt head on 10 (about 180-200 rms peak watts). That said, if you do want a classic rock tone, think Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, EVH, Jeff Beck, early Clapton, Billy Gibbons, SRV then yes GREENBACKS are your ticket.

REAL vintage greenbacks in great shape could cost you 400-500 USD per speaker!!! Because they sound amazing and record amazing. Also, pre-rola greenbacks sound great whether in 20,25 or 30 watt versions.
However, there are cheaper alternatives.
Regarding vintage celestions, from a reputable dealer, you can buy early 70-72 ROLA celestions that are essentially pre-rola speaker with a rola-sticker on it (transistional company change). 3-5 years later, ROLA celestion did make a speaker, know as a blackback that is also very highly regarded by tone freaks.
They are generally a lot cheaper and easier to find, in 16 ohms versions. 8 ohms version are more difficult to find. Basically, the black back is a more agressive, bassier speaker than the pre-rola greenback. Basically like a speaker, between low and high efficiency, best of both worlds.
Last, scumback speakers are made by Weber and are replica's of the, scumback speaker owner's, Jim Seavall, best collection of ideal vintage greenbacks. They are very affordable and sound amazing. THese replica's sound of a well broken in vintage greenback.
Last, Celestion recently release their heritage 20watt greenback which is a VERY accurate version of the vintage 20watt greenbacks. They are very nice, but need to be broken in before they really sound sweet. The Heritage 30watt version, is not very good sounding.
Last, often overlooked, high quality speaker cable can improve your overall tone by about 10 %!!!!! I would recommend mulder audio

Last, I should mention stephensonamps.com because his amps record well enough that Mutt Lang is a customer....nuff said. I played a couple and as I remember, they have a smooth, chimey gain with more responsiveness and sustain and harmonic depth than I thought it would since the drive wasn't nearly as distorted as a mesa etc.... I think they run on class A power...anyway very cool amps.


There you go. Pick what is good for your taste and budget and thank me later -you won't be sorry.

[MadGuitrst]

I would get a VHT Pitbull Ultralead with KT88 power tubes.
In fact.....that's exactly what I did.

My cab has 2 Greenbacks and 2 Vintage 30s.
it sounds great and the speakers have been in used since 1995.

It will eat the Marshall alive - better high gain, way better crunch, way better clean, way more versatile....and louder to boot.

Just my opinion, of course.

[fuzzface777]

yes, it is your opinion... :)

your amp is fine, however, eat a Marshall ? Show some respect for the amp, that gave us ROCK man..

[sysexguy]

Marshall should show respect for the amp...... instead of building in India and whatever

You could do way better for $2K especially for studio work.....but my opinion ain't worth much, 'cause I peddle the stuff...funny thing though.....somehow I ended up with a studio full of great amps without the legendary names....if you're reading "Rolling Stone".

Andy

[Tynan]

+1 on the Blankenship. the custom audo electronics crunch mod on a plexi
or jcm is cool.

[Jonboy79]

I think the DSL stuff is OK at best, wasn't really something I went crazy for and it certainly is much better than the TSL. I'd say a modded 800 would really be the way to go.

[CrankyRayHanky]

It seems to be hip to trash modern Marshalls...but beware the used ones from approximately 2000 to 2004. There are major defects in the transformer. I had a JCM2000 1x12 in this time period that flat out rocked, gave a great studio tone; alas, it was in the shop 3 times, about once a year to service the transformer. Something about it getting too hot, many others have had this same problem.

I gave up on the amp for a few years, but loving the sound, gave it another shot last summer by getting a TSL. It has been inspiring and flawless! Hopefully, the gremlins will stay away...

As for the price, in the US I get my Marshalls for 50% off list.. try shopping around if you feel gauged

[softwareguy]

If you're going in a higher gain direction be sure to check out the Jubilee, and I mean with the master wide open. Very flexible amp that can get lots of classic sounds and higher gain sounds as well. Doesn't give up the goods with the master turned down, however.

[Third Story]

I would try to find a used jcm 800!

[PhilE]

Does ANYONE like ANY Marshal designed after the JCM800?
I sure as hell dont.

Everytime one rolls into the studio I know there is a better amp for the job it will be asked to do.

[heyman]

The only marshall I liked after the JCM 800 was the 30th Aniversary Series Heads.

I believe they were 3 channel.

[tritace]

I agree, the marshall 30th anniversary is very good. Iv got the combo version and sounds great. However i think the mesa boogie dual rec is the best live rock amp. I would never, out of choice, use a mashall live again. Although, a JCM800(dual channel), if you can get a good one, is very hard to beat.

I have to agree with some of the other people, jcm900, dsl, tsl all sound a bit too fizzy for my taste.

And, i dont think you should be put off by buying a second hand amp, if it breaks, just get it serviced. All valve amps go eventualy. My marshall blew up a week after i got it(it was second hand) but luckily i live not too far away from the factory, so they sorted it out for next to nothing.

Thanks,

T

[DeathMonkey]

Plenty of people - Jeff Beck and Gary Moore among them - get good tones from the DSL100.

That said, Marshall has a few new amp lines coming out that look to be far more versatile and based on well thought out updates to classic tones - no clipping diodes, etc. The JVM series for example looks pretty cool. Poke around the Marshall website and see some of the vids of the new amps - they have a new 4 channel beast that has been well reviewed.

For that kinda $$$, there are a bunch of boutique companies that do various Marshall type amps, like Splawn, Voodoo, Roccaforte, Mojave, and of course my personal favorite, VHT (100/CLs can be had for around $1500 used, and sound great - no real clean headroom, but that's what you buy Fenders for, right?). Also look into fellow Canadian James Peters' amps. He has a Plexi flavored amp that sounds really good.

As for cabs, there are far better choices out there than Marshall IMHO - for $600-$800 used you can get a VHT Fatbottom or Deliverance 4x12, Bogner Uberkab, or Mills Acoustic... or for less, Avatar and Vader make good cabs (I personally prefer Avatar's 2x12s) with a variety of speakers of your choice. Even the Carvin Legacy cabs are a great deal if you like V30s (I have a Legacy 2x12 that sounds great, is convertible between open and closed back, and is surprisingly light and portable).

[heyman]

If I was going to buy another hi gain amp... I would either go with another Boogie or that Laney VH100 looks and sounds very tempting.

Otherwise, for more rock type stuff, an older marshall/

[SeanG]

If it's possible you should play both rigs for a little bit, then make your decision based on which amp/cab combo sounds and feels best to you.

If you think the DSL is the sound of you… than go for it.
For the amount that you're talking about there are a lot of options I would consider.

For me
VHT 50CL or 100CL
Hiwatt DR504 or DR103
Marshall 70's JMP
Marshall JCM800

Cabs and speakers are a whole nuther can of worms..

That said...
I love greenbacks. Great as an option, not versatile enough for only choice though.

[Ruudman]

Originally Posted by SeanG

I love greenbacks. Great as an option, not versatile enough for only choice though.

Oh yes they are


ruudman

[ootle]

Originally Posted by heyman

The only marshall I liked after the JCM 800 was the 30th Aniversary Series Heads.

I believe they were 3 channel.

+1
I got the first series 30th anniversary. The really limited one.......priceless, I love it!!

[Fman]

Originally Posted by Ruudman

Oh yes they are


ruudman

Wow! People are bashing the DSL and TSL Marshalls? ...I mean I know to each his own, but I think the TSL122 is one of the best I've heard. I may be playing devil's advocate here, but I'm a big fan of Greenbacks too, and almost anything Celestion for that matter, especially the older ones. In all fairness I haven't heard new Greenbacks though so I may be full of it.

[Brad McGowan]

I think someone who is considering a Marshall DSL probably won't like a Plexi at all and maybe not even the JMP's. They are pretty different IMO. I have a JMP that I love, but you really need to crank it pretty loud to get both the preamp and power tubes overdriving and at that point it's not the tightest sound in the world. They don't provide nearly as much gain as the DSL is capable of without mods or a pedal. You may want to look for a JCM800 2205 or 2210 if you are into more modern high gain tones. Those are the channel switching 800's that had diode clipping to generate more distortion. Think Rage Against the Machine. The 800's that everyone keeps drooling over right now are the 2203 (100 watt) or the 2204 (50 watt). They are not too dissimilar from JMP 2203's and 2204's. There's only a few minor circuit differences, but enough to change the character of the amp slightly.

I built my own hot-rodded JCM800 2204 for about $750 in primo parts. It kills any stock 800 I've ever heard.

Brad

[Meriphew]

Another thumbs down on the DSL.

[bobx]

Originally Posted by PhilE

Does ANYONE like ANY Marshal designed after the JCM800?
I sure as hell dont.

Everytime one rolls into the studio I know there is a better amp for the job it will be asked to do.

i agree with you on that! i haven't found anything i liked that they made after the jcm 800.

[Brad McGowan]

Those battery powered mini-stacks are kind of cool.

Brad

[Ozzy]

I personally like the dsl. Yeah it doesnt sound like a boogie or an 800 etc, but its very usable, and on this side of the pond, they go for reasonable prices new and secondhand. However Ive never really liked the tsl. The lead channel is the most fizzy on any amp I've ever heard. Im not an expert on the marshall range tho, so im making notes as i read! Oz

[Mydog_Nixon]

Not to get to far off topic, but has anyone used a Krank amp during a session? I want to know how they compare to Mesa and Soldano.

[Third Story]

if money is not an issue and you are not set 100% on marshall...look into orange rockerverb stuff...that is some good stuff! or anything from orange