Marshall Amplification JCM800 Series - Manual (Page 11)

(Hundred Reasons)
JCM2000 DSL Amplifiers
DSL100 Head • DSL50 Head • DSL401 Combo
“The louder they are the better they sound.”
Larry Hibbitt
“No matter where I go, whatever the circumstances, be it a
tiny smoky rock club or a recording studio, my JCM2000 is
consistently loud and heavy. Don’t be jealous.”
Allison Robertson
(The Donnas)
Marshall Amplification Product Catalogue 19 18 Marshall Amplification Product Catalogue
The formidable family of JCM2000 valve amps was born
when we launched the DSL100 and DSL50 heads to an
unprecedented wave of critical and public acclaim in 1997
with a design that gave guitarists virtually any amp sound
from ‘Nashville Clean’ to jaw-dropping hi-gain crunch, we
knew these heads were destined to take their place in line
with the other great Marshall amplifiers. With each
subsequent JCM2000 product introduction, glowing
accolades continued.
The final addition to the line came when we unleashed the
baby of the family – the EL84-powered DSL401 combo.
Once again, the reception it received was overwhelmingly
positive and its inclusion in the line made the JCM2000
Series the most comprehensive range of valve amplifiers in
the illustrious 40 year history of Marshall.
DSL100 & DSL50 Heads
Countless hours of R&D and, of course, listening went into the creation of
the 100 Watt DSL100 and 50 Watt DSL50 heads. As DSL is an acronym for
‘Dual Super Lead’, it should come as no surprise that each amp has two
footswitchable channels – Classic and Ultra. Furthermore, each of these
channels boasts two modes: the Classic channel offers a Clean/Crunch
option while the Ultra offers Lead 1 or Lead 2. Instead of merely offering a
variation in gain level to the two channels, each one of these four modes
has been individually voiced as an amp in its own right.
The tremendous tonal versatility of these amps, coupled with a 100%
pure valve signal path, dual Reverb controls, Tone Shift switch (which
‘scoops out’ the mids) and a Deep switch (which adds a tight, low end
boost), caused the guitar world to sit up and take notice right from the
outset. As soon as you play one, you’ll hear and feel why so many of the
world’s foremost players and journalists were quick to dub the DSL
heads as “the best Marshalls ever!” It also won’t surprise you when you
learn that this dynamic duo of JCM2000 amps have become the
company’s best selling all-valve heads to date.
DSL401 Combo
Weighing in at 40 Watts and housing two independent, footswitchable
channels, the compact, EL84-powered DSL401 1x12" combo is the
smallest model of the impressive, eight member JCM2000 family.
Don’t let the relatively small size fool you though, it packs a powerful
punch. In fact, the DSL401 made such a big impression on Art
Thompson, the technical editor of Guitar Player magazine, that he felt
compelled to write the following: ‘Their tight, punchy tones are Marshall
through and through, these new combos are the mightiest minis that
Marshall has ever made.’
Like its bigger brothers, the Clean channel of the DSL401 produces a
wide array of crystal clear yet complex, clean sounds. It also gets
big ‘n’ bluesy when the channel’s Gain control is cranked up. As
Mr Thompson so aptly put it in his Guitar Player review: ‘The clean
channel yields sparkling tones at low settings and increasing levels of
fat grind as you turn up the gain. With the Gain knob maxed, you get a
throaty lead sound that cleans up nicely when you roll down your
guitar volume. Strats and Teles sounded particularly rich and
aggressive.’
Sticking with Art’s much-respected eloquence, here’s how he described
the Overdrive channel of this amp in his rave review: ‘Depending on how
you set the highly interactive Gain and Volume controls, you can dial in
anything from pert overdrive to perpetual sustain and beyond.’
The DSL401 boasts the following rear panel attributes: dual speaker
jacks (with an 8 Ohm/16 Ohm impedance selector switch) for driving
external cabinets and an optional Reverb on/off footswitch jack. The most
significant ‘extra’ of them all though is this, the DSL401 has three
footswitchable sounds – Clean, OD1 & OD2! The difference between
OD1 and OD2? A massive 20dB boost which is instantly accessible with
a mere tap of your foot on the supplied 2-way (Clean/OD, OD1/OD2)
LED footswitch.
From left to right:
DSL401 Combo
DSL50 Head
1960A Cab
DSL100 Head
1960A Cab
1960B Cab
FEATURES DSL100 DSL50 DSL401
Head ✓ ✓ No
Combo No No ✓
Output (RMS) 100 Watt 50 Watt 40 Watt
Channels 2 2 3
Modes per Channel 2 2 None
Reverb Control ✓ (per Ch) ✓ (per Ch) ✓
Tone Shift ✓ ✓ No
Deep Switch ✓ ✓ No
Series FX Loop ✓ ✓ No
Parallel FX Loop No No ✓
Pre-Amp Valves 4 x ECC83 4 x ECC83 4 x ECC83
Power Amp Valves 4 x EL34 2 x EL34 4 x EL84
Footswitch (supplied) PEDL-10001 PEDL-10001 PEDL-10013
Dimensions (mm) 750 x 310 x 215 750 x 310 x 215 575 x 485 x 265
Weight (kg) 19 18 20
AMPLIFIER SPECIFICATION