Marshall is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable amp brands out there. Their classic ‘British crunch’ tone has helped to serve many legendary guitarists to discover their signature sound.
Due to the company’s long legacy, many generations of musicians have used Marshall’s signature tone to immortalize their famous records.
| Features: | JCM 2000 DSL 401 | Marshall JCM800 |
|---|---|---|
| Cost: | £450 | £850 |
| Max Wattage: | 40W | 20W |
| Weight: | 50.7 lbs | 20.7 lbs |
JCM 2000 DSL 401
Marshall’s DSL 401 is an all-tube 1X12 40-Watt combo amp design that has been manufactured between 1998 and 2012 as a part of the JCM 2000 series. The DSL 401 has two foot-switchable channels, along with an optional 20db boost on the dirt channel, that’s also foot-switchable.
Like most Marshall amps, its two preamp channels are powered by 12AX7 tubes, one for the clean channel, two for the dirt channel, with the other one for the phase inversion. The power section is powered by a quartet of EL84s, which is typical of lower-wattage Marshall amps.
Just as with any other serious tube amps, the overall sound and feel of an amp can vary depending on the tubes you load it with, your guitar output, and anything between your guitar and the amp.
Sound Quality
The Clean Channel
The DSL 401’s clean channel is what you would expect from a good Marshall tube amp and is not super clean, especially when fed with a relatively hot signal. For example, using a Les Paul style guitar will probably break it very early. However, a typical Strat or Tele will give you a decent amount of preamp headroom. When being used with a Les Paul style guitar, even with moderate output pickups, the amp will break up anywhere above nine o’clock on the preamp gain and with a Strat, it will typically be able to stay clean until around twelve o’clock.
If you set the amp slightly before breakup with the middle control set high enough, and if you play hard, the overdrive sound you get from the clean channel is thick, muscular and charismatic.
Its clean channel also has an exceptional pedal platform. It takes overdrive fuzzes to pedals exceptionally well, no matter how sensitive they are.
The Tone Stack
The tone stack responsiveness will vary depending on the preamp’s gain and master volume. The harder you push it, the more noticeable the tone stack settings become. The amp’s EQ is very responsive, but again, it becomes more noticeable when the amp is pushed harder. As always, if your guitar pickup has no low-end, the EQ won’t help you, no matter what brand it is.
The Overdrive Channel
The DSL 401’s overdrive channel in that amp is saggy, spongy and rattly, especially when at lower volumes. The channel can deliver very pleasing creamy, smooth overdrive sounds at higher gain settings and powerful throaty overdrive when is set to lower gain with the master pushed.
Users of this amp have said that it can be fizzy and unpleasant with the overdrive tone when the power amp is not pushed hard enough. If you want it to sound like a proper Marshall amp, then you’ll have to drive the master volume somewhere past 12 o’clock with a nice humbucker.
The Effects Loop
The amp has a parallel effects loop with a mix knob on the front panel. Unlike the more common serial effects loops, a parallel loop design will split the pre-amp signal and sends only some of it to your effects. For this, you can use the mix knob to mix more or less of the processed signal back into the master section.
Power & Playing Volume
While it should be clear by now that this is a 40 Watts tube amp, which means it is very powerful. Marshall’s DSL 401 sounds a lot better with the master volume set anywhere between noon and 2 o’clock, which is way too loud for bedroom playing. So, with that, if you need an amp for an apartment, and you don’t have any soundproofing or simply don’t want to hurt your ears, then this amp may not be for you, just as any other tube amp with a similar power rating would. The amp sounds lifeless and dull when being played at low volumes, although this is the same with many tube amps. If you’re looking for a tube amp that you can drive hard at low volumes, then you should look for 5 to 15 Watts amps or amps with high-quality power scaling.
Marshall JCM800
Marshall’s JCM800 vintage reissue has nailed the power and crunch of the original and has improved upon it with the addition of the effects loop.
Marshall’s JCM 800 has earned a privileged place among the best guitar amps on the market. There’s nothing more iconic than seeing a Marshall amp head stacked upon a matching black 4×12 cabinet. From Clapton to Hendrix, Bon Jovi to Van Halen, many rock guitarists have embraced the power and tone of Marshall amps like this. Introduced in ‘80, the original JCM800 was a milestone for the renowned British amp brand. The amp featured a single channel with a master volume control, which allowed for more saturated sounds at lower volumes. The JCM800 has since become part of Marshall’s “vintage” line of amplifiers, and the question for many is how well the reissue stacks up to the original.
Design
The JCM800 reissue 100W head features 3 x ECC83 (12AX7) preamp tubes and 4 x EL34 power amp tubes. Its control layout is simple, as it has individual controls for presence, bass, middle, treble, master volume, and pre-amp volume. The big difference between the original and the reissue is that the reissue has a true bypass effects loop that’s completely out of the circuit when unused, which allows the amp to sound more like the original.
Sound Quality
So how does the JCM800 reissue sound? It sounds like pure rock and roll. After all, this is an amp that defined rock and metal for the 1980s, and it still shows. If you’re more into jazz and country in addition to blues and rock, then you will need to look elsewhere because the JCM800 is a one-trick pony.
If you mainly use amps for small venues like your bedroom or a small club, then you’re going to need a power soak or, at the very least, a good overdrive pedal to coax the best tones from this Marshall because it really only sounds its best when cranked. When you’ve got the preamp cranked and with the master volume above six, is when the amp really starts to open up. Its dynamic range is impressive, with the distortion being what you’d expect from a reissue Marshall JCM800. Its tonal emphasis is in the upper midrange, which adds to the classic metal crunch.
Conclusion
Marshall’s JCM 2000 is a more modern version of the JCM 800. The JCM 2000 has got a clean channel and a reverb section and it’s a big microchip amp. Generally speaking, Marshall’s JCM 800 is regarded to be a better amp.