Marshall jcm2000 dsl

jimistone

jimistone

long standing member
Are these jcm 2000 dual lead amps worth a damn? The reason I'm asking is because I'm not familiar with the more modern Marshalls and the music store down the road has a used one. They are asking $750 for the head and a 4/12 slant cab (1960A).
I might be interested if it's a decent amp...I dunno.
good deal?
 
Really depends on what condition it's in dude...FWIW, I just bought a new DSL100 (the new version, Vietnam made..) & a used 1960A cab back in the summer...I paid $1200 for the head & cab...So, that's not a bad deal really, see if you can haggle 'em down a little, might save you a little more...

I like my DSL100, it's my "modern" rock/hair metal amp, it's loud as fuck, there might be a couple issues with that version...

Something was up with the speaker jacks on older DSL's, not sure what it was, but you might do some research on that one...AFAIK, on the new ones (like I've got), Marshall went a different route & took care of the problem...

The shared eq might be a little bothersome if you play live/gig, as the red channel is really bright compared to the green channel, but for me, it's a non-issue, as I don't play live...

Keep us posted dude, and again, I like my DSL100....I've actually got 2 of 'em: the 100 watt version, & the 1 watt version....:).
 
jimistone said:
Are these jcm 2000 dual lead amps worth a damn? The reason I'm asking is because I'm not familiar with the more modern Marshalls and the music store down the road has a used one. They are asking $750 for the head and a 4/12 slant cab (1960A).
I might be interested if it's a decent amp...I dunno.
good deal?
Click to expand...

Yes, 750 for a halfstack is a very good deal. Suspiciously good. That's the kind of deal you jump on just so no one else can.

Having said that, the DSL might not be the amp for you. Minerman just said why.
 
Play it. If it sounds good, go for it.

I was considering getting one of those at one point, but I decided not to sink money into guitar amps. Back when I was buying Marshalls, each amp sounded so different from the next, you really had to check all the amps you could find in your area to find the one that sou ded the best to you. Don't get me wrong, they all sounded fine and all sounded like Marshalls, but some were bright, some were dark, some were nasally, it was a real easter egg hunt.
 
Farview said:
Play it. If it sounds good, go for it.

I was considering getting one of those at one point, but I decided not to sink money into guitar amps. Back when I was buying Marshalls, each amp sounded so different from the next, you really had to check all the amps you could find in your area to find the one that sou ded the best to you. Don't get me wrong, they all sounded fine and all sounded like Marshalls, but some were bright, some were dark, some were nasally, it was a real easter egg hunt.
Click to expand...

The newer Marshalls aren't so bad about that. It's true for the old models, two amps from the same shift could sound wildly different, but I've played lots of DSLs and IMO they all sound the same.
 
I've been using a JCM 2000 DSL at our practice room for a few weeks. I was always under the impression that the head alone was for beyond the 1k$ price range.

Buy it, flip it, get something else. (worse case scenario)
 
Used DSL heads usually go somewhere in the $600-750 range. A clean used 1960A cab averages around $400.

$750 for both is a steal.
 
It's in good shape. I just need to play it.
I need a 100 watt Marshall amp like I need a hole in the head but, it seemed like a good deal for the amp and the head....like greg said the cabs go for $400 or so.

I just didn't know much about the jcm 2000 amps. I used to have a 100 watt Marshall but that was in the late 70 ' s and it was old when I got it.
Looks like it's a good deal then. I just have to decide if I'm going to record enough hard rocking tunes to warrant spending $750 on a guitar amp that only does hard rock.
 
jimistone said:
It's in good shape. I just need to play it.
I need a 100 watt Marshall amp like I need a hole in the head but, it seemed like a good deal for the amp and the head....like greg said the cabs go for $400 or so.

I just didn't know much about the jcm 2000 amps. I used to have a 100 watt Marshall but that was in the late 70 ' s and it was old when I got it.
Looks like it's a good deal then. I just have to decide if I'm going to record enough hard rocking tunes to warrant spending $750 on a guitar amp that only does hard rock.
Click to expand...

It doesn't only do hard rock. It has two channels with two modes per channel.

The "Classic Gain" side has clean and crunch modes, and both will do mild to classic rock tones very well. The cleans are quite good for a Marshall. The crunch mode is pretty fat and thick and sounds good on it's own, but it's not exactly the classic Marshall chime and crunch of yesteryear. Keep the gain moderate and you'll get the mild breakup found in blues tones. This side of the amp takes pedals really well.

The "Ultra Gain" channel is full on wailing gain out the wazoo. Lead 1 mode is a lot of gain, and Lead 2 mode is even more.

It's loud as fuck, but it's master volume maintains pretty good tone down to more modest levels. It's not a bedroom amp though.

The big problem IMO with the DSL is it's shared EQ section for each half of the amp. What you dial in on the Classic Gain side will likely be ass on the Ultra Gain side, and vice versa. But if you treat it like a single channel amp, it's fine. I could see you using the Classic side only for almost everything. It also has a "tone shift" which is a useless mid scoop, and a "Deep Switch" which is extra oomph for the thin Ultra Gain channel. It also has pretty good reverbs and an effects loop. It's a really good amp, it's just functionally not a great amp, and they're plentiful and very common so that's why they can be found for a steal used.
 
Greg's right about pretty much everything he's said....it's definitely not a bedroom amp, trust me, I know....:D.It is loud as fuck dude, really....The new Vietnam-made model (what I've got) has a 50/100w switch, that smooths out the high end (in a way that I like, not only does it cut the headroom/loudness a little, itmakes it respond & feel like a different amp)...

The green/crunch channel does get pretty "flabby" sounding in the low-end in my experience, but could be dialed out with eq...The only problem with that is like mentioned, when you get one channel sounding pretty good, the other channel sounds like ass & vice-versa...

I do like my DSL100 a lot, it's got some really good tones in it, you just need to tweak it to find 'em....

And FWIW, I paid $300 for my 4x12 with Celestion G12-T75's....It's not in terrible shape, but the tolex is torn in places, I had to replace the jacks on the jackplate, & tighten up the speakers (they were literally about to fall out), but all in all, I got a pretty good deal on my cab....

Keep us posted dude, & if I can help, lemme know...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top