Dude you can find original DSLs for 500-600 bucks. You could potentially be into a DSL and 1960 cab for less than a new DSL, and way less than even a used JVM410. You'd fucking lose your mind with the JVM though. I'm still figuring out new settings with this thing. I don't use the higher gain settings though. Too much gain for me. OD1/2 Green is the nastiest I get with it. OD1 Orange with the gain real low does sound kind of Plexi-ish though.
The New Tone Thread
- Thread starter Telegram Sam
- Start date
I'm gonna try to do some SG/LP comparo clips today. Here's a first review of the Angus SG.
Did some loud guitaring yesterday. My initial, still limited impression is that the Angus SG has got more midrange punch than my Les Paul Traditional. The SG has thicker mids. The LP has a more balanced clarity. The SG's Angus model bridge humbucker is pretty hot and dirty, but it will clean up if you roll the vol way back. Rolling the Angus pickup back to around 5-6 into a loud Plexi immediately sounds like AC/DC. It was either by design or by accident, but I was just fiddling around with some open chords and it sounded pretty much like every AC/DC song ever recorded. The LP's Burstbucker seems to have slightly less output and cleans up and gets sparkly sooner. Both guitars have 57 Classics in the neck, and they sound similar between the two guitars. The SG is SIGNIFICANTLY more playable than the LP. The slim neck and the SG's typical total fret access everywhere is a breeze and would probably be awesome if I were a better player. This being an Angus SG though, the super slim and tapered neck would probably be too small for dudes with bearclaw hands. My LP has a slimmed 60s neck and I love it, but it also has the usual gigantic LP heel that gets in the way if you wanna go high up the neck. I never do so it's no problem for me. I'm a hack. Lead notes bark and jump out of the SG, but it has noticeably less sustain than the LP. The SG's sustain into feedback is more violent and abrupt while the LP fades and blossoms into a super rich beautiful sustaining feedback. To be fair, I'm in a smallish room right next to a very loud amp. I need to test that sustain thing again in a bigger room further from the amp. But all things being equal in this room, the LP's sustain, as expected, is way better than the SG.
The setup on the SG was pretty poor when I first put my hands on it in the store. It doesn't appear to have been manhandled by guitar center finger fuckers. No nicks or scratches. It was way up in the rafters out of reach from the usual thugs and finger bangers. But it had been hanging there a while and was pretty dusty. It wouldn't stay in tune for shit. I told the sales girl "If you wanna sell me this guitar, yall gotta do a complete setup on it and clean it up or I'm walking". So they did, right then and there. New 10s, adjusted the action, saddles, and truss rod to my liking. I tried it again, and voila, perfect. I can bend and hammer on this thing hard and it stays in tune very nicely. The frets and neck binding are very nice, although the nibs on the bass side are a little sharp. That's not really a problem for me. I don't usually drag my thumb around over the top of the fretboard. But that could have been done better. The fit and finish is very good everywhere else. The lightning bolt inlays are very silly and cool. I love the witch hat vol and tone knobs. The wiring in the control cavity seems to be nice and tidy. Clean soldering. Everything is smooth, snug, and flush. The very deep black-cherry red translucent finish that just barely lets a little grain show through is pretty stunning in person. I've tried taking pics of it, but pics just don't do it justice. You gotta see it in person. It looks black in certain light, and then you see that it's red and it just looks awesome. Beautiful color. The only thing visually that I'm not crazy about is the cream pickup selector trim ring and toggle cap. I think black would have been better for that. Those cream pieces stick out way too much. But that's an easy fix if it ever bothers me enough to fuck with it. I don't suspect it will. My Epi SG has those bits in black and I can swipe them if I want to.
So anyway, there ya go. Clips to come.
Did some loud guitaring yesterday. My initial, still limited impression is that the Angus SG has got more midrange punch than my Les Paul Traditional. The SG has thicker mids. The LP has a more balanced clarity. The SG's Angus model bridge humbucker is pretty hot and dirty, but it will clean up if you roll the vol way back. Rolling the Angus pickup back to around 5-6 into a loud Plexi immediately sounds like AC/DC. It was either by design or by accident, but I was just fiddling around with some open chords and it sounded pretty much like every AC/DC song ever recorded. The LP's Burstbucker seems to have slightly less output and cleans up and gets sparkly sooner. Both guitars have 57 Classics in the neck, and they sound similar between the two guitars. The SG is SIGNIFICANTLY more playable than the LP. The slim neck and the SG's typical total fret access everywhere is a breeze and would probably be awesome if I were a better player. This being an Angus SG though, the super slim and tapered neck would probably be too small for dudes with bearclaw hands. My LP has a slimmed 60s neck and I love it, but it also has the usual gigantic LP heel that gets in the way if you wanna go high up the neck. I never do so it's no problem for me. I'm a hack. Lead notes bark and jump out of the SG, but it has noticeably less sustain than the LP. The SG's sustain into feedback is more violent and abrupt while the LP fades and blossoms into a super rich beautiful sustaining feedback. To be fair, I'm in a smallish room right next to a very loud amp. I need to test that sustain thing again in a bigger room further from the amp. But all things being equal in this room, the LP's sustain, as expected, is way better than the SG.
The setup on the SG was pretty poor when I first put my hands on it in the store. It doesn't appear to have been manhandled by guitar center finger fuckers. No nicks or scratches. It was way up in the rafters out of reach from the usual thugs and finger bangers. But it had been hanging there a while and was pretty dusty. It wouldn't stay in tune for shit. I told the sales girl "If you wanna sell me this guitar, yall gotta do a complete setup on it and clean it up or I'm walking". So they did, right then and there. New 10s, adjusted the action, saddles, and truss rod to my liking. I tried it again, and voila, perfect. I can bend and hammer on this thing hard and it stays in tune very nicely. The frets and neck binding are very nice, although the nibs on the bass side are a little sharp. That's not really a problem for me. I don't usually drag my thumb around over the top of the fretboard. But that could have been done better. The fit and finish is very good everywhere else. The lightning bolt inlays are very silly and cool. I love the witch hat vol and tone knobs. The wiring in the control cavity seems to be nice and tidy. Clean soldering. Everything is smooth, snug, and flush. The very deep black-cherry red translucent finish that just barely lets a little grain show through is pretty stunning in person. I've tried taking pics of it, but pics just don't do it justice. You gotta see it in person. It looks black in certain light, and then you see that it's red and it just looks awesome. Beautiful color. The only thing visually that I'm not crazy about is the cream pickup selector trim ring and toggle cap. I think black would have been better for that. Those cream pieces stick out way too much. But that's an easy fix if it ever bothers me enough to fuck with it. I don't suspect it will. My Epi SG has those bits in black and I can swipe them if I want to.
So anyway, there ya go. Clips to come.
BroKen_H
Re-member
Went to Guitar Center yesterday and saw the MG100. Played a nice SG through the thing and the tone is remarkably like a Marshall, but when I went into the vault and played through a JVM205 (50W) that was in there, there was no comparison. I see the price is in the really reasonable (read that inexpensive) category. I mean it sounds good in the big open room where you're semi-afraid to pump the 11s, but when I went into the small, treated room where I could push the gain, it was night and day. Has anybody played around with one of these in comparison to the "real" Marshalls? If so, how much of what I was hearing was the difference in saturation and room treatment and how much is machine made vs hand wired expense? Is this going to be a viable amp for getting decent tones out?
The difference you were hearing is the difference between a cheap solid state budget amp and a true fire-breathing high end full tube Marshall model. The MG in no way compares to any of the "real" Marshalls. The logo and tolex is the same, and that's about it. The MG line is thin, flat, and buzzy just like any other solid state budget amp. But if that's what you have to go with, you do what you gotta do. A good player will get usable sounds with one. That same good player will sound better through any tube amp.
BroKen_H
Re-member
Kind of what I thought. Didn't even realize it was solid state. Running the MG at low levels (probably never broke 10w) was, like I said, night and day from hitting 8's with the J on the volume and gain (I actually preferred the sound of the crunch channel at that volume to the overdirive. Nice amp! The MG sounded okay until you gave a comparison with the real thing. Just making sure it wasn't my timorousness or the acoustics.
If you're looking for a modest low watt tube Marshall that won't necessarily blow the walls down, you're options are kind of limited. Check the DSL line up. There's a 15w DSL that's pretty decent. The 40w is better to me, but it's loud. The Slash SL-5 (5w combo) comes with a Vintage 30 and gets good reviews, but I'm not personally too crazy about it. I need to hear it through a proper cab. You can also find used Class 5 heads and combos for a steal, and they have a pretty good vintage Marshall crunch but won't go past that. They take pedals well. And of course there's the one watt anniversary models that sort of replicate Marshalls more famous fire-breathers of yesteryear and current offerings. They're expensive as hell though for what they are.
jonny deep
Disappointing Member
The combo versions have been being sold off relatively cheaply over here at £379 recently - well worth a punt if you don't mind having the useless speaker attached and plugging into a better cab anyway.
Ok, first test run. Les Paul vs Angus SG. Burstbucker 3 pickup vs Angus Sig HB pickup.
I labeled the clips A and B. Guess which is which, if you don't mind. Your prize if you guess right? Nothing. Sorry.
Both clips are some simple basic semi-AC/DC style rhythm playing. Nothing special.
Both clips start with each guitar's vol rolled down to 2, then it goes up to 5, then full guitar vol to end.
Both clips through the same amp, cab, mics.
Marshall Plexi 1959 SLP
Presence - 7
Bass - 6
Mid - 2
Treb - 6
High Treble Vol 1 - 3
Normal Vol 2 - 0
PPIMV - full cranked
High input 1 only
Marshall 1960A - Greenback - SM57 center on grill - Audix i5 edge on grill - in-phase full blend 100%
No EQ in DAW
Clip A
Clip B
Okay, now take a guess!
I labeled the clips A and B. Guess which is which, if you don't mind. Your prize if you guess right? Nothing. Sorry.
Both clips are some simple basic semi-AC/DC style rhythm playing. Nothing special.
Both clips start with each guitar's vol rolled down to 2, then it goes up to 5, then full guitar vol to end.
Both clips through the same amp, cab, mics.
Marshall Plexi 1959 SLP
Presence - 7
Bass - 6
Mid - 2
Treb - 6
High Treble Vol 1 - 3
Normal Vol 2 - 0
PPIMV - full cranked
High input 1 only
Marshall 1960A - Greenback - SM57 center on grill - Audix i5 edge on grill - in-phase full blend 100%
No EQ in DAW
Clip A
Clip B
Okay, now take a guess!
Sky Blue Lou
Well-known member
Beats me. SG - A?
B sounds like my HB LPs at full pot. (My SG is P90s.)
B sounds like my HB LPs at full pot. (My SG is P90s.)
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
hmmm ..... at first glance I'd say A is the SG ..... it's a brighter more jangly sort of sound whereas B is a fuller sound on the bottom end. But towards the end of the clip B started having this resonant boomy thump on the bottom end that sounded like a thinner body getting resonated by the speaker and I don't think a Paul would do that so I'm gonna guess A is the paul and B is the SG.
I'm not totally sure though.
I'm not totally sure though.
Seafroggys
Well-known member
I'd say A is the SG, go with the crowd here.
Ok cool thanks for playing along fellas. Yall guessed right! Lt Boob, you waffled a little, but your initial gut reaction was correct so you get full credit! I remember preparing for the SATs, actually the only thing I remember is if you're unsure, go with your initial gut answer. 
A is the SG, B is the Les Paul.
Although if I had heard this in a blind test, I probably would have gotten it wrong. The way the Les Paul really dropped in beef and output with the vol rolled back probably would have tricked me into thinking it was the thinner SG. I'm gullible like that. I guess it must be just pickup personality and probably, like PDP said, the treble cap? Hell, I don't know. The SG seems to maintain most of it's character pretty much no matter how you roll the dial. It cleans up for sure, but not that much. The Les Paul apparently has a wider range and is more versatile. At full roar they sound pretty similar. I think the SG has a more focused midrange. All of this is completely moot since I never use the guitar vol at anything other than 10. Lol. I am fascinated with how rolling the vol reacts with the amp though, especially with the Plexi. It's not something I ever did before, probably still won't, definitely don't need it for recording, but I like playing with it. I like the old school idea of setting the amp to kill, playing with the guitar on like 7 or 8, and then rolling it up to 10 for leads or hot parts or whatever. Fuck pedals. Pedals are the gay!
The Angus HB is wax potted, measures 9.2k, and uses Alnico V mags.
The Burstbucker 3 is unpotted, unbalanced PAF style winding, measures 8.4k, and uses Alnico II mags.
Needless to say, I'm happy as fuck with both guitars. I was gonna throw the Hallmark Mosrite into the mix too, but that one is damn near a dead giveaway. That thing is all fat plonky twang and single coil humbuzz. Love it as well.
A is the SG, B is the Les Paul.
Although if I had heard this in a blind test, I probably would have gotten it wrong. The way the Les Paul really dropped in beef and output with the vol rolled back probably would have tricked me into thinking it was the thinner SG. I'm gullible like that. I guess it must be just pickup personality and probably, like PDP said, the treble cap? Hell, I don't know. The SG seems to maintain most of it's character pretty much no matter how you roll the dial. It cleans up for sure, but not that much. The Les Paul apparently has a wider range and is more versatile. At full roar they sound pretty similar. I think the SG has a more focused midrange. All of this is completely moot since I never use the guitar vol at anything other than 10. Lol. I am fascinated with how rolling the vol reacts with the amp though, especially with the Plexi. It's not something I ever did before, probably still won't, definitely don't need it for recording, but I like playing with it. I like the old school idea of setting the amp to kill, playing with the guitar on like 7 or 8, and then rolling it up to 10 for leads or hot parts or whatever. Fuck pedals. Pedals are the gay!
The Angus HB is wax potted, measures 9.2k, and uses Alnico V mags.
The Burstbucker 3 is unpotted, unbalanced PAF style winding, measures 8.4k, and uses Alnico II mags.
Needless to say, I'm happy as fuck with both guitars. I was gonna throw the Hallmark Mosrite into the mix too, but that one is damn near a dead giveaway. That thing is all fat plonky twang and single coil humbuzz. Love it as well.
Oh, by the way....
I saw BB King last night. I'm not a blues fan, not modern blues anyway, but I am a fan of living legends. I've never seen BB King before. Got a free ticket from a photographer friend who was shooting the show, so I went. His backing band was great. Dare I say his rhythm guitarist was better than he was?
Anyway, I generally don't get starstruck by anyone or anything, but I gotta admit that when he finally came out and plopped his old ass in that chair and grabbed "Lucille" off the stand, I genuinely got the feeling that I was in the presence of greatness. No lie.
The show itself was meh. It was okay. To my blues inexperienced ears, Mr BB did way too much bullshitting and not enough playing, but he is like 298 years old, so I give him a pass. He did seem to lose the pretty large and diverse crowd for a while there. I'd feel pretty bad if I had paid the 100 bucks or whatever for that ticket. But for free, it was cool to see a living legend. His guitar tone was pure raunchy badass. His voice was fantastic. When he played, it was great. He just didn't do it enough for me. I'm glad I got to see him though.
I saw BB King last night. I'm not a blues fan, not modern blues anyway, but I am a fan of living legends. I've never seen BB King before. Got a free ticket from a photographer friend who was shooting the show, so I went. His backing band was great. Dare I say his rhythm guitarist was better than he was?
Anyway, I generally don't get starstruck by anyone or anything, but I gotta admit that when he finally came out and plopped his old ass in that chair and grabbed "Lucille" off the stand, I genuinely got the feeling that I was in the presence of greatness. No lie.
The show itself was meh. It was okay. To my blues inexperienced ears, Mr BB did way too much bullshitting and not enough playing, but he is like 298 years old, so I give him a pass. He did seem to lose the pretty large and diverse crowd for a while there. I'd feel pretty bad if I had paid the 100 bucks or whatever for that ticket. But for free, it was cool to see a living legend. His guitar tone was pure raunchy badass. His voice was fantastic. When he played, it was great. He just didn't do it enough for me. I'm glad I got to see him though.
PDP
There once was a note
Cool,
Who knows how much longer he'll be touring, so you got the chance to see him. I saw him in the late 70s when I was barely a teenager, with my 85lb girlfriend. He had two other guitar players with him, and they did more playing than he did. Yeah, it wasn't the greatest show but I'm glad I went.
Who knows how much longer he'll be touring, so you got the chance to see him. I saw him in the late 70s when I was barely a teenager, with my 85lb girlfriend. He had two other guitar players with him, and they did more playing than he did. Yeah, it wasn't the greatest show but I'm glad I went.
I need some help. I bought new amp - a Marshall DSL40C. I'm just not getting the tone that other people are getting. The tone I get is kind of: sizzly, buzzy, spongy or whatever. The problem is particlarly bad on the Crunch channel. It's a little better on Lead 1, but still not what I want. Check out this Marshall demo video:
DSL40C Product Demo - YouTube
He demonstrates the Crunch channel a little after 2:15 - and I love that tone. I have a sample below with two sections. The first section has the same amp settings as the demo. Same guitar too. But it doesn't sound anything like the demo. I can't figure out why, and I'd love to know. The second section of the clip below uses the Lead 1 channel. It's a little better with the sponginess, but it's fairly thin sounding.
The guitar on both sections - Les Paul Traditional (57 Classic pickup). Bridge pickup.
The mic on both sections - SM57, straight on, on grill, just inside dustcap.
The amp on both sections is my Marshall DSL40C
First section
Crunch Channel
Guitar Volume - 5
Guitar Tone - 5
Amp Gain - 5
Amp Volume - 5
Treble - 7
Mid - 7
Bass - 7
Presence - 7
Second Section
Lead 1 Channel
Guitar Volume - 1.5
Guitar Tone - 5
Amp Gain - 2
Amp Volume - 5
Treble - 7
Mid - 7
Bass - 10
Presence - 7
The Lead 1 Channel has less of that spongy sound, but it doesn't have the low end of the Crunch channel. I really want to use the Crunch Channel, but it's not sounding right. Little help?
DSL40C Product Demo - YouTube
He demonstrates the Crunch channel a little after 2:15 - and I love that tone. I have a sample below with two sections. The first section has the same amp settings as the demo. Same guitar too. But it doesn't sound anything like the demo. I can't figure out why, and I'd love to know. The second section of the clip below uses the Lead 1 channel. It's a little better with the sponginess, but it's fairly thin sounding.
The guitar on both sections - Les Paul Traditional (57 Classic pickup). Bridge pickup.
The mic on both sections - SM57, straight on, on grill, just inside dustcap.
The amp on both sections is my Marshall DSL40C
First section
Crunch Channel
Guitar Volume - 5
Guitar Tone - 5
Amp Gain - 5
Amp Volume - 5
Treble - 7
Mid - 7
Bass - 7
Presence - 7
Second Section
Lead 1 Channel
Guitar Volume - 1.5
Guitar Tone - 5
Amp Gain - 2
Amp Volume - 5
Treble - 7
Mid - 7
Bass - 10
Presence - 7
The Lead 1 Channel has less of that spongy sound, but it doesn't have the low end of the Crunch channel. I really want to use the Crunch Channel, but it's not sounding right. Little help?
jonny deep
Disappointing Member
I saw BB King play Glastonbury festival a couple of years ago. As you say, he is very, very old - easily 140 or something. He seemed to just play the same, simple lead parts all the time, but as he looked like he was about to drop dead I forgave him.
First off congrats on the new amp. I think they're pretty good and you'll get it sorted I'm sure. Yeah so first I'd suggest turning the guitar vol and tone up to 10. Especially the tone. That murkiness seems like a tone rolloff to me. Give it all you got. Also, if you're using that video as a reference, look where they have the mic. Doesn't look like it's inside the dustcap to me. Another thing, maybe bring the mids down some. That can sort of "tidy up" the sound sometimes.
The "lead" channel on a DSL is notoriously thin. That's why the originals came with that "deep" switch. The resonance control is your friend on that channel. Resonance is essentially just a presence control for the low end. I thickens up the low mids.
So I'd suggest turn the guitar up, adjust the mic, and play with the mids and resonance.
Oh, and another thing, that speaker has got to break in. You gotta do some loud ass jamming for a while or give it time. I think those come with a Celestion 70/80? That's generally not one of the better speakers of Celestion's line up, but with a good break in, it should sweeten up
Thanks Greg. I'll do some more knob-twiddling tonight. I'll turn up the guitar controls to 10 and possibly turn down the mids. If I do that, I'm thinking I may need to also turn down the amp Gain. It might be a mushy mess. I'll see.
Yeah on that video, he may have the mic outside the dustcap. But I'll tell ya, the speaker is way over to the right on this amp. So one way or another, I think he's fairly close to the edge of the dustcap, even tho it might not look like it. But I'll move it out a bit to see what happens.
I've also played with the resonance control too. It would definitely help on the Lead channel. I had it at 5 for both clips in the sample (I wanted to keep as many settings as I could the same between the two)
Maybe I'll post a progress clip tonight or tomorrow.
Yeah on that video, he may have the mic outside the dustcap. But I'll tell ya, the speaker is way over to the right on this amp. So one way or another, I think he's fairly close to the edge of the dustcap, even tho it might not look like it. But I'll move it out a bit to see what happens.
I've also played with the resonance control too. It would definitely help on the Lead channel. I had it at 5 for both clips in the sample (I wanted to keep as many settings as I could the same between the two)
Maybe I'll post a progress clip tonight or tomorrow.