Marshall DSL20CR Reviews

Very good and very loud

The amp is quite limited in the processing and effects provided, but it is a great sounding amp, beginner friendly (because of the simplicity) and not to mention the fact that it looks so classy and nice.

Just great

After watching some videos of LambChopper678 who uses a DSL20 to recreate the sounds of Metallica, Death, Megadeth and so on, I bought this amp. And so far I'm quite happy with it, it gives a very good impression in quality and the sound is amazing.

However I wasn't aware how loud 20/10 Watts are, so most of the time I use the 10 Watt setting and the volume at 2 o'clock. In retrospective I would buy the DSL10, just because I don't want my neighbors to hate me.

Anyway the sound is amazing and can really sound like some of the bands mentioned above. So overall I'm really enjoying this amp.

Not for home practice

I bought this amp for a gig. Before I was using a Peavey envoy that didn't sound any good when turned up loud. This amplifiet is quite the opposite. It sounds great loud,and the louder it is the better it sounds. However, if you are like me and you want to use it mainly for home practice this amp is not for you. When played at low volume it sounds fizzy if you use channel 2, no way you can get a good sound out of this amp at low volume. Clean channel is good however it's not super dynamic and it feels kind of "plastic" with singlecoils. I mean compared to a fender the clean channel is OK. In OD channel it delivers the Marshall growl, but the amp has to be very loud until it reaches the point where it starts to sound very good. The reverb is very subtle, the line out function is not that great.

Ä°t's a Marshall

You can find the iconic Marshall sound and playability. only negative feedback that ı can say is knob quality that could be better.

Great amp, top sound

The amp is amazing, Just can't stop playing with it. Both channels are great, some people probbaly won't need other efects at all.

Awesome AMP

I use it in my country house. I think it also can be used in apartmens.

Sound is warm, lively and reach. Its worth!

Great value

Great amp and great sound. I am not a professional, I play mostly at my apartment (I love the audio-in jack!) and sometimes we jam with some friends. It's perfect for both as it can get quite loud too. I had some doubts because of the many complaints I saw around for the speaker but I really don't see any problem with it and It sounds really great. If I have to mention some cons, sometimes I miss a Master volume and also the reverb is a bit weak I think

Thanks to the store for the service. I live in Russia, Siberia. I order not the first product, everything comes safe and sound. Combos is worth the money, great sound, especially overdrive. Clean, maybe due to humbuckers, gives out a little load.

Excellent tube amp

I used to play Fender Bassman 59, but it was too loud for me. Marshall is the best option for me on the very similar sound.

Awesome sound and features but noisy

I like the beefy rock sound a lot! Tested a few other amps like the Blackstar HT20 and Boss Katana Mk2 which couldn't compete with this one in my opinion, sound-wise.

There is an emulated out for recording and emulated in for practicing, which is perfect. The EQ Options are great.

This would be the perfect amp, if there wasn't that very loud background noise. Even on clean channels it bothers me very much, especially when you hear it on your recordings on emulated out. Even when my gain and volume are on zero, it's noisy. I don't know if I just got a wrong model or if this is normal for tube amps but I didn't notice comparable noise on the Blackstar HT for example.

I think I am going to keep it because the sound for the price is just awesome. Maybe I can do something about the noise with filthers

Marshall, like it should be.

I use this amp as my home studio amp, practice and noodle amp. It does all 3 jobs well, with the distinctive Marshall sound we know ( and most of us love).

So, the pro's:

Typcially Marshall. If you have owned a Marshall, the controls will feel natural.

Built like a house. Mind you, this is not a top-of-the-line Marshall, but it still comes in at 20 kilo's. DSL may be the "affordable" range, but the first impressions do not align with this truth. It feels solid, and like it can handel the road, if you want to use it for gigs.

The Cleans are lovely. It takes pedals with no problem.

Gain channel is good, and many rock/metal players will have fun with it. But I would stick a TS (TubeScreamer) in there, somewhere.

Send/return is handy. footswitchable. No level control for it.

20 watt or 10(ish) watt-mode. Big pro, because 20 watts of tube amp is still a lot of LOUD. Lower power mode is much more workable in a home studio situation. The 20 watt's can carry you in band practice or even a live situation. This is not a bedroom practice amp :) ...

The Tone-shift. Metal players of a certain style will love this: it cuts the mids in a very metal like way, (mid-scoop).

The con's.

The Tone-shift. Great for metal, not so great for anything else. Make sure it is not engaged the first time you try it, or it will confuse you ;) .

Reverb. It has it, but it feels more like a selling point than actual effort to put a good, usable reverb in. It is vage, or in your face. No or little inbetween.

It is a very beefy sounding amp. If you are looking for a bedroom or living room tube/valve practice amp, this one is mostly likely too loud for that, even in lower power (10 watt-ish). This is NOT a bedroom practice amp. look at the 1 or 5 watt for that. Really. I mean it. :)

For those who like to mod their gear, I do think this amp would like a V30 or greenback a little better than the Seventy-80 that comes with it. But the Seventy-80 does what is asked of it.

This is a very good amp, great tones of it's own, and takes pedals and fx well. It will take whatever you throw at it, and make it louder, with no issues.

MARSHALL DSL20CR

This is one of my favourite amps. It really reprisents all i need.

It is suitable all the way from blues to metal. You can get a lot of different amazing sounds out of it (specially if you use different kind of tubes - depends on what style of sound do you prefer).

It is really handy and practicle, because it is small, light and loud.

If you want bigger sound with more power, you can also drive it through bigger box (you can plug it on 4 x 12 box).

When you turn the volume all the way up it is loud enough almost for anykind of use. I use it on stage, in the studio and at home. It never failed me. I really love it so far.

It has bright and warm clean channel, which can get a little bit chrunchy aswell. And there is also a drive channel with nice definition, good attack and awesome punch.

Monster sound!!!

Bought this combo for a customer of mine: I just can't stand the sound of it! IT'S HUGE!!! Great sounding Marshall vibe, absolutely perfect both for small and medium venues.

new features very welcome

I've been thinking of the dsl 20 for some time now, and finally the new version has fx loop and headphone out, so I had to get it. Overall very pleased, although the cab emulation and the reverb is a bit lame, but these are not entirely essential features. It's a bit of a beast for my normal practising environment so think twice if you want it for the bedroom.