Marshall DSL 401 is it supposed to be quiet?

mic71 · 11-09-2009, 06:26 PM

I have a DSL 401 and I used it at a gig last week. There are two other guitarists in the band that use Fender deluxes. The deluxes were on 2 and my DSL was at 10 o'clock for the gain and 2 o'clock for the master. If I went any higher, my clean channel was dirtied. Is this amp supposed to be that much quieter than the deluxe hot rods or is there something wrong with my amp? I have never done anything to it-tubes are original. Thanks in advance for the help.

thrawn86 · 11-09-2009, 06:39 PM

What's the serial number....the barcode thing that has a string of numbers under it and starts with an 'M'? The first 4 numbers are the year of manufacture. Go from there to today's date, and that tells you how old those tubes are. More than likely, it's time for a retube my man, even if nothing's wrong.

Is the quietness a new thing?

MartyStrat54 · 11-09-2009, 07:05 PM

I've never heard anyone complain that their tube amp ran quiet. Hell, that's a good thing. Makes for a great studio amp.

You probably have an older 401 (before 2003) and it probably has Ei tubes in it. These were probably the best tubes that Marshall used in the recent past.

If it is playing okay and you can obtain the necessary volume, I say let her go. I mean a some point you will have to retube. Ei went out of business, but some places still stock the EL84's and the 12AX7's.

JohnH · 11-09-2009, 07:18 PM

1 or 2 O'clock on the master is where I set mine when at band volume - seems OK to me. I have heard that Fender amps have volume pots that make volume rise very quickly with a small turn, but then dont keep rising so much with further travel. Has anyone else heard of that?

mic71 · 11-10-2009, 08:10 PM

Thanks guys. I will try to swap out the tubes.

11-09-2009, 06:26 PM	#1 (permalink)
mic71 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	Marshall DSL 401 is it supposed to be quiet? I have a DSL 401 and I used it at a gig last week. There are two other guitarists in the band that use Fender deluxes. The deluxes were on 2 and my DSL was at 10 o'clock for the gain and 2 o'clock for the master. If I went any higher, my clean channel was dirtied. Is this amp supposed to be that much quieter than the deluxe hot rods or is there something wrong with my amp? I have never done anything to it-tubes are original. Thanks in advance for the help.

11-09-2009, 07:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
JohnH Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Wollongong NSW Posts: 780	Re: Marshall DSL 401 is it supposed to be quiet? 1 or 2 O'clock on the master is where I set mine when at band volume - seems OK to me. I have heard that Fender amps have volume pots that make volume rise very quickly with a small turn, but then dont keep rising so much with further travel. Has anyone else heard of that? __________________ DSL401 8412 cab Crate Powerblock 1 x 12 Vintage 30 cab '76 Shergold Masquerader '93 Les Paul Studio '83 Roadstar

11-10-2009, 08:10 PM	#5 (permalink)
mic71 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	Re: Marshall DSL 401 is it supposed to be quiet? Thanks guys. I will try to swap out the tubes.

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