lerxst88

anyone ever owned one of these? how do you think they sound compared to a DSL 401? general opinions? thanks!

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joemarshalljmp

I just got a Studio Caliber and I love it, very Santana like, it is not as versatile as other boogies and not very Marshall sounding, classic liquidy sustain. The 401 with the extra gain button has kind of a warm fuzz overdrive that the DSL's can give you, really cool IMO. And to answer your question they don't compare, they are very different animals, get both.

diesect20022000

the only mesa i have used that gets a Marshall DSL like tone is my mesa rectoverb 50. i can get blackface breakup and 800 style drive on the rhythm channel and the lead channel can do recto and marshall voicing's. I can also get a close but, no cigar tone to my Framus Dragon on it as well but, the feel is wrong. the series 1 rectoverbs are HIGHLY underrated amps as are the f series imo. the F series didn't do well because people were looking for a "cheap recto" and didn't bother testing them or reading their product discription but, they have a tone similar to the older mark series amps which is pretty nice imo. persoanly i'm not a huge fan of the rectos save the rectoverb i own. i like mine becuase it CAN do the recto tone but, it's a much more versatile beast with a richer tonality. the thing has a TON of mids as well which is not what rectos are known for and probably why i love it because i can't do that scooped metal tone even though i'm a metalhead. i love my mids. i would definitely NOT off the DSL unless you have to though. i traded my DSL100 toward my Framus Dragon but, ONLY because i knew that that PARTICULAR Marshall model was easy and cheap to replace. even still i miss the hell out of it but, the Dragon is harder to obtain, costs more and does have the feel and tone i wanted for modern metal as where the DSL did everything really well (yes metal too) but, the dragon excels at metal tones. really the 401 coupled with the caliber and an AB-Y box would probably make you VERY happy imo.


the rectoverbs did alright but, most people thought along the lines of "if i'm buying a recto, i want metal so i don't need to pay extra for reverb" which is silly. it's a great amp and even though it's supposed to be a single rectifier i honestly like it MUCH better.

tresmarshallz

All three of those amps you mentioned would sound so different from one another, it would be hard to describe the differences in short simple terms.
Your also comparing a 100W 6L6 mesa amp to small 40 watt el84 marshall tube amp so that in itself makes for a difficult comparison.
I think the differences between a mesa and marshall sound HAVE to be experienced in person and should be before anyone makes an amp purchase decision.
From my limited exposure to Mesa, I would describe their sound in general as a smooth and a bit slower response and tougher to fit in a band mix, whereas marshall are more middy and in your face with a quick response and slice through a band mix like nothing.
I think the caliber series are more similar to the old Mark series mesa, and the F100's would be a more modern sound like the rectifier's....but don't quote me on the that please

they are both great, everyone should own a marshall AND a mesa just for variety. Different amps inspire you to play differently than you might otherwise play.