Seeking advice DSL20

[joannpfeiffer]

I recently bought a new DSL20cr and I'm not able to get much of any crunch from the classic gain channel, even with the gain all the way up, and not great o/d tone from the ultra gain channel.... I watched several videos and matched the tone settings, and my amp sounds nothing (way cleaner) like the one in various youtube videos. Any suggestions? I've tried using humbuckers and single coil pickups.

 

[fitz288]

I recently bought a new DSL20cr and I'm not able to get much of any crunch from the classic gain channel, even with the gain all the way up, and not great o/d tone from the ultra gain channel.... I watched several videos and matched the tone settings, and my amp sounds nothing (way cleaner) like the one in various youtube videos. Any suggestions? I've tried using humbuckers and single coil pickups.

to the forum.
I don't have the combo, but I have the DSL20HR.
YT videos can be very deceiving.
Most of them are running the amps through a digital interface for recording, and are using IR speaker sims with a variety of effects to get the tones they want.
The stock combo speaker (Seventy-80) is not the best of speakers, so you may want to look into some upgrade choices there.
My classic channel stays fairly clean unless I'm pushing the speakers hard with both volume and gain.
I get some great crunch tones on the classic hit with an OD pedal.
Another common and simple upgrade is replacing the V1 tube with a JJ ECC823.
This will make the ultra-gain channel smoother and more manageable, but still gives plenty of grind.
And I'll always recommend EQ in the loop.

 

[Seventh Son]

I primarily use the Ultra Gain channel, so I can provide some advice on your question regarding heavy tones. The DSL sounds pretty thin through the internal speaker or a 1x12” closed back cab. To get the most out of it, try maxing out Bass and Resonance, with the mids set relatively high, as well. Keeping Treble and Presence relatively low helps thicken up the tone some more.

If you can afford it, consider getting a bigger extension cab, if you don’t already have one, as the amp could definitely benefit from a bigger cab.

For bedroom volume, this is not so much of an issue, but as soon as you open up the volume some, the lack in the low end will become apparent. The taper on the volume knob is pretty aggressive; the amp picks up in volume as soon as you go past 1.

 

[Gene Ballzz]

I recently bought a new DSL20cr and I'm not able to get much of any crunch from the classic gain channel, even with the gain all the way up, and not great o/d tone from the ultra gain channel.... I watched several videos and matched the tone settings, and my amp sounds nothing (way cleaner) like the one in various youtube videos. Any suggestions? I've tried using humbuckers and single coil pickups.

Yes, the CLASSIC GAIN channel will stay fairly clean, even with it's GAIN fully cranked, "UNTIL" the volume is also cranked up! And yes, it will be LOUD without a GOOD attenuator!

While I've not yet heard of anyone using a JHS "Little Black Amp Box" in the loop of a DSL20, it may a good compromise for adding a Master Volume that this amp lacks?

Just The Nature Of This Beast,
Gene

JHS Little Black Amp Box Passive Amp Attenuator

Passive Effects-loop Amplifier Attenuator

www.sweetwater.com

 

[George Dickens]

Check your guitar's pick-up height.

 

[fitz288]

Check your guitar's pick-up height.

...and then what?

 

[Listogast]

Boost pedal or overdrive pedal into the clean channel will help you. If you want the crunch to come more from the amp then use a boost pedal. The clean channel on the DSL amps has no break up unless you really crank the volume loud. On the bigger DSL's they have a crunch mode which is basically a boosted clean mode. Why they don't have that option on the lower watt amps I have no idea.

 

[paul-e-mann]

I recently bought a new DSL20cr and I'm not able to get much of any crunch from the classic gain channel, even with the gain all the way up, and not great o/d tone from the ultra gain channel.... I watched several videos and matched the tone settings, and my amp sounds nothing (way cleaner) like the one in various youtube videos. Any suggestions? I've tried using humbuckers and single coil pickups.

Replace V1 tube with a new 12AX7, you should be getting gobs of gain from the red channel.

 

[PelliX]

Boost pedal or overdrive pedal into the clean channel will help you. If you want the crunch to come more from the amp then use a boost pedal. The clean channel on the DSL amps has no break up unless you really crank the volume loud. On the bigger DSL's they have a crunch mode which is basically a boosted clean mode. Why they don't have that option on the lower watt amps I have no idea.

This. Either an EQ or some kind of real "clean" boost or try a Tubescreamer. The Green channel really takes well to them, I find.

@pedecamp If I understand the problem correctly (?), then OP has 'poor' sound on the Red channel and not enough gain on the Green channel.

As for the Red, I find/found it a bit compressed, and put in an ECC832 (JJ make them, I'm not aware of any other manufacturers). This reduces the gain factor (100) on one stage of the Red channel to 70. For me it seemed less compressed at the same amount of gain (for which I have to turn the gain knob further, of course). Put that valve in V1 and you've addressed @pedecamp 's suggestion, too...

 

[scozz]

This. Either an EQ or some kind of real "clean" boost or try a Tubescreamer. The Green channel really takes well to them, I find.

@pedecamp If I understand the problem correctly (?), then OP has 'poor' sound on the Red channel and not enough gain on the Green channel.

As for the Red, I find/found it a bit compressed, and put in an ECC832 (JJ make them, I'm not aware of any other manufacturers). This reduces the gain factor (100) on one stage of the Red channel to 70. For me it seemed less compressed at the same amount of gain (for which I have to turn the gain knob further, of course). Put that valve in V1 and you've addressed @pedecamp 's suggestion, too...

The op is complaining about not enough gain in either channel, we know the green channel needs the channel volume to be fairly high to get to breakup.

So that’s the explanation for the green channel, but as my buddy @pedecamp stated, there should be “gobs of gain” in the red channel. Something is amiss here.

As for the ecc823 preamp tubes, a 5751 preamp tube also has a gain rating of 70 and there are many more choices than just JJ’s. There are other preamp tubes that work pretty well at reducing a bit of the compression that’s seems inherit in the Dsl line.

Here’s a list of some of them and the gain factor of each,…

 

[PelliX]

The op is complaining about not enough gain in either channel, we know the green channel needs the channel volume to be fairly high to get to breakup.

So that’s the explanation for the green channel, but as my buddy @pedecamp stated, there should be “gobs of gain” in the red channel. Something is amiss here.

As for the ecc823 preamp tubes, a 5751 preamp tube also has a gain rating of 70 and there are many more choices than just JJ’s. There are other preamp tubes that work pretty well at reducing a bit of the compression that’s seems inherit in the Dsl line.

Here’s a list of some of them and the gain factor of each,…

Maybe I understood OP incorrectly (see also my question mark earlier), but I didn't read that he wasn't getting enough gain on the Red channel. Upon reading it again, he does state that his amp sounds cleaner - maybe he's referring to the Red channel there. He did state a lack of gain for the Green channel explicitely.

As for the ECC832, I'm not aware of any other CP valve that combines two different triodes (except for its counterpart; the ECC823). The unique advantage here is that when you use it in V1 of some DSL's it will reduce the Red channel gain but remain a stock ECC83 as far as the Green channel is concerned. I wouldn't want less gain on Green on my DSL20, I like tamed Red a little better though. Each to their own.

 

[EADGBE]

It may just need better preamp tubes. I like JJEC83S, Sovtek 12AX7LPS and the new Tung-Sol 12AX7. They should add overdrive and crunch.

 

[joannpfeiffer]

Thanks for all your advice and suggestions, I'll give them a go !

 

[joannpfeiffer]

to the forum.
I don't have the combo, but I have the DSL20HR.
YT videos can be very deceiving.
Most of them are running the amps through a digital interface for recording, and are using IR speaker sims with a variety of effects to get the tones they want.
The stock combo speaker (Seventy-80) is not the best of speakers, so you may want to look into some upgrade choices there.
My classic channel stays fairly clean unless I'm pushing the speakers hard with both volume and gain.
I get some great crunch tones on the classic hit with an OD pedal.
Another common and simple upgrade is replacing the V1 tube with a JJ ECC823.
This will make the ultra-gain channel smoother and more manageable, but still gives plenty of grind.
And I'll always recommend EQ in the loop.

Hi, I hate to ask, where is the location and which tube is the "V1" tube ? The amp has 3 pre-amp tubes

 

[fitz288]

Hi, I hate to ask, where is the location and which tube is the "V1" tube ? The amp has 3 pre-amp tubes

Good question if you don't know.
V1 is the farthest from the larger power tubes.
Usually, it's also closest to the input jack side.