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I bought two of these amps from zZounds to run a massive pedal board in stereo. My previous amps were Boss Katana Artist series (which were great amps but I outgrew their tone). With the sound I heard in my head, the Katanas were just not delivering, so I upgraded to the Marshall DSL40CR amps. What a difference in tone, from the instant I strung my first chord I was blown away by them. I was lucky enough to own an original Marshall JCM2000 DSL head about 15 years ago when I used to gig and I am as happy with the new DSL40CR as I was with the JCM2000 head. These amps are made in Asia (along with most everything nowadays) and the older JCM head felt more 'road worthy' than the DSL40CR but I don't gig so my gear stays at home and is taken care of very well. If I was a gigging musician I would invest in some flight cases for the amps as they may not be as sturdy as their English made counterparts. All in all, I am very happy with the DSL40CR amps. And they look hella cool when I pop in my studio to say hello to my gear!

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Not sure why this is getting negative reviews.....my experience has been nothing but fantastic. I was extremely surprised about how good this amp is. I have the DSL40CR version with JJ tubes and the Celestion V-Type speaker not the DSL40C. Maybe the DSL40C is the version people are having issues with? Idk. Anyways, this amp absolutely rips! The clean is super clean. And you have to realize that to get a crystal clean sound, you have to turn the gain down on the clean and raise the volume otherwise, yes, it will not be clean. I cannot believe how much OD1 on the ultra gain channel hearkens back to earlier JMP/JCM 2204 tones. OD2 is seriously a monster of a setting. You can do any kind of metal with OD2 and when you put a boost in front of it, WATCH OUT! This amp takes effects very well and overall just sounds great. I would highly recommend this as a practice/small gig amp. It can definitely get LOUD. 40 tube watts is a lot of power and at half power, it retains the TONE. I purchased this for practice and those small gigs you cannot bring a JCM 800 half stack to. Anyways, I feel like I'm being repetitive. Buy it. You'll love it. If you don't' like it, send it back. zZounds is the best company to buy gear from and the easiest to deal with. I've never had any issues whatsoever with them.

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It was a toss up between this Marshall and the Fender Reissue. I decided to go with this amp because I have a Marshall Origin 20 head which I really like. I needed an amp for my home office, I had a Line 6 Spider 30 and wasn't happy with that. I’ll admit this is way more than enough for my needs, but I got a warehouse resealed and saved a lot. I love the low power setting that

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The Hotrod Deluxe at the same price left alot to be desired when the Overdrive 1 and 2 are really just flubbing switches. The cleans and reverb stellar I must confess. But I wanted some filth. So I looked into this DSL. I sold the Deluxe in less then a hours time. I have read all the reviews and it seems maybe as I did with the Deluxe I didn't get intimate enough with it. Let's get the elephant outta the room. Reverb isn't usable. EVERYTHING else paradigm shifting game changer or I got a one off because I can do anything in this dimension with only one pedal and this has become the amp to rule all amps. This amp is remarkable and the complaints about the redundancy with reguards to the options only serve to say you haven't dived deep enough. First of all the bias on mine was within.. 0.0002 at 38 upon unpacking and using for a week before I even cared to try because the sound was so spot on. Biasing is a cinch. Just Google it. It takes 10 mins and it's because the amp needs to warm up. The speaker is a perfect match from heavens thunderdome when A pair of burst buckers is the driving force which is how God intended. I have a Randall 412 I picked up like new on reverb for a C_note and I would almost pay someone to take it outta the house cause it's overkill to use the 40 watt stage in my neck and I own some property surrounded by a large tree nursery on 3 sides and I still can't unleash it's full 20 watt potential. Don't know what I was thinking getting that cab. It was just a great deal I guess. Lol. Overall there's not a weakness this possesses except for the reverb. It's pricey but the U A dream 65 solves that issue and turns it into a DeVille Blues Cadillac. Distortion is taken care of in buckets Brown, Blue, Freaking filthy, Clean , Dirty bathwater, Or Crisp linen. Mine will saturate soil and cause Zues to come down and gain an audience while clapping his thunder wings at the modern marvel this is. I kid you not. I am a tyrant on mine as well. I forget at times to turn it off I try but don't always put in standby while changing guitars. It still sounds as good as the day it was delivered by Hermes! 6 plus months of my bad habits not a hiccup. So if you have one Bias it. It sounds like a lot of incorrect levels are causing the lions share of these complaints. The speaker matches.The tubes are growling Marshall. It's good like it's sold because Marshalls been doing it for 50plus years. But hey what do they know about speakers tubes or anything? Get to know it and the volumes are intuitive and extremely useful because they were designed to be. Foot switch pedal problems I don't have either . Although I don't use the foot switch gotta be honest. Maybe there's an issue I just use the FX loop and I have never had any crickets chirping. All in all if my house was on fire It would be the only non living concern. If it broke I'd buy a new one tomorrow. First and last amp that does it all seriously. Marshall Marshall Marshall

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Good tones, very veristile. Can be played at bedroom levels or stadium volume. Doesn’t matter. Some said it can’t be done but here i am playing at bedroom volumes and it sounds more than acceptable. Obviously sounds better cranked cause it’s a tube amp but I like to use it for both so I don’t have to have a bunch of different amps lying around for different applications. Marshall cleans, 70-90’s rock tones to nasty grindcore metal tones if desired. The reverb is comical, non existent almost. Nothing a pedal can’t fix. My first Marshall ever and probably not my last. I have been tone chasing for about a year now and have gone through 10 amps in this price range-ish. I can’t see myself letting it go so that says something to me. Downfall is the reverb and the footswitch pedal that comes with the amp. Doesn’t give you full access. Does give you channel change from clean to dirty and the effects loop. Which works perfect for me as I use a pedalboard anyway and could care less. But if you don’t have a pedalboard I could see it being annoying not being able to turn on and off certain things. However like I said if you use pedals it's a non issue. Highly recommend. Ordered from zZounds, came fast (2 days), received as promised and never have issues with zZounds. Simpley the best!

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This thing is awesome if you like that Marshall tone this amp is for you, it's really a 4 channel amp if you get the six way Marshall foot switch, if I had to nit pick this amp would be the reverb, don't get me wrong it sounds great and is useable for 90% of what you would need it for, but if your wanting that Gilmour type reverb you'll need to add a reverb pedal in the chain. Where this amp really shines and I discovered this on accident I was messing around with the effects loops and added an EP booster which I would normally run on the front in, and just WOW...adding the EP booster to the loop really opened it up, tamed some of the compression and evened out the gain while improving the tone, sounds more like a JCM800 at this point, I'm super impressed with this little amp and I have some really nice amps in my collection. Let me say I would totally gig with this amp without question. This fact that Marshall made it easy to change and bias tubes is a huge thumbs up as well. Other manufactures please take note

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Incredible amp !! My SG and Lp are amazing into this. This amp needs no pedals. You have so much to work with, the gain stages and the switching channels. Just set you master right and you can play anything. I did try my fenders into it and i believe they are best in my fender 68 CDR. No downing..just feel Gibson into Marshall and Fender into Fender is where the Mojo is. You will not be disappointed in this amp...its loud and proud but also a finesse amp...i could pull off jazz and then go right in 80's metal and even beyond that into nasty-metal, i even dropped D tuned for a few minutes just cause i felt that "power" only a marshall cranked can do..so all in all..one of the best amps i ever played into...just got it today and it makes me want to play. Did a full set a band practice and ..man does this thing cut !!

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This amplifier absolutely rocks! With so many options you can dial in any sound that you want, from crystal clear clean to roaring rhythms and screaming leads. As everyone has already said, the reverb is almost nonexistent. However, the amp, tubes and build are rock solid. BUT... if you really want to blow your mind, swap out the speaker with one that fits your style. My style is classic hard rock so after much research I swapped out the 70 watt Celestion V-Type speaker that it comes with for a 150 watt Eminence Swamp Thang and I swear that it sounds as loud and ballsy as my full-on DSL100 full stack with 1960 cabs. The difference is mind boggling. No fizz, no speaker distortion at all. Just a loud, clear representation of my sound. Obviously the Swamp Thang might not be your speaker of choice but do your research and this will be the only amp you will ever need again!

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I bought this amp just over two years ago and not a single issue. It is rare that I miss a single day of playing. So it has passed the reliability test for my use. Bottomline for me . . .It works and sounds great every time I turn it on

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Wow, this thing rocks. Everything from full, chimey cleans to full blown metal gain, Hendrix to Slayer, it does it all. IMHO it maintains the tone whether it's on 20 or 40W, high or low volume. Of course at 40W with high gain/high volume it will blow your windows out, but that's awesome because it sounds amazing and it's sound you can feel. This thing is just incredible from bedroom volume to full blast. I love it. The build quality is great, too, and aside from the typical hiss you get, especially with the gain cranked, it's quiet. I had some weird tube noises at first, but after a few heat cycles that went away completely. The reverb obviously isn't anywhere near Fender territory, but it's not bad at all. I love that it has master volumes for both channels and the option to hook up to extension speakers, which I did in the form of an Orange PPC-112 with a Celestion Vintage 30 (which is awesome in its own right), and holy crap it sounds amazing alongside the V Type this amp comes with. Celestion really nailed it with both of those speakers.My only complaint is the Softube emulated line out sounded kind of muddy and lifeless, basically the complete opposite of the amp itself. I hooked it up through a Little Dot mkIV headphone amp and listened through a pair of Sennheiser HD6XX and it didn't exactly wow me. Maybe I'll try a set of Grados and use this as an excuse to get a solid state headphone amp and see if that makes a difference.I haven't tried the midi function as frankly that's over my head, or the FX loop because I don't have any pedals.All and all, like others, I'm completely blown away by this thing, figuratively and literally, and if it doesn't satisfy your needs, put a smile on your face, and give you motivation to keep your axe in your hands, I don't know what will.

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Just got this today. I love it! Don’t think I’ll be playing through my blues jr very much for a while. This thing is really great. Great clean channel. Drive channel is great too. I have quite a few drive pedals but I might just use the amp’s drive channel sometimes for variety. It’s got that classic Marshall tone in spades. It’s also a lot bigger than I thought it was gonna be...it’s big for a combo! Get this amp. You won’t be disappointed!

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Spent about 2 hours trying to dial in a good hard rock rhythm tone and couldn’t do it. Came back the next night and after about an hour I had a really solid rhythm and lead tone for hard rock and blues. In my opinion the EQ settings are sensitive and you’ll have quicker success finding tones if you make EQ adjustments in very small increments. Do yourself a favor and purchase the additional 6 way footswitch. The 2 way that comes with the amp will not give you access to all the tones this amp will generate for you. For the price Marshall did a good job with this amp.

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I'm a recreational player who has a couple of katana modeling Amps that I play regularly. I wanted a tube Amp while they're still available and affordable. I love the Marshall sound and the sound of this DSL40CR is very Marshall!!

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A quick first impression of this amp I received about 30 minutes ago. Everything works perfectly. Didn't use any of my effects just straight amp and it was easy to get very usable tones. I have no doubt as I tweak this amp it will soon sound awesome. As with many other reviews all over the net, the reverb is only ok at best. Most of us use a pedal anyway so not a big deal. My plan is to buy a second one and run in stereo. The thing that will matter is reliability and I will write or add to this review after a few months.

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Thus far it's working wonderfully and hasn't given me any BS. Sounds wonderful and is easy to use, and it's pedal friendly and beautiful. As far as I'm concerned, no amp in this price range or any other one, can stand up to a Marshall -- no matter the price, and no other store can match zZounds for purchasing musical equipment. All is good.

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Not a single issue with this amp one year later...not a lie. Still sounds great..not a lie. Takes pedals well in the loop and up front ...My Friedman BE OD Deluxe sounds awesome! As do the Green and Red Channels used without the BE just different tones again not a lie . . . I did add a 2x 12 ext cab loaded with WGS Veteran 30's love it...again not a lie

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I love this amp. I have no regrets in purchasing this amp and would highly recommend it !

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I love this amp. You can have it as clean as you want and switch channels and wail with high gain distortion. It's really versatile. I play everything from funk,r&b, country and hard rock. This amp covers it all.

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Played for 50 years. All kinds of shows and venues. The modern sound of the DSL 40 is top of the line. Little argument there. You will find that the amp is weak with reverb. It has two reverb knobs. Both fully engaged fail to provide much. Volume and crunch is dispatched by a total of eight knobs. I have yet to discover what the engineers were trying to achieve. I believe most payers want access to clear and overdrive. The configuration of volume and drive combinations is confusing and redundant. Its hard to believe that a world renown orgnaization such a "Marshall" would produce such a system. However at the end of the day you get the magnificent Marshall sound that needs no introduction.

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It took me a while for this amp to grow on me as it sounded like crap out of the box. I replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion V30 and replaced the stock tubes with Ruby EL34STR and a 5751 in the PI as is my typical configuration. Still couldn't get an acceptable tone was fuzzy and grindy. Years later, I learned that you can self bias the amp. After reading forums, there is little info on how to bias the amp and nothing in the manual. I discovered the bias was at 31mv so I turned both to 40mv and HOLY SMOKES this was the tone I've been seeking all these years. Eureka, I found it and it's incredible now. Completely unacceptable that Marshall included zero information in the manual regarding this, which is a pretty important feature. Moreover, it's important that I explain how to bias this. When you place the multimeter leads in the ground and point, one point will give a reading and the other red test point will read zero, always. YOU WILL NOT BE USING THIS TEST POUNT AT ALL. Go back to the one that gives the reading and keep it in that test point and adjust the pot to 40mv. Then, keeping the multimeter lead in the same pot, turn the other bias adjust til they both read 40mv. Next onto the effects loop, there is a button to turn the effects loop on and off as you can not use both simultaneously like in other amps. What good is this feature? Worthless and is an absolute thorn in my side as I would like to use the midi to switch between both which is why I bought it, but can't. Now, the amp does sound good now that it's properly biased as well as replacing the stock speaker, but I lost years of good tone due to the lack of instruction in the instruction manual.

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Versatile gain selections and perfect size. Equalization sensitivity is underwhelming and just take the reverb knobs and throw them away. But if you only had to have one Marshall amp this is a good one.

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This is a great combo amp- fantastic really - very versatile!

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Excellent amp. I'm still learning how the amp functions, particularly the MIDI capabilities (huge bonus). The amp sounds great right out of the box, way better tone than the Gen1 model. I replaced the stock speaker with a Celestion V30 and now it sounds INCREDIBLE! The only complaint I have is the footswitch that is included. You need an external MIDI footswitch, or buy PEDL-91016, which is overpriced, if you want to use the amp to its fullest capabilities, which are a lot, so it's worth investing in one. The reason I dinged it on Ease of Use is because there is a loop on/off button on the front panel, and for some reason, when I hook up my external preamp via the effects loop, it disengages the internal preamps. I found this peculiar and POSSIBLY troublesome if you use pedals via the effects loop. I dont have any, so I can not verify.

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This is my 3rd and final review of this amp. If you have a decent ear and have been playing for awhile and want to get the most out of this amp you will have to spend more money. You’ll need the upgraded footswitch, an eq pedal, a reverb pedal (factory reverb doesn’t do the job) and most importantly you should plan on upgrading the factory speaker. I installed a Eminence CV-75 and I’m now very happy with this amp. I was very disappointed with the amp right out of the box and strongly considered returning it. I’m glad I didn’t. The Eminence CV-75 upgrade was a game changer for this amp.

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I feel it's necessary to adjust my original review of this amp. That review was titled "Frustrated than Happy." I've now had the amp for about a month and have many hours of playing logged in. From day one I've struggled with getting what I would call that Marshall growl. At lower volume levels it sounds great but when you crank it up to jammin levels it really starts to show it's weaknesses. I purchased an eq pedal to help alleviate some of my tone issues. That helped but I still wasn't satisfied. To me jammin level and gig level are two different things. Either way my situation wouldn't ever call for me to have this amp maxed out volume wise. The reverb on it at louder levels really isn't that useful and I think it even degrades the tone somewhat. I purchased a reverb/delay pedal to solve that issue and I turn the reverb from the amp off. I still like the amp but I've decided that my issue is with the factory speaker. I don't think it's capable of giving me what I need tone wise no matter how I set the settings on the amp or eq pedal. I just ordered an Eminence CV-75 speaker to replace the stock speaker. I've done my research and I think this new speaker will get me where I need to be. Fingers crossed.......

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The first one of these I bought died after three days. The replacement, the one I am reviewing, sounds like s***. Extremely harsh and fizzy. Something isnt right with it but I am done with Marshall. This is simply not a $900 amp. You're paying for having the Marshall name on a tube amp instead of a Valvestate. I am returning it and will replace it with something else.

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At first it was great.Now im having issues with it.Somethin electrically no doubt.Chalked it up as money wasted .

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I read great reviews on this and thought this is the one but no deal bought from zZounds...shipping is and was great ...opened it plugged in and all features worked ...the clean channell sounded sweet but the distortion side just could not produce a useable tone just nasally mush so i tried some pedals and it doesnt take distortion pedals well at all i hate to say it but i felt ripped off the reviews must be lies i felt

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