Great little amp if you remember that it's an eight inch speaker. I've had it for 3 years and love it. All kinds of gain on tap, and a serviceable reverb. Just be prepared, its a lot louder than you'd expect, even the 0.1 watt setting is enough to be heard all over the house. The 8" speaker can get somewhat muddy at higher gain settings, so I eventually got 1x12 cabinet which gave it a little more bottom and cleaned up the mud. Also,hotter pickups will make a big distortion difference on the clean channel so be aware if this if you change guitars a lot.

No diode clipping circuit. Real tube distortion. Usable reverb. Effects loop. Two channels? Come on... Easy.

And the Marshall sound is here... Even at 1w.

There were so many 5 star reviews of this thing I was honestly nervous that I had over hyped it in my mind. Nope. Awesome amp

I was surprised at how small this diminutive little amp was, but it doesn't sound small! It lets you dial up spanking clean tones, bluesy overdrive, and that heavy overdrive only a Marshall valve amp can deliver. Beats anything I've ever tried at this price point.

I bought this for business trips to play in the hotel room. I used the head phone jack in the hotel and it sounded OK, and it sounds very good through the 8 inch speaker. Recently my JVM 410H was in the shop for repairs and I put this amp on the stack, plugged it into the slant 412 you see in the picture, dialed it to 10 and turned it on. I have no idea how a 1 watt tube amp can be that loud through the 412. The sound was typical Marshall on both crunch and ultra gain. It actually kept up with the 100W Twin during sets. My only regret was not getting one with 5 or 20 Watts.

I decided to play this amp for a few months before giving an honest review to allow everything to be fully broken in. I'll admit I was unimpressed out of the box and there are a few deficiencies in the amp that can be easily remedied. The Clean channel sounds crisp and chimey and I wouldn't change a thing about it. The low power switch works quite well at keeping the amp usable at bedroom levels. The reverb is pretty good, especially for a small practice amp. The first problem I found is the speaker sounds thin and hollow when new. Instead of replacing it, I chose to fully break the speaker in by playing Master of Puppets on a loop through the amp for about 10 hours. The speaker now sounds fuller and more articulate, though lacks some bass response being an 8" speaker. The EQ is just ok, like most Marshall amps I've owned, so I set it where it sounds ok and forget it. The next problem I had was entirely too much gain in the Ultra Gain Channel. With the gain turned way down the amp sounded congested and with it up past halfway is was all mud and feedback. I elected to change tubes to fine tune this issue and found great success with the correct tube swap. Changing V1 to a JJ ECC823 (this is a very unique tube that is half 12AX7 and half 12AU7, so it lowers the gain on the Ultra channel, but not the Clean channel) and V2 to a JJ 12AY7 fixed 100% of the gain problems. The Clean channel stays clean and articulate while the Ultra Gain Channel is made fully usable. Lower gain settings get a classic rock crunch and fully cranked gain settings get in the 80's metal realm. Overall this amp is a keeper. I use it as a portable/practice amp mainly, though I have gigged with it twice in tiny venues. Mic'd up to the PA system this amp is fully capable of getting the job done. I would choose this over a digital/solid state amp any day of the week.

I played during 1980s but had to give up due to health issues.my primary amp - Laney Pro Tube Lead head.

Got back into playing couple months ago going modeling amp rout leading to dead end...something was just missing.
That being case , it was time for tube amp & this little powerhouse Marshall was my choice.
Sound on both channels is outstanding overdrive has that old school chug I was searching for.
Marshall DSL1cr for the win!

Many thanks to Sale Engineers Jacob & Alex getting me on track.

Phil

This little thing chugs, as amazing as that sounds. I'm really floored at the sounds coming out of this 8" speaker. Run all your effects through the loop. Put a boost and compressor on the front-end, and you've got a pro rig.

I've been looking for a full-featured practice amp for a long time. You can get solid state amps for practice all day long. You can also get 1x12 combos all day long, but you can't get an 8" speaker in a 19lbs package that sounds as amazing as this little piece of amplification history. Already did an acoustic gig with me on my PRS Standard 24 through the DSL1. Blended perfectly with the band. All this in a $ package! Buy two.

This guy is a real Marshall. It sounds massive when recorded. Instant tone for days. The emulated output has really been improved. No more amp
modelers for me. I really like this amp! You should call Sweetwater and make a tone investment…

I was looking for that Marshall crunch in a small package and at reasonable sound levels. This fit that bill perfectly! Absolutely love the sound of this little guy. Having not owned a one watt tube amp before I was surprised by how loud it can get though! Push the button on the back though and you still get that pushed tube sound at much lower levels (which makes me and my wife happy). Can't beat the price point either. Sweetwater shipped quick and it arrived in perfect shape.

Great sounding little amp. I use it in my bedroom with my Fender Vibro Champ XD for Stereo reverb and chorus.

This is a great little amplifier with great tones! It's perfect for a in home, low watt practice amplifier. The effects loop works great too, I have a chorus, delay and reverb plugged into it. If you're looking for a small low watt all tube amp, you can't go wrong this Marshall DSL1!

From an old guy......There are some amps you need to own. A Fender Blues Junior, this one-the Marshall DSL1, a Boss Katana Gen3 and a Blackstar Debut 100. The days of walls of Marshalls are gone. If you didn't know, they were all turned on and connected but not being used....scary I know but only one was mic'ed up for the show. These amps will, mic'ed on stage get you anywhere you need to go. All take pedals well and the Katanas love pedals as do the tube amps.

In our small condo in Florida, I have a Positive Grid Mini that sounded okay with my Fender Strat on various clean settings. I bought a PRS SE McCarty in November and was disappointed at the way it sounded. I couldn't get any decent clean/crunch tones out of the Mini.
I realized I needed an amp with more oomph. I was looking at the small Fender Mustang but didn't want another modeler. So that led me to this little beast. I had to wait 3 months as it was on backorder but man it was worth the wait. Suddenly, the PRS came to life with the humbuckers being a perfect match for this Marshall. The Strat sounds great thru it as well. I am now getting all the tones I like from the amp and both guitars. I can dial up the volume so it sounds great to me and I checked with our neighbor and he doesn't hear a sound, so all is good. Don't hesitate to purchase this.

I've owned many amps, but I wanted something small for my 150 square foot home office. This little Marshall fits the bill perfectly! Brighter on the clean channel than some of its bigger brothers, the overdrive is classic Marshall law

This is my first Marshall tube amp and so far it is very impressive for only being 1 watt, I actually play it at .1 watt most of the time as it's my home set up and it's loud. Really, don't let the 1 watt scare you off as it is more then enough for home use. Now I do have it plugged into a 12" cream back in a custom cabinet instead of using the internal 8". ( I wanted the DSL 1watt head but they have been on back order for ever and I got tired of waiting. ) This actually worked out better as I can run it with my main cabinet and now have a combo I can take with me when I go play at friends etc. I also have a Bugera 5 watt tube amp that also sounds fantastic but it's just the head so digging the low watt amp options I have... I don't think your looking at this with the idea of performing on stage live but you could use it on a small gig at local pub/coffee shop etc like I said before for 1 watt it's pretty loud.... Plus with Sweetwater return policy and awesome customer service if it doesn't fit right for you they will take it back and do their best to get you what will work best for you...

I usually don't write reviews, but I'm so impressed with this little amp, that I just had to!
It is a beautiful little thing, solidly built and has the same classic Marshall sounds as it's big brothers. The channel switching is a great feature, and I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of a foot switch! The digital reverb sounds very natural and usable. The tone shift is a really nice feature as well.
There is a switch on the back to cut the power from one Watt down to 0.1watt it has an effects loop and a speaker extension. Absolutely 100% satisfied with this little amp. It's exactly what I wanted and hoped it would be. It's not just a practice amp, but this will be my go-to recording amp from now on. Sweet!

Amazingly, it packs a punch. Sounds awesome!

Perfect solution for quality sound at a manageable volume and all in a small lightweight package. Included foot switch a major plus.
Really appreciated the follow up call from Sweetwater to make sure everything was ok.
First time buying from Sweetwater and definitely not the last.
Well done all around!

Great little amp, exactly what I was looking for, sounds fantastic! Very happy with my purchase! Andrew is my sales engineer, Sweetwater is the best!

This is a great little amp. You get the Marshall tone without rattling the the windows in the house. Plus the 0.1 watt settings sounds as good as the 1 watt setting only not as loud.

As a apartment or bedroom amp this little combo easily gets 5 stars but 1 star reviews get read.

Initially I was worried that at 1 watt it would only produce overdriven tones at anything above a whisper; boy was I wrong. This little amp is more than enough for the home environment. It stays clean quite loud on the regular channel. I'm in an apartment, so I have to use the ultra gain channel to get any grit without disturbing my neighbors, so ya.

The volume level at which it breaks up naturally on the main channel is loud. You might be able to get away with it at home once in a while at that volume but the wife/neighbors/kids won't put up with it for daily practice. That where the ultra gain channel comes in.

There's other options on the market for 1 watt and under amps but this seems to be tangent line for diminishing returns.

Dont let the size fool you. This is the perfect Marshall for jamming at home. I tried going the digital route because it absolutely destroys analog amplification on paper and sounds objectively great, but for me, its just not the same. Its not only loud enough to annoy your family, but has the headroom to handle high gain tones well. It packs a punch. Its everything you realistically need from an analog amp in a home setting. This is the first amp I've bought in a decade and its hands down the best guitar related purchase I've made in a decade. I would choose this amp over any processor at any price point. Highly recommended for the bedroom enthusiast who just doesn't vibe with the digital world.

My sales engineer, John Tonello, took care of everything for me. I sent him a text saying I wanted the amp, and he made it all happen in mere moments. He's the man!

I really love this little amp. The clean tones are beautiful and almost chimey. The dirt is easy to get an approximation of the big metal tones. Just a great little amp. So versatile. Doesn't need pedals but takes pedals like a champ.

Don't let its size fool you. This little 1watter can crank pretty good. Great marshall tone. Only drawback is the 8in speaker gets to muddy when cranked up. I hooked mine to a 1×12. That was the ticket! But I have to say it's a sweet sounding amp!

I'm a bedroom enthusiast. I have a toddler and a wife who both like to go to bed early. I wanted the roar of a Marshall without waking up my girls. This does the trick. The .1 watt attenuator switch is nice, but the tone isn't quite the same as the amp fully timed (and 1 watt could make the windows shake). I put it on full power, crank it up, and insert my JHS Little Black Amp Box (set about 9 o'clock) in the effects loop. Voila! Chewy distorted goodness that won't wake up my family.

The DSL 1 combo is a little beast. Great for fun, party gigs with another guitarist or two, or jamming, easy on your arms… Can't believe the decent sound from the 8 inch Celestion, but like a bad infomercial, that's not all. Connect a 12 inch speaker (in my case, a Greenback), and this sounds like its bigger brothers, the DSL 20 and 40 (I have both). The clean channel cranked (through a 12) has a budget bluesbreaker vibe. The tone shift doesn't seem to do much to my ears. A good choice when decibel level is a concern. Shout out to my regular Sweetwater rep Matt Fawcett, who has helped me make some good decisions over nearly ten years.

I use this amp with single coils, P90s and humbuckers and it exceeds my expectations. I knew it would do solid Marshall classic or hard rock but it also has very sweet pristine clean tones especially with single coils. This amp and speaker is very clear, not muddy or dark sounding at all. It is plenty loud for home use, and the reduced power setting is nice for playing late at night. The Classic Gain channel takes pedals in front of the amp really well, and the effects loop comes in handy if you want to use a delay or reverb pedal with the Ultra Gain. The EQ works great, the built in reverb is subtle but is both natural sounding and high quality. This amp has plenty of gain on tap, a boost pedal works great with it to give extra saturation and push it harder. No need for distortion pedals. Fuzz pedals sound good into both the Classic Gain and Ultra Gain channel. I can play a wider range of music on this amp than my other amps, very impressed and highly recommend it. The included footswitch works great and you can set up 2 channels to give you different tones with or without a volume boost, depending how you dial in the Ultra Gain and if you use additional boosts. This amp rocks for anyone.

Great little amp with a big sound. It was exactly what I was looking for. Best practice amp I've heard.

It sounds great, just like you would expect from a Marshall.
The low power option isn't as much of a reduction as I thought it would be, but I can get what I want out of it just by using the volume nob. The little 8" speaker sounds better than I thought it would. I bet if they made a 12" version of this it would sell like hot cakes though.

Was not expecting to be so loud but I love it.

This all tube DSL1CR sounds great for the small amp that it is. Two foot switchable channels with effects loop and reverb make it sound just like this boys at a low volume. What I really like about this is that you can plug into any 16 ohm extension cabinet for an even bigger sound. Superior Marshall tone in a small easily portable amp. Thanks Sweetwater, I'm very happy with this purchase.

I am a big fan of the Marshall 1-watt tube platform, I own six of the 1-watt heads and this all-in-one DSL1 8" combo.

Getting the most high quality sound out of any Marshall is a matter of pairing the amplifier section with a speaker that flatters the sound of the amp. This little 1-watt Marshall combo reminds me a lot of an old Fender Champ amp that is sitting out in my garage, it can sound good so long as you don't try to play too loud out of the internal 8" 16-ohm Celestion.

You can unplug the internal speaker and use the amplifier to drive any speaker cabinet so long as it is 16-ohms. It is very impressive how loud and full the 1-watt amp sounds driving one of my Marshall 4x12 1960 cabinets.

One of my favorite features on the 1-watt DSL is the effects loop on the rear, it has one! The effects loop is not foot switchable but it does provide an excellent way of adding a more premium reverb or chorus sound.

The reason I have so many of these heads is I like to run a pair of them into 4x12 cabs set to a dirty sound and another pair of the 1-watt heads into a second pair of 4x12 cabs set to a clean sound. Blending the dirty amps with the clean amps in stereo provides a great big full sound. Two 4x12 Marshall stacks driven by a blazing four-whole watts of vacuum tube power sounds great with my Fender Stratocasters and Jackson Soloist guitars.

I run stereo EarthQuaker Devices Avalanche Run and Flanger in the effects loops of the clean Marshall amps, it sounds massive, huge and wide.

This little Marshall combo is about the same weight as a bowling ball in a carrying bag but makes much cooler tones (unless you're gigging at the bowling alley bar :-)

I recently had cancer surgery and I'm very limited in how much weight I can move, these little Marshall amps are nice and light weight.

I met Jim Marshall many times at NAMM shows, I've certainly spent a lot of money on gadgets with his iconic logo.

Love my Marshall gear!

Good music to you!

For the price, the features, quality and performance are unmatched. A great pedal platform. AN EFFECTS LOOP!!!! Built like a tank.

This amp sounds much bigger then it is 5hanks to the very good quality amplifier and efficiency around 98db @1w that is pretty loud
On clean it can be a bit glassy ,Easy fix ,get rid of the Chinese tubes I hav3 a nos Mullard for the 12au7 in the gain ,and 2 rca for the 12ax7;
Night and day better in every respect ,and the vintage tubes last much longer. I go to a Brent Jesse Recordings for true Vintage tunes.

This is my first Marshall and I'm impressed. If the tone of this little thing is representative of the DSL series I want to buy one of the larger combos or head unit. I travel for work and live in a class b rv - the DSL1 is perfect. I have a 5 watt Blackstar, Yamaha THR10, and Mesa Boogie 50W combo. The Marshall handily replaces the Yamaha, sounds better than the Blackstar, and isn't fair to compare with the Mesa. Thanks to Ian for his help! Small amps draw very little power - the Anker battery bank in the photo handles it easily.

I usually play through big tube amps (see background of picture). I bought the Marshall DSL1CR for hotel rooms when I travel on business. I have to use head phones in the hotel because it is loud even on the 0.1 watt setting. Sound through the head phones is OK, but the head phones are part of the problem. Through the 8 inch speaker, the volume on this little beast is stupid high, incredible for a 1 watt amp, like Marshall is lying about the wattage or something? Is the sound as good as my Marshall JVM stack? Not quite as good, but holy goodness, very, very good. For the money, this is the best bang for the buck amp I have ever bought. Unbelievable!

I am very impressed with the tone of this amp. I went in to buy the DSL 40, came out with this instead and I'm glad I did. The .1 watt setting is the perfect volume and the tube saturation is too much with the gain dimed, like a couple of others have suggested dime the= volume and leave the gain around 10 o clock. Reverb is awesome, usable and sounds Fender-ish. I've owned a Plexi, SL-X, 3203, 1936, 5150, and a Boogie I and this sounds as good as all of them at a usable level. Imma try not to blow it up...

Tiny and furious. Awesome legendary Marshall tone, without start a war with the neighbors! Perfect for practicing and fun around the house. Pretty loud for the wattage. Allows you to sculpt the sound with very responsive controls.
Great gear and great(as always) customer service. Sweetwater is my #1 store to feed my g.a.s. Thank you guys!

I concur with all the other reviews, This is a lot of a little amp with some great sound. The reverb is very authentic sounding , If I kicked it I am sure I would hear springs jangling. However I require a foot switch for my reverb. So send this one to Marshall. Please give us a foot switch. Sounds like a simple do. And I say , Awesome Amp!!!

I usually don't write reviews but I am VERY happy with this amp. I was worried it wasn't going to be loud enough but let me tell you it's still loud enough to get my wife an son to tell me to turn it down. I thought the 0.1w setting was going to be a joke but I can see how it would be useful for late night or quiet playing in an apartment or something like that. Sure you're not going to blow the roof off the place or play a stadium with it but for home it's plenty loud. I am going to take it to my band practice to see how it holds up, they don't play super loud so it might work. Also have not tried the effects loop or hooking it up through a bigger cab yet. The reverb is usable, it does the job.

Here is my advice on using this amp:

Keep the clean / classic gain setting on about 12 o'clock you'll get some decent cleans with a little bit of breakup depending on how hot your pickups are. For the ultra gain I think the sweet spot is having the gain at 9-10 o'clock and the volume dimed. You'll get an awesome rock sound like AC/DC. I found it gets a little flubby if you crank up the gain past noon.

The thing I love about this amp is that you can really push it without having the cops called on your or having to file for divorce. You really get a Marshall sound without breaking the bank or your eardrums. I've had all tube amps before and have traded them because they are too heavy to carry or because I could never really drive it to that sweet spot because of the volume but with this I get something portable that I can drive hard and get a great sound out of. Maybe not for big gigs but if you play with some friends and want that Marshall tone I think this will work.

Also this was my first purchase from Sweetwater and they were awesome! Fast delivery and even a phone call to make sure everything went well with the order. Very classy I will be ordering from you guys again!

Amazing on clean! It can go loud for a 1W amp, lower power option is great in my case since I live in an apartment! No hissing sound! Happy with my purchase

Life is a series of trial and errors (at least mine). I try to use each mistake as a stepping stone toward an ultimate decision that I am content with. In my amp shopping experience, that process was brought to a conclusion with this purchase. Right out of the box, I was amazed by the quality and the volume of sound that came from such a small unit. I am still discovering the many wonderful tones and effects that this amp can produce. The price was right, the size is right, I hear what I hoped to hear. I am happily surprised that I made a good decision. The Sweetwater Sales Engineer was very attentive at making sure I was satisfied with my product. Thanks Ian Angle, Sweetwater, and Marshall amps.
Larry

Okay, I'm only not completely blown away because it's not that loud. I have several Marshall amps, including a DL5CR that I love. All are great at what they do. All are too loud for the bedroom and get mushy when at low volumes. They aren't bad amps, just not great for low level playing. This one is.
The bonus is that the clean tones are a good place to start for pedals. I add a Wampler Thirty Something to it and get some decent Vox chime. All the fantastic tone of a Marshall all tube amp with levels acceptable to my wife.Finally, I get to hang out with her and play guitar at the same time.

This is exactly the small practice combo I was looking for. Gets all the classic rock tones and accepts pedels well. Couldn't be happier with this amp or Sweetwater service.

I am a long time Marshall user....having used Marshalls for the past 40+ years. My current set up includes Plexis, DSL-50 heads, 1960 cabinets, Marshall DSL40 combos, and Code 25 combos.

I bought this amp after a Code 25 failed. I was impressed at first...it LOOKS sharp. It also has great features such as the effects loop, channel switching and the selectable power output. Very cool.

Turnin it on though killed the initial impression. It sounded muddy, weak, crappy. Plugging it into one of my 4x12"s is a different story. It sounds killer through a cab,

Overall I am not happy with it. Marshall should use a different speaker. As it is now....my cheap Marshall code 25 sounds better than the DSL1CR combo

I`ve had several amps over the years for practicing at home. Most of them were either too much for home use or they just did not sound very good. I`ve tried out a couple low wattage solid state amps and I was just not impressed with the sound they delivered. They all sounded dark and muddy to me. I received this Marshall DSL1CR tube combo amp from Sweetwater and I was totally surprised and impressed with the tone and sound from it. It has a nice bright sound to it. Even for a little 1 watt amp this little guy is really able to crank it up!. The ultra gain channel has a wide range of tones depending on how much gain is put into it. I think the only downfall is on the classic gain channel. There is no gain control setting on it which makes it hard to achieve a perfect clean sound. But I`m ok with that since I mostly play classic rock anyways. Overall I think it`s a great little combo amp at a good price and could not be more happy with it. Thanks Sweetwater!

I am in my early 40's at the time of this purchase and have been playing electric guitar for over 23 years both at home and in bands that played gigs and owned quite a few amps of all types in that time including some really pricy boutique ones. I have even built a few from kits. This was purchased after getting the 20 watt dsl head and enjoying it so much I wanted the 1 watt combo so I'd have an easy grab and go practice and recording amp. I am able to get pretty much any tone I want out of it with my Suhr strat.
The clean is really good but most of the demo videos I've seen made the amp sound bad, You want to crank the classic gain channel about 3/4 of the way up and roll the guitar volume back to find the organic touch responsive and sweet clean tones you probably want. If you just turn the amp up a tiny bit and the guitar up all the way it's not going to sound great clean, but this amp isn't really meant to be a clean amp
or for lots of extreme pedal use. A lot of people seem to think channel 1 is a clean channel, It clearly says classic gain right under the knob. It gets really bluesy or a little crunch with ease if you want it to. In fact the classic channel on the 1 watt model has a bit more gain than on my 20 watt dsl head.
On to the speaker. It really sounds amazing now that is has been broken in, but it was very tight at first, bright and fizzy at times. Then it got kind of honky also in the midrange a few days into it and I was questioning if it would get past it. Things gradually improved but in reality It really took about a month of playing to get sweet and get all the fizz out but once it did I'd say it was worth toughing through that. I'd just say it was really tight and very bright at first. Now I am very happy with it and as it is a Celestion it holds it's own fairly well tone wise against my larger Celestion G12H30 loaded cabs. For an 8 inch speaker it is very impressive and even has a decent bass response. Of course you can still plug it into a 16 ohm cab if you want, but having the portability is so nice.
The tone stack has a very wide range and we have found it works great with all types of pickups including active. I mostly use single coils on it and run the mids higher and the treble a little lower on these amps for fat classic rock tones that work well for rhythm and leads. The amp is just so responsive and has so many tones it took some time to dial in my ideal settings but I learned a lot about this amp in the process. I find no need for overdrive pedals but it takes delay and other modulation pedals very well. I run straight in so I can't comment on the usefulness of the effects loop but it is there if you need one and that's a plus.
The low power mode is a wonderful feature if you need it. I don't use it much but on a few occasions I have taken it to my buddy's house and we played while his son was sleeping and it was very useful in letting me get the tone I wanted at a volume you can speak over.
All In all this amp has just about every Marshall tone from the past with at least 95% accuracy but it adds this tiny little bit of fire or mojo if you will to it that only a dsl seems to have in the voicing. I know they aren't the amp for everyone but if you are a rocker it's a great option. My playing is inspired to go to the next level when I'm playing this amp. I can do so much with the controls on my guitar and my playing dynamics. This amp does everything I want and then some, and it's louder than you might think but it will get the tone you want and the touch sensitivity of a 100 watt stack at late night apartment levels as well. I've had friends look at it and say oh it's tiny or you're gonna play on that little thing but the look on their face is priceless when they hear it. My buddy I jam with has been playing for about 35 years and and he drools over it and always makes comments about how amazing it sounds for it's size. It won't hang with acoustic drums but we've jammed to electronic sets with much success. We have plans to record an album with it. I will play this amp until I can't play anymore or it craps out which I hope neither happens anytime soon but I know Marshall has my back for 5 years on everything but the tubes so I can relax a little about that part of it..
I wish the amp was made in the UK but the build quality seems reasonably good and the price is right. The plastic corner protectors are the only thing I dislike about it. I'd buy it again in a minute and I might even get the 1 watt head for the collection I love it so much.

First up, I"m a 64 year old ex-rocker who"s been playing on and off for fifty years now (yikes!). In 1996 I bought the first ever modeling amp; Line 6"s "AxSys". I had way earlier, while still gigging, sworn off tube amps as being unreliable, and when this amp came out many years later I thought the modeling amp idea was IT! I had long since stopped performing with any band but still liked to keep my chops up in the basement. Since then I"ve owned or played through just about every modeling amp ever made and currently still own seven of them, a couple of which I had thought were also "IT". In addition to promising modeled tones from a plethora of different amp types, they also enable playing at low, wife and neighbor friendly playing volumes, while still retaining satisfying tone.

And yet, I must also have thought they were each just missing a little something, else I wouldn"t own seven of them!…….

And so my "newest" setup is comprised of an authentic "tube" amp; a Marshall DSL1CR (yup; 1 little watt), along with some older analog pedals I"ve now dusted off, and an old ZOOM G3 digital multi-effects unit I run through the Marshall"s effects loop. Together they"ve brought me back in time thirty-five years to 1983; the last time I owned a real tube amp and, I now realize, also the last time I was completely satisfied with my tone. I now want to play for hours on end (just like way back then), but it has also magically kicked my brain-hand coordination up three gears!!
After just a few hours with this set-up I was picking up old techniques and my fingers suddenly could repeat old, forgotten, and sometimes very challenging patterns and solos that I convinced myself would forever lay beyond the reach of my aging hands. I"m not saying I"ll ever get back to being the player I once was (almost forty years of "life" got in the way of that!), but because of this little beauty I now think I"ll get a lot closer than I ever thought possible!
Now then, my only possible explanation for this is that the DSL1CR, by producing the exact (or possibly even superior) matches to those "old" sounds from way back when, has re-awakened long dormant neural pathways to old memories once hard wired through thousands of hours of practice, practice that enabled playing back in the day that frankly was pretty impressive. During those thousands of hours, while my muscle-memory was being forged, I was simultaneously absorbing the unique sonic signature of tube tones that were being burned into that same memory, inextricably linking the two. With those synapses now slapped awake, the muscle-neural connections "remember" what they"re supposed to do, and all because things (finally) sound exactly right. Seriously, my fingers are suddenly moving around the fretboard in places I"d forgotten about because they"re simply following "instructions" from things long ago mastered, but long since forgotten. The spot-on tones are blowing the dust out of my mental attic! Is this not the very definition of "being inspired"?
It"s almost unbelievable. It"s clear to me now that none of my current seven modeling rigs, despite how good they"ve gotten over the last twenty-two years of ever increasing computer processing power, got me all the way here (or rather, "back"). Marshall"s own Code 25 (one of my seven) comes pretty close (especially for the money), and the two Yamaha THR"s I have actually get the closest. One might assume that the tiny sonic gap left between those and this little rig shouldn"t have been significant enough to make a difference.

WRONG: IT DEFINITELY MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

The little Marshall"s clean tones are clear, bell-like, authentic and frankly, "glassy". Its high gain settings span decades of Marshall"s crunch and syrupy liquid high gain tones. Once again, thick, spongy and juicy; sonically "authentic". Take it from someone who"s lived the modeling amp "dream" for twenty-two years and still owns seven; this little 1 watt brute produces THE TONE that those other guys are still chasing and still haven"t quite gotten right. The little Marshall (and I suppose, any tube amp) shows that there is still a gap that an experienced ear will notice, however slim.
I have to add here that the tone shaping available on this little guy"s three controls, and its mid-shift button, is surprising in its range and versatility. Little changes make a big difference, and if judiciously tweaked, you can evoke LOTS of different amp tones which are all now authentically tubey and, unmistakably Marshall, which for blues and rock is a very good thing. You may not be able to save all the settings to a "patch" like with most modeling amps, but I"ve quickly learned that such convenience is no substitute for totally authentic tone. I will also add though that my two Yamahas (THR-10 and THR-10x) give you about 96% of that satisfaction, and the Code provides 90-95%. But those last few percentage points, in the ears of a picky player with fifty years" experience, were enough to make those final neural connections that are now accelerating my "return" to former glory! This is way too much fun now!!!
In another five years, when CPU power is thirty times more powerful, maybe the modeling guys will finally catch up the rest of the way. I read that the Kemper Profiler ($1,799 for pre-amp capability only) has gotten all the way there, but "all in" you"ll also spend almost $3k to be heard in a live setting. I for one will not be spending that kind of coin just to amuse myself in my basement! If its bang-for-the-buck you seek, and you can live with a 96% (or lower) authenticity level from your amp, then there really are impressive, and very reasonably priced modeling amp alternatives out there. But for me it has tuned out that the last 4% was the missing link to complete satisfaction, engagement, excitement, and forward progress.
And no, this doesn"t make me into a "tube snob", because I still appreciate what a good modeling amp can do, especially at the low-end prices. And I still think it"s overall a fantastic concept; no doubt the way of the future. So when they finally achieve that last 4%, and at a price point I can justify, I"ll buy that one too!
But until then, this little Marshall is going to be my main rig. I"ll be selling off at least three of my other modeling amps because "tone" is king, and right now anyway, the "affordable" modeling amps produce tones that are merely "princely". For a relatively measly $350, you no long have to settle for anything less. I can't believe it took me thirty-five years to return to a technology that's twice as old!If home amusement, low-volume practice and recording are also your thing, give this little guy a try!

Sweetwater did their usual...awesome prices, excellent service,etc., but when I recieved my combo,I was astounded at how awful it sounded. I said as much to my sales rep, Bob M, and the Sweetwater crew promptly had another one sent out. Same dang problem, sounded like buzzing bees at best, mud and fuzz at worse with any axe plugged straight in. BUT...when I placed a Keeley Mod Workstation pedal into the effects loop, all the mud went away. The clean channel stayed clean, the ultra drive channel became a real drive channel. I don't have a clue what is technically going on, but without the Keeley or similar effects inserted into to the effects loop, I despise this amp. With the effects loop engaged, I love this amp. The clean channel sounds great above the 2 1/2 - 3 mark on the knob but without effects loop, it is awful again. SO glad I realized what is needed to make this amp a real amp, but as far as the two I received, I was ready to use them for trot-line weights. I can duplicate this over and over. Direct guitar in, no effects loop, fuzzy mud trash with 8" speaker. Insert the Keeley, and it is like sunlight with an extra dose of clarity. I can only speak on the two I received but this should apply to all units. Hat's off to Sweetwater, Bob Mondok and the best tech-repair crew in the business. I know for fact no other company would have seen this situation through and done such a great job at working things out with an increasingly aggravated by the moment customer. Thanks for the patience.

I had recently played the 1 watt head version through a 16 ohm 12" speaker cab and it sounded great, so I decided to order one first chance. They were back-ordered and I decided to pay the extra $ and get a combo w/speaker. Made sense, I could also use as a practice amp, all good. While I absolutely dig the amp, the effects loop, the 2-channel option with included footswitch, and the above par reverb, I have to admit the speaker inside my combo is beyond awful. Hopefully, it's defective because I cannot grasp the 5 star ratings already given for this combo. Anything above about 2 1/2 to 3 on the clean channel turns into flubby,flabby trash. No sparkle, no tone. I had a pretty bad 10" Celestion in a VOX Nightrain cab, this one is WAY worse. I am blown away at how low-performance that speaker is. I plugged the amp into a cab with a 12" 16 ohm Celestion and it sounds like a different amp, well, actually it sounds like the head did....Awesome! I like it, glad to have it, it sounds excellent with a KeeleyModWorkstation in the effects loop, a pedal board set-up in front of amp. YET... Truth be told, it doesn't hold a candle to my Katana head. The Katana head has a smaller speaker that sounds light years better than the Marshall and has WAY more options than the DSL amp for the same exact price. Not even close in sound or value. I wouldn't do this purchase again; I will grab another Katana head first chance and leave the DSL plugged into a 16 ohm cab for studio use.

Purchased from Sweetwater after reading customer comments. So far good choice.
I was looking for a small amp that would work well with pedals, and eventually lead me to getting a stage amp. This model seemed to fit.
I ordered online, got all the proper email confirmation and a nice phone call from a representative
offering thanks and assistance. Then the amp arrived.. Hmmm candy, Bit O Honey, O K let's plug it in.
I plugged in my Gibson Nighthawk Landmark and pedal board.. It takes pedals very well, I went from dork, to dork that sounds like Kim Simmons of Savoy Brown.. This thing is fun. and that means you will play it more and get better, which is what I wanted. I use it for home practice.
Thanks Sweetwater..

This amp sounds amazing! Great clean and crunch tones. The emulated speaker output is very good as well. I wanted an amp that could be driven without being too loud, and this fits the bill perfectly. Amazing customer service from Sweetwater as always.