Marshall DSL20HR 20-watt Tube Head Reviews

Nothing quite like a Marshall period. These DSL20s are hard to come by. Been backordered for months because of heavy demand. Another "sweet" deal here on a perfect demo although no telling how many hours on the tubes. Its hissy in high gain crunch modes, a little noisy for studio work but has line outs in the back. A extra audio/headphone input in the front panel would be better. Love the fact you manipulate the wattage from 20 - Standby- 10 watts. Perfect for my home studio music room. This little amp-head is Marshall Loud. I'm running through a Berringer Slant Bugera 4 12 speaker cabinet. Its perfect, nice clean jazzy tones, and SRV texas blues crunch with high gain and volume, even extra crunch if you want it with digital reverb as a plus. A slight disappointment in the reverb, a old style spring reverb unit would be really cool. Made in Vietnam worth mentioning, excellent quality. Footswitch with the new LED lights, I'm using a Berringer Volume foot pedal as well. I'm a bluesman so this amp tethers on perfection for the blues artist. There is just something about a Marshall knowbody else can emulate.. 5stars jv, blues image

Killer amp. Clean to mega crunch, and everything in between! Great price! Excellent service from my rep, Chris Neyman!

I love this thing! I use it for everything, country - Metal!

Im currently using it to cover early Metallica and it always sounds great, cand recommend enough!

This amp head rocks. Price and country of origin make no difference, this is a fantastic Marshall head. If you love that Marshall tone like I do you will definitely get it with this one. It has solid build quality, and gets pretty darned loud. I run it through a captor x when I need to play quietly and it still sounds amazing. Put an SD1 in front of it and prepare to smile. I haven't had the need for the emulated out so I can't say how that works but it's nice that it's there. There is also an audio in, it works ok, not the greatest but most tube amps don't even have that, so it's just another option if you want it. FX loop works great and I love how it is foot switchable, very nice option. I've had this for about a month now and I just love it. Big shout out to Darcee and Sweetwater, always the bomb, keep it up.
P.S. running it through a Marshall 2x12, just use whatever cab you like, I'm sure it will sound killer.

This amp jams pretty nice! Although I do have a screamer and distortion pedal, I find that I prefer straight into the amp tones. I'm sure that if I wanted to I could spend hours micro-tweaking every knob on both pedals to get the scientifically correct Dimebag or Hetfield tone but with this amp (and MX2x12AR cab) it took about a minute and a half of knob turning to have that "ok I'm jamin' for 2 hrs. now" tone…. you know what I'm sayin?

This thing is the sound of the 80's I've been looking for. From master of puppets to 38 Special to beautiful clean tones. It also takes pedals really well, worth every penny. As usual, Connor was super helpful. Would not buy from anywhere else

Love all the versatility you get out of this amp. 2 channels, independent vol/gain controls, effects loop, hi/lo power setting, EL34 Power tubes and ECC83s in the preamp. Had this for almost 2 years now and have been 100% happy with it. It gives great tones at lower volumes, so perfect for home use but also can hold its own in a band setting too. When i don't want to (or can't) use my JCM800, this is my go to amp. Sold my other amps because between this and my JCM800 i've got everything covered, for my purposes.

Wow I have been playing for 29 years and have never found the sound in my head until I got this monster! Paired with the Marshall 2x12 studio is just goosebumps all day long from the clean to the gain it's awesome.

Just saved up and bought this as my first tube amp. Sounds amazing!!!

Was hesitant Barbour pulling the trigger on this one, but once it was available I took the plunge. I'm glad I did - this is the best DSL in over a decade, and the fact that it uses EL34s shows how much Marshall has learned over their time in the business. This thing really shines on the Ultra Gain channel, with the Master at about 2-3 o'clock, but the Classic Gain channel is a wonderful platform. It can go from Marshally clean, to crunch with a boost, to a searing lead sound, and the foot switch included makes all that super simple. The headphone/line out emulates a generic 412 sound from the CODE series, but it is definitely serviceable for silent practice. But this thing begs to push some air, and a quality 212/412 would not disappoint you. I've seen a lot of reviews on YouTube about the DSL20HR, and it really lives up to the hype. Try it - I'd be extremely surprised if you're disappointed in this little monster! Thanks to Jacob Stutzman as always for the assist! Hit him up for first-class service!

I bought a made in England Marshall cabinet and hooked it it up the 20 watt Marshall DSL and it's sounds like 80's Metallica. Wow! No distortion just the amp and cabinet.

Excellent customer service when I ordered. Very helpful, kudos. Arrived quickly and very well packaged. I mostly plays blues and classic rock gigs in small and medium size bars in my area punctuated by the occasional festival or local opening act kind of show. I've used this thing out a few times now since I got it and it's totally awesome. I run it through a 2x12 w/Celestion greenbacks and I when I crank it up I get ALL the stellar Marshall tones you're looking for, I can get those tubes nice and warm, but I don't destroy the rest of the band with volume. It's perfect for small clubs. This thing is kind of a little beast. I highly recommend it over any other kind of 20 watt tube amp I've tried.

I bought the bundle which included the DSL20HR head with the 2x12 slanted Marshall cab. This amp pairs amazing with my American Pro series Strat. Not only does this amp have more than enough power but the tones you can get out of this are superb. You can dial up clean tones that allow you to play great sounding blues or you can dial up tones that give you that amazing crunch sound that only the best Marshalls have to offer. The DSL20 head and 2x12 cab can do it all and do it very well. My Strat sounds amazing through it and i could not be happier. Also having a great service rep at Sweetwater Like Mike Singer makes you feel the purchase you made was the right choice because of his knowledge and great advice. Mike Singer wont try to sell you the most expensive item he wants to sell you what is best for your needs.

Great amp. Gives me that Marshall sound in a small package. Paired with the vertical 2x12 cab, it's a beast. Shout out to LambChopper678 for the great videos on this amp.

An excellent head. Great value for the money. Most versatile amp I have owned.

Very impressive cleans are crisp and clean and the heavy is warm tight and right in your face.

I love the full size tubes inside this head. Look folks this little amp kicks!

I highly recommend this for all types of music.

Light compact and easy to use.

In an odd bit of irony, I bought a monster of a JCM900 using a little leftover student loan money in 1996 (yeah, I was that guy), but was forced to sell it to pay tuition for my kids. There's been a little musical hole in my heart since then. Then I got the DSL20... hole filled and then some. I have an attenuator on it and run it wide open into one of my custom 2x12s, and talk about sonic nirvana. It essentially completes a 4-amp setup in all the right ways. Thanks once again to Jacob and the crew for everything! I have a universe of sound at my fingertips...

This amp is just amazing. It doesn't have a master volume but it does have a volume for each channel which is also good. I paired it with a Vox BC108 cab and it really sounds amaxing. I am overall satisfied with this amp and the service I received. Thank you!

After owning Marshall 80's solid state amps,Valvestate's and a Marshall JCM 900 head I have never heard that Marshall tone in head.My next move was to buy a used JMP Pre 80's head,but I couldn't see spending $1500 on a head that I would have to crank the amp and lose more of my hearing.My Marshall DSL 20 HR arrived yesterday OMG this is the SOUND in my head every time I plug in my Eastman Goldtop through my Marshall 4x12.I also plugged into a Vox cabinet with a blue alnico and was still impressed.My settings are resonance10,Presence 10,Bass 10,Middle 10,Treble 0-3,Volume 6-7Gain 3-7 on the Ultra channel.I was very leary because I tried my Rhythm guitar players DSL 40 and wasn't impressed.This amp is Loud!!I. I run a JHS Volume control to tame the Goliath.BUY THIS AMP FROM SWEETWATER.You will get It the next day thanks to Sweetwater using FEDEX for free shipping.What other company does that!!Everyone in my band orders from Sweetwater.They Rock.Plus who doesn't like Candy.

I just got this 2 days ago. Great Marshall tone. I have a little his from my rig with this amp so I ordered a Furman ss-6b for it. The amp itself is mostly quiet. It's a great amp and I'm glad I bought it. I've had the dsl 40c in the past and I like the ultra gain channel on this more.

There's a reason that everyone is saving up for a Marshall... You can buy other amps that sound great, but why buy an amp that's merely in competition as a copy to the most famous amp in music history? All the Van Halen albums were recorded using Marshall amps. From AC/DC to Slayer and everything in between. This DSL 20HR was designed from the ground up in England. Just because this amp was actually made in China doesn't mean it isn't a MARSHALL. This thing sounds as good as any Marshall I've played. The ONLY downside to this amp is that it doesn't have the two mode option for both channels like the JCM 2000 DSL head that I own. The classic gain ONLY has the "Crunch" mode (the cleans aren't so clean because of this), and the Ultra Gain channel ONLY has mode 2. I have the 15 watt DSL head on the left connected to two 1960 cabs, and I have the 20 watt DSLHR head on the right with effects connected to two 1960 cabs. This setup is in stereo using the Boss CE-3 in mode 2 chorus (this is the ONLY chorus pedal on the market with the Mode 2 option.) It sounds absolutely killer!!!

I originally bought the Bugera G20 because of it's many features. However, I discovered the clean channel could not a access the EQ area and only had a volume/tone for controls. The kicker was the gain channel, despite the EQ and EL34 tubes, sounded more like a dark O/D rather than a true gain/distortion. I returned in with a week or so and my wife graciously allowed me to raise the stakes on our budget and buy this Marshall.

No, it doesn't have a power tube LED self-check function, nor does the effects loop have a db switch for matching up pedals in the loop. HOWEVER, this amp is the best sound I've ever had since owning the original Peavey ValveKing 40w combo. That combo had separate EQ for both channels, boost and gain that was almost frightening. I paired it up with an old 50w Marshall Valvestate combo (tube preamp, solid state power) and it was a great setup. But 3 back surgeries make lugging around 40lb amps impossible.

About this Marshall - Since I run a pedal board (including a GP-10S synth with amp/overdrive models) I can cover anything from clean to crunch to a 5150. But, after hearing the smooth clean and the vaunted "Marshall" gain channel, I'm blown away. Everything from a nice crunch on the clean channel with the gain turned up to gain channel adjusted just right, I can hit that Priest "Diamonds and Rust"; lower the gain and adjust the EQ for instant AC/DC, you name it. I'm so happy I was able to make the switch. The 10w/20w power soak is useful and isn't just a tone-killer.

At this price, if you've got a little extra in your pocket add in a stack of speakers and you've got a plexi to JCM800 monster. Thank you SW for great service in returning the Bugera and getting me my Marshall one day earlier than expected. Cassie Hanlon is a great sales rep and someone I can depend on.

This amp is louder than I expected, it is more than sufficient for a small gig. It has a great clean channel. The Ultra Gain channel is very versatile and will need tweaking to dial in your flavor of distortion. It is a little on the warm side in that the treble is somewhat subdued. Tweaking the presence and treble knobs I found that you can dial in just about any flavor of distortion, from a warm to a harsh high treble distortion. The overall tone quality of the distortion on the Ultra Gain channel is very nice, classic Marshall; no pedal needed. The built in reverb is ok, but as is always the case, it can't compare to a decent effects processor or pedal effects. This amp takes effects very well through the FX loop. I have neighbors so I play mostly through the Low Power Mode. This amp sounds just as good at low volume. This is a quality amp in sound, look and feel. At this price, this amp gets 5 stars all day long.

Took a chance on a demo unit and got a thoughtful design that creates a brilliant tone with the treble pickup of my bass. Its High/pentode mode has no problem driving my 2x10 bass cab and filling my 30x16 practice space at quarter volume (Classic Gain channel with everything else at 12 o'clock, Tone Shift engaged, and full Resonance). Low/triode mode at half volume also has plenty of snarl but lacks some Resonance/current for my lower octave. At first, there was sporadic noise from the output stage, even at zero volume, but it disappeared after several days of Standby mode, and the tone has only gotten better. The Gain & Effects footswitch is a welcome addition (although I use it for my combo's Gain instead). Coupled with a 15" solid-state combo for my bass pickup, the two-amp setup is jaw-droppingly inspirational.

Ive been in the music biz for 40 years. Mostly played bass so I have never had a decent guitar amp. After much research, I picked up the DSL20 with the 212 horizontal cabinet. I could only find one bad review on this amp and cab so grain of salt.. All I can say is, Awesome! I have been around a lot of Marshall's being a bass player in many rock, alternative and metal bands. This one easily sounds as good as any high dollar Marshall. It has everything you need, two channels, reverb, effects loop, high-low power and a mid scoop button. Quality you would expect. I'm very pleased with this purchase plus, got a smokin deal... scratch this off the bucket list! Thanks Nick and Ryan at Sweetwater!

I am a big Marshall fan boy and have owned lots of other Marshalls to compare with this. If you are thinking about buying this to use the clean ch and use pedals you should probably look at the Origin instead ( have that as well and it is very nice! ). If you are thinking about this because of the Ultra gain channel and the classic ch is an added bonus: Good job! This is a Monster Marshall DSL ultra gain ch sounding amp. The new voicing on this version is perfect. This amp loves Creamback speakers. I got this for home use and recording. It sounds huge with a Bogner 212C with M65 Creambacks. This is a match made for Modern Heavy Metal riffing. Marshall should make this in a 40 watt version HEAD and sell an oversized cab like the Bogner 212c with creambacks. They would sell like crazy! I own and have owned waaay too many Marshall amps. For modern high gain Marshall sounds this DSL is by far my favorite.

After having jvm410h, 2555 head and 1987x I needed a low watt head for studio recordings, I recorded it through a 1960a cab and the result is incredible! It is more punchy, cuts better through the mix and it has a better stereo field, just wider than my other Marshalls I have and very surprisingly without changing any tubes !!! I always swap the tubes right out of box for any Marshall since they use real cheap jj tubes but after comparing the result I put back the stock jj tubes!!! They sound exactly same with way more expensive tubes. The strength of this head is high gain rhythm, it gives you way better results than some heads that are twice or triple the price and just in 10watt mode! It has a very descent clean channel, perfectly recordable in any album scenario but you shouldn"t expect vox or fender type sounds out of this box. Great job Marshall!
By the way you don"t need to bias this head when changing any tubes, it is fixed bias! A great feature!

I had one of the original DSL 100 heads back in the day. It failed on my three times, one of which was a live gig. Fast forward to me playing Mesa, Orange, Fender, and others to reading reviews on the new generation of DSL. I took a chance for $500 and so far i'm blown away. Used it at two gigs so far and the Ultra Gain is very good. I don't use it for super high gain (with my American PRS Standard I run it at about 2.5) and it growls like you expect a Marshall to growl. I use the classic gain as a clean. It was so cool to run through my band's set of classic rock covers and hear that unmistakable Marshall sound. As I said, i've played everything over the years and I like them all for what they do, but nothing sounds like a Marshall and a bridge humbucker. Very impressed. For this sound at $500 i'm getting over my fear of products made in Indonesia, China, Viet Nam. LIke most musicians i'm a bit of a tone snob but I play for fun and don't want to spend $2500 on amps. So far i'm VERY impressed.

Marshall got it right with this version. A monster tone machine. Every shortcoming of the old DSL15 has been taken care of .
I have a JVM also and this little head holds up its own and then some .
Highly recommended if you like the Marshall sound .

I bought a tube hybrid a couple months ago and liked it but wasn't quite what I wanted. Then got to looking at Sweetwater and saw the DSL 15, watched the demo and my mind was made up. So I had a little extra money and decided to go with the DSL 20, good reverb but the effects loop is great. I actually drove 2 hours and bought it, if anyone has a chance to go northeast Indiana make it a point to stop at Sweetwater

First let me say I have over 15 tube amps large and small 5-65w and stacks as well as combos. My practice amps consist of two Oarnge PPC112 V30 cabs and my choice of a few 15-20w heads. The OR-15 was the only option I had with an effects loop and getting clean and loud out of it was some knob manipulation that broke my stride when switching parts in a song. The DSL 20RH has the effects loop that"s switchable via foot switch and TWO channels so I can set a loud and clear channel as well as a dirty channel also selectable via footswitch. While not a complaint, the only thing I"d change is making the onboard digital reverb footswitchable also. I like the warmth of the EL84 power section and it is a nice addition to my mini stack attack :)

Not to take anything away from the previos model, but this newer one is definitely an improvement. It has a rich warmer sound. Excellent clarity and gain on channel one. Channel two.....................it's definitely a Marshall!
If you're looking for a great tube amp, but don't want to spend a fortune. This is the one for you.

Excellent Bang For Your Buck.. Love the Rotary Resonance Control.. This amp does everything it is supposed to do AND Brings it all home for a fair price.. My Only.. one lil nit pic... I own a first gen 100wt DSL. On the red channel it has a High & Low gain button... Where this one is voiced only on the High Gain side.. Other than that?? Perfect small low watt amp.. Great Tone

This is my first tube Amp ever, I have played guitar for 40 years and have played thru Solid State Amps my whole life because I always heard about Tube Amps blowing their Tubes so I stayed clear of them. After watching hundreds of reviews of different tube amps the DSL20hr was the choice I made and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I plan on purchasing a few other tube amps as well. This Amp is perfect and with the help of EQs and other pedals can become even more perfect, I love it!!! Now go buy one and see for yourself, it can handle any style of music....

The ultra game channel is perfect for metal and the classic game channel is great for clean and lightly broken up tones. If there's one issue it's that even on the 10 watt setting it's too loud for home. I'm not sure what purpose it serves. For playing at home I've corrected this by simply running the amp on the high power setting and then putting a JHS attenuator in the effects loop. I've also found that I still like to use my gain pedals for some additional EQ shaping before the High game channel. The amp sounds great on its own but definitely benefits from additional tweaks like that. Overall I'm just glad that Marshall are making a versatile and high quality amp at an affordable price.

Just buy it. I use it with the Origin 212H and it is perfect. Boss ME80 in front in manual mode as a multi-stomp box and it is just it. Too many years experience than I care to mention. It is the thing. Thanks Alex....you da' man.

I first had a glowing review below based on a short time playing before packing up to move. Once relocated I spent time with the amp and discovered two distinct problems. First, due to the single tone stack, I'd have a nice clean on the gain channel with presence and treble at 2 o'clock, bass and mids at noon. Switching to the ultra-gain halved the treble and boosted mids and bass. Second, when using the effects loop and switching from ultra-gain back to clean gain, there was a noticeable volume spike followed by a slow roll off the gain volume. In addition, there was a loud popping noise.

The manufacture date on the amp was 2017; I purchased it in 2019, so I wondered where it was sitting for 2 years and what might have changed in 2020 models. I sent it back to Sweetwater for service and expected a long wait due to COVID-19. To my surprise, I received an email from service approximately 3-4 weeks later indicating work was performed: a replaced DFXP board making it current to V1.3 and a factory update to the loop system wiring. It was tested out to specs and returned. So far I have only had time to replace my backup Peavey ValveKing II 20w head with the Marshall and perform some cursory checks. There are no issues based on my original issues; however, I am going to swap the V1 12ax7 with a warm 12at7 in hopes it will allow me to increase the treble on the tone stack when clean and this will brighten up the ultra-gain a bit. Otherwise, the ultra-gain is pure Marshall in sound and everything I wanted. To those which have had problems, I urge you to send it to service and reference the areas mine was upgraded. Well done, Sweetwater Service.

This specific amp was not what I was looking for However it is a great amp (especially all tube for less than 500)

Not only the best deals on Musical Instruments but the customer service is 2nd to none.
My rep Dave Brow is without a doubt the best Sales Rep I have ever dealt with in any industry.

Prompt shipping and no hassle returns and warranties.

The is not 1 thing at SW I can give a rating of less than perfect.

This amp is really nice. I"m still having problems with getting the Ultra Gain channel to sound right. It"s has a hollow sound to it. The Classic Gain channel is very crisp and clean. Other than that, it"s a great amp. I do like the line out or headphone jack if you will, for recording. I"ve been able to record into an iPad or computer with it. Very nice.

Had to sell off my 79' JMP 50w Lead II 1/2 stack years ago when times where tight. Not gigging, didn't need big power anymore. I wasn't sure 20w was going to cut it though.
Just received it on Saturday 12/1, and played it all day. I bought it in the quarter stack set combo. It is exactly what its specs says it is. Top quality, not a flaw anywhere. I plugged straight into it with a 10' cord and with this 212 cab, I feel the amp has bright midrange tone. To warm it up I'm running the resonance and bass @7 with the mid @5.5 and treble @6 with presence @4. Plenty of gain available on both channels, I'm probably conservative with enough gain for me @4 on the dial on both channels. Ultra channel is the Marshall tone we all know. The Classic channel for me spans from clean to some nice crunch. This is something new to me, and had not been able to have that, with my other amps. I find with the tone shift engaged, will give ceramic pickups a little more warmth without clipping off the attach brilliance. Alnico mag pu's sounded better with the tone shift off. Its responds well to H/O pickups. I could turn the gain down on the ultra chan. and get a clear singing lead and nice voiced chordal play. My favorite feature of all things is the low power opt. in the standby switch. No tone/touch loss at a great low volume. This is my only thing.... Both channels require slightly different volume settings, and to switch between them balanced I am missing a master volume control. SW had the best deal going and topped it off with great customer service.

What a nice surprise... this little Marshall delivers. Using with a 1x12 cab (Alnico Gold) makes a portable and LOUD package. Tone and gain is classic Marshall. At first the EQ seemed a little boxy... a Boss 7 band GEQ in the loop cured that. The onboard reverb is not great but there if you need it. Strymon has forever changed verb in my world. 10 watts is great for home use although I noticed a darker somewhat veiled tone compared to the brighter 20 watt setting. For $... the amp is hard to beat. I have a Friedman PT20 as well and this Marshall can hang with it... impressive.

along with the 2-12 cabinet, a very satisfying combination. Great that output power is switchable low/high. Also placed an attenuator between the head & cab. Good Marshall sound, however my previous experience with Marshall equipment was a solid state 25 watt practice amp, so there's that...

I own 2, new Marshall DSL heads. 1w and 20w.

The 20w runs in a 10w mode, which sounds great at barely audible levels. This is the first all tube amp at this wattage that is truly playable in your apartment, and with other musicians.

It had average clean tones, the clean channel is better for a vintage Marshall style power tube break up. Definitely good for Black Sabbath style tones

The Ultra channel is 80s-90s metal. You have to turn the gain up high to get saturation. You will want to replace your tubes with something like JJs to get a better high gain tone. Definitely needs a boost for true high gain.

...The resonance control doesn't do much

Read the raves about this new DSL line from the 2018 NAMM. Not being a fan of the earlier 15 watt version and there not really being alot to view and listen to online yet I was some what skeptical. When a Demo model became available and the price my awesome Sales Associate Grant Emery offered me I took the plunge, and I couldn't be happier. Pumping this head through my Bugera 212TS it sounds amazing, even on the low setting, the headroom and break up can be achieved easily. I've put single coil and humbuckers through their paces with this head at home and club and it has not disappointed. If you're thinking of getting a Marshall or that you can't afford one take a look at this new line I'm pretty sure you'll be as glad you did as I am.

I've been looking for Marshall to expand on the 20 watt platform as I already have the Mini Jubilee 2525H. Very impressive amplifier as well but the volumes where this wattage sits at is perfect for my playing environment. Been an exclusive Marshall player since the 80s but I've never owned or played through a DSL. My only experience is the 50th DSL1 I have. Judging it's tones against this new one I can hear the tweaks to the overall tones of the amp that is being advertised. It seems more balanced minus the spikes in the lows and highs. Much more smoother tone. Even though this is a 2 channel amp I prefer to use it as 1. It's a hard choice as each channel does it's thing very well. Classic Gain Channel is as it says. More old school Marshall that stays relatively clean even cranked. This channel with my Les Paul boosted by a Tubescreamer with some Echo through the loop is fantastic. I usually run the Master on 10 and adjust the Preamp Gain to taste. Anywhere from 1 o'clock on up. Really nice dynamic range of tones on this channel. The Ultra Gain Channel more than takes off with a lot of gain on tap. I've experimented with different T/S style or Clean boosts on this channel and they all perform well but in all honesty you can plug straight in on it and have plenty. I could go on and on but in short...The Amp Rocks!!! The price point is a bonus too. This is a lot of amp for the money.

Only negatives are, I'm not all that impressed with the line out. It has not worked well with my recording equipment. Others may fare different. I didn't buy it for that so basically I don't care anyway. The reverb is decent. It's not something I'd use live but it is nice to have when I want to just plug in without my pedalboard and have some ambience. Im probably being nitpicky about it though.

I'm very pleased with this purchase. If this is anything like what the new Origin has in store I cannot wait. I have the 20 watt head ordered as well.

Great job Marshall. Keep em coming!

Let me first say that I have never been a Marshall guy, I've always preferred Mesa Boogie amps and still do. That said, this little amp completely took me by surprise. I wanted to try out a smaller, low wattage amplifier and totally took a gamble at the urging of a close friend. I really enjoy both channels of the amp. The clean is very pristine, but you can get a little 'fur' on it if you wish. The Ultra Gain channels is where this amp shines, the gain control is very responsive and dynamic. Some amps, once you get past 10 o'clock on the gain knob, they run out of gas. This little guy breathes more fire right up to the cranked position, giving you a real wide variety of tones. The digital reverb is excellent, as is the low and high power setting option. The EQ seems to be finer tuned than Marshalls I have played in the past with a bit more low end and less 'ice picky' on the treble. I'm converted! Nice job Marshall, this is a great little amp at a very nice price. Low risk purchase here!

Just got this amp 4 days ago. This version of the DSL is much improved over the previous generation. The biggest improvement is with the ultra gain channel. The harsh, overly bright distortion is gone. Lots of gain. Clean channel is nice also. The half power switch works much better than the old pentode/triode switch.
Effects loop is transparent and quiet… Sounds great with my Les Paul. Nice job Marshall. Great amp.

Just a quick review.
Amp is voiced a little different than the older models. A little more bottom and a bit of treble rolled out. I haven't seen the specific specs on this one so....in case you wondered.......The Ultra gain Channel is more like the OD1 of the older models. This is what the older 15H should have been.
I predict Sweetwater to sell a lot of these. I have the 15H as well...thought I might get rid of it after getting this one. I will keep both. They both sound good. It's a keeper for sure!

I use this amp with an MX112R (speaker replaced with Greenback), and I get amazing tones! I see why it gets compared to the super expensive amps so often, both the clean and gain sounds you can achieve is top notch. It's very versatile as well. You can get sounds for country to death metal, the gain can get very rich and chunky if needed. The Prescence and Resonance controls are usually only found in the high-end amps, and really are responsible for the quality of sounds you can get from this amp. This amp also comes with a footswitch, this is very nice of them to add in for free. I have not tried the FX Loop yet, but it does have this function. Now I want to mention the not so great aspects of this amp.

The reverb could be better. I know I've heard better built-in reverbs from other amps in this price range. It's not that bad though and I wouldn't really ever be interested in trying a pedal for overriding it or anything. Next are my two actual complaints with this amp. Both channels share one EQ. To me this means if I have a really good metal tone setup on the amp, and I switch to clean... I either have to adjust the tone knob on my guitar, or step on an EQ pedal. Because otherwise the cranked treble and presence is going to give my classic gain/clean channel a sharp shrilly ear-bleeding sound, not exactly what you're looking for with a clean sound. The next issue is that whenever you switch from Ultra Gain channel to Classic Gain, you'll hear a pretty noticeable "pop" sound. At first I thought it was just mine, but I looked it up and everyone who has purchased this amp experiences this issue. As long as there is sound coming from the amp while switching, this will happen. This can be a little awkward if you're playing live for someone, maybe with a full band people will just think it's a bass drum.

To overcome both of these issues, you're going to have to make use of pedals. For the lack of separate EQ controls, an EQ pedal helps when switching to clean. To avoid popping sound, maybe hit a volume/mute pedal before switching. The combination of both of these issues has me mostly just using pedals for clean/overdrive/distortion. You're still taking advantage of the tubes because the sounds are shaped during different stages. But it seems one of my pedals may be doing a little bit of tone sucking, it's barely noticeable though.

Still trying to work on combinations of pedals and settings to get my perfect sounds, but I'm getting closer. At this point though if I were wanting a perfect aggressive metal tone for like recording or something, I would probably still just use the Ultra Gain channel instead of pedals. Although a boost pedal can help make it a bit more rich and provide more gain (if needed, probably not). Despite the issues, it's still amazing and you will not find anything comparable unless you're paying almost three times this price. It's so difficult to pick a rating for this because the price versus value of what you're getting. Hopefully some day in the future Marshall will address these issues, but they would probably charge more too. This is still a great purchase that you will not regret!

Hi there Boys and Girls. I have been enjoying Marshall amps for more than 56 years. Being a working musician in many large and small venues I've used 100 watt plexis, and a plethora of many guitars and amps. I'm 76 years old. Had hit record in 1980 with Tommy James. Backed up Chuck berry and recorded in many studios. This little beast is awesome. Sounds great. Gives me all I need in 10 watt mode. No more 100 watt amps for me. I also own a Marshall DSL 40/20 combo amp. Love the front end options with the JVM style foot peddle programmable options. I'd really love to see this little beast have the same front end. Other than that this is an awesome recording and love performance amp. Just Mike it and boom, it's as big as you need. Never even use it in 20 watt mode as rehearsing a small room in my friends house. Great with all my guitars. I highly recommend this *** kicker. As I play Rock,Blues Jazz, slide etcl

It has a killer tone for a great price, I play more metal but I wanted an amp that's good for rock so of course Marshall was my go to. Once I put a TS9 to it it totally screamed. It has that Marshall tone you'd expect but of course it doesn't sound like a JCM800 or anything so don't listen to the people hating on this, this is a 20w head, ya know? I will say the reverb is very lackluster. If you want good tone at a good price, this is a great choice

Been playing Marshall amps for over 20 years - great little amp for around the house and even to play gigs with. I use a Riviera Mini Rock Rec and go straight to the board - great sound. The emulated out actually sounds good too, but for what ever reason Marshall decided to put an 1/8" jack instead of a 1/4". I don't really use it because I don't want to convert to and 1/8" - that's my only gripe.

I was just notified the head is on it's way back from service. I received it in 2019, only had a month or so to try in a smoke free home setting. Packed it up and moved; then took it out in January 2020, only to find 2 major issues. One is my fault; never buy a 2 channel amp with only one tone stack. I used the green channel for clean with chorus/delay or phaser. Had my EQ pretty much 12:00 except for treble which was 2:00. When changing to the red ultra-gain, the tone fell considerably, killing treble by 1/2 and raising mids/bass. I've read Marshall Forum for advise on tube swaps to minimize this; however the 2nd major issue was when using the effects loop. Clean to ultra switching is quiet; however going back to green caused a momentary increase in ultra-gain channel volume, before finally dropping down to green volume, accompanied by a noticeable popping sound. Sweetwater arranged a return, but never addressed where the amp was sitting from it's manufacture date of 2017 to 2019 when I got it.

Concerning, the email I received just before they mailed it back specifically two problematic areas and specifically noted the repairs performed. Kudos to the service department for this and a quick turnaround considering COVID-19 issues. I will test the amp when I get it and if the effects loop is fixed, I have a work-around of suggested tube changes to make the tones more consistent between channels. If all else fails, I will sell it and buy either the new PRS 15w or a Peavey Invective MH 20w. My dream of affording a lunch-box sized Marshall all-tube may not fly. :(

I don't care where it was made. This head speaks fluent English.

Well...I used to love Marshalls, the JCM's, and JVM's. I wanted a modern hi gain head with that UK sound. This is not it. I bought this with a MX212 cab and it just sounds muffled/almost muddy on the Ulta gain channel. I can't believe a Marshall rep and a Sweetwater rep actually told me that the DSL can do modern hi gain and compared it to a 5151 EVH III. Even with a analog OD pedal it still is sounding like there's a wet blanket over the speakers with not enough preamp gain. Reverb is weak too. Unbelievable. Clean channel is really nice tho...oh and don't believe any of those YouTube sounds on this amp... guarantee they swapped out tubes and mixed the recordings a few dozen times.

If you purchase this head, be prepared to return it for service or return it within 30 days if you find it one-sided as I did. Problems first: it's been well documented on a Marshall forum that this amp is problematic in the area of effects loop. I didn't find my problems until just under a year of ownership due to lack of use. Mine was labeled as a 2017 build, although I bought it in 2019. In early 2020, I had a chance to break it in. I could dial up great clean sounds from the channel 1 (gain) channel, but when switching to ultra-gain the tone was dark. I adjusted the single tone stack (EQ) as trebly as I could without creating an ice pick clean channel, but still ultra gain boosted bass and mids and dropped treble.

I also experienced the dreaded volume fluctuation when changing channels with pedals in the effects loop. I returned it for service and it was upgraded to version 1.3(?) and the effects loop was fixed. To Sweetwater's credit and tech Gamma it was returned in record time during the COVID crisis. However, the tonal problem remained. I rolled EVERY tube, pre and power with upgraded valves and still no change in the tone problem.

In conclusion, if you play rock where you use the green (gain) channel as a crunch rhythm and the red (ultra-gain) for chorus/lead, this amp shines. But if you want to play "Bad Company" era rock with a chorus or phaser clean and the Marshall crunch/lead, it won't be there. Marshall dropped the ball rushing this DSL to the "lunch-box" market. A simple bright-boost switch on ultra-gain could have solved this, or a tone knob on gain so the EQ could have been set higher for ultra-gain and dialed back on gain. I would have paid $100 more for the amp just to have the Marshall history and beautiful black and gold, but I have to look elsewhere for my needs. The new PRS 15 would have been nice with it's twin EQ adjustments, but the gain channel has been rated out of control in distortion.

Overall the sound is not bad. Clean sound is nice. Gets good crunch/metal sound. Amp can get pretty loud. This particular amp has a lot of noise. With gain and volume down there is noise. Changed cabnet, noise. Changed cables, noise. tried every thing and the noise is excessive. Sent amp to get service and it came back the same. I have a Blackstar, Bugera, and an Orange. None have this noise. Guess I will have to live with it.

Amp sounded ok. My issue with it was it would pop really loud when changing from ultra gain to classic gain. It would do it with both the footswitch and the front panel button. It wouldn"t do it if the guitar volume was off though, only while playing. Emailed Sweetwater tech, he tried another amp and had the same issue. He said he spoke with other techs, and with Marshall and they said it was normal while passing audio. Also read on a forum where someone was told the pop disappears when the amp is cranked to 2 o"clock +, I tried that but the pop was still there, but slightly less audible. Amp will be returned.

Had the amp 3 weeks and the high power side (20w) blew out.
Returned it, Not reliable.