Bit bored of my DSL 100. Could I use it as a power-amp? Pre-amp recommendations?!

["Evil" Aidy]

I've been using a combination of an SD-1 pedal into the the green channel (set on crunch) with my Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 and a GE7 in the FX loop for awhile now. I use a 1960A cab.

I'm getting a bit bored of the tone to be honest!

I've been toying with the idea of a new amp but cash is tight at the minute so that's out of the question! (2203kk / JVM / Boogie anyone?)

I just had a go plugging my guitar into my solid state Peavey classic chorus 2x12 combo and then running the pre-amp output of that into the effects return of the Marshall.

Sounded FRESH! I have a few questions...

This disabled all of the pre-amp controls on the Marshall and master volume knob.

Is this essentially bypassing the pre-amp section and purely using the power amp section of the Marshall?

Will this cause harm my trusty DSL 100?

Does this open up opportunity for me to explore pre-amps out the such as the ADA MP-1 / Rocktron / JMP-1 / Rectifier Rec Pre / etc etc etc?

Any recommendations for AWESOME pre-amps?

Hey... Maybe I could run an MT-2 through the loop?

P.S. It's made me notice how much the EQ section of the amp (Bass, Treble, Mids etc) really don't shape or have much effect on the actual tone at all. Do you guys know what I mean?

Thanx!

 

[TravisW]

[quote="Evil" Aidy;7415908]I've been using a combination of an SD-1 pedal into the the green channel (set on crunch) with my Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100 and a GE7 in the FX loop for awhile now. I use a 1960A cab.

I'm getting a bit bored of the tone to be honest!

I've been toying with the idea of a new amp but cash is tight at the minute so that's out of the question! (2203kk / JVM / Boogie anyone?)

I just had a go plugging my guitar into my solid state Peavey classic chorus 2x12 combo and then running the pre-amp output of that into the effects return of the Marshall.

Sounded FRESH! I have a few questions...

This disabled all of the pre-amp controls on the Marshall and master volume knob.

Is this essentially bypassing the pre-amp section and purely using the power amp section of the Marshall? [/quote] Yes.

[quote="Evil" Aidy;7415908]Will this cause harm my trusty DSL 100?[/quote] No.

[quote="Evil" Aidy;7415908]Does this open up opportunity for me to explore pre-amps out the such as the ADA MP-1 / Rocktron / JMP-1 / Rectifier Rec Pre / etc etc etc?[/quote] Yes

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Thanks for answering those questions.

Pre-amp reccomendations anyone?

CRUSHING METAL TONES here we come!

 

[VH100R]

how about an EQ pedal in the loop?

 

["Evil" Aidy]

I've been using a Boss GE-7 EQ pedal in the loop for ages already.

 

[hoehlentroll]

e530. cheap and good as fuck

 

[MetalJonesy]

e530. cheap and good as fuck

from what ive heard of the engl e530, id deffo reccomend that. i used to use my JCM 900 as a poweramp to my pod, and damn i got sum killer tones caus of the warmth of the all valve power section!!!!

 

[Pot]

e530. cheap and good as fuck

I´ve bitten the bullet and bought one:Smokedev:, although i haven´t reaaly messed with it much (got it yesterday)...

 

[musickey]

I´ve bitten the bullet and bought one:Smokedev:, although i haven´t reaaly messed with it much (got it yesterday)...

Let us know what you think. Im thinking about picking one up.

 

[hoehlentroll]

I´ve bitten the bullet and bought one:Smokedev:, although i haven´t reaaly messed with it much (got it yesterday)...

I bet you'll like it. The only thing is if you don't like a ENGL sound don't buy it. but for the flexability and for what it does it's a great deal.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Seen some clips on youtube of the e530 / rockmaster / ada mp-1 / jmp-1 and I thought they all sound sweet!

I can't find any on ebay UK though?

I'm torn between 80s thrash tones (where my passion is) and more modern high gain (?) sounding stuff like Mesa Boogie and Peavey!

 

[kaomao]

uhm maybe the rockmaster is for ya
There are plenty od mods for the ADA MP-1: soldano mods, mesa mods and so on, just search the web

 

["Evil" Aidy]

ADA mods look awesome!

If I got a pre-amp from overseas how would I get that to work over here in the UK as the voltage is much higher over here than the U.S.?

It's 120v over there and 220-240v here.

I've seen plug-in/adaptor voltage step down transformer things but, is that dangerous?

Will I need to mod the unit somehow to have it earthed?

 

[Torniojaws]

From what I've heard, step-down transformers are mainly just a "quick fix" for short period use only. For longer term use, the transformer should be changed.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

From what I've heard, step-down transformers are mainly just a "quick fix" for short period use only. For longer term use, the transformer should be changed.

Would that be an expensive mod do you think?

 

[Torniojaws]

It's the most expensive part in an amp I think it's about 100 to 150 euros including the work.

 

[greyskull]

red channel gain A
resonance in
bass 8
mid 6
treble 5
prescence 2
Gain 8

Done.
The dsl doesnt really need a ts or boost to my ears

 

[VH100R]

my rockmaster is US, I just got an adapter (voltage converter) for it.

simple to use, and since it's a preamp you'll be fine.

BTW my rockmaster sounds fucking awesome! peavey in a box... I mean rack

 

["Evil" Aidy]

red channel gain A
resonance in
bass 8
mid 6
treble 5
prescence 2
Gain 8

Done.
The dsl doesnt really need a ts or boost to my ears

Never been a fan of the red channel dude, too bright and gain tone i found a bit buzzy/fluffy/hissy.

Love the green channel though with EQ in the FX loop!

Chugga chugga chugga!

 

["Evil" Aidy]

I used my DSL 100 at a jam with some friends tonight playing some Metallica stuff. I noticed a few things about my tone...

I have the SD-1 boosting in the front end of the amp on the green channel with the crunch button pushed in. Level on SD-1 MAX, tone at 1 o'clock, drive at about 11 o'clock.

On the amp I have tone scoop and deep switches OUT (my deep switch doesn't work anyway, it never has!) mids around 7, bass on 10, treble was just over half way and presence on about 7. In the FX loop I have my Boss GE-7 EQ pedal. I'm no longer happy with my tone without this pedal anymore!

I have the EQ pedal setup as follows:

Big cut at 6.4k (got rid of real bright fizzy hissy stuff)
Boost at 3.2k (sound like it enhances the chugging pick sound on fast palmmutes)
Cut at 1.6k - There's something HARSH going on in this area (it gets worse if I don't EQ cut in this area as you turn up the treble knob on the amp too.) anyone else experiencing this? By cutting the 1.6k area the tone sounds more balanced/smooth I think. The STRANGE thing here is that with my EARPLUGS in it sounded great and no need to cut there at all. When I took my earplugs out, I was like "Damn it. What the hell?" It sounded really harsh, really treblely. Sort of thin, radio like... Can anyone relate to this?
Cut at 800
Small cut at 400
Boost at 200
Boost at 100

So overall I have a sort of scoop going on in the FX loop apart from the highest highs on the pedal being cut too yet on the actual amp I have the mids and bass boosted with a hint of treble and a little more presence.

The tone still sounds very much like a boosted mids tone metal tone (Kerry King!)

I'd like to hear your opinions on this. I feel that the controls on the amp don't really "shape" the actual tone that much - or is this just me? Maybe it's a Marshall thing?

It cheeses me off sometimes that I have to tweak so much and have pedals and stuff in front of my amp! Would an Engl e530 pre-amp need a booster pedal in front of it to get nice tight crunch sounds? Or is the voicing in the preamp already focussed in the mids area i.e. giving a sound reminiscent of an amp that has a pedal in front as a boost?

Hope that makes sense. Thanks for reading!

The quest for THAT tone continues...