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Right I'm looking for a tube amp in the £300-600 price range, and have come across these two Marshalls:

from : localhost/want an amp that can be used for a small gig but can also be played in my bedroom at a reasonable volume. Would either of these amps give me that?

Does anyone have any experience with either of these amps and can tell me good or bad points about them?

And also if you would like to recommend another amp in that price range then go ahead.

Thanks for any help

The tsl would be better for the marshall everyone knows about because it has el-34's in it. The dsl has el-84's.

I own a DSL401 and JCM800 at base for repairs, the JCM800 uses 02xEL84 and 5 12AX7s.

Here is a pic of my room with themFrankly speaking, I just couldn't tell a difference between the sound of DSL401 and JCM800. JCM800 uses 2xEL34s which is supposed to give the classic marshall tone. The TSL uses 4xEL34s, prolly there is a distinctive significance there. But the TSL is more powerful and I don't think I would get it for bedroom use otherwise it undermines it capabilities unless you get a power brake or hotplate to manage the sound.
The clean channel for the DSL 401 will start to go on overdrive at around 5 onwards.

I will forego the JCM800 if I'm given the chance to buy amps again because the difference is significant but yet negligeble.

Think thats all about it, from me that is. Anyone else ? I can be wrong, but I won't get a TSL601 for room use.

Even a 40 watt valve amp will be LOUD in a bedroom, and I do mean LOUD (if you want to drive it properly). Maybe get the 401 and spend the spare cash on an attenuator of some sort...

i have the 401.. you won't really get the breakup sound people want when they buy an 800..

i say try both if you can. i dont regret not saving more for the TSL, because its a bit complicated for me.. a tube swap works wonders from the stock ones!

tom

There are also several Marshall amps that you can buy used in your price range, and get a little more bang for the buck. The JTM series, or the JCM 600 series will get you *close* to the JCM 800 tone.

Any tube amp with a master volume can be overdriven at lower volumes, but that tone is usually somewhat thin. The thick, meaty sound we're all looking for comes from power tube saturation, and that means master volume way up. The best idea IMO is to purchase the amp that will be most suited to your gigging needs, and them purchase something for practice like the POD or the V-amp. You'll get much better tones at low volumes running your POD or V-amp thru the clean channel of your amp, or even into headphones for silent practice than you ever will a tube amp turned way down low.

Attenuaters have been suggested as well, and those are a good idea also. However, for the price of a good attenuater, you can purchase a POD or V-amp and have a ton more versatility and recording ability.

As for the amp....of those 2, I'd by the TSL 601.

Food for thought.

Right thanks everyone for the help.

The reason I wanted one of these amps was to have one that could be used for a gig and also at lower volumes while still maintaining a good tone.

I wanted to get the 1959SLP re-issue head at first, but it's far too loud for playing at home while still getting the best sound out of it. However, you've given me an idea Jeff_H in your post. Could I have that 1959SLP head turned down enough to be played at room levels (bear in mind it's a non-master volume amp) and then put an overdrive pedal in front of it? Would that give me a good tone at a low volume? Then for a gig I could just crank the amp and get rid of the OD pedal, and use an attenuator if needed. Does that sound possible?

if i were you i'd buy the TSL (infact i own a tsl601).......it is powerfull enough to handle almost any live situation, it is very versatile and it has very good tone PROVIDED you keep the master volume above 6.........It is not bad at low volumes but it is not what it was designed for............

One more thing to do with the TSL: change the crappy preamp noname tubes with some GT, EH, or JJ 12ax7s.....................If you can also change the speaker that would be perfect........

GAWA- You have been given some excelent advice- Unless you are interested in playing very clean and need the headroom, both of these amps are way to big for the house/small gig- The '11' syndrome makes a lot of people think that bigger is better- but its already been said, u cant overdrive these amps in a house and retain your hearing-

modeling (or an attenuator) is probably the best way to get what you are after-cheers