NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

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noise5150
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NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby noise5150 » 02 Apr 2015, 10:59

First of all, I really like this amp. Its got that classic Marshall tone. Im using the DSL40C with my HD500x via the four cable method which Ive used in the past, so Im able to use all the effects and the wah from the HD500x which is awesome. I think the 1/2 power switch is a really cool idea and I think the resonance control is an improvement over the deep switch on the original DSL series. Thats really it for the review. Im glad I got it and it sounds great. I do have some questions:

1) I know its new and the stock 70/80 has to break in and its not terrible by any stretch but I am finding it a little brittle and just lacking SOMETHING. Hard to explain. Im wondering if I should just take the leap now and try a WGS Veteran 30?

2) The ultra-gain channel IS very bright....I have the treble set at around only 1/4 and the presence all the way down so again, should I just clip the bright cap or will a Veteran 30 etc solve this?

3) On Lead 1, I am able to turn the gain almost all the way up but on Lead 2, after about 3 o'clock, the amp starts getting oddly flubby, almost a weird compressed sound. Is this normal? I dont really intend to turn the gain up that high but I want to make sure this is not an issue with the amp.

4) Finally, I know the amp has to be re-biased after a "break-in" period but should I just do this now or wait?

Thanks for your input!

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby Cousin Muely » 02 Apr 2015, 11:06

As far as the 70/80, you may end up swapping it anyway because everybody's taste varies but I'd at least wait until you break it in. Every new speaker I've ever heard never sounds as good as its going to later. I like to get to know a piece of equipment and it's full range before I decide, if ever, to do any modifications. I think speakers get pulled to early anyway. It takes a while to really break one in.

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby noise5150 » 02 Apr 2015, 11:19

Cousin Muely wrote:As far as the 70/80, you may end up swapping it anyway because everybody's taste varies but I'd at least wait until you break it in. Every new speaker I've ever heard never sounds as good as its going to later. I like to get to know a piece of equipment and it's full range before I decide, if ever, to do any modifications. I think speakers get pulled to early anyway. It takes a while to really break one in.
I might just do that. Ive played through different Celestions in the past and I dont think its a bad speaker. I wonder if I should clip the bright cap either way though.

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby Cipher » 02 Apr 2015, 14:32

If it's brand new with warranty, I wouldn't clip anything and void said warranty yet. Obviously, this is your choice to make. If it's used, experiment with the bright cap. If you clip it right, you can always easily reconnect it. Some have found they prefer replacing the cap with a different value as a compromise. I have the 100H and the bright cap still in there but I'm also running it with NOS preamp tubes, and through a 412 with broken in greenbacks.

Congrats on your NAD! Let that thing rip!!

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby noise5150 » 02 Apr 2015, 15:14

Cipher wrote:If it's brand new with warranty, I wouldn't clip anything and void said warranty yet. Obviously, this is your choice to make. If it's used, experiment with the bright cap. If you clip it right, you can always easily reconnect it. Some have found they prefer replacing the cap with a different value as a compromise. I have the 100H and the bright cap still in there but I'm also running it with NOS preamp tubes, and through a 412 with broken in greenbacks.

Congrats on your NAD! Let that thing rip!!
Hey thanks. Yeah I might just let the tubes/speakers break in and see how it is in a few weeks. I do like the basic tone of the amp so clipping the bright cap and replacing the speaker would only be more of an enhancement but I'll def give it a few weeks. Who knows, maybe I'll keep it stock haha

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby Cousin Muely » 02 Apr 2015, 15:39

I don't have any DSL other than the 50th DSL1 so just thinking out loud but it sounds like you were just driving the preamp too much regarding the compressed tone. But, like you said, your just playing around with it anyway. My philosophy on most Master Volume amps is I usually end up with the Master higher than the Preamp when I find it's sweet spot.

Like Cipher said, just play that thing and see what it can give you. Let us know how you get on with it.

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby noise5150 » 02 Apr 2015, 19:01

I will keep it stock for a while and give it a "break in" period and then decide at that point what to do if anything. I played it tonight for a while and it sounded great. If anything, I'm thinking keep the stock speaker and clip that bright cap. I can't turn that thing more than 1/4 of the way up before it starts sounding too brash. But then again who cares if it's only 1/4 the way up?

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Re: NAD! Marshall DSL40C quick review and questions..

Postby noise5150 » 06 Apr 2015, 07:06

Quick update... I am loving this amp! I played it on and off all weekend and I dont know if its possible, but I feel like its sounds less "harsh" now which was why I was originally thinking about clipping the bright cap and changing the speaker. Is it possible that the speaker has already broken in slightly? I am still considering trying a Veteran 30 in there, NOT because the 70/80 is bad, but more so just out of curiosity to see how it would change the overall tone. I have been using lead 1 with the gain turned anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up and it really nails that classic Marshall crunch tone. I have noticed one slightly odd thing regarding lead 2 which is that even with the gain only 1/2 way up, it can get oddly "compressed" and "flubby" sounding, especially with high output pickups, so I have stuck with lead 1. Is this normal?

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