DSL40C Tips:

Robert, I don't know if your gain knob is more than half way up or what gain stage you have been using, but I've learned that my Orange Dark Terror sounds really nice and articulate without using the control even halfway up. Of course, I'm talking about home and moderately loud TV volumes.

My experience is that the amp versatility decreases in proportion to the amount of gain and distortion generated by the amp. I don't rely on pedals other than a reverb pedal to add some depth to my tone.


Stratstrangler

Good Observations!!!!!

Corect...I'm running Lead 1 with gain at 1/2 way...

I use the compressor set to line-level volume - it's only used for tightening the signal - almost exactly as Angus used the compression feature on the Schaffer Wireless!!!!
 
Good Observations!!!!!

Corect...I'm running Lead 1 with gain at 1/2 way...

I use the compressor set to line-level volume - it's only used for tightening the signal - almost exactly as Angus used the compression feature on the Schaffer Wireless!!!!

I take lead 1 is suitable for turning your guitar down to ”clean up”? Or do you use the clean channel on that amp. I've never played the DSL40, so my knowledge of that model is slim.


Stratstrangler
 
I take lead 1 is suitable for turning your guitar down to ”clean up”? Or do you use the clean channel on that amp. I've never played the DSL40, so my knowledge of that model is slim.


Stratstrangler

Green Channel, or Classic Gain, is more of a AC/DC-ish tone. It has two settings - "Clean" and "Crunch. "

Red Channel, or Ultra Gain, is heavier. Lead 1 is a setting and you are normally in this position by default when you are on Ultra Gain. "Lead 2" is a slight boost with more presence and resonance for leads...and then "Tone Shift" is a mid scoop effect.
 
I take lead 1 is suitable for turning your guitar down to ”clean up”? Or do you use the clean channel on that amp. I've never played the DSL40, so my knowledge of that model is slim.


Stratstrangler

Now I know the I-Pad isn't the ideal platform and let me tell you, it sound muddier on the I-Pad compared to what I am hearing coming out of the amp, but here is a clip with the settings described above:

 
Now I know the I-Pad isn't the ideal platform and let me tell you, it sound muddier on the I-Pad compared to what I am hearing coming out of the amp, but here is a clip with the settings described above:


It's AC/DC and that characteristic Marshall honk; that I'm hearing....listening with phones on my iPad. It's not too dark from my standpoint, perhaps even brighter in the room with you. Where do have your guitar's volume(s) set in the video?

I go for that Page thinner tone from my Les Paul. I haven't got it dialed in as yet with my Dark Terror quite yet, (especially in the middle position) but getting closer. I'm not expecting to nail that tone exactly, but the concept....because Imlike articulation in my overall tone.

Would you say that once you really get familiar with your new amp, you'd find a myriad of tone possibilities in it? All with that Marshall vibe, more or less.


Stratstrangler
 
I know this is nowhere close to a Marshall of any kind, but I find it to be quite a versatile amp that is capable of killer tone from twang to crunch. BEware it is another 100 watter. Although it can be also switched to 25 watt mode and I believe 1/2 the tubes get removed to do so.

I know of at least one other member here who has one too, DonP.


 
Like Stratstrangler said, I hear that AC/DC sound in the DSL clip prior to the one I posted too.

Now Robert, See if you can hear a difference in tone between this guy's Marshall/ Gibson tone, and yours?
I seem to hear a full range of tone from low growl to high gritty Marshall sound whereas I think I just hear overall gainy distortion in your sound clips playing. Of course I am not sure of the recording equipment you use such as Cell Phone Mic, or actual SHure type mics, Maybe it is just me, but I seem to remember Don mentioning you sounded full distortion like you were using a pedal despite you saying you had plugged straight in to the amp.


 
Like Stratstrangler said, I hear that AC/DC sound in the DSL clip prior to the one I posted too.

Now Robert, See if you can hear a difference in tone between this guy's Marshall/ Gibson tone, and yours?
I seem to hear a full range of tone from low growl to high gritty Marshall sound whereas I think I just hear overall gainy distortion in your sound clips playing. Of course I am not sure of the recording equipment you use such as Cell Phone Mic, or actual SHure type mics, Maybe it is just me, but I seem to remember Don mentioning you sounded full distortion like you were using a pedal despite you saying you had plugged straight in to the amp.



iDevices tend to roll of low frequencies fairly well. It’s great if you don’t want to have a lot of low frequency pile up...but if your looking to accurately represent an audio source, the onboard mic is going to thin things out a bit.
56B6645A-508B-414E-BA07-C7C56C61502B.jpeg
I know the above chart is a bit dated, but the filtering hasn’t changed much since the iPhone 3.
As can be seen in the chart, the on board mics in the iDevices can be fairly accurate from 200hz on up to 20Khz. This gives a perception of good clarity to most sources, but not much “beef”.
 
It's AC/DC and that characteristic Marshall honk; that I'm hearing....listening with phones on my iPad. It's not too dark from my standpoint, perhaps even brighter in the room with you. Where do have your guitar's volume(s) set in the video?

I go for that Page thinner tone from my Les Paul. I haven't got it dialed in as yet with my Dark Terror quite yet, (especially in the middle position) but getting closer. I'm not expecting to nail that tone exactly, but the concept....because Imlike articulation in my overall tone.

Would you say that once you really get familiar with your new amp, you'd find a myriad of tone possibilities in it? All with that Marshall vibe, more or less.


Stratstrangler

I always run volumes/tones full up, unless I am playing clean. I'm going to move the iPad today and reshoot another vid with the same settings.

Experimenting!!!!!
 
iDevices tend to roll of low frequencies fairly well. It’s great if you don’t want to have a lot of low frequency pile up...but if your looking to accurately represent an audio source, the onboard mic is going to thin things out a bit.
View attachment 13635
I know the above chart is a bit dated, but the filtering hasn’t changed much since the iPhone 3.
As can be seen in the chart, the on board mics in the iDevices can be fairly accurate from 200hz on up to 20Khz. This gives a perception of good clarity to most sources, but not much “beef”.

Wow, that's a great point, Man! Thanks! That makes sense. I know that my iPad is not recording what I am hearing, if that makes sense, but I am going to experiment with moving the iPad around later today and repost!
 
Like Stratstrangler said, I hear that AC/DC sound in the DSL clip prior to the one I posted too.

Now Robert, See if you can hear a difference in tone between this guy's Marshall/ Gibson tone, and yours?
I seem to hear a full range of tone from low growl to high gritty Marshall sound whereas I think I just hear overall gainy distortion in your sound clips playing. Of course I am not sure of the recording equipment you use such as Cell Phone Mic, or actual SHure type mics, Maybe it is just me, but I seem to remember Don mentioning you sounded full distortion like you were using a pedal despite you saying you had plugged straight in to the amp.



Right!!!!

Ok, Mark...Check it out. In my recent video - the one above that's only 27 seconds long - I'm only running the gain at 1/2 way!!!!!
 
I can't see the Genelex Gold Lion T12AX7 creating that much gain....but this amp has a lot of gain available, more than most guys with pedals.

I'm a little under halfway on my gain setting!!!!
 
Wow, that's a great point, Man! Thanks! That makes sense. I know that my iPad is not recording what I am hearing, if that makes sense, but I am going to experiment with moving the iPad around later today and repost!

You will be able to manipulate the frequencies that the mic responds to, but if it doesn’t pick it up, it isn’t going to be there...if you know what I mean.

Yeah Don and Robert, I suspect I would hear things quite differently in the live setting with Robert.

whatsa Idevice, I Phone? Ipad?:bash:

iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch etc.
the on board mics are geared towards “clear speaking capture”. Muddy voice is undesirable in a phone, and difficult for speech recognition software. Filtering the mud at the door keeps things running smooth.
 
You will be able to manipulate the frequencies that the mic responds to, but if it doesn’t pick it up, it isn’t going to be there...if you know what I mean.

Gotcha!


iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch etc.
the on board mics are geared towards “clear speaking capture”. Muddy voice is undesirable in a phone, and difficult for speech recognition software. Filtering the mud at the door keeps things running smooth.
 
You will be able to manipulate the frequencies that the mic responds to, but if it doesn’t pick it up, it isn’t going to be there...if you know what I mean.

iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch etc.
the on board mics are geared towards “clear speaking capture”. Muddy voice is undesirable in a phone, and difficult for speech recognition software. Filtering the mud at the door keeps things running smooth.

Ok...here's a video shot with the same iPad last year. Squire Stratocaster with a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo DP404 (10k) in the bridge, plugged straight into my Marshall DSL40C with no pedals.


 
Like Stratstrangler said, I hear that AC/DC sound in the DSL clip prior to the one I posted too.

Now Robert, See if you can hear a difference in tone between this guy's Marshall/ Gibson tone, and yours?
I seem to hear a full range of tone from low growl to high gritty Marshall sound whereas I think I just hear overall gainy distortion in your sound clips playing.

Maybe it is just me, but I seem to remember Don mentioning you sounded full distortion like you were using a pedal despite you saying you had plugged straight in

Ok, Man...

Here is a shot of the amp settings used in the 27 second video of my Von Herndon Double Neck previously posted:

IMG_20180407_9352.jpg

Take a look. Those settings are actually pretty conservative. In fact, I just watched a Sweetwater DSL40C demo where the dude had nearly identical settings.

Dig this. The 2016 Gibson Les Paul Studio T is darker and gainy-er than my VH.
 
Now, dig this...when I roll my gain down lower than about 1/2, the guitar starts sounding thin.....like the gain has an influence over the fullness of the guitar's tone.

Absolutely! I've found this true with my Dark Terror. It is single channel and only three controls; volume, gain and shape. All 3 are extremely interactive and a slight nudge of any one can really give a noticeable change in the amp's tone....the louder the amp is at, the more noticeable it gets.

The DSL40 should react in a similar fashion, is my guess. Today while playing, I was getting a variety of tones from “thin” which gives me a lot of room for touch sensitivity (I pick with a hybrid type flat pick with fingers) to a brighter and more full tone, just by using the amp's shape control. That control gives more mids and bass at the expense of a tad less highs....to the opposite where set just so, will brighten up the tone and “scoop” it some. I change the mids around depending on what genre of music I'm playing at the moment.....that is why I judge an amp by its versatility factor.

Is the speaker well broken in on your own DSL?


Stratstrangler
 
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