Even the very famous Marshall, standard of guitar amplification in the world, has dedicated its know-how to the production of a low-power amplifier, for home / studio use with the aim of preserving as much as possible the sonic / timbral characteristics and d use that characterize the brand. Promises fulfilled?
Project
Amplifier totally valve with two ECC83 for the preamplifier part and one ECC82 as a power valve. Speaker from 8 "strictly Celestion, precisely a Celestion G8C-15 ″ Eight-15 ″ (15w, 16Ω) chosen, as stated by Marshall, for its ability to deliver an excellent tone at low volumes.
Front panel
Sul front panel, we find the controls of the two preamp sections, one Cassic Gain, for cleaner sounds, and the other Ultra Gain, for distorted and JCM800-inspired sounds. You can easily switch between channels using a pedal switch supplied or via the button on the front that is deactivated when the pedal is inserted.
Tone control: Both channels share a three-band equalizer, with the controls of BASS, MIDDLE and TREBLE. The EQ section also has a Tone Shift, which, if activated, acts on the mid frequencies by “digging them out”. This makes the sound closer to current metal tones, especially at high gain settings.
The equipment of the front panel is completed by the control potentiometer of the reverberation digital.
Back panel
Sul back panel we find the input for the network cable, the FX Loop section with the Send / Return sockets for connecting the effects in loop, the socket for inserting the pedal for changing the pre channel, an audio input and line / headphone output (Emulated Out) with speaker emulation , very interesting and which we will talk about later. Then the Low Power button for selecting the power 1 or 0,1 Watt and the speaker input which must have a value of 16 Ohm.
Emulated Out: As per Marshall's statement, this line / headphone output features a high quality emulated output designed by Softube*. The goal of the manufacturer is to “provide a signal that represents as much as possible the best tone for practice or registration ".
* Softube is a renowned company that has been producing PlugIns and software for musicians since 2003 and collaborates with numerous brands in the music industry. With Marshall, Softube works as an official software provider.
Road test
We turn on the amplifier, we wait a few seconds for the tubes to warm up, and the sound is immediately ready. The first feeling is: how loud this Watt of power sounds! In fact, in case you expected a "small" sound because the power involved is low, you will be surprised. Obviously, don't think about sounding a stage, that's not the purpose of the project.
"Fiddling around”On the controls and listening to the reproduced sound, the sensation is that of a good respect for the tonal characteristics of the producer and also the Celestion cone“ does the Celestion ”. All to scale, yes, but without particular confusion. The Clean channel, in relation to the gain, goes from clean and sufficiently crystalline sounds (obviously it also depends on the guitars and effects used) to more crunchy sounds, more or less saturated, with good warmth and involvement. The digital Rev is well emulated and gives "spatiality" to the sound. If you are exercising in the late hours, or do not want to disturb, you can press the power reduction button to 0,1 watts, to the delight of your neighbors / cohabitants.
After using (with fun) the amplifier at the power of 1 watts and with loudspeaker playback, I switched to recording and capturing sound via a Shure SM 57 and / or picking up the signal through the output Emulated Out.
Let's say right away that thespeaker emulation it does not seem to be the one from the supplied cabinet even if, both in the manual and on the net, I have not found mention of the speaker model taken as reference by Softube in designing the emulation. However, if we compare the two sounds, microphone jack and Emulated Out, we feel the need to slightly modify the values of EQ (Bass, Mid and treble) and that of the Rev to make the sound, from time to time, closer to your desired.
I found, for various reasons, very convenient to take the signal directly from the Emulated Out output: simplification, no need to have a good quality and well positioned microphone / preamplifier, possibility to hear the sound produced by the Marshall directly in the mix through the monitor speakers (thus making a more refined and inherent adjustment to the piece), being able to play at the most disparate hours ...
Indeed I will tell you more, sometimes it has happened that even with the 0.1watt key pressed, the small emission of the speaker interacted with the listening of the monitors not allowing a precise adjustment of the sound, or that the time was too late and the high risk of disturbance. In these cases, I felt the need to completely eliminate the Celestion emission, listening without interference to the sound coming from the Emulated Out. directly from studio monitors or headphones.
Usually, a tube amplifier, when turned on, always needs a load to be connected to in order to avoid breakage. I looked for news, both in theexiguous manual supplied and online, but, to date, it is not yet clear to me whether this fictitious load was already foreseen in the design phase or not. Finding nothing reassuring, I steadfastly avoided disconnecting the speaker when turning on the DSL1.
Prototype of prova
Given the low power involved and my need to find a solution, I soldered / mounted a resistor from 16 ohm, or rather, the test started with two Rs in series of 8,2 ohm 11W- 10% (the ones I had available at that time) to a 6,3mm jack and, by changing the jacks, I replaced the resistance to the loudspeaker (this is always done with the amplifier off).
In this way, the power amp sees the load and the speaker is bypassed. Mind you, mine is not a suggestion on how and / or what do and decline all responsibility for your initiatives right now, but it is simply letting you know how / what I did to solve my technical / sound need. This is just for correctness of information.
Once this was done, the second phase of fun / use started, no longer listening through the Marshall Celestion but from the studio monitors or headphones (in this case also at night). Comfortable, certainly comfortable and also “precise”, because the processed sound will then be exactly what I'm going to record and ready for all subsequent processing but from the known primary take.
Obviously, for those who do not want an already "emulated" signal but a "simple" line preamplified signal without Reverb, to then be entrusted to subsequent emulations and effects (computers with dedicated software or hardware machines), without any questions, can take the signal from the Send Out jack.
The Marshall DSL1 has a market price of around € 250 or so and this makes the Q / P ratio very attractive. But nobody thought of buying an amplifier Marshall of thousands of euros with an economic expense. However, if your needs are geared towards such a product, the DSL1 has many arrows in its quiver to shoot. For the curious, the amplifier is designed in England and manufactured in Vietnam, with English supervision.
I wanted to thank Cav. Music House Fifth Fabio for having, with the usual kindness and courtesy, ordered and shipped the amplifier in record time.
Example of use (just one of many) of the Marshall DSL1 in the home studio.
Still Rock track, a “raw and simple” Rock made remotely: guitars, bass and drums.
For "Still Rock", I recorded the guitars using a minimal chain as follows:
pedal board BOSS GT1 (everyone can choose their favorite effect / pedal board), inserted in the marshall DSL1, from which I took the signal directly from the OUT Emulated output (Softube) to take it to the Sound Card. In short (Italian only): Boss GT1 => Marshall DSL1 => RME
The drums are played with the sounds of GrooveAgent 5, while the DAW is Cubase 10.5.
Useful Information
Product: Marshall DSL1 CR
Italian distributor: Seaweed Eko
Price: About 270,00 euros
