Marshall DSL15C

"Spiritual successors to the legendary JCM800" — this is how Marshall positions its DSL line and its most famous tube model — 15C.

iconic style

In appearance, all the same details and design elements that are classic for “Marshall” amplifiers: black leather-like upholstery, lacquered corners, speaker grille, gilded control panel plate, vintage round knobs. The rear panel is partially open, but the speaker is additionally protected by a metal mesh. The weight of the combo is 16.8 kg, which is quite normal with dimensions of 475x505x255 mm and a 12-inch Selection ferrite driver inside.

Management and connection

For each of the two channels (Classic Gain — clean and Ultra Gain — overdrive) there are two settings: Gain and Volume. Switching between channels is carried out by a button on the front panel and using the footswitch controller. Common to both channels are: a 3-band equalizer, Presence control, as well as Deep switches (adds lows) and Tone Shift (cuts out the middle). For a snack, we have a built-in Reverb effect, which, by the way, sounds no worse than many inexpensive analogue pedals, and an interesting Pentode / Triode function that allows you to add smoothness and softness to the sound by reducing the power by half from 15 to 7.5 watts.

Sound

The DSL15C perfectly reproduces the classic Marshall sound — the Ultra Gain channel is as close as possible to the famous high-gain JCM800 with an expressively raised middle. A real pleasure for the guitarist who likes to "pump" (play on a powerful overdrive).

First amplifier

With the right approach to sound, the DSL15C is a very worthy "first amp" for beginners and a solid home option for the more experienced. Fully reveals the richness of the sound in cases where high volume is not needed. The price for someone will seem overpriced, but not for fans of the brand and connoisseurs of a truly “delicious” sound.