In the pantheon of rock and roll history, is there an image more pervasive in the collective consciousness than an imposing wall of Marshall amps, roaring in harmony like a jet engine? Start building your very own Great Wall of Marshalls with the most affordable professional half stack package Marshall has ever put together, the DSL100MLB head and MC412A cab. A half stack hand-picked by the tone gurus at Marshall, they're fully compatible tone machines, and still well within the reach of even the most down and out, derelict rock-and-roller.
The Head of the Class
The JCM2000MLB builds upon the tradition of its forefathers (the venerable JCM800 and JCM900) by combining classic, versatile, tone-sculpting controls with a full-tube signal path and the British crunch and roar upon which Marshall built its name. With four ECC83 valves in the preamp (that's 12AX7 tubes for those of us on the other side of the pond) and four EL34's in the power amp, you've got enough power (100 watts worth of juice, to be exact) and versatility for most any style of rock, pop, country, indie, alternative, or metal.
Living up to its name of Dual Super Lead, this JCM features two channels with two modes per channel, Classic Gain and Ultra Gain. Don't be fooled--both of those channels are capable of chimey cleans and molten gain - it's all about how you twist and turn the knobs. Speaking of knobs, both channels share presence, treble, middle, and bass controls, with independent controls for reverb, volume, and gain. The two channels also share a deep switch (in case your low end just isn't thunderous enough, this switch implements some extra resonance circuitry) and a tone shift, which in essence reconfigures the sweep of the midrange tone knob for all of you chunk-loving palm-muters out there. As we alluded to previously, each channel also has another switch, changing from Clean to Crunch on the Classic Gain channel and Lead 1 to Lead 2 on the Ultra Gain channel. You might have already guessed, but these switches call an extra gain stage into action, beefing up your tone considerably.
Rounding out the features are an effects loop with level selection switch, and an included footswitch for channel switching. With this level of power, functionality, and tweakability, it should come as no surprise that the DSL100 has become Marshall's best-selling tube head of all time.
Get in the Cab and Go
A head is only as good as the cabinet it powers, and luckily for you this half-stack features the Marshall MC412A cabinet. Featuring 4 Celestion Platform 50 12-inch speakers, this tone machine's 200-watt power rating is more than enough to handle the JCM2000MLB, and thanks to the Mono/Stereo switching and 4, 8, or 16 ohm handling, it's ready for any guitar head you throw at it. The designers and builders at Marshall's UK factory toiled day and night to keep the cabinet heavy in tone but light in price, and boy did they deliver. It's also worth noting that the top 2 speakers in the cabinet are angled upward, giving your sound an upward throw, allowing you and the rest of the band to hear your sound without having to pump even more electric guitar through an otherwise jam-packed monitor mix.
The Marshall DSL100MLB Half Stack with Angled MC412 cabinet breathes with powerfull amplification. Along with the strength of Marshall's angled MC412 cabinet, the DSL100MLB explodes with sound. The two 12 inch speakers at the top of the cabinet are angled to give the player an easy monitoring of their guitar. DSL Stands for Dual Super Lead, the DSL has two footswitchable channels - Classic and Ultra. Each of these channels boasts two modes: the Classic channel offers a Clean/Crunch option while the Ultra offers Lead 1 or Lead 2. Instead of merely offering a variation in gain level to the two channels, each one of these four modes has been individually voiced as an amp in its own right.
The tremendous tonal versatility of this amp, coupled with a 100% pure tube signal path (4xECC83s, 4xEL34s), Dual Reverb controls, a Tone Shift switch which scoops out the mids and a Deep Switch that adds a tight, bowel loosening, low end boost, caused the guitar world to sit up and take notice right from the outset.
Features
MC412 Angled Cabinet
Two channels - Classic Gain and Ultra Gain
Crystal Clean to massive Crunch switching on the Classic Gain channel
Lead 1 to Lead 2 switching on the Ultra Gain channel
Tone Shift switch to reconfigure functionality of the Mid-tone section
Deep Switch applies unique Marshall resonance circuitry for huge low-end
Effects Loop with level selection switch
As soon as you play one, you'll hear and feel why so many of the world's foremost players and journalists were quick to dub the DSL heads as the best Marshalls ever! It also won't surprise you when you learn that these amps have become the company's best selling all-tube heads to date.
The formidable family of JCM2000 valve amps was born when Marshall launched the DSL100 heads to an unprecedented wave of critical and public acclaim in the late '90s.
Marshall MC412A
The angled MC412's 200 Watts of power and Celestian speakers combined with the same flexible Mono/Stereo switching of the world-famous 1960 cabinets, means it will handle any Marshall guitar head with ease. Marshall recommends using 4 Ohms for getting full power out of the MG and AVT heads, while the 16 Ohms setting is preferable for use with their tube heads.
Technical Info
Marshall DSL100MLB
Output (RMS): 100 Watts
Number of Channels: 2
Modes Per Channel: 2
Reverb Control: 2 (1 on each channel)
Controls:
- Tone Shift
- Deep Switch
Preamp Tubes: 4 x ECC83
Power Amp Tubes: 4 x EL34
Dimensions: 29.5 x 11.7 x 8.43 inches (748 x 297 x 214 mm)
Weight: 49.5 lbs (22.5 kg)
Included Footcontroller: PEDL-00001
Marshall MG412A
Cabinet type: Angled
Speaker type: Platform 50
Speaker Configuration: 4 x 12 inch
Power (RMS): 200 Watt
Selectable (Mono/Stereo): Yes
Impedance (Mono): 16/4 Ohm
Impedance (Stereo): 8 Ohm
Dimensions: 30.3 x 29.7 x 14.3 inches (770 x 755 x 365 mm)
Weight: 75 lbs. (34.0 kg)