so i've run across one of these going for about 1800 canadian, and i was wondering if it was worth the buy, given that i'm looking for an amp that can handle sexy cleans and high gain without compromise, and generally be versatile enough to cover a range of sounds. I know some people have issues with this amp, so i kinda want to hear them all in one place so i can make my decision. Oh, and suggestions are quite appreciated. thanks a bunch.

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I have found the build quality and sound on these things sub standard for the price. I wouldnt ever buy another myself

I have one and I don't really think it's the greatest for modern death metal or any other modern fast music, though I know some bands use newer Marshall's and sound pretty good.

For sludge/stoner rock/hardcore/etc. though, it's a fucking killer.

i think the tsl's ar epretty good amps however they dont quite have the mojo that the dsl 100 does

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heh... stoner rock and hardcore... my two current bands. And about the death metal thing, Nile uses DSL's...

heres the thing, i want that grittyness of a Krank Revolution, being high gain without just turning into fuzz like a framus, (think... As I Lay Dying...) but i dont want to pay 2200 canadian for a krank head with sad cleans and sad quality when i can get pretty much anything else cheaper.
This is why i'm asking about the marshall, i know marshall cleans are decent, and i know it has a good amount of gain, and i know that they try to build parts to last (cabs at least), but i'm wondering if the TSL or DSL are good choices to reach gritty distortion and be able to keep clean at the same time.

i'm basically moving from a line6 spider into a tube setup, so i'm looking for something that somewhat has both high gain and decent cleans like my spider did.

This should explain it better, thanks again.

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Well, if you're playing Stoner rock and hardcore I'd go for it, though there are cheaper options that work just as well. If you eventually want to play faster stuff though it's not the best you can get, though it's pretty good.

If you are serious in the Marshall DSL or TSL, like every Marshall in existance, try a few of these out if you can before you buy. I was up in Austin last week checking out some amps and at the GC up there they had 4 TSL's lined up next to eachother. All were on the same model cabinets (Marshall 1960-B). Each one sounded good on its own, but compared to each other, there were two dogs, one eh..., and one that would have gone home with me if I was in the market. I made sure that all were dialed in to the same settings to make sure that what I was thinking I was hearing was what I was actually hearing.

All four amps were brand new out of the box from the same shipment and set up that week according to the sales manager.

I have heard horror stories from many former TSL and DSL owners. I've only played a JCM 2000(TSL I think?), it sounded ok but not that great as I was not in the best situation to crank it.

The problem with TSL's and DSL's is horrible reliability, one owner who I do know in person went through THREE JCM 2000's that broke down, WAAAY before it was even time to change power tubes. So he gave up on them and settled for an ADA MP1 with a Mesa 0poweramp and is real happy with it.

You can get an Engl Fireball, an incredibly superiorly built amp, for the same price if not a bit less(and who gives a fuck if it's 60W and not 100, you'll never crank it past 3 at home and never need to use it on 10 for a live situation). I think RSA ships to Canada, go ask Derek.

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heres the uno problemo with RSA, i cant play the amp before i buy it, which is a sin in my books. =/

And i dont really care about wattage, i just love allll the features the tsl has to offer.

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RockSolidAmps does ship too canada. I can vouch for that. Too bad you cant try an Engl, i didnt before i bought one(fireball) and never regretted it. If metal is your main thing then you cant go wrong with Engl.

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I didn't try my Fireball either, and that just made me love it 100000000000000000000x more. If you choose the Engl path, you will never regret it.

And for Stoner/doom, buy an Orange stack and throw in a fuzz pedal or a Muff Pi.

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dude, i can get orange tones out of a marshall jcm 2000 for half the price. I've considered orange, but honestly, it isnt worth it because i cant get enough gain out of one. The new thunderverb is the only one with potential for metal, and even then, theres no way i want to pay upwards of $3000 for it.

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I played a Rockerverb at my local music store and that thing dominated for Metalcore type stuff, if I messed with it some more, it probably could have gotten a nice hate eternal marshally type sound too.

Also, ENGL's are fucking great amps, both recorded and in person (I had the pleasure of hearing Mike Gilbert from Severed Saviors E570/Engl stereo 100 setup in person), but they aren't the only amps around that are awesomely brutal. Old rack unit Digitechs and Boss VF-1's can get plenty brutal, and some of the Digitech's, specifically the 2120 can almost match an Engl to my ears. I know some of you probably think that I'm boasting my 2120 because I just got it, but I've gotten tones through RP-edit from Mason of Element and soon will have some from the two guitarists in Decrepit Birth, and it is honestly the only preamp you need if you don't want to invest a shit load into an ENGL setup but still want a great sounding, reliable setup.

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Well Decrepit Birth used a Digitech preamp... If the guitars were a bit higher in the mix of "And Time Begins" I'd say it sounds really nice. But sterile as fuck though. ADA Mp-1's are the cheapest nicest sounding tube preamps you can get, for about 150$!! Plus you can mod them for a little more cash and get Mesa Triaxis-esque sounds or hot-rodded Marshally sounds depending on what mods you get. If you want versatility, get one of those. And if you want something uber-brutal but don't have the cash, mod one of those.

Engl's have the best of both worlds. Use some lower gain pups or roll down the volume knob with higher output pups and you'll get lovely mid-gain Marshally crunch sounds, or use your EMG's on full output to get Rectifier/5150 sounds. It can be sterile or also very organic(it can do anything from the Beach Boys(single coils sound ace on the clean channel) to Suffocation, as your pickups will make a HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE difference on the amp. Which always makes you want to explore new sounds/EQing.

The tones I'm getting with an EMG-81-85 are like Vader's "Litany" or "Revelations" with fairly simple EQ'ing(bass on 9 o clock, mids and highs at 1 o clock, Presence=0, and deep switch on), or "Nihility" like sounds with some more Presence.

Using my neckthru Charvel Model 5Fx with lower output passives gives me Megadeth esque sounds. I've yet to play my Ibanez Universe through it, I'll probably ejaculate when that happens though.

Don't get a new TSL unless you have an authorized Marshall repair shop nearby, because you'll be visiting them in less than a year. As much of a Marshall tone fan I am, I really can't say good things about their reliability.

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Marshalls have a pretty good thrash tone, but you either need to get old stuff or crank/tweak the fuck out of the new stuff to get tight and brutal tones. Soeru, I have the Digitech Preamp you mentioned in your post. Matt used a Digitech GSP 21 Legend for that album, the preamp has alot to do with his tone, but the BBE and EQ'ing of the CD are what make it sound like that. The MP-1 is a great preamp, but I'd never get that triaxis mod simply because the Triaxis sounds muddy and Mesa needs to get their shit together with making a more competent preamp.

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[QUOTE=the_bleeding]dude, i can get orange tones out of a marshall jcm 2000 for half the price. [QUOTE]

Marshall's get in the ball park of Orange/Matamp/Electric tones. That's why I've kept my Marshall and haven't sold it for one of them amps. It gets close enough, even though it doesn't have the same bass dominance as the others do.