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Mad prof LGW Vol 9 o'clock Drive 1 o'clock, body 9 o'clock
I have a Mini spark boost after the LGW for a solo boost.
I also have a Fallout cloud in front of the LGW for fuzzy stuff
I find a compressor useful with a strat.
While the Overdrive channel is good the problem I had was that the boost gave more gain but not more volume and isn't much use as a solo boost because the sound washes out.
have you tried a boost pedal in the loop?
I haven't tried a clean boost in the loop. The trouble is it's a parallel loop. Perhaps @ICBM can comment on whether its a good idea to use a clean boost in the loop.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
You can't always tell, it depends on the exact gain structure, so it was worth trying - useful to know.
I'm still not sure why companies design amps with loops like that. The right place for them is always after all the preamp distortion, so you can put delays etc after it rather than in the middle of it.
Look on the bright side, at least it isn't as crap as the loop in the TSL100, which actually makes the amp quieter when engaged...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
The 40C has buttons similar to my Valvestate 8080 (Clean/Crunch, Lead1/Lead2), plus it has a tone-shift button. But you only have two foot-switch options fo channel changes. For gigging, you really need floor control for these extra options.
So, in terms of extra buttons buttons & knobs to push, you'd think on paper that the 40C was automatically the better option.
But, the real killer for me was that I really disliked the restrictions of a shared EQ in the 40C - trying to get the right EQ balance between channels was awkward & you have to compromise. This layout might be OK for home users, but the DSL401's dedicated EQ per channel is much more flexible for gigging. I also preferred the 401's more versatile channel & foot-switching options, where you can easily move between the green clean channel, to the amber gain channel & then the red channel (technically a 'gain boost' & not a 3rd channel, but for practical purposes it is like having a third channel).
The 40C is still a good amp, but for a gigging versatility & for the Marshall 'balls' I want, I preferred the 401. The 40C is more modern, & has more buttons/knobs - but is it actually 'better'? That depends what you want & how you're going to use it. But not for me - I'd merely suggest prospective buyers try both first.
Since jumping the FX loop on my DSL401 I am loving it all over again and it makes a big. difference which I was pleasantly surprised about.
Whereas both amps utilise 4 x 12AX7 ('ECC83') pre-amp valves, it seems that in the DSL40C one of these is used in the power amp section. The DSL40C has 2 x (matched) EL34's in the power-amp section whereas the DSL401 uses 4 x (matched) EL84's in the power section.
Probably goes towards why these two amps sound and feel quite different and why I thought the DSL401 was ballsier & more Marshallesque.
Which is exactly what it sounds like to me. The new one sounds chunkier and more open, the old one sounds more driven and compressed - or at least I think so, I haven't compared them directly side-by-side.
Both amps use one of the ECC83s in the power section, as do almost all valve amps - it's the phase inverter.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
It's funny that we all hear different things - for me it was entirely the other way round i.e. the DSL401 sounded chunkier & more open & 'ballsier' and more Marshally, and it was the DSL40C that sounded more compressed. Remember though that I do jump the FX loop in my DSL401, which makes a big difference.
But I was surprised that the DSL40C only ran with 2 power tubes rather than 4 as in the DSL401.
The reason EL84s are used is cost - an EL84 costs less than half what an EL34 does, and the associated components are cheaper too, so 4xEL84 costs less to build than 2xEL34. Not a big difference, but it adds up when you're making thousands of amps.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
However, your reply suggests that 2 x EL34 design would be more expensive than 4 x EL84s which I couldn't see Marshall doing - they'd want to cut their costs. I just checked the prices of EL34 and EL84 valves, and they seem to be about the same (e.g. JJ EL84 £11,JJ EL34 £13.50). Clearly 2 valves are cheaper than 4 so it would make sense that Marshall uses 2 EL34's in the DSL40C to reduce its build costs.
In fact, the way Marshall have cut costs is to move the production from the UK to Vietnam. More interestingly, the quality seems to have improved...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein