Marshall DSL20 HR vs Friedman JJ

NelsonP

Why pay more?

Nerine

Ah. Was about to come in and say the Friedman 20 watters aren’t any “better” sounding than the Marshall SC’s/SV’s etc. They're different. Meh. 

I really liked the Pink Taco I had for a day (returned because not loud enough) but honestly I’d have been just as happy with a Marshall SC20. Nowadays I’m a lot more cynical and I think the gear chase is plain stupid. Everything is kinda middling at worst and even then no one other than you cares what you’re plugged into. Even then it ain’t making your shitty licks sound any more creative or making them stand out in any significant way. 

Anyway. Going back to my first comment….

I can see that the above video is along the same lines by the looks of the thumbnail. 

Sassafras

He's not much of a reviewer, is he?

NelsonP

Yeah, he starts off clearly thinking the friedman is better because it has a direct out (!) and then sounds the rest of the review trying and failing to get through Friedman to sound as good as the DSL.

The Marshall sounded better to my ears too, which was surprising to me.

noisepolluter

Once you’re running a DSL through a really decent speaker/cab etc they sound absolutely fantastic. I don’t think the stock combo speakers, even the latest V-type, really do them justice. 

gubble

My DSL20HR sounds awesome. I really enjoy the classic channel with the gain cranked. Throw a boss blues driver in front of it and wow what an amp !

Currently using an old Valvestate 2x12 and/or an orange 1x12 with a V30 in it and it sounds great.

The ultra channel sounds a bit too modern for my tastes but i use it as a solo boost live and it sounds great.

Bloomin love it !

fretmeister

I had no idea the DSL sounded that good!

£385 for the head? That's a bargain!

Flotsam

I think the newer DSL range is excellent and incredible bang for buck. I also think the smaller Friedman amps are way too expensive for what they are (in Europe at least) but this video is seriously harsh on the JJ Jr which is a really good amp. I definitely don’t think it’s versatile or dynamic enough to justify the original asking price, let alone the crazy £1600 being asked now but I don’t agree that it’s worse than the DSL20.

noisepolluter

fretmeister said:

I had no idea the DSL sounded that good!

£385 for the head? That's a bargain!

The DSLs are a bit less raw and punchy sounding than the SC20, but if you ran both though the same cab there’s not a huge amount in it. 

My SC20 and Zilla 1x12 lives round at my mate’s soundproof cave, and my DSL40 is mostly played at home - it’s far more practical because of the double master volume. 

Yorkie

noisepolluter said:

Once you’re running a DSL through a really decent speaker/cab etc they sound absolutely fantastic. I don’t think the stock combo speakers, even the latest V-type, really do them justice. 

+1

I put a Creamback in my DSL40c and it sounds ace. Almost as if the amp had originally been designed with a Creamback in it but the bean counters didn’t like the projected RRP and shot it down  

Nerine

Just watched the video. lol

fretmeister

noisepolluter said:

fretmeister said:

I had no idea the DSL sounded that good!

£385 for the head? That's a bargain!

The DSLs are a bit less raw and punchy sounding than the SC20, but if you ran both though the same cab there’s not a huge amount in it. 

My SC20 and Zilla 1x12 lives round at my mate’s soundproof cave, and my DSL40 is mostly played at home - it’s far more practical because of the double master volume. 

While I still had the SC20 I wish I had bought some G12-65 cones for my cab. I had some Eminence cones in a Jet City cab and it was good, but the G12-65 is my favourite.

Maybe I'll have another when the kids have finished university, the expensive sods!

Nerine

Not gonna lie, I'm currently sat here wondering whether a speaker swapped DSL40CR would hang with my Friedman Small Box.
I could sell the Friedman, buy the DSL and stick £1k in the bank. Madness.

gubble

My only complaint with the DSL is purely asthetic - if i could pop the DSL in the Origin 20H shell that would be awesome

noisepolluter

Nerine said:

Not gonna lie, I'm currently sat here wondering whether a speaker swapped DSL40CR would hang with my Friedman Small Box.
I could sell the Friedman, buy the DSL and stick £1k in the bank. Madness.

They come up fairly regularly for £350ish - one just went on here for £250! Definitely worth getting the 6-way footswitch to go with it. 

Yorkie

gubble said:

My only complaint with the DSL is purely asthetic - if i could pop the DSL in the Origin 20H shell that would be awesome

Ugly, but sounds good is basically my goal in life. 

NelsonP

I do have a horse in this race. I've got a DSL20CR and I switched out the stock speaker for a Greenback. I also have a zilla cab with a creamback.

I recently played a JJ jr for an extended period at coda. It is great, cleans probably better (thicker, richer) than the DSL20CR. Dirty channel was smoother, less aggressive, more middy than the DSL. Prefer the DSL tbh. Dsl + Creamback cab closer to the Friedman for the obvious reason that it's the same speaker.