Marshall sounds from a DC-5

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jpistolas

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Just curious if anyone has dialed in a decent Marshall type sound with their DC amps. For me that's been impossible without running clean and running a Marshall type pedal in front.
 
That's what I used to do when I owned my DC-5 head. I ran a Radial Tonebone Hot British distortion pedal (old version) thru the clean channel. Amazing Marshalls tones. I miss that amp and regret selling it. I just had a ***** of a time dialing in the drive channel for anything other than metal. It did that one rectifierish trick very well, but I was looking for classic rock lead tones. I could could never find them in the drive channel. Amp's clean channel took OD pedals better than any amp I've ever owned. Should have kept the amp just for the clean channel.
 
The Dirty Little Secret gets me close enough. Been using it with a 60's twin I inherited. Got to do a new gear day. Lots got left to the only other musician in the family.
 
I took up the challenge and tried to get a Marshally sound from my DC-3. I think I got about as close as I could get. Its not spot on of course, but ballparkish. I compared it to a OCD and a Dirty Little Secret. I think its in the right ballpark to at least compete with those pedals.
My DC-3 has too much bass and not enough treble for a Marshally sound. At first I thought the trick is to boost the mids, which you need to do of course, but the real trick is getting the bass out, but not too much, and the treble in. Newer Marshalls are very bright amps, I don't think you can emulate a JCM800 sound, but I think I got a decent enough pexi imitation.

I decided to make a video to show my exploits, see below:

https://youtu.be/4Ioy05AI5RE
 
I checked out your video, and as the owner of (currently) nine Marshalls, I can say that you're way off the mark.

Marshall tone doesn't come out of a stompbox. Oh, the right pedal may help get you to a defined sound.

The real thing here is something that's big, and obvious, and players just keep missing it.

IT'S THE CABINET AND SPEAKERS.

The classic Marshall sounds are mostly from 4x12 Marshall cabinets loaded with a relatively small range of speakers, those being variants of the G12M20 and G12M25 Greenbacks, G12H30s, etc, for 60s tones and G12T75s as well. (Kiss tone) Those are the speakers, and the 4x12 cabinet they're in, that probably does more to define the Marshall tone than anything else.

I associate Mesas with EVs in 1x12s more often than any other speaker/cabinet choice.

If I plug a Marshall into an EV 1x12, and plug my Mesa into my Marshall 1960A full of Greenbacks and Creambacks, then the Marshall sounds like a Mesa and the Mesa sounds like a Marshall.

At the very least I recommend a 2x12 with Vintage 30s as the minimum for a "Marshall sound".

My ears tell me that speaker and cabinet choice is the biggest tonal determinator of all. Swapping cabinets makes more of a tonal difference
than any other single difference out of anything. (When swapping like for like.)
 
Gave up on that some time ago. DLS into the power in isn't bad but at the end of the day it's apples and oranges. Just got a Jet City on the cheap. Does the Marshall thing well plus that hot rod Marshall I love from the 80's.
 
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