Marshall Amps are CRAP and NONE of the amp made in the last 40 years sound anything like the J-45s much less the Plexi. The JCM2000 series are really Crap! I have owned three of them in the early 2000's and everyone of them crapped out on a regular bases. I still have a DSL-401 (40 watt combo) and it is serious crap. It is an over engineered and proned to cascade failures. It has all Chinese parts and when it is running it goes through tubes (EL34s) like teenagers go through slices of pizza! It currently has a problem in the Bias circuit which contains over 24 parts, most amps do it in 6 to 8. It uses a 230volt source to generate the 500mv to 1.2volts @ 30ma per tube bias setting and if a particular capacitor goes bad (mine did) it smokes up every component in the bias circuit, thanks Marshall! The only thing good about my DSL-401 is actual great; that is, it has a "Gold back" Celestion speaker in it. I found my DSL-401 to have a good sounding "Clean" channel but the distortion channel sounded like a $20 fuzz tone that sounds totally "painted on". If the clean channel is set with everything on 11, it doesn't sound like a real Marshall (J-45, Plexi or some of the JCM-800s or 900s series with KT-88s). I would compare the DSL (when its running) to a Fender Deluxe Reverb BUT without the quality of Fender products. I, currently use the best, most road worthy, best sounding amp that available (for the money) today. That is, I am using a Peavey JSX (3 channel 5150) with KT-77s output tubes. The distortion channel sounds almost Plexi-like even at bedroom volumes. Here again, I don't use the stock EL84 output tubes but KT-77s from Eurotube and they make a ton of difference in the sound of the amp, giving it loads of bottom end for that "chunk" sound even a low volumes. Other then output tubes, I original had cheap Chinese tubes in it, it has failed twice in the last ten years (I bought it used) and both times it was the output clamping high voltage diodes that protect the output transformer (which Marshall DOESN'T use to protect their $500 Drake output transformer, thanks Marshall!) that failed. It cost 45 minutes of time and a $3 part to repair the amp. I also sent the quad KT-77s back to Eurotube for testing (nobody local can do it) and they tested and returned the tube (all were good) for free. So, it you want a "Plexi" sounding amp with real quality get a JSX or XXX Peavey and replace the EL-84s with Eurotube KT-77s! The rock star that still use Marshall aren't using the amp you can buy at GuitarCenter but hand wired, custom shop amps that are available from Marshall but cost $5000 or more, unless you are a currently popular rock star under contract with Marshall. Again, don't waste your money on a Marshall, buy a Peavey JSX or 5050 (used), a XXX or a 6505 and replace the EL84s with Eurotube KT-77s.
