Marshall DSL5CR 5-watt 1×10″ Tube Combo Guitar Amp

Gearank High Notes

• 2019.09: Equal Highest Rated Guitar Combo Tube Amp between $300 and $500
  Tied With:
  Vox AC10C1
  Ibanez TSA15
  Marshall DSL1CR

Gearank Recommendation

The DSL5CR appeared on our recommended list for Tube Amps Under $500 from November 2019 until September 2020 when it was removed due to being out-ranked by other tube amps.

It was also on our recommended list for Tube Amps Under $500 from July 2020 until April 2021 when we had to removed it due to no longer being available for less than $500.

Overview

The Marshall DSL5CR is rated at 5W and can go as low as 1W via power attenuation.

To faithfully reproduce Marshall’s familiar overdriven tones, the amp is equipped with two ECC83 tubes in the preamp section, and a ECC99/12BH7 poweramp tube.

Like its smaller sibling, the highly regarded DSL1CR, this amp lets you switch between 2-channels, Classic Gain and Ultra Gain, and it comes with a slightly bigger 10″ speaker from Celestion.

Other features include a lineout with Softube’s emulation of a Marshall 1960 cabinet, rear-panel effects loop, and built-in reverb.

This is tube amp is a no-brainer for fans of the good old Marshall crunch tone. It is also a great way to test the waters for those who want to get into genuine tube tone without going over the budget or over the neighborhoods sound volume limit.

Specifications

• Power Rating: 5W / 1W (Via Low Power Button)
• Preamp Tube: 2 x ECC83
• Poweramp Tube: 1 x ECC99/12BH7
• Speaker: 1 x 10″ Celestion Ten-30
• Input: 1 x 1/4″ (Instrument), 1 x 1/8″ (Aux in)
• Output: 1 x 1/8″ (Softube emulated out), 1 x 1/4″ (Internal speaker),
• Cabinet: Rear Ported
• Control Knobs: Gain & Volume (Per Channel), 3-Band EQ, Reverb
• Weight: 27.9 lbs

Demos