I had a chance to play my Les Paul through a friend's Masrshall TSL60 1-12 combo this weekend. Now, I may be biased, but I thought my MkIII runs circles around it as far as the overall tone. It seemed to sound more on the "thin" side and the harmonic structure just wasn't as rich as either of my Boogie Mk series. The Marshall seemed kinda dead sounding, while my Boogie sounds lively & natural. The independent EQ for the different channels was nice, but I think the Mk III compensates for this by just having more tone overall. Ironically, that really makes me want to consider getting a Mk IV sometime later down the road.....Maybe I should post this in the Marshall amp forum & see how many death threats I get?.... :lol:
Marshall JCM 2000 TSL 60 vs Mesa/Boogie MK III
- Thread starter eldi
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Guitarzan
Well-known member
Good ears man!
TSL's in general aren't that great sounding. The DSL has better tone. The TSL has been criticized for a rather thin sound in general. I wouldn't doubt your Mark III would run circles around it. It is a shame that Marshall is still competing with an amp that is about 20 years old. I would bet that your Mark III actually runs circles around a DSL also if you were so inclined to A/B blind there too. Actually it is a shame that Marshall can't even make amps that hold a candle to what they once made.
By all means, if you have the inkling to get a Mark IV get one. I certainly love mine. It'll never be a IIC+ but it gets close enough considering all it can do.
By all means, if you have the inkling to get a Mark IV get one. I certainly love mine. It'll never be a IIC+ but it gets close enough considering all it can do.
The weird thing about it is, when I used to own a Marshall (JCM 900 2500)12 years ago, it was more or less because it was the best I could afford at the moment, it didn't really have the tone I was after, but still had a better tone than what I was using before, which was a Crate solid state head. I recall trying out a Mk III & a Mk IV, but didn't have the cash to buy, & this was before I developed any sort of credit history. But I was GASsing for a Marshall there for a while, I'm not sure if it was just out of nostalgia or just wanting something different, I was really wanting a 2203/2204, or a plexi, but I think now I'm starting to GAS for a Mk IV now....Too many gear, not enough $$$ 
Just so you know I have a JMP clad 2204 and it rocks. It does what it does really well. It's not a plexi but it doesn't have to be turned up to tear your head off either before it starts to sound good. I also have a Mark IV and it rocks a little more and is more versatile. It certainly does what it does well too. I can sympathize with your gear/$ dilemma. I am feeling the same way about a particular 2 ch Dual Rec. The key is patience.
Guitarzan
Well-known member
Russ said:
Yeah DSL's do sound better... Especially when you sawp the transformers!
