Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I had an F50, too. That was a cool amp. How did the express sound in comparison? Ive been kinda interested in those. The MKIII has been by far my favorite amp, ever. WTF was I thinking by selling it?

[ItsaBass]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

The Express line compared to the F line is more "bluesy," especially on the higher-gain channel, and the 5/25 in particular has much less "wallop" than the F50. More of a low-wattage sound (obviously). The 5/25 snarls, while the F50 roared. And the Express line has a few more options (shapable contour settings being the most useful). But they share the same basic ancestry, so they are quite similar in layout and basic philosophy. When I got the F50, I actually wanted an F30 more. But the 50 watter was being blown out for such a stupid price that I could not pass it up. I ended up selling it used for $140 more than I paid for it new.

If I was a studio musician or hired gun in general, I'd damned well try and buy that Mk. III back from my friend. It is a great do-everything amp. But I play in two bands permanently, and I want to just show up, put my knobs in the same place every time, and go. I don't need a lot of versatility, since everything I play at this time is in the same basic vein.

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Aaah! You're killing me! Lol. I've really gotta get a hold of a Mesa! Darnit.

Your Marshall does its "Marshall thing" quite well, but is kind of a one trick pony IMO. I sort of view most Marshalls that way (though my former TSL 122 was a bit more versatile than most). And IME any Marshall is nowhere near as bulletproof as a Mesa. Ideally you could keep both, but if I had to sell a 900 to get a Mesa, I'd probably do it.

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I've got the itch to at least post a feeler thread, but I don't have access to my amp in order to take pictures until probably later this week.

[woemoejack]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I owned a .50+ and used it as my main gigging amp for a few years. I traded it for a jcm900 4100 dual reverb. i've regretted it ever since. The .50+ is just a beast of a rock and roll amp. I never had a single issue with it either. The only thing that I didnt get along with was having a master gain knob. I couldnt get super clean then switch to the lead channel and have heavy distortion from the amp. there are happy mediums if you want to compromise, but I dont think the cleans are what that amp is meant to do well.

That amp rocked, and I miss it. What part of TX are you in?

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I owned a .50+ and used it as my main gigging amp for a few years. I traded it for a jcm900 4100 dual reverb. i've regretted it ever since. The .50+ is just a beast of a rock and roll amp. I never had a single issue with it either. The only thing that I didnt get along with was having a master gain knob. I couldnt get super clean then switch to the lead channel and have heavy distortion from the amp. there are happy mediums if you want to compromise, but I dont think the cleans are what that amp is meant to do well.

That amp rocked, and I miss it. What part of TX are you in?

Yeah, part of me says that I'm crazy to let go of my 900, but then I start thinking the .50 Cal is the way to go.

I'm in West TX, Midland/Odessa area. About 6hrs away from you, lol.

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

The Express line compared to the F line is more "bluesy," especially on the higher-gain channel, and the 5/25 in particular has much less "wallop" than the F50. More of a low-wattage sound (obviously). The 5/25 snarls, while the F50 roared. And the Express line has a few more options (shapable contour settings being the most useful). But they share the same basic ancestry, so they are quite similar in layout and basic philosophy. When I got the F50, I actually wanted an F30 more. But the 50 watter was being blown out for such a stupid price that I could not pass it up. I ended up selling it used for $140 more than I paid for it new.

If I was a studio musician or hired gun in general, I'd damned well try and buy that Mk. III back from my friend. It is a great do-everything amp. But I play in two bands permanently, and I want to just show up, put my knobs in the same place every time, and go. I don't need a lot of versatility, since everything I play at this time is in the same basic vein.

Yeah, I almost got the F30 as well, but the same thing happened. Price was too good. Almost half of what the 30 was going for! The one nice thing about the MKIII for me was that I could dial in this tone that was half Marshall, half Mark IV. For a Mark series, it had this weird (but nice) Marshally grind to it. It wasn't that familiar rounded Mark tone. I miss it. Damn.

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I'm still beating myself over the head with "Should I sell my Marshall or not?" I mean, I've gotten several good years out of it, and it's always sounded good, but then again it's the only sound I've had for years. I have no idea what I sound like through another amp. Is that sad? Lol

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Does your .50 Cal have EQ and reverb?

Yes and yes.

[everdrone]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I owned a .50+ and used it as my main gigging amp for a few years. I traded it for a jcm900 4100 dual reverb. i've regretted it ever since. The .50+ is just a beast of a rock and roll amp. I never had a single issue with it either. The only thing that I didnt get along with was having a master gain knob. I couldnt get super clean then switch to the lead channel and have heavy distortion from the amp. there are happy mediums if you want to compromise, but I dont think the cleans are what that amp is meant to do well.

That amp rocked, and I miss it. What part of TX are you in?

best thing to do is to own both

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I'm still beating myself over the head with "Should I sell my Marshall or not?" I mean, I've gotten several good years out of it, and it's always sounded good, but then again it's the only sound I've had for years. I have no idea what I sound like through another amp. Is that sad? Lol

There's only one way to find out. If you really think you may be disappointed in one way or another, then dont do it. If you are curious what it might be like on the other side of the amp fence, then jump at it. Or, just do what I did and get both.

Okay, put it this way: at one time, I had a Splawn Quickrod (AWESOME hotrodded Marshall-style) and a Mesa MKIII. I kept the Mesa. I could get some of the Marshally tones that the Splawn had, but f**k me, those Fender-box Mesas just have this GRIND that I love. Hell, with my Greenback cab and my JB-equipped LP, I could get pretty darn close to any Megadeth tone. Ive heard that the 50cal+ can kinda get close to the tones that the MKIII can get. If that is really the case, I would get the Mesa without a doubt. Honestly, until recently, I havent seen a whole lot of those 50cals pop up for sale. If you have the chance, do it. Chances are, there are more 900s for sale than old Boogies. If you dont like it, sell it and go find another Marshall.

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

There's only one way to find out. If you really think you may be disappointed in one way or another, then dont do it. If you are curious what it might be like on the other side of the amp fence, then jump at it. Or, just do what I did and get both.

Okay, put it this way: at one time, I had a Splawn Quickrod (AWESOME hotrodded Marshall-style) and a Mesa MKIII. I kept the Mesa. I could get some of the Marshally tones that the Splawn had, but f**k me, those Fender-box Mesas just have this GRIND that I love. Hell, with my Greenback cab and my JB-equipped LP, I could get pretty darn close to any Megadeth tone. Ive heard that the 50cal+ can kinda get close to the tones that the MKIII can get. If that is really the case, I would get the Mesa without a doubt. Honestly, until recently, I havent seen a whole lot of those 50cals pop up for sale. If you have the chance, do it. Chances are, there are more 900s for sale than old Boogies. If you dont like it, sell it and go find another Marshall.

Sheesh, man. All I can think about is plugging my C8 loaded Les Paul into a 50cal+, slamming the front end with my OD808, and rippin' into "Vote with a Bullet". Makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Well, if you dont get that amp, you're missing a big part of that chain.

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Well, if you dont get that amp, you're missing a big part of that chain.

Exactly. Ok, now I'm wondering if the 50cal is as flexible as my 900. Is it REALLY that hard to get a good balance between the channels? As much as I want this amp, the fact that both channels share the same gain control sounds like a bit of a turn-off. Although if I can still get a pretty heavy tone from the dirty channel with a boost in front of it and maybe a "mostly clean" sound from the other channel, I bet I can manage that.

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Disregard my previous post. I just read the OPERATING MANUAL online. I'm pretty sure this amp could TOTALLY work for what I need.