Any Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 owners done any mods?

[GingerLefty]

Hi there,
Any Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 owners here? Was wondering if anyone had any mods for the amp that they felt were beneficial.

Cheers.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Any Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 owners done any mods?

That's a pretty darn good amp, and shouldn't need much in the way of mods. I have a DC-3 112 combo and it's one of my favorite amps.

You can play around with some different tubes. I have a mix of Groove Tube "Mullard Clones", Mesa, JJ and E-H 12AX7 tubes in mine, experimenting with what brand of tube fits best in each spot to give me the tone I want.

The JJ EL-84s are good, with a little "creamier" tone than the Mesa version, and I use them in my DC-3 and my Maverick 212 combo.

One mod that is sometimes done is changing the parallel effects loop to a series loop. Haven't done that to mine.

You might pickup some more information at the Boogie Board forum, www.grailtone.com .

And what really might blow yer kilt up would be one of the new Mesa pedals with the Graphic EQ. The EQ is one of the best features of the bigger DC Series amps.

And it wouldn't hurt to call Mesa and see if their tech support guys have any mods on file for that amp. I know they do mods at the factory on many of their other amps. Get some info on an EQ pedal while your at it.

And last but not least, be sure to download and READ the Owner's Manual. Very important to understand the function of all those controls and how they work together.

Cool amp, enjoy!

Bill

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Any Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 owners done any mods?

Definitely a great amp! I miss my DC-5...

THe only thing I would recommend is trying out different tubes...that amp is solid!

 

[GingerLefty]

Re: Any Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 owners done any mods?

That's a pretty darn good amp, and shouldn't need much in the way of mods. I have a DC-3 112 combo and it's one of my favorite amps.

You can play around with some different tubes. I have a mix of Groove Tube "Mullard Clones", Mesa, JJ and E-H 12AX7 tubes in mine, experimenting with what brand of tube fits best in each spot to give me the tone I want.

The JJ EL-84s are good, with a little "creamier" tone than the Mesa version, and I use them in my DC-3 and my Maverick 212 combo.

One mod that is sometimes done is changing the parallel effects loop to a series loop. Haven't done that to mine.

You might pickup some more information at the Boogie Board forum, www.grailtone.com .

And what really might blow yer kilt up would be one of the new Mesa pedals with the Graphic EQ. The EQ is one of the best features of the bigger DC Series amps.

And it wouldn't hurt to call Mesa and see if their tech support guys have any mods on file for that amp. I know they do mods at the factory on many of their other amps. Get some info on an EQ pedal while your at it.

And last but not least, be sure to download and READ the Owner's Manual. Very important to understand the function of all those controls and how they work together.

Cool amp, enjoy!

Bill

Thanks for the info. I have this amp over a year but the band I was playing in broke up shortly after I got it, so I never got the chance to give it much love. I've started playing much more again recently and have been giving the DC-2 the attention it deserves. I have the manual and have poured over it. Very good manual IMHO. I love the clean channel on the amp, how it can do the pristine, sparkly clean thing and also be pushed to nice breakup, and it also takes pedals very well. That's enough reason to love and keep an amp, and I do. I wish I could get great tone from the lead channel though. Maybe the secret is a tube change. I have some different EL84s somewhere, I must root them out. What position preamp tubes specifically would help with the lead tone? I want that smooth, creamy Boogie lead tone and I find the DC-2 a bit spiky. I guess the EQ pedal would definitely help, my friend swears by the EQ section on his MKIII. Are they expensive though? Budget is tight at present.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Any Mesa Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 owners done any mods?

fresh tubes, and then the right speaker for your personal taste.