JeffB
Let it B
This is long..sorry...I feel like a kid on X-mas 
After a few months of searching out every mid priced amp combo offering I could to play I decided to spend more $ than originally intended, knowing this would be something I'll keep for awhile. My vox died, and I wasn’t really happy with it anyway. I've spent the last 10 days or so trying high(er) end amps from Peavey, Marshall, & Rivera. And although all of them were nice in some way they all had more than one major quality I didn't care for.
Today I went to go check out some MESAs. I've played Marks of all generations, the original calibers, and fiddled with a couple of Recto heads briefly, but never dropped the $
The MESA F-series combos IMO trounced nearly everything else I played (the closest competition being the Fandango). I played the F-50 for about 40 minutes. I was immediately impressed with the low end response for a half open cab (I HATE open back cabs normally). Also the Clean channel is incredible,rivals any Fender new or vintage I've heard. Same with the low gain tones. I was getting phenomenal SRV type sounds. The high gain mode is super tight, and even at 2/3 gain, it was totally saturating the strats pickups without getting muddy/mushy. Then, I clicked in the contour. It sounded very nu-metalish. With a couple tweaks of the tone knobs I was back to a nice John Sykes type tone: tight low end, incredible sustain, and a subtle "bite" that made my lead passages just sing/cry. Badlands, Maiden, Lizzy, Metallica, Ozzy, Frampton, Zep, Hendrix, Blackmore, Setzer, Jazz & Blues noodling.... anything I could think of to play sounded excellent through this amp. And it FELT great.There just is no subsitute for an all tube amp. Which I knew, but under my previous budget, it got buried in my subconcious
Still, the F-50 had a dynamic "feel" that the other tube amps lacked at least in my hands. I was also amazed how well this amp sounded at low volumes. Marshalls (new or old, MV or not) just don't have "the tone" unless you crank those power tubes, neither did the Peaveys or Riveras. The F-50 had a good Power tube coloring of the gain even at low volumes.
I HAD gone to try the F-30 so I played it too. It had a little more top end "sizzle" which sounded very very cool, but just didn't feel as tight and punchy as the F-50 (prolly due to the El84s).
After an hour I asked how much both cost, but I had already made up my mind on the F-50. I knew the extra 2 bills ($1050 for the F-50 vs. $850 for the F-30) was worth it as the F-30 would have been a tone for $ compromise.
When I got home and got around to unpacking it, I was really impressed with the build quality. It's been a while since I really looked a MESA over carefully. Within a minute of powering up and a few minor tweaks, I realized had no need to worry about it not sounding as good at home as it did in the store. Nearly 4 hours later I had to force myself to stop playing
My only nitpicks, and these are just nitpicks are: HEAVY: Don't know the mass weight but this thing is a beast, and Reverb overall sounds excellent but at high gain gets drowned out.
As I said, I've played quite a few Boogies in the past, but I never was this impressed. The feel, sound & simplicity of operation is spectacular. I've paid more for amps that didn't have half the playability or tone. Despite being the 2nd least expensive combo MESA makes, this is by no means a "low end" amp.
After a few months of searching out every mid priced amp combo offering I could to play I decided to spend more $ than originally intended, knowing this would be something I'll keep for awhile. My vox died, and I wasn’t really happy with it anyway. I've spent the last 10 days or so trying high(er) end amps from Peavey, Marshall, & Rivera. And although all of them were nice in some way they all had more than one major quality I didn't care for.
Today I went to go check out some MESAs. I've played Marks of all generations, the original calibers, and fiddled with a couple of Recto heads briefly, but never dropped the $
The MESA F-series combos IMO trounced nearly everything else I played (the closest competition being the Fandango). I played the F-50 for about 40 minutes. I was immediately impressed with the low end response for a half open cab (I HATE open back cabs normally). Also the Clean channel is incredible,rivals any Fender new or vintage I've heard. Same with the low gain tones. I was getting phenomenal SRV type sounds. The high gain mode is super tight, and even at 2/3 gain, it was totally saturating the strats pickups without getting muddy/mushy. Then, I clicked in the contour. It sounded very nu-metalish. With a couple tweaks of the tone knobs I was back to a nice John Sykes type tone: tight low end, incredible sustain, and a subtle "bite" that made my lead passages just sing/cry. Badlands, Maiden, Lizzy, Metallica, Ozzy, Frampton, Zep, Hendrix, Blackmore, Setzer, Jazz & Blues noodling.... anything I could think of to play sounded excellent through this amp. And it FELT great.There just is no subsitute for an all tube amp. Which I knew, but under my previous budget, it got buried in my subconcious
Still, the F-50 had a dynamic "feel" that the other tube amps lacked at least in my hands. I was also amazed how well this amp sounded at low volumes. Marshalls (new or old, MV or not) just don't have "the tone" unless you crank those power tubes, neither did the Peaveys or Riveras. The F-50 had a good Power tube coloring of the gain even at low volumes. I HAD gone to try the F-30 so I played it too. It had a little more top end "sizzle" which sounded very very cool, but just didn't feel as tight and punchy as the F-50 (prolly due to the El84s).
After an hour I asked how much both cost, but I had already made up my mind on the F-50. I knew the extra 2 bills ($1050 for the F-50 vs. $850 for the F-30) was worth it as the F-30 would have been a tone for $ compromise.
When I got home and got around to unpacking it, I was really impressed with the build quality. It's been a while since I really looked a MESA over carefully. Within a minute of powering up and a few minor tweaks, I realized had no need to worry about it not sounding as good at home as it did in the store. Nearly 4 hours later I had to force myself to stop playing
My only nitpicks, and these are just nitpicks are: HEAVY: Don't know the mass weight but this thing is a beast, and Reverb overall sounds excellent but at high gain gets drowned out.
As I said, I've played quite a few Boogies in the past, but I never was this impressed. The feel, sound & simplicity of operation is spectacular. I've paid more for amps that didn't have half the playability or tone. Despite being the 2nd least expensive combo MESA makes, this is by no means a "low end" amp.
