Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

jrbowen81

jrbowen81

New member
What can you guys tell me about this amp? I'm hoping to find out if it's worth getting rid of my JCM900 (which of course I thought I'd never do, but the power of GAS compels me.) I've never owned a Mesa before, but I know they're highly praised as being high-quality, road worthy amps. I'm open to all of the info you guys can offer. Thanks!
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

i had one. a DC50. reeally nice. killer fat smooth overdrive. Clean as clean gets. Great amp. The Eq is really useful too.
But its not a marshall. The really dont sound anything alike so its hard to compare them. However, i used to gig a 900 dually for years, and ive got a 900 MKIII currently. You might miss the marshall mid crunch, but the boogie does pretty much everything else in spades and effortlessly. Mesas are in a different class of amp altogther. Serious gear.
Do it....you can always go back to a jcm900 if you can't live without that sound - its not like they are rare. Mesas hold their value too.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Just do it. You want that Down/COC kind of tone? There you go. Pepper's setup is the .50cal+ with Greenbacks. I had a MarkIII. I sold it. BIG regrets. The .50 cal is kinda like a cross between the Mark series and a Rectifier. The big, articulate Mark tones with some of that Recto grind. You can't go wrong, dude.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

gibson175 said:
i had one. a DC50. reeally nice. killer fat smooth overdrive. Clean as clean gets. Great amp. The Eq is really useful too.
But its not a marshall. The really dont sound anything alike so its hard to compare them. However, i used to gig a 900 dually for years, and ive got a 900 MKIII currently. You might miss the marshall mid crunch, but the boogie does pretty much everything else in spades and effortlessly. Mesas are in a different class of amp altogther. Serious gear.
Do it....you can always go back to a jcm900 if you can't live without that sound - its not like they are rare. Mesas hold their value too.
Click to expand...

Nice! This could make my lead guitarist SO jealous, lol! We both have identical Marshalls by pure coincidence, but he's been gassing for a Dual Rec.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Soulcrusher_X said:
Just do it. You want that Down/COC kind of tone? There you go. Pepper's setup is the .50cal+ with Greenbacks. I had a MarkIII. I sold it. BIG regrets. The .50 cal is kinda like a cross between the Mark series and a Rectifier. The big, articulate Mark tones with some of that Recto grind. You can't go wrong, dude.
Click to expand...

THAT'S what I'M talkin' about! :friday:
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Soulcrusher_X said:
So if your other guitarist is gassing for a Dual Rec. then sweet. COC setup s Pepper with the .50cal+ and Woody with a Dual Rec. both guys have Greenback cabs.

Done. /thread
Click to expand...

That combo just occurred to me earlier too! Can you say IDEAL?! All I can say is... Peanut butter jelly time! :banana: :banana: :banana:
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I have a jcm900 dual reverb 50 watter too, I would consider for the .50cal+ model only, but marshall character is king! down is one of my fav bands, I see them using the orange thunderverbs, not sure if they use mesas. I just saw crowbar and lead singer was using randalls... they could get their sound from about anything heavy dirty amp marshall-like, tone is in the fingerz...
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Kirk uses Randall RG100s with a Metal Zone in front. USUALLY with Mesa cabs, but he might still be using the Oranges with V30s. I dont know how much Down is using the Oranges anymore, but they did use the TV50s for a little while. During NOLA, they used Pepper's rig and a JCM800, but then they used their own rigs on tour. DownII was a bunch of plug-ins for the studio, and their own rigs on tour. OTU is MOSTLY Bogner Shiva, which I THINK is a modded-JCM800 style tone, but also 3 or 4 other amps. On tour, they used their usual stuff for a while, but then used the Oranges on the 2009 Download tour in the UK, and they have been using them here and there on US tours.

COC = Mesa
Crowbar = Randall
Down = a lot of amps.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Soulcrusher_X said:
Kirk uses Randall RG100s with a Metal Zone in front. USUALLY with Mesa cabs, but he might still be using the Oranges with V30s. I dont know how much Down is using the Oranges anymore, but they did use the TV50s for a little while. During NOLA, they used Pepper's rig and a JCM800, but then they used their own rigs on tour. DownII was a bunch of plug-ins for the studio, and their own rigs on tour. OTU is MOSTLY Bogner Shiva, which I THINK is a modded-JCM800 style tone, but also 3 or 4 other amps. On tour, they used their usual stuff for a while, but then used the Oranges on the 2009 Download tour in the UK, and they have been using them here and there on US tours.

COC = Mesa
Crowbar = Randall
Down = a lot of amps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that sounds right.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I saw Crowbar last year on the anny of Dime's death and they were sporting Dean-built 'Dime' amps which were created by Dime's amp tech to recreate Dime's old Randall RG tones. Just a random thought.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I'm kind of afraid to try and sell my Marshall to anyone who isn't local because I have no clue how much shipping that beast would cost. Plus, Guitar Center would probably lowball me like crazy if I took it to them for appraisal. Not to mention the nearest one is a 2hr drive from my place.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Shipping is probably around 40-60 bucks. Ive bought and sold a few amps in my day. Just buy the frickin 50cal. WTF is wrong with you? I thought we went over this already?! Its gonna rule! :)
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Soulcrusher_X said:
Shipping is probably around 40-60 bucks. Ive bought and sold a few amps in my day. Just buy the frickin 50cal. WTF is wrong with you? I thought we went over this already?! Its gonna rule! :)
Click to expand...

I know! LOL! I'm absolutely broke right now though, so I'd HAVE to sell my 900 first before even considering buying the Mesa. :deal: :cool2:
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I have a .50 Caliber (with a Black Shadow speaker) that I bought in the late-'80s and have owned ever since. It's a great amp with lots of balls. But, I would imagine, the EL84s are going to make it sound way different from the Marshall. I had a Lead Master put on mine which helps greatly in balancing the levels between the two channels.

I might be tempted to sell it.
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Evan Skopp said:
I have a .50 Caliber (with a Black Shadow speaker) that I bought in the late-'80s and have owned ever since. It's a great amp with lots of balls. But, I would imagine, the EL84s are going to make it sound way different from the Marshall. I had a Lead Master put on mine which helps greatly in balancing the levels between the two channels.

I might be tempted to sell it.
Click to expand...

That is SO tempting, Evan, but honestly only the head version is practical for me right now. Maybe you're tempted to buy my Marshall? Yeeesssss? YEEESSSSS! LOL

I sincerely appreciate the kind offer though. If this Marshall wasn't my ONLY amp and I had the cash on hand, I would be all over that!
 
Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

....further to my earlier post....i did not know the .50 was el84 based, by dual caliber was 6l6 based, so you better take my recommendation with a grain of salt.
 
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