Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

[everdrone]

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.

I just saw crowbar last week, they were both using orange cabinet fullstacks, lead singer was using two randall heads

I saw DOWN about 5 months ago, they were both using orange thunderverb full stacks that sounded AMAZING!!!

 

[dystrust]

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.

Does your .50 Cal have EQ and reverb?

 

[scottcrud]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I have two .50Cal+'s. You can get a great clean tone or a great chunky lead rhythm tone, but not both due to the shared EQ. My clean tone channel sounds like Malcom Young's rhythm tone. my distortion channel is brutal. Great amps.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

Stop. Im really starting to miss my MKIII.

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

The .50cal has EL84s and the .50cal+ has 6L6s.

So that's really the only difference? Hmmm...

 

[jrbowen81]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I have two .50Cal+'s. You can get a great clean tone or a great chunky lead rhythm tone, but not both due to the shared EQ. My clean tone channel sounds like Malcom Young's rhythm tone. my distortion channel is brutal. Great amps.

I want one SO BAD. I've dealt with 2 channels sharing 1 EQ all this time so far, so it probably wouldn't bother me much. Come to think of it, I have yet to use my clean channel in a band setting so far anyhow! Haha

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

So that's really the only difference? Hmmm...

Yeah, pretty much. Might be some other minor differences, but that's the major one.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

I want one SO BAD. I've dealt with 2 channels sharing 1 EQ all this time so far, so it probably wouldn't bother me much. Come to think of it, I have yet to use my clean channel in a band setting so far anyhow! Haha

Im not sure how much different the 50cal is from the MKIII, but my MKIII shared an EQ like the 50cal, and I was able to get brutal tones from the Drive channel and have a really nice, shimmery clean on the egde of breakup with CH1. Your choice of V1 tube will dictate a lot of your tone AND how the clean responds. I used a TungSol in V1 of my MKIII and Splawns because it has a lot of headroom for cleaner tones, good gain for OD and well.....I liked the tone in general.

 

[Soulcrusher_X]

Re: Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

In a nutshell, those Fender-headed Boogies are some of the most badass amps ever.

 

[ItsaBass]

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.

+1, right down to the fact that I also used to gig with a 900 Dual Reverb (head/cab), though my Mesas have not included a DC. They have been a Mark III 1x12, an F50 head, and (still being made) an Express 5/25 1x12. I liked the Marshall a lot, but I like all of those Mesas better all around.

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.

My only complaint about my Mesas? They have a little bit of "jack of all trades" syndrome, such that they don't have an exceedingly apparent and pointed voice of their own. There is so much versatility packed into most Mesas that it can actually be a bit frustrating at times if you are not happy being a knob fiddler (which I certainly am not). The one I have on order seems to have the most "character" of all the Mesas I've tried...probably because it is one of the least versatile – hence easiest to operate – Mesa designs ever produced. It does a few things and does them well, as opposed to trying to offer you every possible sound known to man (like that damned Mk. III). I am glad Mesa now offers several models that are more "specifically directed" tonally – and less confusing to operate – than that Mk. III.

 

[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 :approve: