Mesa Express 5:25
- Thread starter marcg71
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Re: Mesa Express 5:25
I gave a 5:25 a test drive at Guitar Center Oxnard with an American Strat... WOO!! That little amp smoked! Killer tone and I couldn't believe all that sound was coming out of a small amp like that. Killer tone and definitely enough usable power. You can have fun with extension cabs too if you want but the amp's perfectly capable of what you're describing.
I gave a 5:25 a test drive at Guitar Center Oxnard with an American Strat... WOO!! That little amp smoked! Killer tone and I couldn't believe all that sound was coming out of a small amp like that. Killer tone and definitely enough usable power. You can have fun with extension cabs too if you want but the amp's perfectly capable of what you're describing.
barbarianbrute
New member
Re: Mesa Express 5:25
i own a 5:50 and i can tell you that it has plenty of volume for gigs. it can drive a cabinet without breaking a sweat.
the 5:25 with the extension cabinet should be able to handle small gigs, but i don't know if it will do the job on its own. when i tried it, i cranked it to about 8 and it was pretty ****ed loud. i have to say though that it was only like 4-5 on my 5:50 which is much louder.
i think you should be ok with teh extension cab though. the amp is truly great sounding and for the price gives you several different tones. there's a crunch channel that i really like, the blues channel, and the burn channel. each one has a different voicing and they actually sound quite different. the clean channel is immaculate. the crunch channel has a squashier bottom end and sounds very suitable for dirty blues and classic rock. the blues channel does just that, but with a tube screamer, you can get some real eric johnson tones. the burn channel is tighter on the bottom end and has a bit more gain than the crunch channel.
the amp does get a little muddy in the bottom end though and has a lot of bass response, so you're going to have to tweak it a little. if you're going to play a gig with the 5:25, you will need to turn the mids all the way up to cut through because the mesas are a bit scooped sounding as it is.
also, the 5 watt channel is very nice and louder than you might think. it's got a sweeter character to it and you'll have to re-eq everything when using it in that mode.
i decided to go with the 5:50 because it was so much louder, but i really liked the sound of the el84s in the 5:25. i wish the 5:50 had el34s so it would sound more like the 5:25, but it has its own great sound quality.
the construction quality is excellent and they're not heavy amps. good luck man.
i own a 5:50 and i can tell you that it has plenty of volume for gigs. it can drive a cabinet without breaking a sweat.
the 5:25 with the extension cabinet should be able to handle small gigs, but i don't know if it will do the job on its own. when i tried it, i cranked it to about 8 and it was pretty ****ed loud. i have to say though that it was only like 4-5 on my 5:50 which is much louder.
i think you should be ok with teh extension cab though. the amp is truly great sounding and for the price gives you several different tones. there's a crunch channel that i really like, the blues channel, and the burn channel. each one has a different voicing and they actually sound quite different. the clean channel is immaculate. the crunch channel has a squashier bottom end and sounds very suitable for dirty blues and classic rock. the blues channel does just that, but with a tube screamer, you can get some real eric johnson tones. the burn channel is tighter on the bottom end and has a bit more gain than the crunch channel.
the amp does get a little muddy in the bottom end though and has a lot of bass response, so you're going to have to tweak it a little. if you're going to play a gig with the 5:25, you will need to turn the mids all the way up to cut through because the mesas are a bit scooped sounding as it is.
also, the 5 watt channel is very nice and louder than you might think. it's got a sweeter character to it and you'll have to re-eq everything when using it in that mode.
i decided to go with the 5:50 because it was so much louder, but i really liked the sound of the el84s in the 5:25. i wish the 5:50 had el34s so it would sound more like the 5:25, but it has its own great sound quality.
the construction quality is excellent and they're not heavy amps. good luck man.
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