ratherdashing
Kablamminator
It's all a bit of a blur, but I'll do my best to give my thoughts.
Mesa Lonestar: Beautiful clean channel, and the EQ was very responsive. Crunch channel sounded good, but sadly this amp doesn't have enough gain for what I want to do. It was also retardedly loud (as was every Mesa I've tried recently). I really did like both channels though. It would be a great amp for someone who doesn't need much more than a light crunch.
Mesa Single Rectifier Rect-o-verb combo: I did not get along with this amp much at all. It was really loud and boomy no matter what I did. The low end ranged from thumpy to out of control. I did really like the high gain tone I got from this one, but I had to get it to ear bleeding levels in order to do so. If Mesa made an amp with the Lonestar's clean channel and this amp's gain channel, and cut the output in half, I'd be all over it.
Mesa Express 5:50: Randall Smith really crapped the bed with this one. It stinks. I remember when Mesa's low end amps were awesome: the Dual Calibers were really sweet (I owned one), and the F series was great too. What the hell happened? Clean was so-so; nothing to get excited about. This was a disappointment, because I normally love Mesa cleans. Gain channel has two modes: "swarm of bees" and "loud belch". In true Mesa fashion, it is brutally loud, even in 5 watt mode. What's the point of a 5 watt mode if it's still to loud to practice with?
Mesa ... uh ... I think it was a Mark III? The hipsters at the shop weren't sure whether this was a Mark II or a Mark III. I'm pretty sure it was a III (the manual I downloaded from Mesa's site seems to match up). Never before has an amp with so few knobs caused me so much confusion. Dialing this thing in was like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube. Every time I thought I had it figured out I would pull one of the many push-pull knobs and ruin everything. I was able to get a really nice clean tone, and a really nice crunch tone, but not both at the same time (i.e. footswitching would be a no go). And guess what - it was loud!
Marshall 30th Anniversary 1x12 combo: I was excited when I saw all the knobs - I love amps with lots of knobs. I love to tweak. I had heard terrible things about this amp so I went in with low expectations. Truth be told, two of the three channels were quite useful, and I was able to make it sound good at a reasonable volume*, which was quite a treat after all the Mesa's. Clean channel was not perfect, but better than I expected from a Marshall. I got close enough to my ideal clean sound to be satisfied. Channel 2 (crunch) had a noisy tube, but it still managed to get a good cranked Plexi tone. I wish these bozos would test their amps before putting them on sale. Channel 3, I believe, was designed by Marshall as some kind of weapon of ear destruction. It had a good variety of gain depending on how you dialed it in, but underneath it all was a devastating treble frequency that cut through me like a laser beam. I could not get rid of it - it was too powerful for a mere mortal to control. If you see one of these amps, please keep living things away from Channel 3 at all times. It is your civic duty.
Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50: Two channels + one tone stack = one unhappy ratherdashing. I find it very hard to set tone controls in a way I can live with that allows for a good sounding clean and a good sounding crunch. Aside from that, this amp sounds really good. I was able to get a good variety of sweet tones from this amp, including a very good clean, at reasonable volume - and no treble beam of death! I would want to hear this beast through a 2x12, since there's no way I'm hauling a 4x12 all over town ... not to mention the volume reduction would be good.
Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 401: I am a big fan of the EL84, so I figured I had to give this one a spin. It took quite a bit of tweaking, but I got a really nice clean and a really thundering crunch out of it. I had to dime the master volume in order to do that - at any other level the OD channel goes into angry bumblebee mode. Amazingly I was able to do that without busting any eardrums, thanks to the individual channel volume knobs. I am torn as to whether I like this amp better than the DSL 50.
* My idea of "reasonable volume" is enough to compete with a drum kit. Not stadium loud, not bedroom quiet. Reasonable.
Mesa Lonestar: Beautiful clean channel, and the EQ was very responsive. Crunch channel sounded good, but sadly this amp doesn't have enough gain for what I want to do. It was also retardedly loud (as was every Mesa I've tried recently). I really did like both channels though. It would be a great amp for someone who doesn't need much more than a light crunch.
Mesa Single Rectifier Rect-o-verb combo: I did not get along with this amp much at all. It was really loud and boomy no matter what I did. The low end ranged from thumpy to out of control. I did really like the high gain tone I got from this one, but I had to get it to ear bleeding levels in order to do so. If Mesa made an amp with the Lonestar's clean channel and this amp's gain channel, and cut the output in half, I'd be all over it.
Mesa Express 5:50: Randall Smith really crapped the bed with this one. It stinks. I remember when Mesa's low end amps were awesome: the Dual Calibers were really sweet (I owned one), and the F series was great too. What the hell happened? Clean was so-so; nothing to get excited about. This was a disappointment, because I normally love Mesa cleans. Gain channel has two modes: "swarm of bees" and "loud belch". In true Mesa fashion, it is brutally loud, even in 5 watt mode. What's the point of a 5 watt mode if it's still to loud to practice with?
Mesa ... uh ... I think it was a Mark III? The hipsters at the shop weren't sure whether this was a Mark II or a Mark III. I'm pretty sure it was a III (the manual I downloaded from Mesa's site seems to match up). Never before has an amp with so few knobs caused me so much confusion. Dialing this thing in was like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube. Every time I thought I had it figured out I would pull one of the many push-pull knobs and ruin everything. I was able to get a really nice clean tone, and a really nice crunch tone, but not both at the same time (i.e. footswitching would be a no go). And guess what - it was loud!
Marshall 30th Anniversary 1x12 combo: I was excited when I saw all the knobs - I love amps with lots of knobs. I love to tweak. I had heard terrible things about this amp so I went in with low expectations. Truth be told, two of the three channels were quite useful, and I was able to make it sound good at a reasonable volume*, which was quite a treat after all the Mesa's. Clean channel was not perfect, but better than I expected from a Marshall. I got close enough to my ideal clean sound to be satisfied. Channel 2 (crunch) had a noisy tube, but it still managed to get a good cranked Plexi tone. I wish these bozos would test their amps before putting them on sale. Channel 3, I believe, was designed by Marshall as some kind of weapon of ear destruction. It had a good variety of gain depending on how you dialed it in, but underneath it all was a devastating treble frequency that cut through me like a laser beam. I could not get rid of it - it was too powerful for a mere mortal to control. If you see one of these amps, please keep living things away from Channel 3 at all times. It is your civic duty.
Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50: Two channels + one tone stack = one unhappy ratherdashing. I find it very hard to set tone controls in a way I can live with that allows for a good sounding clean and a good sounding crunch. Aside from that, this amp sounds really good. I was able to get a good variety of sweet tones from this amp, including a very good clean, at reasonable volume - and no treble beam of death! I would want to hear this beast through a 2x12, since there's no way I'm hauling a 4x12 all over town ... not to mention the volume reduction would be good.
Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 401: I am a big fan of the EL84, so I figured I had to give this one a spin. It took quite a bit of tweaking, but I got a really nice clean and a really thundering crunch out of it. I had to dime the master volume in order to do that - at any other level the OD channel goes into angry bumblebee mode. Amazingly I was able to do that without busting any eardrums, thanks to the individual channel volume knobs. I am torn as to whether I like this amp better than the DSL 50.
* My idea of "reasonable volume" is enough to compete with a drum kit. Not stadium loud, not bedroom quiet. Reasonable.
