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Opinions needed on Mesa amps...


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I'm not a big fan of the Rectos, but what do you guys think of some of the other Mesa amps (DC series, Nomads, Mavericks, F series, etc)?

I tried a DC-5 once, and it was a pretty sweet amp. What do you guys think of them?

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I have owned 2, and did not care for either... one was a Subway Rocket, and the other was a very early combo 60/100 I believe. What I did not like about them was that the Mesa overdrive seems very mushy and undefined to me. The clean is OK, and the higher gain is just not me. That said, I used the Subway Rocket at a practice once. I did not like it, but 2 of my band mates thought it sounded good.

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I've owned an F30 for a while. I like it a lot. Nice crunch on the gain channel, you can hit the contour switch for a more metal sound (recto-ish). Nice clean with lots of headroom. It can be pushed and sounds good with a strat.

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I've been using the Mesa Lone Star for a couple of months now.

It's a nice amp. Two channels, both very independent.

Problem is, it really lets the sound of the guitar dominate. Which might be great for studio, but for live applications it becomes a bit of a bother, because you have to tweak settings when you switch guitars.

So I could go either way on it, but I'm going to hold out until I see if there's anything better for live applications.

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I love my old one (it's a Mk I, I suppose). It's been my number one for 20 years.

BoogieEcho.jpg

Not a very versatile amp, and definitely no modern high gain available. It excels at loud, on-the-edge-of-distortion sounds. Good with pedals and bullet-proof.

mike

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I had Mesa 50 Caliber plus, which I bought in 1990 and had for about five years 'til I traded it even up for a Peavey Classic 50 2x12. I though the Mesa was sterile, and my SF Vibro Champ at six watts had much more character than the Mesa. That being said, I heard somebody demo a 22 Caliber in Manny's around 1990 and it sounded pretty darn good. I will say the Mesa construction was unbeatable but the Peavey was very respectable for its price, too. Soundwise, I'd have to be talked into listening to a Mesa again. To each his own.

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Never met one I liked. Never.

gregc

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Thankfully there are 100s of choices in amps. Thankfully we don't all like the same ones.

Go play a bunch and see how they sound to you.

Wise words.....and trust me....Jaye has played/owned/sold three million amps. LOL!!! A brother after my own heart. :D

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Wise words.....and trust me....Jaye has played/owned/sold three million amps. LOL!!! A brother after my own heart. :D

No joke. If you see him talking about a gear acquisition and it's something you'd like to own yourself, start saving your money because it'll be up for sale in about 3 months! LOL

His Shiva will be mine one day ...

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Not a big fan of mesa. I've played or owned damn near everyy model they've ever made.

I did own a Mark III C+ that had a awesome clean tone (Sting's guitar Dominic Miller uses these and his clean sound is amazing), but I couldn't find a dirty tone I liked at all, especially with a good clean tone since the main EQ (not the graphic) was shared. It also weighed an insane amount for a 1x12 combo.

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jerseydrew...

Can you get good cleans and good overdriven sounds from your DC-3? I'd like to get a DC-10, but DC-5's are much more plentiful, plus 100 watts might be overkill for what I need.

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No joke. If you see him talking about a gear acquisition and it's something you'd like to own yourself, start saving your money because it'll be up for sale in about 3 months! LOL

His Shiva will be mine one day ...

Gee, that just earned you a line on my banned buyer's list. :D

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I played a lot of amps and always went back to Marshall. My Mark IV has been able to keep me away. I almost went back to my Marshall, but I plugged the Mark IV into the 4x12 cab and decided to stay with the Boogie.

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jerseydrew...

Can you get good cleans and good overdriven sounds from your DC-3? I'd like to get a DC-10, but DC-5's are much more plentiful, plus 100 watts might be overkill for what I need.

DC-5's are powerful enough, my DC-3 is unbelievably loud. Yes, I can get good cleans and good overdrive. On the clean channel, the Mid knob acts as a regular Mid knob from settings 1 through 3. From 4 on, it dirty's up the clean channel. I have my Mid set at 6, and it's the most awesome blues tones that I've ever heard. It's clean with a hint of dirt. Perfect. Plus, it depends what pickups you're using. Obviously single coils with be a little cleaner.

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I've got a Nomad 55. It has taken awhile to find the sweet spots but I think it's a great amp and so do the guys in the band. It's a great compliment to the sound of a Marshall.

Joe

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I really like my dc-5. Does not sound good at low volumes, needs to be turned up a bit

to get its tone and being as it is LOUD that can be a problem in my house. Has lots of clean headroom. I don't think I'll ever sell it.

Jim

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