5:25 a good practice amp?

[jab]

I play an Ace Head with Stiletto cabs. Very happy with it. Just last night I was loading my gear out of my house over to rehearsal and for the umpteenth time said to myself "what I'd give to have a 2nd rig at the rehearsal space" because that Stiletto equip is HEAVY.

So today I'm in GC, and I see a 5:25. Having owned DR's and Stiletto, I guess I've always snubbed my nose at those little guys. Wow, was I impressed with the volume and bass and tone coming out of that thing! And relatively speaking it's light as a feather. Was this just a GAS attack or is that thing that good? We play classic rock so rehearsals aren't anything over the top volume-wise. I'll still keep the Stiletto for gigs, and it is an extravagant purchase for rehearsals, but I am intrigued! Give me a reality check please.

 

[Steve P]

The reality is that the 5:25 is an awesome little amplifier. It is no Stiletto or Recto, but it is an awesome classic rock machine -- cleans, near-cleans, blues, crunch & lead tones can all be found. The eq is as close as "plug and play" gets with Mesa, IMHO. It will do old-school metal without pedals, but modern metal sounds would need a pedal or eq.

It is an amp suitable for rehearsals and more -- you could do small gigs with it, or larger venues if you hooked it up to a PA or extension cab.

The 5w setting doesn't drop the volume much, but it does change the tone significantly. The el-84s begin to clip at relatively reasonable volumes, especially on the 5w Class A mode.

I'm not a gigging musician, but I do lug the 5:25 around to jam and play music with friends. I'm not a big guy, but I can carry the amp with one hand, with pedals in my backpack, and my guitar and case in my other hand.

If you are in a position to buy this as a spare classic rock amp, then I say go for it! You already have a Stiletto if you "need" more gain.

 

[boswell]

The Express combos are a great little amp, go buy one.

 

[mesaluckystrike]

I have had my 5:25 since Feb 08. This is a great amp. I have it plugged into a 1x12 mesa 3/4 back ext cab.

 

[pd335]

+1 to Steve P's reply. Thats just about how I feel about mine exactly. With a 1x12 extension I got all I will ever need considering everytime I play with anyone we use a PA.

 

[Animeka]

Was shopping earlier last month for those (a few threads around here are witnesses to my shopping spree) and after trying both the 5:25 and the 5:50, I opted for the 50. The 25 was a little too bright for me, but the 50 has so much oomph

Great amp, we're very happy with it so far!

Marc

 

[jab]

for those of you shopping 5:25's, I tried the 10" and 12" side by side today for a while. They sounded like totally different amplifiers. The 12" was bigger, brighter, better punch/cut. Interesting how a speaker can make such a difference. Then I plugged the 5:25 into a 2/12 Roadster cab and unplugged the speaker in the combo. Again, a totally different sounding amp and rather dark/punchy sounding. Didn't like it as well as the 12" combo. Some people really rip the Express amps too, and I don't know why. Maybe when you gig with them it's different?

Horrors - am I an open back cabinet fan and didn't even know it! Oh geez, I feel a GAS relapse coming on... :shock:

 

[dadoffive]

I've had my 5:25 1x10 since Apr 07 and love it beyond words. My current gig is classic rock covers (pretenders, bonnie raitt, doobie bros, robert palmer, gin blossoms, lynyrd skynrd, alice cooper, tom petty...) I occasionaly throw an effect in for something different, but mostly guitar, amp and thats all folks.

I also own a Stiletto 1x12 combo that I use for larger or outdoor gigs, but right now, she's not getting a lot of love.

My Express 5:25 is being used for indoor gigs (avg 150-200 folks) it hold her own with the full band. I do mic her, and i'm contemplating getting a small extension cabinet, just haven't decided on which. Want to keep the rig portable and light, but not compromise the sound.

As for channels I use the most, I run my cleans off the blues channel, heavier stuff on Crunch. If we cover a country song (occasionally someone loses their senses), I can switch over to clean for a nice chimey tone that rivals my buddies Dr. Z.

Personally, i do not think you can go wrong with this amp.

 

[jab]

dadoffive: interesting you have both Ace and Express, and your band plays classic rock (my band does a lot of Stones, Queen, Petty, U2, Neil Young, etc.). I have an Ace, but haven't tried it side/side with an Express and I'd really like to hear them side/side with the band playing because things are so different with a band than they are in a store. Stiletto is such a "grander" amp it seems but perhaps I read too many forums, so I am hesitant to make a switch to a perceived "lesser" amp.

How do the two really compare in a classic rock sense, and do you get that noise people complain about in the Express?

I've even thought about the 5:25 head for portability, and just bring one of my roadster cabs with it to a gig. For such a little more though, you can get the combo with the speaker.

 

[espresso]

... do you get that noise people complain about in the Express?

Just thought I'd chime in on the noise issue...it's not the big deal people make it out to be. When you're playing, the hiss/noise is completely inaudible as it's drowned out by the sound of the guitar. When not playing, it can be annoying but only if you've got the gain up pretty high. And anyway, hen you're not playing you've probably got the amp on "Standby".

 

[dadoffive]

As for the "hiss", I don't notice it. I can't complain.

As for playing side by side. I've recently switched bands (within the past 3 months). My previous band, we played alot outdoors, and a lot more 80's hairband stuff. Not that the express can't do it, but EL34's, 50 watts was more to my liking in that situation. Mostly played crunch/drive. No reverb, and none really needed for what we were playing. The couple songs I played clean, as a the rythm guitarist, I used tite clean, and just sat back in the mix. The lead was playing a 5:50 Express, it was just a better situation for the Ace.

In this new band, I'm playing a PRS CU24, and we switch back and forth between blues, fender-strat based songs, and I prefer the cleans/blues with reverb. Ace doesn't have the reverb, plus the open back on the express give me a more warmer feel. The stiletto (other than being a beast to lug around), and with the closed back just felt a bit harsher on the clean channels.

A lot of covers my present band plays, are of artists who use VOX AC-30s for their sound, the EL-84's in the 5:25 put me close (maybe not perfect, but perfect enough for me, the band and the audience).

YMMV. Also to consider, what else are you competing with in your band set up (what is the other guitarist using if there is more than one guitar)... I like having a different tube set up from the other guitarist. To me, it creates definition and texture to the tone.