About to buy an older Mesa 5:50

[cwgatti24]

$750 mint. Seems like a great deal. What should I know about this amp? IS the EQ on the new 5:50 PLUS worth another $750? I have heard mixed reviews. I am not gonna have any time to try it out. Can anyone let me know some of the drawbacks to the amp? Mostly bedroom levels, but I play out once in a while.
Thanks,
cw

 

[NomadExpress]

That's a pretty good deal for a 5:50. Even with the pluses out - $750 for a 5:50 is certainly worth considering. I've heard nothing about the 5:50 that you should feel that it is something to shy away from at that price.

 

[Krek13]

no, the graphic EQ is certainly not worth 750$ if you want it you can always get an eq pedal for 30-50$ and put it in the eff. loop...btw 5:50 is not a bedroom amp, not even 5:25 is not a bedroom amp...5w setting is really loud also so consider that...

 

[cwgatti24]

Is that also true of the Mark V? The bedroom level thing? I was under the impression that you could get the same tube saturation at lower volumes. Like my Ampeg VL 503. I can use the attenuator to drop the overall volume, yet get the tubes to really sag and give me that over drive tone.

 

[Krek13]

I got 5:25 and personally I prefer the sound of the 25w mode on the bedroom volume more than 5w on the same volume, it pushes more air and bass and to me it sounds better...

5w mode is thinner compared to 25W so it's more acceptable to play because you neighbours wont hear it that much...

there is no attenuation here, only different "working modes"...it's really hard to tell you how it sounds, you should try it to make a decision whether to buy it or not...

although, if you don't like it I think you will easily sell it for the same price...

never tried a mark 5 so can't help you with that...

 

[bobby b]

That is a killer price for that amp.
You can always add an EQ in the loop.
The + adds the EQ and you also get front panel choice of 5w/25w/50w PER Channel. As far as I know these are the only differences ..... besides the $$$ price.

At that price I'd vote to buy it...... I have no idea what a Tubemeister 36 is tho'..? ..... nevermind, I just looked it up.
Never been a fan of the H & K stuff plus imo that plexi front + blue LED crap looks naff.....yuck. To each his own though....

 

[sax4blues]

$750 is great price, I see them more often around $850-$900

The 5:50 has been my primary amp for four years and the only amp I would consider as replacement is the PRS 2 channel H.

Any 50w amp is not really a bedroom amp but that's where I practice, thank goodness I can practice in the morning when everyone is away :lol: As already stated the 5w mode is just a different tone, yes a little bit lower, but really it's like playing a 5w amp, which is really cool. It's not an attenuator. The new features on the plus are nice, but my budget would choose $750 used over $1400 new.

 

[David Garner]

I got mine for $775 (I actually paid more for my 5:25!). I say pull the trigger. They are great amps, and the price is too good to pass up.

The 5 watt mode to my ears doesn't sound very good, but it will do in a pinch. It probably sounds better turned up a hair than the 50 watt mode does turned down. The 50 watt mode gets thin at the really low end of the master volume scale.

The only downside is it's probably a lot more amp than you really need, even for playing out. I have yet to get the master on mine above 10:00 on the gain side (I play around with master versus preamp on the clean side, and FWIW, I use the green channel on "crunch" for gain and the red channel on "blues" for clean). It's ridiculously loud at that setting. More than enough for any gig I've ever played (and that includes large outdoor amphitheaters). If you mike up at gigs, you probably won't push yours past that either. Even if you do, I'd be stunned if you ever hit noon on the master.

 

[cwgatti24]

Pulled the trigger. I am now the proud owner of a 2012 Mesa Express 5:50 $750

 

[cwgatti24]

2011 rather.

 

[NomadExpress]

Grats!

 

[sax4blues]

Here is a setting I use a lot now with humbuckers. Channel one crunch, gain-1, treble-9, mid-1, bass-1 contour-3 With the guitar full up and the contour off I get a great classic rock crunch. Then here's where the magic happens, roll back the guitar volume and kick on the contour to get a fat clean tone.

For the classic lead I have channel two blues, gain-full up, treble rolled completely off, mid-12or1, bass-9, no contour.

For strat blues I use channel two blues, gain-12, treble-12, mid-10, bass-2or3 use guitar volume for rhythm/lead.

I rarely use the burn setting, but when I do I roll the bass completely off.