Amp that sounds similar to a mesa studio preamp and mesa 50/

[AndyG]

Hi!

Today I'm using a mesa rig with a studio preamp and 50/50, I am really into that sound and would like to have an second amp that sounds similar to the rig, and maybe is a little bit lighter and easier for small gigs...

I'm using an egnater tweaker for this today but *'m not happy with the results.. Do you guys think that the .50 caliber could sound good? Or maybe dc-5/F-50/express 5 50?

Cheers,
Andreas

 

[Markedman]

A Mark lll will sound real close to that SP-50/50 set up, and of course a C+ will take you there and then some. I too love the sound of the SP with a Mesa power amp. I also have 2 Mark lll amps that sound very similar, the black dot is closer than the blue stripe but both get me close. You can generally find these amps in the $700.00 range, I paid less for mine because I'm that guy who looks on CL everyday and snaps up the bargains that come along between Boston and NYC, I'm 2 hours from each city. I made more than a couple of buck$ last year from buying on CL and selling on eBay so I'd check CL for a Mark lll if I were you so when a bargain comes along you can snag it before I do.

 

[AndyG]

I see, so the mark series would suit well, but how about .50 caliber and dc-5? Cause I don't think I would need 100 watt, I'ts enough with 50 watt and I have given up the hope of using the second channel of any amp, can't find anyone that suits me well...

 

[Markedman]

A simul-class Mark lll can be run at 15 watts or 75 watts. A head and cabinet is lightweight enough for even the wimpiest person to lug around. I had a DC-5 and loved it, but it sounds different than the SP when compared to a Mark lll. I wanted to keep every amp I've ever bought. I seriously wanted to keep my Mark IV, llB, DC-5, 22+ but I'm only semi-psychotic so I have a few dozen amps and guitars, two rooms, not a house full. The SP is a Mark pre amp whereas the DC-5 is Rectifier based gain channel, Mark IV clean channel. I'm sure you could get great tones out of a 50 caliber or DC-5, but if I had to chose, I'd buy a Mark lll, it's the cream of the crop, top dog, the absolute pinnacle of amplifiers and every amp is in there, (pedals where needed for flavoring) and then some. That's why I own two.

 

[AndyG]

Yeah!

Then I'm going to look for a mark III, I'ts no hurry really since I'm very happy with the sp/50-50 setup and it's more important that I find something that I like, I'm kind of angry with myself because I always want to change equipment!

But I think that the mesa rig is a keeper!

Unfortunately I live in Sweden where the mark series is quite expensive, I saw a Mark IV a couple of days ago and the asking price was like 1800$....