dc-3 vs. 50. cal.

[PRS24]

which one would be better for chimey cleans and some good heavy distortion. something that could get up and over drums in a band easily. but distortion like tight but very good distortion.

something as close to a mark iv as possible.

 

[Judas]

I would tell the DC5.

the 50. cal is a very good amp, but the common eq for both channels is not very cool, especially in live conditions. They are very similar in terms of sound (DC3 is a bit different, 'cause it doesn't have some 6L6 power tubes)

 

[GD_NC]

The DC 3 has a big advantage on flexibility because it has two independent channels. The DC-3 cleans are fantastic and the lead channel has drive for days. Very tight & compressed distortion. If I recall correctly they are both 4 EL-84's in the power section. (The .50+ & DC-5 have 2 6L6s) DC also has an assignable/switchable eq that really help shape your sound.

I've never put the two side by side but I have to wonder if they really sound all that different. I always thought he DC-3 was essentially a 50 cal with a second channel.

Neither amp is anywhere close to a Mark IV. (Sorry) I had one for 15 years and I've never owned a better amp. Amazingly flexible.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

DC-10!
Snave has a head for sale right now in the Boogie Classifieds.

I have owned 2 Mark IV's, an A and a B.
The DC-10 is hands down, the closest I've ever come to a Mark IV, but it's cheaper and to me, it is incredibly easy to get the same tones reliably.
The Mark IV is an incredible amp, but I wanted to play, not to tweak knobs. I also hated the fact that it would sound different sometimes with the same settings, placement, room, band setup, etc.


I did a lengthy A/B test between the DC-10 and a Mark IV A.

Basically, to my ears, here is what I found:
DC-10 had warmer cleans, better reverb and no crappy R2 channel that I couldn't get to sound good unless I sacrificed my clean tones.

Mark IV had slightly smoother distortion and seemed overall a little tighter.

Since I love loud clean tones and am not willing to compromise them, I chose the DC. It was very close though and in the end, the simplicity and ease of use that the DC offered was the deciding factor.

The parametric EQ for the lead channel is also much more user friendly. On the Mark, the amp gets flubby when the gain is turned up and the bass is above 4. The manual even mentions this. The DC does not do this.

Plus, I never used the 'Pull' functions.

 

[GD_NC]

I'm going to agree with Monsta-Tone. You do have to tinker constantly with the MK IV. There's something wonderful about the simplicity of the DC series. Easy to dial in great tones without a lot of trade offs. Everything on a Mark IV is a trade off between the three channels. What makes one channel sound incredible impacts the sounds of the other channels.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

That doesn't mean that lots of great sounds are unavailable. It just means that for me, the DC was the best choice.
Plus, it was a little more raw sounding, and slightly less compressed and refined on the lead channel, which I really like!

 

[PRS24]

thank you all

but i dont really have the money for a dc-10 or i would pry already have one!

And i know neither will sound like one but the closest is what im looking for.

so the dc-3 has a good tight distortion?

also the dc-3 is only 35 watts and the 50 cal is 50 watts. cant eh dc-3 still get over a drum set easily.

 

[GD_NC]

I'm not sure what the actual wattage rating is for a DC-3. It's got a quad of EL-84s which usually get's you around the 35w range same as the original .50 cal. I looked but I don't see a wattage rating anywhere in my DC-3's manual.

I wouldn't get hung up on the wattage. The DC-3 can get plenty loud.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I used a DC-3 combo with an EV loaded Thiele for a year in a classic rock band. It did just fine with a loud drummer.
The cleans will start to break up eventually though!

I was able to get just about any Allman Brothers, Rolling Stones, ZZ Top type tones I wanted.
The Thiele definitely adds a measure of bottom end that is sorely needed and quickly lost with a 1x12 combo.


As for the DC-10's price, I don't know what they go for now, but I saw one a month or so ago. It went for $699! Pretty **** cheap for such a great piece of equipment.

 

[PRS24]

so you would all say the dc-3 then?

what would it sound like if i put 6l6's in it

and if the preamp tubes are Electro Harmonix 12AX7's

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Unfortunately, it is EL-84 only.
I would actually call Bob at Eurotubes and get the high gain set of 12AX7's, even for the clean channel. I think that they really open the amp up, and at the same time, sort of tame the wild mids.

You can let him know that you want as much headroom as possible and he can spec out some power tubes that will acheive that.

I think the EH 12AX7's are great for dark amps, but this amp is not dark sounding in any way.


Another thing that I did to mine that really opened the amp up was to swap out the Vintage 30 with a Heritage 30 or a Mojotone BV30H. This will lower the mids a little and emphasize on the bass a little more.
If you want it to be louder, then use a Celestion Black Shadow MC-90 instead of a Heritage 30.

 

[PRS24]

hmmmm.

 

[scotteggshell]

I like the DC-3.
6L6 amps are too raw for me. EL84 Power section is the way to go. I used a DC-3 for about 5 years and loved it. A storm took it and I "upgraded " to a Mk IV and since then(5 years) have never been able to get those sweet tight compressed singing tones the DC did so well and easily.
I have bought a DC-3 and it should be here on Tuesday...
I'll be able to A-B them. I hope memory serves me well.

 

[bigjav]

Please, tell us how they compare. I am really curious about it.
Thank you!

 

[MusicManJP6]

Never played a .50 cal, but I love my DC-3! It is more mark-like than anything as it sounds best dialed in like a Mark ('V' GEQ setting, and low bass knob setting sounds the tightest, but even with the bass up it still remains tighter than a Mark IV).

I made some clips recently to showcase the difference between some pickups I installed in my Ernie Ball Petrucci. I used my DC-3 head's lead channel through a C90 loaded Mesa 3/4 back 1x12 to create the clips. Check 'em out:

http://www.soundclick.com/musicmanjp6

The clips are the first 8 in the list with 'rhythm' and 'lead' in the title. The Crunch Lab and LiquiFire clips sound the best (whichi is good because they are the new pickups I installed!).

HTH

 

[Ripper]

http://www.soundclick.com/musicmanjp6

The clips are the first 8 in the list with 'rhythm' and 'lead' in the title. The Crunch Lab and LiquiFire clips sound the best (whichi is good because they are the new pickups I installed!).

HTH

Thanks MMJP6 for the clips!

I was actually deciding whether to acquire a used DC-3, but having heard your clips, I deduced that my DC-2 produced the same tube tone characters as that of a dc-3 (both being EL-84s amp)! Further more, I have got a Boss PQ-50 in the loop to shape my dist tone. Appreciate your clips to help me decides!

 

[eschoendorff]

Music Man... I liked the clips. Were you using neck or bridge humbuckers?