lockbody
Well-known member
Well, it may have not been the DC-5 I thought I was getting, but after a tune-up, it sure is the one I'm keeping.
When I got it, it looked to have the original Mesa Sovteks in it. The whole thing was kind of dull and lifeless, but I could hear the potential. So I threw in a pair of SED =C= 6L6 I had left from when I sold my Roadster, and ordered a Mesa kit (with an extra Penta for V4) from DougsTubes.
I also did the volume pot mod which made a world of difference at all volume settings.
The kit came in Friday and let me tell you what a night and day difference! I've read here the DCs are dark amps, and with the old, stock setup that's right. But now I find myself backing my treble and presence back down to more "normal" settings.
The clean channel simply slays every Mesa clean i've ever owned before except the Roadster, and then not by much. I owned a Mk IV for three years, and aside from the fact that ch 1 and 2 share tone controls, and what sounds good for one makes the other one suffer, I just don't like that tight, funky, clean the IV has. I like a bigger, rounder, low-end with a sparkly top... Like the DC-5 has. In fact, I like everthing about this ch. over a Mk IV. It's more "Fendery" than anything this side of a Lonestar, it dirts up better than either ch1 OR 2 of the IV, and the reverb... Well the reverb is no contest. The DC's is great and the MK IV's isn't.
I like it better without the pull boost engaged, but pulling it makes me wish I had something with P-90s around to grab. Upper-mid-heavy and in your face.
The McNasty channel is pretty darn good too. Similar to the IV, but looser with more of a lower-mid hump than the IV has. I was worried I wouldn't like that lower-midness inherent to the tone, but in a band setting makes it very "punchy" (Something I missed with my Stiletto, that 6L6 punch). A Mk Iv can cop just about any tone this DC-5 has, but it can't match it's feel. My Mk IV always felt like their nickname, "Master of Puppets in a box". Tight, compressed distortion living in the ninties. This DC-5 lead ch. isn't very Recto (like the desctription would have you believe), but it is more agressive, bigger, and has more gain on tap than the IV. Yep, I always ran my IV on 7-9 for the gain and lead drive, and I find myself leaving my DC's gain around 5-6 for humbuckers, and that's singing, fluid lead, too.
I don't like the standard Mesa "v" for the geq. I'm leaving the 1st slider in the middle, dropping the 2nd just under the middle line, the 3rd halfway between the middle and the bottom lines, the 4th is just touching the top line, and the last is between the top and middle lines.
I've read that there's a certain amount of nasty always in the DC's ch2 no matter how much you back off the control, but you know what that works well for?
Strats!
I don't play power-pop, but this might be the perfect amp for it with a Strat. The clean channel already rules, and with the lead channel gain on around 5, coupled with the lower-midness of ch2 makes the 10k stacked singles in my Strat cut through with authority. Big and clear and full with great drive that cleans up nicely as you back off the vol control. Just great all around.
I've got some JAN Phillips 12ax7s to try in V1 for sure and maybe another position, and a JAN Phillips 12at7 to try in the PI. Even a decent as Doug's kit is, I bet these make a big dfference.
Well, sorry for the book. I just couldn't wait to tell about my experiences with this under appreciated gem. Of course, they only seem to be under appreciated by Mesa, eh? With the DC-5's being Mesa's best seller, and the fact that you don't see that many for sale compared to MKs and Rectos... maybe that's saying something I'm just now understanding.
So, my Mesa journey has been:
2ch Dual Recto
Mk IV
Triaxis
Roadster
Stiletto Duece II
DC-5
I'm done. It sounds great clean. It sounds great dirty. It sounds good at soft volumes and phenomenal turned up though my halfback 4x12. Yep, I'm done.
When I got it, it looked to have the original Mesa Sovteks in it. The whole thing was kind of dull and lifeless, but I could hear the potential. So I threw in a pair of SED =C= 6L6 I had left from when I sold my Roadster, and ordered a Mesa kit (with an extra Penta for V4) from DougsTubes.
I also did the volume pot mod which made a world of difference at all volume settings.
The kit came in Friday and let me tell you what a night and day difference! I've read here the DCs are dark amps, and with the old, stock setup that's right. But now I find myself backing my treble and presence back down to more "normal" settings.
The clean channel simply slays every Mesa clean i've ever owned before except the Roadster, and then not by much. I owned a Mk IV for three years, and aside from the fact that ch 1 and 2 share tone controls, and what sounds good for one makes the other one suffer, I just don't like that tight, funky, clean the IV has. I like a bigger, rounder, low-end with a sparkly top... Like the DC-5 has. In fact, I like everthing about this ch. over a Mk IV. It's more "Fendery" than anything this side of a Lonestar, it dirts up better than either ch1 OR 2 of the IV, and the reverb... Well the reverb is no contest. The DC's is great and the MK IV's isn't.
I like it better without the pull boost engaged, but pulling it makes me wish I had something with P-90s around to grab. Upper-mid-heavy and in your face.
The McNasty channel is pretty darn good too. Similar to the IV, but looser with more of a lower-mid hump than the IV has. I was worried I wouldn't like that lower-midness inherent to the tone, but in a band setting makes it very "punchy" (Something I missed with my Stiletto, that 6L6 punch). A Mk Iv can cop just about any tone this DC-5 has, but it can't match it's feel. My Mk IV always felt like their nickname, "Master of Puppets in a box". Tight, compressed distortion living in the ninties. This DC-5 lead ch. isn't very Recto (like the desctription would have you believe), but it is more agressive, bigger, and has more gain on tap than the IV. Yep, I always ran my IV on 7-9 for the gain and lead drive, and I find myself leaving my DC's gain around 5-6 for humbuckers, and that's singing, fluid lead, too.
I don't like the standard Mesa "v" for the geq. I'm leaving the 1st slider in the middle, dropping the 2nd just under the middle line, the 3rd halfway between the middle and the bottom lines, the 4th is just touching the top line, and the last is between the top and middle lines.
I've read that there's a certain amount of nasty always in the DC's ch2 no matter how much you back off the control, but you know what that works well for?
Strats!
I don't play power-pop, but this might be the perfect amp for it with a Strat. The clean channel already rules, and with the lead channel gain on around 5, coupled with the lower-midness of ch2 makes the 10k stacked singles in my Strat cut through with authority. Big and clear and full with great drive that cleans up nicely as you back off the vol control. Just great all around.
I've got some JAN Phillips 12ax7s to try in V1 for sure and maybe another position, and a JAN Phillips 12at7 to try in the PI. Even a decent as Doug's kit is, I bet these make a big dfference.
Well, sorry for the book. I just couldn't wait to tell about my experiences with this under appreciated gem. Of course, they only seem to be under appreciated by Mesa, eh? With the DC-5's being Mesa's best seller, and the fact that you don't see that many for sale compared to MKs and Rectos... maybe that's saying something I'm just now understanding.
So, my Mesa journey has been:
2ch Dual Recto
Mk IV
Triaxis
Roadster
Stiletto Duece II
DC-5
I'm done. It sounds great clean. It sounds great dirty. It sounds good at soft volumes and phenomenal turned up though my halfback 4x12. Yep, I'm done.
