DC-5's

[Nomad]

Beens tudying on getting back to Boogie Land and thinking about the DC-5 as well as a Mark III but have some questions.

What are Pluses/ Minuses between DC-5 and a Mark III?

What are the diiferences in Construction, Features, and Tones of a DC-5 and an F-50?

Also general discusion of DC-5's is welcome too.


Lets hear it!

 

[edward]

Hi Nomad,

I own both a DC5 (almost 10 years now) and a MKIII green simul. Both are superb, and have made their way as my "keeper" amps where others, including boogie, have made their way out my door.

I like the DC5 for its smoothness and incredible versatility. The two completely separate controls and GEQ make getting "your" tone easy and straightforward, not to mention it covers lots of tonal ground. The clean is nice, big, and round. The lead has a modern voice with classic boogie girth and sustain.

The MKIII has an amazingly "large" clean voice! Big, round, vast headroom, and very (yeah, "Fendery") chimey. I prefer the DC's edge of breakup tone, but the MKIII's clean is lush and addictive ...makes me want to play clean more often that I would normally. It's lead channel voice has more authority and boldness than the DC. It's slightly "rude" in the best way, with a bold, in-your-face saturation that simply rocks hard!! Add the GEQ, and you've got a huge tonal monster that can cover vast territory that is, oh, less subtle and very inviting.

Forgive me for gushing, but I really do love these two amps (where others have come and gone). Together, there is much overlap, but at their edges their slightly different voices offer me a larger tonal palatte from which to choose. Sure, I could "live" with having just either one of them, but having both is really verrrry nice!!

BTW, the F50s are kind of cool, but I don't like the "contour" ...useless tone IMHO. And that the GEQ has been replaced by this abomination is a crime. Sorry F-owners, but that's just me.

Edward

 

[take5]

I have a DC5.......great amp.....impossible to get a bad tone out of a DC5. Seperate EQ, gain, volume and reverb for both channles, and an overall level control. Great cleans and OD, covers a lot of ground and styles. A DC5 won't do the Recto chug & thump, but it can get a pretty heavy sound. I think that the DC5 is a classic amp that can still be had for less than a classic price. Here is a link for the manual, http://mesaboogie.com/manuals/Dual%20Cal%20DC-5.pdfual.

 

[Nomad]

What are the different variations of the DC-5? I remember seeing something about some have lights on the front and some dont.


How is the Amp Constructed?

Anybody got any Innard shots of a DC-5?

 

[edward]

What are the different variations of the DC-5? I remember seeing something about some have lights on the front and some dont.

How is the Amp Constructed?

Anybody got any Innard shots of a DC-5?

The 1st gen has an led at the clean and lead channel gain knobs. 2nd gen does not, and is supposed to have more clean headroom ...this straight from a Mesa tech.

Constructed?...hmmm, not sure exactly what you mean by this. I'm no tech, and so from that perspective from the times I've been in the chassis, it is "constructed" like the MarkIII that I also have. In other words, looks like Boogie guts to me

And the combo cab is the same dimensions as the MKIV widebody, and has the sus-4 shock mounting system. Does that help any?

Edward

 

[Nomad]

Yes that helps a lot.


Anyone got any gut shots?

 

[highwaynine]

I've not played a Mark, but I own a DC-5, so here's my $0.02

Sorry, I don't have any pictures...but I can tell you that I bought my DC-5 (used) for the clean sound. I guess it's first generation, since it has LEDs by the channel gain knobs. I agree that it's not as "chime-y" as other amps, but it has really rich and "rounded" tone.

I was using my GT-6 for all overdrives/distortions, skipping my channel 2... and then realized that my favorite distortion was a Recto-Orange model. Duh!

The DC-5 isn't quite as over the top as the recto, but it's plenty beefy and perhaps a bit more versatile. So I'm using it now.

 

[Ken j]

Here are pics of the final version of the DC-5. I sold this last year to a forum member as I wanted something with less power and weight. These are great amps that out perform an F-50 IMO. Link to pics: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=14841&highlight=pristine+dc5

 

[Nomad]

Inside Pictures is what I want to see. :lol:

 

[edward]

Hi Nomad,

OK, man. You've got me curious: what is it specifically you want to see about the DC5's guts? Is there something in particular that you're looking for because if there is, I'm interested too. Fess up, bro

Edward

 

[Nomad]

Ha! Nothing crazy. Just want to see how its constrcuted.

Things like what components are soldered directly to the board and what has flying leads. Most Boogies stuff has flying leads to almost everything. Just wanted to see whats what in that Paticular Amp.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I just looked through all of my pictures, I don't have any interior pics at all.


I think that the DC's are the best bang for the buck out there in amp land.

I've owned every version of a DC, and currently own a DC-3 B and a DC-10 combo.


Here is how it is constructed:
All Preamp and Power amp circuitry and components are on the main board.
Both Power Tube sockets are point to point wired and chassis mounted.
All pots and switches are chassis mounted and wired with flying leads, with the possible exception of the Slave pot on the back.
All jacks on the back are circuit board mounted.
All circuit boards have double sided solder tabs so you do not have to remove anything to work on them.


They are built very well and look very much like a work of art when looking inside the chassis.

For the price, you absolutely cannot go wrong.


The Preamp tubes make an incredible difference on the available tones. Electro Harmonix will get you more gain, but JJ's will really thicken up the tone.

NOS in V4 will make your cleans so nice that you may forget you have a distortion channel. Until you remember to use it, then it will kill small furry creatures at 10 paces. Not Recto, but very useful and as heavy as you want.