Thanks all for the responses. Reason asked is because I have been wanting the Triple Crown combo, but it’s pricey and loud, although it sounds great. I have currently been playing through a Peavey Delta Blues 115 and hate it lol. I’m tired of having to fight the volume and fight it to get the tone I want. When I do, it’s still seeming to lack something. I’ve tried pedals as well. It’s bass heavy and I just don’t like the thing. It seems to me, the kind of rhythm and lead tones I like is from something like the Triple Crown Combo.
To my ears, Oranges distortion sounds too fuzzy, Fenders are too clean, Vox is chimey, and while Marshall has a great distortion sound, I’ve never really been able to get a good sound or tone out of them. Just because your “heroes” played them, doesn’t mean you’re going to gel with them.
For a while, I was looking at a Blackstar HT Club, but then heard a Triple Crown online and decided it was the more superior. It seems like it has the tones I was looking for without having to use pedals or without having to fight the amp.
Thoughts?
The Triple Crown is an interesting amp. TC50 carries a dry tone to it. The TC100 is a bit more low end saturated. Both are great amps. If you needed an accurate reference to the Triple Crown, that would be the Marshal Silver Jubilee 2555x. That amp practically sound the same but yet not as refined as the Mesa product. The only thing the 2555x is missing is a reverb. I sort of fell for the RA100 as it was the predecessor to the Triple Crown amps. One is a half stack and the other is the RA100 Combo.
Not sure what the going prices is for the TC50 combo amp. I picked up the RA100 combo for $750 but that was before covid-19 and the inflation of Mesa gear on the used market. OK, I have many amps in my collection, call that a sickness but I do not collect them to have them, I play them and those I admire the most like the RA100, it gets played the most. I have more guitars than amps.
The RA100 combo is also three channels, non-midi, has reverb and sound similar to the Triple Crown but with a bit more dynamic character on the gain channels. Call it the deserted island amp as I can easily get lost with it for hours on end. The Majic Mojo may require some NOS tubes to get it to its full glory. Sure the stock STR447 are ok, a bit too forward sounding in the RA. SED =C= EL34 are the bomb in that amp!
Bought the TC50 first. Then Mesa announced the TC100 thinking it would be closer to the RA100. It is similar but no cigar. Both TC and RA are on the same page, just different characteristics. For me, the best feature is the clean channel on either amp. Has that vintage vibe thing going for it when using the drive mode. The RA comes close but a bit warmer toned. What advantage the TC50 has over the TC100, how it sounds when using the 6V6 tubes. Cuts the power in half but sounds great. I can say this, Mesa did a fine job with the power section of the Triple Crowns. They may start off as harsh sounding with a fresh set of the STR447 EL34 tubes but when they mellow out it sounds really good. No limit on what power tubes to use either, any of the current production EL34 and its variants will work well with the Triple Crown more so than the RA100 as that amp runs only 400VDC plate voltages. TC runs at 450V so it is more suitable for a wider range of power tubes.
Triple Crown will go a long way for sure. I still have mine as they are fun amps to play through.
There is one amp that blew me away and took my attention away from the RA and TC amps, it also captivated my desires in ways I did not expect. The Badlander. It has no reverb though, that would be a nice feature. Mesa did a really great job in the marriage of the STR447 power tube and that amp. The clean channel, crunch and crush are all excellent. You can get vintage tones to high gain mayhem with that amp. It is also available in the BAD 50 Combo too. I would consider trying one out and compare it to a TC50 combo. They are different animals but there is so much more that meets the eye with the BAD. I opted for the BAD100 so it is a head only, much like the TC100.
For amps lacking a reverb, use the FX loop to add that. I rarely use the spring reverb anymore after I got my hands on a Strymon BigSky.
There are other amps made on the planet that have some really cool mojo. One that comes to mind is the Fender Blues Deluxe. That one sort of falls into the TC arena a bit as well as the California tweed. The Fender BD may look too much like the Peavey amp you already have. I never played through the Peavey, but I have played through the Fender on several occasions. Almost bought one too. It was missing one thing, MESA. I opted for the California Tweed because of the features that amp had with it. That is one sweet amp too but will not get into the higher gain arena without any pedals (it takes pedals quite well). Other than the RA100 combo, it is the next best combo amp I have. I use it once in a while. Mostly without the pedals though but it can get into Mark territory with the Flux Drive pedal. The 5band GEQ was not needed. I was exploring the potential of the CT4:40 so I may have had a few other drive pedals out. Talk about a lush sounding reverb.
There are many great amps Mesa has made in the past decade. Even the Filmore is interesting. I sort of liked the blues characteristic of the CT4:40 as it was different than the Filmore.
I waste more time deciding what amp to run. They all sound great. I cannot buy anymore as I have run out of room. Never claimed to be a musician but I enjoy playing the guitar, drums and bass.
Just follow your passion. The TC50 is a great amp. Not sure how the combo sounded, I looked it up on youtube. I could buy that.
I gave up on combo amps some time ago, but the CT4:40 and RA100 combo amps were the exception. If I still had the Mark III combo, then I would also include that one too. Regret ever selling it.
There is yet another that falls into the TC arena. Mostly in a combo format too, Stiletto ACE. Different but also on a similar page as the TC tonal pallet. I never bought one but have heard many recordings of it. Almost forgot to mention the Electra Dyne.
It was never my intention to have this many amps. Mesa kept coming out with cool stuff that I could not refuse or put into the back of my mind and forget about it. I had to convince myself to stop buying stuff. However, if Mesa came out with a new Road King I may have to get it.