DUAL CALIBER INFO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[metalblitz84]

Hey everyone! I am currently interested in finding a DC-10 and I had two quick questions. First, does anybody know the production dates for this amp. I know they followed the .50 and .22 and started in the early/mid 90's, but does anybody know from what year they were revealed to being discontinued? Second, does anybody know if you can swap out two of the power tubes for EL-34's like the Marks? Thanks guys!!!

 

[mrmax]

I'm not sure , but I think 1998 was the last year for the DC 10.

 

[LithiumZero]

Not sure when they started building them but they stopped in 98. They are 6L6 only (unless you got the amp modded). I have a 1998 DC-10 head that I really love but I am gassing for a Mark IV. The DC-10's are harder to come by than the DC-5's.

 

[Hanslow]

If you're in the UK there's currently a DC-10 on ebay (here).

 

[Monsta-Tone]

The DC's are great amps. I have 2, a DC-3 & a DC-10.


The DC-10 is 6L6 only. There is a mod to be able to use EL-34's, but it is intensive. It requires removing the filament wires from the main board to the power tubes and then installing a second filament transformer just for the power tubes.

Don't try this at home.


As for production, my DC-10 is serial # 99, I did not look inside the chassis for a date code though.

I have had DC's from '93 I think, it gets hard to remember after a while. Too many amps since then.


You really can't go wrong with them if your budget is tight. Mesa makes amps that do things better, for instance....

Lonestar = much better cleans and reverb
Mark IV or Rectifiers = much thicker distortion types


BUT....The DC's are the best all around amps that are the easiest to dial in out of most of the Mesa line. I also have a Blue Angel, which is incredibly easy to dial in, but it only has 5 knobs on it and only 1 channel.

The DC's are also some of the easiest amps that Mesa made to modify. I have done many things with them with great success.

Hope this helps.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I forgot to mention that you will also have to modify the bias circuit if you use EL-34's.

 

[Ken j]

According to the time line in some of my Boogie catalogs the first year for the DC series is 1990.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

From what I have been told at Mesa, the Nomad was intended to be the replacement for the DC series.

I had a Nomad 50. It was a good amp, but in my opinion, it was nowhere near the amp that my DC-10 and DC-3 are. The footswitchable EQ more than makes up for the lack of a 3rd channel. And the Reverb is all tube on the DC's, which in my opinion sounds much better than the solid state Reverb in the Nomads.


I don't think you will be sad if you get the DC-10. I don't think you will even want the EL-34's. There is more than enough distortion available, and with the right settings and preamp tubes, you can make it come pretty close to EL-34 tones.