Dual Caliber vs. .50 Caliber or similar

[bigsby1989]

I used to own a dc-10 combo i bought off ebay for ~$700 a few years ago. It was amazing. However, i got into a big stevie-ray phase and wanted that perfect twang-blues sound, so i decided i was going to trade in the dc-10 for a Fender Blues Deluxe 2x10 40watt (and the fact that it was an unbelievably underrated 100 watts which was too much for me to play in my bedroom didnt help convince me to keep it either). Anyway, since that day i have regretted this horrible act. I have been looking for a dc-10 to buy, and even went back to Guitar Center and asked them for the guys information that bought mine so i could try and buy it back from him! I have had no luck with either, but have come across a few dc-5, dc-3, and .50+ Caliber amps. Any persuasion towards any of these three would be very helpful and greatly appreciated. Or, if anyone is selling any of the above 4 mentioned amps or is looking to buy/trade a Fender Blues Deluxe let me know!

 

[rvschulz]

i guess to me it would depend on the playing situation - are you trying to shape one tone through a single channel or multiple tones AND do you want to do that with pedals or amp ?

for a single tone ... i would hold the .50 cal + up to anything. i regret getting rid of mine. i would shape the clean, then have various pedals to add tone changes. at other times, when playing mostly metal = crank it and let it rip. the sample settings were pretty much right on - maybe a little EQ change but not much.

i jumped past the DC series to the Mark III and LoneStar. talk about regret, dumping a Mark III - i'm getting another this week. that is possibly the best amp made, but i have found the Lonestar to be much easier to tweak and right up there tonally for what I play.

 

[bigsby1989]

yeah ive read that the .50+ is a single tone due to only one set of the control knobs. which therefore i would assume i'd rather have a dual caliber because i do not want that single tone. i also would rather not use the pedals, either. and now that i realize a dc would be a better fit for me, how about a comparison between a dc-3 and dc-5?

 

[Esromeron]

Well supposedly the DC-5 is exact to the DC-10, just ones 50watts and the other is 100watts. I can't compare the two myself, but I can say that the DC-5 can sound amazing at lower levels, while still having enough volume for any need. I'm sure someone here can let you know the differences, if any at all.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: Man, do I feel lucky! :lol:


I just happen to have all 3 and played them all the other night.
I used the exact same settings on the DC-5 & DC-10.

The .50 Cal + is the 6L6 model with EQ. It is a head that I use with a Lonestar 2x12 cab with Hellatone 60L's in it.
The DC-5 is a combo with a Mojotone Greyhound 70 watt speaker. JJ High-Gain preamp tubes and JJ 6L6's.
The DC-10 is a combo with the stock C-90's and Mesa preamp tubes. Winged C 6L6 power Tubes.


Here is my take on them:
Cleans:.50 Cal + - This is a very warm sounding amp. It is articulate and clean, even with the volume on 8 and the Master on 3 or 4. I was able to dial in a really great tone immediately and do not use the EQ on this channel.
So far, this is my favorite Clean channel. It is not very Fender-like, but has a distinct character of it's own. It sounds great for Blues (Albert King, not Robert Cray), Jazz, Rock etc. It may not be spanky enough to play Country, but I don't have to worry about that.
The Cleans on this amp have tons of sustain.

DC-5 - The Cleans have just a bit of hair around them. They sound really great, but more Bluesy than the other 2 amps. This is great for anything from the Allman Brothers to ZZ Top. If you back off the Gain and turn up the Channel Master, it cleans up nicely.

DC-10 - Unbreakable cleans with the Gain set lower than 7. This thing is spanky and clean, just like my Twin, but it has more definition than my Twin. I like it! This one is good for anything from Country to Rock cleans and can be fattened up for Jazz tones.


Distortion tones:
.50 Cal + - The Distortion tones were very easy to dial in while leaving the Clean channel and Parametric EQ (the knobs) alone. I simply added the Graphic EQ and found some really great tones. It is very open sounding with lots of crunch. There is lots of sustain and Santana tone to be found in this channel. I really like it, but it does need to be cranked to get the sustain and maximum girth.
I don't really look for Metal tones anymore, I'm sure they are there, but would require the destruction of my beautiful Clean tones.
The Graphic EQ is a must for this channel if you have to have really nice Clean tones.
Someone told me the other day that this is the most VHT like amp that Mesa makes. I have never played a VHT. I'm pretty sure that this amp came out before VHT though.
Mike B. at Mesa told me that this amp is one of his favorites, although he said that he likes the EL84 model better.

DC-5 - The Distortion tones on this amp are much darker and have a lower mid-range attack than the other 2 amps.
There is a ton of available Gain that starts with ZZ Top and goes right up to liquid Metal. This amp sounds great as a combo, but really blossoms when a cabinet is added. This amp has Santana tone in spades as well.

DC-10 - This amp seems to have a much higher mid range attack. I think it is due to the stock Mesa tubes, which are still going strong after 15 years I might add.
Dial down the mids and treble a little and it gets just dark enough.
There is way more sustain available with this amp than the other 2 amp's Distortion channels combined.
I played it at lower than bedroom volume because my kids were sleeping downstairs and I had the most incredible lead tone. Very thick and articulate with GOBS of GAIN!!!!


I think that you can't go wrong with any of these amps. I would tell you my favorite, but I can't seem to narrow it down. Each one is just different enough to warrant keeping them all.