Express Cleans vs Other Mesa Cleans
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Tacoguitar
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Not just you, I LOVE IT MORE!!!!
EtherealWidow
Well-known member
They sound good, but I don't know dude... ElectraDyne cleans are fucking great. Then again, I use a 5:25. EL84's vs 6L6's. Apples 'n' oranges.
THE TUBENATOR
Well-known member
The clean channel on my 5:50 is somewhere around surgical quality clean! I want to add that I also feel that the Express also has an awesome reverb. I mean the surgical operating room quality clean and the reverb cranked up is an out of this world combination. If let's say, Chuck Berry had one of these Babies back in the day when he played Johnny B. Goode he would have DIED!
I have to say I love Channel 1, both Clean & Crunch on my 5:50. However, I'm having a little trouble liking the Blues side of Chanel 2. Not at all what I expected after hearing the rich fullness of Channel 1. Sounds thin and not real punchy to me. Am I missing something here?
savage8190
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Big Foot said:
I agree, I felt the same way about it. But it really shines with different guitars. I find it sucks for any single coils I have, but sounds great with humbuckers. Still, I dont use it much. For blues I far prefer the channel one clean with a tubescreamer. And I use the burn channel a lot too, so the blues and crunch are a little lonely.
A
Anonymous
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Big Foot said:
I haven't yet been able to dial in Ch2 to my liking, either. I love Crunch on channel 1; you can up the gain to get a little scream, and then back off the guitar volume to clean it up. It's very expressive, dynamic, and clear while also being furry.
Blues/CH2, OTOH, is darker and less edgy, and just doesn't cut as well as Crunch. It's not bad by any stretch, I just prefer Crunch on CH1.
I have yet to find a good sound out of Burn on CH2. Sounds good in the demo video, but nothing like that at my house (my playing skill notwithstanding...). I only have single coil guitars, tho.
I'd love to have a CH1 Clean CH2 Crunch, to be honest.
As for the Cleans... I like the 5:50 cleans a lot. Warm without being furry, and still a lot of bite. Very 3-dimensional and round. Fun to play. I do have the turn down the bass, though, from the recommended settings... Otherwise even my strat can sound muddy!
Actually, the Express 5:50 is the next amp that I'm going to buy because of its clean tone. I tried it out a few times compared to some other amps (Lonestar Classic, Lonestar Special, Fender HotRod Deluxe, Fender Blues Deluxe, etc). There was just something about the Express that really impressed me. It had a very rich clean tone that wasn't too thick like the LSC was, and wasn't as laid back as the HotRod Deluxe was. Overall, I was incredibly impressed with it. Plus, I really like the verb on it, especially for doing some "cowboy guitar" tunes.
NOT liking the "Burn" setting on channel two though. There's something kind of ratty sounding about it. It's fine when set to Blues, but it doesn't seem to do high gain well. That's ok though, I'm going to get collection of pedals and run them into the clean channel (I used to have more than I do now, so I have to invest in some more again). I have a cool FX loop pedal that I had a friend design for me. Basically, it has two FX loops in it: A and B. There are three buttons: A/B, A into B, and bypass. I use it like a clean/dirty channel switch on an amp. I have all of my distortions in one loop, all my verbs, delays, and other things that I would normally use on a clean tone in the other loop. That way I can switch between a dry distorted tone, an effected clean tone, an effected distorted tone, or a dry clean tone. It's' actually quite a handy little unit. I came up with the idea because of how I have my Mark IV set up, which is that the FX loop is always engaged when I'm on channel 1, and is disengaged when I switch to channels 2 and three, but I can turn the loop on via the footswitch on channels 2 and 3 should I have the desire to. I thought "wouldn't it be great to have a pedal that would do this for me for my practice rig (I run a Mesa V-Twin and a Line6 M13 into a little Marshall Lead 15 stack). At the time I came up with the idea, the external loop on the M13 was not assignable to a certain scene and could not be turned on and off. So, I needed a way to be able to switch back and forth between a dry distorted channel and an effected clean. That's when I came up with the idea for the pedal. Ordered the parts for it, built it up, and now it's up and functioning just like I wanted it to. Doesn't get any better than that.
Next thing to do on it though is get the LEDs figured out. Haven't quite decided the best way to power them yet though...
NOT liking the "Burn" setting on channel two though. There's something kind of ratty sounding about it. It's fine when set to Blues, but it doesn't seem to do high gain well. That's ok though, I'm going to get collection of pedals and run them into the clean channel (I used to have more than I do now, so I have to invest in some more again). I have a cool FX loop pedal that I had a friend design for me. Basically, it has two FX loops in it: A and B. There are three buttons: A/B, A into B, and bypass. I use it like a clean/dirty channel switch on an amp. I have all of my distortions in one loop, all my verbs, delays, and other things that I would normally use on a clean tone in the other loop. That way I can switch between a dry distorted tone, an effected clean tone, an effected distorted tone, or a dry clean tone. It's' actually quite a handy little unit. I came up with the idea because of how I have my Mark IV set up, which is that the FX loop is always engaged when I'm on channel 1, and is disengaged when I switch to channels 2 and three, but I can turn the loop on via the footswitch on channels 2 and 3 should I have the desire to. I thought "wouldn't it be great to have a pedal that would do this for me for my practice rig (I run a Mesa V-Twin and a Line6 M13 into a little Marshall Lead 15 stack). At the time I came up with the idea, the external loop on the M13 was not assignable to a certain scene and could not be turned on and off. So, I needed a way to be able to switch back and forth between a dry distorted channel and an effected clean. That's when I came up with the idea for the pedal. Ordered the parts for it, built it up, and now it's up and functioning just like I wanted it to. Doesn't get any better than that.
Next thing to do on it though is get the LEDs figured out. Haven't quite decided the best way to power them yet though...
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Big Foot said:
HAve you tried different pre-amp tubes? My Blues mode was getting weak. I replced V1 and it came to life. Still, it's an old '60s blues/rock (Peter Green, Clapton with a Les Paul, Paul Kossoff) kind of sound.
A
Anonymous
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Thanks for the suggestion. I've been tube rolling lately, and I'll try some different tubes in V1. I've never "loved" Channel 2; Blues is ok, I haven't been able to dial in a great Burn sound at all. Perhaps some tube swapping will help.
What brand/type preamp tube did you use, Don?
What brand/type preamp tube did you use, Don?
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I think I put a new Tungsol in there. New tubes don't last as long as old tubes. I've also replaced V4 because the amp died almost completely in either 5 watt or 50 watt mode (I can't remember which). I've got a stash of old 12AX7s pulled from organs and hi-fis. I prefer to save them for my vintage amps.
A
Anonymous
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Thanks.
I also have a stash of old tubes from hifi amps (another of my hobbies). They seem to last forever. I actually have 3 of my NOS 60's Mullard's in the Express right now, just for fun (V1-V3). They sound quite good. Not knowing how long they'd last in the Boogie, though, makes me think perhaps I should stick to new stock which is much easier to replace.
I also have a stash of old tubes from hifi amps (another of my hobbies). They seem to last forever. I actually have 3 of my NOS 60's Mullard's in the Express right now, just for fun (V1-V3). They sound quite good. Not knowing how long they'd last in the Boogie, though, makes me think perhaps I should stick to new stock which is much easier to replace.
Loving the clean on my 5:25! Yes, compared to other Mesas, the express really has a great clean clean, but an even better semi-clean, IMHO.
Sidenote to those not liking their OD tones. FWIW, I don't care for the Burn channel as its more "modern" voice does not suit me, nor the classic "rock" tones in my head. But try this folks: "swapping" your channels and play clean off the Blues in channel 2 with the gain dialed back, and find your OD in the Crunch channel 1 with the gain dialed up ...whoa!!! The clean tone is a bit rounder, particularly up top where its smoother; less "angular" highs. But the OD tone from the Crunch channel is pure, luscious rock OD; old school, but tighter and creamier!
Simply beautiful!
Edward
Sidenote to those not liking their OD tones. FWIW, I don't care for the Burn channel as its more "modern" voice does not suit me, nor the classic "rock" tones in my head. But try this folks: "swapping" your channels and play clean off the Blues in channel 2 with the gain dialed back, and find your OD in the Crunch channel 1 with the gain dialed up ...whoa!!! The clean tone is a bit rounder, particularly up top where its smoother; less "angular" highs. But the OD tone from the Crunch channel is pure, luscious rock OD; old school, but tighter and creamier!
Simply beautiful!
Edward
soundchaser59
Well-known member
I started using the Burn channel for rhythm sounds. I turn the master up to about 2 o'clock, the pre gain at 9 o'clock or less, guitar full, then slowly turn up the tone knobs starting with the bass until I am a hair below overdrive, just low enough to keep it clean. (Note I think I was also running a 5751's V1-V3 and a 12AU7 in V4 when I did this.) It was instant blackface Fender warm phat but clean rhythm sound! And it seemed louder to me than the clean channel. The Burn channel is way waaaayyy more useful if you tame the gain stages and keep it cleaner longer.
A
Anonymous
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I ended up trying this out this weekend. I used the Blues voicing, and fiddled with it a bit... I didn't get a clean that sounded as 3-dimensional and full as the regular Clean voicing on Channel 1. I stopped trying because I ended up flipping it to Burn for a bit, and found an overdrive sound I'm absolutely in love with when playing my tele... Previously, I hadn't yet dialed up a sound I really enjoyed using Burn, although I did flip it every now and again when my wife & baby weren't home for some fun... But now, I'm just gorging myself on it.
My settings are Gain 9:30, Treble 1:30, Mid 10:30, Bass 10:30, Master 10:00. This is pure heaven when playing my Tele on the bridge pup. It's similar to the Blues voicing at the upper end of the gain range, but with more girth and sounds creamier to me. Love it!
Anyway, that's far from a discussion of the Clean tones. On channel 1 Clean, I still love the fact you can go from a spanky skinny sound around 9:30-10 on the gain knob, to a warmer, rounder tone around 12:00, to a tweedy sound around 2-3. The clean channel alone is enough to buy this amp.
My settings are Gain 9:30, Treble 1:30, Mid 10:30, Bass 10:30, Master 10:00. This is pure heaven when playing my Tele on the bridge pup. It's similar to the Blues voicing at the upper end of the gain range, but with more girth and sounds creamier to me. Love it!
Anyway, that's far from a discussion of the Clean tones. On channel 1 Clean, I still love the fact you can go from a spanky skinny sound around 9:30-10 on the gain knob, to a warmer, rounder tone around 12:00, to a tweedy sound around 2-3. The clean channel alone is enough to buy this amp.
Nah ...tried it, and tried it more. I just can't love the Burn channel, unless I am going for all-out metal warfare (of which I don't ...or can't, anyway 
).
I'll stick to the Blues channel for my cleans, which I never really play pristine clean. Perhaps this is the defining trait that determines whether one uses the Clean channel or the Blues for "clean" tones and semi-cleans. Since I am the latter, all I can think of is real Fender blackface vibe here. The Clean channel is great of you like that signature sparkly, bubbly Fender, silver-face style, especially pristine at high volume ...I could only imagine how a country player with a Tele could smoke on this channel, or for that matter a strat and surf combo.
And the Crunch is just sooo good at natural-sounding OD that is smooth, creamy, and grain-free; yet cleans up beautifully with the guitar's volume knob. This channel and voicing truly responds brilliantly to guitar dynamics and attack.
Edward
).I'll stick to the Blues channel for my cleans, which I never really play pristine clean. Perhaps this is the defining trait that determines whether one uses the Clean channel or the Blues for "clean" tones and semi-cleans. Since I am the latter, all I can think of is real Fender blackface vibe here. The Clean channel is great of you like that signature sparkly, bubbly Fender, silver-face style, especially pristine at high volume ...I could only imagine how a country player with a Tele could smoke on this channel, or for that matter a strat and surf combo
.And the Crunch is just sooo good at natural-sounding OD that is smooth, creamy, and grain-free; yet cleans up beautifully with the guitar's volume knob. This channel and voicing truly responds brilliantly to guitar dynamics and attack.
Edward
Newysurfer
Well-known member
ducati said:
+1
Fully agree.
I think the 5:50 has one of the best clean channels I've ever heard. The reverb is outstanding also.
They're equally as great as the Lonestar & Mark V IMO and very similar sounding to both those.
It's also better than most Fenders IMO too. They make a few equal to it but nothing better IMO. :mrgreen:
Just started day 2 of a 1 week vacation. Finally have a little time to cruise the boards.
I've had a 5:25 (10 inch) for over a year. I've been gigging with it regularly with an old 12 inch extension cab. I exclusively use a hagstrom viking
I have been struggling with finding my tone. Finally this weekend I may have got close.
Tried using blues 2 for my rythm work and the burn on 1 for my leads.
turned down the mids-11 o'clock, upped the treble-1 o'clock and put the contours past 12 o'clock
Gain and volume to taste
Wow-I never use a pure clean sound so this is awsome. Let the volume pedal break it up
I've had a 5:25 (10 inch) for over a year. I've been gigging with it regularly with an old 12 inch extension cab. I exclusively use a hagstrom viking
I have been struggling with finding my tone. Finally this weekend I may have got close.
Tried using blues 2 for my rythm work and the burn on 1 for my leads.
turned down the mids-11 o'clock, upped the treble-1 o'clock and put the contours past 12 o'clock
Gain and volume to taste
Wow-I never use a pure clean sound so this is awsome. Let the volume pedal break it up
