First post...Sell my Two Rock and get a 5:50???

[gitaryzt1985]

Hey guys first post here!

I've got a Two Rock Studio Pro that I'm considering selling. I have grown a little disenchanted with the Two Rock cleans and the fact that the Studio Pro 22 is really a one trick pony. I've always wanted a Mesa, but I want to be sure I pick the right one. I play mainly blues and contemporary Christian at my church, so good cleans are a must, but I also like to rock out in my spare time!

My original plan was to get a Lonestar Special. I wanted some stellar cleans to replace my Two Rock, but I'm a little unsure about not having much drive in the Lonestar. I was able to try out an Express 5:50 this weekend and LOVED the cleans and the dirty stuff.

What do you guys think? First off, is an Express worth selling a Two Rock for and pocketing a few hundred bucks, or should I get the Lonestar and use pedals to get a really dirty tone? Thanks!

 

[Newysurfer]

Hey guys first post here!

I've got a Two Rock Studio Pro that I'm considering selling. I have grown a little disenchanted with the Two Rock cleans and the fact that the Studio Pro 22 is really a one trick pony. I've always wanted a Mesa, but I want to be sure I pick the right one. I play mainly blues and contemporary Christian at my church, so good cleans are a must, but I also like to rock out in my spare time!

My original plan was to get a Lonestar Special. I wanted some stellar cleans to replace my Two Rock, but I'm a little unsure about not having much drive in the Lonestar. I was able to try out an Express 5:50 this weekend and LOVED the cleans and the dirty stuff.

What do you guys think? First off, is an Express worth selling a Two Rock for and pocketing a few hundred bucks, or should I get the Lonestar and use pedals to get a really dirty tone? Thanks!

Well i prefer the 5:50 to the LSS for sure but have never heard a Two Rock so can't comment there.
I do know they're a way overpriced boutique amp so you'd get a good price for it probly :mrgreen:

 

[David Garner]

If you can sell a really expensive amp to get a cheaper one you like just as well or better, that's a no brainer unless you have some sentimental attachment to the amp.

You can get a used 5:50 for less than $800, by the way. I got mine about 2 months ago for $775 shipped. Wouldn't trade it for the world. I may add other amps, but this one's a keeper. And it's INCREDIBLY versatile. When I first got it, I set it clean/burn for channels 1/2 respectively. Then I started doing clean/blues. Then it struck me that I have one song (one -- that's it) where we use a dead clean tone. 2 if you count our cover of Folsom Prison Blues, and that one can use some dirt too the way we play it. So now I set it crunch/burn, with crunch set for a kind of mid-gain Marshall tone and burn set for a really heavy liquid lead tone.

One of the coolest things about this amp is how quickly it cleans up with pick attack. One potential downside is it doesn't clean up well with the guitar's volume knob while still keeping a reasonable volume -- there is a pretty good volume jump when you hit the front end with more signal (the same is true for overdrives, but that works for me because I use ODs for solo boosts). So if I turn the guitar's volume down to 5 to get a dead clean tone, it gets quieter. If you have a good soundman, that's fine, but for gigging, I'd rather it clean up while still maintaining some volume. I can overlook that, though, because I can always just reset it for clean on the fly. It doesn't take that long and if you work with it before the gig, you can minimize issues with the sound crew by having an idea of what unity volume is on both settings.

It's a GREAT amp. I can't say enough good things about it. The Lonestar is probably "better" in some sense, but for my use, this amp is a sure fire keeper. I think you'll love it.

By the way, you should seriously consider the 5:25 for Church use. The 5:50 is ridiculously loud. We played an outdoor gig the week I got mine and I had to turn down. I can't imagine it will be all that Church friendly.

 

[knotts]

I have an LSC and it has amazing cleans. With that said I wasn't loving the dirt with pedals so I picked up a roadster. Don't overlook the rectifier series for clean tones. They are very nice as well. I don't have much experience with the express series, but if you tried one and like it, just do it. Try things out if you can.

 

[h_ruukki]

I'll have to confess, at first, that I have never tried a Two-rock. What I can tell you, though, is that I had a Mesa Mark II some ten years ago - and I never wished for anything else. Didn't even cross my mind. I then quit my band and traded in the Mark II for a Martin acoustic of almost the same value I had bought the Mesa for - even though the Mesa was at least third-hand, and the dealer knew it (they had sold it to me a few years before). In practical terms, I bought the Mesa for 950 Euros, later bought some 4x12 cabin for it, kept them for some years, and traded them in for a 1000 Euro Martin. This tells me a lot about the value and reliability of Mesas in general. It seems I lost only the shop overhead in the trade-in, which is pretty OK.

Now I have a brand new 5:25. I haven't tried it at full blast yet (mainly playing at home) but anything I've done with it has sounded just great (my skills discounted). So, if for any reason you're not totally happy with your current amp, go for Mesa by all means.

As to the question (5:50 or 5:25) I would say go for 5:25 for two reasons. 1) Price. You'll have more money to invest into the cabin. I tested a 5:25 with a 4x12 Mesa cabin and it certainly sounded great, far better than a combo. I then got a 2x12 cabin for financial reasons, but it still far surpasses a 1x12 combo. 2) You'll probably have more chances to play your amp loud enough to get the best sounds out of it if you're for screaming distortion and stuff like that. If at any point you get greedy for more volume, you can always swap the 5:25 in for a larger Mesa, right? The value probably won't go too far down for it to hurt at that point any longer.

I hope this helped. I'm not a great guitar player so I'll need to rely on good tone - and Mesa delivers enough to even improve my playing.

Let us know if and when you get a Mesa and which one it is, how you use it, and so forth! It's always nice to compare notes with fellow musicians.

 

[kdorsey]

Two Rock...I do know they're a way overpriced boutique amp...

BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!!!! Oh man, my sides hurt. Someone on the Boogie boards called another brand "overpriced boutique amp". :roll: Wow.

Welcome to the boards...err, the Jungle, Gitaryzt! :wink: When does the 5:50 land on your doorstep?

 

[Heritage Softail]

I'm not a great guitar player so I'll need to rely on good tone - and Mesa delivers enough to even improve my playing.

Great statement I totally resemble!

I like to say I under play and over tone. I think that is the key to Alice In Chains awesome tone. Cantrell knows how to play exactly enough and has stunning tone.

On the Two Rock:

I spent about 2 hours playing that and a Dr. Z. Ended up with the Z. I would agree the scope of sounds you can get straight out of the box with the little 2Rock is smaller.

You can always get the Mesa and add a Wampler triple wreck pedal. It does a brutal Rectifier tone. Hit it up on YT. You can play a tele into a fender with it and get an instant Rectifier. Freakish.

Good luck on the tone quest.

 

[Newysurfer]

Two Rock...I do know they're a way overpriced boutique amp...

BWAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!!!! Oh man, my sides hurt. Someone on the Boogie boards called another brand "overpriced boutique amp". :roll: Wow.

Welcome to the boards...err, the Jungle, Gitaryzt! :wink: When does the 5:50 land on your doorstep?

HAHAHAHA - I enjoy a laugh too and the biggest one is the price of Two Rock amps.
Have you looked.
A comparable Two Rock to the 5:50 costs at least TWICE as much :roll:
Want a laugh - try that hehe :mrgreen: