Gain control on a DC-5

[RickHart99]

I purchased a used DC-5 1x12 combo on ebay. (Scary) because it said it was in new condition. When I finally received it I was surprised at how new it actually looked. (seriously, I don't think it was ever used). I thought it might be fake. I took it to my local amp tech to check it over, make sure the tubes were good and all the electronics were clean. (and make sure it was a Mesa) He said it was a Mesa and it was perfect. He asked how much I paid and I told him $600 and he smiled and said I just stole that amp. I guess I got lucky.

I really love the amp, it sounds great and it inspires me to play more, but I have a question. It seems as though the gain is pretty intense even at the lower settings. Is there a way to calm down the gain. I talked to the local Guitar Center guy and he suggested I switch the tubes and rebias the amp. I kind of like the sound of the amp now, so I don't know if I want to go that route. I play mostly classic rock type music, but I still like ability to turn up the gain for meatier stuff. For playing rhythm stuff like Joe Walsh or something I can only turn the gain up to about 1. Not a lot room for adjustment. If I set the clean channel for the lower gain crunch then I lose the super clean channel that this amp is awesome at accomplishing. I like the sound of the higher gain. It is great for playing something like Cult of Personality, but I run out of channels too quickly. I have been trying adjustment with the guitar volume to reduce gain, but that is somewhat limiting as well.

I really need 3 or 4 channels, but I haven't experimented with my pedals yet. I have a few overdrive pedals like (Barber Small Fry, TS-9, Quantum Overdrive etc.) but I like the response of the amp's tube gain.

I still have my Stiletto and I really like the two channels and a solo boost making it 3 channels, but that amp, even though it is a bad ***, is too raw for some types of music.

I may have to buy another amp and use an a+b selector. Maybe a Maverick. That might be a nice companion to the DC-5. Of course this may be going overboard.

 

[tonejam]

You simply need to replace the appropriate pre-amp tube(s) with lower gain ones. Someone on this forum would be able to tell you whether its V1, V2, or whatever. I assume they're all 12AX7s. Replacing with a 5751 tube would lower gain very slightly, with a 12AY7, more so.

You don't need a tech to do this.

 

[RickHart99]

Do I need to re-bias the amp?

 

[tonejam]

Mesa amps are fixed bias, you can't rebias them unless they've been modded to do so.
Even if this were not the case, its only when you change the output tubes (the large ones), that an amp might require rebiasing.
If I were you, I'd buy one or two 12AY7 tubes, and try them in your amp, in various positions. As long as you're careful getting them in and out, you can't damage anything.
Just be careful where you put your fingers. Even when off, amps can retain a charge in some of their components (you're not likely to touch these changing tubes). And make sure the tubes aren't too hot to touch!
Have fun!

 

[RickHart99]

Where is the best place to purchase tubes?

 

[tonejam]

Sorry, I can't help you much with that. I'm in Australia!
Do some searches on Ebay. Or maybe Google Doug's Tubes.

 

[zerofivefour]

I purchased a used DC-5 1x12 combo on ebay. (Scary) because it said it was in new condition. When I finally received it I was surprised at how new it actually looked. (seriously, I don't think it was ever used). I thought it might be fake. I took it to my local amp tech to check it over, make sure the tubes were good and all the electronics were clean. (and make sure it was a Mesa) He said it was a Mesa and it was perfect. He asked how much I paid and I told him $600 and he smiled and said I just stole that amp. I guess I got lucky.

I really love the amp, it sounds great and it inspires me to play more, but I have a question. It seems as though the gain is pretty intense even at the lower settings. Is there a way to calm down the gain. I talked to the local Guitar Center guy and he suggested I switch the tubes and rebias the amp. I kind of like the sound of the amp now, so I don't know if I want to go that route. I play mostly classic rock type music, but I still like ability to turn up the gain for meatier stuff. For playing rhythm stuff like Joe Walsh or something I can only turn the gain up to about 1. Not a lot room for adjustment. If I set the clean channel for the lower gain crunch then I lose the super clean channel that this amp is awesome at accomplishing. I like the sound of the higher gain. It is great for playing something like Cult of Personality, but I run out of channels too quickly. I have been trying adjustment with the guitar volume to reduce gain, but that is somewhat limiting as well.

I really need 3 or 4 channels, but I haven't experimented with my pedals yet. I have a few overdrive pedals like (Barber Small Fry, TS-9, Quantum Overdrive etc.) but I like the response of the amp's tube gain.

I still have my Stiletto and I really like the two channels and a solo boost making it 3 channels, but that amp, even though it is a bad ***, is too raw for some types of music.

I may have to buy another amp and use an a+b selector. Maybe a Maverick. That might be a nice companion to the DC-5. Of course this may be going overboard.

RickHart99

It's been a long time since I owned my DC-5 1x12 combo. I remember it being a cool amp for sure. I bought one new in 1993 or 94, recorded a full length cd, gigged with it for about 8 months and sold it in 1997 when I bought a triple rectifier. I never had a problem getting it to be clean on the clean channel, it's been a long time, so maybe my memory is not serving me well.

I know my rectos both have very interactive tone/gain controls. With the treble knob affecting the gain structure. Check your treble knob to see if it interacts like this on the DC-5. Perhaps if it is set above a certain level it could be introducing a bit of 'hair' into your tone. I can't remember if the dc-5's tone controls are like this to be honest. Might be worth a check.

Might want to try cutting your bass knob and see if that helps as it can get a bit boomy if I remember.
Also that graphic eq on it has a tendency to kill all the life out of the cleans, so be aware of that too. I wouldn't be setting that thing up in a V config for classic rock tones imho.

Curious as to what types of pickups your using with it, perhaps they are a bit on the hot side.

In all honesty, (going way back in my memory banks now), I didn't feel that the dc-5 was voiced well for the classic rock genre, but I wasn't trying to make it get those tones either so I could be way off base. YMMV. I bought it aiming for the hair metal sounds of the 80s.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[tonejam]

To RickHart99
Couldn't agree with you more, and I really should have suggested a bit of knob twiddling before suggesting pre-amp tube experimentation. I've had my Boogie, a Studio 22+, since 1990, and one forgets that not everyone is used to inter-active controls.
cheers, Bill.

 

[tonejam]

Whoops, previous post was directed to Zerofivefour, not RickHart99!

 

[Fei Fong Wong]

For me, using the manual is paramount to this amp. The PDF is very easy to get and I refer to it constantly. I had this amp for years and made it sound terrible and one day I looked into the manual and this amp just sounds wonderful. Sounds lame but take a look.

 

[espexp]

If your looking for lower gain sounds, try pulling the gain knob on channel one. Channel 2 is a high gain channel, pulling the gain on channel 1 is for sounds between clean and high gain.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Try using your Volume knob as the Master and the Master Volume knob as the gain.
Basically, use them backwards from the standard method. This will lower the gain significantly but increase touch sensitivity and sustain.

Try this:
Volume - 3
Treble - 7
Mid - 7
Bass - 7
Reverb - 0
Presence to taste
Master Volume - 8

 

[crguti]

Apparently you didn't try the amp before going to the tech. So, If you have discovered that it wasn't a mesa amp rather some chinese imitation... Would you have a good opinion of the amp's sound? :roll:

 

[BlackBoxy]

to tame a lil bit gain of clean channel on my dc5 i use a 12at7 at V4 and PI!

i get cruchy sound with Ts808,

good luck