Help me choose F-30 or F-50.

[barneyc4]

Hi, im searching for a tube amp that will give me graet fender like warm cleans a mesa distortion for hardrock.

I will be mostly playing at home with drums and I will be gigging at pretty large clubs.

I have $1500 to spend on any of these two amps.
Which amp would you recommend? F-30 or F-50?

 

[cliff hetfield]

i love my f-50 head. i use les pauls and play the f-50 through twin 2x12 cabs loaded with celestions. you can easily make it sound very heavy, heavy enough for metallica, sabbath, and probably some even heavier tones. its punchy, but i find i need to back off on the bass or it gets too punchy. almost flubby if im playing on my neck pick up.
and finally, the clean tones....AWESOME. glassy, bubbly, chimey...warmer then a taco bell ****. i mean it.
F-50 is a great all around tube amp. and its got enough power to keep up with a triple rectifier and a 175 watt bass amp.
ive never played an f-30, but i do know they use el34s, as opposed to the f-50's 6l6 power tubes. its a different sound. its a personal prefference.
anyway, good luck.

 

[Brewski]

1+ on the F-50. You'll get more clean headroom with an F-50. If you are going be miking your amp, then headroom won't be a factor with either amp.

With 6L6's, I'll go out on a ledge and say that the F-50 could be more Fenderish and have a bigger deeper sound. I'm not sure what type of sound you are looking for, though.

Like Cliff said, it depends on your personal preference. I do like my F-50 combo and will hang on to it.

 

[TheRazMeister]

Cliff, actually the F-30 has EL 84's not 34's. But your point is taken about the 6L6's. I've tried 3 F-50's and 1 F-30 and the F-50 seems to have a better clean channel and the F-30 a better gain channel. This may just personal taste however...I've heard many others rave about the F-50 gain sound...I just can't find it.

BUT. for $1500 one could probably get BOTH on Ebay and decide for themselves. 8)

ive never played an f-30, but i do know they use el34s, as opposed to the f-50's 6l6 power tubes. its a different sound. its a personal prefference.
anyway, good luck.

 

[strumminsix]

I'm traditionally a Fender guy but the LoneStar line made me switch.

If you really want a Fender-like, clean, full & warm, try the LoneStar Classic.
The second channel is great overdrive but not so full-on distortion.

IMO, the clean is what you mostly have to worry about since a good overdrive can easily produce distortion with a pedal.

 

[khudsonjr]

I recently had an F-50, which cleans were decent and the grind was awesome. But since it had inherent hiss on the clean channel I took it back. I ended up buying a used Mesa DC-5 with no regrets. It has decent cleans, tube reverb, and the grind is just as sweet! Plus, no hiss! Score one of these and you won't regret it...

 

[barneyc4]

I just went over to the store and bought the F-50. It should be here next week

 

[Surfcaster]

+1 on the F50...hope you like it. I love mine...in my opinion the clean channel is hard to beat. And while I enjoy the gain channel as is, I've also found I can get some great very different tones by using an EQ pedal (or two...one in front and one in the loop gets me in Marshall territory).

 

[andershoeg]

Congrats on your f-50, barneyc4! I'm sure you will be happy with it, and i'm sure have made the right choice (f-30/f-50). The f-30 is not an amp for large clubs (unless it is mic'ed), and it is not as punchy as the f-50. the f-30 has got more midrange and at loud volume it has not got the bottom-end as the f-50 do have. So i think you made the right choice!
B.R. andershoeg

 

[Dann'sTheMan]

Congratulations on your new F-50, barneyc4.

If you haven't already discovered it, check out the F-series Lounge over at HCAF - an awesome resource for getting the most out of Mesa's stealth amp! 8)

Big smiles,

Andy.

 

[barneyc4]

Thanks Andy!

Im picking it up this thursday or friday! I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[Brewski]

Congrats on your F-50. I think that you'll like your new amp. You'll get some nice tones out of it.