Holy Guacamole!!, New (Boogie) 5:25 Owner

[mt110ds]

I'm 48 years old, been playing since I was 10. Mediocre player at best. I've had a Fender Ultimate Chorus for the last 15 years, solid state amp. It's an OK amp, for a boat anchor! I've been playing my LP through a Boss Gt8 into the fender U.C., it's an alright rig for what I've been doing. BUT..........
Just got a 5:25 1x10, Holy %$#*, this little thing boogies. I havent had this much fun or TONE in a long time.
Now my problem is, where I live I can't really crank the little beast and move the air like I want to. So, what I think Ima gonna do is, take it outside put that sucker in my Blazer, run the extension and guitar cord through the the window, roll the window up enough to achieve the proper amount of ventilation for my vehicle size isolation cabinet. And see if either the windows blow out or the PoPo shows up.
I fully intend to test drive (if you will) this little dude and determine if I can knock the balls off a charging rhino with it.
Wish me luck - wait a minute, is that my neighbor peeking out the widow already? Better stand back, you might be leaking a bit of ear fluid shortly!

 

[EtherealWidow]

Yeah dude. 5:25's are sweet. Still waiting on mine. :/ Jealous of all you guys. Have fun.

 

[edward]

"This thing really boogies" ...just what Carlos said decades ago. Hahaha ...sounds like someone discovered Mesa love! Welcome to great tone!

I am still playing with my 5:25 ...diggin it, but still figuring out whether the speaker is staying. Great semi-clean tones and nice crunch OD as well. I am still in the midst of deciding whether I should use the Clean channel pushed into clip and the Blues for saturation, or "reversing" my usage by using the Blues channel for my "clean" and the Crunch channel pushed for my OD. FWIW, play with it both ways ...very different "clean" voices there; both really nice but different. So nice in fact I am having a tough time deciding which clean I like better. Just thought I'd drop that into your ear as it sounds like you are clearly loving the tone. Boogies are amazing tone machines ...glad you're liking yours! Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Edward

 

[Wolfboy1]

Congrats, I'm sure you will love it after what you have been playing through. Nothing wrong with your old amp this is just a huge tone difference. Watch out for the popo though :lol:

 

[rwil]

:lol: Great love post!
Welcome aboard, and glad to not be your neighbor!

 

[smd24fan]

Congratulations! That's the level of excitement I had when I got my first Boogie. There is no going back now!

 

[mt110ds]

Thank you all for welcoming me to the forum. And let me apologize for paraphrasing what Carlos Santana said many years ago, I had read about that story many times through the years. I was just excited when I wrote my post and I didn't mean to try and steal his deal. I was just overwhealmed at the huge difference in the tone, response, sustain, etc., I found a new drug that I don't need a prescription for! smd24fan, you are correct, there is no going back now!
Ya know, putting the amp inside my car worked out fairly well I must say. Yea I know it's kinda stupid doing that but it did give me an idea of how good this little amp responds when it can breathe. Rolling the window down a bit let the notes fly but kept the pint sized Brock Lesner contained. My neighbor even came over and said WOW that sounds incredible compared to your other amp, why dont you take it out of there. I said well, open the door. He did, and it didn't stay open very long before he said, #&%# we might need to shut the door or the Popo's gonna be repelling from a helicopter to subdue this little black box from hell, or whatever laboratory that **** thing is from!
I don't know squat about attenuators / hot plates, can someone inform me about this. Will an attenuator really let you drive the tubes and get the tone that cranking it flat out gives?
Help me please, or I might be having to play outside all the time, day and night, in the rain and stuff. Even thinking about buying an old car, taking the wheels off and having a permanent (vehicle sized) isolation cabinet in the yard- Just Kidding!

 

[EtherealWidow]

An attenuator goes between the head and speaker. (If you have a combo it will be a little different, but just as simple) It takes the signal and dissipates the excess as heat. (Hence the name: HotPlate) That way you can really drive your power tubes at a much higher output and keep it at a low volume. It will color your sound a tad depending on how much attenuation you use, but if you're not recording anything I really wouldn't lose sleep over it. You can get a Weber Load Line and build it yourself for about $40 I think. I'm going to be getting one. A lot cheaper alternative to a hotplate. :/

 

[kfinkel1966]

Howdy All!

I am brand new to the forum and had to input my .025 cents in regarding this topic. I picked up my 5:25 12" combo last week (and am loving every second of it!). I originally purchased the Egnater Rebel 20 head/combo, but ended up returning it (plus some additional $$$$) for the Boogie. I had no idea how l-o-u-d 5 watts really is. I found that at least in my situation, I needed to figure out a way to drive the tubes a bit more to get the sound I desired without pissing off the neighbors. Enter the Dr Z Airbrake. You can use it with any ohm cab configuration and it does not detract at all from the sound of the amp. Highly recommended!

 

[Pappy]

Yeah! I was using a Fender HRDX and a Blackheart Little Giant before I bit the bullet and bought a used 5:25 w 1x10" in May 2009.
The HRDX was just too loud and I couldn't get the tone I as after at low volumes.
Plus it was big, bulky and heavy. I hated the 2 drive channels, so I used an OD pedal in front of the amp to acheive a decent lead/solo tone.
The Blackheart was pretty good for the $$$. Retubed it as soon as I bought it and it was a fun little amp w/ decent tube tone. Everybody I played w/ really liked it, but I missed reverb and superior cleans.
So..........when I finally got a little 5:25 Boogie, I didn't need the other 2 amps.
Sold them both with in 2 weeks of my new/used 5:25 investment.
The Boogie blows the HRDX out of the water in every respect, IMHO and since I had the 5 watt option w/ the 5:25, I really didn't need the Blackheart any more!
The sales of these 2 softened the blow of the expense of the Boogie and made lot's of room in my practice area!!! Killed 2 birds w/ one stone. I did keep a 1X12" Epi Valve enclosure loaded with a Eminence Lady Luck that sounds pretty **** good w/ the 5:25. I also bought a tilt back amp stand. because w/ the little Boogie sitting flat on the floor, it's hell to see the knob markings and levels. 3-4" off the floor and tilted up works wonders!
Bon appetite!!! 8)