Mesa dc-5 vs. Marshall JCM 50 watt

[bigsby1989]

whats the comparison look like?

 

[adrenaline junkie]

Not much to compare IMHO they're pretty different amps.

If you need two channels, You're probably better off with the DC-5. If you're only needing one OD channel, I'd take the Marshall by a mile. That's just me though, and here on a boogie board I'm sure I'm in the minority. :wink:

 

[siggy14]

Depends on which JCM 50 watt amp you are talking about, if you are talking about the single channel JCM800's, then I also agree I would take that over the DC-5, but both are great amps.

Comparison wise.

JCM more upper mid's that classic 80's and 90's rock/metal, greally a great sounding amp.

DC-5 Kind of a mix between a Mark an a recto, also a good amp and probaly better for heavier music.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Here's what I think:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-DC-5-Dual-Caliber-1x12-Mesa-Ext-Cabinet_W0QQitemZ250255388461QQihZ015QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The DC sounds great at any volume. 2 channels, with a graphic EQ.

JCM sounds great clean or distorted, but needs to be cranked to distort. I have a 2204 in my shop right now. It sounds much more nasally (upper-mids) than the DC and is in no way any where near as versatile.

 

[take5]

I have a JCM800 2204 50 watt head (EL34's) that I play through a Marshall 2x12 cab with V30's. Cleans are OK, OD has a lot of mids, you can get great classic rock and 80's metal tones out of this set up. I find the OD to be pretty raw and coarse. I had the bright cap changed on this head to get rid of the ear piercing highs. The treble rolled all the way off on a stock JCM800 is still too much treble.

I also have the JCM800 4010 50 watt 1x12 combo (EL34's) which is the above head in combo form. Had the same bright cap mod done and this combo sounds smoother than the head....I like it better.

My DC5 (w/EVM) which I play through a Mesa 1x12 extension cab (Black Shadow) is by far a much more versatile and better sounding rig. The cleans are way better and the OD is a lot smoother. That's not to say the JCM800 sounds bad....just the DC5 has a more complex, and smoother tone.

After an hour of playing on either 800 my ears are **** tired....an hour on the DC5 seems like 5 minutes, I'm just getting warmed up and my ears are not tired.

They are both very different amps, if you have a choice...get the DC5 and don't look back.

My 2 cents.........YMMV.

Greg

p.s. Stay away from the 2 channel JCM800's, I had the 2210 and it was a real dog.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

The 2 channel ones, 2205 & 2210 used Diode Clipping to get more distoriton out of channel 2. This is really thin sounding. You can nail Slash tones all day, but not much else without modding it.


I would take any Mesa amp over any Marshall amp (other than the PTP ones) any day of any week of any year!

The build quality is far superior and, so far, the only One Trick Pony Mesa that I have had is the Blue Angel, and that is even more versatile than most One Trick Ponies.

 

[nosajwp]

I agree with Monsta...I'd take the DC over the Marshall anyday. Louder than any other 50 watt amp out there, cleans to die for, and a really sweet sounding OD channel...great reverb too!

 

[adrenaline junkie]

I agree with Monsta...I'd take the DC over the Marshall anyday. Louder than any other 50 watt amp out there, cleans to die for, and a really sweet sounding OD channel...great reverb too!

I didn't think the DC5 was very loud for a 50 watter, and the OD is kinda harsh sounding. The clean was awesome as was the reverb, but after owning a 50Cal, DC2, DC3 and DC5 I really don't think the Caliber series is for me. Not saying the original poster wouldn't like it like you guys do, but I'm just saying that it depends on his tastes. Personally I'd take just about any Marshall over the DC series amps. Best thing would be to find some clips, or even better play both and see which suits a person.

 

[glguitarman]

I agree with Adrenaline Junkie, I would take almost any Marshall over the DC series. I had a DC-5 head in 1993. I bought it mail order, before ever playing one (there's a story here). The tone was very "honky", I hated the sound overall. Made my half-back cab sound like, well, a big box.

When it comes to the 'JCM' series of Marshalls, I would never purchase one that was in 900 series either. So, IMHO, between a DC-5 and a JCM900, neither. However to my ears, every other 50 watt model I've tried beats the DC-5.

These are just my opinions, which don't really matter anyway.

 

[bigsby1989]

Well with that last post said i feel like my legs have been taken from under me! The 2 amps i were considering was a 50 watt JCM900 combo and a dc-5 combo. I guess being a little more specific on what im looking for would help so here goes:
I'm mostly into punk. I like to play a lot of Rancid stuff and similar bands like Social Distortion and etc. However, i dont want to put all my eggs in one basket and go for that one sound. I know most of the punk bands use the jcm900 which is what made me interested. However, i am a HUGE stevie-ray fan and LOVE blues, and playing it as well. But i also like to play a lot of classic and southern rock - eagles, skynyrd, allman brothers, etc.
So with that said, i need an amp that will best fit those 3 "categories" i guess.
And btw, thanks for all the replies so far its really helpin me out!

 

[Whoopysnorp]

If it's a JCM900 there is no contest; you want the Mesa.

 

[adrenaline junkie]

Which JCM 900 is it? SL-X? Dual Reverb? MkIII? Which tubes are in it? EL34's or 5881's?

Have you played either at all?

For the categories you mentioned, Punk would be a toss up between the two amps, but for the other two, I'd still rather have the 900.

 

[bigsby1989]

the jcm900 is an mkIII with EL-34 tubes

...as far as playing - i used to own a dc-10 and traded it in during the spark of my big stevie-ray phase for a fender blues deluxe, and have regretted doing so ever since. from what i hear, the dc-5 and dc-10 are the same thing, except for the obvious 50 watts and the extra speaker. as far as the marshall, i havent played a jcm900 but i guess have somewhat of an "expectation" of what it will sound like seeing that almost all of the punk/ska bands i listen to/do covers of use this amp.

 

[adrenaline junkie]

From what I've read, the DC5 and DC10 are pretty much the same. If you liked the 10 for the tones you're looking for, I'd go for the 5. It's been quite a few years since I had a MkIII but it's pretty much a one trick pony. There's two volumes so you can set it up for a volume boost, but it's just a single channel amp so it's not versatile at all. You can dial back the gain and get decent blues and Southern rock tones but I think you'll be a bit disapointed IMHO.

 

[Racerboy44]

Hmmmm, tough call. I actually like the 900 series Marshalls and I think I would take one over a DC series Mesa. I have owned the 900 SL-X, 900 Dual Reverb, and a DC-10. The only one I regret selling somewhat is the SL-X. That amp sounded dam good!! The DC sound became uninspiring to me real fast. They just seem to lack any character or indentity for some reason. They aren't a Mark and fall short of a Recto. They have lots of gain but the SL-X was funner to play for me. Nobody can tell you which way you should go in this comparison, it's too subjective.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

It's pretty much all in your hands. You owe it to yourself to try both of them, preferably together.


I play anything from old school Metal (Slayer, Metal Church) occasionally, to Blues, to Punk.

My favorite is Classic Rock, ZZ Top, Allmans, Stones, Hendrix. I can get all of these tones and more with my DC's. I use really nice guitars, PRS McCarty & Custom 22 & US Strat Deluxe, with great Planet Waves cables, a G-Major and a couple of nice pedals. You just have to get to know your amp. Just yesterday, I was playing my DC-5 and found some new tones that I haven't found in the last 4 years that I've been using it.

I don't try to run a pod through anything and say it's crap.

I make sure all of my tubes are good, and the amps are well maintained since I have a repair shop.


The bottom line is, if you liked the 10 and have a chance to get a 5, try it out and see if you like it. Tone is more subjective than personal politics. I personally hate the 900 series, but I would own, and have built a JCM-800 2204 clone for myself. My personal favorites are the DC series because of their versatility.

I've also owned most of the JCM-2000 series Marshalls, which I found to be much more versatile the older models, but much lower quality. I actually went through 4 100 watt TSL's, 1 head and 3 combos. They all had problems right out of the chute and 2 of them actually imploded.

I don't care what anybody says, I've worked on them all and any Mesa, even the .22 Cal is 100 times better in terms of engineering and build quality. The component layout is far superior, as are the components themselves.


You just have to ask yourself, after playing both. Which one do I like the most?

 

[siggy14]

I know Rancid uses a combination of a marshall and a rectifier, so technically to get there tone you would need one of each, well i should say to get close to there tone, you will never be exact.

 

[herrball]

I have to chime in here and agree with the post that if you liked the DC-10, you may want to get back to that and fill the tone gap ( if any) with a nice hot pedal to get a Marshall-type OD. The DC-5 has a great Fender-y clean sound which I don't think anyne can live without plus the smooth boogie OD. And its really simple to get great tones.

Having owned Marshall ( '73 ) and boogies ( MKIII and Dc) I'd do the DC for what you descrbe as your needs.

Good Luck.

 

[bigsby1989]

First i want to say that everyone who has replied to this post has been a big help and i really appreciate it.

And i really hate to do this, but let me throw one more thing into this mix. How do the dc-3's compare? i've noticed that the dc-5 are really hard to find on places like ebay and stuff, but that the dc-3 comes up more often. How much different [and in what way(s)] is the dc-3 from the dc-5?
Thanks again guys, i should be comin up to a decision sometime soon!

 

[glguitarman]

The jcm900 is an mkIII with EL-34 tubes

...as far as playing - i used to own a dc-10 and traded it in during the spark of my big stevie-ray phase for a fender blues deluxe, and have regretted doing so ever since. from what i hear, the dc-5 and dc-10 are the same thing, except for the obvious 50 watts and the extra speaker. as far as the marshall, i havent played a jcm900 but i guess have somewhat of an "expectation" of what it will sound like seeing that almost all of the punk/ska bands i listen to/do covers of use this amp.

Umm...do you mean mkIII Mesa Boogie? The JCM900, to my ears, is nothing like a Mesa Boogie MkIII. I have played all of these extensively, MKIII, DC-5 and all of the JCM900 series. The Boogie MkIII, IMHO, is no where in the same class as the other two, it is more versitile, and the tone is completely different. I would choose a Boogie MkIII over the vast majority of amplifiers anywhere, anyday.

As far as the quest at hand, I am not sure what amp is good for 'punk'. Once in a while I have to play a punk song, but I don't think that qualifies me for a good answer to that question. It seems to me that 'punk' is more of an attitude than anything else. I have used a variety of amps to acheive that 'attitude'.

I've never played a DC-10, but I have owned a DC-3 in the past......don't have it anymore and don't miss it....that doesn't mean I am saying it is a bad amp, just not good for my taste.