New Express 5:50 owner with a few questions.

[markshu]

I recently picked up a 5:50 head off of ebay. This is my first Boogie and it's in great shape. I'm running it through a Freda 112 cab with a Vintage 30. I've gigged it a few times now and have made some observations. Number one is that it's LOUD! My band does try to keep stage volume under control and the singers are always telling me to turn down;-). I have plenty of volume in 5 watt mode but don't care for the sponginess of the class A in a gig setting. At 50 watts it's hard to control as the channel volumes are sensitive in the low region. I ended up adding a volume box in the loop for a master volume which allows me to bring the channels up and control overall with the box. This works well even though it does require an extra piece of gear.

My other issue is the delay when switching from channel two to channel one. I found some other threads on here talking about this problem. I guess I can't believe this is normal but it must be. Some responses though seem like not everyone experiences this so I'm really not sure. I'm liking the tones I'm getting so far but this is almost a deal breaker for me. Any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[Krek13]

there is a slight "mute period" when switching channels (I own 5:25)...I notice it when practicing alone but when playing with the band it's not even noticeable IMHO...

 

[Don]

I didn't have either issue with my 5:50. I found the masters to not be overly sensitive and noticed no delay when changing channels.

 

[Newysurfer]

I didn't have either issue with my 5:50. I found the masters to not be overly sensitive and noticed no delay when changing channels.

+1
Never been issues for me either.
The 5w setting is never loud enuf for the bands I play in.
Doesn't have enuf clean head room either.
And no delay when switching channels :mrgreen:

 

[bluestometal]

Yeah, the puppy's pretty loud. The 5w mode has a very restricted headroom area but near as much volume as 50w mode. There's a mute moment in the switching, it's something made to avoid the CLICK/POP when switching, never noticed in a band context. The master volume control can appear "sensitive" when you go from the "you're kiddin' me, this's bedroom level for me" volume level to the "now we're starting to talk about tone" volume level but, otherwise, it looks pretty smooth to me. Buy a 2x12 Recto std cab and you'll hear that baby sing much better!

 

[markshu]

Yes! I would like to get a 212 cab, maybe down the road. Strange, it seems some have the delay issue and others don't. To me it's very noticeable in a live situation when I'm playing on channel 2 and want to switch to channel 1 while playing there is a definite mute in there. Also I've seen that many folks on here suggest keeping the bass knob set very low on higher gain settings. I use burn for my main drive tone and find that at stage volume the tone controls really have little effect throughout their range. Now at bedroom volume this is not the case.

 

[bluestometal]

Yes! I would like to get a 212 cab, maybe down the road. Strange, it seems some have the delay issue and others don't. To me it's very noticeable in a live situation when I'm playing on channel 2 and want to switch to channel 1 while playing there is a definite mute in there. Also I've seen that many folks on here suggest keeping the bass knob set very low on higher gain settings. I use burn for my main drive tone and find that at stage volume the tone controls really have little effect throughout their range. Now at bedroom volume this is not the case.

That's strange, I remember the tone controls being very sensitive on the 5:50 and, as per all Mesa's, the bass could become very fluffy and muddy at a touch of the knob. Yep,you should keep it at a moderate point to keep the dirty tone tight and clear. i know it may sound basic but did you swapped/changed all the tubes (pre and power)? It's the first thing to do when buying an used amp.

 

[markshu]

I have not swapped out any tubes yet, it has all Mesa branded tubes in it. I haven't gotten any weird noises or issues like when a tube is going bad but you're right, it wouldn't hurt to replace them.

 

[ifailedshapes]

How high are the Gain and Treble knobs? Are you using Contour?

 

[markshu]

On burn I usually run gain at 2-3 o'clock with treble at noon. Actually treble, mid, and bass all around noon. I toggle contour on and off depending on the tone I'm looking for keeping contour also at, yep, noon.

 

[sax4blues]

I don't channel switch in songs so I haven't used the foot-switch in a long time. I plugged it in today and tried every combination with fine results. If there is some kind of gap I had to really want to hear it, which for me means nobody will hear or care.

For tone controls I find the higher gain setting the lower the bass needs to go, especially on the Burn channel.

I like the 5w setting for playing blues at home but in a band it just gets lost for some reason.

I have an Orange, Vox, Fender, and the 5:50. If I had to keep only one amp, the 5:50 would be it without question.

 

[Don]

I like the 5w setting for playing blues at home but in a band it just gets lost for some reason.

There's a "sponginess" or something in the 5 watt single ended class A mode that makes it sound fine at home but disappear in a band.

 

[ifailedshapes]

On burn I usually run gain at 2-3 o'clock with treble at noon. Actually treble, mid, and bass all around noon. I toggle contour on and off depending on the tone I'm looking for keeping contour also at, yep, noon.

You've got that gain knob jacked up! From what I remember, the higher the gain, the less effective the tone stack. Are the TMB knobs effective on the clean channel?

 

[markshu]

Yes, much more so than on burn. I think that is correct that they're much less effective with higher gain settings. I gigged again last night and didn't seem to have the switching delay as bad as before, and yes I swear it was very noticiable the first few times I played it. I do need to try new tubes, not sure if that would affect this issue?