New member and new to Mesa amps

[plusbond]

Long time owner (40 years) of a 1967 Fender BF Dual Showman and as basement player not needing something as loud as a Showman (85w), was looking for something more versatile. I got a decent price from GC on a trade-in for it and was originally looking at a 68 Custom DR or a 68 PRRI, but stumbled across a used Express 5:25+ on their website. The online demos sounded great and online reviews all sounded positive, even some calling it a sleeper of an amp. GC had a 10% off sale on used equipment recently, so I pulled the trigger and it showed up 2 weeks ago.

To top it off, the GC site said it came with a cover, but no cover was included when it was shipped to me. I called them up to ask about it, and they offered to refund me $80 for the cost of buying a new one from Mesa. I was pretty impressed at that!

The clean channel gets me really nice, Fender-like cleans. Maybe not quite as full sounding as my Showman was, but the Showman's speaker and cab probably has more to do with that. Otherwise, the Express is light-years ahead in versatility! The cleans are still great, and the overdrive I can dial in provides loads of options. So far, I'm having a blast with it! According to Mesa CS, this is Vintage Bordeaux Bronco with a Wicker grill and was shipped to Sweetwater in Nov 2015. I purchased it from GC in Jacksonville, FL, so if the original owner is on this board, let me know.

And thanks to all who have posted their thoughts and experiences about the Express, your experience and knowledge has helped immensely.

 

[DrKev]

Welcome to the forum. What a great find! Congrats!

 

[spawnofthesith2]

Congrats! I used an Express 5:50+ for a while, great amps!! That clean channel -loves- dirt pedals too!

 

[haywoodwebb]

I run a 5:25+ head through two Mesa widebody cabs, one open back and one closed. It sounds glorious. Especially the cleans!. Congrats and welcome to the family!

 

[marcel20855]

Welcome! I got a 5:25+ last spring. It's the best-sounding amp I've ever owned, and very versatile for my classic rock band. We have a loud drummer and the other guitarist uses a Badlander 50, and they ask me to turn down more often than turn up!

 

[Neptical]

Congrats!
Absolutely love the Express Series.
I have a 5:50+ that sounds fantastic through all my cabs.

 

[spawnofthesith2]

Congrats!
Absolutely love the Express Series.
I have a 5:50+ that sounds fantastic through all my cabs.

I had the combo, my biggest regret with that thing is never giving it a fair shot through a closed back cab. Did so much awesome stuff but always fell short for me for high gain tones

But yeah, I even thought my Mark IV sounded like a turd for that before rehousing to a head and using different cabs lol

 

[Neptical]

I had the combo, my biggest regret with that thing is never giving it a fair shot through a closed back cab. Did so much awesome stuff but always fell short for me for high gain tones

But yeah, I even thought my Mark IV sounded like a turd for that before rehousing to a head and using different cabs lol

Ah man!
Yeah, having a few different cabs on hand really makes it fun to experiment.
My Boss SD-1 in to the Burn is the secret sauce ! Gives all the tightest, high gain I need. Though different, I have no problems plugging in to my Express before my Mark IIIs. Speaking of the Mark IV, my F50s ( with an EQ in the Series Mod loop) and SD-1 out front reminds me very much of a buddies IV I used to play. There's a very similar crossover going on. Kind-of dark but tight and smooth with some really nice bite. One of my other Mesa favorites!

 

[spawnofthesith2]

Ah man!
Yeah, having a few different cabs on hand really makes it fun to experiment.
My Boss SD-1 in to the Burn is the secret sauce ! Gives all the tightest, high gain I need. Though different, I have no problems plugging in to my Express before my Mark IIIs. Speaking of the Mark IV, my F50s ( with an EQ in the Series Mod loop) and SD-1 out front reminds me very much of a buddies IV I used to play. There's a very similar crossover going on. Kind-of dark but tight and smooth with some really nice bite. One of my other Mesa favorites!

Oh man! I guess The express LOVES an sd1 I never really ran it with the burn channel, but just dirtying up the clean channel with an sd1 was soooo good. And at the time I had it I was gently reentering the gear world after selling everything off and ditching guitar for like a year… upon reentry I had gotten an sd1 and was using it with amps like a blues deluxe and twin and just thought it sounded like boxy crap. When I got the express it was like heaven hitting that clean channel lol

 

[Neptical]

Oh man! I guess The express LOVES an sd1 I never really ran it with the burn channel, but just dirtying up the clean channel with an sd1 was soooo good. And at the time I had it I was gently reentering the gear world after selling everything off and ditching guitar for like a year… upon reentry I had gotten an sd1 and was using it with amps like a blues deluxe and twin and just thought it sounded like boxy crap. When I got the express it was like heaven hitting that clean channel lol

Wow, sounds like you may need to revisit an old friend at some point! Lol
Those Express cleans really are phenomenal. Since I love BF style cleans, I pretty much dedicate the clean channel strictly clean. The Crunch setting is great for what it is, but mannn...that Burn with an SD-1 is just incredible.

I still think the Express series ( as well as the F ) are absolutely underrated. For what you get with those amps, they are one heck of a bargain.