Newbie to The Boogie Board

[Toon]

Just bought a Express 5:50 combo and LOVE it. New to Boogie and new to this Forum.

Just wanting some hints and tips really. Anyone else with 5:50's out there care to pass on experiences, settings etc I would be gald to hear from 'em.

I live in UK and as has been said elsewhere on the forum our prices here for Mesa gear are twice what you pay in US but I still love the Express. Ditched a Marshall JVM in favour of it and no regrets at all.

Toon

 

[clutch71]

First off welcome to the board. I personally don't have a 5:50 but have heard a lot of good things about them. PLease check out the amp settings DB. Here's the only setting I found in there for your amp...

http://www.grailtone.com/tone-settings/mesa-boogie/express-amp.php?setting=2

There's been a lot of posts about the express amps lately. Not many have posted settings yet.

 

[jezzbro]

Hi Toon,

Welcome to the Boogie board! 8)

This really is a great forum

 

[Spirithunter]

Welcome Toon!

8)

 

[domct203]

Welcome! 8)

 

[Russ]

Welcome to the Board


What did you not care for in the JVM?

 

[Charlie]

Welcome!

We would love to hear some clips of that amp!

 

[Toon]

The JVM is a great amp but it has just far too much gain. It squeels like hell - even with a noise suppressor in the chain. It is also 100 W so far too loud for my simple requirements. The good thing about it is that it has 4 channels with 4 seperate EQ settings and 2 x master volume controls. So very flexible but too much gain. I am much happier with the Express. It has a far superior clean channel to the Marshall

 

[jerseydrew]

welcome 8)

 

[mesa_vic]

Toon,
What kind of music do you play? I went to Mesa Hollywood yesterday and tried the 5:50 combo (though i'm gonna get a head and a 2x12). It sounded alright. I compared it to the Dual Rectifier and I like the Rectifier's distortion a little better than the Express. But the Express had a much better clean. I wish the Express had a little more saturated distortion sound but I do have a rat pedal that i plan to use with it maybe.

I've been doing a ton of research on the express. I have my guitar on my car and I plan to go back to mesa and make a final decision.

I'm thinking of just gettin the Express to be "different" heh. I figure if I get more serious and want to throw my money away again, I could always use this as the clean tone and get a different head for the distorted tone.

 

[ThunderMonkey]

Welcome to Boogie Board, Toon !

This is a great place to be ! Cheers !

 

[Toon]

I play thin lizzy, satriani, gary moore, bonamassa atc...... all those tones are in there somewhere. still experimenting. I use Boss and Keeley pedals (compressor, tube screamer, turbo distortion and metal distortion and they all sound SUPERB on either Express channel but especially the Clean. I keep the pedal levels quite low and also use a NS-2 Noise supressor to keep free of hiss and hum. Highly recommend the Express if you're after a great clean sound. It's better than any Marshall I've had in the past and I'd put it on a par with Fender any day.

 

[mesa_vic]

I made the leap and bought the Express 5:50 head with a Lonestar 2x12 open back cab. All i gotta say is wow.. this thing sounds amazing. By no means does it sound as good as a Dual/Triple rec on distortion channels, but it still sounds sweet for the money and is pretty darn close. In my opinion i think it sounds better than the Mark IV.

I'm very happy for the purchase except I have to return it now because I've been "demoted" to playing bass due to the lead guitarist feeling we lack in chemistry (lol i wonder how long ill be satisfied playing bass for a post hardcore band). But ill probably pick this or the equivalent a few years from now when i just have to have a mesa boogie in my place.

 

[Guitarzan]

Welcome :!: