"Normal" hum on Mesa 5:25+ Combo

[alphasports]

Mesa kindly called and issued me an RMA for my amp, hopefully it'll fix the buzz once and for all!

ok I been watching your troubles - not good.
This noise issue appears to be isolated to the 5:25 - the originals were more noisy than the Plus.
5:50s are quiet.

What's an RMA ?

As an aside I bought a Mark V 25 a few months ago and.............
this amp is very quiet even with loads more gain on tap than the Express :mrgreen:

RMA= Return Merchandise Authorization...just a requirement to send the amp back for a repair. They are going to do a complete check, but they think there is something definitely wrong.

Interesting about your V25...I've just got the bug for one myself Good to know they're quiet. I just bought a TA-15 for a great price but mostly because it's way cool; it lacks reverb and an fx loop but that's ok, it's a fun basement toy. Once the Express comes back I fear it will get sold right away anyway, with the cash going toward a V25, so the TA may be short lived as well as the V25 seems to do it all in a killer little package.

Cheers

 

[Newysurfer]

Mesa kindly called and issued me an RMA for my amp, hopefully it'll fix the buzz once and for all!

ok I been watching your troubles - not good.
This noise issue appears to be isolated to the 5:25 - the originals were more noisy than the Plus.
5:50s are quiet.

What's an RMA ?

As an aside I bought a Mark V 25 a few months ago and.............
this amp is very quiet even with loads more gain on tap than the Express :mrgreen:

RMA= Return Merchandise Authorization...just a requirement to send the amp back for a repair. They are going to do a complete check, but they think there is something definitely wrong.

Interesting about your V25...I've just got the bug for one myself Good to know they're quiet. I just bought a TA-15 for a great price but mostly because it's way cool; it lacks reverb and an fx loop but that's ok, it's a fun basement toy. Once the Express comes back I fear it will get sold right away anyway, with the cash going toward a V25, so the TA may be short lived as well as the V25 seems to do it all in a killer little package.

Cheers

Well the Mark V 25 is better than any 5:25 imo for several reasons (including lower noise) but it's also THE best 25w amp ever made imo.
Comparing it to the 5:50 though is trickier.

I find the 5:50 cleans a little better and V 25 doesn't really have a blues channel - it does fat clean mode instead.
Fat clean is fabulous on the V 25 but you lose the Express blues voice to get it.

V 25 crunch voice has waaaaay more gain than 5:50 or 5:25 - I'd call V 25 & 5:50 equal there (both better than 5:25)
You can make V 25 crunch voice really brutal by pushing gain.

V 25 IIC+ and Mark IV distortion modes are significantly better than 5:50 burn imo & loads better than 5:25.
IIC+ voice is fabulous imo for a wide range of rock n blues.

V 25 also has headphones jack & DI line out.
But 5:50 has its reverb dials on front panel which I find more convenient than on back for V 25.

V 25 has the EQ option & its footswitchable but you lose the reverb foot switch on the Express

 

[GuyB]

Thanks Newysurfer for this appreciation. I'm interested in a V25. I actually have a 5:25+ and love it, especially the clean mode. How does the clean on the V25 compares with the 5:25+ ?

 

[alphasports]

Mesa called to tell me they replaced a capacitor that was causing my probs, so I guess that's a good thing. Now I just have $300 worth of unnecessary replacement tubes sitting around (2 full sets). I guess that means I should play more...there's a concept!!!

Amp gets back next week, curious to try it out. May or may not get dumped, I'm loving my new-to-me Transatlantic 15

 

[Newysurfer]

Thanks Newysurfer for this appreciation. I'm interested in a V25. I actually have a 5:25+ and love it, especially the clean mode. How does the clean on the V25 compares with the 5:25+ ?

Well imo V 25 clean is better than 5:25 or 5:25+.
Plus V 25 has 2 great clean voices - clean + fat clean.
All 3 amps have EL84 tubes.

5:50 has 6L6 tubes and cleans & reverb are very similar to Lonestar Classic - both these are very Fender sounding imo.
Very Fendery cleans except better than most Fenders imo :mrgreen:

 

[Newysurfer]

Mesa called to tell me they replaced a capacitor that was causing my probs, so I guess that's a good thing. Now I just have $300 worth of unnecessary replacement tubes sitting around (2 full sets). I guess that means I should play more...there's a concept!!!

Amp gets back next week, curious to try it out. May or may not get dumped, I'm loving my new-to-me Transatlantic 15

Well great you got it fixed finally and you'll use those tubes on one amp or another in the future so not $$ wasted :mrgreen: