quiet mesa boogie?

[puggles]

Hey everyone

I've been looking around for some used mesa amps. and I was wondering what are some of the more quiet mesa series? I'm asking this because I'm parting with my DC-5 head. it's a great sounding amp, but it's to loud for me. granted it's a valve amp, it has to be the loudest valve amp I've owned (which isn't many) yet.

sorry if this is a newb question to you mesa fans. but if I were to look for another mesa. which series would I want to look into for something more quiet?

wasn't sure if I should have posted this in the vintage or modern section
:?

thanks

 

[phyrexia]

Subway series, F30, 5:25. The new Lonestar Classic goes to 10 watts. The Lonestar Special goes to 5.

Mind you the Express amps on 5 watts will still knock your socks.

 

[mesanomad100]

If you love the dc-5 keep it and throw an attenuator between the head and cab,somethin like a THD Hotplate would do the job really well


What this does is lets you crank the amp into full saturation and then gets rid of some of the energy(Im sure it is changed to heat)and then the power from the head is not as much as it shoulod be when it reaches the cab,thus creating full amp dist. at lower volumes,Mesa Boogies are LOUD anyways so this is what I would recommend,there is no modding to be done just buy the hotplate and a speaker cable and use it like a master volume

some would argue these eat your tone but in my experiance there has been no tone loss when using one and if there has been its easy enough to dial in the eq to suit

my opinion
Euan

 

[puggles]

thanks for the responses phyrexia and mesanomad100.

mesanomad100 I had forgotten about hotplates. something I should keep in mind. I'm talking to a person who wants my DC-5 right now. and looking into the amps phyrexia mentioned doesn't seem like a bad idea. crap I was sure I wanted to sell my DC-5 until you mentioned hotplates. now I'm confused again

 

[Schmoog]

its going to be kind of hard to find a low volume boogie. remember how boogie got started: giving those fenders a set of balls. but yea the lonestars go down to 5 and 10 watts respectively, but if you want DC tone you probably won't find it there....

the attenuator is a good bet, or the mark series is switchable down to 15 watts, which is pretty loud still, but not horrible.

 

[puggles]

well I'd be looking for an amp that could cover jazz and blues. but had the room for my rock/hard rock project, enter the DC-5. but adventuring into different amps may be something I'd want to do.
lol I'm like back to stage 1 into selling/buying.

how so would the above amps be different in tone? if gain for rock/metal is a problem, maybe a V-twin? **** I'm back into stage 1 for sure

 

[Russ]

You can't go wrong with the Mark IV. Like Schmoog said it gets down to 15 watts. It can definitely cover the ground you have described.

 

[puggles]

yeah for the next couple of days I'll do some reading on a bunch of mesas. and try out as many as I can. it sounds like what ever I do, I might need a hotplate anyway.

thanks for the help that's been given so far

 

[mesanomad100]

yeah its a hard decision,I would keep it and use a hotplate

As far as MKIV,I love them but they arent to everybody's liking and IMHO they have to be cranked to get the best out of them,there are alot of people on here who will always tell you a MKIV is the way to go,this is nether a good or bad thing,

the problem you face is that you seem to have found your tone in the DC but its just the volume matter which is easily solved with a hotplate

If its not broken dont try and fix it,the wheel is a perfect example of this,its still round and thats been like that since almost the beggining of time,

Keep what you like man and only change after you have checked the opposition out yourself

I cant stress enough that you have found your tone and you need a volume decrease,not once in your post have you doubted your tone,its merely a case of volume,all boogies are loud!!!!!! they are after all the giant killers the smallest are normally as loud as the biggest

You want a DC,then have it

 

[KoolAIDMan]

What impedance is the Mark IV short head?

 

[eltrain858]

4 or 8 ohms

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I had a Mark IV. Even at 15 watts it was loud, too loud for the crappy band I was in at the time. Plus, it proved to be way harder to dial in than my DC-3 was. I never used the R2 channel and decided that I liked the tone of the DC much more. Although, I really liked using EL-34's and 6L6's together.


I have a DC-3, DC-5, & a DC-10.

If you like the tones that your DC makes, I would recommend using a Hot Plate, or do what I do and use Yellow Jackets.


There is not a huge difference in volume with the Yellow Jackets, but there is a huge difference in the amount of headroom.

You can get the amp to distort the way that you want at a much lower volume because the EL-84's are way easier to push into overdrive than a 6L6 tube is.


Another thing that I have done with my DC-5, is modify it so that the Bias is adjustable. I have used JJ 6V6's in the amp and loved the tone, but missed the overall headroom that the 6L6's have.


I have also added a Cathode Bias switch. This allows me to get more overdrive at lower volumes and a tiny bit more sustain at any volume.



I have done almost the same thing that you are about to do. I sold a great, older, 2-channel Rectifier head and bought a Nomad 55. I thought that the 3rd channel and a Solo function would be great to have, but the Nomad proved to be much harder to dial in and did not sound nearly as good as my old head had.


I've sold at least 30 amps in the past 5 years, seeking the "Ultimate Tone," only to wish that I had some of them back.

If you are sold on your tone, keep the amp or get a DC-2. The thing that I love about the Yellow Jackets is that I got to keep the EQ on the DC-5. The DC-2 doesn't have the EQ, only a footswitchable Contour, that only works on the Lead channel. With the Yellow Jackets, you have the best of both worlds.


Also, if you keep the DC-5 and attenuate the volume with the Hot Plate or Yellow Jackets, you will always have spare power for larger gigs or louder bands. If you go with a tiny amp, you are stuck with a microphone in front of it if you need more volume.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290106831837&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:12


These are great amps if you are dead set on replacing the DC-5. The only major differences will be the speaker and the lack of EQ.

This one is going for super cheap too. I don't know if it has any issues though.

 

[edward]

If you truly love the tone of your DC5, don't sell until you buy "that other" amp ...you may regret it big time! There is not that much diff in volume between 5 watts and 50 watts when playing at the home "venue." What you get from higher-watt amps is more clean headroom and extra oomph (that's a technical term) and girth around wattage-hungry low tones.

If I were you, I'd play with different tubes first. Then possibly an attenuator as was mentioned, if that doesn't address your needs. FWIW, I made some tube changes a short while ago and that alone changed the voice in a way that made it more usable/tasty for lower-volume venues (like church!). And I just recently did the "output volume mod" and this is a MUST DO for DC owners. If you're looking for another tone, then sure, sell it. But if you like what you've got and are looking for less volume, you may want to try these "mods" first.

Edward

 

[Monsta-Tone]

And I just recently did the "output volume mod" and this is a MUST DO for DC owners.

\


What did you do to the Output Volume?

 

[puggles]

you guys/gals have helped me out a ton. cleared things up for me for sure.

unfortunately I had contact with this buyer before I posted here... wish I had posted here first. If the sale doesn't go through I will look into all of the above mentioned suggestions. if this buyer accepts the price well then I have a choice to make :?. although it's very tempting to back out, I wouldn't want it happening to me.

 

[Schmoog]

while I understand your impulse to be an honorable seller, and I admire it in some small way, you need to remember a few things. your tone, my tone, is my livelyhood, and I need to protect that. take it from someone who has had the tone, and sold it because he got lost in the chase. if you don't KNOW that the amp you want to buy will get you the sound you need, don't sell your first amp without first buying the second one

 

[Monsta-Tone]

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=229027


Thanks for the link Edward. This is really good information.

I'm going to try it right now on my DC-3.




Puggles,
As for being an honest seller, it is not dishonest to decide that the amp is not for sale anymore.

If you decide to keep it, the guy can always find another one. I see more of the DC-5's on Ebay than any other DC model. I was looking for a DC-10 for a long time before I found one here on the Boogie Board. I feel really lucky too because the serial # is DCX-00099. It's a keeper for sure.


In the end, it's your amp, to do what you wish with. I would really hate to see you head down the path of selling it if the tones you are looking for are in this amp. Marketing guys are always trying to sell us the next best thing, that's what they do. We, as consumers have adapted this mentality, and accept it for what is right. I have more of an addiction to amps than most people, that's what prompted me to open up a music store, but all of the tones that I'm looking for are in my DC-3 & DC-10. If they are not, I just plug in the Blackface Pro Reverb and go to town on it for a while.



Regret is the mother of all hunchers! I have sold more priceless gear than even I can imagine. I used to have a THD Plexi (not Flexi) that will be worth a lot of money some day. I've also sold many Vintage Fenders and Marshalls that I absolutely loved, but thought there was somthing better out there.

As time goes by, I think that "If only I hadn't sold them," bullshit and it kills me. Then part of me says, "It's only gear," and I get something else that doesn't quite do what the original amp that I'm trying to replace did.



Sorry to sound preachy, I just hate to see guys go down the same path.

 

[KoolAIDMan]

You can't go wrong with the Mark IV. Like Schmoog said it gets down to 15 watts. It can definitely cover the ground you have described.

How do you set up a Mark IV to run at 15 watts?

 

[Schmoog]

class A knocks it from 85 to 25, then tweed power knocks it down another 10 watts to 15.

as far as gear regret, I have had two amps within the last 3 months I wish I had never sold. my F-50 head, and my 1968 Ampeg Gemini I with original sylvania tubes throughout. the kicker was that I didnt have to sell either. but I sold them both right before I got my stiletto cause I bought the hype and said, the stiletto will have marshall high gain, the clean of my f-50, and the mid gain rock crunch of my ampeg!.....

boy was I wrong. the kicker is, the ampeg was 100% mint. no rips, tears, original tubes and speaker, and a brand new cap job. it even had the original footswitch with no rust or pitting on the chrome, and the original slipcover with no rips, tears, or stains. frankly, an ampeg gemini I in that condition is irreplacable. at any cost. they just dont exist. and the only reason that one did is cause my friends grandfather bought it new, then stuck it in an attic for 30 years, gave it to my friend, who was stupid and sold it to me for 100 bucks cause it wasnt a good amp for punk.