Sometimes you don't appreciate what you've got thread

[blackie59]

I've had an Express 5:25 1x12, my first Mesa amp, for about a year now and it took a while to dial in the amp to get the tones I wanted from it. Yes it was frustrating and I lived with it and learned to enjoy the amp too. The Mesa is my only amp and I'm only banging around on it in my house. Anyway, like a lot of people, the grass is always greener, so I decided I'd get a Marshall combo too. I grew up playing them and always kind of thought that with a Les Paul that it was THE only amp. I get a used DSL401 that didn't cost too much money and over the weekend played it quite a bit, put some NOS tubes in the preamp, experimented with some different speakers, and just got it where I thought it should be as far as a decent tone. Then I turned on my Express and had my epiphany!!! What was I thinking getting another Marshall? All the tone I need is in the Express already and the Marshall didn't do anything the Mesa didn't already do. And the Mesa does it a lot better. I guess I can keep the Marshall and use it as a back up if I ever need it or I can trade it off for a 2x12 or something. Anyway, I really was disappointed in the Marshall and in hindsight I have to admit to myself that I've never really owned a Marshall that I was happy with over the years starting with a 50 watt head I got back in the 1970's.

 

[DannyB_KY]

All the amps I have had over the years......and NOTHING puts the smile on my face like the 5:50+. I wuz sitting here working on a little music theory...thought about this post...and I jumped on just to say the amp makes me smile just knowing its sitting there. Never had that feeling with any of the Marshalls. I"m not saying I didn't like them, because I did!

One of my grandsons will inherit this amp! I've got 3.

 

[Barry del Ive]

When I got my standard Express 5:50 (non Plus) two months ago, I found my sound within a half hour. I more or less saw the rest of the amp as useless weight. The problem I was having was that my sound seemed achievable on the Clean setting of channel 1 with the Contour off at 5w. The chewy yummy clean goodness would disappear into the mud when the volume went up.

This past weekend, I found my solution. All the same preamp settings but on channel 2 Blues setting. The difference being that the power amp is on 50w. That effectively gets me, volume wise, out of the studio and over the drummer.

 

[blackie59]

I put some NOS tubes in the DSL and it was an incredible improvement in cleaning up the fizziness of the amp. The FX loop really sucks and the Mesa is miles above the Marshall on that comparison. I did get the Marshall dialed in and useable now.

 

[STONEHEAD]

I can really relate to your story as I posted this over at MLP:

Though i'd share this ridiculous story with you....
Its funny for 4 years i had a Marshall VM2266 and was generally satisfied with the amp. Then i made the mistake of trying out a Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 2x12 and i was like... holy ****! this thing rocks. So the Marshall got sold and I was in Boogie heaven for about a year when I decided to get the Mark V. Found a good used one for a steal but I did not get along with that amp very well. I like tinkering, i like all the knobs and switches i just didn't like the overall tone of the amp (probably needed more time with it). So took it back. Then I did something really dumb! I ended up selling my 5:50.... from there I went on an ampathon. I bought the following over a 8 month period in no particular order.
Vox AC4TV
Fender EC Tremolux
Traynor YGL2
Traynor YCV20WR
EVH 5150 III 50 Watt
Gretsch Electromatic
Marshall JMP1h
Marshall Offset
Fender Princeton Reverb
Marshall DSL100
Marshall DSL 40C
Marshall DSL401
Traynor YBA-1
For f#@! sakes someone stop me before I go broke!

Now I can always find something I like in each amp I play through, some more than others but once theres something I don't like, it gnaw's away at the back of my head until I buy a new amp or sell it. (sad I know)
Well i finally killed my amp GAS yesterday and when out and bought a new Express 5:50 +. I've come full vicious circle back to Boogie. I just love the sound of their amps. The cleans, the drive, the big bottom end just love it! I know they're not everyones cup of tea but i sure do like em.
I could hear the collective voices inside my head breathe a sigh of relief, or maybe it was my family breathing a sigh of relief that we'll have enough money for food or collage or even the mortgage now...
Most of the amps i purchased, i was able to take back for a full refund.
I did learn a valuable lesson though...if you find something you like stick with it! Chasing tone can get freak'n pricey, frustrating, and demoralizing...

Anyhoo... I feel much better now....

 

[DannyB_KY]

I love my Mesa Express 5:50+!!

Nice, Stonehead!! 8)

The ONLY amp I regret selling is the 1997 AC-30TB, blonde, that I bought new. Even if I still had it, I'd have bought my beloved Mesa Express.

Did I mention how much I like my Mesa? :lol:

 

[Newysurfer]

I can really relate to your story as I posted this over at MLP:

Though i'd share this ridiculous story with you....
Its funny for 4 years i had a Marshall VM2266 and was generally satisfied with the amp. Then i made the mistake of trying out a Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 2x12 and i was like... holy sh!t this thing rocks. So the Marshall got sold and I was in Boogie heaven for about a year when I decided to get the Mark V. Found a good used one for a steal but I did not get along with that amp very well. I like tinkering, i like all the knobs and switches i just didn't like the overall tone of the amp (probably needed more time with it). So took it back. Then I did something really dumb! I ended up selling my 5:50.... from there I went on an ampathon. I bought the following over a 8 month period in no particular order.
Vox AC4TV
Fender EC Tremolux
Traynor YGL2
Traynor YCV20WR
EVH 5150 III 50 Watt
Gretsch Electromatic
Marshall JMP1h
Marshall Offset
Fender Princeton Reverb
Marshall DSL100
Marshall DSL 40C
Marshall DSL401
Traynor YBA-1
For f#@! sakes someone stop me before I go broke!

Now I can always find something I like in each amp I play through, some more than others but once theres something I don't like, it gnaw's away at the back of my head until I buy a new amp or sell it. (sad I know)
Well i finally killed my amp GAS yesterday and when out and bought a new Express 5:50 +. I've come full vicious circle back to Boogie. I just love the sound of their amps. The cleans, the drive, the big bottom end just love it! I know they're not everyones cup of tea but i sure do like em.
I could hear the collective voices inside my head breathe a sigh of relief, or maybe it was my family breathing a sigh of relief that we'll have enough money for food or collage or even the mortgage now...
Most of the amps i purchased, i was able to take back for a full refund.
I did learn a valuable lesson though...if you find something you like stick with it! Chasing tone can get freak'n pricey, frustrating, and demoralizing...

Anyhoo... I feel much better now....

Glad you're feeling better now cos I'd be very happy with any one of the amps on your list :mrgreen:

 

[STONEHEAD]

Glad you're feeling better now cos I'd be very happy with any one of the amps on your list :mrgreen:

The only one I'd want back on that list would be the Traynor YBA1, just a killer sounding old school amp.

 

[smunger4]

I've had an Express 5:25 1x12, my first Mesa amp, for about a year now and it took a while to dial in the amp to get the tones I wanted from it. Yes it was frustrating and I lived with it and learned to enjoy the amp too. The Mesa is my only amp and I'm only banging around on it in my house. Anyway, like a lot of people, the grass is always greener, so I decided I'd get a Marshall combo too. I grew up playing them and always kind of thought that with a Les Paul that it was THE only amp. I get a used DSL401 that didn't cost too much money and over the weekend played it quite a bit, put some NOS tubes in the preamp, experimented with some different speakers, and just got it where I thought it should be as far as a decent tone. Then I turned on my Express and had my epiphany!!! What was I thinking getting another Marshall? All the tone I need is in the Express already and the Marshall didn't do anything the Mesa didn't already do. And the Mesa does it a lot better. I guess I can keep the Marshall and use it as a back up if I ever need it or I can trade it off for a 2x12 or something. Anyway, I really was disappointed in the Marshall and in hindsight I have to admit to myself that I've never really owned a Marshall that I was happy with over the years starting with a 50 watt head I got back in the 1970's.

Came in on this thread late but find this interesting.....not to be reflective, but at my age you think about things....cars/trucks/motorcycles you have owned, how many dwellings you have lived in, girlfriends/wives...and most importantly guitars/amps

I prep'd a quick inventory that I can remember (early band days are a bit foggy)

Non-Mesa:

Princeton Reverb
Fender Bassman
Music Man (RD 50?)
Soldano Astroverb
Jet City 22
Blackstar 20
Marshall DSL-40
Marshall Valvestate
Line 6 Spyders (2)
Many little practice amps

Mesas:

Studio 22
DC-5
Caliber 50
Mini Rectifier
TA-30

.....and finally the Mark V half-stack.

Mark V can do most anything. Sticking with it

 

[Bruceta]

I’ve had 2 JCM 800s. Sold them and never bought any other Marshall since I moved to Mesa. Has the tone I love, infinItely more reliable than Marshall’s, more versatile and a lot punchier.

I don’t regret I sold those 2. Both stopped working in different live situations. Very embarrassing. I’ve never had this happening with Mesa amps.

 

[PAPADON]

I played a Twin for many years. Then the 550+ came along and put it out to pasture.

 

[Sacramende]

First time Mesa owner. Bought a used 5:50 1x12 last summer and I think this is it. I've gone through dozens of amps over dozens of years and there's nothing this thing can't do, after buying amps and sometimes days later browsing around for something else. I did that a few times after getting the Express but that itch has, for the first time I can recall, gone away. Not saying I wouldn't jump on a Lonestar Special if the right one came along, but not actively seeking anything is a breath of fresh air.

Definitely appreciating what I have with this...

 

[b00g13mk2B]

I gigged my 5:25+ this past Thursday in a small bar. Not not heavy, more than loud enough and great tone.

Have been using a Tele the past year and dealing with brightness. I found that setting Clean gain to around 3/4 and using 15W made a big difference. I still turned down the treble to 10 o’clock, no EQ. Master was less than 25% and it was loud!

I used compression on the pedal board, got tremendous sustain combined with the preamp compression and speaker proximity. I used a Valve Reamer for a bit of dirt and a Black Magic Zen Drive for higher gain. Didn’t use drive because Zen sounds similar and not enough room on the floor for all the pedals.

Lots of combinations to try on this amp.

 

[Frank Kramer]

I gigged my 5:25+ this past Thursday in a small bar. Not not heavy, more than loud enough and great tone.

Have been using a Tele the past year and dealing with brightness. I found that setting Clean gain to around 3/4 and using 15W made a big difference. I still turned down the treble to 10 o’clock, no EQ. Master was less than 25% and it was loud!

I used compression on the pedal board, got tremendous sustain combined with the preamp compression and speaker proximity. I used a Valve Reamer for a bit of dirt and a Black Magic Zen Drive for higher gain. Didn’t use drive because Zen sounds similar and not enough room on the floor for all the pedals.

Lots of combinations to try on this amp.

What compressor ? Did you keep it on all the time ?

 

[b00g13mk2B]

Xotic SP compressor. Took me awhile to get it set where you can’t feel the squeeze. I leave it on all the time now, unless I use a humbucker guitar.