URGENT! Caliber +50: Should i buy it!?

[guitargeek62]

im after an amp thatll give me similar tones to these bands;

tool
metallica
foo fighters
rhcps

and a very nice clean, im happy to get crunches from a pedal if needs be

from the harmony-central reviews it looks perfect!

ps, whats a good price for these too?

 

[Vigo1999]

Yes, no doubt!!!!

i loved mine, regret selling her . . . her lead channel is as heavy as you wanna (but, heavy in a more "vintage heavy" kinda, not modern like these days, think heavy like Metallica MOP album).

she accepts pedals VERY well and isnt noisy at all. the clean channel is outstanding, probably cause of her stripped down project, reminiscent of good old blackfaces, but has a lot of biting if you wanna, not just sweetness . . . 8)

tha ball park for those are 400-550 usd for a head and 450-600usd for a combo (US prices ok?? not counting the shipping . . .)

 

[guitargeek62]

You just sold me on it cheers! Exactly what i needed to hear 8)

Well, its a little expensive then but this is england and mesa prices here are ridiculous....... opening bid of £500, ill go up to £700 i think if its as good as you (and HC says) and get me a cab too

 

[Vigo1999]

You just sold me on it cheers! Exactly what i needed to hear 8)

Well, its a little expensive then but this is england and mesa prices here are ridiculous....... opening bid of £500, ill go up to £700 i think if its as good as you (and HC says) and get me a cab too

always welcome my Brit Fella!!

and yes, i know what you're talking about ridiculous prices, here in Brazil we dont have official Mesa Office any more, they've closed down since the prices were too high!!

not to say about shipping . . . to ship an amp head from USA to Brazil is like 150-200 usd (but yes, we can always go for the "customs form correct filling" to drop down the prices a bit :wink:

i've sold mine here for 1000usd (head) at the time, they're running for around 850-900usd now . . .

try to try a Barber DD or a MI Drive in front of her . . . you'll be delighted . . .

 

[guitargeek62]

Im really tempted to pay more than its worth though and buy it outright based on all the reviews on harmony central, sounds like its the type of amp id seriously regret missing out on n i dont want to get sniped at the last minute

 

[Sludgenutz]

I hope you are planning on getting the head version, because the Metallica tone is not gonna happen with an open back cab.

Get the 6L6 powered ".50 Caliber + model", with the EQ, not the early .50 Caliber, powered by four smaller EL-84's (which may or may not have the EQ).

The clean channel is nice (I use a fuzz on that channel), and the tone of the dirty channel is definitely "Master of Puppets" era Metallica. The amount of gain is perfect as-is. I no longer run distortion/overdrive pedals.

Budget enough money for new set of tubes if the tone needs a rework.

Another famous user of the .50 Cal, was Pepper Keenan of Corrosion of Conformity.

 

[Sludgenutz]

BTW, here is a recent thread:

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?p=74429&highlight=#74429

 

[joepopp]

I just bought a .50 Caliber+ because I am playng live again and I don't want to haul around the extra weight of a Mark III or IV. It's working great so far. Pure Boogie tone and at 49 pounds I can get it into a yellow cab or even get it on the subway. I got the version with the 6L6s because of my past experience with EL84's in a DC3 that I had. The DC3 tone was cool but not the sound I was looking for. The .50 Cal is what I was looking for. The Boogies from 88 - 91 seem to be the sound I dig. I just ordered a Dunlop MC-401 Booster pedal for leads so I can have the amp set up for Clean and Crunch and hit the booster for leads.

 

[guitargeek62]

i guess £750 would be to much to pay really? It doesnt have the original footswitch either :\

Just been listening to puppets though and dam i love those tones! Ive been after them forever and was about to buy an f50 when i found out about this amp! :?

 

[guitargeek62]

ps, its the caliber .50+ head btw, ill probably run it into a custom made cab as theres a guy who builds very nice ones about 5 mins from my house, probably chuck some black shadows in too 8)

 

[guitargeek62]

gargh, theres a single recto solo 50 head that ends tomorrow, im bidding on that first as it seems like it might have more versatility without having to change anything on the amp, if i dont win it ill keep my bids on the caliber

 

[Vigo1999]

gargh, theres a single recto solo 50 head that ends tomorrow, im bidding on that first as it seems like it might have more versatility without having to change anything on the amp, if i dont win it ill keep my bids on the caliber

wow, but keep in mind that they're WAY rather different from each other . . .i've personally dont dig the single recto's clean channel that much . . .and yes, the lead channels are quite different sounding . . .

for my tastes, the 50+cal pwns the Single anytime . . .