who owns a mesa express amp?

[vinnie_australia]

hey im in adelaide!, yeah its a great amp but that sound just bugs me otherwise i cant fault the amp! ive ordered some "tube tamers" from a guy from ebay and he says they help the sound alot. ive tried taking the grill off of the amp and also removing the silver casings (i had no idea they were heat sinks haha i thought they were just there to hold the valves in the amp during transport) check out my myspace http://www.myspace.com/vincesymesandalexwignall ive got a recording of the tune "wait till you see her" played with my ibanez artcore af105, and a little bit of texas flood 12 bar that i played my incredibly crap but strangely good sounding casino stratocaster copy... i dont use any pedals except for a floor tuner so for anyone reading this who wants an idea of the types of sounds you can get from the express check out my myspace : http://www.myspace.com/vincesymesandalexwignall and add me while your there!

 

[cabowabo5150]

I got a 5:25 1X10 Combo about a year and a half ago. I also have a very nice EarCandy Buzz Bomb that I used to hook up to it. I recently got a Mesa 1X12 over sized closed back cab that I use. Definitely opened up the sound.

I got to be honest for a home "BedRoom" player I love the 1X10 plenty for what I do.

 

[vinnie_australia]

hey ive just put a bunch of those tube tamers from ebay onto my amp, my v2 power tube was making so much noise and is now a helluva lot quieter however i was told that the metal casings on the tubes are heat sinks and if i take them off it will be bad for the amp, is this truE? its a big improvement in sound and i cant fit the metallic casings over the rubber rings? please help

 

[Don]

They're not heat sinks. If anything, they retain heat by preventing air from circulating over the tube.

To be effective as a heat sink, they'd need to be made out of copper or at least aluminum, have more mass and contact more of the tube's surface (I design heat sinks in the electronics industry).

They're shielding to reduce noise.

If you don't have a noise problem you don't need them.

 

[rwil]

Very interesting!
I was thinking that the casing and the grill is only usefull to keep the tubes secured since up side down and vibration from the speaker.

 

[Supreeth]

I have an express 5:25 1x12 combo with black tolex and tan grille. It is a great sounding amp and I get most classic rock tones without any problems. For metal I put a Route 66 OD/Comprssion pedal in front of the amp's burn channel and the amp takes the pedal very well. The 5 watt mode is LOUD! The pure class A of this mode is worth the price of the amp alone IMO and I mainly stick to this mode.

My only issue with the express is that there is a hiss coming from the amp's power section and I may need to change the power tubes. It's not the pre-amp tubes since the hiss is present even if I plug just into the effects return of the amp. I can't hear the hiss when I'm playing though so it's all good.

 

[Steve P]

I swapped out the stock power tubes with some JJs and have been really happy with them -- less hissy and more throaty roar! :twisted:

 

[Newysurfer]

hey ive just put a bunch of those tube tamers from ebay onto my amp, my v2 power tube was making so much noise and is now a helluva lot quieter however i was told that the metal casings on the tubes are heat sinks and if i take them off it will be bad for the amp, is this truE? its a big improvement in sound and i cant fit the metallic casings over the rubber rings? please help

Help you say - Come on Vinnie - use your warranty and get it fixed permanently or demand a new amp

 

[Don]

hey ive just put a bunch of those tube tamers from ebay onto my amp, my v2 power tube was making so much noise and is now a helluva lot quieter however i was told that the metal casings on the tubes are heat sinks and if i take them off it will be bad for the amp, is this truE? its a big improvement in sound and i cant fit the metallic casings over the rubber rings? please help

Have you tried different tubes?

 

[vinnie_australia]

yeah had thev2 replaced under warranty but this o ring neutralizes the noise so i cbf taking the amp back in.

 

[jonp]

Hi,

You cannot stop tube rattle - it is a purely mechanical thing within some tubes. I use 2 x Tube Dampers on the 4 x 6L6 and 2 on the rectifier of my LSC (2007) The work really well.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/8-TUBE-AMP-DAMPERS-FOR-6550-300B-6L6-6L6GC-5U4-5881-2A3_W0QQitemZ320304028685QQihZ011QQcategoryZ64629QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Jon

 

[vinnie_australia]

yeah they are the same things ive got, they work really well.. ive got them on the 6l6's and also on one of the 12 ax7;s the v2 which is noisy as **** otherwise great improvement in sound and no buzzing whatsoever if you are from australia chek my other post its like a thread where aussies can chat

 

[floaty83]

I've had the Express 5:50 1x12 combo for a couple of months now. Freakin awesome amp! I get all sorts of tones out of it.

I typically have the Crunch mode set at full gain for my crunch sounds. I've got my blues mode set at low gain for my cleaner tones. I put a Boss DS-1 distortion pedal in front dialed down to where it gives just a slight boost in gain to push the crunch channel to higher gain levels. Sounds freakin awesome.

Best purchase ever!

 

[vinnie_australia]

yeah its an incredible amp, very versatile and inspiring to play. i have uni exams in the next few weeks and over the summer im going to put together a blues band so wil maybe hsave some recordings up of the amp in a different setting to the jazz

 

[Finnster]

I tried an Express 5:50 about a year ago....I eventually took it back for it's lack of "umph" if that makes sense.
Well...a year later and I am contemplating giving it another whirl. I like the portability of the 1X12 combos. Now, all that being said I continue to read such "hate" and "love" threads. This goes for almost every amp!

Since the 5:25 now has a 1X12 option what would be the best way to describe the tonal differences between that and the 5:50? I am guessing the 5:25 is more chimey and has better crunch? Am I off?? If I want to occasionally get a heavy Metallica type sound which is the better choice? I mainly play classic rock type sounds....I like the sounds Tesla is getting lately.

I may be back to Mesa.....

Any help???

 

[Skully]

I mainly play classic rock type sounds

Then the Express is the perfect amp IMO, I put a Metal Zone MT-2 in front of the clean to go over the top, considering a better pedal (Lovepedal - Eternity or 808) since I only run the MT on 2 for the gain. But for crankin' out 80's metal it's great simply by using the burn channel. I'm currently considering adding a 2 x 12 cab with Helltones (broken in V30's) to add some bottom end. Other than that I just love the 5:50.

 

[Newysurfer]

I mainly play classic rock type sounds

Then the Express is the perfect amp IMO, I put a Metal Zone MT-2 in front of the clean to go over the top, considering a better pedal (Lovepedal - Eternity or 808) since I only run the MT on 2 for the gain. But for crankin' out 80's metal it's great simply by using the burn channel. I'm currently considering adding a 2 x 12 cab with Helltones (broken in V30's) to add some bottom end. Other than that I just love the 5:50.

Geeeez Skully I can't believe you're running a crappy MT-2 into your 5:50. It's one of the worst distortion pedals I've ever heard IMHO (a fizzy nest of bees even on low gain) and they're bad tone suckers when turned off. If you want a great booster for it I suggest either an Ibanez TS-808 or a Maxon OD-9 tubescreamer. The best are either the Keeley or Analogman mod'ed one's. They'll blast your 5:50's burn channel into the stratosphere. These pedals are true bypass too.

I have a 2x12 cab with V30's and it does improve things significantly as does swapping out the stock Mesa tubes and replacing them with high gain, low noise ones. New tubes gave me more gain, far less amp hum and made it smoother all round while still keeping the same clean tones

 

[StratExpress]

I bought a 5:50 last summer and I love it. It seems every time
I'm in a different situation or a different room, I fall in love again.

You have to be patient and really play with the controls. Sometimes
a slight change and the tone comes in. Don't be afraid to try different control settings and you'll be amazed.

 

[Landshark]

Still happy with my 5:50

 

[VCuomo]

You have to be patient and really play with the controls. Sometimes
a slight change and the tone comes in. Don't be afraid to try different control settings and you'll be amazed.

Since the tone controls are before the preamp, I've placed a graphic equalizer in the effects loop (last pedal in the chain) of my 5:50. Works great and you no longer "have to be patient and really play with the controls".