Yea or Na on the Express series

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brianf

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So what do you all think? The dealer I buy my gear at loaned me an Express 5:25 combo for the weekend. I'm kind of liking this amp. The 5 watt setting has an entirly different make up vrs my LSS 5 watt settings. Might be a keeper.

brianf
 
Depends on what you want out of it. If you like it, what does it matter what we think? :)
 
I'd really like to know how you would characterize the differences in the two- the LSS and Express at 5 watts, Class "A". Then I can anticipate what the 15 and 30 watt setting on the LSS will deliver (or you can tell me your opinion as to that too) :)

I haven't tried the LSS, but I did test (3 days) the Express 5:25 and took it back. I liked the idea, but I think it was the sound of the 10" combo that didn't work for me.

On advice I was/am looking for a Class "A" amplifier. However, the Express broke up way too early for any clean volume on the 5 watt Class "A". Of course this is great if your after low volume, classic rock and slightly higher gain. The non Class "A" LSC was cheaper at GC for $999 so I .....traded down?????? :shock:

My preference is loud and clean (lots of what I play at Church....both electric and amplified accoustic), and then some gain, which I have found with the LSC that I bought, although I didn't end up with Class "A". I would love to reduce to the size/weight of the LSS, if there is a "$600.00 improvement in tone due to the Class "A". Thats why I ask. Because the label Class "A" apparently means something, but not all Class "A" is necessarily equal, and as we all know, what is good tone is up to the hearer.
 
I agree that the 5W breaks up a little early for loud and clean... but for me it doesn't matter whether I'm doing Class A or Class AB from a Boogie. (Could you tell the difference in a blind test???) The 5W is mostly for "bedroom" playing anyway.

My style is more clean, and so far the 25W is plenty of power! I played out yesterday and my ears were ringing for hours afterwards, and I rarely went out of the clean mode. Today I played in a jam session with 2 other guitarists, drums, bass, harp and vocalists and I was the only one who was told to "please turn down.... again" ;) Definitely groovin' on the 5:25.
 
I love the 6L6 tone I get out of my ROV. That being said, I played a 5:25 a while back and really like it. I like the 5:25's tone and the fact that it doesn't weigh 70 lbs. This would be my choice for a second amp. I know the LSS has more settings to play with but it weighs a ton too. The 5:25 is a sweet class A amp. :D
 
I have the 5:25 and like it a lot, I also have an LSS and find
it a much diff amp

almost think the 5:25 is a little more versatile, I get a bit more
higher gain out of it

was dorkin around with it a bit yesterday
left it set at 5watts, internal speaker connected
and a rectifier 1x12 with a V30 connected
a 1x10,1x12 vertical stack if you will
killer Rock setup

have it dialed in for a warm smooth Marshall Plexi kind
of vibe, me likes

the 1x10 alone can be boxey, but I like it for some bluesy
tones

the 5:25 is my answer to the "whats the best home practice amp"

cheers
 
willrock said:
anyone here tried the 5:50? believe it or not, i ordered the 5:50 without even trying it myself :?
Click to expand...

Hi, I owned it for a week. In short, it wasn't for me and got an F-50. See my other posts for details. I'm also did the first review on HC for it.
 
I now have added to the review now that I have more playing time on it.

You cannot have one channel on 5 watts and one on 25. It's either or for both channels. The Lone Stars allow you to mix wattage on channels.

The higher the gain you run the less the contour setting has an effect on tone.

No other amp I have owned has been so affected by the guitars volume knob. You can be in the Clean mode at 25 watts and it starts to break up fairly early. Now just turn down the guitar volume a tiny bit like from 10 to 9 and this is a totally different amp. Lots of clean headroom. This goes for both the 5 watt and 25 watt settings.

It would be interesting to see how different speakers sound. What is a Boogie Vintage Blackshadow 10" speaker????

The reverb is very nice but once you get to about 11:00 o'clock on the dial that is it.

I now have 4 Mesa's in the family and this one is typical built like a Swiss watch.


normal_DSC00360.JPG


normal_DSC00357.JPG



brianf
 
The "vintage" speakers are usually eminence so that's probably what it is. I bet another speaker will sound better but that's not a guarantee.

Greg
 
I just bought the 5:50 Express yesterday, I have owned Tremoverb,Dc-5,MarkIV,Maverick,Heartbreaker and LSS in the past, so I'm well aware of there various attributes...It took me all of 5 minutes with a McCarty to make up my mind and buy it, I never even got out of 5watt mode in the store! The clean is one of Boogies best yet(the tube driven reverb is outstanding),the crunch can be subtle to soaring and actually is great for solos,blues and burn settings require a bit more attention,gain and eq wise,and both are very sensitive to pickup and guitar types, my Brian Moore with Duncan HBs just sings in this channel, but my vintage tele took a bit longer to find the sweet spots...I have heard a few people voice thier dislike of the burn setting, I encourage you to spend a little more time experimenting with it before giving up, i found many guitar specific usable lead tones...overall after only one day of ownership(about 6 hours playing time last night) I love the amp and relatively speaking it's a bargain at $1,199.00. I'll update my opinions in a few weeks.
 
Gregadeth said:
I just bought the 5:50 Express yesterday, I have owned Tremoverb,Dc-5,MarkIV,Maverick,Heartbreaker and LSS in the past, so I'm well aware of there various attributes...It took me all of 5 minutes with a McCarty to make up my mind and buy it, I never even got out of 5watt mode in the store! The clean is one of Boogies best yet(the tube driven reverb is outstanding),the crunch can be subtle to soaring and actually is great for solos,blues and burn settings require a bit more attention,gain and eq wise,and both are very sensitive to pickup and guitar types, my Brian Moore with Duncan HBs just sings in this channel, but my vintage tele took a bit longer to find the sweet spots...I have heard a few people voice thier dislike of the burn setting, I encourage you to spend a little more time experimenting with it before giving up, i found many guitar specific usable lead tones...overall after only one day of ownership(about 6 hours playing time last night) I love the amp and relatively speaking it's a bargain at $1,199.00. I'll update my opinions in a few weeks.
Click to expand...



at last, a positive feedback about the 5:50 8)
 
Gregadeth, glad to hear it.

I have read every review on this amp. A guy on another site reviewed it and came out with the same as the other reviewers on this site.

I'm liking the fact you like the cleans alot. Clean, semi-cleans and semi dirties are my get up.... Picking hand forcing more gain is more me over just mute how ever and strum.

I might PM you on this as you seam more into other types of guitars and pickups.
 
Are there any reviews of these amps in a band situation? Namely with one with 2 guitarists to get a feel for how the amp will sit in a mix. The Mark IV, DC5, etc are all proven in band settings which would make me consider an amp more than one that only sounds good practicing alone.



Greg
 

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