bigtim Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Been thinking of getting a new amp......I have always been a fan of mesa boogie amps too but they have always been a bit much for me but maybe just maybe within the sometime near future it may just finally happen for me. I like the Nomad model and of course several others but I plugged into a 5:25 down at the local dealer yesturday and took it for a spin. Talk about GREAT TONE AND DRIVE!!!!! I was sitting there drooling all over myself and wouldn't you know, I really got to check it out without being pushed by the salesman too. I believe it was the one with the 12" speaker as I see now online, they have a 10" speaker version too. I was totally impressed. There was alot of very nice hand wired Twin style "New" versions like CARR and I played through a Tone King and a couple of others but those to me even though they sound awsome, I like a master volume and those seem to be for a pedal effect platform plus about $1000.00 bucks or even more........But I just had to plug into a few. I mainly just like reverb and a clean channel and a gain channel. I played several Marshalls and really like to Bluesbreaker they make but way out of range there too. I believe I am going to try and get a Boogie as I have always really liked their tone. All in all I am very impressed with the 5:25 Mesa Boogie. How about you guys? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabba2203 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I owned a Nomad 100 Head (w/Graphic EQ) before, nice amp but no longer have it. I currently have a Mark IV-B Medium head as my main and I totally LOVE this amp. I loved my Marshall 2203's but I always lusted for a Mark IV but never could afford one until everyone dumped them on the used market when the Mark V came out. I got a killer deal on one in mint shape and have not missed my 2203's since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I used to have the F-100 head. It sounded killer but was NOT built tough. Once it took a bump during a load-in, and the preamp tube crapped out... nothing but squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel. Had it repaired & sold it immediately. Now I stay with my Fender Twin and Marshall Plexi head, both of which have taken countless lickings and keep on ticking. Maybe I just had a bad one, but I won't buy another Mesa/Boogie. Bass player in that same band I played in at the time also bought a Mesa 115 cab and it blew before he could play a show with it the next weekend. At any rate they are very popular so I bet there will be lots of raves and kudos for Mesa/Boogie, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmwrx Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I love me some Mesa. I have never had any problems with mine. A pre-amp tube failing is normal maintenance IMHO. If popping a new tube in fixed the issue, I would not call that a quality issue. That could happen on ANY tube amp. Mesa tubes are just JJ and Ruby rebrands tested by Mesa. Not trying to call you out or anything, but that is pretty standard there. Hoards of touring musicians would choose to argue this point with you as well. I always wanted a Roadster, and recently was able to acquire one. Gobs of tone. My Roadster is the most versatile amp I've ever owned. I can do just about anything. Even made me waffles the morning after I bought it. Likely the last big amp I will buy(unless they update the Roadster significantly). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have the 5:25 head version, I paired it with a 3/4 closed back cabinet with a C-90 rather than the Express series cab with the Vintage 30. I ordered it from World Music Nashville, which is probably where you tried the amp. Nice store. The power tubes on mine lasted only 9 months, after a thread here on the forum I came to find out that I was using the stand by switch the wrong way, I was using my own logic rather than reading the manual My amp came with Sovteks which sounded really good, Mesa has a color code system to grade tubes, these sovteks were "white" coded. After the Sovteks went out I replaced them with the new Mesa tested JJs and those tubes have never delivered, they get 95% there but I am not convinced by JJs despite their consistency. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a couple of EL84 Mullards and the amp is back to its full glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have the Express 5:50 1x12 combo, and I love it. But I did not compare with other Boogies and would recommend you do that before committing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryUK Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I've always wanted one. When I gigged in the 70/80's I used Marshall's. Then the Mesa came out and I wanted one. If I'd carried on playing I would have had one. I saw a Mk V combo go for £1300 recently. I wish I could have had it. On a slightly different point. I always find combo's 'boxy'. So when gigging I run them into a 4 x 12. Do any of you do that. My Hughes and Kettner sounds great through an extension cab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have the 5:25 head version, I paired it with a 3/4 closed back cabinet with a C-90 rather than the Express series cab with the Vintage 30. I ordered it from World Music Nashville, which is probably where you tried the amp. Nice store. The power tubes on mine lasted only 9 months, after a thread here on the forum I came to find out that I was using the stand by switch the wrong way, I was using my own logic rather than reading the manual My amp came with Sovteks which sounded really good, Mesa has a color code system to grade tubes, these sovteks were "white" coded. After the Sovteks went out I replaced them with the new Mesa tested JJs and those tubes have never delivered, they get 95% there but I am not convinced by JJs despite their consistency. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a couple of EL84 Mullards and the amp is back to its full glory Yeah that is exactly where I tried it out. It is a nice store, it was the first time I had been in there since they remodeled it. Sovtek makes great tubes. I have had alot of amps that had those in them and I have replaced tubes with them. Have not fooled around with Mullards though. Glad to hear your amp came back around. That is a cool avatar too!!! Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 I've always wanted one. When I gigged in the 70/80's I used Marshall's. Then the Mesa came out and I wanted one. If I'd carried on playing I would have had one. I saw a Mk V combo go for £1300 recently. I wish I could have had it. On a slightly different point. I always find combo's 'boxy'. So when gigging I run them into a 4 x 12. Do any of you do that. My Hughes and Kettner sounds great through an extension cab. Yeah I used to run combos through a 4X12. I did it with my Musicman HD130 2X12 combo. Blew my other guitar players Marshall stack out of the water. I could not believe how great it sounded but it was really too much power at times, Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have the Express 5:50 1x12 combo, and I love it. But I did not compare with other Boogies and would recommend you do that before committing. Oh yeah I will but, is there something about yours you are not happy with? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I find a lot of combos to sound boxy too, one of the reasons I got the head and cab. Also EL84s are fragile tubes, it is a design issue so they last a lot less in a combo due to sepaker pounding. The one thing about my Mesa cab is that it.is.heavy.as.hell really well built but dang, so much so that I almost bought the same cab used to keep at my friend's and only transport the head when I play there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Yeah that is exactly where I tried it out. It is a nice store, it was the first time I had been in there since they remodeled it. Sovtek makes great tubes. I have had alot of amps that had those in them and I have replaced tubes with them. Have not fooled around with Mullards though. Glad to hear your amp came back around. That is a cool avatar too!!! Tim I have not been since the remodel, I live in the South part of Nashville, the east corner of the county two miles from Antioch and one mile from Brentwood so that store is not exactly close or convenient which is a shame because I would like to take lessons there, they have a lot of activities and a sense of community. No doubt one of the better stores around. Do they carry Gibson or not, they used to not but I know that Henry has changed his policy about distribution a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I love me some Mesa. I have never had any problems with mine. A pre-amp tube failing is normal maintenance IMHO. If popping a new tube in fixed the issue, I would not call that a quality issue. That could happen on ANY tube amp. Mesa tubes are just JJ and Ruby rebrands tested by Mesa. Not trying to call you out or anything, but that is pretty standard there. Hoards of touring musicians would choose to argue this point with you as well. I know what you mean. I had that head all of 2 months, after buying it brand new. Tubes don't blow that quick. They just don't. Now that I'm dwelling on it, whatever Mesa used instead of Tolex was very soft and tearable; I recall I babied it so as not to rip the covering. Corners were plastic as well. In spite of the babying, it didn't hold up for sh!t. My roommate at the time got a Triple Rec. on a record advance; he still has it & still loves it after 8 years. All I'm saying is that in my experience (and my old bass player's), Mesa/Boogie amps can't take the beatings and abuse that Fenders & Marshalls can happily withstand. I know plenty of others have had different experience, but I can only tell you my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twiz Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 A guy I used to play in a band with has a Single Rectifier. That thing was really sweet, and a very loud 50 watt amp. I've always really liked the Mark I. They're old, but I see them from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Oh yeah I will but, is there something about yours you are not happy with? Tim Not at all. I just love Mesas, but when I bought my 5:50, I had read a review in Guitar Player where the 5:25 had received an editor's pick award. I went to my local GC, the only MESA dealership in 100 miles, plugged in an ES-335 into a 5:50, and played for an hour. I loved it from the first note. Looking back on it, I should have tested it with other Mesas to compare. I just loved the way it sounded so much, I really didn't care to listen to others. And I still love it today. I especially love what it does with single coils in the crunch, blues, and burn modes- it really brings out the dynamics of single coils. I love humbuckers in clean and burn modes. Cleans are bright and sparkley. Overdrive is warm and creamy with just the right amount of sizzle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Yes, up until I bought my 5:25 I thought my Stratocaster needed a pickup upgrade. I really like all the voicings, humbuckers through the Blues voicing sound pretty cool, on the thin vintage side since the channel is designed for single note playing. One thing that is pretty impressive is that the 5 watt setting does behave like a true 5-watter, set the amp on clean (low gain, increase the master volume) and pound on your guitar and you'll get that grit from natural overdrive. It is amazing to be able to play at the equivalent of 1-watt volume and still get great sounds and at the flick of a switch you get 30 fat watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thejay Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I love Mesa! I have RectOverb and a Roadster, awesome amps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I love mine, even the color!: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigtim Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Do they carry Gibson or not, they used to not but I know that Henry has changed his policy about distribution a little bit. No not an official dealer any longer. They have not been for about 2 years or so either. If your in the market they did have 3, Les Paul Junior(black), Smartwod Les Paul and what looked like a 1976 reissue Explorer. Looked brand new too. They had a real nice Ric 330/12 in black. They also had a ton of those reliced out teles and strats. I guess that is great if your into those things but they are just not for me at all. They have a real nice selection of Orange amps too but I am looking for a combo not a head/cab. Yeah they do alot of lesson stuff there......Plus some greatolayers come out from time to time for those clinics...Phil Keaggy was there last year. He is pretty dang impressive I must say. ...I guess it is over 30 minutes from where you are. Likewise here for me also as I live in Dickson. I would think Franklin/Brentwood would have some nice music stores there but I have not found any. I know there is a new music store over there by the Loveless cafe off HWY 100. Gonna check them out before long. Corner music used to be a nice little store but for where you live I guess Guitar Center may be the most convienant. Heck there is nothing out here where I am!!! Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmwrx Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I love mine, even the color!: That Stiletto looks great in Orange tolex! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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