soundchaser59
Reluctant Commander
I love my Express, BUT........ in your situation, Lt., I'd strongly urge you to go for the 1x12 instead, unless you want to lug around an extra cab.
pm'd you......
A Mesa so easy to dial in even Light might like it!
- Thread starter sarge117
- Start date
I love my Express, BUT........ in your situation, Lt., I'd strongly urge you to go for the 1x12 instead, unless you want to lug around an extra cab.
pm'd you......
The problem I have with the combos are they are so dang blasted heavy.
I have a Mark IV short head and a 1x12, and it is easy to lug around. A Mark IV combo would be a bear.
The Mark V combo I have to believe would be heavier.
Outlaws
New member
The only thing I think of when I think of them is, sex, drugs, and one loud and mean rock'n'roll song done 300x over.
I think the only thing Light is missing is that the volume control doesn't work so well if you want "clean" and a searing lead tone that is past that of early 1980's lead. Rolling off the volume on a modern high gain amp doesn't clean up nearly the same. Thus leading to a second channel, which requires institutes a need for a master to balance the outputs.
I'm recent to the fold' here guys. I hadn't touched a Mesa in a long while and went looking with the idea of keeping the size down with maybe the Express 10 or 12. But it didn't sing for me like Lonestar. Umm.. It's the ‘Compact'... (but not quite.I'm a total Mesa fanboi, you're preaching to the choir.
Though, I'd say pass on the Express. I was pretty underwhelmed with the one I played - the cleans were decent but not as good as the F series it replaced, and the gain sound was pretty.... Eh, it neither got as smooth and liquid as a Mark or Lonestar, nor as crunchy as a Recto or Stiletto. And even at 5 watts it was still pretty damned loud. It was the least inspiring Mesa I've ever played, and if you had a Mark-V I can't imagine ANY playing situation where you'd be happier with the Express.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
A gig where I needed to carry an amp in one hand and git in the other!
I play almost every night 'cause I need the money so that means I end up doing really small places where there's no room in the first part of the week. I really need a tiny amp and I use a Blues Junior for those right now and it just sucks.
Also I do a fair amount of gigs at the beach and marinas where I have to haul my stuff a long ways.
I think that Express is gonna be about the best truly small amp I'm gonna find and still have some channel switching.
I will try one before buying of course but the reviews I've read make me feel it'll do what I want ..... be really small and still sound acceptable.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
I called Mesa and they didn't even know! SO they went and set one on a scale and told me it was 65lbs. That's not too bad ...... I can handle that. I keep meaning to weigh my Blue Angel ...... I'm pretty sure it's well over 50 'cause my Hot Rod deVille (4-10s) weioghs 55 or 60 lbs and it's as heavy as that. Lifting weight helps keep my bone density up!
I don't use my Ampegs anymore 'cause the VT-40 (4-10 combo) weighs 95lbs! I can't do that anymore.
I am getting older so I am considering the head and a cab but ....... man ..... I do this every freakin' night. Every single night I'm unloading 2 15/horn PA speakers ...... a powered mixer ..... lights .... my pedal board and amp and guitar, sax and keyboards. Every night I have to run wires to everything and get it all hooked up and running and then at the end of the night I unhook everything and carry it to the truck. At least 5 nights a week every week year after year.
One less piece of gear is one less thing to haul and hook up.
lollygagger8
New member
Since there seems to be alot of amp power in the room......maybe you all can help.
I have a Mesa Dual Rec. I got rid of my Crate Blue Voodoo (really not a bad head) for a better gain channel.
Now, who makes an amp that has as good as cleans as the Crate BV, but all the crunch of the Mesa? I'm NOT a fan of the clean channel on the recs, the BV killed it on cleans.
I play in a cover band (rock, and metal) and a couple of original bands (one is hard rock, and one is funk) Mesa w/ PRS SC250for everything except the funk. I use a Fender Bandmaster for funk, or pull out my 2x12 Fender Hotrod and a Jap Fender Strat (with '57 pups) for the funk - of course!
I have a Mesa Dual Rec. I got rid of my Crate Blue Voodoo (really not a bad head) for a better gain channel.
Now, who makes an amp that has as good as cleans as the Crate BV, but all the crunch of the Mesa? I'm NOT a fan of the clean channel on the recs, the BV killed it on cleans.
I play in a cover band (rock, and metal) and a couple of original bands (one is hard rock, and one is funk) Mesa w/ PRS SC250for everything except the funk. I use a Fender Bandmaster for funk, or pull out my 2x12 Fender Hotrod and a Jap Fender Strat (with '57 pups) for the funk - of course!
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
well, that's what I'm so interested in the Mark V for. I may do super clean twangy old time country one night with lots of pseudo-steel parts and then the next night I'm doing Motown and the night after that, Skynard. I'm a hired gun and I need to be able to do anything at a moments' notice.
Up to now I've simply had to use different amps for different gigs. But that leaves me constantly switching things around plus, inevitably, I'll end up on some gigs with the wrong amp and be either too loud or not loud enough or too clean or not clean enough. It's a PIA.
So I'm thinking the V would let me simply use one amp and get the three things I always need...... Clean, Crunch and sustainy-lead voices.
Since I haven't played one I can't yet recommend it but that will be coming soon. I'm gonna go check one out in a week or two and I have some folks interested in some of my gear.
I actually have a three channel amp that works great ..... a 1992 30th Anniversary Marshall combo (6101).
So I already know a 3 channel configuration will do what I want. But the Marshall doesn't have 'verb which I absolutely need and it's fragile and hard to find anyone that can work on it. It's cost me about $500 in repair bills so far. So I'm selling it 'cause it's sorta a collectible.
When I do try the V I'll let you all know.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
A gig where I needed to carry an amp in one hand and git in the other!
I play almost every night 'cause I need the money so that means I end up doing really small places where there's no room in the first part of the week. I really need a tiny amp and I use a Blues Junior for those right now and it just sucks.
Also I do a fair amount of gigs at the beach and marinas where I have to haul my stuff a long ways.
I think that Express is gonna be about the best truly small amp I'm gonna find and still have some channel switching.
I will try one before buying of course but the reviews I've read make me feel it'll do what I want ..... be really small and still sound acceptable.
I'm not sure what an Express 5:25 weighs, but don't expect it to be hugely lighter than the Mark-V.
I'd certainly recommend trying the V at small gigs before grabbing an Express, but if you NEED a second amp for smaller gigs, maybe look at like a Studio or Caliber series?
Lollygagger - I'm actually a big fan of the Recto cleans, but to each their own... That said, try a Stiletto. It's if anything crunchier than a Rectifier, but it has a spectacular clean channel.
Light
New member
Well, that's what the boost on my amp is for - it makes it louder, sure, but when I'm after that tone I want it louder!
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Light, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to see a few pics of this thing and hear a couple clips if you've got them handy. I think it's fucking cool you built your own amp, and I sort of want to revel in my inner geek-dom a bit.
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
Studio or Caliber series?
That's Mesa? Don't see it on their site ......... don't see it in their discontinued products either. Who made 'em?
I'm certainly open to other stuff ..... in fact, I'm getting ready to order a ZT Lunchbox for super portability. But I do want a small tube amp with channel switching.
Any suggestions to look at besides the Express would be very welcome. I want a 10" speaker in it 'cause a 12" is gonna be about as big as the V and so there'd be no big advantage in using it.
Regardless of all this, the first purchase will be the V (either head+cab or combo) unless I don't like it when I try it which I doubt will happen. I've never played any Mesa product that I actually disliked so far.
gcapel
boom box recordings
Look for DC-3,DC-5, or DC-10. I used the DC-5 for a long time. Great amp (head) for 5 or 6 hundred dollars. Its a two channel with a master volume. The main complaint with this amp is that the boost switch on the clean channel is not broke out to the foot switch. Though the master eq is broke out on the footswitch. The low end of these amps were outstanding. I eventually grew out of the mesa and switch to Marshall for no other reason that my taste in tone changed.
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
Lt Bob, you might have already considered this, but.....
I'm saving up my bucks for an Egnater modular preamp - an M4 that will accept 4 dual-channel modules that are based on various preamp circuitry like Twins, Deluxes, AC30s, Marshall Super Leads, etc........
You can pair the preamp with a power amp of your choice (or just stick with something like a medium-wattage amp like a Randall RT2/50) and the speaker cab of your choice.
Normally you see this kind of stuff set up as a rack system in a single road case, which can be a little cumbersome for one person. My plan is to have a separate enclosure for the preamp and the power amp, each of which will be, separately, easy to manage.
Egnater also makes a Mod50 head (or combo) that is switchable between 20W and 50W, and accepts two of their 2-channel modules. There is a lot of flexibility to be found with modular systems, and based on what I've read from your posts I gather that you are quite an eclectic player.
I'm saving up my bucks for an Egnater modular preamp - an M4 that will accept 4 dual-channel modules that are based on various preamp circuitry like Twins, Deluxes, AC30s, Marshall Super Leads, etc........
You can pair the preamp with a power amp of your choice (or just stick with something like a medium-wattage amp like a Randall RT2/50) and the speaker cab of your choice.
Normally you see this kind of stuff set up as a rack system in a single road case, which can be a little cumbersome for one person. My plan is to have a separate enclosure for the preamp and the power amp, each of which will be, separately, easy to manage.
Egnater also makes a Mod50 head (or combo) that is switchable between 20W and 50W, and accepts two of their 2-channel modules. There is a lot of flexibility to be found with modular systems, and based on what I've read from your posts I gather that you are quite an eclectic player.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
They're Mesas.
Saw one of these in a local shop recently - they're pretty sweet setups.
That said, I used to own something similar, a Mesa Rocket-44 (my first Mesa, in fact). Kickass cleans and lead sounds, very Mark-like... But really wouldn't have been THAT much more portable than a Mark-V. I don't own it anymore, and they don't have info on line, but a 1x12 combo they bill as "lightweight" in the product description still weighed in as something like 50 pounds.
I just suspect that if you bought an Express, it'd just end up gathering dust. If you want lightweight portability, you're probably better off going solid state, and this is coming from a tube snob. It's only single channel (though Behringer evidently does a two-channel knockoff), but I'm VERY impressed with my Tech-21 Trademark 30. You might need to mic it up for live use, but it owns, tonally. The Trademark 60 might be worth a look too - a lower gain, bluesier preamp section, but two channels, both of which sound quite "real."
Lt. Bob
Spread the Daf!
well, my Blues Junior gets used 2 or 3 nights a week and it sucks. The Express HAS to be better than that. Still ...... if I absolutely love the Mark V, I'll likely use it a lot so we'll see.They're Mesas.
Saw one of these in a local shop recently - they're pretty sweet setups.
That said, I used to own something similar, a Mesa Rocket-44 (my first Mesa, in fact). Kickass cleans and lead sounds, very Mark-like... But really wouldn't have been THAT much more portable than a Mark-V. I don't own it anymore, and they don't have info on line, but a 1x12 combo they bill as "lightweight" in the product description still weighed in as something like 50 pounds.
I just suspect that if you bought an Express, it'd just end up gathering dust.
But I will check out your recommendations for sure.
And the Egnator ...... I've actually been checking out the Rebel but it has no 'verb. I wasn't aware of their modular stuff so I'll check that out for sure.
As for SS ...... I'm gonna order one of these next week.
http://www.ztamplifiers.com/products/lunchbox.html
That's about as portable as you're gonna get. I'm sure I can put my pedal board in front of it and get adequate sound for certain type gigs.
Light
New member
Light, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to see a few pics of this thing and hear a couple clips if you've got them handy. I think it's fucking cool you built your own amp, and I sort of want to revel in my inner geek-dom a bit.
I'm afraid I'm out of town at the moment, so the answer will have to be no. Sorry.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
famous beagle
Well-known member
Why couldn't the answer be: "When I get back in town, I'll be happy to do that." ?
Light
New member
Because by the time I get back home, it will have completely slipped my mind.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi