Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber +

This amp was made in 1992? Bought it used at a second hand music store for $470.00. I can say that this is one of the best amps I have owned over the last 15 years. I use this amp in two different projects: Project 1 is a modern rock cover band that does some Creed, Godsmack, Etc.....
Project 2 is a classic rock cover band that does anything from Stevie Ray to Van Halen Etc.....

The point is: This amp works great for all of the styles of music I just mentioned, you just need to know how to use it effectively. All in all is a very versatile amp and a great workhorse.

I'm playing a PRS McCarty and a Gibson Les Paul Standard. This amp suits all of my styles of music. Very quiet most of the time. Sometimes Florescent light fixtures in clubs make it a little noisy, But this has happened with other tube amps that I have owned. This amp sounds really ballsy when you turn the gain on the clean channel to about 8 and then step on an Ibanez Tube Screamer. Sounds very Stevie Ray... Now if you back that gain down to about 3, you will find your cleanest of cleans... The lead channel sounds killer! You can use this channel along with the volume/tone knobs on your guitar to get a wide array of tones. This is a very loud and clear amp that does the job well. I get compliments about the tone often.

I use it without a back up, but I always carry extra tubes, fuses, Etc... This amp has not failed me once.

Company very helpful over the phone. I had questions because I picked it up used. Tech called me back within an hour and answered all of my questions.

I have been playing for about fifteen years and I am now 28 years old. I have owned Marshalls, Fenders, Peaveys, and some others. Bottom Line: This amp rocks! By the way, don't forget to use good cables with any amp you use. Try some monsters. you will notice a big difference in clarity. Why not take advantage of all that "Class A" power?

same as everyone else stated........... graphic eq, blah blah blah

im using a esp seven string, an old 80's washburn v with emg 81's and a 86 fender hm strat. now that you know what i am using .......

when i first got this amp, it was quite cheap and i couldnt pass, i was very skeptical about it being practical for death/grind. well, i ran it into a bbe sonic maximizer to clear it up and and now i am quite convinced that this amp was made to destroy everything. i spend alot of my free time trying to get different sounds, here are some results.

clean - beautiful tone. flip a the eq switch and is very full, punchy and clear. the reverb isnt the greatest but will defiantly do. i am able to get some great some jazz cleans out of the fender and the esp. the 81's are too much. sounds very fenderish if tweaked right.

distortion - brutal. i have dialed so many great tones out of this thing with the graphic eq. i use the bbe to clean it up and give a little more punch. i have gotten the infamous master of puppets sounds, a very reign in bloodish sounds (lounds of prescence and treble), some good morbid angel sounds, and the most accurate anthrax sounds. the way i use it my band however is for extremely rich and gained up distortion. i have got the closest sound to carcass' heartwork and i am not touching my dials right now because the tone is so sweet. they use marshalls but with the right tweaking i pulled it off. note on this amp ........ tweaking is the key. it takes time and knowledge to get good tone. dont hate something because you have neither patience nor the skills to sit down and explore all the sonic possibilities.

it is very old and looks brand new. it was well taken care of and if i am correct about boogie, it should last for a very very long time.

dont know, dont need them. web site is very useful however on locating old manuals for it.

great amp. anyone that states this thing would not be suited for metal must not have a clue about good tone. two of my friends own a rectifire and a new marshall and both offered to buy this thing from me because of its absolutly beutiful tone. the gain is killer and so is it wattage. if you can find one, get it. it is closer to master of puppets and carcass than most amps you can find on the market right now. tweak tweak tweak .............. out

This amp is not too bad although I wish it had separate channel settings. In addition, by itself it lacks a certain continuity between channels - workable around through the effects loop. Kudos to its graphic eq as it provides additional flexibility. This is a very very loud amp, almost unusuable if you rehearse in a tight space. Just the right volume in ample amphitheatres, improved once plugged onto a separate 4x12 cabinet. Oh I could use a couple of side handles as the thing is so bloody heavy it would be easier to haul it around by two blokes.

I use this amp as an extension of my Les Paul Standard.

Channel 1: Crystal clean though bodied sound evolving into brown overdriven tone once pushed. Good chord definition if you are into more complex jazzy structures. The right blues attitude if you are in the mood. Yes, it is a nicely responsive channel.

Channel 2: Hard preamp overdriven tone (typical Mesa trademark). Once into its 6L6 saturation it does scream almost up to the unbearable... which starts far below its valve squeal threshold. Either short rock soloing or thrashmetal rhythm work. You do have that latitude.

Bottomline this fiftywatter works wonderfully with my Les Paul humbuckers. Unfortunately I have to resort to an external EL84-based custom-made amp for the extra crunch. Just the right Brit touch for a typical US Fender-on-steroids amp. As with all loud sounding combos, its volume does not allow exploring its full sonic potential in, say, a garage. BTW everyone uses earplugs during reherseals...

Mine was a demo amp so given a 30% discount it was a take it or leave it situation. I suppose the thing was tossed around before it landed on my hands. Never failed on me although its valves now do sound sort of middleaged. Overall score: One dodgy pot knob and a faint cracking background noise I can live happily with. I played brand new Marshalls sounding worse than this. Sorry Jim...

Never needed it. This amp seems to be quite robust and proved reliable on the road.

This is what I consider a good decent amp - period. No, it won't be a classic, simply a workhorse and that's what most of us need. Reliable and flexible enough for a combo, idiossyncrasic in its very own Mesa way - IMHO I consider it a serious amp for serious amateur guitarists.

2 channel tube amp with footswitch. Reasonably good effects loop (lot's of players don't like loops, personally I do). I use this amp mainly in garage band jams, getting too old to play out anymore. Fairly basic feature tube amp with EQ sliders. Plug and play.

Bear with me here, because I'm no expert and I'm moderately biased. This amp is powered with Sovtek 5881's. It's a head running through a 2x12 loaded with vintage 30's. The 5881's give this setup more breath and creamy tone as opposed to any "6" tube. I'm pretty dumb about some things. One thing I'm not dumb about is that Mesa/Boogie amps are very loud and powerful. I've owned every dc-series amp and this old, crappy looking beater sounds better than any of them. Probably the tube/speaker combination. Too bad I wasn't smart enough to fool with tubes with the dc-series, they probably would have sounded better. I'm a little tone deaf, but I think that no matter what you do with the EQ or tubes/speakers, the 50cal.+ is pretty much going to sound like a boogie. It's just a creamier boogie with the 5881's. In a garage/band situation, it can't be turned up past 2, I can't imagine how good it would sound backing off the pre-amp and using volume for tone with this beast. It's portable, light-weight and can rock & roll for any decent guitar player. I actually prefer the sound of Marshall amps, but I'm nit-picking. This particular amp/speaker/tube combination delivers mondo rock & roll sounds. Currently I'm using an Anderson swampy guitar; it's ok but I'd prefer an old beater strat or maybe a Les Paul Standard. Sounds great at low and high volume. I just wish I could crank it to the max.

Disclaimer: anything with tubes/circuit boards/wiring can be unreliable. Boogies seem to hold up better, remember I've owned quite a few. There are always lemons in the bunch, no matter what manufacturer. This unit has never broken down. I don't play out anymore.

I suppose if boogie had e-mail, they'd never get anything done. As it is, their voice-mail is swamped. However, if you've ever dealt directly with them, their customer support is fantastic. They'll generally bend over backwards to help you out. Musicians need this kind of support because musicians are usually broke.

Well, first the bad news. I'm 50 years old. How depressing. The good news; I've played or owned most guitars and guitar amps. I won't qualify myself as an expert on tone or sound and I suck as a player, however of all the amps I've owned boogies are the most dependable and loud amps I've ever used. I can't imagine why any broke working musician wouldn't enjoy success using an old beater 50 caliber +. Bottom line, it's a work-horse and a good one. I tell it like it is, or at least how I think it is, so if you have questions, go ahead and send me an email.

I had a 1988 model. It had reverb, 5 band eq, effects loop, direct out, Celestion Black Shadow speaker. Previous reviews have it covered, this amp had everything I needed.

Awesome. You can back off the pre volume, bypass the eq, and crank the post for an awesome power tube distortion a la Marshall Plexi or back off the volume and crank up the pre for the richest smoothest pre amp overdrive I have ever heard. Add in some eq for all kinds of control. The clean channel is very Fenderish. I wish I could hear it clean with some 10" Jensens.

It does have a printed circuit boad which had a couple of traces burn out on. But I was gigging heavy and really pushing the amp hard. The reverb never worked right, so I never used it.

A call to Mesa Boogie can get most problems solved quickly. They even sent a spring reverb unit based on my phone call. It turned out not to be the problem but doggone it they were not going to let me go away dissatisfied.

It is the amp I regret selling over any other. I miss it terribly and will get another soon!

50 watts all-tube power from one 12" Black Shadow Celestion speaker, 1 input jack, lead master knob, master knob(clean), presence knob, reverb knob, bass knob, mid knob, treble knob, 5 band EQ, standby switch, power switch, direct PA output jack that goes from poweramp rather than preamp, direct PA output level knob, 1 8ohm speaker input, 2 4ohm speaker inputs

sounds great, the distortion is sick, and with the 5 band EQ you can get many kinds..i like the heavy shit (Metallica!) it's great for heavy metal and hard rock

very, just gotta change the tubes whenever they wear out..but's that only twice a year, the feedback you get from having the distortion gets a little annoying but with a wireless pack it's better

never needed any

i've been playing for 4 years, best amp ever..it has 1 12" speaker but it's so much louder than the Marshall VR100..if you can find this amp, get it..i recomend Mesa very highly

Amp was made in 1988 and has two channels, graphic EQ, reverb and 50 of the loudest 'Class A' watts I've ever heard along with endless tone! This version has the 4 El84 power tubes which I perfer over the 6L6 version because they have a wider range of tone with that sparkling high-end sound!

It's a very quiet amp with very clean headroom, crunch and the famous boogie distortion! A Rickenbacker sound great through this amp.

Built like a tank - the only problem I've ever had was the speaker flaked-out on me once. Also had to replace the tubes but they were original from 1988.

Always helpful and responsive!

Right now this is my favorite amp for giging and recording!

Everything you could want on this amp..channel switching..nice 3 spring tube reverb..rythym and lead channels..outputs for 1 8 ohm and 2 4 ohm cabs..direct out with level control..4 band EQ presence..push/pull dial for channels..and more

OH MY GOD..I've been a Fender fan for 30 years and this is my first Mesa/Boogie. I'd trade any one of those vintage amps even up for this amp..it has incredible sound..awesome is the word that fits it best. I play rock based and traditional blues with mainly an old Strat (that is in itself mindblowing) and this amp hits it right on the head. Great bell clean sounds and terrific butter smooth overdrive..it doesn't get any better than this! I bought it with no speaker and put a Jensen reissue C12N in it..wow...so quiet that sometimes I have to look when I'm not playing to see if it's on

Built 3X better than any Fender I've ever owned..I don't think there's anything to worry about

No idea

If this amp was stolen I'd search down the dirty rotten bastard and hang him by his nuts from the highest tree with a B string..if I lost it I'd go crazy..either way I'd get another one as soon as I could. I love everything about this amp..small and relatively light..balls of an amp with much more power

Well I lucked into this little monster when i was working at a music store, and i gotta tell anyone who will listen it rocks!!! It's not the most versatile amp, actually i had a Mark IV boogie that was VERY versatile but just didnt have that spongy loose growl this .50 has.Everyone would love to have a separate gain for each channel, but hey its a great amp, reverb footswitch would be great too

I usually play a Les Paul, and for that it is perfect. I usually set the gain on 6 or 7 which gives me a clean channel that is just broke up all over in such a great way and a lead channel with Alot of distortion, this amp is a gain freak!!! I have never seen 6l6's overdrive so well!!!!! i use it as a 1x12 combo alot which sounds fantastic but as with all little combo it can be real tunneled across the room so i use a sunn 2x12 or a marshall 4x12. this amp is very very loud, even though the controls can be very limiting in sounds available on the fly it makes up for it by just doing it's thing sooooo well. My old Mark iv was very very versatile but it didnt have the creamy smooth character of this monster

I have never had a problem in 3 years i use only boogie tubes and they last pretty good, about 4 months playing out or so, of course the pre amp tubes last practically forever, i changed a couple months ago just because i figured it was about time

look i hate to be so devoted to a company, but anyone who has called boogie knows that as soon as the receptionist (we love you Georgia)answers you know you are dealing with a top notch company THese guys will bend over backwards to help customers, and remember i sold these things for a couple years so i've heard some tales

I spent 500 dollars on this thing!!!!! Sometimes i cant believe the deal and i've got some 60's fender stuff had some marshalls until i heard a boogie and sold my boogie mark iv when i got this gem if i think about all the great playing i've got out of it and will continue to get for the rest of my life, i think damn what a good deal!!!!!! If someone out there has one to sell please e-mail me because i'd love to have two a-b connected together then you could adjust the gain and eq's for at least 6 unreal tones!!! also keep that master up!!!!!

The features have been covered adequately in the other reviews. I'm just posting some observations on how to get the most from this particular model of amp, because it seems that everyone, myself included, has had some trouble negotiating the clean and overdrive settings this amp is capable of. I've had the amp over ten years now, and have some thoughts on its seemingly one-dimensional controls.

I have used a wide variety of guitars and effects with this amp. It is a VERY versatile piece of equipment, but to get the most from it, you have to decide ahead of time what kind of sound(s) you're asking it to provide. To my mind, this amp's best feature is its big clean headroom. It's not in the same league as a twin or a JC120, but I've never liked either of those sounds for what I do. But that's the starting point--the master volume. After you've warmed up the tubes on standby for a few minutes, put the master up as loud as you think you'll be playing, and put the gain on zero. Keep the lead master down to zero as well. Turn it on, and nudge the gain knob to around 1-2, just until you get an audible signal. Essentially, what you're doing is giving as much juice as possible to the 6L6 stage, and nudging in just a little 12AX7 flavor with the gain knob. Now, without touching the gain level, switch on the lead master channel, and adjust it so that the overall volume is in line with the clean channel. You'll find that by just nudging the gain knob a hair, the lead master will come alive with singing sustain, but too much will take away string definition and get very crunchy. By emphasizing the power stage, you'll also notice that the presence knob adds some real character to the EQ. If you're using a lot of gain, the presence knob's utility will be negligible, as it doesn't seem to have any effect on the preamp.

One drawback on this amp is the crash of reverb you hear when switching from lead master back to the clean setting, but unless you use a lot of reverb, this is a small price to pay for such a harmonically detailed sound.

Setting the amp this way gives you a very warm, manageable overdrive sound, and both clean and dirty settings will react really well with stompboxes that provide overdrive or distortion. It also works well with slight adjustments of the guitar's own volume knob. If you're into higher-gain music, like metal or hardcore, you'll probably want to set the gain knob higher, but if so, you'll probably be leaving the lead master on at all times, and just use that one sound, which is also a very good way to use this amp. It's just not as versatile. My approach gets a more traditional sound, good for blues, jazz, rockabilly, rock n roll, and so forth.

Replacing the tubes is a cinch. No need to re-bias the amp. I've had it over ten years, and have never had a problem, even though I was gigging with it non-stop for about five years.

Last year I converted the head into a boogie 1X12 combo. I'd previously used it as a half-stack with the boogie 4X12 cabinet, which I can still do by simply unplugging from the combo cab and plugging straight into the big one. It's a nice option if I ever want to piss off the neighbors. The guys at Boogie, though very busy, were incredibly helpful, and sold me a beautiful "heartbreaker" cabinet, which sounds better than the external 1X12 I have, and tighter than the 4X12. Very reasonably priced, given what they charge on their amps. I was very satisfied with the level of service I got.

I've been playing more than half my life. I've played through most of the big name amplifiers. This is the amp that I've stayed with. It's versatile, and is perfect for what I do. I think of it as a nicely hot-rodded fender amp, which I guess was the whole idea behind mesa boogie in the first place. The main thing to keep in mind is that this amp gives you the ability to get that overdriven power tube sound without cranking a bassman full-blast and getting yourself evicted. Even in the manual, boogie's own sample settings don't really take advantage of this. So, be conservative with the gain stage, and use the lead master to drive the power tubes, and you'll have the best of both worlds--an amp with great clean headroom, and a beautiful, fat, singing overdrive that is highly adjustable. It's too bad they don't make these anymore. If you see one used for a good price, get it.