Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

My 50 cal. head is the model with the four el84's in it. It's two channel, but I really only use the clean. A good distortion pedal is a must if you wanna be up to date. I play in an extremely loud setting, and it's got just enough power to put me over the mix so long as the mids are at about 5 or so.

I use a 98 lespaul dc+, and 2002 sg. The clean channel on this thing is really nice, the distortion is a little weak for my taste, but works great for classic rock. I've heared that these amps can have some pretty noizy electronics in em, buzzing and so on, the one I own does fine though.

I've not owned the amp long enough.

again i dunno.

If it were stolen I would probably replace with a nomad. only because I would feel better having an amp thats a little more solid. The amps i looked into were, a mesa single rectifier, a classic 100 by peavey, and a sovtek 100. The sovtek 100 came in close 2nd. I chose the mesa because the tone was more on point.

The only shortage is that it has only one set of knobs,
everything else is included (rhythm & lead modes, effect loop,
reverb, graphic eq and presence control)
This model also have footswitch volume control
(dont know if every caliber 50 have this feature)

Great for Rock (Alice In Chains, A Perfect Circle etc).
It has sweet, warm, tube tone.
(5X12AX7 tubes in preamp and 4 EL 84 in power amp)
I use it with American Standard Strat. with Seymour Duncan JB humbacker and two lace sensors (silver and blue).
I also have boss Gt-6 signal processor which sounds amazing through
this amp. Briefly great amp.

I dont have a long experience with, but looks like it will overlive me.

I think Mesa/Boogie is great company and makes great job for music.

It is simply great 50. I used to have Fenders but this thing bits
them all.

Bought mine (combo) used in 1989 or 90. The clean channel was a lot louder than the overdrive one. Had a volume control installed in the back for just the clean channel. Also had level controls put in for send & return. Not nearly as versatile as their newer models - both channels sharing gain, bass, mid, treble.

Sounds way better through a 4x12 or 2x12 than with the single Black Shadow. Would feedback like crazy with the gain near max & master at 6 or higher.

Have only used Strat-style axes with it & usually w/dual humbucker. Great crunch & picking harmonics, but again the lack of true channel separation means a compromise in gain control. If the gain's set fairly high, select a single coil when playing clean.

Now I'm using a V-Twin preamp with it so I mostly leave it on the clean channel & set gain down at about 3. It's a cheap way of doubling the tone capabilites - a lot cheaper than buying a 3 channel Boogie or Soldano. I'm playing progressive, metal & jazz so it's versatile enough.

I've never had the luxury of a backup amp for gigging. It's solid, but I took out the power tube clamp thing for easier access, which unfortunately compromises tube durability.

n/a

If I was to buy another amp I'd try out the Dual Rectifier & a Soldano Decatone & decide in the store which one I want. The 50 Caliber is a very good amp for its time, but I'd recommend using an additional tube preamp with it for contemporary applications.

enough said in this department.

mine has the 4 EL84's instead of the 2 6L6's.

pretty good features on this mug.

First off, my band is pretty loud, not REAL loud but pretty loud. this thing doesn't hold it's own, even for a 50 watt. My guitarists 50 watt sovtek beats this in volume. I have to crank this thing so much that i get feedback in my clean channel! i'm serious, it's bizarre, the pickups on my SG aren't set that high either.

Clean channel is not bad. it's not great, but i can deal with it. can great bright enough, it's not a fender, but it might surprise you. i use clean sparingly, but i like that it's footswitchable.

the overdrive channel really let me down. i was looking for huge milky sustain that tight and powerful. here i can't get my distortion channel to be as loud as my clean when i switch it over. part of the problem is the shared volume knob, which at first you might think you can live with, but eventually you'll see what a huge design flaw it was to have the 2 channels share one knob. really hurts the amp.

But back to the overdrive/distortion channel. i get much better pedal distortion out of my rat or bluesdriver. the distortion on the mesa doesn't sound modern (mine is a 1992 i believe)...

i did a lot of research on mesa's before i bought this and i thought i had the one (but i bought before i played it, a mistake i've made too many times).... i heard bad things about the rectifiers, but when i've heard them they've had loads more gain than this piece.

the distortion on the 50 cal sounds horrible at high volumes, reminds me more of a broken peavey 5150 my friend used to have. but not as loud!

I've really tried with this amp (new tubes, etc.) and no dice. i'm looking to sell. it may be for some, but not me.

not too bad. would depend on it, but not like it's sound. well build seemingly...

way over-rated.... maybe i'd like a newer, 100 watt mesa more. wasn't what i was looking for. clean channel wasn't worth keeping and the distortion channel was terribly disappointing. i'd recommend playing this thing first. the distortion sound i want is not in this box. it sounds like it has a fried preamp tube even though mine are all new...

I've had mine for over 10 years and it is still like new. Not a great amp at low volumes if you like to play distorted! Not great if you need to switch from super overdriven sound to super clean with the footswitch.

I use mine with a '52 Tele reissue...great blues/surf sounds. I also use a modified Strat with Duncan JB pickup for distortion/overdrive stuff. You really can't beat that tube driven distortion, or that glassy clean sound the tubes give you.

The one problem I had was with the amp fading in and out after it warmed up. I took it to a repair place, and they gave me a bunch of BS like "The tubes aren't biased", etc. The amp was useless in this state. Eventually I met a guy who worked at Boogie. I brought my amp up there, and the tech sprayed contact cleaner in the effects loop!!!!! Dust build up in the effects loop jacks was the culprit! So anyone with this problem should try that first! The amp has been perfect since.

If you actually talk to somebody, they are very friendly. I have the luxury of living within an hour drive of their factory, so I can walk in there to get help. I also tried the phone method when I had the above problem, and my message was never returned. So you need to be persistant, but once you get someone in person they are very helpful.

This is a great amp if you want to walk into the bar/club with a guitar in one hand, amp in the other hand, and a gig bag over your shoulder. You just set up and plug in and get a great tone. Keep it simple stupid. I bought it years ago for this purpose. I wanted a tube amp sound, and didn't want to lug around a Marshall half stack. You can hide this guy behind your couch when the mother in law visits.
I probably would buy something more versatile and modern if I lost this amp. Of course, I would probably live to regret selling this one (like the Ibanez tube screamers that we were giving away in the 80's only to have their worth skyrocket when Nirvana came around!).

*.50 Caliber head with #4 EL-84 Power tubes, no Graphic Eq, approx. 7 years old & still dead mint.

*Versatility- Excellent. "A+" Recording head; simple to dail in specific sounds, very crisp & warm clean settings all the way to singing sustain & crunch for consistent rhythm and lead tones. "A" for live stage use when you dail in the right balance between the clean & distortion settings which may take some time & tinkering for an inexperienced Mesa Head user of this class.

*Yes, it is a two channel amp which has channel switching and comes w/the original Mesa die cast Footswitch w/LED. Yes, rear FX loop which the level is controlled by front volume knob. It also has a 1/4" direct out for DI recording or live direct to PA output. No specific "headphone" jack, but I've heard the direct out may be used.

*Two features this particular amp does not have (which I have on my Mark III head which is not very significant) is the non graphic Eq; of which I rarely ever use & never used it Live. The second is the non Simulclass option (which most ,50 Caliber heads come with two power tubes and would not be an option anyway) but since this a 4 power tube head there is no Simulclass A/B switch to get the half or full power option. Overall, it's not missed.

*I've had two of these and this one I bought to replace the last one I sold. I sent it out to a Mesa Service center the week I got it to retube and check the entire head, but with approx. only 20 hours MAX. of use on it, it has since been sitting underneath a vinyl cover after I got it back and only got to play through it (mainly to test it out) crank it up & burn it in overnight on standby it only has a few hours of use on it, so I can't give extensive first hand knowledge of this particualr head. But from going on the experience I had with other .50 Caliber heads plus my previous one (which was a 6l6 50 watt version) I used my previous amp every night in my hourly rehearsal studio for two + years & for some recording sessions before closing it down. The one I have now from what I've seen & heard I like a lot better as it is more powerful and closer in tone to my Mark III head.

*This all tube .50 Caliber EL84 (quad) amp w/#5 preamp tubes has more than enough power for live use, and is traditionally great for recording with it's versitile settings. IMO, this is one of the best heads available in this price range. THIS IS NOT THE 50 WATT/#2 6L6 POWER TUBE VERSION. The quad of EL84's and multiple preamp tubes (as many as the Triaxis) make this particular head a standout among the other .50 Calibers.
It's got that great Mesa warm tube reverb which is not overpowering, nor discolores youur tone with that cheesey "processed" sound and will fill your tone out to a rich full sound filling out your clean channel and adding extra body & color to single sustained lead notes without "bleeding" notes together.

*At the time, I used three or four guiars condidtently with it; a 1983 modified rosewood neck Fender Strat w/a SD Hotrail in the bridge, standard s.c. middle, and SD (forgot the name) David Gilmore-ish sounding neck PU.
#2 was a modified 1990 I-been-had USA Custom w/a PAF Pro in the Bridge, standard s.c. PU middle, & an Al DiMeola neck.
#3 was a 1970 GLP Custom- no PU mods.
#4 was a 1989 PRS Signature- no mods.
*Besides the consistent usage it got in my rehearsal/recording studio, I (personally) mainly used it for rehearsals & was a live back-up head to my Mark III. (For an Iron Maiden Tribute band).
*No noise at all, very clean, and had a three way ground lift on the back. Never had any RF interference or microphone shock.
*As fas as sounds, it is very versitile. You can dail in simple overdrive (ala-ZZ-top), to full balls metal (ie-Maiden), a real great blues head when used with a fender on neck position. Very present "old style fender-ish" clean channel with an edge similar to the recto combo.
*It takes a lot of volume to for the clean channel to distort, and when it does, it still takes high volumes and a bad setting to break up. The flip side to this is when it is set up right, it needs to be balanced with the distortion channel otherswise you will get an uneven blistering loud clean channel which will overpower the rhythm/distortion settings. A lot of guys complain about this situation but all it takes is some tinkering to get it right as both channels share a common volume knob; this gets overlooked & that's why some may complain about the unevenness between the two channels.
*The distortion is very aggressive, mainly due to the EL84 power section. The EL84's run a lot hotter & will give you a much better responce at low volumes compared to the 6l6 version, and stays pretty much consistrent when cranked up. Most of the power & cynamics of this head is between the main output Volume settings of 1 - 6 or 7, between 7 & 10 there is not much of a volume gain.
Overall, this is a very versitile Rock & Roll, blues, & Metal head which the clean channel can also provide a warm Jazz tone w/a cutting edge. You'll get a lot of bang for the buck with this amp.

This amp, when not abused & used right, and well maintained should never give you a problem. I have used a .50 Caliber head in situations where there was no backup present many times. It never broke down on me, ever.

I never called Mesa directly about this amp per say, but I've called them with questions for other Boogie Products I own.

*Service Center- My friend works at a Mesa Service center in Manhattan so I did not need a referral. This head was refurbished at that Mesa service center right after I got it, due to UPS doing a "bang up job" so to speak with the shipping. The head remained in Mint Condition, but over half the tubes (which were packed seperately) were smashed or damaged in transit. *UPS would not honor the insurance claim because it was shipped out by a Mailboxes ETC. and there was no visible damage to the box.=BS

*Cust. Support- I would rate them at a 10, but usually there is nobody to take your call at the time you call, so this is a minus if you need a tech question answered right away. They do however usually call back almost all the time within a day. The service over the phone is excellent when you do get to somebody.
*Overall= "9"

*14 years playing exp. I own or have owned a large variety of Mesa & other mftr's amps throught the years. My current list of gear is too lengthy to itemize, so I'll put a list of Mesa gear I own, then have owned-
Have-
*Mark III Long Chassis head; 55/110W Simulclass 6L6/EL34 combo w/ftsw
*.50 Caliber head; EL84 w/ftsw
*20/20 Pwr Amp; Silver face
*2:90 Pwr Amp (Original Version; purple light)
*#2 (had #4) Mesa 4x12 Recto leather Vin-30's (#1 slant #1 straight) w/side armor & 3.5" heavy duty slide-in casters. *Flight case for bottom.
*Triaxis-Ver. 2.0 Red mod.
*#2 1X12 Half open back 90W Black Shadow Celestions
Had-
*Qaud Preamp
*295 Pwr Amp
*Mark III Short Chassis Rackmount (Same as above, but w/o reverb tank)
*#1 White 4X12 Halfback Slant- #4 Blackshadow Celestions, 8ohm
*.50 Caliber 50W head (6L6 Version)
*Dual Rectifier Head w/metal diamond front grill

*Lost/stolen- If it were lost or stolen I may not replace it as I have enough equip. already and may unload this anyway. I only got it becase it was dead mint & a good price.
*I aquired this because I wanted another Mesa Head; simmilar to my Mark III but a different amp. I also like this amp because it is relatively light for a Mesa Head and will not break your back. One thing I think would make this head a litte better is to be able to switch to half power for recording purposes.
*All in all, I think it's a great head to own and gives you a lot of bang for the buck.*Fair market value is in the five's or so, if you can bag it for in the fours or less (depending on condition/tubes) I would jump on it if you're in the market for a solid all around amp head. My advice would be to get one with EL84's not 6L6's; and four pwr tubes not two. The EL84's gives it a distinctive edge that 6L6's do not have, they're too soft and tend to loose that "brown" sound & gain (crunch) loss when turned up. Very distinctive & versitille sounding amp.

The amp has quite much power for a 50-watt. However, it's quite hard to find a suitable volume for practising at home. Either it sounds bad or is too loud. I would have liked to get a "middle setting" between those two.

I am using Brian Moore Custom C-90 with Seymour Duncan pickups. I have found that the clean channel is suitable for a wide variety of music styles, but "high gain" suits best for rock music or such.

I bought my amp used, and after playing it for a while, it developed a curious problem. While playing, the sound kept fading away. I figured that the problem could be in the tubes, and I took it to a repairman. He could not tell, where the problem was. I didn't want to pay more for the repair, so I took it back to the shop I bought it from. I have also heard that some of my friends have had problems with Mesa/Boogie products.

I bought the amp used, so I didn't contact the customer support.

I have been playing with very many different kinds of gear. Mostly Marshall, but I have also owned two Fender Twins. I like the clean sound of Mesa/Boogie, but maybe the distortion sound leaves something to hope for in my music styles (jazz/pop/soft rock).

Its alright, but when you get a nice dist. channel the clean sounds like SHIT! when you get a nice clean sound the dist. sounds like SHIT! but besinds that its all good i like the the standby switch alot. The 50 watts sure seems like more but once you get past 5 or 6 the change isnt much. if it had seperate sets of knobs for clean and dist. it would be better than a recto for sure. Rectos suck!

I use a Gibson les paul standard with 2 emg 81s (kirk hammett, yes yes) anyways i used to run directly into it. sounds alright. the dist sounds real nice but not quite metallica. the clean is really nice!! A+ i use a mesa cabinet with vintage 30s nice.

i bought it with one broken tube (broke in shipping) but besides that 100 percent reliability. never had a backup cant afford one but still wouldnt use one anyways.

never used it heard its amazing

i decided after using it for a year i hated it. i liked it alot at first but it wasnt loud enouph and the clean\dist. thing got really annoying. i now use a 395 poweramp by mesa boogie and a quad preamp i get an amazing sound. but in all fairness the 50 cal. is a mesa and sounds like a mesa no matter what i say . but if you dont own one of these dont buy one. save your money and buy a high quality mesa. thanks.

Very simple controls. You can get a wide range of sounds. However, I wish there were two sets of controls for each channel.

I go for the Trey Anastasio sound and this amp is perfect for that. I have a gibson les paul through a boss compressor, digital delay/reverb, ibanez tube screamer, crybaby, digitech whammy pedal and a boss phaser. I get great sounds, however i wish there were 2 sets of controls.

Hey man it's a mesa boogie! Of course i can depend on this baby.

Mesa boogie is a great company, and it's easy to contact them. I can't say enough great stuff about their company.

I'll give it a 9. It would be a 10 without a doubt if it had more controls to mess around w/ both channels. However, it sounds nasty when you pick your sound.

I bought the amp second hand in 1986. It's versatile enough for traditional Hawaiian to SRV and every thing in between. Plenty of power when I first got it and for about 3 to 4 yrs after that.

I started with a Japanese Strat with a humbucker and fine tune whammy bar w/locking nut. I put in a split coil S/D, and recently a S/D Calssic stack in the mid position. Left the neck stock. The distortion is awsome enough. Usually, Master at 3 and Vol on 4.

This is the sticky part of my review. Around 1991 I was doing a late afternoon gig in door club thing. The Airconditioning was down in the place so we used fans to try keep cool. The next gig I played after that gig I notice that I had no reverb. I took it to a Mes Boogie authorized repair shop and the Tech guy says that I lost my reverb cuz the solder on the reverb leads had melted and run together shorting the reverb out. The circuit board looked kinda like a hershey bar is what the tech told me and all the tube sockets had fried also. He did his best to get it up and running. Every thing was fine till 3 yrs later I started to get this loud static problem whenever there was any floor vibration at all especially w/ a drummer on the same stage. I recently sent the chassis back to Mesa Boogie to have the guts checked out and fixed if needed. Payed about $200+ w/shipping to CA and back to Hawaii. This guy J. Marshall sends me fax after I stated that the 50 Cal might need a fan installed, say's if it needed a fan we would have engineered one in the amp/50 Cal. OK! Anyway Iv'e still got the static problem whenever the reverb is switched on. The amp doesn't seem to have the guts it had before I also had brand new tubes installed locally before shipping it to Mesa. But,m it's running cooler w/the new fan they installed at MEsa Boogie's repair/maint shop in Petaluma CA. My 1/12 Maverick has got more volume than the 50 Cal and the Maverick is only 35watts. Therefore for now I can't give the amp much on reliability.

Mesa Boogie was kinda responsive. Their customer service is a little slow in responding to your phone messages. Guess their busy. After I got the amp back and I told them my problem and they tell me that they have a Authorized tech rep on the big island of Hawaii that I could get a new reverb tank which is what they say is wrong w/my amp. Theres no Mesa rep on Oahu.

Iv'e been playing for about 37yrs started at 11 yrs old. I also own
Am Std strat 3 tone SB, a 90's white pro tone squier, Metallic Grey 80's japanese strat, 90's Les Paul Std Blk. BCB-6, BCB-3, TC, VOX, and an Epiphone AJ-30 Acoustic/elecric. Yes I'd probably buy the same stuff again. Maybe a Honey burst LP