Mesa/Boogie .50 Caliber

50 watts, 2 channels, 3 eq pots and 5 band eq. i don't like the fact that both the rythym(clean) and lead channels share the same gain pot it makes it difficult to achieve the best clean sound this amp has to offer straight to the best distortion because the rythym sounds better at lower gain settings and the lead the opposite. i just found a happy medium of about 7. 5 band eq is very versatile. definetly not one of those amps u turn a knob a nothing happens lots of tonal options. has effects loop and direct out for recording. i play a lot of alternative rock as well as a little bit screamo stuff and it definetly gets me by.

let me just say WOW! I play with an ibanez rg5ex1 equipped with pearly gates and a jackson slsmg with the stock emg-hz pickups(thinking about putting pearly gates in it too.) And this thing SCREAMS. 50 watts is definetly underrated. my lead guitarist has a crate blue voodoo(120 watts) and this thing blows it away! amazing tone! the best distorted sound ive ever heard from an amp! it goes incredibly dirty without losing any clarity. has an almost vintage sound. definetly not lifeless and blurry like the new rectifiers! the first time i played this amp i couldn't stop, and all i could think about was how awesome my tone was! ya imo its that good.

Unfortunetly here is where this review goes in the other direction. Before i bought this amp i looked up reviews on it and almost everybody said that it was (like most mesas) an extremely reliable amp. This has not proved to be in my case. two days after i bought this amp the lead channel stopped working. i took it back to the store and they were nice enough to fix it for me for free. totally stoked i started ripping it up again. about a month later a capacitor blew. which is getting fixed right now(hence the reason i am writing this review and not playing it.haha) so as far as reliability goes i have been sol. its an old amp though so i can't complain too much. only hope that when i get it back nothing else goes wrong.

never dealt with em.

All in all it is a great amp. if the thing hadn't crapped out on me twice i would say it is almost the perfect amp for me and my style. if u find one for a decent price get it. cuz these old mesa amps are constantly rising in value because people r relizing that the old stuff is much better sounding than the newer. i was comparing this to the newer rectos or maybe a marshall tsl-60. this one makes the others sound like solid states so dont waste ur money on them. i would recommend getting a backup(which i have yet to do lol.) but if it were lost or stolen i would be searching ebay everyday for another one or maybe a different kind of older mesa.

I assume this amp is from the late 80's to mid 90's no clue. Very versatile amp, with the Graphic EQ's I can dial in any sound I want. I play this amp dry so i can really care less about an effects loop. Like Leslie West said the only thing a guitarist needs is a guitar and overdrive. No headphone jack from what I can see but this is an amp head why would it even need one, its not a practice combo although I use mostly for home practice. More then enough power for my needs, I dont push it past 1.5 on the master which is satisfying enough for practice. at 2.5 -3 this amp screams. Like others have said there's typical amp wattage and then theirs mesa Wattage which means that it sounds twice as loud at a certain volume then other typical amps.

I have a japanese IBanez RG470, Jackson DXMG, and an Ibanez RGT42. All very good guitars. The 470 obviously being the best sounding of all of them. I play classic and metal from metallica to Ozzy and modern metalcore , AILD, Killswitch etc. This amp is not the least bid noisy, no feedback at all. I typically keep the graphic EQ at the V setting. On the EQ dials I like setting the treble and bass at 2 o'clock and the Mid at around 9 - 11 o'clock. I can literally sound like any metal or rock artist. The sound that comes out is genuine, doesnt sound fake at all and competes with artist recordings. I also have the DC-5 which I slightly favor over this since its distortion is a little bit more warm and saturated but, this amp can really nail the old school metal grind similar to a Mark series. Dont get me wrong I can still get the new over the top metal tones, I just love the dry gritty sound of this amp. It does have an edge over the DC-5 in that area by sounding a little clearer.
The clean is amazing, its very pronounced and loud. the distortion as I mentioned is brutal beyond description, mesa are truly pioneers for l rock by achieving that type their amazing tones. I can compare this to their competitors such as marshall which sounds great in its own respect but, Mesa seems to have an edge on everyone for creating sharp precise tones that cut through the mix.

Been playing for 8 years, owned everyting from TRi and dual rectifiers, 6505, 5150, valveking head. I always come back to mesa since i find their tone is the clearest and most pronounced. Although the rectifiers dont do it for me, their just gain monsters with little warmth or tone but, in a band setting they cut through the mix and stand out so they do have their place.
As i said before the tone out of the caliber is genuine and their arent any comprimises for distortion or tone. All the pieces seems to fall together with Mesa engineering. I love everything about it down to its compact size, may be I can wish it had more eq options for compression and boost but, Mesa has the Mark series amps for getting that detailed. Personally I like the simplicity of this amp. All I got to do is turn it on and I automatically get the tone I want. I dont really have to fiddle around with the EQ's for 5 minutes to be satisfied instead I get the sound I want easily with little effort. For rock and metal this rules, if your a tone freak, you'll find it hard to pinpoint a noticeable weakness. I chose to give it a 9 since the Mark Series and Dual Caliber 5 & 10 hold a slight edge but this amp comes close to competing and isnt really a drop off from those.

I believe this amp was made sometime in the mid '80's, has 2 channels, is 'dead nuts 50 watts output' according to my tech, it does have an effects loop (which plastic jacks are it's achilles heel). Has a direct out.. but never use it. Its entirely too loud... but that said-- it kept up with every other drummer, bassist, and guitarist I've ever played with over the last 13 years... don't sweat the 'limitations' of a 50 watter.. cause this thing seemingly doesn't have volume issues..

Great.. nicely compressed sound with good harmonic balance. The onboard distortion is only usable by itself-- you can't have clean/dirty, far as I'm concerned.. but if you use it for 'straight wire with gain'-- perfect, super low maintenance amp. If you like nasal metal gain.. maybe you'd like it. I've always used it dead clean-- and with a 16 ohm cab, it's a lot more flexible than with an 8 ohm cab.. you're splitting hairs on the dial with lower ohmage-- especially for master volume. Gotta watch what speaker you pair it with, though-- greenbacks, forget it, EV evm's sound bad as well. a good 50-80 watter, and you're in great shape.. the eq is pretty flexible-- but you really do have to use a light hand-- it can get really extreme really easily!

this thing's dead silent on it's own. for

Had only two minor issues in 13 years. One, a power tube flashed. Replaced them, and it ran, no issues. Later on, it went intermittent.. I coundn't figure it out.. i figured it was my power caps. BUT-- it wasn't-- my amp guy found that there was a problem with the jacks in the effects loop (which i've never used)-- he jumpered them, and it's back in biz, same as it ever was. Never had a backup-- never needed it! Most reliable amp ever.. and looking at the baseball card sized circuit board.. makes sense why. Even my amp tech, who makes his living servicing EXTREMELY high end tube hifi gear said 'damn.. nice amp!'-- even after a fight about getting him to pull it apart.. he didn't want to touch it because 'guitar amps are practically SYNTHESIZERS, not AMPS!'.. showed him..

Amazing. You leave your number, and they call you back. Nice folks, great service!

I play a les paul custom with a Mesa Thiele 112 loaded with a celestion g12-75, and use tube works blue tube and tube driver. That's it. Plug and play..

I'd certainly look around for another 50cal if this one left me..

Mesa Boogie 50 caliber head (not the plus version w/ the 6L6 tubes).I bought this amp brand new in 1988 (around $900 I believe) and have never looked back. EL84 power tubes and 12AX7 for the preamp. I play 80's hard rock/metal and this amp delivers that classic 80's "crunch" like no other amp I've played or heard. I owned a Mark II and sold it once I tried the 50 caliber in a music store. Very simple to use (no push/pull pots nonsense)2 channels, FX loop, reverb, and built in 5-band EQ. (The built in EQ makes a HUGE difference. I have played/heard others w/out the EQ and it's not the same).

I run the amp out of the single 8ohm output into two 16ohm Marshall 4x12 cabs via a y-cord. I use an Ibanez DD1000 and Rockman stereo chorus through the effects loop. For guitars, I use primarily an Ibanez RG570 and Jackson Randy Rhodes; both equipped w/ seymour duncan super distortion pickups. This amp screams! I can't stress the quality of the "crunch" enough. Plenty of gain and sustain that you could possibly need. The clean channel (footswitch activated) can still be a little dirty. Simply rolling back on the guitar volume is the perfect fix to taper off the distortion. It's 50 watts but that is conservative in my opinion. This amp is plenty loud! I played in a band w/ another guitarist who used a 60watt SOB and a bass player who used an Ampeg SVT w/ the 8x10 cab. I never had to push the master volume past 2 and had absolutely no problem w/ volume.

I bought this new in 1988 and used it almost 10 years as my main amp gigging and rehearsing 3-5 times per week and it has never let me down. I did have it serviced and retubed religiously every 6 to 9 months. (Remember, mesas are like ferraris, they perform great but you have to keep up the maintenance on them). The only flaw I have found with the design of this amp is the absence of a fan. (I had one installed the first time I took it to a local mesa technician for service). This amp runs very hot and will cook itself to death if you don't have a fan to keep it cool.

Never really had to contact them except to order tubes.

I have been playing almost 30 years. I was so impressed w/ this amp that I bought a rack mount version of it to have as a backup. As my live playing days of 80s metal are long gone, I am having the rackmount version made into a 1x12 combo to have some portability with it and capture the "crunch" without having to rent a pickup to transport the cabs when I get together to jam w/ people.
The key to this amp is it's simplicity in design (like I said, I sold my Mark II to get this) and great consistent tone. I would like to not that the effects loop is a little temperamental. It's a very hot signal so it tends to overdrive most rack effects. The delay I use has a -20db cut switch on the back of it which works perfectly to solve this problem. I have owned many different amps; Peavey, Marshall, Carvin, Fender, and even other Mesas (Mark II and an SOB). This amp is superior to all of 'em.

Early 90s rack model. All of the basic features and this is one of the ones with the EL84s instead of the 6L6s. I guess about the only negative I could think of would be that it doesn't have the separate controls for the channels but it's not that big of a deal for me. It supposed to be 50 watts but that seems to be understated with these amps. Very loud! Very basic and simple layout of controls. If you want the Mesa sound without spending an arm and a leg this is the amp to get.

Very crisp clean tones. Excellent distortion growl. I use it through an older Marshall 1936 2x12 cabinet and they seem to match up very well. I play an Epiphone Spotlight, Gibson ES325 and a Carvin DC400 through it and each guitar sounds very different through it. Very quiet, no hiss or hum with it. I play garage rock and roll, nothing fancy so the amp sort of fits my style. No frills straight ahead.

I purchased it used so I took it to a shop that specializes in Mesa repair and spent just about $100.00 to have a couple of solders, old parts replaced, new tubes, basically to make just about like new and it was money well spent. These are built to last.

I called Mesa to find out about the age of the amp and some of the history with it. They called me back and were very polite and informative.

I would want another if this were stolen. I love the fact that you can get the great Mesa sound with having to spend an arm and a leg if you can find one of these around or on Ebay. I would recommend it if you don't need all of the bells and whistles. I have a Digitech RP200 and a Big Muff for that. I play with a friend that has a Marshall TSL Super Lead combo amp with matching cab and this amp can stay right with it!

Made in late 1980's early 1990's I think.
I play mainly blues/rock and it is ideal for super clean Strat or sustained heavy rock playing.
Only one channel, FX send & return.
I use it for gigging and it is plenty loud enough! Ask the drummer!
It is all valve (sorry, tube) and is the best amp I've ever used. That's after using many Marshalls, Hiwatt, Orange, Fender, trace Elliots etc.

I use a Fender Strat , a Parker Fly and a Gibson Les Paul.
There is a little adjustment to be made to the amp's tone and volume when I use the Gibson as it is so much louder and warmer than the other two guitars.
It suits my playing style perfectly - the band's material is very varied - from clean slide blues to Hendrix and Cream loud blues to Knopfler type picking and Guns n Roses and AC/DC rock pop.
It is a trifle noisy especially where the electrics at a venue are not perfect. A bit of a problem to record sometimes but it's worth it!
You can overload the clean channel if everything is on 11 and the gain is set high, but a sensible compromise between the clean and overdrive channels can be achieved.
With the gain set to 10, the lead volume set fairly low and master volume high - the distortion is very 'brutal'.
I've never had to use a distortion pedal with it.

I have depended on it as my sole amplification for nearly 17 years and it has never let me down.

Never needed any customer support.

I've been playing over 30 years. I run a recording studio and own loads of gear but only ever use the Boogie on the road (along with a Trace Elliot Acoustic combo for ...er...acoustic guitar).
If it were lost or stolen I would probably try a newer model Boogie.
I love the sounds I can get and the looks of the audience when it is in full song!
It can get a little noisy at times - but so can I.
It is a very big amp in a very small enclosure. I got fed up carting huge 4x12 cabs around and the Boogie is ideal for small venues and for larger gigs.

I love it!

Made in 1992 I think. This amp is very versatile, I play rock, metal and blues and this amp does it all. This is an all tube amp, 5?12ax7 preamp tubes and 4?EL84 power amp tubes. This head has enough power for gigs.

I'm using it with ibanez RG1570 or gibson les paul standard+ and it compliments eachother very well. This amp isn't noisy at all and once you play a little with the controls you get a sound to die for.

Never had a single issue with it, Mesas are known to be very reliable.

never dealt with them.

Prior to that I used to own Marshall JCM 900 HI gain dual reverb. 100w head. When I tryed my friend's caliber, I was blown away by the huge sound quality difference, so I had to get one. This is one of the best rock amps out there, with a very 3D clean sound and a superb reverb. What would I wish more? :D

not sure what year it is but i do know its a early 80's form what i'v been told.
its a 2 channel amp with effects loop, deirect out for recording (very handy) with 4ohm and 8ohm outputs for cabinets
i was replaceing some EL 84 tubes and i was impressed on how easy it is to retube this thing yourslef,
this amp is perfect for classic rock, and seatlle rock enrioment, takes a while to get used to the controls but when you get the hang of it its very easy to dial in,
that is really my only compliant bout this amp is i wish it was a little more user friendly, other than that i've never been under powered. i paly in a band that palys loud at good size gigs and i've never had to worry about not haveing enough gutts.

i paly a fender strat with standard american pickups and it is the prefect sound for what i am doing.
my band plays a mixture of classic rock/ blues with a little twist of seattle rock and this amp works absolutly perfect! its got a clean sound that just melts your soul and the distortion needs to be cranked alittle bit but once you get the levels worked out the distortion makes me fall in love with this amp all over again. it's just awsome!

i havn't had a problem yet and i've palyed alot in the past year, Mesa has gone the extra mile to make a tank of an amp. i have just reaplace the EL 84 tubes have no idea how old the where they came with the amp when i baught it they where still working when i baught them i just wanted to repalce them (prevenitive matinance) has never let me down yet

never had to call them, never had a problem =)

i've been palying for 13yrs i have owned fender, and marshall amps and they dont even come close to mesa's superb quality of sound and product. if it got stolen i would proably cry and then buy another one. i love the clean channel, and that tube distortion is just incredable its the sound i have been searching along time to find this sound the only other amp that i would get besides this one is the mesa studio 22 (wow what a sound) if you can find one=)

I believe that my 50 cl. head is a 1986. For the style of music that I play, (basically Funk, and Rock) This amp has served me well. I t is a 2 channel amp operated by a simple one button footswitch, it also has an effects loop and a direct line out. I do use the effects loop but the direct line out I have never used ( I dont realy do any direct recording, I use mics. instead)The only thing really that I feel the straight 50 cal. lacks are seperate Bass Mid & Treb for each channel, although if u spend enough time dialing in all of your equipment ( took me a few hours, lol) then it really doesn't hinder me at all. Basically it would be faster to get the intial set up with seperate controls for each channel. This amp is VERY loud, I have never ever had a lack of power ( or even had to turn my overall volume = meaning the mean value between both my master and volume pot) past 5. This amp has been used in clubs that hold 2000 pers. and never as I said had a problem.

With this amp I am currently playing two very different guitars. The first is a Hamer USA Mirage 1, this is setup very much like a Strat 3 single coils, trem bridge, it differs by having a set neck and coil tapping capability(seymour dunc, Hot Rails). This is the guitar that can really sing through the amp, crazy sustain. The other guitar is a Hamer USA 25th Anniversay, ( semi-hollow, all mahogany, set neck, with Sey Dunc '59 & JB Pickups, tune-o-matic hard tail bridge). The 25th obviously with the humbuckers takes advantage of the dirty channel, yet on clean at LOW volume, higher master, It can obtain some warmer jazzy tones.

Asfar as the amp being noisy, with the Mirage = the amp is silent, Yet with the 25th = The humbuckers do make the amp a little noisy.

The clean channel maintains a clean sound if the volume control does not exceed 5 , The way mesa set this amp up , is basically as u turn the clean vol up you are adding crunch to it ( yes to a certain extent you can correct this or adjust it rather by using your master, but not past 5)

The distortion channel is just that DIRTY, it took me a long time to get the right amount of distortion ( with retaining tonal qualities) out of this amp. The best advice I can give to all is READ THE MANUAL!!! sounds silly but I swear take the time to understand how everything works and it will get all the tones you want. As I said before it is the initial set up that is time consuming, but once it is done thats it.

I have used this amp for many gigs, practices, even as a beer holder LOL. I has never failed!! I have maintained proper service ie. tubes & cleaning. Afterall if you want an amp to last you must take care of it. It does hurt to shell out the $150. for tubes

I Have delt with Mesa and what can I say. These guys go wayyyyyyy beyond helpful. I had a Marshall 4x12 cab and I wanted to wire it to 4ohms to direct match the output of 4ohm jack on the back of my head. Honest to God the tech at Mesa gave me exact wiring instructions, for a non Mesa product....you tell me ??? helpful???

I have been playing about 11yrs. I think I have covered just about everything. I changed from a 4x12 to a 2x12vert Mesa cab and achieved a totally different sound, (one I like even more). I learned alot from reading the manual!!!!!(for the 8th time) Now the amp is setup just way I like it and as far as switching back and forth between to very different guitars, I make only one amp adjustment (clean channel vol)

I hope that this has been hopeful to someone......peace out!!

4 x EL 84 power tubes.Simlpe amp.Got it used.I had lead master control knob installed by Mesa.It seems it has everything that I would need in a guitar amp,but then I like my gear to be on the simple side.

A strong 9.Nothing is perfect.The addition of a lead master knob makes it a lot easier to balance the clean and the distortion channel.I have nothing to complain about the clean sound.It is very present,organic tube sounding.I love it.The distortion channel also sounds really nice but it does need to be cranked a little to show it's teeth!I will not sound impressive at bedroom volume.

It should last for long time now that I have sent this amp back to Mesa for repair and modification(lead master knob).while it was at Mesa, they also told me that they moved some components to improve the heat dispersion within the amp.Nice work.

Here they get 10+.Lets face it,I am just a small guy with one of their used, old, discontinued models of amps.(I also own the 100w son of Boogie amp,which I am really found of)I am sure they must have incredible amount of dealings with customers from all over the world.Yet they still answer their phone,talk to you,and try to help you out as much as they can.I thought this type of customer service must have gone out in the 90's.Can you imagine sending back an old amp that were made by Marshall,Fender,Peavy or whatever the company to it's maker and expect them to perform modofication on it?Or to perform improvement on the amp even though I did not ask for it? I don't think so.Let alone just trying to speak to an knowledgeble person is almost impossible now days.This practice at Mesa probably is not a doller wise practice.But it sure impressed me.They have made me a die-hard Mesa fan!

I have been around a block or too.I started playing when Hendrix was still wailing,Crapton still using SG.I have not had the opptunity to play Mesa's latest products,but these two old amps and it's creater ranks number one in my book.

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

God, this thing is great. Some people complain that they wish it had independant controls for each channel. It's extremely versatile. I bought this from a great guy in NY. It had new tubes (some of which were GT'S). THIS THING HAS 9 TUBES. Oh, and I love that pretty orange color they glow. Here are the controls- from left to right are: input, footswitch, volume, master, lead master, treble, bass, middle, reverb, presence, standby, and power. It's very versatile and many tones can be coaxed from those pretty little tubes.

This thing can roar! I highly recommend. I got tones from surf, to beautiful clean, all the way to......METALLICA and everything in between. It does not distort really at all on the clean channel at higher volumes. Try palm muting in the lead channel. Each note is different. I highly recommend the cab I am using in conjunction with the head. It's a closed back peavey with a 1X12 Sheffield. I didn't get any break up. Oh, yeah all my guitars are equipped with humbuckers. I play a Gibson SG, a Takamine acoustic, and an Epi Les Paul. Hint: Try a N.H. It'll sustain for like a minute- literally.

I would gig this without backup. This amp came with a sturdy 1X12- not the peavey. The 1X12 was trashed during shipping. The head arrived unfazed. No problems. I expect this to last although I can't really say much else about the durability.

Haven't needed it. They are in the process of sending me a catalog and manual because i bought the amp used.

I would buy it again because it rocks but I am starting a collection of guitar equipment so i want to get a variety. Saving for the dual rectum-fryer. I would recommend this amp to anyone who asks.

This amp is quite versatile and has two channels with foot switching. The tone controls are shared between the channels, and the EQ can be In, Out, or just applied to the lead channel. I don't have a problem with this setup, and am not searching for greater control complexity. I purchased this amp used and it came with the optional Thiel cabinet, I do not personally care much for it's sound without the extension cabinet as the combo alone lacks low end.

This amp is based on 4xEL-84 (6BQ5) and 5x12AX7 running in Class A mode. The sound is excellent on both channels, and the tone controls and EQ are very interactive. You can push the lead channel into any level of distortion desired, from the deeply overdriven and completely saturated to the Fender just breaking up level. The clean channel remains very clean and can get a Fender-ish shimmer quality. I had to do some minor work on this amp when I got it, and also changed out the tubes immediately. I'm very glad I did. I use this amp with a Strat equipped with Van Zants and a 335 with humbuckers and it performs superbly with both.

I expect to have little problem with this amp. I carefully checked it upon receipt and fixed a loose wire and replaced the tubes. It is PC board based, but the layout was roomy and logical, with a nice thick board and looked servicable if needed. I will gig it without backup.

Mesa was a pleasure to deal with on the phone, answered my questions, sent a manual, etc. Haven't needed repairs, bought used without a warranty.

I would buy it again. It saves my vintage Fenders from the pain of trying to keep up with a Marshall half-stack and a drummer. I love the looks of it in a cream tolex with cane grills. I like the portability of it, about 50 pounds per arm, which is not an unreasonable load.

I play gruge/alternative and this amp rocks. Super distortion, lots of gain(like any Mesa). It also has great clean tones. Features:50 watts, 4-6BQ5s, 4-12AX7s, 1-MESA SPAX7. (from left to right)input, footswitch, volume(gain), master volume, lead master, high, low, mid, reverb, presence, 5 band graphis EQ, EQ stitch, standby, power. You ca foot switch between lead and rhythm, (clean and distortion) It has reverb and effects loop. It would be nice if it had a separate gain control for the lead channel(however it works great with out it.
This amp is LOUD, I run a Peavey 4x12, and the .50 caliber is louder than a 65 watt Studio Pro I was previously using in conjuction with the cab.

Great for any style, awsome clean and cruchy lead with the gain on 1-2. Chrunchy-raunchy rhythm screaming lead with the gain on 4+. The EQ is very versitle( I just love the graphic EQ, which can be on, off or on Lead Turn the gain to 10, and the master to 1-2, and I can get feedback at bedroom levels!! Go from Dylan-Silverchair-Nirvana-Sound Garden-Metallica!! Sounds great with a Strat(single coil PU's), but even better with with my Ibanez Talman (TC620, soap bar humbuckers) Grea! amp!!

his thing was built in 1985 and out does any amp I have ever played!! I had to resolder a wire(reverb return,) after shipping via US Postal Service, from Denver, CO, to Seattle, WA.

MESA is the best amplifier company. PERIOD!!!!! I e-mailed them, and recieved a .50 Caliber manual bumper sticker, and catalog within one week! The guys are awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!! Marshall just ignors customer questions, MESA gets back to you the next day!

The Mesa .50 Caliber 6BQ5 is a great amp. Loud and versitile. I got it for $375( including insured shipping)plus an extra set of Mesa power tubes, and an extra sovtek 12AX7wxt. It was in great condition, has awsome reverb, and you can dial up just about any tone you want! I'm only 15, but the only other amp I'll ever buy is another MESA/BOOGIE. You can't get any better than this. I'll snatch up evey one I can find for a price like that!!