Mesa/Boogie 50/50

Don't know when it was made, but I'm oscilating about end of 90's.
This is basically the power amp - if you will turn it up over than 5 than your sound gets specified "punch". This is the old one (50/50, not 2:50) but it's still kicks asses (stereo tube preamp).

I'm using epiphone explorer korina with dimarzio superdistortion on bridge and standard epiphone pickup on neck. It's sounds very aggressive, but I think I'll change that dimarzio to some gibson ceramic '57. Mainly I'm playing hardcore music, sometimes when I want to jam I like to play some blues / free jazz :) I'm using engl 620 with it but I want to change it to marshall jmp-1 (and I want to mod it, because it doesn't have too much gain on-board). The sound from this power amp is typicall to similar mesa power-amps: it's great!

I'm 100% satisfied user, if I will ever want to change it I'll change it to 2:90 stereo simul-class, but right now it's quite good for me.

don't know - never have been to mesa customer service.

I think that every hardcore player should use that power amp (if you decided to setup rack system yourself). It sounds very good, specific for boogie stuff, it's price is ok for that kind of power amp and I you've got v-twin rack/pedal system it will sounds crazy :)

BTW: I'm looking for some option - I've got some old, but very rare PARK cabinet with T3120 celestions on board, and I want to attach my power amp to it. It has got 4 ohm entrance but it's only mono without bridging. My question is: is there any method to bridge mesa 50/50 to use full 100 watts on one channel ? Something like bridging on 8ohm right channel on marshall 9004 (to have 100 watt mono). If no - maybe you can tell me how to do it - that PARK column is f***ing good and I don't want to make that mono entrance into bridged stereo entrance.

Sorry about my english!!

Well. It basicly an amplifier. I does not do much more. But what it does, it does perfectly.
I use it mostly during rehersals, and its loud enough. My friends marshall stack is louder, but
when he starts getting near the volumes my stack can handle it starts sounding like shit all along
and he does not cut throu. Keep in mind that his sound is very diffrent from mine. And we tried everything, distortion pedals, the marshalls sound and everything else. But marshalls are great at what they do, but we could'nt get the sound we wanted.

Im not into guitar tech really. I have a Gibson Les paul gothic andthe pickups that came with it.

I use it together with a Line6 Pod pro and a Boss Gx-700 and some ibanez 4*12 cab. It was a cheap buy for me and i needed the pod for effects, i used my pod xt whaen i tried it out and it sounded great. You just got to remember to use the pods "live" setting and NOT "direct/record" setting. This makes a big difference.

Now, i know many of you are going to think this setup sucks and that im a complete fool. But i like to do theese experiments and i think i get a big bang for the money spent..

If i had the money and couldget a sweet deal on a triaxis i sourley would. But the pod is ok. Like many here i dont give a shit how "real" it sounds, as long as it sounds good. And my setup did turn some heads...

When clean, its as clean as it gets.. no distortion.

My setup needs a bit of tweaking, but once i did that i got the distortion we needed.

Really.. its great. ill keep it as long as i play guitar. *IF not as my main setup, but as a spare..



I think this amp can handle anything, weather you use it for singing, bass or guitar.

As i said. its what you plug into it that matters more, what it does, it does perfectly.

And it is loud!!

Its built like a tank, and the tubes are old,but it sounds great.
Never had a problem so far, and my friend that i bought it from hasnt eighter!!!

two thumbs up so far!

Never had to.

Ive played guitar for 10 years. I play mostly metal..i compared it to my frieds marshall and another friends 5150.. Its the best of them all.. I really think so, once i tweaked the Pod!!

I wish it had more power, lets say 150 watts per channel, so i could kill the rest of the band and myself.. hehe.. no its great as it is!!

This is about ten years old. Its the second one of these that I've owned, sold the first one like a dummy. These are great workhorse power amps real good all around. Four knobs 2volumes 2 presence all a power amp needs. Low wattage mode is cool.

I use emg pickups in an ernie ball axis and an old Jackson. I play whatever kind of music I feel like at the moment and this power amp fits the bill. Works great with my triaxis. Liked it with my studio pre also. Wth the studio pre I liked to overdrive the power amp, that sounded great!

Never a problem

Been playing almost twenty years owned lots of different kinds of gear. I'd recommend it to anyone. I felt like I needed to post a review of this power amp because it's worked so well for me for the last few years. If it were lost or stolen I'd probably get one to replace it but I would check out the other mesa stuff too. Be nice if it had automatic biasing to switch power tubes.

-According to a sticker on the back of the unit, it's about 10 years old. I've had it for one give or take.
-It does everything a good power amp should do. It has two sides that work by and large separately from each other -- perfect for a stereo preamp.
-Includes presence control which I don't use much.
-It has a hi/lo (15 watts) power switch. I haven't needed the hi (50 watts).
-Mine obviously an older unit with 4 6L6s.
-It's either 8 ohms (x2) or 4 ohms (x4)
-I can't think of anything I'd like it to have except maybe run on 16 ohms.

-I use a Ibanez JEM7VSBL or Ibanez S540 Sabre; both with stock pick-ups.
-I use the amp with a Digitech 2120, which would be great if I knew how to use it. But that's a story for another review.
-The amp has a nice clean, strong tone (I have played straight through it). If I didn't need distortion and FX, it would sound fine on its own.
-It's not noisy, but I've never had to turn it any higher than 5.

-The A-side (I think) has developed some minor noise. It sounds like an easy fix, though.
-The B-side volume knob is noisy when you turn it. Again, it's an easy fix. It's an older unit, and I just haven't bothered yet.
-It's never crapped out completely. It's a boogie and I don't expect it to.

I had a noise with my rack set up that I think came from my ignorance that I needed dedicated speaker as opposed to instrument cables. I contacted Mesa and the customer service rep was very friendly. He helped me rule out the amp itself as the source of the noise. I ended up replacing the tubes anyway.

-I've been playing on/off for almost twenty years (I should be better than I am, in other words). It's my first tube amp. My other amp is a Marshall solidstate. I had no idea there was such a difference.
-If it were lost, stolen, or damaged beyond repair, I would look at the Mesa 20/20. 50 watts (x2 mind you) is a lot from a decent tube amp.
-If you're looking for a decent, reputable power amp, I don't think you can go wrong with this unit.

Stereo 50/50 watt power amp, dual presence/output controlls, ground lift switch, 4x6l6gc 420 power tubes. Low/high power switch (15w to 50w).

Running a Studio Pre through it, it sounds awesome. The combo clearly does what it's made for: producing an excellent solo tone, as opposed to the Rectifiers which focuss on the chording, the nu metal sound. For solo's, the recto's are like sandpaper. Don't get me wrong, even though I'm not a nu metal guy I love the recto's brutality, but I'd rather get an Engl Powerball cause a) it sounds better to me in the brutal area and b) can still do excellent solo's due to the amazing crunch channel.

Overall, this poweramp adds a lot of punch and warmth, giving that thick tone-oozing warmed up saturated tube sound that I've always been looking for. If you like the tin-can-recto sounds, be glad cause they've got the new 2:50 and 2:90/2:100's out, which are clearly voiced to today's metal, literally today's. For the timeless singing sound of the Boogie's, go for the 50/50 or a 2:95 (although these just seem to have too much transparency, they lose the thickness, giving you the sound of an empty can, the 3:95 sounds a little bit better in that aspect).

Just one thing, I'm not dissing recto's here. I like them, for their own purposes. I'm not the fool that would buy a recto, expecting Marshall or a Boogie Mark IV, and then posting a review here complaining that it doesn't do that. But the solo tones that the Studio and 50/50 offer make my blues and metal leads sound like a dream. Very versatile, dialing a couple of buttons gives me night and day difference in sounds, and that warm yet cutting, thick yet clear, transparent tone is always there. On another note, if Marshall is your thing, even the JMP-1 sounds fantastic through this.
Just my 2 cents.

The 10 here is for a Tube Amp. Technically, this means that a solid state could get an 11 in this category when compared to these, tubes always go down. However, this has never been the case, the whole thing is sturdy, the electronics (couldn't resist peeking inside) are manufactured very well.

I love the tone, I hate the weight. I compared this setup to a great number of amps, from the brands Marshall, Rivera, Mesa/Boogie and Engl. This is exactly what I wanted. Need I say more?

Has all I need, dual presence controlls, lo/hi power switch (goes from 15w to 50w per channel, effectively letting you choose between 15/15, 30, 50/50 and 100 watt modes). Ground lift switch, only thing I might want to add to a power amp is some sort of depth punch switch that Engl always includes, however I wouldn't use that as long as it's a Mesa preamp in front of it.

Sounds excellent. Punch, high end, lots of power at high volumes without the hissing and farting. It's that excellent Boogie tone.

By the way. Some people here are so dumb that they don't even know what gear they are using, sorry for pointing this out but it tends to get on my nerves. The 50/50 and 2:50 are two different poweramps. Please note that when placing reviews. It's not good that the 50/50 gets all the bad ratings that were meant for the 2:50's flaws.

Mesa Boogie does not just break down. If it does, you're either doing something terribly wrong, or you're witnessing a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Never needed em.

14 years of playing, I use the Studio Pre and the Triaxis pre. Mesa Boogie EV speakers. It's exactly the sound I always wanted to have.

old school version with the low power switch(very cool for practice and recording). Not too much to talk about here. Beautiful in it's simplicity.

I use a PRS custom 24 with HFS and dragon, or a BC Rich Mockingbird (also HFS but with vintage bass in the neck) no FX straight into a Rocktron PRO GAP out of a 4x12 with EV and celestion speakers. My style goes from very clean jazzy riffage to bone crushing metal jams with leads to go with 'em. I went shopping for a tube power amp in the early 90's. I tested this side by side with my gear against a peavy tube power amp with almost three times the power. The peavy had 130w per channel vs Mesa Boogie's 50/50. The peavy seemed to be as loud as any human could want or stand. When i swithed to the Mesa, i was absolutely FLOORED!! The 50/50 was so much more powerful than the higher wattage competitor. The Mesa was able to go much much louder without sounding harsh. I switched back and tried to tweak the peavy(it was about half the price of the mesa). No good. The 50/50 was clearly(and i do mean CLEARLY)the winner. I haven't tried the simul-class power amps because i dont want to develop a lust for anything more expensive. I have NOTHING negative to say except that it's F**kin HEAVY!

Bulletproof. I haven't ever considered needing a backup. I wish Mesa/ Boogie would design a cell phone. It would be clear sounding and indestructable(but it would probably weigh a ton!).

I don't think they need customer service. I don't know of anyone that has had any problems with their stuff.

I have NEVER regretted buying this unit. I haven't ever needed more power. Not even with the most obnoxious drummers and guitarists. If I had to replace it, I would have a good standard to go by. I would do the same side by side comparison with a 50/50 and what ever else is in the store (Gelb Music, Redwood city, CA).

Stereo 2:Fifty - upgraded version of the Fifty/Fifty. Still have my old Fifty/Fifty I've had for 14 years. Same features as the old Fifty/Fifty, except no 'Low power' switch. Can also can use EL34 power tubes. They took away the 'Low power' switch, but enabled it to use 2 types of tubes.

The reason I went with the 2:Fifty was that it can use EL-34 power tubes. The Presence controls are hard to work with. From 0 to 8 there is no noticeable difference. I swear, I can't hear any difference at all! Then, from 8 to 10 the presence suddenly kicks in and is very harsh. It goes from ?muffled? to ?harsh? in an instant. I found it very difficult to dial in the right amount of presence, because the actual working range is between 8 and 10. Mesa Boogie says it's all in the taper of the POT on the presence control. That?s the way it?s designed. They say the taper is such that you will hear the difference later, rather than sooner. I think it just plain sucks. The Presence control is hardly useable.

The 2:Fifty with GT-EL34-R power tubes is very responsive with high clarity and definition that I love. But it also has a ?boxy? characteristic I can't get rid of, probably due to the EL-34?s that I?m not used to. I?m using a Triaxis preamp into the 2:Fifty. The speaker cab I use is loaded with 4 x Vintage 30?s.

Very quiet. Good looking.

Boogie's are reliable.

They usually call you back the same day.

Just bought it. Sounds only a little better than my old Fifty/Fifty. I'm taking it back and waiting for the VHT Two/Fifty/Two to come in.

New 2002
Raw power no pre-amp
Stereo capability
As loud as you need to go with no distortion

1978 Strat with a mesa boogie studio pre-amp
Loud as hell with no disruption of the natural sound of the pre-amp
50 watts in a boogie is enough to play any club.

its a boogie

Best thing I have ever played through, much better than any Marshall, we won't even discuss my old Crate

A great project is based on simplicity. The hard duty remains at the Mesa factory, inside the Amp, well, everything was set to give us 'easy of use' and pleasure...just turn it on, wait a little bit to warm up the 6L6s, set the amount of presence, choose the right volume and prepare to blow out everything around. Mesa also thought that some user will prefer EL34 smooth-agressive-skills instead of 6L6 deep-agressive-skills and it's possibility is right there!! Just change de Valves, re-bias the Amp, and you can go from Slayer (Marshall) to Metallica (Boogie)!!! EXCELENT!! Very versatile!! And
the new 50/50, redefined and refreshed, have all the chances to remain at leadership and as a benchmark for the market.

Well, here is the most important part: create a sound is more like HOW set up your sound then WHICH equipment you won.On my challange to set my personal Sound Signature for the style I play (Modern Heavy/Thrash Metal), instead of my guitars (Gibson/Fender/Kramer) and my pedalboard (everything high quality) and everything around (good cables and high quality Marshall 1960's cabinets) I'me my decision on mixing the 50/50 Amp with the Marshall JMP-1 Pre Amp. Results? AN AMAZING HUGE SOUND that comes from this Marshall outstanding Pre-Amp (2 12AX7's valves mixed with Solid State aclaimed technology, the perfect mix for a great sound plus low maintenance costs...and all the Marshall tones are there!!) thru the Deep Low Botton that only 50/50 can deliver...an incredible team working together to blow out everything around!!! EXCELENT!! No need 100w...get 50w for a great cranked final sound.

A Boogie is a Boogie...no comments!! Simplicity at Power and Realiability Service!!

Well, if you leave around California...OK the factory is close. But with you leave in other country...you will feel a little bit insecure about custom support. The Boogie will work well for ever but If I have to repair it...here in Brazil we do not have a helpful customer support...

I took a point just for the Customer Support thing.