Mesa/Boogie 50/50

Its a 50W per channel stereo power amp, dont know the age. I guess the few features have been covered in other reviews. I love the low power switch (takes it to 15 watts) as I mainly use this at home.

I play a Hamer Artist Custom (Seth Lover pickups), into a Quad pre-amp, TC G-Major, 50/50, into home made oversize detuned speaker cabs (Celestion Century drivers). It sounds great, I have tried a few different 12AX7 tubes (doesn't make a lot of difference, but you can get a little improvement) Output tubes made a BIG difference though.

Bottom line is that this sounds A1

It is SOLID, I noticed that Boogie have changed the case design on newer ones, they have less screws on top (cost saving I guess, pathetic!)

Solid, simple, sounds 1st class. Very heavy though (I guess thats a good thing, but a loaded rack is well heavy).

I don't think you can get better for a stereo power amp. 2:90, 295, 395 may be better but the 50/50 has plenty of power for me & I really cannot imagine anything sounding better than this

The 50/50 has dual channels, two volumes, two presence, a half power cut and a ground lift... I modified the top two main outs into board outs. This provides my board guys main tube saturated line outs (in the event that I do not to mic-up). I wonder why Mesa didn't do this from the factory?

I use a Mesa Bottle Rocket to drive a Mesa Studio pre with a Peavey digital effects processor in the loop (in sterio) to finally drive my Mesa 50/50. I use the 50/50 to push a pair of Celestion 12s (closed) or Peavey Scorpions (open). My rack also utilizes a SeaSound digital recorder and a power conditioner (needed if you play single coils around florescant lights). I tend to play for a large church band and use a Fender Stat to drive the whole setup. If I'm playing dirty (and I love to play dirty), I use a Guild S-300 with Dimarzio humbuckers. Most of my church work utilizes more of a clean tone. This thing produces crystal clear cleans that just ring (especially driving the entire 100 watts). If I want dirty, I strap on my Guild and then beam myself to tube tone heaven. Ah do I love Mesa stuff!!!

If this thing is serviced now and then it will last forever (and I hope that this will be my setup in glory).

Never had to contact Mesa for support.

I've played 30+ years and have played through a lot of power amps (both tube and transistor). This is by far my favorite.

This is my first Mesa/Boogie purchase. A very easy to use stereo tube amplifier...there are switches for power/standby, 2 channels with volume & presence controls...Can be switched from Hi to Lo power (50 to 15 watts). The 15 watt conversion is sweet, man - especially if you have the right (not the most, mind you) outboard gear to tweak with. I only bump it to 50 watts when I'm outdoors or in a large venue (or if my drummer thinks he can play louder than I can). I play through this amp every day without fail. It travels with me wherever I go. I'm no weekend warrior, no sir - this amp is built to be in the trenches with me. After looking at other reviews down this page, I have concurred with many on features that could be added to this amplifier, and for the price I paid for it and the incredible use that it has already provided me, I give it a 10 for "Easy to use features."

I play through a GMP Pawn Shop Custom with Seymour Duncan pickups -> Geoffrey Teese RMC3 Wah Pedal -> Ibanez Tube Screamer Modded by Mike Piera of analogman.com -> Rocktron Voodu Valve -> Mesa 50/50 -> Marshall Cabinet. I also play a Fender Strat and a Martin D1 acoustic through it, so yes, it reproduces a very pristine clean sound, especially after using the pre and post eq's from the Rocktron. I play original music with a band called Ethan. We travel around a lot - we do a lot of jazz, so I love the warmth of this amp, a lot of fusion, so you know it's got bite, a lot of heavy rock, so there's blistering distortion. We cover the genres well with our originals and the Mesa is a testament to my playing style - it is as versatile as I need an amp to be, in all it's plain metallic splendor and glory. Be warned: for 50 watts stereo, this amp is loud!!! Watch those precious ears of yours.
Long story short: The cleans are clean and the distortions are as perfect as you want, as long as you have the right outboard preamp stuff (not necessarily the most - just something you can tweak).

I can depend on this amp because it is backed by Mesa/Boogie. They are known for their customer support, especially when dealing with me. The only time the amp has broken down on me is when I first got the package - it seems one of the tubes had burned out in shipping, but fortunately, the gentleman I was purchasing this from had spare power tubes in the box. Since Mesa amps require no biasing, I fired it right up and it's been burning ever since.

The company's customer service is what you should always expect from a company. I have a friend that has a hybrid Mark I (it's really a Mark I.5)from like 1978. It's a freaking tone monster and if an amp can last that long without repair, my goodness, what is this 50/50 going to do? Never had to get it repaired, other than replacing a tube and that's easy. Always carry spare fuses, power tubes and a couple 12AX7's just in case though.

I've been playing guitar for about 10 years now, professionally and for the last 4 and full-time for the last 2. I've gone through a LOT of guitar equipment, more than I care to tell, and I really love this setup. It's easy to use and loud and just produces sweet tone. If you want a good measure, Ethan is playing the New Orleans Jazz Festival on May 2, 2003. You'll hear us there.

I dunno when mine was mad actually, but its flawless. Im sure you know all the features by now...they are pretty basic. The only problem I have with this amp is the power switch/standby setup. If there was some way mesa could have made a power and standby switch for each side I would be totally happy. That would be a different story totally though. What can I say though, its a great amp. There is 50 or 15 watts per side, non-bridgable. You can use the low power and it'll sound just as loud as the 50...no joke. It'll get to that "sweet spot" at a lower volume too (good for recording!). 4 or 8 olhm outputs. 4 12AX7 preamp tubes, 4 6L6 power amp tubes (fan cooled). It also has a blue power light. Neat.

The sound is great. It pretty much kills alot of stuff out there. I use a Mesa Studio Preamp > Mesa 50/50 > Mesa 2x12 vertical halfback. Its pretty much flawless sounding. I have no complaints at all to tell you the thruth. There is no noise at all from the amp (other than the fan running). It is a perfect match for the Studio Preamp. 8 12ax7's really add alot of warmth and life to my tone haha. Both the Studio and the 50/50 are so smooth and dynamic, and the 50/50 really adds alot to this with a presence dial...if you kow how to use it. You can almost overdial it at higher volumes, and the amp may sound harsh.

I gig without a backup, but I always carry extra fuses and such. You never know when those will go. The amp is built solid, and it is wired perfectly. If you look inside everything is soldered securely, and there are even silicon "bumbers" on the larger capacitors and things to prevent them from knocking into eachother. ...If they were even capable of coming loose. All wires are trimmed and soldered to the EXACT length. They are also bundeled together and out of the way. The transformers look like they will last longer than me, and are really heavy. And its Mesa...what more can I say?

I have yet to deal with them, but I know that they will be very helpful when/if I do.

I have heard what the 2/90's can do, but I cant afford it. I bought my 50/50 and Studio Preamp for the same price as the 2/90 alone. Its not like it was a tradeoff either...I'm 100% happy with the tones I can get outta this setup.

Stereo, 50 watts per channel, low power switch, fan cooled. Two 6L6 power tubes per channel. Three 12AX7 tubes. Two 4ohm and one 8ohm output jacks per channel. I use the Triaxis as my pre-amp. I bought my 50/50 12 years ago (yes, I?m still using it!) before they were re-voiced for the 2:90?s. I was sent a kit from Mesa to apply to the amp to bring it up to current mod?s specs. This fix took only a half hour to do, some minor soldering, etc.

If I was to make any changes to the 50/50, I would:
Incorporate dual, independent fuses ? one fuse per channel. This
would make the amp more redundant.
Allow bias switching to be able to use 6L6 or EL34 tubes.
Add 16ohm output jacks.

Not a complicated power amp. Very simple to set up and operate.

The 50/50 sounded much fuller after the mods. This is an excellent sounding power amp that will accommodate almost any playing style and sound. The music I play is anything from the Stray Cats to Satriani. Capable of sparkling clean as well as overdriven crunch. This amp is loud for the 50 watt rating it is given. Sounds good at low volumes as well as high. Very quiet operation. I have my volumes and presence controls on the 50/50 all on ?10? and control the master volume with my Triaxis. This seems to let the power tubes ?breathe?. Try it!

The only down side I experienced is when ?pushing? the tubes on a 50/50. Bought a Hot Plate power attenuator (power soak) and when I turned the volume up on the 50/50 (past 7), the sound compressed and started sounding like a fart. It wasn?t my speakers. I spent several hours playing around with it but couldn?t get it to sound like I hoped. I was very disappointed. Returned the Hot Plate the next day. Boogie tech support said they were surprised to hear this. I guess this amp was not designed to be ?pushed?.

Overall, this power amp sounds excellent and is very versatile.

Had my 50/50 for over 12 years and NEVER had a problem (outside of a couple failed tubes). I have complete confidence in it and do not have a backup power amp. I replace the power tubes regularly and don?t worry about a thing.

*One night after playing out, my rack fell out of my drummer?s pickup truck (the idiot left the tailgate down) and it took a hard fall to the pavement. The rackmout ?wings? on my 50/50 were bent significantly, but the damned thing still worked! Just to be on the safe side, I opened it up and re-seated the tubes and resumed practice the next day.

Mesa built these things like a truck. I?m giving the 50/50 a ?10? in this category.

These people call me back every time and are competent when answering my questions. They even sent me the mod upgrade kit free of charge, including shipping! The only drag is the time difference (California and Michigan).

An excellent investment. If it got stolen, I would consider buying another one. I?ve been very happy with it's sound and reliability. I?ve investigated many other power amps and would compare only one other to the 50/50 - the VHT two/fifty/two.

Made in 1991. 50 watt tube stereo power amp with a half power setting at 25 watts. Separate volume and presence controls for each channel and two separate sets of speaker outputs (one 4-Ohm, one 8-Ohm, and one 16-ohm output jack per side). It is biased at the factory for 6l6's. It also has 3 12ax7 preamp tubes. It has a fan for cooling those hot power tubes, and a HUGE power transformer. This thing probably weighs about 35 to 40 pounds.

I play in a church band. We cover several different styles, so I use the cleanest cleans to the heaviest sounds possible with my setup. I must have the weirdest setup... Hamer Daytona or Hirade HP-5 Classical>Carvin Quad-X Preamp>Boss VF-1>Mesa 50/50> a Sunn 6x12 and a folded horn Sunn 2x15. Yea I know...its pretty wierd. Anyway the sound is great. Its a little noisy, but very little if any. My effects volume is at about 1:00 (or level 6...I'm guessing as the level knob on the VF-1 has no numbers), my preamp volume is at 3-5, and my 50/50 is on half power at 4(for the 6x12) and 4(for the 2x15). This is gut shaking at 5 feet away! More than enough volume for me... and everything else. Tonewise, its very clean with a touch of bass. Metalheads will love this amp. You can get that "CHUG" from palm muting. You can get a nice full clean with it too. When I use my Hirade the low end is unbelievable. It sounds incredibly full. It works well with everything else in between.

Why would I need a backup? This thing can be hit by a car... in fact, the car would be more damaged by a collision than the amp would. I've had mine for two years with no problems. The first owner had no problems with it either.

Never delt with the company.

If I lost it or it was stolen. I would probably check out a vht power amp, but if that didn't work out. I'd buy a new one immediately.

For a "Power Amp" this thing really rocks! Great Mesa Tube tone and the ability to run at low and high power along with a Presence control on each of the two channels all add up to really make this unit a winner! I'm also glad they put a fan on this baby to help keep it cool. I wish they had done that on my Road King Combo.

I'm using the 50/50 as a stereo effects amp driven from my Mesa Boogie Road Kings, line out. It's going from the Road King into an Ernie Ball Volume pedal, (so I can control the amount of effect on the fly) into TC Guitar Major effects box and also a Rocktron Replifex, then into the 50/50. From there I modified a Mesa Boogie 2x12 Recto cabinet into a stereo cabinet. I replaced the 16 ohm Vintage 30's with 8 ohm vintage 30 Celestion speakers. Although the amp could easily drive the 16 ohm speakers, it breaks the power down in half by doing so. The cab sits under the Road King combo which is basically the dry amp. The combination sounds nothing short of SPECTACULAR!!!
The 50/50 is a nice clean sounding power amp. You wouldn't even now it was on it's so quiet!

I bought this unit used and it's about 5 years old and runs like a champ! I just replaced the tubes and used an air compressor to dust it out thouroly. The previous owner had no problems with the amp and it looks super clean and un abused, even though he used it almost every weekend.

N/A since I bought it used. But depending who you talk to at Boogie the service is fantastic, even if, a little pricey.

I used to own a Mesa Boogie 20/20 because I thought I really didn't need all the power of a 50/50. Well, a bunch of other people must be thinking that now too, be cause the price of those things new has gone up a $100! Even used they are pricey, while the 50/50 can be had used for $350 to $475. The thing is if you need to use low power it would make the amp a 25/25. I like the extra power, because then my clean sounds "STAY" clean and not overdriven.
The only thing I can wish the amp had would be cosmtic. That it had the same cool knobs and looks of the 20/20 or other boogie products. But hey, you can't hear the way it looks.
;-)

50w per channel, 2 channels. Each channel has a volume and a presence knob. Power and standby switches, of course. Runs with four 6L6 power tubes in the back. One 8ohm speaker input per channel, two 4ohm inputs per channel. Fan cooled. The wattage on this amp is very powerful, as a Mesa should be. The only thing I wish it had was a 16ohm input and maybe another 8ohm. As I'm using it now, it doesn't make any difference to me, but to receive a 10, it would have to have those inputs.

Like I said, this thing is powerful! It sounds very warm, being tube, so if you're using it to hook up a nontube preamp it will do the job and make up for your lack of warmth there. The amp is superclean, the one I have is used, and it doesn't make any funny noises at any volume level. Tone is nice and deep, and if you want it more crisp, your presence knob is right there. I'm using an ADA Mp-1 preamp with this, and for my style of rock playing, I don't think I could find a better setup for under $1500.

I've only had it for a few months, but I don't see this thing breaking down. The fuse inside there is very sensitive though. I've had issues where it wouldn't turn on because the fuse wasn't lodged in there enough, but that could be because I'm using a different fuse knob that the one that came with it. It gets an 8 because I don't ever think it will break down, but there is always that chance that it might in the future.

never dealt when them.

Mesa/Boogie are about the only company now that make rack based tube power amps for guitar use. When I was shopping around, I found some Peavy gear, but they weren't NEAR as powerful. This just blew away the Peavy Classic 60w (I believe that was the one I tried). If you're looking for a tube power amp, I would go with this one if not by default alone. But it's awesome, so don't worry. It's very very pricey new though, so try to find it used, and cheap! If something happened to this amp I'd cry like a little girl. It loses two points from perfect because its so costly.

I bought the amp from E-bay about a week ago for $450.00 used, I believe it is a 2000 model and it has the triaxis mod. I think the amp is very versatile for a power amp, the half power switch is killer for producing lots of tube saturated overdrive at some what low level volumes. The thing I love about this thing it is like a Soldano amp it has everything you need and nothing you dont. As for the power of this thing, again Mesa has to underate the power of this
the half power switch is supposed to be only 15 watts, and with only
(1) 4x12 cab it is loud enof for almost any gig. ( no B.S. )
The only thing I wish it had is a effects loop!

My setup consists of a ESP explorer with a EMG-81 at the bridge and a 85 at the neck, a Mesa V-Twin (pedal) with a large custom made 4x12
cab loaded with celestion vintage 30's. My style is strictly metal to rock, I mostly play Slayer, Pantera, Metallica, Creed, Marylin Manson etc... As far as noise I think it produces alot of feedback when using alot of gain, thats kind of to be expected though, other than that the fan is pretty quite. Like all boogie's it takes lots of hours getting you tone dialed in. I only use one channel and I use the half power switch which defiantly helps my V-twin produce more gain/overdrive. All though if you want use your clean to be real loud you better switch off the lower power switch as it causes it to go into overdrive very fast as you increase volume. I used to have a 5 band parametric EQ in my rack setup, but now that I have the mesa power amp I dont even use it, this thing adds alot of clarity and bottom end to your sound. Also if you are trying to squeeze out more gain out of this thing ( metal heads listen up! ) turn down the highs on your preamp and let the presence control rip loose! Ya turn it all the way to 10, it REALLY boosts your gain/overdrive.
Bottom line it adds smooth creamy tone that everyone from aggresive metal heads to old bluesy farts will love.

I cannot rate this category for I have not had it long enough, but hay it survived one gig thats got to count for something.
Oh yeah no maintenace either all boogie amps have fixed bias!!!!

Never dealt with them, hope I dont have to either, I buy all my guitar shit used, so I have never dealt with their warranty polices.

I have been playing for 2 years and this is my best piece of equipment I have ever bought. I run out and buy a new one if something happened to it, I mean what is there to step up to for a power amp? A mesa 2:90, WAY TOO loud, the 50/50 is louder than my old Randall 200 watt head, when using both channels. And I did try out the EL-34 Marshall power amp and the Peavey classic 50 watt power amp they both suck ass! The only thing I wish I had is a Mesa triaxis, not that my V-Twin doest kick ass, (sounds just like a single recto) I would like to have a programable preamp to store different EQ setups, that would be footswitch activated.
Overall rating very good! Even if you buy a new one at $700.00 still a hell of deal, think about it you could buy one of these and a new
V-Twin at $300.00 and basically have a Mesa Recto, and hundreds of dollars left in your pocket.
( V-Twin's are a Recto's preamp section wake up people! )

Update from previous listing. This thing was dropped from the top of my 4X12 in cheap rack weighing about 70 lbs. I about cried, but after inspection, everything was intact. Plugged it in about an hour later, no problems. 3 weeks and about 15 hours of operation later, still no problems. This thing is a tank!