Mesa/Boogie 50/50

you've read them in the other reviews

Absolutely beautiful. Ibanez RG 570 -> Digitech Whammy Reissue -> Digitech 2120 Artist -> BBE Sonic Maximizer -> Mesa 50/50. Prior to obtaining the 50/50 I was using a solid state Marshall head to supply the power, which I thought sounded good at the time. The tube power really warms up the signal and adds the lows my tone has been missing for years.

Only had it a week, but I gigged with it the night I got it, with no problems. So far, 10

Stereo power amp; 50 watts per channel; volume and presence knobs; low power / high power switch; 8 ohms and 4 ohms speaker outputs... Doesn't sound like much, but it IS a power amp and that's all you need!

My setup: Ibanez RG7620 (7 string) >>> Morley Bad Horsie (Wah) >>> Digitech 2120 (tube pre-amp & effects) >>> Mesa Boogie 50/50 >>> Mesa Boogie Recto 4 x 12.

Music style: Progressive rock / metal

50/50: It's as quiet as any I've heard. You can hear the hum of the fan, but that's it! You can get the best tones on this baby!

Like many others have commented, this is a LOUD power amp! I've never had to crank it up past 4, even at gigs in medium sized venues! I really can't see a need for the 2:90, unless you're playing large venues or stadiums - if you were, you wouldn't need to check out the reviews on this site ;)

Also, like others have commented, this amp has a lot of bottom end. I've had to significantly dial back the lower frequencies, especially with the Recto 4 x 12!

Definitely very dependable. I gig with this without a backup. Then again, I could never afford another 50/50 as a back up...

The only thing that's happened is the fuse blowing. But hey, that's only the fuse. -1 for the blown fuse.

Never had to deal with them.

I've been playing for 15 years and have played a wide array of instruments. This is still the best! If it were stolen, I'd get another 50/50. There is no trading up from here! Well, maybe with the exception of the 2:90 - but that's only if I get to play large venues and stadiums ;)

Beautiful, warm, sparkling tube amp.So easy to use. It needs a pre-amp though. It is stereo and has a low power switch. Straight forward user manual.Don't really need it though.

I use three different guitars through this. A Charvel/Jackson Electric w/Jeff Beck bridge pickup, A Taylor acoustic/electric 614CE Maple and a Taylor 510 mahogony with a Martin thinline under the saddle.Granted I have a Rocktron Chameleon 2000 pre-amp driving everything but it works great ! This set up really does it all. All sounds and just right. Couldn't ask for more. Of course if you are looking for max power then you may want a 90/90 model Mesa.But really this amp is VERY loud if I need it to be.

It's tube but it is SOLID ! I don't even think about a back up.

Haven't needed. I believe the quality of the equipment speaks for the people behind it though.

All styles of music. This amp will reproduce what ever you are searching for. Clean and powerful.Very thick and warm.

This power-amp is from the early of the 90's. I use this to play in 2 bands, a heavy metal and a intrumental rock band.. and works excelent in both. there are 2 outputs/inputs to 8 ohms and 4 to 4ohms. there's a switch to change stand by/on and another to high/low power(50w/15w). 2 knobs to control volume and another 2 to control presence... 1 for each channel. My amp has 3 12ax7.. I don't know why.. the others 50/50 has only 2.. if someone know why.. mail me please! there's 4 tubes in power.. i guess there's 2 for each channel..

Ibanez Jem -> Marshall jmp-1 -> rocktron intellifex -> mesa's 50/50 -> 2x12" stereo cabinet. It suits fine to me. this power has a lot of power.. and now I got the tone that I was lookinf for. there's a little bit of noise.. but the Hush form intellifex cuts it. This amp can be used to any kind of styles u can play. at high volumes this babe shows why mesa's is the best.. it blows my speakes without any distortion.

i get this about one week ago.. and it seems very strong.

never used..

I live in brazil and this is the best power that I ever heard. If someone stolen this.. I work more one year and buy another. This power can work in all volumes but in the 7/8 it shows the best performance... loundness without distortion. It's the best power amp. If someone know why it has 3 12ax7 mail me please.

this amp was manufactured in early 90's. it is not the one voiced for the triaxis. it has separate volume and presence controls for each channel (A&B). it has two inputs (A&B),it has four 4ohm outputs and two 8ohm outputs.
it has four 6L6 GTR 420 power tubes and two 12AX7 driver tubes.
it has a power and standy switch, as well as a hi-power lo-power switch. hi-power gives you 100 watts (50x2) and lo-power gives you 30 watts (15x2).
i am satisfied with all of the features on this amp. it does the job it was designed for.
i play mainly punk and hardcore. sometimes i get a wild hair and play emo-ish music.
this amp has plenty of power. i rarely put it on hi-power because it is ridiculously loud. 30 watts is plenty for small venues.

i gave it a 9 because i would like more clip but i guess that's what the 20/20 and 2:90 are for!

the guitar i'm using is an esp m-350 (HSH) and the preamp is a mesa v-twin. i've tried it with a line 6 pod and hated the sound. very dark and muddy, and a suprising amount of noise even with the noise gate. the line 6 rectified sound doesn't come close to the sound of the v-twin.
when you turn the volume on the amp way up (8-10) and the turn the preamp low (2-4) you get very nice clean sounds. if you turn the preamp loud on clean you will get a lot of distortion. for the distortion channel i usually turn the amp down a little and boost preamp volume and it is killer.

even without EL34's it's still great!

absolutely. i trust this amp 100 %. never broken or over heated. you have to take care of it to keep it in pristine condition.

i've called the company twice so far and haven't talked to anyone yet even after holding forever. i have issues with the v-twin's power supply. basically it sucks. long distance isn't cheap and i can't hold all day.
everyone else says they're great but until i speak to them i can't give an opinion.

highly recommend for anyone who wants just a good sounding reliable power amp. i love this thing to death and would never part with it unless offered an outrageous amount of cash. then i'd buy another one. i love everything about it. like i said, it does the job it was designed for and does it well.
being all the music store around here suck (locally owned, outrageous prices, no selection whatsoever), i had to choose on this one by reading reviews at harmony central and other various locations.
if you read enough of the reviews here, you can get a good idea about a product. but you have to determine who knows their stuff and who is a teenager saying "let's play musician." (no offense to any young people, i'm a teenager too)
if i could add anything else to the setup right now it would be a mesa 20/20 and a triaxis. i really need some more effects too (reverb, tremolo, delay, chorus, etc...) but cash is tight when you're a student.

just remember, if you want to add a pod or anything of that nature to this machine, try it before you buy. i thought it sounded horrible but some may like it. some of the vintage amps were decent but any high gain amp on there sounds like crap IMHO.

2000 or 2001 year model voice matched for the tri-axis pre-amp. I bought this new in the store because I tried my pre-amp through it and it sounded killer.
I use it for death metal and it is very deep, rich in harmonics, and cuts through the mix wihout being harsh to the ear.
Two channels. 50 watts per side from 4 6l6 power tubes and 3 12ax7 pre-amp tubes. Half power mode drops one tube on each side (ends up being 15 watts per side) for a slightly different tone from full power. 8 ohm(1) and 4 ohm(2) outputs for each side. This means you can do either of these things: Run two cabinets with different impedence ratings on each side (one at 4 ohms and one at 8 ohms)....or... run four cabinets rated at 8 ohms.
I wish this amp had a voicing switch or a resonance knob but it doesn't. I am a real tone-tech freak. I also wish it had bias switching for installing el34 power tubes. You can get them biased and installed with el34's but you have to send it to the company unless you know how to do it yourself (I don't).
I use this amp in a death-metal band with a very loud drummer and it is loud enough but doesn't have the headroom I would like. I am thinking of trying an amp with a higher power rating for extra clarity in the future but for now I am happy.

I use an Aria-Pro II (mid 80's) flying V and an Ibanez rg series 7 string(1998), both with stock pick-ups. I have a Boss GX-700 for a pre-amp (which is just killer, under-rated) and a five band, fully parametric DBX EQ in the efx loop for amp-like tweaking in different sounding environments.
This is a very quiet amp. The small amount of fan noise produced is of no concern for anyone recording at a reasonable recording level and the power section doesn't seem to produce any noise at all.
Let me explain how much bottom end and warmth this amp produces. Before this Mesa, I was using a Carvin 300 watt solid-state amp which I thought was great but it completly died on me, and ended up sounding like shit compared to the Mesa. Anyway, when I used the same tones through the Mesa, there was so much more low end that I decided to put an EQ in the chain to subdue it a bit. I pulled out 9db at 160 hz to get it about where it sounded before. I also used a bottom shelving frequency as a high-pass filter at 100 hz and it is still a very thick tone. The other thing the tube tone of the Mesa improved was my high end. Through the Carvin solid-state I was getting a very harsh high-end. The Mesa turned that harsh set of frequencies into a more pleasing, ear relaxing air. So, you great clarity and cutting power that doesn't destroy your ears.

I have owned this amp for six months now without any problems other than the original fuse blowing in the first week. This is my first tube power amp and I was very skeptical at first about tubes blowing. I was going to buy a backup amp but here it is six months later and I still haven't gotten one. I just don't worry about it any more. It would probably be a good idea to keep backup tubes though.

Never needed a repair. The amp is under warranty for one year and I got all the instructions and paperwork with it since I bought it new. I will give an eight for not even having to contact them in my six month period so far.

I have been playing for eight years as a solid-state user and I didn't know what I was missing. Let me tell you something, to have a professional tone for guitar, you need to have a tube somewhere in your chain. It can be a pre-amp tube, a power tube, or both, but you need one somewhere. I am a changed man after trying it.
This amp is great but I still want to collect other amps too. I have compared this to a Marshall el34 50/50 which is also a great sounding amp. I wouldn't say it is a better sounding amp but it does have a pleasing coloration all it's own. I also want to try one of the VHT 2502's but I haven't been able to get my hands on it. The cool thing about the VHT and the Marshall is that they have both voicing variables and bias switching for 6l6 and el34 power tubes which the Mesa doesn't.
Contact me if you want to talk shop. I can describe certain aspects of this amp if you are considering buying one. I also might be able to learn something from you.

i thinks its a pretty versatile piece of equipment made for use in rack systems in the meddleweight division(picked that up from the original site).2 chanels,50 watts each in stereo....
it's very simple in its use though i'd like to see a standby button for each chanel.it would make it more varsatile for playing in home,testing etc.very clean no matter the gain you use from the preamp.
LOTS of power.at least enough to cover everyone in the band in the studio or a gig..(when i'll get to a stadium i'll think it over,i promise....)Its quite heavy though so if you want to play this with the rest of the rack enter a gym as fast as you can.GRATE TONE,i think that covers the rest....

hmm,i use mainly a custom guitar with warmoth woods and dimarzio tone zone and air-norton pickups.a sansamp preamp and a yamaha rev500.a tc g-major is on the way too.i'm trying too be as versatile as i can so the power amp has a lot to do with the versatility.jazz is good,blues is better,blah blah blah,metal kicks ass...the 50/50 can do it all keeping its tone at any volume...normal hum at hi gain settings covered easily with a noise gate....though the sansamp is an analog preamp but without tubes its has amazing drive but medium quality clean sounds. but the mesa fixed that up.with those 6L6s glowing at a volume near 4 or 5 the clean stuff is a dream...

i think all the mesa products are very solid and i can trust them without a backup plan but you never know what fate has prepared for you during a gig....BEWARE.....never trust you're your machines and your bass player(just kidding).......i meant the drummer.

i'm going to order a replacement part from mesa boogie soon so i'll answer that one soon i hope.

only have it for a month but works great....
if it were stolen i'd stole one from another guy and if that'd continue i'll have the same back in a few years i guess.
its a mesa boogie.not as good as a vht or a bogner but probably in the top 10 of all the power amps in production(not custom included)and believe me that there's a long list after that....and then of course the chaos....................

Rack mount power amp, 100 watts tube... blah blah blah

I'm playing a Jackson DR-3 with EMG85's into a Rocktron ProGap 2.0 preamp, into a BBE Sonic Maximizer into the 50/50 thru an Ampeg 4x12 cab. I play heavy death metal and hardcore, so I'm always looking for the most brutal tone.
Before I picked this up used from a friend of mine, I was playing the above setup, only with a Rocktron Velocity 120 in the mix. I thought your power amp didn't make too much of a difference... boy was I wrong! I don't have the best preamp in the world, but plugging this thing in after playing the Velocity 120 was like night and day. The 50/50 gives me that extra crunch and definition I have been looking for for years. That said, it does break up a bit a high volumes- not a problem when playing miked, but at practice or at small shows whree you're not miked it kind of sucks.
Like a few other people who have posted, I was a solid state loyalist before this, and if you're still sticking to your solid state guns, let me be the one to tell you to give it up and go tube. This thing rocks.

Haven't had it long enough to know...

Never had to deal with them so who knows...

Other than being really heavy (due to the quality output transformer), and breaking up a little at high volume, I can't find a thing wrong with my 50/50.

It's a 100watt stereo tube power amp...and given what it is, it's got a lot of cool features that actually work the way they're supposed and leave you with a lot of options. hi-low power switch...high is full 100 watts...low is 30 watts, and the 30 watts has an amazing overdrive when cranked. there's the standard volume controls for each side, and also presence controls which add a lot of variety in tone.

I use a Gibson Les Paul Studio with Seymour Duncan Invaders in both positions (EXTREMELY high output...non-active), into a Digitech RP2000 preamp, through a peavey 4x12 cab. I also use monster perfomer 500 jazz cords (makes a huge difference...but lots of money). i play ska punk mostly, but dabble into funk, jazz, blues, hardcore, metal, etc, and the amp sounds good for all of it. A lot of it has to do with the preamp...but an awesome preamp through a shit power amp sounds like shit. and the tubes make it sound warm and full at high volumes. i was a firm beleiver in solid state until i heard this.

HA...it's a tank and will outlive me

well, this puppies hand made...so in my opinion that's pretty good, but i never dealt with them.

AMAZING...does the job and does it better than anything else except maybe the 90.90 by mesa...but that's just for those with money to burn =)

2 channels, volume/presence, high/lo power switch.. 50 watts per channel, 2 12AX7A's and 4 6L6's..

This thing SUCKS.
NO tone. NO high end at ALL.
Get it up past about 7 and it sounds like I'm playing through two blown speakers.
Absolutely horrid sounds coming out of this thing.

Just got it.

Haven't even tried yet.

Well it looks nice..