Mesa/Boogie 50/50

Low Power switch is neat. Knocks it down to 17 watts. It'd be nice if it had adjustable bias, EL34 compatability, and separate standby switches for each side, but whattya gonna do.

Owning this power amp finally taught me what the real character of 6L6's is - lots of natural lows and highs. As far as anything I've seen, 6L6 poweramps by Mesa are THE 6L6 power amps. They sound incredible for high-gain chugging and huge, lucious Fender-ish cleans, but I was never able to get a lead sound I wanted with 6L6's. I was getting Metallica's clean tone out of this power amp. You know, that huge "black" clean sound. Its those lows and highs of the 6L6's. Just makes it sound HUGE. Not the best for lead sounds in my opinion. I need the sizzling mids of EL34/EL84 power amps. I still loved the Mesa 50/50 though. Its got a wonderful bass response and seemed to add a very saturated and "searing" quality to high-gain sounds.

The intermittent bias supply needed to be replaced once it was about 15 years old, but I won't hold that against it.

Made in the USA with pride! This sucker is loud! Stereo output with presence and volume controls. 4 and 8 ohm output for speakers. High and low power switch that runs each channel at either 50 or 15 watts. I never use the 50 watt high power setting, even in clubs over my drummer and not running through a house PA. Has everything I need for a power amp; anything else would be frivolous. Uses 4 6L6 power tubes.

I use ESP and Ibanez guitars with Dimarzio's through a Mesa Boogie Triaxis. I play original metal/hard rock. Sounds like bliss with the Triaxis. I just sold my Triple Rectifier because this setup sounds like everything I've ever wanted. Using the 15 watt setting gives you a nice tube breakup and makes your cab sound fatter than Rosie O'Donnell. Clean, fat, and juicy, this power amp does it all.

Mesa Boogie amps don't break unless the bonehead that uses them abuses them. Never needed a backup.

If you ever need to call Mesa Boogie, there is always someone to help you out with whatever needs you have. I call and order tubes all the time. 5 year warranty with Mesa stuff, but if you need it you better rethink your methods of taking care of your gear. These amps RARELY break.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years. I don't loose gear, but if someone stole it I would beat the crap out of them because these aren't made anymore and a ***** to find one in this condition. I love this power amp so much, I would sell all my other amps to buy more of them. I hate carrying my rack around cause this sucker is heavy! But its so worth it! Everyone rants and raves about the VHT 2/50/2; my question is why? This amp smokes every other power amp in its class on the market. I chose Boogie because I've been through countless rigs and nothing compares. Perfect in every way.

The one I have was I beleive around the early to mid 90's. I really only play metal, but all the different genres encompassing it. It worked very very well for me in that respect. It has two channels with 50 watts per side with an option on going down to 15 watts. It also has a presence knob for each channel that really helps find your own sound in the power amp. I've used this amp in my room and on a stage and it delivered in both spots and everywhere in between with great tone and volume. It also runs off of 6l6's, mesa tubes of choice. I only give it a 9 becasue I wish it had a few more tone options or tube options.

I use a Jackson Soloist with a JB and a Jazz push potted in the neck as well as a Caparison Horus with a JB and hotrails in the neck. It was THE go to power amp at the time I was looking, especially for the price. I would recomend either this or if you hav a little more cash the VHT 2/50/2, pretty much the two best on the market. It was never too noisy, I used it with an Engl e530 pre amp, and the pre amp provided a little unwanted noise, but other than that they duo sounded fantastic. Blew away EVERYTHING in the price range by far.

It's mesa so I can absolutely trust it. It's built like a tank, you could drop it off a roof and it'd still work fine, if not better. I've NEVER had issues with it, and have gigged plenty with it.

never had to deal with them, so I guess I can't give a rating, but I'd say that's a good thing

I've been playing for about 8 years now and have owned a lot of gear and played through even more. I currently own a VHT 2/50/2 and that's it for me for power amps, doesn't get much better, but this is great. I also own an Engl e570 SE a dunlop rack wah and a g0major as well as a soloist and horus. I would be upset if it were stolen, if I could get a good deal again I would totally buy it. I never saw a problem with it, and can't imagine it hav a problem. I love the suprising sound quality, and didn't really hate anything about it...maybe it could look cooler but that doens't matter to me. I only giv eit a 9 because I think the 2/50/2 is a superior power amp, but this is pretty close, especially for the price.

pretty basic....50 watt stereo tube preamp....the coolest feature is the 15 watt low power switch for playing in smaller venues so u can still get that fat tube sound. 9 for not having a 16ohm output but its really not a big deal

this is probably one of the cleansest most articulate poweramps ive ever played on....my friend has a vht 2:50 and i actually prefer the mesa.(vht is damn good though) it has zero noise and no fizz whatsoever...i love this thing

its a mesa so its built like a tank

havent dealt with them...prolly wont need to

you can pick this poweramp up off ebay for around 400 bucks and get tone that would cost you around 1500 bucks for a newer unit

Straightforward two channel power amp with volume and presence control for each channel

Solid, thick and clean 6L6 sound. Replaced a small EL84 amp with these baby and it was a major upgrade in sound quality. Great headroom and "fullness"

It was built in 89 and stills works great

haven't need it

Been playing for 30 years and have played many amps, this is a quality unit with a big bold sound

Not many features. Why should it have many features.....?
Reminds me of a '69 Jeep Wagoneer in which you could survive a head on collision. Built to last.

My setup consists of a Fender Strat Standard USA (no modifications) plugged in a Marshall JMP-1, with an Intellifex in the loop.
I love the direct amplification. Clear and honest. Didn't have the opportunity yet to push the volume to its limits since I have owned the amp for just a couple of days.
I am still lacking a decent stereo cabinet so I use a 12 inch cabinet which comes with my seventies Polytone Minibrute. Even with this setup the Boogie passes with flying colours.
Hats of!

Haven't had the opportunity yet to kick it, drop it or drown it.I would use it on a gig without backup. Never had any backup, period.

Haven't dealt with them yet

I have been playing for more than 20 years. I basically play Jazz but at given times I like to wake up myself, my neighbours and my audience with rock/blues/funk oriented stuff.That's why I bought myself a 19" setup.
Other gear: 80's Gibson ES-175, Gypsy Guitar, Vintage Ibanez PF200,
Seventies Polytone Minibrute (to go with the '175 Gibson) and a Koch Twintone II 50 watts amp.


What I hate about the Mesa is that the 50/50 doesn't come in Pink, Red or any other colour which seems to be hip nowadays (just kidding..)

Mid to Late 1990s power amp with two 50-watt channels. Presence and volume controls only. 4 or 8 ohm outputs available for each channel.

I bought this amp expecting the best possible power amp for my setup. I was right.

69 Tele w/SD little '59 in the bridge -> Mesa Studio Pre -> 50/50 -> Marshall 1960 Cab. Monster Rock cable for all connections. No effects or processors or anything.

I play guitar-driven proggish rock with some poppy hooks. This is the sound I needed and wasn't getting with a JCM 900, which is what I replaced with this rack setup.

This power amp sounds very present and articulate. It is excellent at maintaining individual note clarity even when you drive it hard. Clean sounds ring through this amp with so much sustain that it sounds like 10 Fender Twins in parallel.

I purchased this amp about a month ago and I have not taken it on the road yet. Based on other reviews, I plan on taking it on tour without backup.

I have never dealt with Mesa.

In building a rack setup, I originally intended to get a JMP-1 and some old Marshall power amp. It's a good thing that I had to save money up over several months, because over that time I read a lot of reviews (I love H-C) and priced various other options. I don't really have time to find used equipment in stores to try it out personally, but this is the next best thing. I finally settled on Mesa stuff because of their excellent reputation. I am very satisfied with this decision. The amplifier looks and sounds even better than I thought it would.

I have a respect for companies that make machines that do one thing really well. Mesa seems to be a manufacturer who realizes that useless features are funcionally and aesthetically obtrusive. Many reviewers note that they wished it had a 16-ohm speaker output, but there is always some way around this if you are perceptive enough. I don't see this as a shortcoming.

If this rack gets stolen or lost... (By the way, I love reading the answers to this question)

I would be pissed at myself for letting it happen for about two weeks and then I would move on. After all, there is more to life than material possessions, however important they may seem. In the meantime, I am going to guard it carefully.

Bought for #400 UK second hand in the mid 90s. This amp does what it says on the tin with minimal features necessary and has been my work horse now for 10 years.

I use the 50/50 with a Marshall JMP1 preamp and a few boss pedals with my Gibson Les Paul Standard 1989 typically. This is a monster set up and I don't think I'll ever want to change.

Has had a trouble free existence through many gigs and many journeys up and down the UK and Europe's motorways. However, the coupling capacitor to one of the 6L6s shorted recently. As I know what I'm doing, this was quickly diagnosed and replaced (with the help of the circuit diagram found on schematicheaven.com) - one valve was repeatedly going bright orange, that channel was weak sounding - then a new valve did the same, then fuses started blowing. Thankfully, I spotted this before my latest tour and a quick soldering job has sorted it. I still think this is a reliable amp as I could have run it on '3 cylinders' and still p*ssed the other band members off with the sheer volume. Maybe I've just been unlucky. However, I thought it best to mention. (For the geekos - you may want to keep a stock of 0.1uF 400V polyester capacitors and 3A slow blo fuses as well as spare 6L6s)

Not used.

In general, this amp is the dogs b*llocks - long may I hope to use it!

According to the stamp on the cooling fan, it's from 1989.
This single channel power amp is built for clean power, and that's what it does. Features are minimal. There's a volume and tone control for your left and right sides, with a lo-power 20 Watt mode and thats about it.
This amp would have benefitted from having an on/off switch for each individual side, but thats the only thing missing from this straight ahead rack unit.

I use 2 musicman luke guitars (with EMG's)through an old Digitech 2120 processor. This amp pretty much gives you a punchy and even sound, which at first is deceptively uninspiring. Sure, it's loud, but you don't go away "blown away" by the sound quality. That is, until you A/B it with another amp, then you see the potential. What comes through is the warmth of the sound, and colouration which is deep enough to dive into.
The sound of these late 80's models had fallen out of favour after the "grunge" and "nu-metal" sounds became prominent. However, as a player of many styles, including pop, rock, blues, jazz, etc.... this amp fits the bill. The downside for many players these days, is that they don't need as much power. This applies here too. My band has a great monitor system, and we don't need so much backline power. Consequently, this amp never gets turned up much beyond half-way, and that's in 20 Watt mode as well !!
Its a shame, because it really does come to life when cranked to around 75%.

This thing is built like a tank.
I bought this used, and it already looked like it had been dropped a few times. I re-valved it, and you can just tell it won't break.

Never dealt with them, but why would I?
This amp will last forever.

If this unit were stolen or lost, frankly I would be gutted. They don't make them anymore.
I would probably replace it with a VHT fifty/two/fifty.

This is definitely one of the older models, it only has four 6L6?s and no 12AX7?s. Has 2 volume 2 presence, power, standby and high/low switch. It?s Stereo 50 loud, clean all tube watts per side.

This is without a doubt the best amp I have ever used. I have a Rocktron Voodu Valve pre-amp running trough it into 2 1960 Marshall cabs. This amp can handle any sound I can throw at it. Playing with a loud band is no problem, I don?t even have to turn up past 5 ?. I can?t say enough about how great this thing sounds, and I don?t even miss the 12AX7?s of the newer models.

I play melodic Metal, Classical, and some Jazz. This amp can handle it all. And it?s very quiet, not a sound out of the amp.

I bought it used; only had it for about 6 months, and replaced the 6L6?s once. No problems so far.

N/A

If it were stolen I would be so pissed off!! It?s hard to find an amp like this for as little money as I paid for it. Compared to any, and I mean any solid state amp, It will just smash it. The tone is so rounded and full of body, you get this nice warm tone from it, not that sterile shrillness form most solid state amps I?ve used.

As far as tube goes I?ve only really compared it to other Mesa?s, like the Recto?s. In my opinion since this is only a power amp its much more diverse as far as what sounds its capable of producing, I would chose this amp in my rack set up over most heads out there. I?ve also heard a 2:90 with a mesa pre, and I wasn?t too impressed.

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.

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.