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.

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!

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..

My 50/50 was made in 1991 (has year of manufacture on the inside). It's a stereo tube amp (50w per side), with seperate volume and presence controls for each side. It also has a lo/hi power switch. (lo is 15w, hi is 50w) and a standby switch.

I use a 1977 US strat with Kinman noiseless pickups and Yamaha Pacifica (standard Yam pickups). I bought this amp to go with my Mesa/Boogie Triaxis pre-amp. I was looking for something that would give a reasonable level of clean headroom and something that would add warmth and neutrality. I mainly use it on the lo power setting and drive the amp at around 6 on the volume dials as this gives IMO a warmer tone. I play in a gospel worship band in a large hall and also a 4 piece pop/jazz/rock band in much smaller places. So I get to play jazz, country, soul, pop - a bit of everything. This amp is versatile enough to deal with both my playing situations.

My set-up is:
Guitar -> BOSS Compressor -> Wahwah -> Triaxis pre-amp -> Rocktron Intellifex -> 50/50 amp -> 2 Marshall 1912 cabinets , Yamaha midi controller for Triaxis and Intellifex. A very musical, compact set-up. I love it !!

My amp is 10 years old. I bought is used from a guy who looked like he didn't take care of himself let alone his gear :) I had it checked out and serviced when I bought it. A few resistors and capacitors were replaced, a few solder joints re-soldered and I also had it re-tubed and re-biased. The amp tech said it was very well built and will last a long time with a service once a year. He also commented that the internals of the amp were very similar to that of a Fender Twin.

I contacted Mesa/Boogie after I bought the amp to see how easy it was to buy replacement compoenents and to find out what I should look out for when having it seviced. They were very helpful and replied back within 24 hours.

I've owned this amp for 6 months. I love the simplicity of it and of course its tone. The only down side is its weight. I looked at the Mesa/Boogie 20:20 and the 2:90. The 20/20 sounded great but was lacking in a few watts for me. The 2:90 is awesome. But just too expensive.

it's a 2 x 50W stereo amplifier, with presence and volume knobs for each channel. It also has a hi/lo power switch. On the back it has 2 inputs and 6 outputs (4 x 4 Ohm, 2 x 8 Ohm) That's about all the features and i can't think of a reason it should have more.
Built in '93

I run an Ibanez RG470 with EMG-89/ EMG S / EMG 81 or a Fender Strat through a Line6 Pod to the 50/50 into a Mesa Roctocab. First i ran it to the speakers of a Marshall VS8280E and it sounded great. But with the rectocab hooked up it sounds incredible!!! I mostly play metal and for this there is no better setup than Mesa gear imho (someday i will replace the pod with a triaxis). The amp itself is pretty quiet but some of the settings of the pod give a lot of hiss. I have to look into that. The amp is virtually transparent which i think is what a power amp should be. It does give you that nice warm tube sound that every guitar player should have. Solid state sucks compared to this! When i first hooked the rectocab up (just got it 2 days ago) and fired the rig up i was suprised to find that even with the volume on 8 for both channels it was still pretty quiet. So i started switching through the pod's amp models. Until i hit one with a fairly high output level. DAMN! I flew back 2 meters and had to pry myself out of the wall! I can't imagine anyone needing more power than this!

This thing is 7 years old and works great. Can't say that of the Marshall's i owned... This thing is probably going to outlive me!

I needed some information on cabs. They got back to me the next day with good information. Since then i e-mailed them some more with questions and they never failed to answer me the next day. I've tried to contact several company (Marshall, Line6, Ibanez, etc). Not one returned my e-mail. Mesa did. For this they get a 10.

This is the best amp i ever owned. I'll probably never buy another (unless i have money to burn... as if that's ever going to happen!)
It is definantly worth it's money even if you have to buy it new.

this amp has totally the right amount of power and more!!! it is all tube. what a beast! i never owned an all tube power amp and now i wonder why that is. helped my tone tremendously! has 2 channels. 2 volumes and 2 contour controls. the contour controls go from 0-10 just like the volumes do. countour adds color and clarity...gets rid of the mud. 0=normal with 10=no mud and more presence, clarity, brightness, etc. great for tone shaping. i usually leave mine on 3. amp also has a 1/2 power control. this is good for practicing in your apartment. turns the amp to 1/2 power. although i don't notice much difference, it does overdrive the tubes a little more and gives it more of a bite.

i use jackson guitars with dimarzio pickups and ibanez RG470 with stock pickups. i'm running a Rocktron voodu valve preamp to BBE sonic maximizer to the boogie amp. this amp adds so much depth and power and warmth it's insane! i'm very very very picky and when i used this amp i was happy. i'm notorious for returning stuff to the store the next day if i'm not happy. it's been 2 weeks and i'm still happy. with my other power amp...solid state, when on higher volumes, the tone got thinner. it was louder but sounded noisy, thinner, etc. it was louder for the sake of just being loud. with the boogie, at high volumes, it is still full as hell and really warm and loses NO tone; in fact, the tone is better louder! gives my tone mean growl; i play mainly metal. you won't be unhappy.

i read a lot of reviews and horror stories of musicians dropping their boogies from high areas and it worked great. mesa's are built like tanks. i haven't dropped mine yet and don't intend to. if i do i'm sure it will work great still. the cool thing about mesas is that the tube amps don't need to be biased when you add new tubes! that will save money and you won't have to take it anywhere. i never replaced them; amp is only 2 weeks old.

i have called mesa a couple times and spoke with Tien...he was awesome! i called to just get info on their products. we talked for a long time. they return calls within a day if they are unavailable. they make you feel comfortable and don't rush you off the phone like other co's would.

i have been playing 15 years and own crate amps mainly. for my main rig it's the rocktron voodu preamp and mesa 5050 power amp, crate cab with 4X12 celestions, 50 watts each. jackson and ibanez guitars. i chose mesa for the name and all my friends seemed to know about the 5050. i thought about getting the triaxis preamp by mesa but then i need another FX unit and i spent enough money lately. my rocktron preamp is delivering killer tone lately through this 5050. get one.

Made in 91 i think. 2 channels and seperate volume and prescence controls for each channel. This baby is all tube and all TONE !!!!!!
Not too many features but simplicity is the key here.

I use mostly Charvel and Ibanez guitars. My pickups tend to aim towards the "hotter" end of the market. I wanted a warm,powerful sound and this amp gives me just that. It seems to sit well in the rack too, along with an ADA MP1 and BBE 362 Sonic Maximiser. The whole thing just feels warm and full. No thin,tinny, scratchy sounds. Just POWER !!! There is some noise when you're not playing but nothing severe.

I've only just bought it so i cant really comment, but it seems to be constructed along battleship lines. The tubes seem a bit exposed at the back but so far so good. I have no plans to use a backup but i will carry a spare tube of each type, just in case.

I contacted them via email when i couldnt download the manual for it from the website. They very kindly posted me one the very next day, and it arrived in 4 days, which considering it came all the way from California to London England is pretty good going. Thumbs up all round !!

As long as i use rack gear, this little beauty will provide the power. I cant see me ever needing another power amp again. This is loud enough to play Wembley Stadium with !!! It is a bit on the heavy side, but there again you only carry it from the house to the car and back. If it blem up or was stolen i'd definately get another, but i dont think i'd find anther 50/50 for the same price. This was an absolute bargain.

50/50 watt stereo guitar power amp, with presence and volume controls for each channel. Hi/Low power switch. 4 6L6's and 2 12ax7's.
I haven't found much use for the Hi/Low power switch - it's allways on Hi. Running the amp on Low makes power amp distortion available at lower volume, but that volume still hurts my ears!!! and besides that, my Marshall Blues Breaker II pedal sounds much better

My rig consists of Hamer Studio w. two humbuckers, Marshall JFX-1 reverb/chorus/flanger/delay, Marshall Blues Breaker II overdrive, Mesa/Boogie Studio preamplifier.
The amp sounds great in this setup. Nice, ringning clean sounds, smooth lead sounds, great "crunch" sounds etc. The amp simply does its
job really well, which is to amplify, whatever input the rest of my rig gives, and doing it whith a slight amount of pleasing tube distortion as opposed to solid state clipping

I've own this unit for a year, and it has never given me any problems.
Once members in my band set it up, and, thoughtfully, turned it on to warm it up. They didn't know, however, that a speaker load has to be connected to the output in order not to fry an amp.
It had been "warming up" like that for about an hour, when I arrived and at that time i could have fryed bacon on the chassis. I thought it was toast, but after plugging in 10 minutes later - no problem!
For that, I give it a 10

I have contacted Mesa/Boogie once to give me a manual for my Studio pre, since it wasn't posted on their web site. The mailed it to me
(air mail overseas) emediatly.

Great power amp. This unit works really well for me. I just have to turn it on, and forget about it, so I can concentrate on my playing.
I highly recommend this amp

My 50/50 was built around 1990 and had the Deep Mod that became stock around 1992-1993 installed in the late 90s. The amp is 50 W per channel, through two pairs of 6L6 tubes, with volume, presence, and a half power control. The amp can be run one channel only in mono, which is important for me since I run a mono guitar rack.

I play jazz/metal through Ibanez 7 string guitars. I use a Peavey Rock Master tube preamp to get a shimmering clean sound, a thick heavy crunch, and a phat lead tone. The 50/50 is my first tube power amp, I was running a TubeWorks Mosvalve, which is a very rugged, punchy amp.

The 50/50 has a very full rich sound, with tons of low end. My clean tones have more richness and clarity and my distorted tones have more bite. The low end is so full that I had to dial back my preamp EQ settings.

This unit is at least 10 years old and still runs great. The construction is rugged, and I have had no problems in the short period I have owned it.

Boogie's people are usually always helpful when you contact them, and they told me how to ID an older unit containing the Deep Mod.

I don't like the way Boogie forces you to buy tubes from them to fit the fixed bias specs of all their amps, but many after-market tube dealers will now sell tubes for less that are just as good [if not better] to match those bias specs.

This is a very toneful, solid power amp. I am so pleased with it that I am buying a Mesa 20/20 for my home/portable rack.

I used to use solid state amplifiers, until I bought this Mesa Boogie 50/50 all tube power amp (4 6L6 Tubes and 2 12AX7's). I was pretty skeptical of the 50 Watts per side power rating, but when I plugged into this thing, It almost blew the guitar out of my hands. The tube power section has had the biggest impact on my sound. (TONE - TONE - TONE).. and I've tried alot of preamps (Peavey, ADA, Rocktron, etc..) This amp is built like a tank. I was using a Rocktron Pihranna Tube Pre with it, until I purchased the Mesa TriAxis. I can't rave enough about this unit.

This thing is Loud even when you have the low power setting on.
It is very warm and very dynamic with great pick attack.
This adds great feel.. (provided you're a guitarist that plays with feel).
I have to take one point away due to the fan that cools the tubes. It's a pain when recording.. you have to isolate the rack from the speakers so the fan doesn't get recorded. (It really isn't that loud.. I'm just very picky).

I had one problem which was my fault. With stereo tube circuitry.. you have to have a load capacitor (speaker or power brake) attatched to the amp. I didn't have one of the speaker cables plugged all the way into the cabinet and when I turned the amp up.. one of the tubes blew.
Like I said.. This was my fault. Ever since then I've never had any problems with it. It is built like a tank. I even accidentally pulled rack off of the top of the speakers once and the entire rig went to the floor. I placed it back up there and it worked fine.

I've never had to deal with their support, which automatically gives Mesa a 10.

This unit is my favorite piece of gear next to the guitars themselves.
It has broadened my sound immensly...

Not sure when the amp was made. I have had it about 5 years. 4/6L6 tubes (there are also some 12AX7s inside, but I have never looked inside), volume and presence for each stereo channel, standby switch, half power switch (which cuts the power a little, but not a lot, don't assume it will let you play in an apartment) and main power switch.

I play a Warmoth custom hollow Tele with SD Alnico Pro II humbuckers. I use it with a JMP-1 preamp. I have also had the "deep" mod done to it, which really adds bass to the amp. I would highly suggest getting the "deep" mod done because it really improves the bottom end, and the parts are only like 20 bucks. The fan can be a little noisy at times, but overall, it is a quiet amp. It is a very loud amp as well, I have never gone past about 6 or 7 on both channels, and even then my ears were ringing. Overall sound quality is very good, however I have little to compare too since it is the only rack mounted power amp I have ever owned. I also think that perhaps EL84s would work better with the JMP-1 power amp. But, after I had the deep mod done to it, it really sounds good. I would suggest perhaps a Triaxis over a JMP-1 depending on what kinds of sounds you are going for.

Never been broken, and I have used it A LOT!

Never talked with the boogie people but from what I hear they are great.

Been playing 20 years, I own lots of other stuff. If it were stolen I would probably move away from rack gear, just because it took me a very long time to get the best sounds out of my rack. By that I mean, finding the right cabinet, speakers, pre-amp, effects, case, guitar etc.... Some of those decisions are taken care of for you when you buy a combo. Even now I am thinking I should probably get a EL34 20/20 to go with the JMP-1. It would be lighter, take up one space, and probably match the JMP-1 better. However, overall, for a 6L6 rack power amp, the 50/50 can't be beat.

Black metal case... tubes (glass with metal inside) ... various wires and electrical components... a few switches... just read the other reviews.

LOUD. Fed by a Quad Pre. Cleans are fabulous. We do a lot of metal and punk recording with the quad and the 50/50 is for the road. We just got it and it sounds fine so far. Did I mention it's LOUD! With the half power enabled, set the volume to 4 and you will keep up with a full band fine (in a small room). Also, it's LOUD. Turn off the half power switch and the thing opens up like a pteradactyl with a 40ft wing span. It's a big bird. Its LOUD too, with a very LOUD quality to it. All kidding aside, it does sound fantastic, and along this something like the quad, you get whatever you want out of it.

We got this beast from a cat in Baton Rouge; and when I picked it up at the post office, the box looked like it was dropped out of a crop-dusting bi-plane. Railed! The amp wasn't looking so good. The right rack ear was bent almost all the way flush to the side of the unit. It was probably just packed in a plane under a shipment of 3 tons of gold bullion, 'cause a shock (drop or hit) that would cause metal that thick to be bent like that would've broken everything inside the amp into a million pieces (even wires). This was not the case ... all tubes were intact. I wasn't too concerned 'cause we all know mesa's reputation for building solid gear. Brought that thing home, bent the ears back into shape in the shop, racked it, wired it behind the quad, and oh yeah. Works fine. That's how you build amps man. I'm telling you.

no need.. I got a shop with a vice and I'm tough AND strong.

built ford tough man!!! anything that could look like what I pulled out of that sorry excuse for a shipping box and still work fine is worth every penny. Oh.. and it's LOUD.

of course it's easy

I had a Crate Blue Voodoo and switched to the 50/50. I have a digitech 2120 effects/preamp and now I need better stuff because the 50/50 is so good. Everything is bringing it down. It has the tone, and it has the power.

Had it for about 4 months. no problem

Mesa always pulls through.

I play rock,shred,jazz,classical,and anything else that has good guitar licks. In my opinion, the 50/50 gives you a bite with the tone like a strat would. Is it the tubes? I think it's just a good amp.