Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $900 used
Submitted 01/13/2006
at 04:24am
by PJ
Email: pjdjab3<at>yahoo dot com
Features
:10
2 channels EQ sep treb bass and mid......all the features are listed by others.........GREAT VERSITILE AMP!
Sound Quality
:10
I have a LES PAUL and a Fender strat.....both sound excellent on this amp. Crystal clean and dirty crunch. Not as much drive as the recto's but I dont want tnat anyway! Muddy ass dirty mistake coverin sound isn't me. No noise what so ever. This amp will foot the bill in any application! I play anything from Merle Haggard to Jimi hendrix and more and I have no problen getting the sound that I need.
Reliability
:10
This is my fav section because I have a story to tell!
My house burned down in 2004 this amp and my favorite strat were in there......the guitar got torched but luckily the amp survived.....I DONT KNOW HOW!...... But anyway ...I had to build a new speaker cab and head cab...because the thing was a combo and weighed in at just under 95 lbs.....after all that I bought another les paul and noticed that the sound would fade in and out.....I thought it was the tubes so 180 bucks later and the new tubes installed it still did the same thing. So here we go takin the damned thing apart checkin it with the fluke and couldnt find anything wrong......In the pissed off drunken state i was in I proceded to shot put it off of my back deck into the yard....wasnt satisfied and bodyslammed it on the patio.....thats the end of that......so I borrowed another head from a friend....MARSHALL AND IT SUCKED.....and had the same noise problem.! what the F%^&!!! I thought damned guitar is F$*& up. Sure enough it was the brand new les paul that had the problem! Guess I'M SOL.....so I got the amp out of the trash can put the old tubes back in crunk that SOB UP and Jammed for 4 hours. I have now been playing on this amp every day for at least 2.5 hours a day since january 2005 and the damned thing hasnt given me a single problem yet!!!!!!!! WHAT A F*#@$ GREAT AMP
Customer Support
:No Opinion
Havent needed It!!!!
Overall Rating
:10
I would not trade this amp for anything. As a matter of fact I am planning on buying another as soon as I get the cash! I have been playing for 20 years and have had some great amps and have played some awesome ones but this one is great. Best suited for anything other than death metal and that new grungy soundin crap!
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $690 used
Submitted 12/31/2005
at 12:24pm
by kEr0gA
Features
:9
2 channel
100/60 watt
!!!TUBES!!!
5 band EQ(my favorite feature)
reverb(i disconneted it)
recording out(actually sounds really good)
gain,treble,mid,bass,presence,reverb,and master controls for each of the 2channels, 1 level control for both. 2x12" combo w/celestion black shadows. It was supposed to come w/ a footswitch but mine didn't. I'll give it a 9 just cuz of its weight..
Sound Quality
:10
I use a couple of different guitars with this amp(epi 67 V, hamer explorer, electra 1970's tele)all stock except the electra. I play in a band that actively plays shows, we're pretty heavy(ala pre-chaos sepultura).Our other guitarist uses the 'el diablo 100' and I believe this can more than compete. This IS the amp I was looking for....the heavyness(and versitility)is here, i considered a triple rec but the 5-band EQ and sound sold me(plus everyone has a triple,right?). Theres plenty of tones you can acheive with this amp, but i pretty much keep mine on the 'lead+EQ' setting. THe only noise i've encountered has been feedback but thats from my stock pups..
rating; a 10 for me, this is what I wanted.
Reliability
:10
since i've had it i haven't even lugged around my back-up(a sovtek mig100h), kinda foolish...i know. its been great so far.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
n/a
Overall Rating
:10
well i've been playing a while now, alittle more than 8 years, my other amps are; sovtek mig100-H, sovtek mig50-H, and a laney ProTube lead 100..If stolen i'd be extremely pissed then i'd find another or two..This thing has the sound i looked for and wanted, my only complaint(s) is its weight(oh and that leather handle on top..side handles would be way better). Before i bought this i looked at a JCM 900, a Triple Rect, and a mark 3..the JCM wasn't enough and i dont like pedals..the triple is over rated in my eyes, and the mark3 almost won, but then i found the DC-10.
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $450.00 used
Submitted 08/27/2005
at 01:01pm
by ROBERT TYBURSKI
Email: TYBO4 at CS<dot>COM
Features
:10
NO IDEA WHAT YEAR MY DC-10 IS AND NO INFO ON THE MESA SITE.
THIS AMP IS THE MOST VIRSITAL I'VE EVER SEEN. THAT'S WHY IF YOU LOOK AT THE ARTIST PART OF BOOGIES SITE YOU SEE SO MANY DIFFERENT STYLES. WHO USE THIS AWESOME PRODUCT.
Sound Quality
:10
I USE A 1976 LES PAUL CUSTOM WITH DOUBLE HUMBUCKERS AND A CUSTOM MADE STRAT MY FRIEND BUILT WITH ALL PARTS BOUGHT ON E-BAY IT ALSO HAS 1 DOUBLE HUMMER IN THE BACK. THE CLEAN IS SUPER CLEAN WITH THE STRAT THE DC-10 IS RICH WITH TONE AND VIRTUALLY NO UNCALLED FOR SQAULS.
Reliability
:9
AS LONG AS IT HAS A GOOD SET OF MESA TUBES NO TROUBLES NO NOISE.
Customer Support
:10
THOSE GUYS CALLED ME AT HOME TO DISCUSS WHAT I WANTED DONE.
Overall Rating
:10
I'VE BEEN PLAYING GUITAR FOR ABOUT 28 YRS AND TRIED ALL KINDS OF AMPS PLAYING MOSTLY SOUTHERN ROCK AND BLUES I NEEDED AN AMP THAT COULD PUNCH AND GET SUPER CLEAN. WHEN MY FELLOW GUITARIST FOUND THE DC-10 AT A PAWN SHOP. HE WAS NOT GOING TO SELL IT AT FIRST BUT WE WE TEAMED UP WITH HIS MESA MARK 3 AND THE DC-10 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS CAME OUT IN US!I'D WIG PRETTY HARD IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO IT. IT DID BLOW OUT ON ME ONCE IN THE 4YRS I'VE HAD IT. SENT IT TO MESABOOGIE FACTORY AND THEY MADE IT NEW AGAIN FOR ABOUT $250.00
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: ?900 (British Pounds) used
Submitted 08/13/2005
at 04:27am
by Roman S
Email: roman_sub at hotmail<dot>com
Features
:9
mostly already covered here. 2 completely separate channels, plus one graphic eq to be used with both or just the lead. INCREDIBLY versatile amp. can comfortably dial out most sounds you can think of. Petrucci Mark IV lead. Santana tones. Blues / Jazz warm clean tones. Sparkling cleans. Old school AC/DC rock. Metallica thrash tones. Death Metal brutalness.
ummm, FX loop, 100w / 60w switch, and built like a tank.
did not have a solo boost, so i had to buy a SD pickup booster and put it into the FX loop and problem solved. 9 'coz of this.
Sound Quality
:10
not noisy at all. sounds great at even VERY quiet levels. clean channel stays warm and clean. best boogie clean sounds ever...
incredibly variety of sounds. thus my music style taht sits somewhere between neoclassical, death metal, progressive rock, jazz and bluesy sounding rock is catered for very very well!
i use the amp with Ibanez RG570 and RG7621, Washburn CP2003 (and soon EC29!) and a custom made beast i made myself. needless to say, i can get a pretty wide range of sounds =)
i tried about 7 amps costing over ?1000, and this one beat them all on versatility. furthermore, everything it does do sounds GREAT! unlike 'versatile' marshalls with rubbish clean channels.
Reliability
:10
well, the amp survived the previous owner who took it round Europe on countless tours. i think it'll outlive me too.. =)
Customer Support
:No Opinion
boogie are great. with amps they make currently.
they have precious little about DC-10 on their site, and havent been that bothered when i tried to ask them about its history. BUT the amp works, and sounds great, so thats not an issue.
not like there's any warrantee with them on the amp now anyway! lol
Overall Rating
:10
been playing about 4 years. i own a bunch of guitars stated above, all modified by scalloping, adjusting pickups, electronics, etc etc.
my setup is pretty simple, modified Crybaby Wah into the amp, which has Boss DD-2 delay and SD Pickup booster in FX loops. sounds sweet. still the best amp i've played. EVER. beats anything Peavey, Marshall and even new line mesa recto's. not sure how it'd compare to boutique amps, but hell, i cant afford those yet.
i have it set up with one clean channel, this is kinda like a Vox-ish warm clean. then the overdrive channel is sort of satriani / petrucci lead tone. then with the EQ i get the heaviest thrash death metal tone (arch enemy sound here, i think) that STILL sounds awesome for leads. now i have a solo boost... so i really cant complain.
distortion is really rich and cuts through. lots of definition. a clean channel is CLEAN like it should be, though can be easily made to OD with the push/pull gain switch. sounds great even at low levels.
what can i say, my dream amp. if you find one... buy it! you will not regret it.
i probably paid too much for mine, but considering it was still cheaper than anything else (e.g. Peavey JSX) i still think i got a great bargain.
cheers to the best boogie ever. =)
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: 1600 (aus)
Submitted 08/30/2004
at 08:37am
by Sean M
Email: sean_mcquarrie<at>hotmail dot com
Features
:9
This amp has lots of features, the graphic eq just compliments the two channels, anyone who has seriously played through these amps should know that it has so much balls, ive played at large venues and this will keep up with anything. i only wish the amp has an extra channel and it wasnt so heavy! but the click on wheels are great, so much in such a small package.
Sound Quality
:10
ive had a couple of tube amps, 2 marshalls, a fender twin reverb and a sovtek. i found with them you ended up using pedals to increase the quality of sound, not with the mesa. i can honestly say the clean and distortion sounds shit all over marshalls, fender and sovtek.
the clean channel kicks arse, its bright, is twangy in a good way and full, and i find no matter how far i turn it up, even gigging, the clean stays faithful and actually clean, try turning a marshall clean up louder then 5, it shits itself and turns into a $40 fuzz box pedal, not cool! and the fender! it sounded good at lower levels, first gig i had it at, all that could be heard is sloppy muddy poo coming from that amp, didnt cut through the mix. the mesa does.
The lead channel is a world of its own, anything from old school rock to any new heavy band today, its not very hard to dial up and i think anyone who cant get a great sound just cant play, this channel is great for solos and has awesome sustain, i cant find pretty much everything i want on here, its that good. while i find marshalls tend to sound like they have the treb set on about 1000, ear peircing tone. i find with the mesa you can get what you want, its really good espically if you are in a covers band or play lots of styles. if your the type of guitarist that loves playing guitar but sometimes gets sidetracked youll find an amp like this gives you reason and motivation to play all the time.
Reliability
:10
owned it for about 5 yrs, constant gigs and using the original valves. had beer spills and been dropped a few times, no cracks, the only thing that broke is the power switch and that is easy fixed, i dont carry a backup amp cause i dont belive i need one, a friend has a dc-10 head and box since new and the same thing, never failed.
Customer Support
:9
i love in australia and there is one dealer about 4 hours drive away. so its a pain in the ass to do anything with mesa, no one sells them, hardly no one owns one but ive found the store that does sell them is so helpful, everything answered and is very helpful, if on the chance anything did go wrong id be sure they could help straight away.
Overall Rating
:10
If your after an amp that is versitile and youll love, buy it, it has everything, sound, balls and looks (the blue light just does it). every amp is different buy ive played 3 dc-10s and all are very very similar and played like a dream. id get another mesa anyday. its a great gigging amp and bedroom amp, only problems is youll want to crank it at home and its so loud and touchy. Definently one of if not my favourite amp
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $850.00 used
Submitted 08/21/2004
at 11:08am
by Jake
Features
:9
Just sold a newer 3 channel dual recto for this thing. Lots of features reverb is great I love playing around in surf style once in awhile and it adds a little depth to the clean. Wish the pull boost was a third channel(footswitchable) but oh well. EQ is an awesome bonus and a headphone out is also not seen very often on 100 watt amps very nice. Coming from a recto it would of been nice if this amp had 6l6 or eL34 switch and actual tube rectification but again not a biggy.
Sound Quality
:10
Play schecter c-1 elite works great thru this amp. The amp is way more dynamic compared to the recto, and still has the ability to pound some pavement when needed. I found with the rectifier I still needed an external eq for super metal chunk, yet the dc has one build in which rocks. So far this is the best mesa head Ive owned, Ive had a dc-5, rectoverb 50, and the 3 channel recto. I enjoyed the musical sound of the dc-5 and that why I sold my recto and went back to the dc series. The 100 watts just makes it sweeter more bass and headroom. Oh yeah all my amps have pushed the same mesa 4x12/ v30's so the contrast between amps is on a level playin field.The clean channel on the dc-10 is hands down the best since my twin reverb days and in ways better (more flexible than the twin was). The dc-5 I had was great but broke up to quickly when playing loud and just didnt have quite enough bottom end for the 4x12 (my band plays loud, not treble loud but thick loud lots of lower mids and bass) The recto was to dam sterile in the clean channel and the 2nd and third channels were pretty much identical..so whats the point. ALthough I did enjoy all the modes the recto had it was just missing that older mark series liquidy tone, just to brash and sterile, plus no reverb. oh and overall the rectoverb I had sucked ass. (yes I always try a variety of tubes and play around for countless hours before making an opnion so dont give me shit plz.(it is my opinion after all)
Reliability
:10
Its mesa. I have had four of there amps over the past six years no problems ever not even tube problems, shit I had a marshall jcm2000 that smoked power tubes every six months or so...
Customer Support
:10
I have dealt with them a few times, just dumb questions, they rock, I live about 3 hours away and the dude Mike even invited me down to get a factory tour and mess around with some of there amps (we got along pretty good)Anyhow when I bought my brand new dual recto head I called before hand and talked to him about how it sucks ass that I would have to drive 4 hours one way just to spend 1600 bucks and drive back, no problem he said, we'll ship one up to you via zone music (right up the street from the factory... That says enough...
Overall Rating
:10
My fingers are tired if you have read this far then you get the gist of my review. Highly recomended, not a one trick pony, Dont steal it from me I own guns and enjoy them...Oh yeah its fuckin heavy so look out, I may try some of those new century light weight celestions, shave a few pounds off her. Enjoy
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $1299
Submitted 05/14/2004
at 11:09am
by RockerX
Features
:10
1997/1998 Mesa Boogie DC-10 2x12 combo, switchable between 60 and 100 watts,graphic EQ, clean & dirty channels, standby switch, footswitch, effects loop, speaker outs, 2 12 in. Mesa/Celestion black shadow speakers, as with any 100 watt tube amp... LOUD!
Sound Quality
:10
I use this amp with a PRS CE24, Gibson Les Paul Custom, and G&L strat. I play mostly rock/hard rock/metal/blues/ punk & funk styles. It's a very quiet amp, which is nice. Some tube amps hum a lot, but not this one. The DC-10 is so versatile that it will cover just about any musical style. Its got lots of gain for metal heads, yet it cleans up nicely for more blues & jazz minded players. This is as close to a DO IT ALL amp that I've ever played. It really makes the tonal characteristics of your guitars shine. There's lots of clean headroom, and the distortion can be brutal or smooth, so prepare to shake the walls and annoy the nieghbors.
Reliability
:10
I bought this amp brand new at the end of 1997 / beginning of 1998. It's been 100% reliable and solid the entire time. It's played a few gigs, and has taken many a ride in the back seat of my car(yes it will fit!)...not to mention the countless hours of practice. I can't say enough nice things about this amp. It's heavy weighing in at around 90 something lbs. but I'd rather have high quality and heavy over light junk any day.
Customer Support
:10
Boogie has great customer service, unlike some other amp manufacturers that are too big to care . Boogie stands behind what they sell.
Overall Rating
:10
I've been playing guitar for about 12 years now. I own various guitars, a bass, and a DW drum set. If my DC-10 was lost or stolen, I'd try my hardest to find another one, but the DC series is no longer made. If I had to get a new amp, I'd go with Mesa Boogie because 1. The amps they make sound great 2. They're solid/reliable 3. good customer service = BIG brownie points for me. When I spend my hard earned cash on an amp or guitar, I expect A LOT. I won't put up with loose wires, bad tubes, or poor workmanship. Life is too short for such annoyances...I'd rather just plug in and rock. This amp has allowed me to play my heart out for the last 7 or 8 years. The DC-10's tone is the same as the model #, a 10 all the way. I got this amp when I was in high school. It was a big step up in tone from my lifeless Crate 1/2 stack. I had to save up my cash for a long time to get it, but it was worth it. If you happen to stumble upon a DC-10 somewhere, don't hesitate to plug in and give it a test drive. You won't be dissappointed.
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $700 used
Submitted 05/12/2004
at 03:47pm
by C.D. Miller
Features
:9
This amp is supposedly one of the first ones made, serial # 000078- 1996? This amp is the most versatile hig-gain amp I have ever owned. I play Heavy Rock and some Blues and Jazz and this amp handles all of my styles with ease. 2 channel amp, blah, blah. This amp does not have a 100/60 watt switch like the later DC-10's have and It is fine because it sounds great at low volumes so I cannot see the need for the switch , personally.I gave it a 9 for features because the "Pull boost" switch on the clean channel is cool, but you loose some tonal control over treble, mids and bass when using this feature.
Sound Quality
:10
I am playing a 2001 Les Paul Classic with stock ceramic pickups, 1997 Fender Strat Plus with gold lace sensors and a Carvin DC-127 wit m-22 Carvin pickups and they all sound terrific through this amp. This amp suits my music styles perfectly. The distortion is brutal...c'mon it is a Mesa Boogie, the distortion is awesome!!!Clean channel is perfect.
Reliability
:10
Never had any problems, only had this amp for a week. Always gig with a backup, you never know what could happen.
Customer Support
:10
I called Mesa the day I bought this amp to find out everything I could about it and the person I spoke with was helpful and very knowledgable about the amp.I left a message for them to call me back and they did within 30 minutes!
AWESOME!
Overall Rating
:10
I have been playing for almost 20 years and I have yet to find a better sounding amp. I have owned the following; Marshall JCM 800, JCM 900, JMP 2203. Carvin X-60, X-100, Legacy. Peavey 5150,classic 50.
Laney pro tube. After playing all of these amps for years,Mesa Boogie sounds the best to me. I can get Jazz, Blues and Metal sounds out of this amp and none of the amps listed above have been able to accomplish this task as well as Mesa Boogie has.There is no comparison when it comes to the tone and thick powerful distortion this amp produces and the clean channel is nice and warm sounding, the warmest I have ever heard.
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $999.00 used
Submitted 10/26/2002
at 05:43pm
by Charlie B.
Features
:9
This is an extremely versatile amp. Two separate, COMPLETELY independent channels (unlike "other" two channel amps that share EQ and reverb). Each channel w/ gain, treble, mid, bass, presence, reverb, and volume controls. Separate Master volume, 100/60 Watt switch, FX loop, one 16 ohm jack, two 8 ohm jacks, and two 4 ohm jacks for speaker cabs. The highlight of this amp is the on-board 5-band EQ (which is footswitchable). This EQ gives you total tonal control. Most tone seeking guitarists end up buying EQ pedals or rackmount EQ's - there may be only 5-bands on board, but it is all you will ever need - they are very responsive. I only knocked one point off because I wish the "pull boost" on the clean channel was footswitchable, because it is a fabulous tone that would be wonderful to access quickly. Also, the footswitch only has a 10 ft cable (what's up with that - guitarists need space away from their amp on stage!).
Sound Quality
:10
Yes! Yes! Yes! Tonal heaven, almost orgasmic! I primarily play an American Double Fat Strat (Duncan Pearly Gates Plus in bridge and '59 in the neck), but also use a Les Paul Studio with 2 Duncan Alnico II Pro's and a PRS Custom 24 w/ stock p/u's. My typical rig is as follows: Fender Double Fat Strat>Dunlop 535Q Crybaby>Boss TU-2 Tuner>Boss CE-2 Chorus>Dunlop MXR Micro Amp (clean boost)>DC-10. In addition to driving the on board 2X12 Black Shadows, I also drive a Mesa 2X12 Rectifier Cab w/ Vintage 30's. Everthing I plug into this thing sounds phenomenal. Tonally, I like to keep one foot in the past and one foot in the future, and that's the best way to describe this amp. Classic, almost (dare I say) Marshall JCM-800, Silver Jubilee type warm distortion tones are there as well as almost Mesa Rectifier-ish overdrive. This amp has a lot of natural warm mids, even at low mid settings, which i love, and which rectifiers lack. However, w/ the on-board EQ, you can suck them out if you'd like. (One note, MIDS ARE A GUITARISTS FRIEND!!! All you new jacks that think SUCKING mids makes you a metal god are WRONG!!! If you want to be heard in the mix, give your mids a little boost - your tone will shine - unless, of course, YOU suck and really don't WANT to be heard). Anyway, this amp can do it all. My band covers everything from the Doors, to Skynard, to Pearl Jam, to Alice in Chains, to Creed, to metallica, to Disturbed, and I can do it all with this amp without using any crappy tone-sucking distortion pedals. This distortion is very heavy and smooth - not fuzzy or ear-bleedingly tinny sounding at all. Very quiet amp - virtually no noise that you don't want to hear. Oh yeah, the clean channel is the best I've heard short of a Fender Twin. And it can get VERY LOUD, although it also sounds good at reasonable levels. Lastly, DO NOT overlook the "pull boost" on the clean channel. With that gain knob pulled and set at 10, I can get some of the nastiest vintage blues sounds I've ever heard. Bottom Line: the absolute best sounding amp I've ever played and/or owned. My quest for MY amp has ended.
Reliability
:No Opinion
I gig weekly without a back-up (knock on wood). It has not let me down in 6 months (knock on wood). It is built like a Mesa - nuff said. However, i refuse to give it a rating out of fear of JINXING myself.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
Have never needed them (knock on wood). I have spoken w/ them about tube replacements for a trem-o-verb, and they were very helpful.
Overall Rating
:10
I've been playing for roughly 15 years. I have owned the following amps: Peavey Butcher (very under-rated amp), Peavey Ultra-Tube (ehh-OK), Marshall JCM900 Dual Reverb (gettin' there - but still OK), Line 6 Flextone II (sounds great direct, live is shit - it AINT the real thang), Mesa Trem-O-Verb Dual Rectifier (very cool - still not there), Marshall 100W SLP Plexi Re-issue (vintage tone one trick pony, but awesome at that), and the DC-10 (BINGO!!!). It's pretty much everything I want in an amp. It is a true PLAYERS amp. It ain't gonna hide your bad playing or technique. Yes, you can hear all the notes clear as a bell. A lot of "clean" distortion. if you want to hide behind a wall of FX and over-distortion, this ain't gonna do it. But if you want to stand out and get an amp that flat out kicks major ass, this is the one. One more note, I hate to beat a dead horse, but I go into these guitar stores and keep finding these "players" who think ultra-distortion pedals with all bass and highs with no mids is the secret to sounding heavy. It's NOT!!! Listen to Zakk Wylde, Kerry King, James Hetfield, Jerry Cantrell, Tom Morello - Get a good guitar, a good amp, and most importantly learn to play!!! You'd be amazed how much of sounding heavy is all in your right picking hand and palm.
Product: Mesa/Boogie DC-10 Price Paid: US $750 used
Submitted 09/10/2002
at 06:52am
by Nate
Features
:10
My DC was from the last year they made them, 1998. I'm sure you know the features already, there is a ton of stuff to use on this amp but it is laid out in an easily accessible manner. I've played some amps that can be extremely confusing. This one has lots of great features, and they all are useful: no junk or mystery knobs. 100 watts, 2x12 Celestion 90 Black shadow speakers, 6 12ax7 preamp tubes, 4 (2 matched pair) 6L6 tubes. BTW: Use the mesa boogie tubes in the power amp. They are already biased at the factory. If yours sounds like crap probably you don't have great power amp tubes, or they are replaced with something other then MESA. MESA/Boogie tubes and amps are computer matched for each other. Now in the preamp you can put in anything, it doesn't need to be biased. But of course high quality is better. Also has 60/100 watt switch which i find very useful. 2 channel, pull boost on the clean, very nice graphic eq, master volume, etc. Mine also has custom installed side handles and casters which significantly help with the weight issues! (85 lbs!)
Sound Quality
:9
I use the amp with a Les Paul Classic, it has the ceramic humbuckers in it. I have been impressed with the clean channel. MESA/Boogie circuits were originally derived from fenders, hence the 6L6's. I don't know whether this amp has retained any of that lineage or not, but the clean sounds are very good. They get much better if you use the graphic eq on it, but since i play live i usually save the graphic for the distortion channel. Pulling out the boost can get you a beautiful blues tone! Don't let anyone tell you this is only a metal amp! You can get a suprising number of tones out of it. I think the only tone i haven't been able to nail (yet!) is the Vox Ac-30 Top Boost overdrive sound. Still working on it though! Then for the distortion channel i have it set so that it has a beautiful classic high gain sound without the graphic eq, then when i punch the eq in it scoops it out for a modern drive sound. In effect this sounds like 3 channels. 3 very good channels. The distortion on this amp is excellent, somewhere between the mark series and the recto series. I would say you can make it sound like either... but it definately has a sound all its own. I think without the graphic eq though it has a little too much midrange. This may annoy you in your practice room but live it really cuts through and sounds great in a band. The one problem I have is that if the bass is up past five and the graphic eq is v'd with the bass all the way up and the volume is up a bit, it really flaps out the low end, and I think it makes the tubes rattle which causes wierd noises. Granted this is really an extreme setting and I think it would go away with a 4x12 cab. Thats just the nature of a big loud combo. I'll take off a point for this cause its annoying.
Reliability
:9
has been pretty good, although i've blown a couple of preamp tubes, more then i would have expected. Anyway i guess thats just a tube amp. Built like a tank though.
Customer Support
:No Opinion
haven't used it yet.
Overall Rating
:10
I've been playing marshalls, but I switched to MESA. They are much more versatile, you can pull just about any sound out of one, whereas a marshall only makes marshall sounds. MESA also has a better sound for leads in my opinion. If you don't believe me listen to John Petrucci from dream theater. The only amp I would rather have would be the MESA/Boogie Tremoverb, but i haven't really tried one, they just sound nice from other people i've heard with them. This amp is a real gem, and is cheaper then many of the new MESA's. Pick one up! Highly recommended!