Mesa/Boogie DC-2 Combo

Mesa Boogie DC-2 combo, with countour switch. One twelve-inch Mesa Boogie Black Shadow speaker. I believe this amp was made in either 1997 or 1998, right before the series was discontinued. Two channels, clean and dirty, footswitchable. Twenty watts, all tube, with reverb. This amp does not have all of the features of a Mark III, IV, or other modern Mesa, but what it does have works very well. This amp has TONE, the most important feature of all.

I have to disagree with some of the previous reviewers who claim that this amp is a one trick pony, or not very versatile. I have been playing for 12 years now and have tried almost everything, and this amp is superb.

Clean sounds are warm and articulate, and the reverb is very nice. This is not a Fender clean, its a Mesa clean, and if you have played Mesa's at all you know what Im talking about. Some may not like this clean sound, its not compressed like a Fender, so if you make mistakes when you are playing it will not hide them. I own a vintage Deluxe Reverb, and I actually prefer the DC-2, I like the more articulate clean sound it gives me.

This amp excels at dirty sounds. I dont know why everyone is complaining about the drive channel, I think it sounds just fine without the countour switch on. I use Les Paul Standards, and a 1973 Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean, and all guitars sound great through the drive channel, with or without the contour switch on. With the switch off, I get a great thick fusion-style lead tone. This will cover everything from Santana to Shred. With the contour switch on, you get scooped mids and more bottom end, great for riffing and heavier rock. It wont get into Rectifier territory, but you could still cover just about any modern sound with it just fine. I tend to prefer the drive channel with the contour switch off, I like my thick fusion tone. The EQ on this amp is very sensitive, this may be what is turning some people off. You have to spend some time with the knobs, they actually WORK, unlike most of the Marshalls and other amps out there. Very SMALL adjustments go a long way, you have put some time in and experiment. I have found that the EQ on this amp is very similar to the EQ on my Mark 1, you have to spend time with both of them, many different sounds are possible.

The amp will get noisy if the gain is maxed and the volume is too high, but its not any noisier than anything else I have used. The only real gripe I have is the reverb on the drive channel, it could be much stronger, and more pronounced. Otherwise, it suits my styles just fine (blues, classic rock, fusion). By the way, this amp is rated at 20 watts, and its the LOUDEST 20 watt amp I have ever used. I stand on stage right next to our drummer, and I never have to compete for volume.

I purchased this amp used on Ebay, and it looks like brand new, not a scratch on it. It still has the original tubes in it, and they still sound very strong, even after 9-10 years. Amp has performed perfectly for me and gets used live once a week, sometimes twice a week. No issues, and I dont expect any, its a Mesa.

Superb customer support. Have called them many times in the past, and have always been treated like a professional.

My vintage Deluxe Reverb amp is semi-retired now, I mostly use it at home. I needed an amp that was similar in size, and power. I love my Mark I Boogie, so I decided to try another Mesa amp. I ran into the DC-2 on ebay, and could not pass it up. It is essential to my sound. I use the DC-2 for most situations, and break out the Mark I for venues that require more volume. I dont understand why Mesa discontinued these amps, I have tried the F-Series amps and still think the DC series sounds better. The DC-2 reminds me of my Mark I, with more gain on tap. I chose the DC-2 because of its size, and wattage. Its a very powerful amp, and its in a traditional Boogie sized 1x12 cabinet. You can get these for $400 or less on ebay, and they are worth every penny. If lost or stolen I would look for another.

Purchased about 1997.
Two channel with contour mode.
Plenty of power to drive a 300Watt quad box extension cab.
Third channel would have been good. Other than that all good.

Basically this amp is not suited for Fender guitars, it is too harsh and nasty sounding on the distortion. Although the clean channel is pretty good with fenders.
There aren't many different sounds in this amp.
I have only been able to get a really good distortion sound out of the distortion channel using my Les Paul, or similar guitars with the contour switch on.
I use the combo amp to drive a quad box and it has heaps of power. I was going to sell this amp until I played my Les Paul Supreme through it. I believe this amp was designed to be payed with a Les paul cause it really sounds good. I have done direct comparison tests through the same quad box with the Mesa and my Marshall JCM2000, and the Mesa holds it own really well, I would say they are pretty close to the same quality sound. The Mesa has a better clean sound than the Marshall.
You really have to turn this amp up loud to use its full potential.
The sound changes to a thick harmonically rich wall when driven hard through a quad box. It really has a unique sound. Best for drop tuned rock / heavy stuff.

Has not required any servicing in 8 years.

This amp will not suit everyone, especially those with Fenders. It doesn't do many different sounds.
Suited to the hard rock/metal sounds.
But if you follow these rules it will sound great - Keep it really loud/use a quad box extension cab, use a Les Paul or silmilar guitar, make sure you use the contour mode.
Used in this way you have a great amp for hard rock/heavy stuff that rivals a JCM2000.

These 1x12, 25 watt combos were made in the late '90s, now discontinued. Two channels Rythym and Lead, with two EL-84 power tubes and six 12ax7 preamps, plus my model comes with the Contour option that gets the best of both worlds. Offers everything from clean country and jazz to all-out metal.
Lacks for pretty well nothing in the features department: reverb, footswitchable, headphones, extension cab, speaker mute, effects loop, direct recording output - no complaints here.
Used mostly for home, small gigs and rehearsals, it's heavy for its size, but packs a great deal in.

Using it with a 335 and a maple neck strat, brings out good sounds in both guitars. I play varied styles, everything from rock through jazz, blues and country and I can go out with this amp and no effects.

It can be slightly noisy when turned up, but as others point out, it is so loud for its size that you never need to go beyond about 4 or 5 on the Master. The Rythym channel is clean and balanced, but with a bit too much of the characteristic Boogie midrange for my taste, so you can't quite get a sparkling Fender-like tone. It also doesn't break up very evenly, so it's hard to get a slightly overdriven clean sound - it's either/ or: total clean or pronounced distortion.

As the review below points out, the contour option makes all the difference. Without this, the amp would not be suitable for me personally. The lead channel is very chainsaw metal-sounding, harsh, abrasive and edgy, but on Contour, the lead tone is much smoother, rounder and more bluesy. Like the Clean channel, however, the gain kicks in too soon and you can't really get a *slightly* overdriven sound: once again, it's either-or.

So while this amp is no replacement for a Marshall and Fender setup through an A-B box, and the F-series Boogies sound better, for its size, it's still a pretty good all-round package. I would like to try it connected to a 4x12 extension - should be plenty loud enough for most club gigs.

I've had to replace the EL-84's after about a year of use, but it once carried on working with only one power tube for a whole gig. I like the fact Boogies are so easy to maintain, you just slot the tubes straight in, no rebias or anything. Why can't other manufacturers do this?

Though it's hefty, I like it most for its versatility and I would use it on a gig without backup.

I bought the amp used, and have never needed to contact Mesa. I've heard they are pretty on the case for after-sales service.

This is a very versatile package and an amp I will keep. They don't make them any more, so I couldn't replace it in a hurry even if I wanted to. I might go for an F-30 another time, but I think for the money the DC-2 is a better amp than the Subway Rocket for instance.

The Fender Blues Junior does a better clean tone, but doesn't have the drive or the features, while a Marshall DSL combo is a more specialised rock amp that you probably wouldn't use for jazz or country.

We pay over the odds for gear in the UK, but for a sophisticated all-tube combo, I couldn't ask for a lot more.

I bought mine used, in mint condition, from a harmony-central ad. It has 2 channels and a contour mode. Some versions of this amp do not have the contour mode and I can tell you without a doubt that without the contour mode, the lead channel is completely useless to any normal person's ears. Also, mine came with the footswitch which has the contour mode button. This amp has every feature you could possibly want - an excellent parallel effects loop with mix level control in the back, a line out jack, record out jack that sounds good for clean but not so good for distorted sounds, speaker outs, etc. Each channel has its own tone pots and it's own channel master volume. There is also an overall "output level" pot that is supposed to somehow limit the level of each of the channel's individual output. Honestly, this system sounds great until you have to use it. It's very hard to get a good mix at first. This amp took me two weeks to figure out how to really tweak it for some good sounds. I guess I'm just not a "tweaker" really as I found this more hassle than it works. But for features you have to give this amp a 10 unless you're a dope. It has every feature known to man. Some of em may be not so well implemented (volume pots), or they may sound like garbage (reverb), but they're there nonetheless.

I used an '83 USA Telecaster with active EMG pickups.

Clean Channel

Clean channel is okay but not very versatile. Plus the clean channel on my amp was very noisy once you turned the clean master volume past 4 it got very noisy. Considering this is the loudest 25 watt amp known to man, I never turned up past 3 on any of the volume pots (including with my former too-loud-too-hard drummer). The reverb on this amp is terrible. It is very wishy-washy and is way too subtle. On every other amp I've owned, i've never turned the reverb past 3 or 4 at most. On this amp I had to turn it up way more just to be able to even hear the effect and it was never a great reverb at all. Also, I could never get a really good "pushed" (I think that's what Mesa calls it) blues tone, or a slightly overdriven tone that sounded good out of this amp.

Lead Channel

I spoke with a guy this morning about his opinion of his DC-2 amp. These amps get amazing reviews for whatever reason if you do a google groups search. Honestly I can't figure out why. This amp's lead channel is absolute garbage. Terrible. Nasal and terrible sounding. Like a cheap tubescreamer copy with the mids dimed and the low/high tone pots turned down all the way. It was useless. The guy i mentioned who I spoke with agreed. I felt sorry for him though as he didn't have the "contour" mode that helped this channel greatly.

Contour Mode

Without this feature this amp is a 4 on a scale of 10 overall. If this were the case, the clean channel would be OKAY, but the lead channel would be useless. Amazingly some DC-2's don't have the contour mode - if yours doesn't I feel sorry for you! The contour mode makes an unusable lead channel usable. It doesn't have a lot of distortion - unlike the Mesa F-30 (a much better amp, though not worth the money IMO) it is good but not a great distortion. It's in a tough spot as you can't get a good overdriven sound out of this amp and there isn't enough distortion before the tubes go microphonic (yes, I tried two sets of new Mesa tubes with it - and Mesa mysteriously keeps telling you in the user manual for this amp to avoid diming any of the controls or it will go microphonic! Now I know why).

The only reason to buy/own a DC-2 is if you can get one for under $400 and you absolutely don't want to use stomp-boxes at all. as it is very versatile and gives you more distortion than a Peavey Classic 30, but still not enough if you want the heavy stuff. It does not do the "Mesa tone" well IMO. I tried a Mesa F-30 for a night and it was awesome playing distorted leads through that thing! This amp was lifeless for that stuff.

It is a quality amp from a build and component perspective, no doubt. However the tubes go bad quickly, and it is a very noisy amp. Most people have too much noise on their lead channel, but on mine my lead channel was quiet but my clean channel was way too noisy. When I got the amp from the original owner, he told me that he barely used it since buying it new, and he told me that there was no way that the tubes needed replacing. I always get new tubes when buying an amp, and when I started this thing up and noticed how noisy it was I definitely knew I needed new tubes. Guess what? The new mesa tubes helped the noise quite a bit but not enough. I have heard that there were problems with these amps that needed fixes care of mesa, but when you consider how heavy this amp is and how much it would cost to ship it, that isn't a great consolation. That said, I have no doubt that it would last - it is a quality built amp though the one thing that sucks about it is the preamp tubes (actually, all of the tubes), are mounted directly to the PCB and the sockets are WAY TIGHT.

I never used em but I heard nothing but great things about them. One thing I wanted to do was email them but there is no email address anywhere on their website.

It's a very versatile amp. But you know how that goes - jack of all trades master of none. It doesn't do anything well. It does everything okay. I'd be much more inclined to try one of the other small Mesa amps, like the Subway Blues in particular, and use stompboxes, than to go with this amp.

I think the features have been pretty well covered in previous reviews. Everything you need nothing you don't. Very user friendly interface and controlable.

I play my own music inspired by Yngwie Malmsteen and Shadows Fall and bands like that. Mostly shred and hardcore. When I first got this amp it wasn't anything special to my ears. Pretty dull and un responsive in the distortion channels. The clean channel was abso-fucking-lutely awesome though. Reverb was nice too. Wasn't a Fender reverb or Dr. Z. clean but they were great none the less. If you want Matchless sound buy a fucking matchless. As I said the lead and contour channels weren't that great (Probably because I refuse to use anything except single coil pickups). I screwed around with i for a while and tried various pedals for boosts in sound as I have to do with most amps using single coils (Except for my Peavey 5150 II). The pedal I finally settled on was some P.O.S. plastic Arion EQ pedal. It made the DC-2 breath fire. I mean this thing screamed Shadow's Fall in the contour channel with the birdge pickup on. In the contour channel with the neck pickup on I thought I was playing through 15 Marshall Plexi's with a YJM boost pedal in front of them. IT screamed Malmsteen! While suing this pedal with SC's and this pedal the amp sounded better than most boutique amps out there. I have never played it with Humbuckers so I can't comment on those. The lead tones I had were like Malmsteen and the rhythm were crushing.

The thing weighs as much as a tank (Because of the huge magnet in the Black Shadow Speaker). I have had it for around 6 months now and have only had to change the tubes, nohting else. It's great. And the people at Mesa are very friendly too.

Mesa have been extremely helpful with whatever I needed. Great people.

I have been playing for 2 years and I practice for around 9 hours a day. So that should say something. I have a pretty good ear for good amps and this is one of them. Buy it if you want a small amp for small gigs or practices with a tasteful drummer. I'm in a few bands right now, check us out and www.purevolume.com/organizedkaos.

Thanks

Has a lot of features for a small combo amp (independant contorls for each channel as well as a few features on the back of the amp like an effects loop and a line out). Plus it has a master, master volume control...kind of overkill but oh well.

Well, I've been using mine for about five years so obviously I don't hate the sound but it could be better. I never use the lead channel...it has an intensely compressed mid-rangey gained-out sound which may appeal to some but its not that organic sounding. The lead channel's distortion tone would work perfectly for a dark jazz fusion sound (like maybe larry carlton or someone) but is really not versatile...way too much gain and way too much compression/no dynamics. And it refuses to clean up when you tweak your guitar's volume knob.
However, the clean or rhythm channel is pretty happening and does clean up well when you twist that guitar volume control. I do have to say that this is without a doubt the loudest 2 el-84 amp I've ever played but for those thinking they might be getting a vox ac-15 sound out of this thing (chimey, with rich harmonics..that "class A" sound) forget it! I don't know if this amp is a class A amp like the vox but it sure doesn't sound like it. You will get a stout, and again, midrangey sound out of it and a nice grind with the gain knob at about 6 and above but the sound is, unfortuately, kind of plain...not really sterile or clinical per se but more just kind of plain and average...ulitarian might best describe it. Again, not bad sound at all, especially if you rely on pedals to get your tone..this amp can help because it doesn't exactly impose much "tone" onto your sound. It does sound kind of harsh in the upper mids and low highs and the reverb is crappy compared to the reverb that mesa puts in their blue angel amp. It's loud though...I rarely ever put the master volume knob past 3 (even when playing unmiked in 50-100 person clubs!) and I lent it to a friend once who plays insanely loud punk music and even he said he never turned it past 5! I think its volume may have something to do with the heavy and well made cab the amp is in. It projects the sound as opposed to radiate. And it projects like crazy...however the bottom end does kind of fart out at really high volume settings but, it is only a 20 watt amp. Unfortunately, this projection and volume do come at a cost..and that's weight. The amp is definately one of the heavier 1x12 combos I've come across.

Man, I've used this amp on so many gigs in the past five or six years I've had it and it's really never given me a problem...I have changed the power amp el-84's once and never changed the preamp tubes. Man, I've dropped this amp, spilled countless beers into it, and really ripped the speaker playing unmiked outdoor gigs. This thing just wont quit! It really is a true workhorse. Honestly, I have used and abused this amp and it never has broken down or had any problems. I give mesa/boogie really high marks for the reliability of this particular amp.

never talked to them because I've never had a problem w/ this amp

Well, again it doesn't have the really great tone and mystique of a great tube amp (like a matchless or old fender or something similar) but it is one of the most reliable pieces in my rig. I've had plenty of pedals brake down on me, guitars crap out, cables that shorted, but this amp has been the one constant for me. I would reccommend this amp to ayone looking for a reliable, well built and loud combo for blues, rock, jazz, or anyting besides metal (too much midrange). It doesn't have the best sound in the world but it sure holds up!

footswitchable channels, clean, dirty and eq boost aka contour, good for leads. Easy to dial in a tone, has good reverb but I don't use it. You can hook a 4x12 cab too.

Les pauls and strats with hot pick ups. Rock and Metal, covers and orig. Gotta tweek it. A little too trebly and mid rangy at louder volumes, but you can adjust. With the gain and master on about 6 - 8 (rythym ch) I get a high pitched feed back now and then, even with the guitar volume knob down and reverb off. Loudest little amp I've heard, 25W.

Gig'd a few times with no prob. Sounds fat mic'd through a big PA.

Never dealt with.

17 yrs exp. Rock and metal, old and new. I have another Laney combo 50W. The DC2 blows it away. I have marshall and peavy 5150 heads and cabs. DC 2 is for small gigs and rehearsals where I don't feel like loading the marshall stacks in the truck.

I think everyone knows the features of this amp. If you don't, just read some of the other reviews. Mine has the contour switch. I use this amp at home and at church for praise and worship. I was considering a Nomad 45/55 but I didn't want to lug a 2x12 around and they're too loud for what I needed. The amp is mic'd and used as my monitor. This sucker is stinkin' loud. This is my first tube amp and I must say it sounds great. I was looking for at least a two channel amp that was footswitchable. This amp fit the bill for what I wanted.

I play a US strat with SS and a Seymour Duncan Hotrails in the bridge position. I get the best of both worlds, the awesome strat tone with the bite of a humbucker at my fingertips. I also have a Les Paul copy with humbuckers. I especially like my Strat through this amp. As I stated before I play in church and at home. I can barely get this thing off 3 or 4 in volume it's so loud. I wanted an amp with a decent clean sound and a good distortion. I wasn't looking for a Fender clean (Otherwise I would have bought one) sound but a clean that can give me what I want. I don't need to sound like anyone else, I just want to find a sound that I like. I can find a great sound with this amp with no particular problem. After reading other reviews from other "experienced" players I find they have no shortage of big words to describe tone. These are only their opinions so if you are looking for anything musical you have to try it out and decide for YOURSELF. The distortion is Boogie, and that is what I wanted.

I have not had any problems. It seems that Mesa stands by their stuff. I have a Line6 POD as well but I don't have it as a backup, I have it in case I want some other type of sound.

Never dealt with them.

I like this amp a lot. I am able to get sounds that I like and can use. For those of you that are looking for an amp, try different kinds out for yourself. Your the one that has to listen to it. Buy what you like. Take other peoples opinions for what they are, opinions. Mesa Boogie rocks.

Purchased new in 1998 for $599, this amp has two independent channels with gain, bass, mid, treble, volume, reverb, and presence controls. There's also a contour mode that simply boosts the bass & treble on the lead channel.

I use an Ibanez USA custom with H-H pickups, a Fender '57 reissue USA Strat, and a Yamaha Pacifica with H-S-S pickups. All three guitars sound great through any other amp I've played before. However, this Mesa DC-2 is quite uninspiring.

The clean (rhythm) channel is very bright & sterile sounding, and isn't very clean at all. It starts to get distorted when the gain exceeds 2 on the dial. It gets real dirty above 4, but in a bad, gritty way, with a floppy bass response.

The lead channel has an overwhelming amount of mid-range, that you can't cut enough with the tone controls. Turning the gain way down yields a dirty, lackluster sound. Turning the gain up beyond 4 yields a very sterile, compressed sound. If you like crunch or warm solos then stay away from this amp. It just wants to do modern buzz rock.

The contour switch adds a very unatural sounding bass & treble boost. It's best suited for garage thrash. Unfortunately, the black shadow speaker sounds thin and 1-dimensional in the open back combo.

The reverb sounds decent on the clean channel, but it sounds very tinny & washed out on the lead channel.

Be careful, this amp runs the EL84 plates at a brutal 380v. Standard EL84's will only handle 300v. The stock tubes lost character very quickly, and exhibited problems after just 3 months of use (at about 6 hrs of usage per week). Only 7189 & EL84M tubes are rated to handle this voltage, and they can be hard to find.

This amp is obviously targeted towards the teen market, to kids who want to sound like Limp Bizkit (sp?). I'm disappointed by the tone of the DC-2, and would not recommend this amp to any serious player.

This little amp is loaded with features. It's a 1x12, 25 watt, all tube combo. It's loaded with two channels (clean and drive), an effects loop, foot pedal, spring reverb, a recording out jack, slave speaker jack and a reverb pedal jack. I contacted Mesa for info about this amp and I found that they weren't made for too long and that there are two types. The only difference is that the older ones don't have a rhythm switch. I hear people complain about how you can't get a good blues sound from it but they're just straight out wrong. I'm fully convinced that you could get ANY sound you wanted out of this amp with a small amount of tweaking.

I use an Ibanez RG7420 7-string and a Yamaha strat knockoff with it and both sound great. With the seven string I use a 20 watt bass amp as a slave speaker. Even without the bass amp this Mesa sounds amazing. It's clean channel doesn't have as much headroom as I could want but it still sounds great. The drive channel is just amazing, that's all there is to say. This amp is only 25 watts but it's the loudest 25 watts I've ever heard in my life. This amp seriously does some sonic damage... when it's turned up to 3. It had independent volume controls for each channel and a master volume which is very handy. The drive channel has loads of gain and if it's still not enough for you crank the master volume to 10 and turn the channel volume way down and you can get some crazy sounds. I've never had any problems with this amp being noisy at all. This is probably the most versatile amp I've ever played. Go to any guitar store and find out for yourself. It doesn't have all the features of a Line 6 but I'd still take the Mesa any day because it has better sound (yeah right like a solid state is gonna sound better than a mesa tube amp).

I would take this amp gigging without a backup any day. I've never had a problem with it. As with any tube amp it's always good to have a backup set of tubes but they last for a good long while. All mesa amps are built so that they never have to be biased so you can change the power tubes by yourself without having to worry about biasing.

I've sent several e-mails to Mesa/Boogie just to get information and every time I sent an e-mail I had a response within 24 hours. One time I sent in a question and got a reply in half an hour! Other than that I've never had to deal with them but from what I've heard they're very easy to deal with. I had to replace the power tubes once so I contacted them about biasing and they told me that even though it didn't need biasing they would change the tubes for free for me if I brought it to the factory in Petaluma.

I've been playing for a little over 4 years now and I play just about every style of music out there (EXCEPT COUNTRY!!!)and this amp has never failed to provide me with the tone I need. Sometimes I run a Boss RP-3 processor in to it to get some weird sounds but this amp does EVERYTHING!!! If somebody stole my amp I would be absolutly furious. Not only because I make minimum wage working at an ice rink but because these things are just hard to get. If mine were stolen I would definatly buy a new one. There isn't anything I really can't stand about this amp. It's just about as versatile as I could possibly ask for it to be and it's LOUD! After owning this amp I don't think I'd go back. Mesa's got me as a customer for life. If I had the money I'd go out and buy a triple-rec but I'm just not that cool. If I haven't made it obvious I chose this amp because it outperformed anything else I've played except higher end Mesa's. This thing's great, if you don't already have one try to find one.