Mesa/Boogie DC-2 Combo

Same as the other postings. Only difference is that mine also has the "contour" switch and a headphones out jack in the back. 3 pre-amp tubes for each channel (6 total). 2 el84 power amp tubes.

One comment: I wish people would mention if they use the amp for gigging/recording/bedroom use. Some amps sound like crap at bedroom levels while others excel at low volume. It would just be nice to see where their comments are coming from. (for instance---saying it is a "muddy" amp when you play at bedroom levels---that's true of alot of amps). Anway, I use the amp for all three of the uses mentioned above. As has been stated, this is not an amp where it sounds best with all knobs on "10". This is also not a "blues" amp (although it can be used for that easily) but what I would consider a "rock" amp. The amp sounds good at beroom levels and is a bit mid-range heavy. However, when playing in a band, and at higher levels, this mid-range really helps cut through the mix. I know alot of guitarists who "scoop" the mids to get that crunch---sure that sounds good when you are right in front of the cabinet or amp, but how about 20' away? It sounds tinny and small. To get that "oomph" you need a little goosing of the mids. This amp has that built in--although I wouldn't turn the mid knob to 10. I was very surprised by how load this amp is. I was laughed at by a band I sat in with when I first brought it in. This band had 6 string bass, load drums, screaming vocals and keyboards. This amp held it's own just fine (sure, the master was on 8, but was not drowned out). For anyone who thinks this is a muddy amp (it can be with the wrong settings), try turning down the gain. If you need more gain, try using a distortion/overdrive pedal (minimum gain on the pedal, heavy on the volume to push the amp). Different guitars sound different at all levels (nice!). Single coils rule at bedroom levels since this is an amp that sounds better/fuller/less muddy at above bedroom volume. However, as we all know, humbuckers will give you more gain. At practice/gigging level, any combination will come through: a strat will sound like a strat, etc... The clean on this amp is very nice, different from a fender, but not in a bad way. The distortion is also different from your standard Marshall sound---but if you wanted a Marshall, you would have just got one of those. Not as crunch heavy as dual rectifier, but very heavy nonetheless. One thing is that if you try one of these out, try alot of guitars through it (the same should be true on trying out any amp). Some guitars will sound definately better than others (depending on pick-ups, string gauge, how hard you play, and so on...). So, if you have one of these and are not happy with it, I would suggest borrowing a buddy's guitar and see what happens. the contour switch sounds good at bedroom levels, be careful with your settings at gigging levels--the contour will thin out your sound a little bit. To really get a full sound, plug into a 4 x 12 cabinet. very nice. The headphone out jack just has the pre-amp going through it, so the sound is a little weak (the el84's really add to the overall sound). why a "9" rating? nothing (at least anything I've encountered) is a "10" (consequesntly, a 9 is pretty good). As a side note, it doesn't sound too bad just running as a power amp (I've run a boss gx-700 through the effects loop and through the front end--a little tricky explaining it, but it by-passes the pre-amp and just uses the power amp and speakers---helps get rid of the "digititis" inheret in those kind of units).

one of the best built amps out there. (always bring extra tubes though...)

Never delt with them. --but it's nice to know they have the manual on their web site(not that you need it, but it doesn't hurt to have).

These are no longer made. Great all around amp for clean (or slightly crunchy) to slightly crunchy/high gain sounds. Although it is ungodly heavy (55 lbs. ---not as light as a tech 21 trademark 60 (but has more gain)), it is a great amp to carry around. small gigs/practice/bedroom---works great as a combo. bigger gigs: plug into a cabinet. Only 20 watts? have not had a problem with it keeping up. I also gig with a fender hot rod deville --depending on the gig, the volume goes from 2.5 to 8, but usually stays around the 6 (12 o'clock) mark. the mesa stays around the 6 mark also and is 40 watts less than the fender. compare this with a line 6---the line 6 has more bells and whistles at bedroom volume, but crank it up and it sounds thin and cheesy. not so with the mesa. not as many bells and whistles, but just great tone. and used, it is cheaper than a line 6. Oh! almost forgot: like alot of folks here, I've been playing for close to 22 years (37 years old), played in tons of bands, played all over. been around the block many times, but still learning new tricks.

Some of these amps do not have the contour switch. Mine has the contour, so I don't know how it sounds with out it. Ok, for the price, I can't imagine an amp having any more features than this. I'm sure you know most of them, just check out their website. Some good extras though: nice pouch in the back to hold footswitch, huge rubber feet on the bottom, clamp to hold the 6 12AX87's for the preamp. Everything in this amp is TOP quality construction.

Again for the price, what more could you ask for? 2 channels, 3 modes. Has a beautiful clean channel with lush reverb, sounds great. The clean channels gain can be turned up to get a fat kind of blues sound, sounds pretty good. The second channel is the lead channel and has a pretty good sound, but sounds a lot better when in contour mode. From there you can get great crunch or lead sounds. Has a black-shadow speaker that is excellent. Has great highs, puts out amazing bass, overall, this little amp can do anything.

This, and other boogies, are the best constructed amps I have ever seen. Everything is top-notch and built like a tank.

excellent customer support. takes a couple days to respond to emails, but always very friendly and helpful.

I have been playing for over three years now. I play with a ibanez Rg 520 and a carvin dc 727 (all natural koa, beatiful - highly recommended) and a crybaby 95q. All sound fabulous. I play mostly dream theater, metallica, and other metal stuff, but this amp could handle anything.

All tube 25W combo with a single 12" 90W Mesa Blackshadow Speaker in an open back . It has 2 EL-84s and 6 12AX7s. Mine is the one with the Contour channel. In case you didn't already know, Boogie defines versatility. It has two inpedendent channels - Rhythm and Lead, with a third Contour "channel" that is really just the lead channel with relatively scooped mids. As far as features go, Boogies sure have them. There is an adjustable parallel effects loop, headphone jack, slave output for direct recording, and independent tone controls for Rhythm and Lead/Contour channels, including reverb. The only feature I can think of that this amp does not have is a tremolo circuit, but that is hardly a standard amp feature. If you are wondering about the 25 watts, then let me tell you this one loud mother! I think it could be safely said that this is the loudest amp under 30 watts. It is far louder than my 40 watt Fender Blues Deluxe, and that is not a quiet amp by any means.

Now to the important part - the tone. I use a Epiphone Les Paul Standard with a Duncan '59 in the neck and a JB in the bridge. The tone in one word would be described as "middy". Whether that is good or not depends on your taste. The clean channel is good, but you definitely get a mouthful of the mid frequencies here. I would rate this channel alone as a 7, mainly because I like the clean sound of my Fender Blues Deluxe much more, which should be expected. I think the Rhythm channel would be best suited for jazz and country, and less useful for blues (my personal favorite). It took me quite some time (about 4 months) to finally find a clean tone that I liked. The trick is this: never turn the mid or prescence knob past 2. If you leave these two set, the best tones can be found by adjusting merely the treble and bass. I also found that the gain setting is very crucial to sculpting the best tone. I leave mine at 4, because after that everything just gets muddy. The reverb sounds excellent until after 5, where it gets a little boomy and cheesy. Another interesting tip is to dime the sub-master volume on this channel; for some reason this adds that little extra punch that you need. Now on to the Lead channel. All that needs to be said here is "too muddy". I never use this channel, instead I go straight to the Contour channel. Now, this is what I bought a Boogie for! Thick, hot curls of harmonic distortion will radiate from the amp on this channel. This tone is extremely brown, even after having the mids scooped. For this reason, it's not exactly the most versatile of crunches, but is really only suited for metal leads and hard-core rhythms. The gain set to 10 is usually too much for me; I find I get better attack and definition at 8. This is really the only sweet spot, at least at bedroom volumes (I live in a college dorm). Any lower on the gain, and you start to get that crapping out sound, and a total loss of that wonderful sustain. A typical setting on this channel for me would be: treble - 7-10, mid - 0-2, bass - 7-10, and prescence - 4-7. The reverb on this channel is very weak, in contrast to the Rhythm. Any setting below 10 will be barely noticed, so if you plan on doing the 80s metal thing (definitely not my bag), you'd better think of using an outboard reverd and/or delay. Overall, I rate this channel at 9. So, overall this amp gets an 8 tonally.

Boogies are very dependable products. That's all that needs to be said.

Can't say, haven't dealt with them. I've only heard good things about them, though.

Overall, this is a great amp, especially at the price I payed. It's got two good channels and is very reliable. Not as good on the clean side as my Fender Blues Deluxe, and not as good on the distortion channels as some Soldanos I've heard. But, it's twice as versatile as both those products. All in all, there's nothing to complain about here.

HI everyone ,since this amp is no longer produced this rewiew is more for the after market or to help other readers who have some trouble finding there dream tone. First of all this amp has all the features you really need to get some pretty INCREDEBLE SOUND !I will say no more since other rewiewers have already covered this subject.It`s more than loud enought for me i`m a bedroom player and I never put it to more than 2.

HERE IS A BONUS ( FREE SETTINGS ) This has been done whit a GODIN G-2000 that has Humbucker (bridge),and two single coil (kind of like fender but not as bright). This sequence of number might be your winning combination for guitar heaven SO BEWARE !The sequence starts from left to right (GAIN,TREBLE,MID,BASS,PRESENCE,REVERB,MASTER the other master is just for listening volume so it does not count.)O.K. using the LEAD CHANEL: PINK FLOYD LEAD ( 10 4.5 6 8 6.3 10 2 ) This sound is good for sustain has lots of harmonics and feedback kind of like the solo of any live album or THE WALL .Using of corse a bridge humbucker or a bridge single coil. And next is RYTHYM CLEAN using the RYTHYM CHANEL : ( 4 6.5 4.5 6 8 10 4 ) This give you a nice bright sound but not harsh (not too mutch gain or treble) that is good whith a neck single coil for great clean rythym parts that is not distorded but shine whith great presence punchy attack , and good controled bass . BY USING A GIBSON LES PAULS YOU WILL GET THE FOLLOWING SOUNDS . ON THE CONTOUR CHANEL YOU SOULD GET AN ALMOST LIKE MARSHALL SOUND WHYTH THIS SETTING (10 10 4 7 7 10 2 ) and an almost like B.B. KING KIND OF SOUND using the LEAD CHANEL : ( 2 7 10 6 0 10 2 ) AND whith the previously mentioned rythym clean sound sounds like a nice vintage clean whith the Gibson .

I`ve had it for two months only and I hope it will never fail me because I could never live happy whithout it .

It seems that MESA BOOGIE is a great company .

IT`s the best ! It has given me a boost whith all this sustain and not too compressed sounding like solid state this is the same company that PINK FLOYD use and they have an absolutely incredible sound.Ask anywone in a guitar shop the setup you will need to sound like this and they will tell you that they (PINK FLOYD)have for hundreds of thousands of dollars and they can`t help you .But if you have this amp thinking of buying one used ,or get the one that replace it the ROCKET REVERB (a bit different tough) and try my seetings whith a bridge humbucker of a good guitar and are not completely satisfied your money will be return to you but whith a question ask : what kind of drugs are you on my friend ? Just joking ! It would be nice if we could use this site to exchange ideas and settings since this model is discontinude (because it was too incredible probably) .

I'm not exactly sure what model year this is, but it's the one without the contour switch. 25 watt 1 X 12" combo, all tube, tube reverb, 6 12ax7's in the front, and 2 el-84's in the power section.
It is an extremely versatile amp (that's what multi-channel Boogies are known for.) It has two footswitchable channels, each with their own gain, treble, mid, bass, presence, reverb, and volume controls, and master volume (controls overall volume level). Footswitchable reverb (I don't have the pedal for that, and don't need it - I always use reverb in my house.) It has a parallel effects loop (the best kind) with control over the mix, slave-in input jack (I plugged my Smokey amp into it just for fun. It really can drive big speakers!), output jacks for the speakers (two 4 ohm and one 8 ohm, I believe). Really nice tube reverb...definitely better than Fender's reissue stand-alone reverb unit (I tried it out - it sucked! BOING! No thanks.) My model doesn't have a headphone jack, but I don't need it, I have other little amps for practicing with. It also has a direct out for recording which has attenuated highs to compensate for the frequency roll-off a speaker produces. It's got one 12" Black Shadow speaker (which I believe is made by Electro Voice - Mesa's Black Shadow speakers are made by both EV and Celestion - definitely not cheap generic crap.) It has plenty of power for me. I know lots of people claim that their amp has the loudest 10 watts, 20 watts, 5 watts, whatever, that they've ever heard, but really, ask someone who works in a music store that sells other amps as well as Boogies, and they'll tell you this is probably the loudest 25 watts you'll ever hear...really, the walls in my house shake and things fall off of tables! It has a really nice, solid 14-ply marine birch plywood cabinet, which must contribute to the solid tone, as well as MB's patented Dyna-watt technology, which is a fancy way of saying it can serve up more than 25 watts during peaks due to the capacitors in the circuit - louder than my friend's 50 watt Peavy classic, louder than the 60 watt tube Peavey Triumph I tried in the store (decent distortion, but crap clean, BTW.) I can't think of much I wish it had...I guess for complete versatility it would be hard to beat a Mesa Heartbreaker or Mark iv, but that's a whole lot more beans...try to find something this versatile for the price (used, it was an amazing deal!) 3 channels would be nice, but a creative person can get by by using their guitar's volume knob creatively.
Nice ceramic tube sockets, BTW. Not found on many amps.

I'm using an Ibanez artist right now, and have also used a Les Paul and a PRS CE-24 through this amp (tough times made me sell them - SIGH). The clean sounded really sparkly with the PRS's single coil settings and the NOS Sylvania's which came in my amp, but ever since switching to new (Russian) Mesa EL-84's, I don't like the clean as much. Tubes really do make a huge difference. To be honest, the Russians are better for distortion, but the Sylvanias were better for sparkling clean stuff, these are great for mellow tones and distortion - it's a trade off.
You can get pretty scooped metal stuff (not what I play, but you can do it) with a LP type guitar, but don't expect that kind of sound with an alder-bodied strat or anything like that. It can definitely have a mid-signature, which although very much a feature of Boogies, can bug me with the bridge setting of my Ibanez...too nasely sometimes. Switching to the bridge pickup solves this for the most part. The older tubes were less like this, as well. Also, I used a Boss rack chorus in the effects loop, and it took the mids right out...you can always eq them out in the loop.
GREAT distortion. ANYTHING, from blues to rock to metal. You can get a very Vox like chime out of the clean channel, but NOT WITH PRE-AMP DISTORTION. You have to push the power tubes. Turning the volume up past 5 does the trick...the amp won't get louder past that point (it's loud enough to blow your ears out at 1 1/2), but the distortion will sound AWESOME. I can't play in the same room with it like that, so I run my chord under the door in my studio (painting, not music!), and stand in the hall playing at full tilt. The pictures in my kids' room (next door) bounce off of the walls this way! Sounds very class A cranked (from what I've heard, Boogie biases their amps towards the class A side of A/B operation, and cranking this amp convinces me of this.) At high volumes, creates a very musically complex, wonderfully chimey and bell-like tone (think of the solo in Chalk Farm's "Lie on Lie" - something like that.)
Very quite amp - quietest tube amp I have. Very smooth, liquid reverb (everytime I get a hankering for another amp, I go to the store and play some others - expensive Rivera's, Marshall's, Fenders, etc., and this amp's reverb puts them to shame - seriously. Not boingy at all - slick, tube driven tone heaven. The only reverb on a new amp which I've heard that comes close is a custom shop $2500 Fender Vibrolux.)
I've heard some folks complain that you can't get a blues tone out of this - BS, you absolutely can. You can't just dime it and crank up the volume (Boogies have a very interactive tone control set-up), you have to use the mid-boost feature (turning the mid knob up past 5 adds more gain to the clean channel.) Better than any stinkin' pedals!
I get great, deliciously mellow jazz tones, screaching blues, stompin' metal, just about anything out of this. The clean channel is too midrangey to sound like an old Blackface Twin, but it's still great for so many other things (I've got an old Guyatone tube amp which handles my sparkling sounds wonderfully - anyone who knows more about these amps can email me - I just found it in a shop and know next to nothing about it.). Very versatile amp. Lot's of headroom on the clean channel, if you want it. Definitely suits my style (ecclectic - I like a little bit of everything - blues, jazz, "alternative", NOT country - but plug in a tele and this amp'll do it!) Only reason it isn't a 10 is because it has some superior siblings (the TOV and the Heartbreaker, as well as the Mark IV.) I don't believe there is any one single perfect amp, just ones which suit your tastes better or worse. Can't be beat for the price, though.
This amp does great with single coils or HB'ers. Very smooth.

Seems great. However, I can't use anything but Mesa tubes in it (fixed bias), which I learned by frying a pair of matched Groove Tubes in this thing in only about 2 weeks (blue "flame" arcing between the tubes and big nasty crackling, folks!). Boogie amps run hot (it's all about tone!) The amp has never broken down, and is built like a tank - yes, even this little 25w 1x12" combo is a backbreaker - solid as hell.

Never used 'em. I'm out of the warranty anyway. Bought the amp used.

For what I want, it's great. I've been playing for over 10 years. I'd like to get a Heartbreaker someday (the amp to end all amps?), and stick a V-twin in front for distortion, but not being independantly wealthy (or even employed at the moment!), this amp more than does its job. A hell of a value, seriously. Solid.

The DC-2 is a 25 watt all tube 1 12" combo. I believe my amp was made somewhere between late 1997 to early 1998. If you're looking for versatility, well, this is it! It has great tones ranging from the ultra-clean Vox AC-30 to a distortion much like that of a new Marshall Dual Super Lead but better. Three channels: Rythm(clean), Crunch(vintage fuzz), and Contour(modern high-gain.) Convenient two button footswitch. Tons of features such as: Recording jack(Line out), headphone jack, overall-3 speaker inputs, effects loop, silent recording/headphone switch, and input for reverb footswitch(optional). Loudest 25 watts I've heard! 2 seperate preamps are super convenient. Volume 4 on the clean channel with a Gain of 6 and a Master Volume of 3 are about enough to blow your eardrums out in a small bedroom.

I use a Rickenbacker 330 with a Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah-wah with and occasionally a Fender Blender(have to borrow it from someone). I mostly play Classic Rock which are easily achieved with this amp. I play things like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Cream, and Jimi Hendrix. One thing I don't always like is that when I'm playing loud with the gain maxed, I seem to come upon foreign radio transmissions(shortwave radio). I don't know whether it is the gain in the amp of the Rickenbacker's hi-gain pickups(probably them because when I face the guitar a certain direction, I get Japanesse radio stations.) The channel will distort at high volumes if the gain is set high but not when set low. The distortion on the clean channel is about a medium fuzz. Sounds excellent!

Well I've had this amp for about 6 months and have never had a problem with it. I would probably gig without a backup because my dad(early silverface Fender Bassman) always did and never had any problems, except for when is friend playing a Vox Super Continental blew out the speakers. I've played for hours at high volumes without any problems. I haven't really played any true gigs with it.

Mesa is a top-notch company (probably no better.) Infact, about 2 weeks after I bought it, I got a call from Mesa to say they received my warranty card and wondered how I liked it(I live in Indiana)! There is a great authorized dealer about 30 minutes away in Harrison, Ohio called "Brian & Gordon's The Music Shoppe." I believe the warranty is only a limited one year warranty which I think should be longer(though I probably won't need it-I just like to know it exists.)

I have been playing for about 3 years. If this were stolen I might look into another amp (just to experiment) but would want it to be either be another Mesa or a vintage blackface Fender Showman(even then, I would buy the Mesa V-Twin pedal to keep that wonderful Mesa tone. For awhile I worried about it not being loud enough for a band until I released the Recording jack can be used as a Line out and plugged in a PA System. I compared it with Cravin(until I found they were not handmade), a Vox AC-30 (unitl I realized the price-I'm only 15!) and Fender (until I found the Twin and Deluxe Reverb were not like the originals [mainly the back panel].) I wanted vintage tones. Overall, I think it is superb!

I will not go into too much depth here, for this area is the same as in most of the other reviews. Let it be said that there is quite a lot to be done with what is there, and each time you think that you have exhausted all of the options another setting will catch your ears. It has all of the options one would ever really need and then some. One of the main reasons I purchased this amp was that along with channel switching it posesses two separate sets of controls, one for each channel. This kind of versitality is nice to have.

Excellent. Truly, for the money, one is hard pressed to find a better deal for this type of amplifier. One modification that I would suggest is to replace the Mesa speaker with an 8 ohm Celestion Vintage 30. This speaker perfectly compliments the amplifier's sound and cabinet. The first channel is very versitile; it easily proceeds from clean warm sounds to shimmery almost Vox-like clean and distortion. I compared this side by side with a reissue AC-15 and the sounds were similar, especially the clean ones. Again, the DC-2 is probably the most versatile all-tube amp one can find at this price. Oh yes, lest I forget to mention, the second channel's distortion is very Mesa. It sounds excelent for the physical size of the cabinet. Especially with the contour switch on (or should I say only with it on), it sounds big and full for its size. At high volumes (and I do mean high, for this little 25 watt amp is VERY loud) the sounds can get a little piercing, yet this is easily compensated by adjusting the controlls

I have had it for over two years and only had an initial problem of a faulty resistor. This was replaced under waranty and since then it has functioned very well. As with all things, something will probably happen to it, but its construction as such and the reputation of the company leads me not to worry too much. It is very heavy and is built quite well.

I have never had to contact them, yet they do not update their web page often. I have heard a lot of good things about their customer service though.

All in all it is an excellent amplifier for just about any style, and if one finds themselves liking that Mesa tonality it is hard to think of a better deal.

It's got a pair of El84's so thats around 20 watts I think. There are six 12ax7's in the preamp(two different sets are used for the clean and Lead channels. The speaker is a blackshadow I guess 90 watts but I'm not sure if its Celestion or Mesa/Boogie. It has a parallel effects loop, a recording output wich faithfully reproduces the sound of the amp for recording or soun reinforcement. Each channel have a gain control, equalizer, presence control, all tube spring reverb and a shared master volume. The DC-2 also features a dual-purpose midrange control for the Rhythm channel. From 1-4, it serves as a midrange control knob but from 5-10, it becomes a controlable gain booster for a more wide range of rhythm sounds. I really wanted the DC-3 or the 30-watt version because it had a graphic eq but the DC-2 was all I could afford. Another drawback is that it's quite heavy for a 20-watter(around 55 lbs.).

This amp seems to have this distinct midrangey quality no matter how you set the controls. The midrangey tone has it ups and downs. It makes the sound especially overdrive-distorition sound real big, loud and makes the band sound full. The bad thing about this is that the lower notes can get muddy and kinda flub out. So I plan to get a extension cab with a 12" Celestion Vintage 30 so it can make up for the muddy Blackshadow speaker. Don't be fooled by the 20 measley watts, this amp is one loud motherfucker. People who hear it would probably think it's 60 watts at least. I use the DC-2 with a Fender USA Strat and I can get very fenderish clean sounds for the Rhythm channel. What's great too is that it stays clean no matter how much you crank the volume. But I don't suggest doing that because Boogies are different from Marshalls. Marshalls sound best when the volume is cranked while Boogies sound best at moderate settings. Pumping up the gain on the Rhythm channel as well as the dual-purpose midrange control can give you great Blues to hardrock crunch. The Lead channel is dark-sounding and leans more towards metal than rock. It was based on the design of the Dual Recto Solo head so what would you expect. Some reviewers say this amp can't do scooped metal riffs but mine can do it pretty well. You can't totally scoop the mids but you can get a very good high gain metal sound(think of James Hetfield's crunch on the Black album or the John Petrucci crunch). It's pretty quiet too and with great feedback. If you want a more rock sounding crunch I suggest plugging into a good pedal like a Boss DS-1 or 0S-2.

I always have to change the tubes now and then because they burn out pretty quick (around every 3-4 months of regular use). I also have to limit my jamming sessions to 2 hours at most and I always have a fan pointed at the back of the amp to ventilate the tubes. I always have a backup hybrid amp in case my amp can't take it anymore.

I've never really dealt with Mesa/Boogie personally but I've been keeping contact through the internet and mail. And they are a great bunch of people. They know how to treat their customers and they treat each one equally, which is like family. I was surprised at how they cared for customer service even with people who aren't Boogie owners yet. They even send out 32-page catalogs for free along with a very customer convicing letter to future boogie owners. Anyone whose experienced the hospitality of the people at Mesa/Boogie knows what I'm talkin' about.

If you consider that the DC-2 is an all tube amp packed with all the features a working musician needs, and is loud enough for almost any gig and you think of the price $650 and you compare it to it's marshall and fender counterparts, this amp has an unbeatable bang for the buck. Of course it's not a perfect amp, but for an amp at its price range, you get incredible value for the money. Another good thing is that it is only powered by a pair of EL84's so maintenance is pretty cheap if you compare it to a Marshall JTM 30 perhaps which have more expensive 5881's.

you read about this one i love mesa boogie and it has many different rock blues feedback sounds out of it i paid 650 put a weber blue dog speaker in it and it soars also two new groove tubes so it starts crackling all the time like bacon. Well i thought simple modifications like that would be ok as i received a soldano 500$ amp in mail from Texas cause there is no dealers of quality with large selection around here .So boogie called me and said put everything back like it was so i did that but not the speaker yet I dont think it would hurt that amp, the speaker it brought out the highs and lows of it like Hendrix very fine speaker, but overall they are very good dealing with the customer and th ey called back the same day very nice this is a quality amplifier and i hope it works out cause if a transformer is out they want me to drive it to topeka kansas for repair or whatever I'll always purchase mesa boogie theyre the best sounding of all Im 45 years old playing for 30 years Bugs Henderson blues stylI still like this amp and the Weber speaker makes it sound good crackling noise or nothing e

the fender Jimmie Vaughn strat sound deafening and also sweet and colorful a few range of tones with this amp but alas for this price 650 plus 135 for custom spkr it is worth every bit as anything ive heard under 800 bucks lots of gain and power this amp is beautiful crackling sound or not I'll get it fixed or get another one till its fixed

best music bargain on the planet i have a soldano amp and fender hot rod and for under 800 this amp is it great tone i use a parker nitefly and it is a raw power amp the best

Packed....see the previous postings. The only difference with mine is the speaker. I replaced the stock boogie with a Naylor special design 50 watt 8 ohm.

I agree with other reviewers in this amp likes humbuckers. I play a Lespaul and 80's American STD Strat. I primarily use the clean side. When playing the Gibson and pushing the pre amp it has a good blusey breakup at medium volumes. The replacement speaker really had a big effect in this area. The stock speaker turned mushy when pushed. One definite drawback is the cabinet noise heard at moderate to higher volumes.

Purchased used. Never a problem in over 6 months. Purchased on the reputation, sound quality, and construction

I called requesting a manual and received one in about 10 days...I did buy it used....unbelievable!

I do like this amp. Could I live with something else? For the money ...probably not! The quality is unbelievable. I would consider a less versitile amp to replace it along the lines of the Blue Angel or vintage Fender. Considering the bang for the buck this is a great amp.