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.

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.

25 watts (dyna-watt power) powered by a pair of El-84's, one 12 inch vintage 90-watt Black Shadow speakers, 2 channels (lead/rhythmn), all-tube sring reverb, parallel effects loop, silent speaker mute, recording output jack. The preamp has six 12ax7's in which two different sets of tubes are used for the lead and rhythm channels. It basically has everything I need. Other reviewers didn't like it cause' it does not have a head phone jack but fuck it, I hate playing through head phones.

This amp's sound capabilities are very versatile. The clean channel is really really clean and has plenty of headroom and with a strat, it can give great blues sound when over-driven. The lead channel is more on the metal side than on hard rock(ala VH). It's got too much buzz which I don't really like. I like distortion as clean as possible and with lots of sustain and harmonics. But I use it with an Boss OS-2 and can get exactly the sound I want, sustain without extreme buzz. But on its own It can only do Fenderish clean, to ala clapton blues sound, and Heavy/Death metal (James Hetfield sounds on And Justice... and Black Album). But with a pedal, this amp can suit any style. But there is something really wierd about this amp. I don't know if it is a natural tube amp phenomenom or it's just my amp but my amps sound seems to constantly change. When I first bought it, I was really pissed about the sound cause it didn't sound so good. The amp seemed to have an extremely boosted mid-range which gave a really boxy, nasal, and muddy sound even on clean. The mids just coudn't be sooped out even with the mid control at 0. When I played palm-muted metal riffs, it sounded like ' chag, chag, chag' and not like ' chug, chug, chug'. But the more I used it, The mids seemed to slowly disappear and metal riffs started sounding right. And right now, that annoying mid range is starting to come back. It's not like I hate mid range but too much makes everything muddy. It made my Fender US Standard strat sound muddy(now can you imagine how much mids this thing had). I still don't know if its the tubes which are causing this phenomenon.

I think this amp burns out tubes prety quickly especially at loud volumes. I remember the day after I bought it, I used it for 6 hours straight and a funny crackling sound started and I say one of the El84's arching. So whenever I jam, I always need a fan pointed at the back of the amp to cool down the tubes which an extra hassle. I now limit my practice sessions to 2hours straight at most.

I've never dealt with the company because I stay all the way here in the Philippines. But by just reading the owners manual I can tell that the people at mesa/boogie are Class A. They seem to treat you as a new member of the mesa/boogie family. And they got a very good reputation when it comes to sound and reliability. So even if I've never dealt with them, I'd still give them a 10. When I thought I blew my boogie's speaker, I was told by the store wher I bought it here in the Philippines that they had authorized service centers that could repair boogie's but I was really dubious about that because there's no authorized dealers of Roland, Marshall, Fender, Mesa, etc. here.

If it were stolen or lost, I probably buy it again. It's great value at it's price range. I think the only draw back of this amp is that it is way to heavy for a 25-watt combo. Heck, it's even heavier than my 160-watt peavey solid-state combo. I was choosing between a Fender Blues Deville and the Mesa/Boogie DC-2 and I chose the Mesa cause' it was more versatile. I also wanted the DeVille because I loved the blues and I thought it would loog good with my Strat Plus.

The DC-2 more than covers all the bases that I need. It is a 2 channel amp with 3 footswitchable sounds: rhythm, lead, and contour. Parallel FX loop, headphone, line out, speaker out, two totally independent channels and an excellent reverb. My previous amp were a 100/60 watt 1x12 Boogie Clone(4x6L6c power tubes) by Mitchell and a 100watt Vox Solid state top with a 2x12 cabinet. The El-84(such as those in the DC-2 power section is thought of by many people as the best sounding tube for rock n' roll. Tube tone definitely rules! The only thing missing is EQ which would be useful for really dialing in specific distortion tones. But the DC-2 gets the sounds I need.

I play classic rock and blues with an American Std Strat and a 79 walnut SG. I generally play for my own pleasure and occasionally jam with friends. The DC-2 provides great tones at the low volumes that I need to play at most of the time yet it is plenty loud in a group situation. It is dead quiet with humbucking pickups and buzzes with single coils(big surprise-yeah). I am a long time Pete Townshend fan and the clean channel really can do justice to Sparks, Pinball, etc. With the gain fairly high on the clean channel, it is very touch sensitive and is wonderful for blues leads that break from clean to dirty. The dirty channel has a lot of harmonic character as well. Its sound definitely is dependent on how much gain your guitar pickups have. There is a BIG difference between single coils and humbuckers on this amp. Humbuckers deliver a lot more distortion. Certainly enough for anything from Albert King style blues to Cream. Like I said I am a retro player and this amp delivers for me.

Bought this amp on Mesa's legendary reputation.

Waranty is a "liberal one year." Bought it from a reputable dealer that's been around for 25 years and is a Boogie Service Center. I don't anticipate any problems.

I've been playing guitar for 28 years and it is only the third amp I have owned. I bought a used Boogie clone 17 years ago and it finally failed. I was pretty happy with it so I wanted to know what it was like to own the real thing. I would buy another Boogie but probably a different one. Every amp has a different personality and I would like to explore the sounds of some of the other amps in there line

I mainly play classic/alt rock in a Contemporary Christian (i.e., Church) setting. Be sure to look at the other reviews under "Studio Caliber". It took me a while to figure out where they were.
This is a 1-12, class A/B, dual EL-84 (about 20 watts I guess), SS recto, parallel effects loop combo.
Two channels, completely separate controls for each (YES!) with Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, Reverb and a sub-master volume controls for each channel.
Mesa says the clean channel is voiced like the MK IV 's Clean channel and the Distortion channel is voiced like the Dual Recto's distortion channel.
There is any older model (like mine) and a newer model with a 3rd footswitchable sound similar to what the Subway Rocket offers.
I hate to give anything a 10, but this amp is extremely versatile in the features department and very user-friendly.

I'm not much of a "shred-head" and don't really care for some of Mesa's "vintage" offereings like the Trem-O-Verb or Maverick. I would describe my ideal tone as "atmospheric." I play a 57 RI strat, PRS Standard 22 and a G&L ASAT-3.
I have to say, I'm just blown away by this amp. I couldn't believe how musical it sounded when I first tried it. The Clean channel is not the austere super-clean mesa sound, but rather a little "grindy" around the edges. The distortion channel is very musical and yields a nice "blannggg" tone when you turn the guitar volume down.
One word about settings, this amp is designed to sound good with eveything set to about 5. My experience with other master volume amps is that they sound best with all the sub-masters and tone controls more or less dimed (set to 10). It's a huge mistake to treat this amp like that. The tone controls are very interactive. In fact, diming the channel sub-master volumes will mudddy the effects loop; so much so that I called Mesa because I thought I had a problem in the effects loop.
The overall Distortion tone is a little midrangy for bedroom playing (can't REALLY get scooped death-metal tones). However, this midrangy vocal-like quality really shines when playing with a group. You need some midrange to cut through and provide some body for leads. Sometimes I'll be soloing with this amp and it feels so good to just hold a note ans let it sing that I find my playing is more melodic.
I always mic my amp and run it thru the PA. This amp is replacing a Peavey Classic 50-212 in my rig. My sound man loves the DC-2 and so do I. It's a VERY loud 20 watts and sounds great mic'd. I usually set the overall master to 2 or 3. The Presence controls are great for dialing in the sound to the room/stage.
The effects loop is VERY high quality - no tone sucking here. I'm using an Intellifex LTD (itself a very high quality unit). I don't use the effects loop in parallel mode because I use MIDI continuous controllers to control various levels and parameters on the Intellifex. It's too hard to do this with a parallel loop.
I'm about to pay this amp a supreme complement - it feeds back (sings, not squeals) at absurdly low volume levels. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the distortion has a "buttery" quality that just I just can't get enough of. Some of this could be due to the fact that this amp has American EL-84s in it. They've got the Mesa stencil on them but are also clearly etched "Made in America" right on the tube.
So far my favorite guitar with this amp is the PRS. But the strat and G&L sound great as well. I don't have to change tone settings to change guitars. Each one seems to have a unique personality.
Oh yeah, I'm not a big Celestion fan, but the Celestion Black Shadow speaker is a perfect match for this amp. I was all set to change it out, but I really like it. I'll say it again, the whole package is very "musical."
I suppose, I wish the Clean channel had a little more personality. My standard for great clean sounds is still a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Good thing I have one of those.
Once again, I can't give it a 10 (It's not a Top Hat, Dr. Z, Bogner), but I will give it a very high rating for a production PCB amp.

Haven't looked inside. So far, no problems and I don't bring a backup.

Mesa can be hard to reach by phone. Call early. However, once you actually talk to someone, support is fantastic.

Value is important to me. For what I paid for this amp, this is an incredible value. It sounds far better than any $300 amp has a right to sound. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. Mesa is doing really great things with small EL-84 amps (e.g., Subway Blues/Rocket, DC-2 and DC-3).
One small deduction. The resaon I got such a good price on it is because the vinyl covering was badly ripped in several places even though the rest of the amp was dead mint. It's unusual to see this kind of covering wear without some other indication of abuse (broken knobs). I have to concude that the covering just isn't up to snuff. It's a naughehyde type vinyl, not Tolex. Mesa should go back to Tolex. I like this amp so much that I may pay to have it recovered.

For a two channel at this price, no other features can be expected. Try to find an amp under $700 that has two complete sets of controls for gain, EQ, presence, reverb, and volume...plus a master volume. It has a great effects loop and recording capabilities. Only drawback, slighly heavy for 25 watts and not Class A (but then, the price would be at least $300 more).

Everyone knows about the MESA lead channel and how it shreads. But dial the gain in to 3 or so and push the volume to five or so, and you get good vintage gain, perfect for roots rocking like the Jayhawks, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo and etc.. The clean channel is indeed that, clean. Don't try to dirty it up like a Matchless, it sounds muddy. I'm told that putting a Celestion 30 will solve that problem though. As far as noise, it's always been very quiet. I use a Strat with Texas Specials and I get a great buzzsaw sound with it at 8 and then turn it up to 10 for lead work. Finding a good clean sound can be some work but it can be achieved. Don't expect a fat tone a la a Matchless or a Bassman. It has a thinner, roomier sound great for Tele's (I sold mine dammit). I also have a '57 reissue Les Paul Special with P-100's. The clean channel gives me the good, cleaner CCR sounds whereas the lead channel goes from more dirty sounding CCR ("Fortunate Son" and "Up Around the Bend") to AC/DC to uncontrollable distortion, but not as good as a Big Muff.

I've had it for a year and a half and it hasn't even thought about breaking.

Never needed to find out.

Would I buy it again? Absolutely! No other amp in the price range came close to offering it. The Fender sounds were not all tube, Marshall didn't have the tone, and everything else was either too expensive or too big. If you're thinking about this amp, you should look at the DC-3. It's more expensive, but it has a fatter tone. Dynawatt Power does give you a lot of volume (two visits by the local authorities) but you may want to check out Class A sweetness.