Mesa/Boogie DC-3 Combo

This amp is very versatile and will play eveery style you want it to. I play in my high school jazz band and we play everything from duke ellington to deep purple. The two channels are both worthy but I wish there was an in between the two extremes. The options are enless with the headphones, recordin out, effects loop and many knobs to tweek with.It is a very loud amp and I have never been over powered by other guitarists or bassists.

I use les pauls with this amp. It has a great sound, but I dont really have alot to compare it too seeing how before this amp I had a peavy rage amp. The thing I do look for in an amp is whether or not it will stay clean at high volumes and not distort out, this amp passes that test. The distortion is great but your have to turn it up to get the best sound.

This amp has never let me down in the three years I have had it. I don't have a backup. The handle rubber once tore on me. Sounds great on the original tubes.

Mesa/boogie is the top of the line in customer support. when the rubber on my handle ripped I sent them a letter asking for a catalog to buy another and they sent me a whole new handle for free!

This amp is great if I buy another I will probably buy a mark I IV or oone of the higher priced amps. this amp does take alot of tweeking to get the right sound which can some times be frustrating, however, sometimes the reason I cant get the right sound is probably not do to the machine but rather the controller.Best thing I would say to do when you buy an amp is try before you buy WITH YOUR OWN GUITAR.If anyone finds a great sound send me the knob settings please.

1998 DC-3 1-12 Combo. Dedicated gain, treble, mid, bass, presence, & reverb controls for 2 channels, a global volume control, switchable 5-band EQ, parallel effects loop with level control, variable ohm speaker outputs, headphone output, slave output. Very versatile!

Channel One is designed for a clean sound, or a "pushed" clip. I've found this channel to be exceptional for both a clean, round jazz tone, (without the EQ), and a cutting-through-the-mix rhythm tone, (with the EQ), and a dead-on replicant of the classic SRV "Cold Shot" kind of rhythm and lead tone. You would need to tweak the gain and master knobs to get this tone, (I put the gain at 7 1'2, the treble on 8, mids at 4, bass on 5, presence on 6, and master on 8, with the EQ engaged in the "V" shape to get this, but I lower my guitar volume for rhythm, and dime it for solos.) Keep in mind, these settings are what I normally use, and, working with my guitar volume control, I can easily achieve all 3 of these tones at a gigging volume, with the global master at about 4. Never before have I seen or heard of an amp that can do all of this from one channel. People who have dissed this amp have not experimented with the "power soak" capabilities of the individual channel masters. Maxing the masters equals undeniably good tone! Back down the gain, and you will have a ringing, Fenderish (kinda) type tone that will make the bass strings thump, and the treble strings ring forever! Tap on the EQ, and the amp sings like a Fender Super Reverb with a strat. (I use a Carvin Bolt-T Lefty, and the guys at Fender need to watch Carvin closely!) The individual channel settings for the EQ and the graphin EQ will make or break your love of this amp. It really takes some time to explore all of the possibilities of this channel. I am raving about Channel One because it is easily the most versatile of the two. Time, patience, and effort will reward all but the ones who are actually looking for a drawback on this amplifier.

Channel Two is a demon. I've found everything from a slightly saturated crunch, (Steely Dan's "Reeling In the Years"), to an I'm really pissed off Stevie Ray Vaughan "Leave My Girl Alone" type of tone, to a downright thrash that Kirk Hammet would be proud to call his own. Once again, it all depends on the channel EQ, and the Graphic EQ. Set the graphic in the "V", and I was satisfied with the performance of both channels with the EQ in or out. My channel two settings are as such: Gain:8, Treble:5, Mid:4 1/2, Bass:4 1/2, Presence:6, Master:8. I purposely left out reverb settings as they are subject to an individual's taste, also because digital reverb shines on any amp. Overall, I would say that there is no sonic ground that this amp cannot cover. Time, patience and tweaking once again. It took me about 3 months to find my tone on this amp, and the wait was worth it.

I've had this amp for over a year, and not one tube has blown, the speaker didn't shred, the fuse didn't blow, and nothing went wrong with it. And this is after gigging twice a week, every week, plus practice, plus rehearsals! Every time I change the tubes, which is about every 3 months, it sounds like I just bought a new amp!

Customer Support? If you change the tubes, don't leave it outside during winter, don't spill beer on it, and don't throw it down a flight of stairs, and don't run over it with a truck, you will not need to call them. Unless you happen to be the one or two in a million who just happened to buy a lemon. It happens ... I bought a .50 Caliber + that just plain sucked. Mesa has done their homework on this amp.

I've been playing for over 25 years. I've had Sundowns, Ampegs, Yamahas, Peaveys, Fenders, (both new and vintage), and as I previously mentioned a Mesa 50 Cal +. This is the best amp that I've ever owned, hands down. It's versatile, if you are willing to work with it, and it is reliable. Each guitar will sound different with this amp, of course, but in my opinion, it's strong suit is with a Strat or a strat derivative, like my Carvin Bolt TL. My Bolt will scare the frets off of any Fender, in my opinion, and I've had those, too, both vintage and new. If you are willing to spend a lot of time turning knobs, (which most guitarists aren't), hitting one chord for a half hour while tweaking, and changing all the settings multiple times, you will eventually find the tone that you are looking for. I will be hard pressed to find a better sounding 35 watt amp, at any price.

I'm looking for a warm jazz-sound AND a ringing, bells-type clean sound, nice SRV-crunch and a lead sound with lots of sustain. Impossible combination in one amp, I know. I used to come close by having a Bedrock 50W combo (Nice ringing clean) in combination with a Mesa Boogie V-twin rackmount (sustained lead) and a Tubescreamer on the floor (Crunch). The jazzsound I couldn't get. Got tired of carrying all that stuff to my gigs, because that Bedrock is HEAVY and I could never find a good spot to put my Vtwin (soundwise it didn't have enough guts for me either). So I decide to buy a Mesa Boogie Nomad combo. Tried it in the shop next to the DC-3 and the DC-3 won hands down. Ive got the jazzyclean now (the DC-3's reverb is very nice!)but lost the sparkling clean I used to have.. Lead sound is what I bought it for though. Crunch I still do with my trusty tubescreamer, it's a lot better than what the DC-3 can do. I don't really need features - I need tone - so what it has is enough for me (see previous reviews). I play venues of max 200 people, gigged with it 3 times sofar and I think it has just enough power for me, but the clean channel could do with some headroom.

I traded in my Bedrock combo to get it. I always thought it had to little gain for me (that's why I bought the Vtwin). The guy in the shop (great player) plugged in his guitar to check out if it worked. Played a few clean lines, OK. Switched over to the lead channel and there it was: that fat sound I never got! Why am I telling this? Because it's true; sounds come from your fingers and not from the amp... No use crying, I bought the DC-3 because I needed a lighter, more flexible amp.

I play it with a USA standard telecaster and a Yamaha Mike Stern Tele (Seymour Duncan pickups). I think this is an amp you can do everything with -and I do-, versatile is the keyword. It does have that Holdsworth sound if you want on the lead channel, but I'm sure I'll be looking for another amp for my clean sound in the future.

I'm sure it's very reliable

no idea

This is a 1998 DC-3 Combo bought new from the store. I won't bore you with the features-the other reviewers have this covered. This amp was used for home and gigging. Plenty of power.

I use a Tex Mex Strat, 72' Reissue Tele, and some knock-off 335's. This amp is NOT suited for a muscial R&B clean style. I found the sound to be very "boxey" even with endless hours of tweaking. I'm certain at this point it is due to the inherant characteristics of the EL34 power section which I don't care for. The clean does stay clean at fairly high volumes.
The distortion in the lead channel is some of the dirtiest I've heard, unfortunately, I would never use it.

It broke shortly after a got it. I could never get a good answer from the Mesa amp guru's about what exactly caused a mid-gig catastrophic failure. They did fix it for free though.

They would not send me a schematic. Could have fixed it myself if I had one.

I've been playing 30 years and use either Reissue or Vintage Fender Twin Reverbs and Deluxes, If it were stolen or lost I would submit a claim to my insurance company and buy 2 amps I could use.
I didn't love a thing about this amp and hated the boxy sound.

All tube... suprisingly versatile and LOUD!! I wish it was closed back though. (or at least 1/2)

Tried it out in a music store with an Ibanez RG model that had humbuckers and a single coil. Sounded great with either and held up really well with neck pickup. I play everything from Rush to reggae, to funk and classic rock, and it covered everything well. It was virtually noiseless even with high gain. This amp was a pleasure to play and I found the extra 5 band EQ to be a great feature. The clean channel sounds FANTASTIC at low or high volumes and the overall output knob is something that I think all, or most, multi "dedicated channel" amps should have. The lead channel's gain is not brutal, but smooth and warm... and harmonically rich. Much more "musical" than most amps. The bass response on this channel can be sometimes flabby, but I think that may be remedied by a closed back extension cab or more fiddling with the EQ. I don't have a lot of bad things to say about this amp except for the open back, but I guess it comes with the territory. I came from using a 4x12 cab and I must say, this is one mighty little amp!!

Seems VERY solid!

I dunno

Been playing for about 17 yrs. and have gone thru my fair share of gear. I think after all is said and done I would DEFINITELY add it to my arsenal!

P.S. I don't like to give 10's... nothing is ever THAT good!

(When buying this amp I traded it with a Boogie Subway Rocket.) The DC-3 has all the regular stuff on the frontside and all the things you need on the backside. Really don't know anything useful that is missing on this amp. Really like the 6 preamp tubes, with the poweramp that makes 10 tubes. It's a real lightshow when using it at night.

What can I say ? This is really the greatest amp I've ever heard in my whole life. Compared to my Fender Hot Rod and Marshall JTM 30, you have to know I love these amps, the Mesa is the creme de la creme. I t doesn't matter is you're using a Strat or a Les Paul. It's always big time. Love it. If there was a categorie for here for look, I would say: It's a very good looking amp. Like a dark mysterious woman.

Everyone knows that Mesa's are very well build. That goes for the knobs and swithches too. I don't use the thing for gigs. It sounds idiot but the Mesa almost never leaves my homestudio. For gigs I use a Fender Hotrod.

I really don't know. Never dealt with them. I only dealt with the Dutch Boogie Import over a Boogie Subway Rocket, and they were very helpful.

I don't think I ever sell this amp.......No, I am sure of it. This amp will never leave me. I had a Boogie Subway Rocket, but that's a HISSSS..... amp. The DC-3 is the best amp I've ever seen and heard.
Keep up the good work Randall.

I picked this amp up for $500 from a guy who apparently hadn't used it much. you can find find gear like this if you're patient. I had specifically targeted this and a few other amps. I prefer lower wattage amps because you can usually turn up the volume on them and let the tubes cook. They sound sweeter when they heat up. This amp is a wolf in sheeps clothing 35watts my #%*. It sounds great at 2 to 3 and the features you have on this amp are all top notch.Footswitchable 5 band EQ, a tight crisp reverb, and a host back panel features for those who might want to interface the DC-3 with more powerful equipment. As nice as this sounds with the 90 watt celestion, Im anxious to find me a Rectifier 2X12 cab with vintage 30's to play this through. I'd also love to slave this to my effects and out to a power amp, say a Boogie 20/20 or a Carvin Tube 100.I could make a nice little stereo rig with this as my foundation.

I'm mostly a blues-based rock player. I'm playing a '78 Les Paul Standard I loaded with '57 Classic pickups. I go for a cleam rhythm sound that has some life, breathiness to it, a little edge. I look for that sound with my pickup volume at about 6. For solos I open up to 10. The clean channel gives me a nice saucy lead tone at these settings:
Gain 7.5 Treble 6.5 Mid 4.5 Bass 2.5 Pres 2 Rev whatever Master 6
The lead channel has a totally diferent character and can get as nasty as you want. I tried and keep it fairly tame using it for power chord type stuff and leads. Again, I get the crunch I'm after with the pickup volume at 6 and take solos by turning my volume up to 10.As I said , I get a great sound with the settings I use,but for metalheads there is definitely room for more gain in the lead channel. I currently find these settings to suit me very well. Who knows, I could get pissed off, drink 3 beers and crank the gain and have a nice workout.
Gain 4.5 Treble 5 Mid 4 Bass 4 Presence 3 reverb Why not? Master 5

I've had this amp apart and it is very well assembled. I haven't owned this particular amp for very long, but it's quite obvious that it is well made and thoughtfully designed. I don't foresee problems other than normal tube wear. I currently can't offer an opinion

I love Les Pauls, but have owned Tele's and Strats. I had a Jackson Randy Rhoads too! Had a great neck. I've had Fender Twins, Legend R+R 50watt, Studio 22, and a full blown boogie rack with 2X12 caliber cabs and rackmount effects. I got rid of the effects after I watched Dickie Betts play dry through a 50 watt Marshall and a 4X12 cab. He did more with a volume control than I was doing with 16 spaces a rackmount gear.I have a Boss dd5 for echo, a morley wah, a tce chorus, and univibe. This amp allows me to go from Texas Flood to Highway to Hell and handles alot of genres in between. I love the tight bass compared to the Twin. I remember the Twin as being a great clean sound , but the distortion was non-existant without a stompbox.

I bought my DC-3(Dual Caliber)in 1998. This amp is very versatile, great clean, great reverb(someone actually complemented me on the reverb-I think that Mesa/Boogie has the best reverb), and great distortion. It has 2 channels- Rhythm-clean, and Lead-distortion. Comes with footswitch and a footswitch pouch to keep your footswitch in when you aren't using it. The footswitch pouch is located inside the back of the amp. This amp also has a 5 Band Graphic EQ. The footswitch let's you toggle between lead and rythm channels as well as EQ on/off. It has a parallel effects loop, a headphone jack, a recording jack, 2 jacks that allow you to hook up some extra speaker cabinets, and a slave jack. This is a loud amp. I was surprised to find out that it was 35 watts. In my room(when I don't use effects) I keep it at about a 1 maybe a 1.25 and it is still loud. It has a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker. It is an all tube amp- 6 12AX7 and 4 EL-84.

I use a Jackson Kelly KE-3R through this amp with Duncan Designed pickups. This amp can suit any music style. Mesa/Boogie amps have the best reverb, the best distortion, and the best clean.

This, like all Mesa/Boogie's, is very dependable. It was built to last.

When the guys at Mesa/Boogie received my warranty card they called me to see if the amp was working fine-it was(and still is) and to see if there where any problems-there weren't.

I have been playing for almost 2 years. I have a Jackson Kelly KE-3R(guitar)and a Digitech RP-12(multi-fx processor). If my amp was lost or stolen, I would buy a Mesa/Boogie because they are the best amps.

New '98 or '99 model 35 watt all tube combo. To reiterate, THIS THING IS LOUD. I mean freaky loud. I bought this amp as a practice amp so I could leave my JCM2000 DSL 100 head at my practice place. However, I brought the DC-3 to band practice so I could see how it would do (we play loud heavy metal). Normally I crank my 2000 head up to 4-5 thru a 4 X 12 Marshall cab. I set the DC-3 on top of the 4 x12 and set the volume to 4. We had to stop mid-song because I was way too loud. I turned down to 3 and it was still way to loud. I thought the DC-3 was too loud because it was sitting on top of the 4 X 12. I set the DC-3 on the floor. It was still plenty loud at 3 sitting on the floor! I then disconnected the 12" Celestian Vintage 30 and connected my Marshall 4 X 12 cabinet. It honestly seemed that the DC-3 produced the same volume at 4 as the JCM2000 did at 4. This amp is loaded with features. I am looking forward to using the DI out when we are in the studio (scratch tracks etc..)

I use ESP and Ibanez guitars with a slew of humbucker Duncan pickups. I am using a T.C. Electronics G-Force and Morley Bad Horsie Wah for effects. I give this amp a 7 because I think my Marshall head sounds a lot better and brighter. Once again, this amp sounds like a Boogie- nasal sounding and kinda dark. My Marshall sounds more in-your-face and crunchy. This amp is also extremely sensitive to adjustments. The EQ, presence and Gain all change the sound a bunch. The distoration is pretty good. Sounds exactly like a Dual Rectifier to me. I could mic this amp with an SM57 at 6" and sound exactly like a half stack. The clean channel is outstanding! If you are a fan of that "Boogie Sound" than there is no doubt you would give it a 10!

This amp is built well, about twice as solid as a Marshall. You can tell there is a lot of care and personal attention given to this piece of equipment. There is an assembly signature sheet that comes with the amp so you can see every person who built your amp. You could not read it if it was a Marshall because all the names would be in Korean scribble.

Playing 23 years. I am a heavy metal guy. I would probably buy it again. It isn't like this is my first amp so I am not freaking out about "how awesome this amp is" etc... I prefer to play thru an old Marshall plexi cranked to 10, my DSL 100 sounds a lot better to my ear. This is a practice amp to me only- a damn nice (and DAMN EXPENSIVE) one at that. It is well-built, loaded with features and sounds pretty good (better when going thru my G-Force adding Parametric EQ and compression)

Regular stuff and a 5-band EQ. 2 channels.

I use a Fender strat with a Dimarzio Tone Zone on the bridge. I use NOFX. I hate effects. This amp sound extremely good. It's really, really loud for a 35 Watt amp. Actually I can't believe how loud it is. I'm not too fusy on my clean sound. It does the job for me. I like a natural tube sound. The distortion channel is great. Nice and thick sounding. I play punk and it sounds great for it. No main stream punk though. If you know a band called Strung Out that's kinda like what my band sounds like. Anyway metal guys might like it but it doesn't do that scooped thing very good, but it does it okay. It can do the metallica sound really good(load,reload). Set it like this:gain:8-6, treble:10, Mid:5, Bass:10, Pres:10(lower it as you turn up the volume as it will kill your ears)Master:10 Output:3-1. On the EQ set: max bass and treb, high and low mids a little above the halfway mark, and center mid on the bottom white line. If you want old metallica reduce mid. Distortion is warm and crunchy. I had a metal zone pluged into this thing before and it sounded like crap.

I use this thing without a backup cause I don't have any other decent amps.

Guitar is a really easy intrument to learn how to play. I have only been playing for 3 years and I can do Van Halen solos and what not. Although some people say I'm a freak of nature and thought I've been playing for 10 years. Anyway this is Amp is great and in my 3 years I've heard quite a few amps. I just try to copy the sound I hear on records. If you don't have the cash to buy Marshall stacks pick up this amp.