Mesa/Boogie DC-3

Just a note. I changed the speaker to a celestion vintage neo 60 watt 12 inch. It sounds better more grindy. It lightened the load.

sounds more grindy earlier.

Ive been pleaying 45 years. I wish this amp had tremelo.

The DC-3 is the best gig amp out there with plenty of power. I have the short chasis head on the 1x12 widebody cabinet with the classic Black Shadow 12" speaker - not as durable as the Electrovoice, but has the tone. I have never turned the master volume above 4, and have used it un-miked in gigs up to 900 people. I have also used the preamp output to plug into PA's for larger gigs. It has more than enough power to play live and loud with the drums, but still gets the rich overdrive and crunch in small recording studios or the bedroom. By having the unit in two pieces, it is easier to transport. If you compare the features of the DC-3 with the new MB models, you will find that much of it is the same. The tube combo is very similare to the Lone Star series. The equilizer is great at creating both old school blues, jazz, clean, and crunch; along with modern super leads, overdrive, distortion, and enhances the distorted harmonics. The reverb is a very nice tube reverb, but I would prefer it to come through more on the overdrive channel. For $1000 or so, I feel that I purchased one of the most feature packed small amps on the market. - I would condider plugging into a couple of stacks just to use more headroom on the master if I ever needed to - I'm sure this 35 watts could do it too!

I play a limited edition 1963 reissue Gibson Les Paul through a series of basic stomp boxes. I feel as though I can achieve almost every tone I can hear in my head - the rest with come with practice. I have heard some negative things about the DC-3 as in not being able to make the amp sound good. If comes down to guitar skill. Once you get through the basics, this amp will kill all others. I use it in cover pop groups, original rock groups, Jazz, Blues, Hawaiian, and Reggae. It does it all well and most great. If you running delay in front of the preamp, the sound will get out of control on the lead channel if you don't reduce the delay volume. Delay is great through the loop, but unless you have a high quality delay, it will take over the rest of the sound - thank goodness for the look volume control.

Never had a poblem. Foot switch input craps out a bit, but that is mostly due to having lived in the middle of the ocean and gigs all night on the beach. I fixed it by wiping the input out with a que tip. I'm on my second speaker, but that was cheaper than replacing the tubes, which I haven't ever done. Customer service at MB has always been flawless.

Always there

Have played for 13 years. Own a Peavey, original #21 Line 6, and use friends tube sets often. Owned the amp for seven or eight years and have played over 300 gigs on it. Traveled with it and have spilled beer on it. It still looks great and sound better everytime I play it. Don't play often any more, but would always buy another one. Maybe next time I will just buy the hottest new model and forget the hastle of having MB build me a custom amp.

Mine is the later model. 2 Channels with the eq on it turns into basically 4 channels. An effects loop that sucks the tone right out of the amp as you turn it up. The second gain channel is 1990's poopy sounding. The first channel is nice. You must read the manuel which you can download from the net. Note the midrange boosts the gain. 1-3 normal after that it boosts the gain. Yes this is an extremely loud 35 watts.

Well it's good for modern blues rock and even basic blues. It is a very smooth sounding amp and people say you have to tweak it to get a good sound but if you put everything but the master volume up to 10 on the clean channel you get a nice medium gain. Forget the high gain channel its ok but a tube screamer and the clean channel is better. Again forget the effects loop unless your recording. There are all kinds of outputs and adjustments on the back of the amp. It also has an ok reverb.

1st change the tubes. Mesa tubes suck. jj or eh el84s. Mullards are nice but expensive. 2nd put in a different speaker. While the celestion vintage 30 is a great speaker it is a little brightfor this amp. I put in an eminance 12 inch and it smoothed out the bite. They build these amps like a brick.

No warranty. Cant find a cover for this.

It is a great amp. Just do some small mods which anyone can do. Tubes is the main thing. If it were stolen I would get another. It really is a great amp. And extremely loud.

I don't know if 'features' is the right word for what this amp does. Don't get me wrong, it does a whole lot within the clean-----dirty spectrum and quite a bit in the Bass----treble spectrum as well. Still, I sold a Line 6 Spider amp for this (a good move). That's more of a feature/gadget amp. Mesa's are pretty organic. This thing is a tube amp that gives you a wide range of things to do within what it's trying to accomplish. In other words, it's not about extreme reverb or built in delay and chorus. It DOES, however, have a great 5-band EQ that is really great to toy around with and has a powerful effect on the sound. That's a feature worth all the little features of gadget amps.

I use a mexican strat (ugh!) with a classic Gibson 57' in the neck and a tony Iommi in the bridge for a bit more bite. How the hell do guys reviewing these things afford PRS's AND Gibsons AND Schecters etc...that's what I want to know.
The 5-band EQ is very effective on the sound. I bought this amp mainly for the distortion, and it goes from buzz to gutteral crunch and does everything in between because of that EQ. Very impressive!
The clean channel is okay I suppose. Being a tube amp it is not like my old line 6 that was clear as a fuckin' bell, but still, I like the dirt that creeps into the tube amp clean. If you're lookin for a perfect clean amp--Mesa is NOT your company. You need to be lookin at solid state amplifiers. The clean is good and the distortion even better, and I can do a lot to either with the EQ. Still, if I am to believe that a Triple Rectifier or Diezel VH4 is worth buying I cannot give this a 9 (that would be the rectifiers) or 10 (which would be the diezel), so I'm giving it an 8. We're just going to have to be okay with that.

It's heavy and pretty tough. Supposedly these can fall off a 5 1/2 foot stage and be okay, but hey, let's not test this, right? Be careful with it, and it's bound to make it through the inevitable abuse. I won't give a rating because I haven't gigged with it.

Haven't dealt with 'em yet. Heard Mesa's real helpful, but I hope never to find out for sure. That'd suck.

good amp. I'm satisfied with it as a small amp to just pick around on. I'll get a bigger amp soon, but I'll always keep this hardy little fella around. Can't beat it for it's size. This thing can crunch. Don't let looks fool you. This thing is pretty nice.

Got this as a gift in 1999 I think. I've used it for every style except jazz. It has 2 footswitchable channels; clean, and overdrive;
effects loop, 5 band eq, headphone jack, 4-4-8 ohm outs. I've used this amp in small to large rooms, and have only had to mic' it in big places. It's extremely loud for the heavy little beast that it is, but, doesn't "bloom" well.It has plenty of attack, is a little light on bottom end.

I use mostly humbucker guitars,PRS's, Gibsons, the occasional Tele, or Strat. I play many styles, copies to originals, lots of flavors, salsa, country, blues, R&B, Cajun, world music. This amp does most everything very well, no jazz though. It does have an excellent clean sound, very airy, voxlike, jangly. It oozes rich tones through most of the freq range except bottom end. The clean channel overdrives very heavily when you put the coals to it. The adjustments are pretty sensetive and roll off, up real well. I did change the speaker to an EV for a little more clean range, (my preference). One thing I found...if you want to sound like Carlos, this amp will turn heads. If
you want to sound like Tom Petty, this will do it. Overall...very versatile. The only "good" amp sounds it won't make is Fender, and heavy Marshall. I don't play metal, so the Marshall aspect isn't lost.
But...I still own Fenders and am torn between which one I want to play. I don't use the overdrive channel much, it is very good, but has a penchant towards, nasal tones, reverb UN-saturates, and to do it right you have to re adjust for different sounds, for example, playing by yourself, you dial it in, sounds killer. Play with a group, especially multiple pieces, and your sound is nowhere. It has embarrassed me a couple of times, I had to keep turning up. 3 or 4 piece, no problem. The amp is a little noisy, but not as bad as most.
My critique of this amp may put a prospective buyer off, but, I wouldn't get rid of mine. For most players, you wouldn't find a better amp. If you're like me and run an es 345 stereo, your second amp would likely be a Vibroverb, or Super, with JBLs in it, like mine.

I've gigged fairly regularly with this amp only, and have had few problems. I've changed the tubes every 3 months, it will eat them, class A you know. This amp came with a Celestion Vintage 30 gold speaker. This rotten so & so had ghost notes in the high D and high B. I had it reconed twice and eventually replaced it with an EV. It increased the weight by 15 lbs, but the amp breathed much better. The only reason that I ever use a second amp is my love for more tone than the normal guitarist wants. Ever play through a really good small Fender or even better, a Velocette. They need to make a bigger one of those.

Never had a problem with service. Just the speaker. I've used lots of Celestions before and never had anything but good goo coming out, except for this one. JBL's and EV's still kick a lot of ass though. Years ago, they were the "boutique" speaker, and for my hard earned cash, still are. Just a little pricey though.

I've been playing since 1959. I own approx 15 guitars now and have had most of the pages of the "Vintage Catalogue" over the years. Gigged a lot, worked in music stores. I have about 15 amps too. My favorites have been Fender, Marshall, and believe it or not, several Peaveys. My main amps are this DC3 and a 60's Vibroverb with 2x10in JBL's. I actually considered buying another DC3 when I found one for 400.00. The guy that was selling it had the same assessment of the amp that I had. He changed his speaker too, to a JBL. I decided to go with the "differentness" of the Vibroverb. What I love about this amp is it's consistent excellent performance, and how people look for that huge "stack" you're playing through and instead see a relatively small, unobtrusive looking box on the floor.0 What I hate about this amp is that it can't sound like a Fender. I compared, and still compare it to lots of other amps, I'm keeping it. What I wish it had though, is a little more "bloom", a little less attack, two channels, so I can run my es 345 into only it, and vibrato, for that occasional greazy, "bayou" jones. You can't go wrong with this amp, unless you're looking for a "big amp" sound instead of a "big sound".

I bought this amp second hand approximately 1.5 years ago in Sydney.
I have used the amp in country/blues and rock situations. VERY loud amp, especially in early stages of volume. Takes time to learn how to eq the amp effectively, be patient with it. Main problem I have found with this amp is the Black Shadow speaker. Not only does it make the amp weigh a tonne for its size, but it is very directional and does not blend well with other band dynamics. As usual however, the Boogie amp rocks.

I use a Tele-Plus>Dunlop Wah>ts-9(Tube-Screamer)-DC-3>Quad(4-Celest)

Since disconnecting the Shadow speaker and running solely through
the 4-12 cabinet, I have been extremely satisfied with my sound through this amp. Clean channel holds up well on high volumes, not designed as a crystal clear clean channel but it suits me well, especially in a rock format. I mainly use this channel for all my needs, once the amp is cooked-up and through the ts-9 I find soloing a lot of fun. Overdrive channel sounds much better through a quad, distortion is quite versatile and compact. Again, take time to sort out EQ settings.

Never had a problem with it.

Dont know

Overall, I must admit I was initially disallusioned with this amp due to the issues I have stated above re. Black Shadow speaker and sensitivity of EQ. Since disconecting speaker and using amp only via a cabinet I am very happy with the amps response. If they sell the DC-3 as a head only I recomend that instead because the amp is great.

AS far as features are concerned, I would say that this is a real "bang for the buck" amp. The one that I own is from 1997.
10 tubes (6 12AX7 pre amp, 4 EL84 power amp), stand by switch, individual control over the tone-shaping of each of two channels with reverb (Rhythm and Lead), as well as a 5-band GEQ that can be selected over both channels, or simply used for the lead channel. (This comes in handy, since you can incorporate it as a lead mid-boost switch, giving you a virtual thrid channel.) Also included in the features is a parallel FX loop with a mix dial, a headphone out with speaker mute, and a separate record out. There is also a satelite output switch to send the preamp to another power amp, as well as an 8ohm and 4ohm speaker output. The footswitch controls channel selection as well as the GEQ. I feel that no one amp has it all, so this is why I am rating this "beloved little beastie" with a "9".

This is the loudest 35watt amp that you will ever hear. The volume curve is definitely more extreme at lower levels. For example, going from "0" to "2" is a BIG difference, whereas from 7 to 8 (if you dare!) is not as noticable (because you are now deaf). I use it for practicing as well as gigging and recording. I play both Strats and Pacificas through this amp. I feel that this is a superb rock and blues amp. The rhythm channel is not "Twin" clean, but rather "Hendrixy" clean, "spanky" with bite. Adjusting the guitar's volume cleans it up a bit, and you can turn the guitar's volume on towards 10 to get more bite. The lead channel screams. And dialing in the GEQ is a good way to get a particular sound out of this thing. I feel that the manual is definitely a must with this amp, becasue it is very knob tempermental. This is provided as a free download at Mesa Boogie's website. I am really into music that is rootsy (Black Crows, Ben Harper, Phish) and I feel that this amp can be a good place to start to dial in some of those tones. A tube screamer will aid in setting up a third channel if that is a concern. I think that "a/b'ing" this amp with a Twin would be an amazing combination. And an Ernie Ball volume/pan pedal will provide a smooth transition. Experiment. No one amp has it all.

I have had this amp for 1.5 years and never have had a problem with it. Never had to change the tubes. Using the "standby" switch properly has definitely helped this out. I bought it used and have never had a complant about it.

I have never dealt with Mesa Boogie directly, but being able to download the amp's manual for free from their website was a great experience and a great support feature. This is why I am giving them the rating of "10".

I have been playing guitar for over 10 years and I own only pro gear.
If I lost this amp to theft or an act of nature I would buy a Mesa Boogie Nomad, with is the updated version of the DC series of amps, or a Mesa Boogie Recto-verb. I feel (and I would love to stress this for other guitar players) that no amp has "it all". "A/b'ing" two tube amps, like the DC-3 with a Fender Twin by means of a volume pan pedal is the way to go. I plan on doing this soon.

this baby was made in 1999.
All tube combo 35 watts-It is very versitile (within Itself.) there are 2 channels, effects loop, footswitchable channel and EQ, and master voulme for each channel, with an overall output switch, which is nice. It's the Lowdest 35 watt amp I've ever heard, can't really use it to practise, cause the volume jumps up right away. I'm not Joking about the volume of this amp, especially in the early stages of volume, it's ridiculous!

I use a Music Man sillouette special with 2 singles and a hummer at the bridge. I play blues, rock and anything that I feel, really. LET ME TELL YOU THIS: This amp does not have a very warm sound, but more of a punchy, nasaly, sound that is very much NOT 3 demensional. It sounds great if your after a sound like that, that really cuts through the mix, like a knife through warm butter. BUT it can be very HARSH sounding and VERY mid-rangy. To me it just does not have the love I look for in an amp.

It's like a tank, you could through it dowm the stairs, and it would still be in tack.

It's cool if you like that sound, I just don't.