Mesa/Boogie DC-5 Combo

It's a Boogie...that means that it probably has more features than the average guitarist needs, but this one is fairly simple to figure out. I like the fact that the reverb level knobs are on the front instead of on the back like many other Boogies.

I've had several amps over the years; A Marshall JCM900 4100 head, Mesa Nomad 55/212 combo, Fender Stage 112se (nice solid-state amp) and most recently a Traynor YCV40T. All had their own voices, good points and bad points. The Marshall was nice, but seemed like it was only happy when it was the loudest thing in the zip code. The Nomad had great clean and mid-overdrive tones, but I just couldn't get a lead tone that satisfied me (I don't like using fuzz pedals for distortion...they just don't sound the same as a good overdriven amp). The Fender was actually very nice for a solid-state amp, but it just didn't have that "growl" and "sparkle" a good tube amp has. I've been really happy with the Traynor in certain situations...usually when playing lower-volume pick-up gigs with acoustic players. But in a band setting with drums, bass and another electric guitar, the tones from the Traynor just don't jump out.

That's the first thing I noticed about the DC-5...clean or dirty, the sound LEAPS out of this amp! At least with my setup (Carvin Bolt Strat-style axe, volume pedal and a few Boss effects), the tone is HUGE! I don't get it...the Traynor is a dual-6L6 amp running high voltage just like the DC-5, but the Mesa blows it away! Maybe it's the speakers, I don't know; I just know that they both sound good at low volume, then as the Traynor starts to wheeze and flatten out as the volume goes up, the DC-5 is still punching HARD.

As for actual tones, here's my opinion: Clean (Rhythm) tones are beautiful...very round and sparkly without any sharp frequencies like many amps' clean tones. The dynamic nature of this amp makes clean funky or country playing easy. Boost (Rhythm) loses a little sparkle but gains a nice, fat midrange. I like this because I use the amp this way to have a punchy, edgy clean/overdrive sound that adjusts at the guitar or with my volume pedal. The Lead channel is pure, old-school Boogie. Awesome singing, Santana-style tone that put Boogie on the map. Some players don't like this, but I do. On its own, the Lead channel doesn't seem to have the same adjustability as the Rhythm for EQ, but it suits me fine. The included graphic EQ is post-preamp and pre-power amp and allows players wanting a different lead tone to dial it in there. That's why Mesa designed it to be switchable to just the Lead channel alone...good design! With a little tweaking on the graphic EQ, just about any player should be happy with the lead tone.

Overall, the DC-5 is dynamic, quiet and packed with useful classic tones.

My Nomad was a tank and never gave me a minute of trouble. I expect the DC-5 should be just as good.

Don't know...never needed it. I read and heard they're great to work with though...

This is easily the nicest amp I've ever owned with the widest palette of tones. I think this one was made around '96 or so...I wish I'd bought one then and saved all the money I spent going through all those other amps. Oh well...it's only money, right?

I play Brazilian music influenced rock/experimental music. This amp main thing is its versatility. You can play basically all styles with it. My version does not have an eq/reverb footswitch. It has enough power to play anywhere you can imagine (for a 50w combo it?s really unbelievable).

I'm not giving a 10 only 'cause the Lead channel is not that perfect (see sound quality). And the reverb is very far from a Fender... I'm looking foward to hear the new version(F-50). If this two problems are really solved they have created the perfect amp.

This is not an easy to use amp (compare its front panel whith the new Boogie F-50). You have to spend some time (in my case months) to get the sound you want, the great news is that basically you can always do it! A litles secret is that the treable control have great influence in the meddium and bass ones...

I have never heard a clean sound as good as this combo. In the clean channel you can get a pretty clean sound but with a really great punch. I'm a big fan of the old Twin Reverb but I would never exchange my combo for that.

If add some gain (and/or use the gain booster of this channel) you can get great blues saturation. It's a shame there?s no footswitch for it!!! I guess the lead channel for my style would be almost not necessary.

OK, the lead channel is very very dark and doesn?t have that great sustain. The best sounds are the ones you get with the gain button turned up to 8-9. Some modern distortion users can be a little bit disappointed here because of the darkness, and some vintage guys that want something more bluesy will find the middle range gain area sounds not that good. I have an old De Luxe Les Paul with mini humbuckings and I can get a great sound but we are talking about a very expensive top amp. I?m buying a Jazzmaster style guitar now and I believe the darkness will be solved but even the company have recognized that two problems on this channel. It?s substitute, the F-50, claims to have a much better Lead channel (recto inspired crunch and also a kick ass bluesy overdrive). I?m looking forward to hear it!

For the money, back in 1995, you just could not get anything better. If you want to buy a 50w brand new tube combo I really recommend you first try the F-50. Then go to Fenders and Marshalls (the firsts are great and the last are with no shadow of a doubt inferior). Do the same if you go used!

This is a working horse.

I live in Brasil. Don't have a clue...

The best for the money back in 1995. Mind blowing Rythm Channel and good but not great Lead Channel.

Made sometime in the 90's but uncertain as to what exact year. It is a very versatile amp. I play styles from Floyd, Hendrix, Zepplin, up to more modern type hard rock (ie Metallica, Coldplay). Very versatile. It does have an effects loop, but I haven't figured out the best setting for it yet, I haven't been to impressed with it. The one feature I wish this amp did have that other reviewers have commented on is a switchable boost channel. Not too big a deal though because I don't use it much. Plenty of power, in fact too much!

I play a strat, Les Paul, and tele. The clean reminds me of a Fender HRD (I've got one). The distortion is great. I wouldn't compare it to a Marshall, but it has some similarities. Reading the manual is essential. After I did it took me a few minutes to get the sounds I was after. Distortion goes from classic rock to Heavy metal. Cleans are very Fendery to my ears. It takes a while to get it there, but it is possible.

So far so good. Only hava had it for 2 months.

N/A

Been playing off and on for about 14 years (that long already???) I've had a lot of gear over the years. '78 Marshall lead, 71 fender bassman, peavey classic 30 to name a few. These are all great amps, but for portability and volume level this is the one for me. I highly recommend keeping an open mind when checking out any amp and listen with your ears, not your eyes. I stayed away from Mesa for a long time figuring they were a on trick pony, but this has been a mistake and had I checked them out earlier I would have saved a lot of money and time.

The amp was made in 1994 I believe. It covers a lot of my styles but not all of them, I'll explain that further in the review

-Two channel amp, but I'd rather refere to it as a three channel amp because the push/pull boost on the clean channel really changes the overall tone
-50W all tube (power tubes are changed to Groove Tubes to smoothen up the overall sound)
-1x12" 90W Black Shadow speaker (open back, important to note this, because the amp on it's own uses a compression and sounds more open compared to a closed back cab)
-Got it with a single button footswitch to switch between the rhytm and lead channel
-Reverb and Presence on every channel (gotta love 'em for this!)
-5 band graphic EQ
-Seperate tone controls for rhythm and lead channel (not for the boost)
-4 Ohms or 8 ohms

I wish they had made a seperate channel out of the boost. Also wished it had a closed back (see Sound Quality). This thing is also incredibly heavy, I only had to lift it into my street and that alone cost me 10 minutes, I lift weights but this is just crazy, my old JCM800 weighed about 60% of this thing! It's also way too loud for a 50W combo, loudest 50W I ever heard, even the ENGL Fireball (60W) could easilly be drowned out in volume by this beast, and that's also a very loud amp. My old JCM800 100W really didn't have as much volume. It's a cool combo to look at though because it looks impressive in size (Widebody).

They did cover a lot of ground, more than most manifacturers do so I'll give it an 8!

BEDROOM AMP USERS PLEASE READ: Don't buy this amp if you're thinking about buying a low volume combo, sure you can practice with it in your bedroom and sound reasonable. But if you're not in a band or working the stages you will really be sorry you've bought this amp. The're tons of tube amps that sound better at bedroom volumes. And please don't reply to me with "tube amps are made to turn up" remarks, I know, but I've come across tons of tube amps which sounded incredible at those volumes.

I use three electric guitars exclusively since they cover everything I need:

Jackson Custom Shop KE2: My main axe, Poplar Body/Maple neck-thru/Ebony fingerboard. Loaded with Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz

87 Gibson Flying V Designer: My heavier axe, all Mahogany/Ebony fingerboard. Loaded with Bill Lawrence L500XL bridge/Seymour Duncan George Lynch Screamin' Demon in the neck.

70 Fender Strat: My clean and funky axe, Alder body/Maple neck and fingerboard, stock vintage single coils.

I play Flamenco to Funk to Progressive Shred guitar. My style can be found in players and bands like Marty Friedman, Megadeth, George Lynch, Reb Beach, Al DiMeola, Prashant Aswani (amazing Funk shredder!) etc.

Rhythm Channel: I usually set the Gain between 3 and 4, Treble at 7, Bass at 4/5, Mids at 2/3, Reverb at 4, Presence I always change. This setting gives you a nice warm and amazingly rich clean sound when picked lightly. When I pick lightly I can get this articulate Flamenco sound out of it, a real recommender! Pick harder at higher volumes and it doesn't really distort but it gives a more punchy Funk sound, remarkably similar to Prashant Aswani's clean ups. With the gain turned up it's Bluesy, nice and warm

Boost: With the Gain and Bass turned up it sounds like a Koch Multitone with the Gain on 5/6. I usually set the Gain to 8, Treble to 6, Bass to 7, Mids to 5, Presence to 2/3, and mess around with the Reverb. This setting nails the old Plexi sound, sounds great for Texas Rock n' Roll and Led zepp in my opinion. Great option!

Note: The thing I hate is that when I pull to switch channels I have to reset the controls all over again, which really sucks. This is exactly why I really want a seperate channel for this boost.

Lead: This channel makes the brightest guitar sound warm, and having complained about brightness I just can't with this amp. This channel is best described as a Melodic Dual Recto Lead channel. At least at low volumes (up to 3.5), again this amp is way too loud! Very responsive channel, if you pick hard it presents your percussive attack very well! Very versatile channel, but it could sound from extremely bad to extremely good. It does not do the Van Halen brown sound, it also does not do the 80's Metal trick, it does handle Progressive Rock and fatass lead sounds incredibly well. I use my DS-1 as a lead boost sometimes (not yet reviewed above) and turn the gain to 5, it just adds better response to harmonics and tapping which it usually does not. But maybe this is all because I never turned the volume past 3.5, I can't imagine many people doing this though, 3.5 is more than enough to handle a big pub.

Very versatile in sound but the lead channel was a little bit of a one trick pony. Gets a 7

Definitely a depenable amp, this thing is Rock solid and has survived the previous owner haha. I would gig without a backup, and gig with it, this thing cuts through like a blade! it has also never broken down on me, but then again I haven't threated it that bad.

Gets a 10!

Never dealt with them

My current guitars are listed above, I've also owned: 99 Fender Telecaster, Ibanez RG3120 Prestige (rated best bolt-on RG since the LA Customs!), pre-owned several Gibson Les Paul Studios, 76 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, Marshall JCM800 2210 100W, and I still own two solid state amps. I may have forgotten something, my apologies if I did

I wouldn't buy the combo again, because it doesn't compress the distortion enough, with a V30 loaded closed back 2x12 the sound will get much tighter and punchier, which I really like to hear with the Lead channel. I'd rather buy the head version and save my back haha.

I'm going to sell it, it's not because it doesn't have my sound, I just feel that it doesn't keep up with the many styles I play. I'm probably getting a Mark IV, Soldano SLO-100, Framus Cobra or perhaps a Bogner Uberschall after I do. Maybe I'm just spoiled haha

A 7 is an excellent rating IMO, if you have any questions mail me in the near future as I again will sell this amp, I'd be more than happy to answer your questions

Must be an early 90s, own it for 10 years now, features as mentioned. In addition there is a second push/pull-poti (crunch) in the clean channel. I had it put in by a Mesa store. Graphic EQ. Playing it with a Marshall 1960B 4/8Ohms (rewired) and the internal speaker.
Does it for me!

I'm playing a Blade RH4 Strat (active) and a Tokai Les Paul Gold Top Copy with a JB Humbucker. There is an Intellifex LTD in the effect loop and sometimes I use a JD wah. Amp is sensitive towards guitar output and it takes a while to find the right setup in order to be able switching guitars without messing around with the settings. Clean sound simply kicks ass, especially with the strat, it offers everything from Jazz to Hard Rock. The drive channel I use mostly with the HM. The EQ (use it only on the drive) gives a wide range of sound possiblities, but it takes a while to find the perfect setting. An additional switch for rythm/lead-volume would be nice. Not noisy. Without the 4x12 it sounds very "open or hollow" and does not have a lot of punch. 50 watts is not a lot for a light-bulb but: this amp is LOUD! Highest volume I have ever played was "5" during a rehearsal break - the drummer was hiding behind the cab ;-)

Everything at the amp is solid. I replaced the tubes in 95, sounds still good. No Problems since then.

Got the poti and the tubes replaced at a Boogie store. Cool people, knew what they were talking about - pricing was reasonable.
The best support is the one you don't need :-)

I used to play a Marshall 50W top - this is nothing in comparison. Looks sweet, I can carry it by my own, delivers the sounds I am looking for. NOT for sale. Thinking about replacing the 4x12 by a 2x12 Boogie cab.

I couldnt ask for more features. Seperate EQ, reverb. 2-Channels, effects loop, headphone jack with silent recording. I use this amp in a band situation and let me tell you, this is one LOUD motherf*cker. 50watts I believe of pure MESA POWER. If you want a good amp get a mesa.

Excellent sound. I use this amp to play a lot of RUSH. I have a Schecter C-1 with good pickups and an Ibanez with some good pickups in it. I sound just like Alex Lifeson, swear to god. Acctually I sound BETTER. lol... jk. I feel like god when playing through this amp, it rocks. I usually hook it up to a 5150 4x12 cab but that's only cuz I like to sound like a wall... it's not necessary to get a cab, but it's a good idea if you want to spread your sound out. I usually have the pregain (on both channels) set somewhere around 3. I set the pregain to about 8 on the clean channel for a perfect Stones sound and control the rest with the volume on my guitar. Thing sounds SO HEAVY on the overdrive channel without being too distorted, just what I like! If i play hard, it responds, if I play soft, it follows me. Not a noisy amp

I can depend on it 100% as of now. Never had a tube or fuse blow.

??? who knows, heard mixed reviews

been playing for almost 7 years. Wonderful amp, I can't believe some gear head just gave it to me (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!) I seriously have never heard a better amp. Every marshall i've ever tried sounded like ASS. BUT, I have never had the chance to try a JCM900 or JCM800 at high volumes. So i'm not discrediting marshalls, but their new amps sound like a horse fart. Anyways, you want to sound good? Get a MESA bottom line.

My DC-5 is a 1994 model that I picked up a few years back at a great little guitar shop in College Park, MD called Atomic Music (definitely worth checking out!) I originally went in the shop to buy a JCM800 combo, but when I saw and played the Mesa, I was hooked and it was only $100 bucks more :). Features are such:
50 watt, 2 channel (with pull boost on clean) combo
90 watt - Black Shadow 1x12 speaker
2 button (4 feature) foot switch
5 band graphic eq + mid, high, low knobs on each independent channels

Anyone who owns this amp will tell you that it is a little powerhouse. On its own, this amp can handle large clubs. When you use an extension cab it projects incredibly and has killer low end response!!

Only using humbucker equipped guitars, mostly Les Pauls and SG's. This amp works incredible for a heavy rock, blues, classic rock, metal.

Mesa has definitely one of the best customer support departments in the business. They truly care about having satisfied and educated customers. It is one of the reasons that I will be a lifetime boogie customer!!!!

This is a 50 watt 1x12 widebody combo. 2 channels, each with its own controls. Gain (Pull bright on the rhythm ch), Treble, Mid, Bass, Presence, Reverb and Master. 5 Band Graphic EQ, output and footswitchable channel switching and EQ. Mine came with a 12 inch 90 black widow celestion made speaker. Unit has 6 12AX7 Preamp tubes and 2 6L6 power tubes. Mine has the metal rocker switches for power, stand-by and a 3 way toggle for Lead/Rhythm EQ or channel switching w/o the footswitch. I don't know the yeas but I'm assuming its a 1994.

This amp has it all really, rear panel has speaker outs of (1) 8 ohm and (2) 4 ohms to drive external speaker cabs (1x12, 2x12, 4x12...whatever) Slave outputs, effects loop, recording out, speaker mute and headphones, reverb footswitch (not included but any ole switch works with it)

This amp is pretty versatile and you can get a nice array of tones from both channels. I like having independent controls (and reverb) for each channels as well as the ability to add the 5 band EQ to either channel or both, pretty cool. I really couldn't ask for more features in an amp unless it could blow me while I play :)

I use numerous Charvel and Jackson with Duncans and DiMarzios. I don't play nu-metal de-tuned crap, I tune to E on some guitars and Eb on other guitars. Play bass if you want to tune to C or B, I don't get it. I play primarily Hard Rock, Metal, Neo-classical and 80's metal music. I do dabble in some Jazz/Fusion and SRV type blues here in there but I prefer the melodic Metal. Dream Theater, Randy Rhoads, George Lynch, Maiden, Dio, Priest...you get the picture, ya know, the stuff that actually has guitar solos.

The Rhythm channel is pretty cool actually, it can be clean and punchy for clean intro's and funky type jazz stuff. It shines for clean, Fendery type of blues stuff. With the Pull/Bright on the Gain control and the Mid up past about 6 or 7 this channel can come fairly close to a JCM 800 tone with the use of a Boss SD-1 pedal. reverb on both channels is very good if you ask me, I think its great.

The Lead channel has some real hi gain distortion very similar to a Dual Rectifier. This channel has the distinctive "Boogie" mid range'ish tone. I play around a lot with various amounts of gain and I have a hard time making this thing sound bad. I am a bit confused about some reviews, and I read them all before I even bought this amp. I was able to get pretty decent tone after about 10 minutes with this amp. The controls are very responsive and they each have an effect on each other to some extent but you have to really use your ears instead of thinking of just diming all the controls. I didn't get all the negative crap, use your ears and don't worry what "number" you have a setting on. I love the warmth of this channel and the feedback and sustain you can get, ala Santana's live Eurpoa one note singing for days. The 5 band EQ really lets you alter the tone and honestly I never have the EQ off in the lead ch. I do turn it off in the clean channel when I'm playing clean stuff though. The lead channel has enough gain for what I do without the use of any external processors or pedals, it actually has too much gain for a lot of stuff. I like clarity and note definition and too much gain (in my opinion) can make you lose the edge of it.

The 90 watt Black Widow Celestion sounded better than I thought it would, nice compliment to the amp. I haven't recorded with yet though. What really made a nice difference was I bought a Mesa/Boogie 1x12 3/4 back oversized widebody extension cab that also has the 90 watt BW Celestion speaker. Keeps up pretty nice with my JCM 800 2203 and 1960a 4x12.

The 50 watts is pretty loud, louder than I thought it would be for a 1x12 combo and even has a bigger sound with the extension cab. This amp sounds nice at different volume levels. I originally was looking for a lower watter for good "bedroom level" to record with in my home studio sans the fuggun modelers (tired of them, cool for some stuff). I saw this DC5 on eBay for a few days and the DC-3's and DC-2's and .22's were goinf in the same price range so I figured I'd buy the DC-5 and then use THD yellow Jackets and knock the wattage to 20-25 watts of EL-84's but I really don't think I need to because in my studio this amp sounds nice at low levels. I'm going to leave the 6L6's in for now and try the THD's and EL-84's in my 2203 Marshall to try to tame that beast to get bedroom tone outta it.

I really haven't had this amp long enough but it us really designed well and build very well, yeah, yeah...like a tank. I would feel comfortable giging w/o a back-up. Its build that well, I would have spare tubes tho.

I haven't had to deal with them with anything. One thing I do think that sucks is that you have to call them for anything stupid question that you may have, they will not answer any tech questions via email. They do have great service otherwise, I just wish you didnt have to call them between 9am-5pm PDT...not like the whole world lives on Pacific time :)

I've been playing forever and a day (since 1981 after hearing Randy Rhoads) What toys I have in my arsenal are irrelevant. I do know good tone try to get most of that from the guitar, pickup, my fingers and the amp. I don't use much effects at all, occasional SD1 and EQ on the Marshall, some Delay. I have played and owned various amps VHT, Fender, Solodano, Peavey etc. The only other amp I own is the vintage JCM 800 2203 100 watter.
I haven't found anything to hate as of yet, I do think I could get a little better tone with some EH Pre-amp tubes, I'm generally not a fan of Mesa tubes but they sound above average in this amp.
for 550, this amp rules and I'd kick the ass of anyone man enough to tyru to steal any of my gear. I'd buy another one if my ass got kicked by the gang it would to take in order to steal it.

On a side note I'd like to give this amp a 10 but I am one who thinks there has to be something better out there.

http://shawnlutz.com

Mine was made in 93. Spec is same as all the others below.

I play all styles and I mean ALL!

Very simple, and easy to use amp. Gaphic is just great. Plenty powerful 50 watts.

Only couple of gripes are, that it could have done with a solo boost on the lead channel and a foot switch on the clean channel boost. But that is simple enough to do, see articles below on how to do it yourself.

I sold it a couple of years ago to buy a Dual Recto head. BIG, BIG mistake.

This amp is far more vesatile than the Dual rec. The rec has more gain than the DC5, but thats nothin that an overdrive pedal won't sort out.

The clean channel is to die for, big and thick and full. Pull the boost pot and you got SRV. Dirty channel is just as good. That fat boogie tone, just great. You gotta give yourself time to find your sound with this amp, as there are so many sounds in there. It will sound good when you first turn it on. But the more you mass around with it the better it sounds.

If your after a versatile little combo try one of these you will not be sorry. Every gig I ever did with it, someone would always come up afterwards and say how good it sounded.

Bulletproof Ihad mine for nine years and gigged it to death. Never had a back up. I never had it serviced, changed the valves or anything. It just kept going.

The guy I sold it to has gigged it solid for the past two years, and has only changed the two 6L6 power valves. If it isn't broke don't fix it. Superb!!

Very good after sales service. You can phone them and ask them anything about their amps. Their very forthcoming with their advice. Nice people.

I should never have sold this amp. They are a great little amp. Great sounds from both channels. There isn't many amps that can say that.

Boogie don't make 'em any more (that was a big mistake!) They replaced them with the "Nomad" series. They had the solo boost, but no graphic. Don't even bother with one of those things. I played a gig with a guy who had one. He heard my DC5, and a couple of weeks later I saw him and he'd sold the nomad and bought a DC5. Need I say more.

They don't come cheap. I payed #1100 new and got #650 nine years later. Which I think is not to bad at all.

If your looking to buy a better quality amp, try one of these for size. I think you'll be very pleased.

An update from my review of 01/21/2003. Making the Ch 1 boost footswitchable is very easy. I disconnected one of the 4ohm speaker extension jacks on the rear and connected it to the pull-switch element of pot instead. Any latching footswitch will then operate the boost. This takes around 30 minutes overal with most time spent on the removal and replacement of the amp head.