Mesa/Boogie DC-5 Combo

This amp has been discontinued from Mesa since 1999, but is one of the most underrated Mesa's out there. It does it all from bell like cleans to the most bone shattering metal. It has two footswitchable channels with separate controls, reverb, and volumes along with a master volume. The Rhythm also has a pull boost also for some added crunch. Where the amp shines is in its GEQ (Graphical EQ) with sliders for 60, 240, 750, 2200, and 6600hz, which allows you to tackle everything. It also has Direct Recording out and a Headphone out with a speaker mute switch for those late night recording and practice sessions. It has an effects loop with a switch to set it for which channel you want it on, or both, or fully off. Also the effects loop has a Dry/Wet mix dial to set it to your liking.

The amp has 6 preamp tubes with 2 power tubes (6L6's) running at 50 Watts. Now don't let 50 watts fool you, its plenty to do any of the loudest gigs. The combo comes with a Mesa C90 Black Shadow speaker.

It gets a 10 for features because it's got everything you'd ever need. For around 500-600 on ebay its a killer of an amp that really shouldn't get passed up.

I'm playing this amp through two Ibanez prestiges with DiMarzio's (one with Evo2 Bridge and Evo Neck, the other with PAF Pro's.) I play mostly rock and metal (from Metallica to Dream Theater to Racer-X), but also play a lot of other stuff variating from Dixie Dregs to Paul Gilbert. This amp covers it all. For the metal stuff it nails it all. With the GEQ you can get chunk, or tight thrash, or those singing Petrucci leads. The cleans on this amp are simply amazing, not sure how else to put it. Some people even choose it over Fenders believe it or not.

One also notable thing with this amp is its amazing ability to get great tone at even bedroom levels. I will never sell this amp for that reason, even if I do replace it for gigs it is a great practice amp if need be.

This amp is 10 years old, and has yet to have a problem. The guy I purchased it from said he gigged with it regularly for two years and it never had a single problem. I have owned it since, and couldn't be happier.

Would I gig without a backup? No, but I wouldn't do that with any amp on the planet. But if I had no choice, I'd be confident that it will be a beast each and every night.

I've only dealt with Mesa Boogie for different amps, but each and every time they have been amazing. Seriously one of the best companies I've dealt with. They also have authorized service center's everywhere, which is great.

I've been playing for almost twelve years now, and it has lasted through every one of my buying and selling phases. I've had Carvin Legacy's and V3, and other Mesa's, and the DC-5 stomps them all on every level.

The only thing I could gripe about is it only being a two channel amp, and my needs are starting to outgrow it, so I'm picking up a Mark IV. I can't give it a less rating for this because when buying the amp you already know how many channels and that this could be limiting. However for the price these go for today ($500-$600), it cannot be passed up.

I have no idea what year the amp was made in, probably mid to late 90's since it has the older foot switching configuration of eq/rev and a lone channel switch.
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The DC-5 is supposed to be the clean and lead channel from the fabled Mark IV amp. While you don't have all of the switching options of a Mark IV, like Pentode/diode and class switch, I absolutely LOVE this amp. I owned a Mark IV head for two years and I sold it cause the cab weighed damn near 70lbs. So I opted for this combo which I have had for 4 months now, and I feel like I now know the amp well enough to write a review.
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You have two channels, with independent Gain, mid/tre/bass/pres, reverb, master volume, a 5-band assignable graphic EQ, an effects loop and a Global Master Output knob. Mine has the 90watt Black Shadow 12".
The Reverb/EQ and Channel is foot switchable, though the FX Loop is not Switchable, nor is it Assignable. If it's on, its on, and I find that limiting for such a fine amp.
It runs on two 6L6 power tubes and 5 12ax7's and it is the LOUDEST 50 WATT combo I've ever heard.
I'm giving this amp a "7" for features because the effects loop isn't channel assignable or foot switchable, nor is the "boost" knob on the clean channel, though you can have it modded to be footswitchable, though I have no Idea how much that would cost.

As for guitars I use with this amp, I have an old Jackson Dinky with EMG 81's, a PRS Custom 24 20th Anniversary model with the HFS pickup in the bridge and the Vintage humber in the neck, and I have an old '77 or '78 Fender Mustang in DArk see-through burgundy/oxblood finish (This is the only Mustang I've seen with this finish) and a pair of high Duncan Hotrails. I keep this guitar tuned to a "C" tuning for Killswitch, DT's "TRAIN OF THOUGHT" album and just plain old fun low-tuned riffage. With each guitar this amp shines, or lets the guitar shine, but out of all, the PRS Custom 24 has the most defined low-end, and proves to betrue through any amp I play through.

The Clean channel on this combo is ASTOUnDING!!!!! I've read on here where people knock the clean channel on the DC-5, I'm not sure if I lucked out or what, but to hell with Fender "BLACKFACE" purists. The clean on the combo is warm, articulate, full-bodied and the reverb is awesome on the clean channel to. Kudos to Mesa/Boogie, while most amp makers leave their spring reverb tank out in the open to get dirty, and corroded, Mesa/Boogie wraps theirs in a custom vinyl bag and uses button straps to secure it to the inside of the combo floor. I digress....
The Clean channel can break up nicely and when you pull out the Gain knob it's a great, overly saturated Marshall-esque kinda crunch. I havn't used this amp with any pedals, so I can't comment on how it reacts to a Boss DS-1 or Tubescreamer.
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The Gain channel on this amp is a MONSTER!!! It has such a liquid drive factor to it for leads. And a great rhythm sound, a good "CHUG" is the only way to describe it. I achieve all of these sounds without the 5-band Graphic EQ.
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Initially I used the EQ all the time. I started with Mesa's guidelines in the manual and even set it up with some of their suggested settings in the manual. This sound was great, but lacked something I was looking for. In the manual, all of Mesa's setting had the Global Output on 2 or 3, with the Channel Master Volume on 5, 6 or 7, somewhere around there. These were OK. But I've been fiddling with this thing for 4 months now and about a month ago I made a discovery that completely changed the tonality of the entire amp and made my jaw drop to the floor. I haven't changed a thing in a month and still get chills when i crank the DC-5 up. I went in the opposite direction of Mesa's suggested settings. Now maybe I'm just a dumb-ass and maybe everyone would've figured this out on day one, so maybe I'm just going to state the obvious for everyone here, but instead of getting my sounds on each channel and using the Global Output on, say, 2 or 3, I turned both Master Voulumes to "0", cranked the Global Output to around 7 or 8, and then "Slowly" upped the Channel Master Volume, and "OH MY GOD", the pure liquid tone, well defined lows, and harmonic rich overtones I was looking for came to life. Like I said, maybe everyone else did this on day one, And I'm just a little slow discovering this,( and Mesa does basically say the opposite in their manual) but I rarely use the 5-band Graphic EQ now, it sounds that good. I'm going to experiment with a slight boost with the EQ, for but right now, I'm loving this amp and the pure inspiration it gives each time I turn it on. i never tried this with my Mark IV I had for two years, and now I feel like maybe I missed something....but I sold that amp/cab for size issues, not for tone, but stil...

I have never gigged with it, but I would defenitely go in w/o a backup as Mesa/Boogies, especially this one, its built like a tank, i could even picture tank treads instead of casters on it, maybe an option Mesa/Boogie will offer in the future.

I haven't dealt with Mesa so I'm not sure. But MMI music in Mobile, AL is a certified dealer/customer support center and those guys in their are top notch, well qualified professionals.

I've been playing guitar for 15 years now. I've owned quite a few guitars over the years, though in all relevance I've only owned a Mesa/Boogie Mark IV before i got the DC-5 combo. i loved the Mark IV, and it broke my heart to sell it, but I had the Mark IV head and a Genz benz George Lynch sig. 2x12 cab, and that thing was a back breaker at nearly 70lbs.
If it were lost or stolen, I'd get another one in a heartbeat, it's that good. And right before i got this I was going to get a Fender Twin Custom 15" combo, but now I have this and the clean is good enough if not better if you can believe that, hear this amp and you will.

i love the tone of this amp, and I feel like Mesa packed it with good features and top notch quality craftsmanship. What I don't like is how the Effects Loop is not assignable or footswithable, how the boost is not footswitchable on the clean channel. Although the EQ is assignable via a back panel knob, or you can put it in and out via a foostwitch. Another thing is that Mesa actually did well was giving each channel its own reverb, most other amp makers wouldn't have.

This I was trying out a Genz-Benz Diablo 60 head and matching Tribal Cabinet. It was nice, but the Mesa DC-5 blew that amp away in every category. I also was trying out the Mesa single rectifier, but that amp was crap in my opinion.

People these days are forkiing over insane amounts of money for Mark II C+ amps and what not. The DC-5 has since been discontinued as of the mid or late 90's. And wouldn't be suprised it became a collectible one day. By the way, ALOT of top recording studios in New York keep DC-5's as regular standbys. I checked with one big studio when I was there and they had two Dumble amps, countless boutique amps, and two Mesa/Boogie DC-5's that they kept setup in a sound room and all they had was praise for the amp. Enough said.

I'n not sure if anyone will read this but I'm throwing my 2 cents worth in.
I picked up my DC 5 new from a local store for about $1000 in 1992. I was downgrading from a a hugh rack/stereo system that used a Mesa Boogie 50/50 power amp as the basis. I've used Mesa products exclusively since 1978 when I got my first Mark 2 other than a short period in the 80's when I used a Marshall because I wanted a tighter bottom than the Boogie delivered at the time. All in all this is my fifth Boogie amp. All have been fantastic.
The DC 5 is still the main amp. Since I freelance I need to cover all sounds and styles. While my tone and style seems to gravitate towrds the Ford/Carlton camp, the DC 5 covers everything amazingly well.
Features are everything you would need. All tube, 2 channel. master volume, EQ. effects loop. The other stuff I've never used.

My setup starts with various guitars. The main guitar is either a PRS CE24 or a McCarty. I use a Strat alot as well as a Gibson 335. I recently picked up a Samick Avion AV4 which believe it or not is smoking (see my review there)
I have an effects rack with nothing but a Rocktron Xpression unit a Korg tuner and a FX effect switching unit to change channels in the amp as well engage my stomp boxes (also mounted in my rack) via a Rocktron Midimate controller. For the pedals I use a Barber Tonepress, an Xotic AC Boost and a Barber Direct Drive.
From smooth jazz to Ford, Carlton, or Santana it's all here and the tone, quitness...is all here

In 15 years the amp went down on me once when after 11 years of road work and 5, 6 and 7 nights a week gigging the power transformer broke loose. This was my fault. I actually got too complacent and confident in the amp that I nver checked that componant to see if it was loose. I change power tubes every six months. Pre amp tubes maybe once a year or so (if that). I few thread taps and I was back up and running.
I did send the amp to Boogie in '94/'95 to have the gain stage backed down a little, This amp ROCKED to yhe point it had too much gain for me and my styles. So, a week at Boogie and it came ack singing. I don't know what they did besides places the 1st 12ax7 with a 12AT7 but now I run the gain on 7 or 8 wher before I got the same saturation at 5.
So reliabilty as with all Boogies is definately a 10. Call them somtimes. They answer all questions and take all the calls.

As mentioned above, this as with all Boogies are built to take use. I even had one (in a case of course) roll off the back of the truck while the crew was loading in. It fell a good 5 feet onto concrete. Not even a loose tube. If and when I had a question I call them and I get a tech on the phone immediately...and they're nice to talk to.
when I asked about a mod they told me to ship the amp to them. 10 days later it was back on stage with me.

As with all usicians I get the bug to aquire new gear. Every time I set out to check out a new amp I find myself trying to make it sound like my DC 5. It has become such a part of me that I find it hard to play through anything else. If something happened to it I would try to replace it with the same thing.

My DC-5 is a 1993, I purchased it from an aquintance in 2003. I have used this amp with a 4x12 recto cab for nearly 3 years and countless gigs. I play mainly metal and I am a very raw player. I have had no problem with the features. It is very bare bones with two channels, EQ and FX loop. I say a 10 because the features are what I like and thats simplicity.

I play mainly metal and hard rock. I have had no trouble getting the sounds I want. This baby delivers. I use mainly Gibson Les Pauls. My main guitar is a 1978 Standard. I would take this over a recto because I love how raw and nasty it is. This amp is not pretty and polished like the recto. The tones are great and I have been able to get metal tones, classic rock tones, and grunge tones from this sucker but it may not be for everyone. I like it better than the nomad and F-series amps also

TANK!!!!!!! 3 years of giging and not one bit of trouble

Mesa is awesome, I have called them for configuration advice and they are always so helpful

Great Amp

Don't have anything to ad here anymore, exept that I swapped this amp, didn't buy it.

I use several different guitars for different styles, but al of them sound perfect on this amp.When i hook my 60's reissue strat or '73 Telecaster deluxe up to it I can get amazing clean sounds on the rythm channel and nice overdriven sounds by pulling the gainboost, with my ESP KH-2 I can make it sound like metallica was playing in yer backyard, even my samick hollowbody sound good on this.
It may take a while before you find the perfect sound that fits for you, but find it you will! Just screw around with the EQ and all the other controls on this amp will give you full satisfaction.

I went to south-america for 1/2 year and I lend it to one of my friends. He stored it in a dirty,wet,old shack. When I got it back, it didn't do anything, so I was kinda super pissed at my friend. Apparently the outer fuse was blown so I replaced it, but it still did'nt want to work, so I got the tubes out put them back in to place, disconected some wires and connected them again. THE AMP WAS REBORN AND NOT A SINGLE SPARE PART USED. This is what I call 200 percent reliable.

Never had to deal with them. There products are so damn reliable! :p LOL

I can't say a bad word about this amp. There's nothing that's lacking for me. It's just perfect as it is. I've owned/played some different marshalls/hughes & kettner/boogies/..., but this is the one amp I liked the most.

This is a follow-up review to the one I submitted almost a year ago, so I won't go into the details of features here.

I've had this amp for almost a year now, and it's still my favorite amp of all I've ever owned! I'm running it slightly differently now though, and this will be of interest to all the players out there who really like the classic Boogie lead tone.

About two months ago, I bought a Radial Engineering Tonebone Trimode dual-overdrive pedal on recommendation from various guitar magazine reviews regarding Radial's single-channel "Classic Overdrive". I had been using an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer for medium-gain overdrive, then kicking in the DC5's lead channel for heavy crunch and solos. Trouble was, I ended up doing a lot of tap-dancing to change my tones, and I couldn't get my delays to sound the way I wanted them to when the lead channel was on (I like running delay after distortion and I use a Boss delay pedal before the amp). As much as I like my old TS9 too, it just doesn't have the sparkle and guitar-adjustable tone I was looking for (TS9's just have their own sound...fairly compressed and slightly midrangey).

Anyway, the Trimode offered two tones in one pedal...a middle-gain and a high-gain. The middle-gain side sounded just like what I wanted...somewhat like a Tube Screamer, but WAAAY more adjustable and dynamic (especially at the guitar)...while the high-gain channel is a near-perfect clone of my DC5's lead channel!!! Seriously, all you DC5/classic Boogie lead-tone lovers out there...you owe it to yourself to try this combination!

Here's my setup now: Carvin Bolt axe -> Boss TU2 -> Boss CS3 -> Ibanez TS9 -> Tonebone Trimode -> Boss CE5 -> Boss DD5 -> Mesa/Boogie DC5 set to clean channel with pull boost on. This is by far the best signal chain I have ever put together and I'm tickled with the results! I still use my TS9 for certain songs because I've got it set for mild drive, while the Trimode is set for light crunch and lead tone. They even sound good when they're on at the same time...I just use the TS9 to "push" the Trimode a little harder. And the sound continues to LEAP out of this amp! I've never had this much dynamic range with all my tones, and it's just the stock 1-12" Black Shadow!

No problems at all...

No need...

Best amp I've ever owned! Someday, I might choose to drop $1600 on a Mesa Lone Star 2x12", but until then I'm totally happy with the DC5!

Made in the Good Ol' U.S.A. Thank God.
Amp kicks Butt! waited more than 2 mos. to write this review. It changed my whole new attitude on amps. During the good old days, I don't care about amps. I gig on them on clubs that provided them, my guitar was cheap imitation as well so, I have to make the best of what I have. I used to have a Washburn solid state that I crank out with my unknown distortion at home to practice. I retired playing back in 89, only to find myself haunted over and over. I got back playing as a hobby. Now that I can afford it, Bought myself a Peavey Classic 30 just to look for that tube sound. I was very happy cranking my Fender lonestar, Wolfgang, Greco lawsuit LP and JS1000, until I bought my Musicman JPM Piezo . That would not give out the sound I want. Heard the reviews with the Musicman JPM, almost believed the guitar sucks until I told myself JP uses Mesa. Maybe I should give it a shot. It worked! The guitar was by far superior when played with this Boogie and as well as all my guitars including the cheapy models!

Amp has 2 channels. Rhythm and Lead, but the Rhythm has a pull volume that gives out a 3rd channel for bluesy stuff. It came with the foot pedal for Rhythm and Lead. Equalizer was a bonus. It will change tone at a slight change of the knobs. Thinking about investing on the newer version of the foot pedal that lets you use the equalizer in the rhythm channel. It has a recording out that haven't tried yet but surely will. Effects loop. Headphone jack? who cares? this amp can give you sweet tones even at lower volumes, you just have to experiment on the knobs. No gigs. Just in the bedroom at 1 in the master volume. Can you imagine cranking it at 2 the wife does a chorus with the amp, what more at higher volumes?
I think you got it!
It came with a Celestion vintage 30, was wondering how will it sound with an EVM 12. Just can't win those and find them easily.

I have several in my bedroom that I use with it. Greco 1978 LP Japanese Lawsuit model, 1999 Peavey wolgang archtop red flame, Fender 1999 Lonestar sienna burst strat, Ibanes JS1000BP, Music Man JPM Mystic Dream w/ Piezo, Washburn g-v10 and my own version of Frankenstrat. All of them kicks butt with this amp! I played almost everything, Top 40, 60's, 70's 80's but my current listening hobby right now are proggressive Rock and guitar instrumentals. All of these sounds, The DC-5 can give you all your money's worth.
This was one funny observatio though, while all the amps give you a distorted sound at the clean channel at higher volumes, my DC-5 is the opposite. It gives me better cleaner sound at higher volumes(unless you pull the knob, which gives you the blues OD sound). How brutal is the distortion? good enough for me to get the dream theater "train of thought" sound.

This was the early model version(square lining on the rhythm/lead swich not present yet). When I recieved the amp(UPS) the 5 of the 6 preamps were smashed(Although they have a protector bar). You can tell it has been tossed around. I was really worried that something else might be wrong, but after going to GC and bought replacement tubes, it worked fine. You can't really blame mesa if ups tossed it around. It lasted this long from the early 90's til now, it should last forever!
I called Mesa for something else and they were very helpful. I' give them a 10.

As I mentined, I called them for something else and they were very helpful. Otherwise I'd travel 1 hour from my home and give them a piece of my mind(just kidding). No bias need for this amp. Bought replacement and put them in, Tone was excellent.
No breakdowns yet so far. Mesa's home is an hour from where I'm at so it's very easy for me to go there, although they have a couple of dealers and authorized centers in my area.
Bought it used at e-bay so there's no warranty. Don't have to worry about it because I think I have the best amp brand that you can buy out there.

Too bad it's discontinued but I guess this was where the Nomads and F series were built upon.
Other than this amp, I own a Peavey classic 30(still keeping it for the vintage sound but might get rid of it soon), Marshall mg15fx solid state(keeping it for wife's sanity).
If it is stolen or lost I would buy one again If I could find one, If not I'll buy another Boogie Model with similar features. Love everything on it except the people who delivered it.
Was looking also at another boogie(lonestar,33 caliber, JCM800 and Peavey 5150). I chose this one because I was intrigued by the separate control knobs for the two channels and the equalizer as well. Having a peavey classic 30 with el84's also convinced me to give 6l6's a shot.
Wish I could hoose to use el34's as alternative power tube.
something to share? Shut up and play yer Boogie!!!

TUBE BABY!!! 2 x 6l6 and 6 x 12ax7

I use a Fender Big Apple strat w/ Duncan humbuckers. I've had this amp for 5 months now and I can honestly say that I have never owned a finer tube combo. Clean channel is rich and full when you add the EQ. It is a little thin without the EQ for what I like but is very usable. The crunch channel is great for blues and gives a great boost to the clean channel. My only gripe is that they should have made the crunch boost on the clean channel footswicthable. The distorion channel goes from biting blues to Metal Debauchery by adjusting the gain. I play Heavy rock and blues and this amp suits those styles nicely. The 60 watts is more than enoug to peel paint and piss your neighbors off!!! You can add an ext cab and this will kick ass in clubs!!!

This is a fickle beast so if your a plug and play guy, this may not be the amp for you. I have found some great sound in this amp but you have to experiment.

Solid ,no issues!!!!

N/A.

Love it and I will not look for another amp. I am happy for the first time. It does everything I need it to.

This amp could use a solo boost. I'm going to see if something can be retrofitted.
I use this amp in basement jam sessions, and it's freaking loud - I play with the main volume at about 1.5/10 or so. The main volume knob is very touchy, so it's difficult to adjust the level when you're only at 1.5 :(

I play hard rock, punk and some alternative stuff, and this amp ROCKS.
I have never heard a better sounding combo, and it makes my guitar sound amazing. Everyone who has heard it, loves it.

The clean channel can be as clean as you want, though I haven't played it louder than a basement can handle. You can also overdrive it easily, which lets you have two overdrive channels available by footswitch.

The lead channel is very flexible, and it takes a bit of trial and error to get the tone. I still haven't mastered it yet, but when I fluke onto a good setting, it sounds incredible.

No problems yet. It's two years old, and I've owned it for about 8 months.

I love this amp!

I won't rehash the obvious...just the right amount of flexible options: I don't want an amp with more than two channels - this fits the bill.

three words: OH...MY...GOD! I've owned three other boogies in the past - a three channel Dual Rec, F-50 Head, and a Stiletto Duece that I still have (Its a good amp, too). I've read other reviews where they sound similar to a D/R in the lead channel. NO WAY! Sounds MUCH better. I suppose you could dial in a RECTO tone though, the tone controls are very responsive, and the EQ is as well.

I've also read others compare it to a F-50. Puh-lease! The f-50 is a good amp, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't sound as good as the DC-5. It took me 4ever to get a great lead tone from the f-50. The DC-5 less than 2 mins. Of course, that may not be fair: I've been using boogies for a while and seem to be able to better tweak them.

Anyway, its very punchy and articulate. You can strum an open E major chord on an heavily distorted setting (I keep it around 7-8) and you can still hear each individual string. Nice! though, not as gain-heavy as the Recto, or even F-50, it still can sound very Heavy, especially with the mids around 4-5. Palm mutes are crisp and hit you in the chest like a baseball bat. Use the EQ, and you can dial in some nasty scooped mid mayhem - though I like the mids, and only use a very,VERY shallow (or flat) v.

Cleans are smokey and dark, but still retain a chimey quality. It overdrives nicely, too.

the separate reverb for each channel is nice to have. But I prefer to leave the reverb off most of the time, and only use if for lead work or single note riffing/fills.

It will be a nice addition to my "family" of amps.

Don't know yet: But if its heritage means anything, I doubt I will have any issues. I've never had problems with any of my other boogies - and I've accidently been really hard on them. I won't embarrass myself by telling you about the time I turned on my Stiletto and wondered why no sound was coming out, only to realize it wasn't hooked up the the cab it was sitting on. Poor thing! Still, once hooked up, it never acted like anything had ever been wrong.

I expect the same kind of durability and reliability from this one, too.

I've dealt with them via email about other amps, and they were very responsive and polite.

I haven't had it that long; but you usually know if you have something special within minutes. I "connected" with this amp almost instantly. You know the feeling: its as if the amp sounds so good you feel like you're playing better, more confidently. If lost or stolen, I would definately get a replacement! I have another combo, a Prosonic, that will probably end up on eBay: It probably just won't get played anymore with this amp around.

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.

there's 2 independants channel, 1 for clean or clean with smooth overdrive, and the second one is only for distortion. The Distortion is sublime, a low noise level. The only to add in this amp to have full featured amp, is the chorus.. there is no chorus, but you can plug an external FX loops on the back. You can set an Eq for the both channels plus the basics Eq for each channels, and you can also enable/disable the Eq via the FoorSwitch..
A 50 watts is so powerfull.. dont worry about if you can play with a band..

i have 2 guitars, the first one is an RG Ibanez serie, and the second one is a epiphone Les Paul model by Gibson.. For now im playing Heavy Metal. i already was a skatepunk fan.. so, you can anyway really do anything with that amp.. like jazz blues metal punk pop...
The sound is really clear and tight, it raise an high precision level..
it not easy to drive your amp to feedback, execept if you re searching for that..

it never broke for the last 4 years i had it

i never need to fix it..

i'll finish my life with that amp..

it's a 2 channel combo with a push pull knob on the clean channel that gives you a 3rd crunch channel but it is not footswitchable....generally speaking this amp is well equipped for the gigging life....but i wish the crunch channel to be footswitchable

i'm using a variety og guitars with it an american standard with emg pickups a US fender strat special floyd rose hss a les paul e.t.c and i play mainly blues rock and hard rock....the clean channel is very nice i would give it a 8.5/10...well it might not be of a fender quality but if you want perfect cleans buy a fender...otherwise it is one of the best cleans i have heard out of the fender range.
Let's go now to the bad things:the distorted channel.I have tried many pickups and many guitars with this combo and no matter what guitar i have used no matter how i equalized the combo i was always getting a pretty good sound but i was never 100% happy.....there was always a certain glassy character to the sound....maybe this is due to the 6l6 tubes this combo comes equippped with and maybe i am an el34 man.I am not saying you cannot get a good sound out od the 2nd channel, but you want fall in love with it.One other problem this amp is notorious to have(and it is a design fault)is the channel cross-speaking.....when you play on the 2nd channel and you have previously used a crunchy sound on channel 1 the sound you get is different from the one you would get if on the channel yet you have previously dialed a perfectly clean sound.I must also say that this amp a bit noisy.So as far as sound goes i think this amp is good BUT by boogie's standards i feel there is something missing...in fact i am thinking of a marshall tsl.......

no problems here apart from the occasional tube changing.....

this is mesa's strong point....every time i have e-mailed them i got an immediate, polite and very helpful responce.Perfect.

i've been playing for 12 years and have owned vaious marshalls before...but while gigging and rehearsing i have played many amps.I must admit i am not very happy with this amp..and i bought it mostly because of mesa's reputattion.I still consider mesa one of the most reputable amp builders but this amp is surely not their best.....I'm soon going back to the old and faithful marshall.......boogie's are IN but no amp can give that classic ROOOOOOOCCCCCCKKKKKKKK marshall sound.

First impressions... I bought this DC-5 used off of eBay because of all the wonderful reviews below and in the H-C discussion boards. It is one of the newer models and has the 2-button footswitch (clean/lead & eq on/off). new vs. old can be distinguished by visiting the mesaboogie website:

<i>Original DC amplifiers have a two position toggle switch on the front panel that provides manual switching from Rhythm to Lead. These models also feature a five position rotary switch on the rear panel for manual EQ selection. Later model DC's have a three positon toggle switch on the front panel which is labeled(top down): Rhythm - Lead - Lead/EQ. These models feature a two positon toggle switch on the rear panel for EQ channel assignment</i>

Two channels, plus the pull boost on the clean to make it a crunch. I hope to save some money, and get my DC-5 modded to make the crunch channel footswitchable. This amp is HEAVY! 55 pounds... hey! thats a pound per watt. The top row of knobs is a bit close to the top of the amp... thus, you can't easily read the number, and makes for less "grab space" when tuning it.

I'm using a PRS copy (warmoth--mahogany/ PRS pickups&electronics) and a Fender Strat Plus w/ Van Zandt pups. The reverb is not strong enough for me, I just need to get a Fender for the reverb I want. I play rock mostly, some jazz. Have only begun to explore the variety of this amp, but based on other reviews, should take a good month to find "my sound". I haven't gotten the clean channel to sparkle yet. I'm sure that will come with a few twists of the knob. The lead channel is pure Boogie distortion. Very mean. I may still end up using a distortion/overdrive pedal, because I like to have a good clean, a good lead, and lots of crunch options. I also plan on exploring the sounds when i replace the two 6l6 tubes with el-84 (via a THD Yellowjacket).

A cliche for sure, but it's true..... "built like a tank"

Answered my fax very promptly. And this on a product which they no longer produce. Gave me more information then I knew what to do with! Very friendly. A bit biased.... I'm a boogie fan. I do wish they had email support though, but I understand why they don't.

Have been playing for 10+ years, been through 2 bands. I sold my rack setup to get this amp. (mesa 20/20;mesa triaxis;tce g-major) I kept my 2x12 mesa slant cab though. I just wanted something more portable, and with less of a learning curve. I don't really need 256 different sounds, and 1,000 different ways to get there. I feel very good about my DC5 purchase. I highly recommend you getting one. I chose the DC5, because I was researching a 1x12 combo ala Fender Deluxe 65 RI, mesa F-series, mesa nomad-series... I kept reading great things about the DC. I chose the DC5 over the DC3 because of the pull boost option, and being able to switch the 6l6 for el84, if I want to.

I have owned 3 boogies and this is by far the best due to the independant controls for each channel. Too many compromises needed to be made with either the Mk III I owned or the calibre 50. This amp compares most favorably with a rack set up I had when giging. That was a groove tubes trio with again independant controls for each channel. I have played eveything from jazz to funk to rock and blues and this amp has been great. Can't give any feedback on the metal scene that wasnt my thing. The only critisism would be lack of footswitchable pull boost from clean. Another thing anyone saying 50 watt boogies are not loud enough must be playing some pretty bloody loud gigs because as any boogie ownwer knows these amps are LOUD.

I'm playing prmarily a Fender EC Strat and a PRS McCarty. As stated this amp is very versatile. All the other reviews critisising this amp seem to be from owners who are Marshall or Fender people. You can not run a boogie the same way. The Marshall idea that you can just turn everything on to 10 and play would make this amp sound like crap, if it could be played at all like that. You need to know what you are doing with any boogie and you must read ,the manual and start with the included example settings to learn and then go from there. This amp can give you sounds from jazz to rock and everyting in between but you must know what you are doing to set it up right.

Its a Mesa Boogie. Do you even need to ask?

Been playing for about 16 years and have used everything from "rack of doom" with quads to Fender twin to Bassman. If you dont want the whole rack with midi/ analogue switching and noise suppression and you dont own a truck to cart it or have a roadie to carry it then this amp is the answer. As stated before the only this this amp needs is a footswitchable boost on the clean channel.

Since it annoys me when people don't write out the specs and instead say "Someone else mentioned it" I will tell all the features of MY AMP because I know companies often change their products slightly or radically and lump it under the same name.
50 watt tube 1x12 combo
2 6l6 power amp tubes, 6 12ax7 preamp tubes
2 or 3 channels
Footswitchable graphic eq
Slave out
3 speaker outs (one at 8 ohms, two 4 ohm)
Parallel effects loop
Mesa/Celestion Black shadow speaker, 90 watts, 8 ohms.
Recording out and speaker mute feature

This amp would have gotten a 10 if it had 3 footswitchable channels, not 2 with the first channel having a boost feature. As it is, lots of features for a little combo! I believe it also comes inm a head format, I wouldn't mind having another laying around!

Right now I use it with my gibson flying v, which has gibson pickups (not stock) a 496r in the bridge with a chrome cover added (adding covers smoothes out your tone I find... I used to hate this pickup but I slapped a cover on it to make it look like the other pickup, now I love it!) and a gibson classic '57 in the neck.
I play lots of rock, hard rock, metal, and anything rockish... and some other stuff, some classical, but for the rock and metal sounds, this amp is great! I play with less gain than most guitarists, because it really adds note definition. I get the best sounding palm mutes and the fastest attack than anyone I know, which doesn't sound absolutely magnificent when I'm playing by myself, but in a band situation I always cut through and sound great. This amp works nicely for me and is portable enough to lug around.

When I play quietly, this amp makes all sorts of popping noises. Goes away when I play at a reasonable volume. Can't seem to figure out why. But I wouldn't gig without a backup (actually when I gig this IS my backup...)

I've been playing 11 years, I traded my TC Electronics G-major to this dude in exchange for this amp. I needed something small enough to practice with, but this thing turned out to be a whole helluva lot louder than I expected. I traded after about 1 minute of dicking with the amp cause I didn't own a Mesa/Boogie back then, and I own a recording studio. The more amps I have around, the better. Now I have 2, my marshall tsl100 and this. This nearly comes close to my TSL but not close enough to use as my main giggin machine. And those popping noises scare me. Overall a good amp, for those of you who are sick of hauling around that halfstack you though was so cool when you were a teenager and now realize you'd rather a 2x12 combo ;)