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.
<p>
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.
<p>
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.
<p>
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.
<p>
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 ;)

Probably mid-1990's, single 12" Black Shadow, stock 2 channel config (though I am surely going to have the mod done). Much lighter than my Twin or even a DeVille. Its shorter too so that counts for alot when carrying it around.

I play a variety of music all the way from shimmering clean twang country like Brad Paisley/Diamond Rio/James Burton/Albert Lee to Billy Gibbons/Lynyrd Skynyrd. I play Teles, Strats and a big Gretsch. In a club scene, mic'd or otherwise, this amp kicks ass. But if you don't understand tone, you'll probably get frustrated because this amp requires a little time tweaking the settings to get to the sweet spot with your guitar. But once you spend a little time understanding its relationship with your guitar, the rest is just dialing in a little EQ and gettin' busy. The amp is incredibly loud. With very little gain and master I can overpower everyone on stage. And you know how you wind up in those jam sessions where the "other" guy is always louder than you, even though your licks kick his ass? No more. The projection from this amp is staggering. On volume level 5, you can blow the monitors off the front of the stage. I cannot imagine playing louder than that, I'd kill my lead singer. And the feedback/sustain is glorious, clean or dirty at a multitude of frequencies. And the amp is LOUD.

The reverb is a bit quirky. Sometimes is sounds strong like a Twin and sometimes its thin. It may be my unit needing a check-up, but that's no biggie. It may also be the room. My only complaint is that the upper row of knobs (clean channel) are hard to see if its on the floor and you are looking back/down while playing. You almost have to squat down to see where you are. Again, no biggie.

The only sound I have not been able to recreate is that mushy, noise-ridden sound of a Fender tube-amp turned up to 8.

I re-tubed it when I got it and I DO NOT carry a backup. Why own an amp that requires a safety net? Its been trouble-free.

Right after I bought it I called Boogie to ask a few questions about tubes and general care. I left a message and they called back a half hour later. You would have thought I just bought $20,000 in new Mesa amps. He was gracious and very helpful.

I've been playing 20+ years and have been a die-hard Fender fan. I've always spent all my money on awesome guitars and cut corners on amps. But the farther I have come like that, the more I have gotten outclassed by guys with what I consider to be powerful, ultra-high-end amps (Boogie, Matchless, Bogner, etc.). There is a certain tone these amps deliver that will never emminate from a Fender. You have to work to find it, but once you do, its awesome. Oh yeah, its LOUD!

Lots of features and lots of power.

I used this amp with a modified ESP/LTD H-100 with Dimarzio Tone Zone and PAF.

The clean channel is really nice, once you dial it in. Classic 6L6 sparkle. My Boss SD-1 Overdrive sounded great in this channel. Providing a nice articulate drive. My Boss CE-2 in loop was nice. I really like the fact that you can adjust the volume of the effect. I wish my VHT Pittbull 45 had this feature.

As good as the clean channel is, the overdrive channel is pure crap. I couldn't get a usable sound out of it. It just sounded like mush. No note definition. No sustain. Just nasty.

I guess they are reliable. I don't hear about Mesas breaking down.

Never dealt with Mesa

I used this amp at a rehearsal space in Virginia. While I enjoyed the clean channel alot, the gain channel is so bad that I would never buy this amp. I usually use a VHT Pittbull 45 112 for small gigs and that amp blows the Mesa out of the water. While the Mesa might have a bit more headroom for clean sounds, the overdrive of the VHT can't be beat.

All of the other reviews list the features; I won't hit you with those. I'd give it a 10 rating if the Pull Boost on the clean channel was foot switchable.

I use it with Strats w/ single coils and humbuckers. Had a Tele with a single coil. I play heavy very alternative, and some punk/metal.

This amp is pretty killer. I've played for over 20 years and have only had about 7 different amps. This is my 3rd Boogie (had two Dual Rectos). Very versatile. No, the clean isn't going to knock out Fender clean freaks, but it's very usable, and the headroom will keep you happy. If you want grind, this is it. More musical distortion than the Dual Rectos. Lots of flavors. If you one of those people that uses an effects box to get your distorion/tone, then you are missing the point with this amp.

You really need to download the manual and read it. The controls on the amp do work in concert with each other. It doesn't take months to tweak; just a brain, ears, a cord and a guitar that sounds decent.

I haven't toured with this amp, but I've toured the country a bunch of times with Boogie DR's, and never had any problems.

Never had to deal with them - no problems.

If you need a portable amp that will compete with 1/2 and full stacks and go for more agressive types of music, this is the amp.

For all you DC-5 oweners that don't know it, these amps were produced in the 90's. They had an early and then a late model. the two different models have slightly different specs and features.Most of the review's on this amp I totaly agree with. Check on the features on other review. The only falt I find on the multitude of features is the lack of a switch to engage the pull boost on the clean chanel via the foot pedal.

OK now for the meat of the beast, THE SOUND!!!!! I have been playing for over 40 years, many of them with top rock bands,and have owned and used dozens of the TOP quality amps out there (Marshall, Vox, Fender, Custom and many others.)and NONE of the amps comes close to the flexability of this BOOGIE! There are a very few amps that have a "special" tone that is all there own that no other amp can match exactly, But there was no flexability other than that tone. the Boogie has the greatest range of GREAT sounds of any amp out there! It can go from the cleanest to the dirtiest tones and hit everything in between.Those who knock the tone of this amp(Assuming they dont have a LEMMON, a CRAP GUITAR or a bad cord) either DONT KNOW how to understand and operate the tone controls (IT takes a lot of time and experiance),Are TONE DEAF or have there ears up their ASS.

This amp has served me very well in hundreds of gigs. I play rock, metal and blues. I use a 83 Les Paul custom, a 73 SG standard, a 66 Telecaster, a 59 ES-355 and few other guitars and they ALL sound great with this amp. Don't expect a Tele to sound like a LP thru ANY amp. This thing is the LOUDEST amp in its class and will blow many away with 2 to 3 times the power. The only breakdown was the rubber on the amp carry handle split.

I called Mesa Boogie up and talked to a tech and ordered an amp cover. The guy was very helpful and knew his shit. No rush to get on to the next call. The cover arived in a few days. That's it.

I've owned them all. In terms of great tone, flexability of sound. ease of transport,sheer volume and reliability all in one package,I don't think there's an amp out there that can beat it!!!

Well known specs....actually more features than necessary
I rate it a nine because I think it has too many things to adjust

This amp sounds totally awesome for any style of music except metal.I couldn't get the scouped mid sound but I only have used that sound for one track anyway.The distortion is perfect at just about any volume and it was sweet music to my ears when I first cranked it!I recorded with this amp and the final product was unique and very detailed in the lead department.

I have seen other people rate this section poorly,but I have had no problems once I plugged it into a wall socket with a working ground!Before I thought to check for a groung it hissed and made my guitar sound nasal.The grouned socket did the trick.If you treat this amp with respect,it should last a lifetime.

I have been playing seriously for about 8 years and have had every guitar and amp ever made....(slight exageration)I would buy a boogie in a second again,but not the heartbreaker,I tried it at a guitar store and it sucked severely!I think that there was a tube problem,which can be fixed,by the way.

Features have been pretty well covered elsewhere here. I will say that, in theory, the minimalistic controls seem like a good thing. The less stuff in the signal chain, the purer the signal, right?

I primarily play a Jimmie Vaughan Fender Stratocaster. I also have a "Frankenstein" Squier Tele. I have a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound in the bridge, and a Rio Grande in the neck position. Both guitars have been professionally set up, and they sound great.

Now on to the amp...

The clean sounds shimmer. Really, it's not hard to put together a glassy, beautiful clean sound. Not particularly Fender-y, but good nevertheless.

The distorted sounds though... THIS is a "refined" distortion? Yeah, there are a ton of sounds in there, but in each distorted sound has this very square fuzziness that really muddies things up. It's maddening. It's not so noticeable when playing chords, but when soloing -look out! It's this sort of bleating, burping, unbelievably buzzy and fuzzy distortion. This is not pleasing at all. To make sure I wasn't losing my mind (or my tubes), played a pair of F-30s at two different guitar shops. Nope. I made the mistake of buying this amp based mostly on reputation, and that was a mistake.

It's also nearly useless for woodshedding purposes (okay, that's my fault for buying too big of an amp). There's about 1/32 of an inch in which all "bedroom" volumes can be found. Don't slip, or your sleeping kids will be awakened rudely.

AND, by the way, with any distortion at all there was no way to coax that great "woody" Strat sound out of the neck position. How crazy is that? I played a late 60s Deluxe Reverb for years, and I guess that amp spoiled me. It was full of SR Vaughan tones. The DC-5 is not. I took this sonofagun in and traded it for a Fender Cyber Deluxe. Yes, you read right. It's got a million more bells and whistles than I need, but if you set it for one of the old tweed or blackface models, buddy, you're in business. I dare anyone in a blind test to tell difference between that amp and a tube amp.

Sounds are subjective, though, and I don't claim to have great ears. All I can say is to choose very carefully when looking at this amp. Don't do like me and try it quickly in a Guitar Center full of wanking 12-year-olds. I could not hear a thing, and I paid dearly for it. Get this amp into a side room with a guitar like yours. If clean sounds are your bag, this may be your amp. But if you think you're going to get great distortion tones, I personally think this amp is the most overrated tank on the planet.

Had it about 48 hours. Couldn't comment. Weighed about 530 pounds I think. Perhaps all the guts are made of lead.

N/A

I've been playing about 20 years. I'm a rootsy guy, likely to play blues, zydeco, old country, and the occasional noisy punk rock. I would not own another of these amps on a bet.

The DC-5 has just about all the features anyone could want for either live or studio work. The simple layout belies its capabilities and every control actually has an effect on the sound - which is more than can be said for many other amps I've used over the years. It's certainly loud enough for any application and, frankly, if you need nore volume than this you should be miking up the backline.

My only gripe, like many others, is that the boost on channel one is not foot-switchable. Now here's a plea to Mesa Engineering - why not publish a circuit modification diagram that facilitates this requirement? After all, the amp is not in production anymore so you wont lose out. That apart, it would have been a 10.

I use a Strat with Van Zandt pickups, a standard Telecaster and a Dick Knight handbuilt 335 replica. Each guitar sound completely different but individually brilliant through this amp. However, I believe that the DC-5 needs an experienced player to get the best out of it. At the risk of repeating what others have said, you benefit enormously from taking some time to set up the EQ. The fact that it's very sensitive to change is, in my opinion, a distinct bonus but if you seek instant gratification you will be in for a disappointment. The dynamics and response are just brilliant and, once you've sorted the tone, it's a joy to play through.

I play jazz, country, blues and rock so the amp has to work for its living but it's never failed to deliver. I can only award maximum marks in this section

Apart from one, isolated fuse failure the reliability has been 100%. I gig without a backup apart from stuffing my POD into the bag. However, that is a fallback for any member of the band (drummer excepted, although some may say it would be a viable alternative!)and not specifically for me.

I've never used customer support from Mesa so I can't offer any opinion. However the amp was bought unseen, over the phone from Charlie Chandler's shop in Kew, London and delivered to me on approval. It was in pristine condition, exactly as described and the service I received from them was exemplary.

I've been playing since the sixties and, in my time, have owned an example of every significant UK manufactured amplifier and quite a few from the USA. On single, "nailed" sounds, Marshall, Fender and Vox perhaps have the edge but nothing comes near the DC-5 for versatility, adaptability and sheer "balls".

This is my first Boogie and I would have no hesitation in replacing it with another. My only regret is that I didn't turn on to these amps sooner. Now the cynics out there may be thinking that this review is too good to be true and that I have some connection with Mesa. Absolutely not the case. If the amp has been poor I would have said so but it deserves the accolades in spades.

However, I will end on a note of caution. In a mass produced environment not all examples are equal. I know of people who have had less rewarding experiences with Boogies than I have, so be careful out there.

Features already covered . . . and had some of the same issues about touchy tone tweaking. Got around most of them by learning how to really make use of the excellent post preamp EQ. Now just a quick adjustment on the sliders (if necessary) handle guitar changes and music styles.

To make this amp into a gigging monster it should be, I had the holy grail mod done - pull rhythm knob is now foot switchable and we placed a pre and post gain pot for the rhythm boost. It is now a three channel amp.

With this mod in place, the sound is tremendous. I can dial in strong clean channel settings, adjust the new pots for killer crunch rhythm sounds and volume boost, and then get the lead channel set for ideal lead sound. I use the EQ footswitch function to further shape each channel sound for more pronunced upper mid and high frequency range with a tighter bass. Wow. Six sounds all useable and satisfying. With a blues driver in front, it kicks everything up a notch for another set of sounds.

Also replaced the stock speaker with a Mesa EV.I wanted the rich harmonic tones from the amp to come through. Also play with a Marshal 1936 or 1960 underneath to get the full range of closed cab speaker distortion tones. It's a 10 now with these mods.

As said before, it is built like a tank. Only problem ever had was at an outside show when the portable generator decided to surge and blew both the DC5 fuse and the little MOV. So . . .no boogie. At the time also A/B'd into a Peavey Classic 30 so that was the main amp for the gig. Every other amp took the surge with out any problems. No complaints though, Mesa mailed out a supply of MOV's to me with a higher rating.

Otherwise, it delivers at every show and I continue to get compliments about the tone.

Outstanding customer support since 1988

I've owned Mesa's since 1988. Also play/record with a Fender Pro Reverb, Hot Rod DeVille, Sound City HD150, Peavey Revolution, Classic 30, DanElectro, etc.

The DC5 does it all right now for gigging. It got heavier though with the EV.

As mentioned in other reviews, this amp has distinct tone shaping capabilities from the preamp EQ tone knobs, and the post preamp slider EQ. It takes time to work them out and get sounds down.

This amp has plenty features. Complaint is that the knobs are overly sensitive. Every little tweak changes your sound too much. When you are playing live and need a slightly different tone for your next song, forget the good sound you had in your last song. In bedroom situation you can take your time to change the settings of the knobs, but in live situations: Good luck! You will not feel comfortable with this amp in your backup. Reverb switch did not work well.

I'm using a gibson lp special with P90's. When settings are optimal the clean sound at best is a neutral. However in not studio / bedroom situatons it's abit too weak for me. Rating between a 4 and 7.
The lead sound can be very good as for all settings rating between 6 and 9. Versatility in direction of crunch is not satisfying to me. Rating 5. Dynamics. This amp has very smooth dynamics in the distorted range which suit my playing style very well. You can very well play heavey melodic lines under a voice. Rating 8.

Apart from reverb switch (I don't use much of it) it worked all right.

I bought my amp used. Reverb switch did not work well from the start. It took monts to hear that they could not get it right. Probably the importer (Never had complaints about the shop where I bought it).

I' ve been playing since 1980 and I' ve been playing on echolette 50 w tube, yamaha 50w transistor, marshall jmc 800 50 w, crate stereo 60 w (yek)laney tube vc 100 an vc 50w (very good), this boogie most I hate the sensitivity of the knobs.I loved the lead sound. Now I have both in the peavey classic 50 w 4 x 10, combined with v-twin for lead.

Lots of feature already discussed here. All of them are useful. Tons of good, clean headroom (don't have any idea what others are complaining about with this), and plenty loud, really!!! My only gripe, albeit a small one, is that the "Boost" circuit in the Rhythm Channel should be footswitchable.

I've got a Strat with Bartolini single coils and play "generic" rock and pop (from Christian to radio play rock, no metal nor country) and the DC5 simply sounds outstanding!
Seriously versatile. Like others here, actually I took THEIR advice: read the manual (truly useful) and live with the amp for a while; tweak it judiciously, and PLAY! Mesa's knobs just can't be tweaked like other amps...you have to know "what" the eq really is designed to do; once the Mesa rationale is understood, it's easy and intuitive to dial it in exactly to your liking. I've learned that Mesa's tone shaping is all about subtlty, but patience and understanding really pay off with great tone.
The clean channel is really warm and chimey: shimmery, bell-like tone and focused bottom end MAKES me want to play clean more often that I normally would. Lots have compared it to Fender's clean...I wouldn't know, except that this DC5's clean just sparkles, even when LOUD! Great bluesy crunch "breaks up" just right, and is sooo controllable and versatile. The notes stay defined and distinct, and it "cleans up" well with a twist of the guitar's volume knob while still retaining its warm, tonal character: truly nice! Though I don't play jazz, round, jazzy chords and licks are equally impressive. Distortion is smooth, liquidy, warm, and most of all REAL! Nothing "sterile" about it (forget about all other overdrive/distortion processors). It ooozes "soul" with defined, focused notes that sustain to your liking. Take care not to dial in too much bass as it will sound flubby; add bottom on the graphic (which is after the preamp) and the low end stays tight. I'd give it a 10, but then I haven't tried any of the really esoteric "boutique" amps (at prices I can't touch, so what's the point).

No problems so far, and I don't anticipate any. My 2-yr old stuffed coins in the graphic EQ which prompted me to open it up: it's seriously well constructed from good electronic components to neat/uniform wiring to a heavy steel chassis.

Yeah, go ahead and try to get a hold of ANY technical support from Fender, Roland, or any mainstream company. Even if you do get a human being, their "technical" advice is far from technical, let alone helpful. Then there's Boogie: I got friendly, knowledgable help/advice when I was asking them a hundred questions even BEFORE I bought the DC5 (trying to figure out which amp best suited me). Then I had tube questions, noise questions, cabinet questions, even design/theory questions. I really believe that these guys love their jobs and the gear they make and enjoy just talking about them. A rating of 10 really is an understatement here.

It's simpy an amazing piece of musical equipment. I've tried much, and I can't remember when I've ever been this excited about a piece of gear, even when the "new" has worn off. For years I've heard of many musicians extolling the virtues of Boogies, but I was always skeptical: now I KNOW!

50 watt dual channel combo. Two completely independent channels. 5 band graphic EQ. Mesa/celestion black shadow speaker. Slave out, effects mix/send return, 2 speaker extention jacks, one to speaker in cabinet. Pull boost on the clean channel. D.I. input on rear pannel. I think there's a few more, but these are the main ones.

There are a few reviews listed earlier in which they rated the sounds as terrible. One of which I noticed the guy gave it back after 3 days. You MUST spend some time with this amp. If you tweek it and experiment, you WILL be rewarded. It is capable of MANY different tones. I've had mine for about three years and it took me awhile to find my tone, but I did!! No, the clean channel is not like a Fender, how many high gain amps do you know that are? NONE!! The clean channel is really good though. Way better than a Marshall. The boost does give it more bite, which helps it cut through. If maxed, it gives a really good rock sound. The lead channel? Can purr like a kitten or bludgeon to death. The dual recto's don't compare(IMO). Too muddy. The only Mesa's with a comparable distortion are the Mark IV's (great amp) or the Mark IIc+(this is of course for rock or metal). Oh yeah this amp is FREAKIN' LOUD!!! Have never heard a 50 watter this loud. Never had the master past 5 for fear of sterilization. Sounds awesome through a 4x12 with Vintage 30's. Would confidantly stack up next to any recto. These amps sound better!!

Built like a tank. Has been used and abused and still kicks ass! Aside from the normal tube wear (always carry spares with you!!) I have never needed a back-up. I am currently looking to buy a 100 watt head and plan on useing my DC-5 as a back up.

I haven't had to contact them. Never needed to. That should say something about the constuction and reliabilty.

I'm giving this an eight because I don't think there's a peferct amp out there. Some do different things better than others and there are some great amps out there. This is a quality amp. I have considered selling it in the past, but never could bring myself to do it. It's been there for me too many times and delivered. No this isn't a Soldano, Deizel, or vintage Fender, but I couldn't have got a better amp for the money. These amps are discontinued and their new F series that replaced them sound terrible. Nowhere as as good as these! And the Recto's don't compare in tone either!! A versital and dependable amp with good tone and SERIOUS volume. Yeah, I think I'm gonna keep it.

You know

prs standard 22w/dragon pu's love the sound except amp must be turned up at least past 2 on master and output to sound good,no good for bedroom

strange buzzing when loud(3mas.,3output) maybe tubes rattling? Reluctant to send it out as when i had it in shop for mod(6L6/EL34switch) had a 9 week turnaround w/ no amp.

never got through on phone i live on east coast different time zone

as above love tone, but even when jamming w/full band (2 guitars,bass,drums)can't open it up(my friends are volume pussies except for other guitar,of course)

Looking to modify your dc5 for footswitchable pushd mode with seperate gain control, read further.Two channels:Clean (with optional boost), and lead. Footswichable reverb, channel, graphic e.q. With the footswitch, on stage you have four different modes:clean or pushed with e.q. (in or out), and lead with e.q. (in or out). All tube(6 12ax7's, and two 6l6 for power stage) the preamp uses four of the 12ax7's for sound, 1 for reverb and 1 as phase splitter, also fx loop is driven by reverb tube. Mine is an older one so it has 5 way rotary knob (on back panel): footswitch in/out, e.q in or out, and e.q in on rythmn or lead. Also has record out and speaker silence switch for silient recording (when using silient recording the preamp tubes are only used not power amp tubes ,so you do loose the power amp stage sound). Also the amp can be used as a power amp only or preamp only. 1 12" celestion ev200 watt speaker @ 8ohm's and has one 8ohm, and two 4ohm outputs for cabs. Each channel has sperate e.q, gain, reverb, presence, and master output with a final output volume controlling overall loudness. Total output is around 50 watts depending on power tube hardness, and yes as mentioned below its F'ing Loud, really F'ing loud. Did I mention its loud!!!!!!!! Super versatile. One thing though, if the pull boost was footswitchable and had own gain knob,it would be perfect, then you would have six available modes (footswitchable)or otherwise known as a Mark 4.There is rumor of this mod. To do it, first take it to a tube amp man or send it to mesa. What would be done is the input jack on the front would become the gain knob for the (pushed channel) and the footswitch jack on the front would become your guitar input. Then the mono style channel switch would become a stereo style (like the reverb/e.q. one) and relocated on the back. Hence you would have a mark four.

Ok so theres a discrepency on sounds available with this amp. Let me start by adding my two cents: What sound your after depends on a variety of things:Guitar, pickups, string guage, tubes and cabinet.You cant expect to plug in a factory strat and get super heavy sounds, nor can you plug in a flying v with hot pickups and get a nice clean bluse sound....duh? Hello?!!!! Depending on your style you need to accomodate it with the proper setup.Pickups DO make a big difference in your ability to acheive smooth or heavy sounds, also string guage is important. Want a heavy chunky sound ? your better off with heavy guage strings and a hot pickup, properly intonated with proper deck height and pickup hieght. Tubes: if you use mullard preamp tubes you will tend to have a more smooth warm attack, if you throw in sovtex 12ax7wa's the amp will be brighter with a more crisp/sterile clean and a less muddy distortion out of the lead. So what a person can do is install warmer tubes in the clean channel sockets, and sovtex in the lead, reverb and phase splitter tube sockets. This will give you more versatility. If looking from the back of the amp input tube is first in chain(farthest on the right), both channels use this section as input to the gain stages. The next two are for the lead channels first and second stage, and the fourth from the right side is the true clean stage. The last two on the far right hand side are in order reverb/fx loop, and phase splitter. i installed mullards in socket one and clean socket, then sovtex in the rest. If this confuses you, take the chassis out of the case and follow the fat gray wires from the input plug/ the clean gain knob/ and the lead gain knob to there appropiate tube sockets located on the underside from where the wires contact the circut board.(ofcourse be carefull not to shock yourself). Also power amp tubes make a difference. Tubes have different hardness, that is some "distort" sooner than others. If you plan to play in your bedroom most of the time then try power amp tubes with a hardness of 4 or lower. 5-7 are mid range power and 8 and up are going to give you lots of headroom and clarity. If your playing live the higher the number the better for more "volume" and clarity at high volumes. The differences in hardness will not affect the amount of distortion but more of the volume level in which the tubes begin to saturate.

Sorry, that was more than I expected, but I thought Id give a little advice for the people who think this amp sucks.

Now the Sound. Great cleans from crisp to very overdriven are at a twist of a knob. Lead channel does not contend with the rectifier series but is very close. The rectifiers I've owned seem to be "one trick ponies" if you will, were the dc models have more on tap. It does take time to adjust and fine tune your desired sounds. I highly recommend reading the manual(downloadable from mesaboogie.com) and using it as a starting point for your taste. Also if your looking to buy on of these, reading the manual before hand will inlighten you on your decision. try reading the other manuals of amps your interested in before purchasing.

The quality in these models are extremely satisfying for any tube amp repair man or novice. All capacitors and resistors are of high quality and the circut board is well layed out. High grade pots, switches and relays are found through out. Chassis is well ventilated with easy access to any component. One must be carefull in replacing power amp tubes, because the connecters in the sockets can become loose if force is used. the tubes should be gently worked out of their sockets and the new ones should be pushed in slowy and smoothly. overall they are built tough, and are made to last on the road or off the road.

I have spoke with techs. from the company, they are very helpful and patient. If you have problems they will be more than happy to fix it for you, if you ship it to petaluma Ca. It is well worth it to take your new investment and have them give it a "tune up" and look over. Sometimes a simple resistor blown will cause a deficency in sound quality.

I've played through a number of amps for the last eight years. For what I do its perfect. I have a strong feeling that for most it would be satisfying to play through one. Ofcourse if you want that fender tone....get a fender! if you want that marshall tone uh.... yeah. The dual caliber series are very versatile and dependable, and compliment your dynamics very well. Being able to play a wide range of tones with a flick of a switch is what most of us are looking for now days. good Luck, any questions, comments or sound bytes email me. Please no spammage or viruses.

Two channels, four foot switchable sounds, not gonna type the rest, if you're lookin' here, you already know the features anyhow. Loud , loud , loud 50 watt amp. Almost insane loud!! Enough power for just about any venue. If I had to find something to complain about, it would be that I wish the pull boost function on the rhythm channel was foot switchable but that's really not a big deal . I'm told there is a mod to do that anyway. This does not sound like a Fender, this does not sound like a Marshall, ya know why? Cause it's a BOOGIE!!! It sounds like a Boogie is supposed to sound!! That's why you spend big bucks on a Boogie....cause you want the Boogie tone, not Fender tone, not Marshall tone, BOOGIE TONE!!!! If you want that tone ,get a Marshall or Fender! They can't reproduce a Boogie tone either! There are hunreds of different "amp tone " out there but in my opinion, there are all basically variations of Fender and Marshall tones, but there is a third basic tone......Boogie tone. That's why I bought a Boogie.....I like the Boogie tone. I have to laugh at some of these reviews when I read " I can't get a Fender clean out of this thing" or "it just doesn't have that Marshall crunch".

I play in a classic rock cover band and use Strats and Teles in various pickup cofigurations. This amp suits my needs just fine. After playing for more than twenty years, I am tring to get my rig as close to " plug and play" as possible. I can do that with the DC-5. Yeah I can take my Twin and three hundred pounds of effects and get a tone maybe a little closer to SRV or Gary Rossington than it may be with the DC 5 but chances are , those guys (and other guitar players) would probably be the only ones to notice it. However, if Carlos ever came to one of my gigs, he might say something like "Man ...your guitar sounds just like mine!" It nails the Santana sound. I haven't used a lot of effects with this amp becaused I'm so pleased with the sounds from just the amp.
This is quality, pro level stuff, no white noise buzz etc. It presents me with all the versatility I need. I can get a good clean and an awesome dirty sound with this. Plus the eq is footstichable so it actually has four footswitcable sounds.
The controls on a Boogie are more sensitive than on any other amp I 've ever used. Particularly how they interact with each other. It does require tweaking but it's worth the extra effort. Takes a while to learn this, different size venues will require subtle changes as with any amp, but remember, less is more. Just because the knob goes to 10, it doesn't have to. The sample settings in the manual are a good starting point.

Seems to be built like a tank. Bought it used but in brand new condition. Haven't had it that long, no problems yet. After many years of gigging I've learned that stuff happens, so I always take a back up to a gig. as with any tube amp, always have spare tubes available.

Haven't had to use them .....yet, hope I never do, but I'm told that if you need them, they are as good as customer support gets.

Been playing for twenty plus years and know a good sound when I hear it . This has a great sound. Marshalls and Fenders sound great too. These are all good amps but they are different. Ever since I first was introduced to the "Boogie Tone" I always said I'd get one. Took me a while to finally do it but I'll never look back now. Doesn't mean I'll sell my fender, but I 'll definately be a Boogie fan the rest of my life. Bottom line, if you know what I mean by "Boogie Tone" and if you're looking here you probably do, this is a great amp ,I would reccomend that if you are considering it.......buy it. You will not be disappointed . If you are, you'll probably be able to sell it for the same price you payed for it. What have you got to lose? Go for it........get BOOGIED!

My amp is from 1996. I usualy play rock but sometimes Jazz or Blues and the amp is perfect for everything. The six 12AX7 preamp tubes makes a very good sound.

I use a Fender Stratocaster US Standard, a Thinline Tele and my favourite : a S Standard Schecter Strat USA. The amp respect the sounds of all guitars. I use a rocktron Replifex and a Aphex Aural Exciter in the FX's loop. The sound is completly amazing. The clean sound is "hyper clean" but can sound with more bass and medium to obtain a Jazz sound. The distorsion channel is the best I know. I'd bought a Dual Rectifier Head but I've just kept it one month because I had the same sound with my DC-5 combo on a 2X12 or 4X12 cabinet. I sound really incredible. In my band the other guitarist play on a slash signature Marshall 100W head. When I switch to the lead channel my amp squelch his amp. It's really incredible...

The amp is always in perfect conditions after 6 years of concerts and gigs... Very reliable...

I've never dealt with Mesa customer support

The only thing I want to say is that amp is the best amp I've ever play. If you want to buy a Mark 4 or Nomad combo, don't hesitate and buy a DC-5 !!! It's the best combo that mesa ever made.

Not sure what year my DC-5 was made in - I bought it second hand around 4 years ago. 2 channels is adequate (though 3 would be nice!). I have a problem with the FX loop - its a parrallel FX loop and it works fine when its fully off or on. When its set in between it rolls off the high end response - which is a pain. I thought it might have been a faulty pot on the FX loop but I've had it checked out and its supposedly fine. I've used the recording out a few times and it gives an okay sound into a mixing desk. As with most boogies with graphic EQs - they make a heap of difference - but this can be a pain as its too easy to adjust things slightly and go from a good sound to a horrible one.

The style of music I play is, I guess, a hard rock. Mostly original Australian music in a similar style to bands like The Butterfly Effect, Ochre, Superheist. These guys tend to use 5150's, Recto's, etc. to get their sound but also have a lot of lighter ambient sounds as well - ala Tool etc.

The DC-5's sound seems very dependant on the guitar you use. I use a guitar I made - which is similar to a PRS in appearance with a Brazillian body/neck with a dimarzio tone zone in the bridge position. I changed to the tone zone after I made a guitar for a friend with that pickup. That guitar was mahogany with a rock maple top and sounded quite different (and quite good) through the DC-5. However I generally struggle getting a decent clean sound (it tends to sound very sterile - but I have been using a Behringer virtualiser in the FX loop recently which improves things). I've got the tone zone setup with coil taps etc. as well. I also tried it with a hotted up Strat one time and it sounded great. I noticed a lot of strat players have given high scores for the sound quality of this amp. There's probably something in that - I think the body wood/pickup combination may make a significant difference.

The distortion can be prety good sometimes - but I find it often looses some definition on the low end (I always have it running into my Ampeg 4x12 celestion loaded quad). I previously used a 5150 head through that quad which had a rediculously punchy low end. But that was a 120 watt amp.

When I bought the amp I spent about 4 hours in the shop A/B'ing this amp and a VHT-45. They are different animals - the VHT is very much a blues amp but it was a hard to find a bad sound. With the DC-5 I found plenty of bad sound but some really good ones as well. Once again very easy to bump a setting a ruin a sound.

I think I might have to try changing the valves to see what difference it makes (or build another guitar!).

Good so far.

No issues so far. You hardly ever much from Mesa Boogie in Australia so I'm not sure how I'd go if I had a problem with it.

I've been playing around 15 years. I sold my 5150 after I got the DC-5: which I now regret. Admittedly when that amp's pre gain was >5/10 it became too saturated but it had a better low end than the DC-5.
Overall the amp seems a little too variable - some days its sound it good other days it can be pretty awful (without adjusting anything). Its certainly loud enough for most applications.

Early 90's for the reasons that the guy below me listed. It's quite a versatile amp, but like everybody else has said, you really need to tweak if you want a specific sound. I bought it used and the guy that I bought it from gave me 2 matched sets of russian 6550s and 1 set of the stock 6L6's. I found the combo of the 6550's and the amp's naturally bassy cab to just be way too much low end. I have the 6L6's in there right now. It's a fun amp though and is a real workhorse; if you can dream up a certain tone, chances are you'll be able to find it. My mistake was buying this particular amp though. I had a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe 1x12 combo (~40 watts) and I could crank it up to 7 and have fun with the creamy tube distortion. Don't count on it with the DC-5 unless you have either a) GREAT/no neighbors within miles b)hearing or c) you're playing an arena. This thing is 50 tube watts, and it is LOUD. The master volume is at 2 1/2 and it's loud enough to cut through a drummer. Maybe some day I'll turn it up to 4 or 5....I find that I never use the graphic eq, but maybe that's just me.

I'm using a Fender 70's RI strat and Mexi Tele, both stock. It suits what I'm playing (rock, blues and maybe a little country) and just about any other musical style. Unless you're standing there, not playing anything with the distortion turned up loud, this thing doesn't make a sound. It is exceptionally quiet for a tube amp. Like I said before though, don't count on getting the clean channel to break up with out using a power brake. The distortion on the amp is killer, you can get however much gain your little heart desires. I bought this amp for the distortion, but I find that more and more I'm using the clean channel where I get wonderful bell tones with my strat on the #2 position.

It works fine. My only complaint is that when I turn the volume up on the the channel volume on the dirty channel it cuts out for a second. I knew this when I bought the amp though, and what are the chances that I'm going to be turning up the channel volume on my amp while playing a song.

I've talked to some of the reps. The guy that I dealt with (I think that his name is kevin, I haven't dealt with them since sept/november) was very nice. I just needed a replacement knob.

As of right now my chain goes like this. Strat--->Dunlop orig crybab--->DC-5. I'm getting a tremolo, and a small clone chorus as well as a holy grail reverb (the reverb on the amp is decent however). If it were stolen, I'd punch the theif in the nuts. If I had the money to replace it I'd do it, or I'd get a trem-o-verb. Great amp though, I love it to death. I got a very good price too.

I bought this amp used about 8 mos. ago. I am not exactly sure what year this amp was made, but I know it was in the mid to late 90's because "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" Mesa/Boogie homepage. Here is a run down of the features on this amp, if I miss something sorry, but the amp isn't in front of me: 3 channels, EQ, reverb, effects loop, silent recording, slave out, input for more speakers, 2 6L6's and 6 preamp tubes. I've owned a couple of different amps to include a 1x12 solid-state Peavy something or another and a laney, also solid state, none of which compare. Then again solid-state -vs- tube, no contest. I have to say that I really like this amp. Three separate channels along with an Eq really do provide for alot of vesatility. You can spend many hours tweaking this amp. I can't imagine packing more features into one amp, at least I would have problems if there was any more stuff to tweak. Unfortunately, I rarely get the chance to really open this baby up and let it breathe, but on occasion I do and boy it sounds great. I really can't imagine needing more than 50W. However, I do plan to buy a 2x12 cab to go with it, just because I worry that when I do begin to play out that I might damage the single 12"
I have to give this amp a nine only because for those who need more knobs Mesa Boogie has a new Recto with more Features than thought possible.

I play a 2001 Les Paul Classic. Hell I am not sure which pickups came stock but they sound great. I also use a Fulltone CLYDE wah w/ a BOSS PH-2 Phaser. This amp is prefect for the style of music I play, which is that emo/altenative stuff. I hate classifying music into genres, I feel like a dork. Anways, My only complaint is at low volumes I can hear the tubes vibrating, which I am told is a common issue with combo amps so I've stopped sweating it. As far as I am concerned this amp has a very nice clean channel, however I will admit it is not a Fender. ( But do fenders have a kick-ass Lead channel...NO) I don't ever use the Bluessy/Drive channel, obtained by by pulling the Clean channel gain knob. To me it is kind of worthless. The Lead channel is also a very nice channel. If you are into Metallica it nails their sound to a T. I am not going to say you can get any sound out of this amp, but with patience you can definately find one that fits you. Someone in these reviews once said that this amp takes patience, they could not have been more right. I use the lead channel constantly. If I feel there is to much gain I'll turn the volume down to 3 or 4 on my guitar or tweak the Eq or maybe. That's the beauty of this amp, the Eq. Bottom line is that I get alot out of this amp. I get a good clean channel and a very versatile Lead(distortion) channel. I've had the output to 2-21/2 and the Master to about 3 and it was so loud that it didn't take long for my ears to hurt. I very clear loud though. No distortions or cracking or anything, very solid.
Man, this amp may not be the best, although who is th true authority on sound. My ears say it is a nine.

I've only had this amp for about 8 mos. now. I've replaced all the tubes, which I recommend to anyone buying a used amp. Other than that I have had no problems. I can't, in good conscience, rate in this category because I haven't even had this amp a year.

I will say that Mesa Boogie has the best customer service I have ever encountered! I bought this amp used, and the people at Mesa Boogie treat me as though I bought new with some kind of Gold Star, Valued Customer, Rock star Warranty. I know that sounds a little ridiculous but I am so impressed with them. I live in North Dakota and They have always called me back within 24hrs just to answer questions about which tubes I should put in my amp to helping me identify noises(turned out to be the tubes vibrating) to even explaining effects questions and finding a web site that could answer my questions, mind you they are in California and these calls are long-distance. My point is they don't have to treat people this way but they do.

I rate these guys a 10+++++++. Without a doubt!

Overall, this is a very solid reliable amplifier with an overall great sound. I suppose if you want the best clean sound along with the best distortion and don't mind owning multiple amps then this isn't the amp for you. On the other hand if you aren't a Pros. and want a quality amp with a more than respectable sound, then I would recommend the DC-5.
For the price to quality of sound and features ratio I have to rate this a 10-fantastic value.

I bought it new about 4 years ago. You know the features, but I had mine modded so the pull/crunch was foot switchable and now has its own seperate volume. So its basically a 3 channel but the clean/crunch channels share the same bass, treble mid.revb. I wish it had a seperate eq for all modes.

It does everything I need it to do. From High gain to clean. It aint no Fender in the clean channel but its damn good. Fender cant come close to the lead channel so its a slight trade off. The crunch and lead channels are great. I think it has plenty enough gain and if you scoop out the mids on the graphic eq you can get that super sturated drive.

Dropped it 4 feet out of my roadcase fron the stage loading dock onto a concrete floor. Works like the day I bought it. Mesas are built like a tank and they can take a direct hit.Gig after gig its there to work like a champ.

There are no better support people IMO. I have never had a breakdown but have called them for assistance and parts (cosmetic, when I dropped it) and they were most healpful. They didnt bat an eye when I told them it dropped 4 feet and still works perfectly. I guess they are used to their amps being able to withstand a plunge.

I rate this amp a 10 cause of all its features and sound quality and reliability. I have had a dual rectifier and the distortion on the DC-5 is smoother and creamy. The Dual rectifier was grainy but still had its nitch. Mt Marshalls all sounded thin and I could never get a good tight bottom without extra effort. This boogie soudg great righ from the amp, and I believe thats what its all about.

Specs and features have been amply laid out in other reviews here, so I won't go into too much details here. It's a full-tube 50W open-back black combo amp with a 12" Black Widow driver. The regular clean/crunch/lead thing with the usual tone amenities, plus extra post-eq. As far as combo amps go - or should I say as far as I go with combo amps? - more than enough. Sturdy cabinet, although the rubber gripcover wears out easily. Furthermore, the floorswitch assignment route always confuses me somhow. No MIDI.

I play on humbuckers most of the time, only occasionally single coil when I need that specific 'phased' sound. I use the DC-5 for backup and as jam session stage gear so it's not my prime rig. To my personal opinion, combo amps all have a poor sound as nothing compares to a full stack driven by the components of your choice. The DC-5 is no exception, but it still had the best sound of em all in the combo dept. It has a rich clean tone and that's where I think the amp's at its best. Distortion ain't all that much to brag about, but that's an overall Mesa/Boogie thing in my opinion - Marshall is even worse for me, both are pretty muddy yet without ever getting truly devastating. Other reviewers have said this amp to be loud and believe me, it is. Set the pre-amp section to the extreme, and you'll be having a hard time getting the master volume over '3' without entering the headache zone. As for variety, this combo is a tone-tweaker's paradise.

My nice blue power-on light doesn't shine anymore... :(
Like I said, I use it as backup and as jam session stage gear. As a result of the latter, the poor thing knows abuse. It never failed on me though, and I've been having it for 4 years now. Way to go.

I didn't bother to change the light yet. Otherwise, I never needed them so I couldn't tell.

I've been playing guitar for more than 30 years now, currently on PRS standard, Gibson LP, Blade R4 and Ibanez JS 1000. My prime rig is Engl E-530/Z11 pre amp, TC G-Force fx proc, Peavey Classic 50/50 power amp, and 2 BagEnd S 12-D monitors. This setup smokes any combo amp including the DC-5 but that's not why I got it. It's a good COMBO and it serves its purpose for me. It has everything it needs but if it were stolen I'd probably leave it.

1995, USA Handmade. 2 Channels, with pull boost on clean channel to get more dirty tones. All tube. Spring reverb. Footswitchable Reverb (not included), channel switch & EQ (included footswitch). 5 Band Graphic EQ. Channel 1 & 2 have independant 4-band EQ (bass-mid-treble-presence). Serial/Parallel FX loop with level control, slave out with level control. speaker outputs. Headphone jack. Tons of features, and I don't use all of them.

I have three main guitars, a Fender 2001 Jeff Beck Signature Strat, a Carvin Bolt with duncan '59 humbucker in the bridge and two Duncan vintage single coils, and a Les Paul with Duncan '59s. I play in a blues/country-rock band and an emo band (my main project), and this amp fits all the styles well. For playing country I do use an MXR Dynacomp Compressor, and I also use a Vox Wah. That's it for effects. Not incredibly noisy unless gain is cranked to 8 or above on the Drive channel. I love the sound of this amp, it tends to be fairly dark sounding, but that complements my bright sounding pickups immensely. Great distortion- my settings are Gain: 6.5 Treble: 8 Mid: 6 Bass: 5 Presence: 7, output volume at 80% all the time, channel volumes set to fit the room. On clean, I just set everything around 5 except for the treble which I crank up to 8 as well as the presence up to 7.5. The 5-band EQ is set to cut the mids a tiny bit, just for an extra tweek. It's good peoples.

Good stuff.

Dunno

Buy one now!

Check other reviews.Effects loop sounded thin when used with my rotosphere,sounded better in front.Love recording out.

With standard Tele for blues and R&B?Start with everything on 5,on Ch1,except reverb to taste,and I'm sure you can get there.I get compliments from other guitar players I work with,which is nice.
With PRS CE22 for heavier sounds?Ch1 needs some adds(treble)and cuts(Gain,bass)and Ch2 can be very musical with the right EQ choices.Using Ch2 as lead channel is cool,but with PRS I use it as Crunchy rhythm and use a Klon or Dynacomp or TS9 for the level boost for solos.
Overall,versatility is very good,and although I would not call this an organic unit(like a Deluxe),it has been pretty good to me,and I can do anything in my ability with this amp.Clean sounds?Pretty good,esp.with in between P-up selections on the PRS with the Dynacomp.No one who hires me has ever complained or made suggestions,unless you count being called "loud and proud".I have lived with this amp for a long time(5 yrs) and still enjoy it.

Has been great,always fired up for me.Many gigs,many miles,seems to like the JJ tubes.I have not babied this amp,but I did buy a dolly to help my hands.

n/a

Playing for 20 yrs,and have blamed my gear for plenty of things,have even tried to sell this amp,but time has vindicated my choice.I'm always looking for better sounds but until my income changes, i will hopefully enjoy many more trouble free gigs.If you have this amp and feel stuck or frustrated,set the EQ flat,and set everything else at 5,turn master up slowly,and tweak again.This amp sounds much better at louder settings(master on 4,gain at 7 and channel volume @ 3 or whatever you need).Then you can add or cut on your 5 band to smooth things out.Remember,if you think it sounds muddy,it does.Dont worry if your bass seems set low or treble is whatever:trust your ears.And if you want to cut a live mix,you will need mids.Bedroom sounds may not be great in a live setting.I thought I would offer some feedback for guys who are leaning towards a purchase to consider this amp in this price range,and have to travel light like I do.

wow a head phone jack and a recording output...you can turn off the speaker.....rare stuff. i think you all know the standard multizillions of pots and switch selections...i think this is easier than a mk iv to set up...but that amp is way complex...
the slider EQ is worth the price of admission. you can change to a groove tube kt66 hp 5 or 6 rating ...no biasing this amp per groove tubes...that will be interesting.

brutal to medium distortion is why you buy this amp. forget about clean sounds my dr z or top hat or fender amp destroys the clean.
not quite as bad as the dual triple recto clean but nothing to write your mom about. stick a les paul, singlecut, anderson with H2+ hum in front of it and hold on for the ride. Godsmack comes to mind.
ever wondered what it's like to be a rock star? Plug your PRS in and sound pretty much exactly like Santana....you know he plays boogie exclusively. The heavy local blues acts use the 50 cal+ with extension speakers and a les paul. this amp descended from it. mesa says this has a sweeter overdrive channel than the 50+. bedroom players better have some earplugs or you'll be disappointed...very fizzy at low levels. headphone output is really fizzy with my AKG's.

mesa's don't break. 90 watt celestion is indestructable.

helpful but never live usu. always a message same day. hmmm wonder if i have a warranty? will call them up.

high gain blues to heaviest metal. basically this a rock/metal amp that also plays blues. jazzers and clean freaks gonna be disappointed! buy a polytone or fender or top hat ambassador.
i've had lot's of mesas...triple, dual, tremoverbs. this is a portable powerhouse....it's about 60lbs i think. no point to point tastey juicy cleans but rockers and bluesmen with humbuckers will have found their holey grail.

The other reviews spell out the features. My DC-5 is a 1997 model...I've been playing it regularly for the last 4 years. It covers every basic style I need to play (rock, metal, blues, pop, even country!) Like everyone else, I think it would be cool to be able to control the "pull boost" on the clean channel with a foot switch...does anyone know about a mod to do this? I play mostly in my church, but we cover an extremely wide range of styles...the volume level is relatively low, so my DC-5 rarely gets to shine. I also play in a classic rock cover band...that's where the gain channel really comes into it's own. It's loud, man! I've never, ever turned the master any higher than 5...

I use a 1989 model Fender Strat plus -w- "gold" Lace sensor pickups. I think the DC-5 would kick a little better with a higher gain pickup in the bridge position, but overall I can get all the various tones I need by switching pickup selections, going from channel 1 to 2 on the amp, using the pull boost & tasteful guitar volume-knob adjustment.

I can honestly say that I'm 100% pleased with the sound of this amp. I agree with the other people who say it takes time to dial great tones in...the first few months were a little disappointing. But once I stopped being lazy & really dug in, I realized what a great amp I had. Using channel 1, I can get great blues, clean-Hendrix (which I use a lot), and out-of-phase country type tones...pull out the "pull boost", and then a wide range of classic overdrive sounds emerge. Channel 2 gives me Van Halen "brown" type sounds (esp. when I plug in a Les Paul or other humbucker-loaded guitar), Hendrix, Metallica, Creed..you name it. Everything from classic to modern hi gain tones. I have noticed that the graphic EQ is key here...turning it off really makes things sound weaker.

After a few months, I was getting a wierd "overtone" on the clean channel. It went away on its own after a while, but still pops up time & again. I suspect the problem would disappear with new and/or different tubes (just haven't taken the time to replace them yet).

Also, this amp is so stinking heavy! My only real gripe has been that the carrying strap (handle) is rubber with a metal strip inside, and mine has split, causing the metal piece to dig into my hand when I carry this 100 pound monster. The DC-100's came with a nicer leather strap, which I plan to try to retro-fit onto my DC-5.

Never called them...the dealer I got the amp from was great, though.

I've been playing for over 10 years...I had a Marshall JCM 900 50w half stack & a 1950's-era Fender brown-face Vibro-something-or-other...also a 1970's silver-face Fender Bassman head -w- 2x12 enclosure. I used to A/B between the Marshall for distortion & a Fender for a clean sound...I replaced all this stuff with the DC-5 & have no regrets. It sounds just as good, if not better, PLUS it fits in my car! I love the way it pretty much covers all the bases in a loud, compact package. If it got stolen, I'd definetely buy another Mesa...maybe a different model (since this one's discontinued).

In my quest for the elusive range of tones, I'd probably add a Les Paul to my arsenal...a strat, a les paul, a boogie and possibly a marshall 2x12 combo & you could pretty much grab any tone you want.

This amp has some pretty good features. Everything that you need, while maintaining a level of simplicity in a two channel tube guitar amp. The first channel is clean (with a boost switch to add more gain), and the second channel is a modern distortion with lots of gain. It has independent reverb on both channels, an effects loop with a mixer for it, and a graphic EQ. You can change channels and bypass the Graphic EQ from the footswitch.
The amp uses two 6L6s in it power section.

Overall, I would love to see some more features out of this amp, but that's just me, i want my amp to be decked out with features..... no SLO for me...... I think that a bias switch would be a good feature to add, and a solo feature that would increase the volume and be footswitchable...... three channels would be good too

My opinion on the sound quality of this amp is really two seperate opinions,,,, one for the clean this amp gives and one for the distortion.
THE CLEANS KICK ASS!!! ok, maybe i've never played the roland jazz chorus, or even a fender amp, but i know a good clean when i hear one. Its kind of a hard clean to describe..... almost liquidy? does that make sense to anyone,,,, i guess you just have to hear it, i love it..... it not that sensitive either, just go with the suggested settings in the manual.

The distortion on the amp is a different story. For the first couple months that i owned the amp, i hated the distortion channel on this amp, i felt that it was just not modern enough. I needed my distortion to be as heavy as possible. I was quite dissapointed, but after much tweaking, i finally found a distortion that i am for the most part, happy with. IF YOU TAKE ANYTHING FROM THIS REVIEW REMEMBER THIS-----> DO NOT GIVE UP ON THIS AMP WITHOUT MONTHS OF TWEAKING! TWEAKIFY, TWEAKIFY, TWEAKIFY!!! i dont know if that's a word or not, but maybe it'll make you remember to TWEAKIFY!!!.......... if you dont like the distortion on your DC-5 try this:
gain=8, treble=8.5, mid=1, bass=6.5, presence=6.5, reverb=1
for the graphic EQ go with the fabled 'V'

but if that doesn't work for you..... keep trying,,, sooner or later you'll find something........ but yeah,,, i can't give this a '10' just cuz i've recently heard a dual rectifier.... nothing can compare to the dual rectifier's distortion

ummmm...... i dunno..

ummm.... i dunno..... BUT i've heard good things.... if that means anything

i play a gibson gothic explorer directly into the DC-5, no effects.....i expect my amp to give me the tone that i want, i dont need any stompboxes to change my tone....... except that i would like to get a noise suppressor soon too...... i get too much feedback on this amp, its annoying, but what can you expect? its a high gain amp,,,, i hope the noise suppressor takes care of it

so yeah.... if you're pressed for cash, get this
if you're not pressed for cash, get a dual rectifier
if you have a lot of cash,,,, umm.......i dunno get a bogner ecstasy i guess,,,, i've heard that's good.....
AND if you own microsoft or something get a diezel......