Mesa/Boogie Dual Caliber Combo

I've had this amp for about five years and i got it used. It's got a great distortion channel. I use it for metal. With the gain between 2.5 and 3. That's all the gain i really need. the two channels could use seperate master volumes but other than that it's good to go. I use this thing live and i drive a 4 x 12 with it. No problem.

The clean channel sounds dark and is easy distorted with the gain past 3. The gain channel has a shat ton of gain. I never need it past 3.5 and i play metal. I can kick the shit out of my bud's recto with this thing. Very sharp jagged attack.

I had to fix the power cable on this once and sometimes with the master past 3 the volume with fluctuate after about a half an hour. good thing I only need it at 2.

This amp has been holding my ass up for about 5 years now. If you can find one i;d say snag that up.

This amp is one of a new batch released in January 1999 in the US I think. It has an upgrade on the previous model in that it has all the features outlined in previous reviews but now also a footswitch allowing EQ to be turned on and off for each channel which comes standard - giving 4 readily accessible sounds. This feature is a must for me as it can also act as a boost switch for solos. The amp has plenty of power for me, I have not yet got it over 3 on the master in full rehearsals. The tone is sweet and so responsive. I previously had a Marshall Valvestate 8080 combo which was good for the price, but didn't have the subtle nuances that this amp has. For the record I reckon this 35 watt Mesa is twice as loud as the 80 watt Marshall. The distortion here is so useable and the sustain is incredible.
The sounds are very vesatile - exactly what I need since it is my only amp. You can go from ultra clean to blues, hard rock and metal with the turn of a couple of dials.

I use 2 guitars through it - a US strat with a Duncan hotrail in the bridge and an Ibanez Rg-550 with Dimarzio super distortion humbucker in the bridge, a Dimarzio humbucker from hell in the neck and a standard strat single coil in the middle. I have added splitters so that all the humbuckers can operate as single coils if I want.
I play mainly rock, although playing in a cover band I need to be versatile when occasion demands - and the amp stands up to it.
The amp is not noisy, and is in fact whisper quiet when using the humbuckers in both my guitars. It does get a little noisy if you max out the gain on the lead channel, but there is so much room to move there you don't really need to get to 10 on the gain control, 8 is enough to sound Metallicaish and its quiet at that level.
Clean channel stays clean at high volumes and doesn't clip out provided the gain control stays below 7.
As said, distortion is all you need, though for Satch or Steve Stevens sounds a little more hair could be added from a multi effect distortion or stomp box I suppose.

I've only had the amp for a few weeks, but I have heard the Mesa's after sales service is legendary. The reliability is also legendary although I took the precaution of ordering a full set of spare tubes (very expensive unfortunately) so I won't be caught out at a gig. I'd use it without backup, but only cause of having the spare tubes handy.

Absolutely fantastic. I live in Perth, Western Australia and getting a Mesa was no easy feat. We have one dealer in Australia, who is based in Canberra (the other side of Oz for me). Emails to Mesa with my many questions were promptly and properly answered and in fact they advised me that this updated model was going to be released which had the footswitchable eq standard, so I specifially asked for one of those. The dealer in Canberra, Pro Audio was also first class. The boss Nunzio there looked after me like I was his best, rather than a new, customer and he personally brought back a new model DC-3 from the US when he was visiting with his mate, Mesa's Randall Smith (he had older versions still in stock but I really wanted the new one) - service above and beyond I reckon.
As for servicing I haven't needed it yet but Mesa and Pro Audio advised me that there are authorised Mesa repair techs over here in my neck of the woods so I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I have been playing over 10 years, own the above guitars plus and ovation balladeer, and run a Boss GX-700 rack effect through the mesa.
If this were stolen or lost I would be on the phone to my mate Nunzio at Pro Audio in a second asking for another one. I absolutely love the finishing on this amp - it cost a lot, took time to save for it, but there is really nothing you could add or do differently to it to improve it. It is the Rolls Royce of small tube combos in my opinion. I tried everything else I could get my hands on before buying, although I heard everything else except it (cause we don't have a dealer in Western Australia) including Laneys, Marshalls, Fenders etc. In fact, the only reason I bought it cold without hearing it was because everyone had given it such rave reviews at Harmonycentral - I am glad I listened to you guys.
Do yourself a favour and hold off buying the cheaper amps, save a bit more and get one of these babys, its an amp for life I reckon.