Mesa/Boogie Express 5:50 2x12

5W CLASS A/B SWITCHABLE TO 50W CLASS A.

Two channels each with 4 modes,

channel 1 : clean/crunch modes

channel 2 : blues/burn modes

Right here we go. my gear consists of a fender mexican custom shop designed 60's strat loaded with custom fender '69 pick-ups and the bridge is now fitted with dimarzio tone zone.

I also own a yamaha pacifica 612v.

Ok so mesa were always considered as the mighty of all amps, and this is the 1st product i've bought from them. The amp was very difficult at 1st to get the sound i wanted...but after minutes i had realised this amp reacts different all across the e.q board. the bass control is very powerful. infact so powerful i had to knock down the bass at 10.00, while treble and mid at noon, to get a nice clear rock sound. rather than go on i shall summerise each mode...

CHANNEL 1 :


CLEAN : clean sound is very reminiscent of fender amps...wet clean and very bell like. the clean sounds are awesome with pedals...and even though i bought this to use without pedals....i plugged my big muff into this thing and my god the sound is so huge!! the clean can go from super clean to slight break up. Its officially the best clean tone i've heard from any AMP PERIOD!


CRUNCH : OK so heres where the fun starts. this mode can get you some really bright crunch tones perfect for blues at low gain settings to all out hard rock/metal. Very tight and fluid like. Very crispy compared to burn mode. This channel is great for tight TOOL 10,000 days songs.


CHANNEL 2 ;

BLUES : This mode takes you to clean/clean break up/to a nice mild warm smooth crunch sound. It really is for blues as you cant get a heavy nor very clean sound outta this mode. Its the warmest setting on this amp. Absolutely awesome.


BURN : Now...there has been much debate whether the express can do the whole metal thing and I SAY YES...YES SIR VERY GOOD INDEED!!!!! I play blues/jazz/alt.rock/metal....and this amp delivers big time. BURN takes crunch into more gain perfect for metal/death metal whatever metal your into!!!! There is only so much gain you can use before your sound mushes and the gain on burn stops right before things get silly gainey. Set at 12.00 will give you 'duality' slipknot gain levels to god of lamb. You really need to use the right guitar witht this amp....using a standard strat wont get you a very good metal sound...any guitar with seymour duncan, emg humbuckers really makes BURN SHINE. its not as tight as crunch...but more smoother and more mids...


i am giving the sound an 8 because i understand where people were coming from saying this amp did not do metal. The amps distortion is very complicated. it did not chug well with my strat, i think because of the nature of my saddles and bridge. Hence the 8. However plugging in my yamaha which is an incrediblty bright guitar the chug is awesome!!! YOU NEED HUMBUCKERS!! obviously randall smith has mastered the art of fender cleans and blues tones and the express does all these tones so easily and maybe better.
what really let people down was the trademark 'mesa crunch' sound not living up to the recto's sound. well guys reality check....randall set out making a whole new amp with a different distortion sound. THIS AMP SOUNDS NOTHING LIKE DUAL RECTO, BUT HAS ITS OWN SOUND, which is more versatile. the crunch tones can bring you into a big muff sound which absolutely sounds amazing. its the 1st amp that i've owned that can give amazing CLEAN/DISTORION/FUZZ tones!!!!!!!

funny i received my amp and reverb was not working. i turned everything off, unplugged the footswitch lead and kettle plug. then started her up and everything works fine. whether i needed to just settle her in or there was a slight fault but works now i have no clue...but..

so far so good....but i hear mesa's are built to last a lifetime. for now i can give it an 10.

never dealed with them but they sound serious about their support and seem reputable.

the performance of the amp in a band environment excels way past my previous marshall combos. However when trying this amp along with a marshall jvm/diezel einstein, the marshall/einstein nails the whole chugga palm mute stuff better than the express. The express's distortion is very creamy and fuzz like, it can chug quite well ASLONG that you have the right BRIDGE/PICKUPS/tonewood. The distortion is very fuzzlike. This amp may not chug as well as a mid scooped-clear marshall/diezel distortion, but gives you a really heavy bassy fuzz chug. it sounded alot more powerful like a big muff when playing heavy open riffs compared to the marshall/diezel einstein i tried in the store. Very HELMET SIZE MATTERS DISTORTION. it chugs well....only in a very different way....and sounds heavier and basier with open playing. Alot of good chugging amps lack.

Features are great. 4 total modes(clean, crunch, blues, burn) I like the 5 watt feature, I can actually play with my band with the amp on 5 watts and cut through just fine! 50 watt mode is ridiculously loud and you have to be very sensitive when adjusting the volume. I dont use effects loops but it does have one. 3 button footswitch with plenty of cable.

The clean channel is awesome, I seriously cant get a bad sound out of it no matter where the eq knobs are set. Reverb is great too. Channel 2 is made more for single note picking than big rock chords in my opinion. If your used to big creamy marshall rock chords your going to have to really do some tweaking with this channel or use the crunch setting on channel 1 for it. And then use the blues setting on channel 2 with the gain low for your clean channel. I still have not quite found the sweet spot on this amp for big rock power chords. I also feel the gain on the burn channel is no where near metal/recto range. Overall though the clean channel is enough for me.

Built like a tank! Awesome slide off casters and a nice padded cover comes with it as well. Totally reliable. I gig every weekend and dont bring a back up.

Never had an issue with any boogie ive owned.

2007 mesa express 5:50 2x12 combo. Thought I would be the first to review the 2x12. Same features. This amp is as simple as it gets. Really hard to get a bad sound. Simple yet amazingly flexible. You will need a rack processor as the serial loop has no level controls. Loop sounds great( tube!) and does not eat tone. 2 modes per channel. Clean/ crunch channel goes from beautiful mass headroom clean to pushed( great for blues) to classic overdrive and heavy chunk in crunch mode. This channel alone is enough to sell it. Channel 2 offers blues/burn modes. Footswitch for channel, reverb( spring tube driven and sooo nice!!!) and contour, a brilliant tone shaper that acts like a V shaped eq pattern that most guitarists use with boogies in a single knob format. When cranked, the clean is fat and shimmering, crunch is tight and thick, and burn mode is full on metal. Missing is the solo function and maybe a loop bypass. Neither is a big deal for me, this amp feature wise is perfect with all you need and will actually use and nothing you don't.

This is a great sounding amp. I play a wide range of styles and this amp delivers inspiring tones from the cleanest fendery to the fattest distortion. It is my first mesa. A bandmate had a Mark IV that was sweet and I think this amp has similiar high gain sounds if that helps someone researching this new boogie. Brutal dist? Uh kinda but excels at a smoother singing kind of lead sound. The reverb is great. It doesn't interfere with your tone and you actually forget you have it on. Until you turn it off. Transparent. Beats my fender deville. Not extreme if you do surf. The amp is very quiet. The stock black shadow speakers sound good with great low end capability and smooth top. It sounds great with all my guitars and really lets the sound of the gtr come thru. Single coils are not gonna push the amp enuf if you want heavy distortion. This amp features a 5 watt mode that I predict is gonna be a huge selling point with this amp as more hear what amazing sounds are possible at lower volumes( not low, its still loud, loud I can compete with my drummer). I run a rack processor and use it as a master volume. This way I crank the channel volume up in 5 watt mode and push the pre amp harder for more gain for practice at low vol. of course in 50 watt mode its stupid loud. The contour control adds necessary sparkle. Amp is a little middy without it engaged. I set the amp brighter so it sounds good when off, then set at moderate level to engage sparkle and bass (scoop). Mesa deserves major credit for such a great design. This amp is a bargain in my opinion especially when you add the cost of all the amps and fx you likely go through in your tone quest. The quality of tone overall is just so good. I think maybe the simplicity of this amps design could be the reason. Less is definately more in this case. I think it would suit plug and play types wonderfully and knob turners will have plenty to play with. A very inspiring amp.

Newish so ??. I always have backup but would trust this solid beast.

Heard great things

Highly recommended. I have or have had fender marshall and carvin tube amps. Beats em all. I wanted a 1x12 combo but this came up on craigslist. kinda glad I got the 2x12 though cuz its not too heavy( same as my deville) and I like wider sound and ability to have 2 different spkrs. This amp is a beautiful looking thing too. Tough. I really couldn't be happier with it. I cant imagine any serious guitarist not loving it. Try it if you can b4 you buy. As they say, if you want a fender, marshall or a rectifier BUY ONE. This amp is none of those but will do ALL of those TYPE sounds. That is flexibilty that none of those offer in my experience although they are all great amps. The 5 watt feature really makes this a everything practice to stage kind of amp. Get one This is a true jem. Mesa really nailed it with this amp. Great value. Love set bias that allows you to swap tubes easily.