Mesa/Boogie F-50 112 Combo

It is a simple setup which I like. I like that it does not have a presence control.

I have never played on the perfect sounding amp so I give it a 9. I read some input from some nomad owners saying that it was a better amp. I had a nomad and the sound was terrible to me. Especially the high gain channels. The F-series is much better sounding. I have owned 5 different mesa's over the years and this is one of the better sounding ones.

always great on Mesa

always good

I always looking for something better.

2 Channels. Gain, Treb/Mid/Bass, Reverb, and Master are all you get. I've been looking for a Boogie without the wall of knobs to mess with (a la Mark IV). This is the one! The lead channle has a Contour switch which boosts the bass and high-end to make it sound more "modern". Effects loop in the back. Overall a very stripped-down amp. Some of us consider that a feature, not a bug.

I use a Gibson 335 and occasionally a G&L Strat. I play a lot of classic rock, but also do swing, jazz, and play in pit bands for plays. I can't turn this amp off!!! The clean channel is unbelievable! I've never heard the depth and complexity of tones that I'm getting out of my 335. Lead/rhythm/both pickups sound amazingly sweet. When I roll back the tone knob there's no clutter. The amp is very responsive to my playing - it changes the way you interact with the amp.

Unlike the clean channel, the lead channel needs to be fiddled with a little to really sound good. My one possible complaint is that you need to crank it a little to get the real singing Santana tone (too much for a pit band, that's for sure). But you can get a great rock and roll tone without peeling the paint.

I've only had the amp for 3 days ... no data yet!

Overall, I've never heard a better amp. I'd definately recommend it to anyone!

2 Channels, all tube, high output, independent controls, FX Loop, footswitch. What else more is needed ?

Clear sound is great. Overdriven sound sucks big time. Contour makes the overdrive channel even worse. Very bad amp. Don't buy it. Go to the Nomad Series, more expensive but way much better. This amp is terrible if you want to use its overdrive channel. Deserves a 4 because of the clean chanel which is great.

Probably solid as a rock

I play guitar for 15 years. Have 9 top of line guitars, have had several valve amps: Marshall, Peavey, Mesa DC-5 and will buy the Road King these days. This F 50 has a shitty overdrive channel. Don't buy it. Buy Mesa DC 50, DC 30, Nomad series, etc. I love Mesa Boogie, but I have to be honest

This amp is very simple in design with completely seperate controls (gain,low,mid,high,reverb and volume) for each channel. There are 4/8/16 ohm ext. speaker outs in the rear, a great effects loop with a mix control (in fact the best loop I have ever heard on a combo). also a recording out (cabinet voiced) output for direct recording or the console for a live gig. The 112 cabinet is a "widebody" design, which makes for more cabinet resonance. The included (3) button footswitch controls channel switching, reverb(on/off), and lead channel contour which gives more definition to the lead/OD mode. The clean channel sounds very fendery to me -more so than other boogies I have played. To my ears it sounds fat and round like a blackface deluxe. The lead channel gives you many sounds, however my favorite setting produces the singing sustained Santana-like sound (This is achieved using the lead contour mode). This amp is really versatile and dials up great blues-rock tones easily. I tried a Nomad and single rectifier along side of the F-50 and I preferred both The clean and dirty tones of the F-50 over the others. There is plenty of headroom here folks!! I use the amp for a weekend gig and recording (usually direct to digital HD). The map performs outstanding in both scenarios.

I am using this amp primarily with a PRS CE22 with dragon II humbuckers. Styles played are rock, blues/rock and some jazz. The PRS sounds great through most amps, however in combination with this boogie it shines. I feel no more need for OD pedals here. I do use a TC electronic Chorus and Line 6 DL4 delay occasionally in the loop and both sound outstanding through the F-50. I also have a '57 Strat that also sounds outstanding through this amp. I have yet to dial up a bad tone - the only way you could get this amp to sound bad is to set the reverb too high!! Seriously, I wonder if there is a better value out there for a grand? I know there are better sounding boogie models out there, but at double the price or more. Unless you are playing professionally or have money to burn, save your $ and give this amp a try. I love these guys who critique gear as if everyone is some golden eared audiophile in a sound lab under perfect listening conditions. Then there are others who tell us about excess noise in equipment, then go on to list the (20) device laundry list of their effects chain... gee I wonder where the noise comes from?? To my ears this Boogie combines sweet simplicity with extraordinary value!!

This amp is built like a boogie. These things are heavy because they use quality components throughout (electrical,hardware, and cabnetry). I would expect my grand kids to be playing this thing!

Simply the best. Humans answer the phone and take care of your problem promptly. I called because one of my power tubes was ringing in lower note decays. The person took my name & address and mailed a new matched pair of 6L6's out -no questions asked -did'nt even wnat the serial number or any other purchase info.

I have owned many amps(fender,ampeg,roland,marshall,boutique models form kendrick, GT,Victoria) in the past and present and this is the first amp that has caused me to put away my OD pedals and consider selling all of them. The (2) channels have all the tones that I require for rock, bues-rock, blues-jazz/swing. The simplicity in design, understated cosmetics, and totally seperate channel controls are what make this amp appealling to me.

This is a 1x12 combo,treble ,mid,bass,gain,reverb,master volume--2 independent channels with independent eq sections.has effects loop on the back with variable send level control and opions to use different auxillary cabs with 4,8,16 ohm jacks,effects loop

im using 335s,lespaul historic and classics as well as a PRScustom 24 for start sounds.first let me say that all the guitars sound amazing through this amp.I've read reviews that say this is crap--they must be kids with no ear for amps.this is a very simple amp,in its design and set up,and as always the simplier it is it usually sounds better---just take a look at a good marshall plexi circuit or a soldano--one is point to point ,the latter isnt but each don't have alot of crap features that rob your tone.i switched from a vht pittbull 45 which was ok,but the clean channel sounded sterile,and the overdrive wasnt suited for blues although it was the amps forte.the clean channel on the f50 is pure blackface having a/b the amp with a fender super reverb.I got exactly the same sound out of the boogie.very warm blues tone for the clean sound with the availiability to tone shape just about anything you can think of.I was very impressed so much so that this clean sound is so good that it rivals many other boutique amps in the 3-4 k range proporting the blackface tone.completely blows the vht out of the water here.the dirty channel is more classic rock/blues with that familiar santana singing sustain,very well balanced and not midrangy as on the other boogies i tried in previous years.you can completely thow away the distortion or overdrive pedals you may have with this beast,bass nbotes are very full and not flabby through the back shadow 90.if you want more hook up a vintage 30--youll get even more dirt and a definite edge to the clean sound.it makes carring a stack almost useless except in certain situations.the reverb is second only to that on a blue angel,being extremely useful in its range.the super reverb is to way over the top in this area---like where would you use all that reverb--even for surf? almost never.This amp was a great recommendation to me by Gary at EASTCOAST MUSIC MALL in conneticut(203-748-2799).The man literally went completely out of his way,while fielding numerous phone calls to set me up in a private room to test the amps out,and had rock solid advice.If you happen to be on the east coast and looking for a Boogie dealer call him--he was the best.Also their salesman joe was very helpful . .Boogie did a great job in attaining these people as dealers.They were ready to swap out tubes on the spot to make me happy--now what sales person these days would do that?excellent personal attention.

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS,BOOGIE IS ALWAYS HELPFUL--USUALLY ITS A TUBE WHICH BECAUSE OF THE FIXED BIAS CAN SOMETIMES BE OUT OF THAT RANGE WHICH WILL GET MICROPHONIC.THE F SERIES IS BUILT LIKE A TANK WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED.THE REST IS UP TO YOU.ITS NOT A COVER YOUR ASS TYPE AMP SO IF YOU PLAY BAD--YOU PLAY BAD,AND IF YOURE GOOD YOU SOUND BETTER FROM ITS SUPERB TONE.

AS I STATED THE GUYS AT EASTCOAST MUSIC MALL IN CONNETICUT ARE TOP NOTCH--GO THERE ITS WORTH THE DRIVE.I WENT FROM NYC TO THERE IN ABOUT 1 HOUR.THE BOOGIE REPFOR THE EAST COAST ALSO LIVES ABOUT 10 MINUTES FROM THERE AS WELL AND FREQUENTS THE STORE,SO ANYWAY YOU HAVE IT YOURE COVERED.AND PLEASE LET ME SAY,IM NOT A KID,IM 41,AND HAVE BEEN AT IT SINCE I WAS 13,BEEN A DEALER,SALESMAN AND HAVE WORKED IN CUSTOMER RELATIONS.THAT IS WHY I GET SO IMPRESSED.MUSIC STORES USUALLY SUCK,ALWAYS LOOKING TO MAKE A QUICK SALE,NOT THESE FOLKS.AND I AM NOT IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM AFFILIATED,FRIENDS WITH,ETC ETC ANY EMPLOYEES OF EITHER BOOGIE OR EAST COAST MUSIC MALL.ANYONE CAN EMAIL ME AT MY ADDRESS BELOW AND ILL CERTAINLY TRY TO HELP YOU OUT

I WAS VERY VERY PLEASED WITH THE SOUND OF THE AMP AS WELL AS THE CUSTOMER SERVICE.THE ONLY OTHER COMPANY THAT HAS EQUAL SERVICE LIKE BOOGIE IS SOLDANO,THEY ARE BOTH THE BEST.WHEN YOU BUY FROM THEM YOU BUY THE SERVICE AS WELL--ALWAYS LOYAL TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.JUST TRY TO GET THAT FROM OR EVEN REACH SOME OF THE OTHERS .YEAH RIGHT WHAT A JOKE.

Amp made in 2002. Sweet clean - sweet gain, even sweeter contour swtich. Tubes are great, no faults, and this one is exported to the UK. Blues powered rock, great, loud enough for gigging. Effects loop great too. Wish the effects loop could be turned on or off on the footswitch though. Not totally tubes, transistors cut out fuzz and feedback, so there is no popping.

Humbuckers, loud as you like with an SG. Crunchy yet mellow, and v.loud. No noise on any channels at any volume, not even humming, which you expect at loud volumes. No popping or clicks or hums as the amp has built in transistors, not totally tubes. Vartiey of sounds is very impressive. When practising with this amp, I get used to one sound and then find another one that I like. A plethora of sounds, and no end of different combinations. You can keep twiddling the knobs, because this amp will do what you tell it to.

Haven't tried it live yet, but thrashing out loud tunes for hours on end and the amp is so far fine.

Have'nt dealt with company yet, but am told that the guys are great. All the documentation and kit with the amp is very imformative, simple and helpful.

Telecasters sound mean on this amp, Strats too ES335s SGs no doubt Les Paul rips your ears off, but all of the above guitars sound how they should sound, with this amp. Way better the anything Fender has to offer. Tried HOT ROD Deville 410, and it is pants compared to this, no way near the quality or volume, for an amp this size. Not even that heavy, 30kgs or something like that. I want to try the bigger Mesa stuff now, listen to how mean that is. I also like how plain and understated the amp looks. No designation of amp model is seen anywhere apart from the back and the footswitch.
GREAT!!! 5*

Features ar per standard boogie swiss army knife except no global master which is annoying

I have owened a DC 5 head a DC 3 1 by 12 combo played a mark 4 and a MARK 3 also played a tri axis through simil 2 90 through 2 by 12 recto cab and currently own a Nonmad 45 which is fantastic. I gotta be honest the F 50 is very simply a shit box.The clean channell is ok but is to scooped out and 2 dimensional and the overdrive quality is plain disgusting. Very raspy very flubby none of that typical boogie refinement. I had a marshall jcm2000 40 watt combo that sounded 20 times better.

Dunno played it in the store

Would likely be good support

I've owned a few Boogies in the past and the problem was either they were too complex or too bone simple. I think they've found a nice, happy medium here. I play blues and soul and this machine gives me pretty much all the sounds I require.

I use both a relic Strat and a 335 in my current band and both channels will accomodate either guitar. The strat is a little harsh at higher gain settings, but most strats are. The amp seems to become a little noisier when the treble is raised but not to the point of annoyance. The clean channel is glassy and I was relly surprised by the range of the tone controls. You want bass, you got it. Even when the clean channel's gain is full up the amp never sounds harsh or squealy. Nice change from say, a MK III. The distortion is again, sweet, not harsh, somewhat reminiscent of a DC5 but with a little more available top end. Great, obviously, with humbuckers.

So far so good. I've never had a problem with Boogie reliability except for maybe a squealy preamp tube. Seems to be like all other Boogies I've owned: solid as a rock.

I dig Mesa because you can still call them and get a real person to the phone to answer any questions you may have.

I've been playing about 13 years and my only other amp is a Dr.Z Route 66 because I'll always love the tone of KT66 tubes flat out, but this Boogie was puchased as my gig amp. The reverb is the most Fendery I've ever heard in a Boogie next to a Blue Angel. I could easily do a country gig with this amp and a compressor.It's a simple good looking amp with minimal controls yet it is versatile. Adding a good o.d. or distortion pedal to the clean channel can give you enough tones to probably do a Top 40 gig ( if there are any of those around anymore!).

Read prvious (or folowing?) review for features. Pretty basic, 2 channel w/ reverb etc

Awesome for most things. The best clean mesa channel that exists. I got rid of my tri-axis for this one. The parrallell effects loop works great, and you can go from an agressive fender-ish clean, to tight compressed blues grrit quite happily. The lead channel has tremendous range as well, very good biting squaks and punches, can be made to sing somewhat. I'm guessing that with the appropriate stompbox(s) it could handle most anything you wanted. The effect return will also handle an outboard preamp... so I might get my triaxis back just for the lead sounds and singing sustains, and use an A/B box to switch back to the combo for the more percussive and biting sounds. Ps, I use a parker fly guitar, and play psychedelic metal, country rock type things with jazz flairs

The low score here is that when I first got it, it sounded great for all of week, then weird sounds came forth, I replaced the power tubes(at the dealers expense!) and then it sounded great for about 3 days. then the power stage started to crap out on low notes at high volume. This time it went to the technician, 2 weeks later, and much aggrevation, I got it back with a note saying bad tube in t power power section (we're on set number three within the first month!). Anywa works great for another three days!!? And back it goes for another 2 weeks. It all checks out on th testing equipment, Mesa is baffeled, the tech decides to change a preamp tube that services the power section, performs an exorcism and prays, lets it sit for a day or two, and voila! It now works great. Weird really. My personal guess is thta being a new amp it had some quirks, or wanted some attention. So, since I love it so much, I would get a back up, and yes I would replace it, but I would also wait a year, until mesa made sure that subsequent production runs are de bugged.

mesa is generally very good, one of the best for a largish company.

Its small, it will support almost any kind of extension cab you throw at it, its, for me, the best amp Mesa,or any body out there makes anywhere near that price range. I own (and anm selling) a Kendrick black gold 35, a mesa vtwin preamp, a fifty/fifty power amp, all of which are outta here now!

2 Channels + Contour on Lead, Reverb, Parallel FX loop, pull Bright on CH1, 50 Watts / 2X 6L6's. 3 button footie (CH, Contour, Reverb) Black Shadow Celestion 90. I believe this first prod run of this F50 model are the only ones to be the short chassis 1X12 combo, all the rest will be Widebody. Straighforward and simple to use with separate Gain, Treb, Mid, Bass, Reverb, Master on each channel.

Clean channel is awesome, nice glassy clean that can crunch up nice with a good clip, very versatile channel, one of the better Mesa cleans available IMHO. I really loved this channel, the reverb was full and lush! The Lead channel is not very "bitey" or rough, and has a smooth drive thats really silky and not very gritty. It reminds me of the Maverick but not quite as buttery smooth. In the contour mode the lows and highs get boosted and sound quite a bit fatter with more oomph and punch..."more scooped". Mesa adverts it as a Medium gain amp, IMHO it still sounds like a high gain amp. Nice tones throughout. I played my '57 Goldtop RI w/57 Classic humbuckers, and a LP with P-90's.

It's a new series and if it is true to it's lineage/geneaology it should last so long that your grandchildrens children will be able to play through it, Mesa builds good stuff and it should last forever. Usual quality of components, knobs, speakers etc.

Mesa is one of the true great amp compaies that will service it's customers, with a live phone call, it may take a day or so, but when they call you they give 100% to your issue and WILL resolve your problem. Gotta love that !!!

Nice amp, I probably wouldn't need a backup, just some spare tubes as tubes do have a limited life span. I own 2 other Mesa's and a Vox - and it fits right in with the TONE arsenal, and if it were stolen I would buy another, of course!