Mesa/Boogie F-50 Head

2005 Model, 2 channels, 3 modes, with the crunch channel that scoops the mids (Contour MODE..making the sound fatter and bigger). Speaker in's(2) @ 4 OHM (1) @ 8 OHM, SEND/RETURN, WET/DRY DIAL. Reverb is very sensitive...but works very well. I have used this amp live 2 - 3 times a week. 50 watts more than enough power. I run it through a 5150 cab.

Clean Channel is probably that best from a muti-channel Mesa I've ever heard. Crunch Channel..Marshallesque, great for vintage vibes..Contour mode gives you entrance into Rectified territory. This amp is very versatile and very simple to get great tones.

It's a workhorse..but just like any other tube amp(carry an extra set if you play alot)

Mesa has really good customer support...however from time to time you they can get adopt elitist attitudes. It's only happened once, but some people will not tolerate being talked down too... Otherwise..very knowledgable

This is live set-up is the one I've been looking for.. I only run a series of delay pedals (danelectro, boss, and LINE 6)and a KORG Tuner Pedal (sooooo convenient). Everthing goes through a Furman Power conditioner (the floor model, not the rack). If your serious about tone and have the cash...get this...you will not be dissapointed

Already been stated quite a few times...

I'm using an Ibanez Jet-King 2 with DiMarzio pickups (tone zone and air norton). This amp is perfect for everything that I play (classic rock, blues, hard rock, and some metal). It does everything exceptionally well except for metal. It's not really a high gain amp but does have enough on tap to get some great metal tones. This is probably the most versatile amp you will find for the price. The clean channel on this thing is the best cleans mesa has ever made.

Amp is very reliable - have never had any problems with it what-so-ever and built like a tank.

Haven't really had to deal with Mesa at all...

I love everything about this amp. Hopefully I won't need money anytime soon and can keep this thing for a long time.

I bought this 2004 model f-50 head and a single 12 3/4 closed back matching cab. used from a local dealer. After being in modelling amp hell for the last year and a half I was looking for simplicity. This 2 channel amp caught my eye and after giving it a whirl I borrowed it for a few days to put it through the paces. I feel you can never really try out an anp in the store. Too many limitations.
I tried quite a few amps from Marshalls to Soldano and in between. None relly captured what I was looking for. I find too many new amps are all about distortion and not about tone.

I play mainly on Strats and G&L guitars though a Les Paul DC is hig on the wish list for those Allman brother tones.. This amp is perfect for me. Having played mainly on half stacks over the years and as posted above in modelling hell I was very pleasently surprized by this Boogie and it's small matching cab.. It sounds huge. The amp is not noisy and is not so filled with gain that it sounds like a metal grinder in heat. Playing mainly classic rock and blues I was wanting an amp that captured the old plexi feel without the weight and without the need for a drive pedal. This amp is it.
I find that unlike other amps where you want more gain up goes the pre this amp is very unique in that at 4 on the pre you have tons of drive and yet you retain the single coils unique tonal carachters. Tone controls work much in the same way sometimes less is better. The manual says that Boogie passes the tone through each of the controls in sequence so if you load a ton of top end on you weaken the signal when it goes into the mids and bass so in fact you loose control. It takes some catching onto because you need to re-learn your conception of amp controls. Once you find the sweet spots though man it sings, purrs, cries and howls.
I love the contour with the gain set at 4 I can just clean up the guitar by backing off the volume on the guitar and then shred leads by working the volume with my hand instead of a footswitch to change the channel. I always felt it sounds diferent every time you channel switch.
The clean channel is just that very clean. SRV and beyond allthough it can be very very bright. Again it takes some time working the settings to get it right.
The reverb is nice not as lush as a fender but very warm non the less.
Actually I have been really enjoying working the gain channel between dirty and clean with my hand controls and not having to channel switch so much.
I have dropped all effects except a wah-wah perhaps because of the modelling amp having so much I find it refreshing to be without effects. Means I have to play better and that is always cool when you know it's you and not a bunch of effects making your guitar sing.

Last time I owned a Boogie was in the eighties when I had a 50 cal. plus and it never let me down so I would assume this will be the same.

Never had to deal with them. I live in Canada and the store I deal with have techs that will fix anything. They also have an instore warranty that equals the manufacturers so way to go L&M.

I've been playing for well over 30 years now. I have owned most amps some I loved, some I hated. Some I loved to hate. I didn't consider Boogie because I really dont like the whole rectified thing and the combos I tried where muddy with a loose bottom end that wobbled about. I found a diamond in the rough in this amp. Is it as big sounding as my Rivera TBR with 2 - 4 x 12 cabs. Well obviously not but it is a wonderful sounding lightweight easy to move rig that doesn't require me to break a nut loading it in the car. It captures every tone I'm looking for so far and inspires me to want to play. In owning an amp that says it all. " DOES IT MAKE ME WANT TO PLAY" the answer is yes, most definatley yes.

gain, trebble, mid, bass, reverb, and master. Two seperate eq's per channel, plus contour. What else do you need.

I use a gibson lp studio equipped with an emg81 in the bridge and an emg60 in the neck. I run no fx. I play primarily thrash and other styles of metal. This amp does clean better than most amps i have ever played on. It does mesa hi-gain better than some of the mesa's I have owned including, a dc-30 and even the famous markIII. The f-50 is a dynamic guitarests dream. Every bit as sensitive to the fingers as it is to the guitar, the pickups, and speaker. Bottom line don't buy a f-50 trying to get that rectifier or marshall sound. If thats whatchya want than don't buy this amp. Buy it to set your self apart from the muddy diaria of recto raw channel no tallent crank it to 11 nu-metal ass clowns poluting the radio, that need overly cascading distortion to hide how poor thier techneaque and frazing really are. Instead strive to be a solid well rounded dynamic player. After all if your spending this kind of doe your not buying a toy to start out on. Be kind and care as much for your audiences ears as you are to your ego.

Built to be here after roaches are extinct!

I once had a question about tubes and cabs. I called Mesa Boogie and talked to the the guy that designed my amp, thanks mike.

I have played for 13 years, and every time I play on a marshall, fender, or one of the latest digital no warmth tonal nightmares, I always end up comming home to a good old boogie.

the amp is basicly two channels: clean and a two mode distortion. it has a parallel fx loop which i use, a headphones/recording out with a speaker mute switch,two 4 ohm and one 8 ohm speaker outs. each channel has it's own gain, treble, mid, bass, reverb and master. the foot controler has 3 functions: clean/distortion switch, drive/counter drive switch and reverb. i play rock music and i'm very satisfied with this amp. since i play big stages i can say that it has enough power. plus, it looks great, very elegant. i love it!
50 watts, 4 ax12, 2 6L6.

i play gibson les pauls with this amp with a marshall 1960A cab. the clean channel is great. it has alot of bottom, alot of top (it has a pull bright) and everything in between. it can be played realy loud without breaking up, but when it breaks up,(if you choose to break it up), it overdrives smooth and nicely. amazing clean!!!
the two distortion modes have more than enough gain. the first one has a bit more mids that sound a bit more creamy, les highs and is more slopy when using palm mutes.it's kind of like i bluesy sound but with much more gain and less bite. it also tends to get muddy at low gain settings.
the second, called counter (witch i generaly use), sounds like that good heavy mesa distortion. it's tight, realy wide and big sounding, and really roars. it has nice highs and a graoling bottom, and the right amount of low mids to keep it warm. i also put a volume pedal in front of the amp so i can use the distortion as an overdrive, and that works great. the clean and the counter distortion is what i use on this amp and i can tell you that they both really cut through.
i have to say that the eq on this amp is very subtle. although the sounds that this amp produces are perfect for my needs and i thank god i bought this amp after every rehearsal and show, what you hear is what you get. you can get a little boost in highs, a little cut in mids, but basicly this amp produces a spesific sound, and 'mesa' don't what you or me to mess around with it.
other than that, the reverb is realy nice. i sometimes use only a touch of it on the clean channel.and.... this amp is realy realy quiet, even at high gain and high levels of volume.
the bottom line: if you're looking for an amp with a great clean channel (which the mesa dual rectifiers don't have),a great heavy distortion channel, fx loop, footswitch, loud, good looking and relatively small and light - you should check this amp out!!!

i have this amp for less that a year but it's been around planes, vans, backseats of cars, trunks of cars - hasn't broken down yet,
but i guess it helps to take care of it and have a good flightcase for it.

once i called mesa about a technical question and they got back to me in two days, but they urge you to talk to the local dealers first.
the amp came with a five year warranty.

i have this amp for less than a year and i love and understand it today more than i did when a bought it. it's a great sounding, reliable amp and defenetly the amp for me at this point. i've played marshalls with different kinds of distortion pedals for a long time but there's always something bigger about an amp distortion, and this one is killer.
i think the retail price on this one is $1000 which seems reasonable to me even though i bought it for less.

Bought it new @ Guitar Center - 2004 model, got it on a closeout deal. bought it new on $600. I didn't need it, and I wouldn't have purchased it if it weren't on sale, but a new 50 watt boogie head for 600? I couldn't pass it up.

Two channels - excellent clean channel! Drive channel with a contour mode. I wish it had the typical boogie 5 band EQ, since I don't care for the contour mode that much, but its still good. The worst Boogie I have ever played was still good ;-)

I play with various guitars - mainly mahogany bodied bodies with set necks, humbuckers. This amp really brings out the tone of the guitars. I have a Carvin Holdsworth (chambered alder body - set neck) that through my Dual Rec sounds great, but isn't a good match with the f-50. My solid body mahogany guitars sound much better through it. It definately reacts different through speaker cabs, too. through my Marshall 1960 (4x12) sounds, well, ok. But through a Avatar 2X12 with Vintage 30's (sort of a 3/4 back design), man it sounds much better! This amp is very peticular about what kind of gear you play with. By the way, the Dual Rectifier sounds much better through that cab, too. So I'm beginning the think about getting rid of the Marshall and getting another Avatar 2x12.

While I don't particularly use it much for rhythm, its lead tone is GREAT. Its clean is especially nice, but I have a Fender Concert for clean tones.

I baby my amps with tender loving care.

Never had to deal with them. I did email them with a question once, regarding another amp I have of there's and they responded very personally. So they are OK by my.

for the money I paid for it, it was a great value. Would I replace it if it were stolen? Probably not. Its good, but doesn't enrapture me that way like my Dual Rectifier. I'll probably end up selling it and getting something like a Marshall Mark II, or early JCM 800. I have the Dual Rec and Concert. All I need now is a Marshall to round out my collection...then a Hiwatt, and an Orange...maybe an older Laney, too ;-)

I believe this amp was built in 2003. I am the second owner. I played on one of these in a store, and borrowed a friend's to use on a gig and was thoroughly impressed with its versatility. Two switchable channels, the clean channel is clean in the jazz-players sense of clean. The overdrive channel is the best I've heard. There is an effects loop that I've found very easy to use. It has more than enough power for my fat jazz guitar. This is the ONLY tube amp I've used that can hold up to the power of jazz guitar chording - I mean I can't get the clean channel to break up once I have it dialed in. I've used it successfully with a small jazz combo and in a big-band setting. I should also mention that this is a Head, and I use it with a single 12", 3/4 back cabinet.

As I mentioned earlier, I play traditional jazz guitar through this wonderful amp. Mesa's are not known for their pristine clean sound, but this is much better than my Polytone, with a lot more tone character available. I would compare it to the older Fender twins, but really a lot cleaner. It has a louder hiss than a solid state amp, but the payoff in TONE is worth it. I play a luthier-built (Steve Andersen) archtop, with an Armstrong floating pickup.

So far this amp has been great, except for the reverb. The reverb quit after I had used it for about 12 hours.

I called Mesa about the reverb, they weren't very helpful since I wasn't the original owner (not what I was expecting). I'll be taking the amp to a local repair guy who works on Mesa's but isn't "factory authorized", since I can't afford the down time to send it to the factory.

I have been playing for 37 years, and playing/studying jazz for 25 of those years. I've used a Polytone for the past 9 years, but was looking for more amp response. The tube amp has alot more available forthe picking nuance of the player. I'd definately buy another one. To all those die-hard jazz players out there who think Evans and Polytone are the only options, this Mesa F-series is really worth looking at.

2003 F-50 Head. 50 watts, 2 channels plus contour mode. Effects loop and a headphone jack that doubles a a direct out. I wish it had a third channel with seperate controls but it's pretty versatile as it is. Damn is this thing loud. I have no idea why anyone would spend the money on the F-100 as it would be twice as much to retube

Playing a 2002 Les Paul Classic with a Duncan Custom-Custom in the Bridge and Alnico 2 Pro in the neck. I play original modern alt rock in the lines of Foo Fighters, Live, Fuel, Jimmy Eat World. This head is VERY quiet for a high gain head even with the gain dimed. The clean channel is nothing short of amazing. Tons of clean headroom and very Fender like. Best Clean channel I've heard on a High Gain head. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this amp is capable of a quite convincing British sound as well as the Boogie high gain sound. Almost a Marshall and very close to a Rectifier in the same head! The distortion can be as brutal as you want. This amp is an extremely loud 50 watts. It sounds better than I expected at low master volumes but really opens up at about 10:00 on the master. I love it!

Just got it so I can't comment on the reliability of it just yet. It appears to be of very good build quality and Mesa has a great reputation when it comes to reliability.

Hope I don't have to find out

I've been playing music for 15 years most of which was on Bass. I switched to guitar about 4 years ago. I was using a Line 6 Flextone II Head prior to buying this amp. The L6 was a great sounding and versatile head but always left me searching for that "something". If it was stolen I would replace it with the same amp and then hunt down and kill the ^%&$ that stole it. Like I said above, the only thing I wish it had was a dedicated 3rd channel but that's nothing that a good overdrive pedal can't take care of. Snap one of these up before everyone else figures out how great they sound.

Lush and others, for the "hot rodded marshall" sound, try the contour mode with gain low (around 9 am), mids high (3 pm), treble and bass to taste (12:30 or less). Try it with a Les Paul on the treble pickup. For recto sounds, increase gain (on dirty or contour channel) and lower mid range. I believe this amp can give you both marshall and mesa sounds, and that is pretty rare. For my vintage rock songs, I use the "hot rodded" marshall setting above and I really like it. I also changed my power tubes to groove tubes. I also run a "hot plate" at -8db, so, I can keep the master volume up. This also enhances the tone by giving you more power tube distortion. Personally, I think a version of this "hot rod" marshall setting should be shown on F-50 manual. They unnecessarily lose people that want "crunch" because they do not tell them about this setting.
Try it, you'll like it.

Two-channel, 50w valve head from Boogie. I dislike bells and whistles on an amp intensely, so anthing more that gain/master volume and an eq is overkill in my opinion. A perfect example is the difference between the 70s Marshall JMP heads and the more modern JCM2000s, both of which I have owned and played extensively both live and in the studio. The JCM has no end of fuckery all over the front panel, and probably a button to make you a cup of coffee if you looked hard enough. And yet the JMP, a one-channel amp with minimal controls, blows it out of the water tonally. This is just my personal opinion, but if you need a ton of controls to get a half-decent sound then there must be something inherantly wrong with the original design. Which brings me the long way round to this conclusion: the F-50 head has minimal controls, save for gain/eq/reverb and master volume and it sounds great. Why gild the lily? I give it an 8 because it would've been nice if it didn't come with reverb...

I'm playing a Gibson SG with stock pups, and I'm still finding the sweet spot on the amp. I'm close, but at times it's hard to balance the sound being fat without being boomy, and being defined without being too shrill. I should add I'm running the head through a 70s Marshall 4x12 cab, so this might be a factor affecting the final sound. I shall of course experiment with a number of cab configurations in the future to see if this makes a difference.

Clean channel: Great, great channel. The claim of a "bell-like" tone on Boogie's own website is not far from the truth... lovely and thick with lots of rich harmonics that give your sound an almost 3D-like quality. Tons of headroom (only when cranking the gain and master volume does it begin to break up). Really huge and warm sounding, even with minimal tweaking from all the eqs at 12 o'clock. Very nice.

Distortion channel: This ROARS. Massive, massive walls of noise without losing all important clarity of notes. Even when fingering unusual chords you can still pick out the nuances through the raging grind. My only gripe is that the gain is slighty in favour of being huge, so to find a good sweet spot for that gritty "on-the-edge" crunch is slighty tricky, but it can be found with a bit of patience.

The contour mode, which effectively scoops the mids on the distortion channel, is fairly redundant in my playing style but I suppose it's entertaining when the rest of your band takes a break and you fancy pretending to be John Petrucci for five minutes while they get a drink. But only for five minutes.

It's build like a tank, solid wood and a thick metal grille on the back protecting those lovely 6L6s. I haven't had it long enough to really see if it can withstand heavy abuse, but to be honest most of the time it's going to live in a flight case so I'd be very surprised if any faults in the future were to do with physical abuse rather than component failure. I confindentally use it with no backup, save for spare valves and fuses. Since it's a Boogie, if a valve fails just chuck another one in there and you'll be okay. No rebiasing, no fucking about. Nice.

I have never dealt with Boogie customer support. Which, in a roundabout way, can only be a good thing I suppose.

Overall, a very nice amp and I'm sure it's going to last me a while. Although it's not "the perfect amp" (is there even such a thing?) it's a good balance of simplicity and great tone which I'm more than happy with. It would've been nice to ditch the slighty weedy reverb, the contour mode and the FX loop (to further alienate those who seem to rely on a hundred little boxes to get some sort of useable sound... ugh...) but in the end those features don't get in the way so I guess that's okay. And finally I should note... it's 50w, so it's more than loud enough for a band situation (I never have it past 2 o'clock in a practice with a hard-hitting drummer). Also, since it's 50w, re-valving is much cheaper than 100w and it's a lot lighter to carry about! So whenever anyone proudly shows you their 100w beast, kick them in the nuts and run away. :-)