Mesa/Boogie Stereo 2:50 Power Amp

i believe this is a 2006 model. Purchased off of an ebay seller who was unloading his entire rack system.

I'm mostly a jazz guy, although I do enjoy the odd bit of blues, metal and the like. I purchased this to drive the output of my evans jazz preamp, through two ear candy 1x10 cabs. Since then, I have acquired a lot more gear. (see below).

Same features as everyone elses. The only thing I wish it had was a half power switch, and perhaps variable damping / depth. However, neither of those are a big deal.

It is also light, for a tube power amp. Thank god.

Sound quality is very robust, like a lot of mesa stuff. I have a VHT 2/50/2 as well, so I do have some other stuff to compare it to.

The noise level on it is a tad higher than the VHT. I'd say it has a touch more midrange. For jazz, that is not a bad thing at all. My amp currently runs 6l6s. It is a forthright, straight-ahead class AB tone that comes out of this amp. Not a lot of squish at all, which is perfect for jazz stuff.

Front controls work as advertised. I have never run EL34s through it.

Rear routing options are pretty conveniently located.

I have experimented with the following pieces of gear:

a) Mesa Formula preamp. Integrated quite nicely, and the clean tone was superb. Not a great preamp for high gain sounds, however.

b) Evans Jazz Preamp. As clean as you can get. It sounded great at higher volumes through the small 1x10 ear candy cabs.

c) Digitech 2101 and Digitech GFX Twin Tube. I used these for metal, and the sound was actually scarily good. Not modern rectifier gain, but more of a classic 80s/90s metal vibe. Great stuff. I was using 2x12s and 4x12s with this.

This is a pretty loud power amp. At 3 on the volume knob, I was into eardrum splitting territory in a jam space with a 2x12. Very very loud. Good luck pushing this thing into power tube clipping if you are playing dirty. If you are playing clean, you can probably do it at volumes that won't kill your ears, but dirty.. forget it.

I give it a 9 because the VHT is a bit sweeter.

I would fear to use a 2:90. I don't quite get why people need that much power. (not to mention the power consumption and the weight). This amp is so bloody loud already. With a 2x12, in a full band setting, you almost never need to turn it up past 5, even with clean sounds.

I would depend on it completely. I haven't used it a ton, but I have a lot of mesa gear. Never had the slightest problem.

Never dealt with them. No opinion

I have been playing a while, formerly at pro level (jazz). Most of my gear is high end usa/euro/canadian stuff. Godin, Jackson, Hofner, VHT, Mesa, Suhr, CAE.

Of relevance to this review is the fact that I had some of the nicer amps and power amps out there. I have also owned most of the mesa preamps at some point, including studio, formula, and triaxis. My main preamp these days (oddly enough) is actually the mesa rectifier recording preamp. While you can't get the 2:50 to respond to the 'modern' switch on the recto preamp, it is also light, powerful, and a hell of a lot less expensive to run and retube than the 2:100.

All in all, this thing is a winner. A really solid piece with no frills, a slim feature set, but bomb proof construction. The sound generated from it (using 6l6s) is a very solid, clear and warm tone with little noise. You aren't going to get much squish or power tube breakup for this. I have also not tried it with el34s. If you are playing blues, you probably don't want a rack system anyhow. For rock, jazz, fusion and metal, this is a great choice. And it is also relatively inexpensive compared to the VHTs and Engls.

Mine is a 2002, 2:Fifty, 50 watt per side stereo tube power amp, total of 100 watts. I use a Vox ToneLab SE with it. It has a volume and a presence for each channel and I think that's really all you need. I like simplicity and I love the fact I can get this much powerful tone out of 2 rack spaces. I have been gigging long enough to know you don't have to hump a hugh head and 2 4x12 cabs to the gig to get a big sound! I use this power amp with 2 Mesa 1x12 cabinets (1 Thiele & 1 half open back)and this monster gets loud, and as you turn up the volume it does what you expect it to do.....GROWL LIKE A DEMON FROM HELL!!

Like I said I use a Vox ToneLab SE and I use all kinds of tones. I gig in a classic/new rock band so I need more than one tone. I can't go all night with a Marshall tone cranked....I use some Soldano amp tones for high gain and some Fender Champ Amp tones for the John Mayer stuff. This 2:Fifty does it all very, very well!

Mine was built in 2002 and when I called Mesa they told me as far as their records showed it had never been in an "authorized" repair shop. I removed the cover (because I take everything new I get apart) and the insides were dusty and looked all original. Mesa is known for building some tough stuff. I know this amp will last as long as me!

Mesa reps are great! Buy one of their amps on eBay and call them for help.....they treat you just like you bought it directly from them!

Listen, Mesa is one of those company's that hasn't sold out to fricking China! Buy their stuff while it's still made in the good 'ole US of A and you'll be playing it till you're 70 while your buddy will be buying the next big crappy POS made in China from Marshall!! Just my 2 cents worth..

Pretty basic tube power. 50 watts a side. 4 6l6's. 3 12ax7s. 2 8 ohm outputs and 4 4 ohm outputs. Volume and Presence knobs for each channel also.
Does what it needs to do and does it very well. Gave it a 10 because theres nothing else I would want it to do it doesnt do already!

This was an upgrade from a Peavey Classic 60/60 power amp. These are both very similair in their operation, but thats where it ends. When you want to talk quailty, this unit is where its at. I really liked the Peavey. It was a pretty good amp. But side by side. No way. This amp breathes new life into your tone.

Ive only had it about a month now. Nothing wrong yet. And its Mesa. They have an excellent reputation for reliability and this unit lives up to that reputation. After reading through the booklet that was sent with the unit, it makes me appreciate good old USA craftsmanship. Thats what Boogie is about. Im not worried in the least about this amp.

I actually bought this unit direct from Mesa through an employee purchase program through Guitar Center. The guy I dealt with was AWESOME. Very helpful. Really nice. The few times Ive talked to anyone over at Boogie has been nothing but pleasent. Great people.
Their warranty is 6 months on tubes. 5 years on craftsmanship. Not worried about it.

I use this amp to liven up the digital tone I get from my GT-6. Great processor. But I wouldnt use it if their werent tubes in my power section. This amp rocks. Its very alive and is built like a tank. Its also pretty light. Only 2 spaces makes it pretty compact.