"Cheap" Mesa for home use and small jams ?

[the4thlast1]

Basically I miss having a Mesa around. I've owned several Mark series and Rectos in the past. I do prefer the Mark sound over the Rectos. So anyway I have my live rig for playing out with the band but would love to have a less expensive Mesa at home for shitz and giggles. So Im not looking to spend more than say $600 used. I know that there are tons of amps that Mesa made that I have not tried such as the Calibers, Dual calibers, Nomads, F-series and others......... In your experiences which other mesa amps sound somewhat like the Mark series amps lead channel. I'm mostly concerned with the gain being somewhat tight and clear. I play mostly Hard rock and Metal. Thanks guys !

 

[Ancient Alien]

The 22 and 50 Claibers will do just that.
And the 22 is loud enough to jam with a band IMHO

 

[droptrd]

The Nomads are cheap but theyre very weird IMO. Theres just something about them. And theyre next to impossible to sell. You cant give em away. Id stay away from the nomads

 

[rupe]

Studio .22+ ...I use it for exactly what you are looking to do. Sounds great at low volumes and I've never had an issue keeping up with a drummer when used for jamming.

 

[guitarslinger]

not sure on the price these days, but look for a Blue Angel.

Mine sounds like sex.

 

[the4thlast1]

Thanks for the insight so far guys.....Keep it coming ! So far it seems from what you guys have said, I should stay away from Nomads. Sounding like the Calibers are good however I know Mesa made a bunch of them such as the 22, 50, 50+, and then the Dual Caliber series, maybe even more that I am unaware of. So which Caliber might be best?

I'm thinking I might want to stay away from EL84's only because any EL84 amp Ive owned seem to lack low end and be not the best for high gain. So maybe we should stick to 6L6 or EL34 mesas ?


......

 

[Tone Zone]

Mesa Boogie DC-5

You can usually find these for around $600....such as this one that went for under that: https://cgi.ebay.com/mesa-boogie-DC-5-du ... 2a0b87e793

 

[guitarslinger]

I'm thinking I might want to stay away from EL84's only because any EL84 amp Ive owned seem to lack low end and be not the best for high gain. So maybe we should stick to 6L6 or EL34 mesas ?


......

Which is why the Blue Angel has a pair of 6V6's along with a quad of EL84's.

such a cool amp.

 

[gibson08]

Mesa Boogie DC-5

You can usually find these for around $600....such as this one that went for under that: https://cgi.ebay.com/mesa-boogie-DC-5-du ... 2a0b87e793

I was going to suggest the DC-5 as well, but he mentioned being close to a Mark series on the lead channel, I would put the DC series closer to the Recto line than the Mark line, that being said the DC-5 is a great amp, first Boogie product I ever owned and I am sure to have another, can do Country to Metal, no problem.

 

[droptrd]

Thanks for the insight so far guys.....Keep it coming ! So far it seems from what you guys have said, I should stay away from Nomads. Sounding like the Calibers are good however I know Mesa made a bunch of them such as the 22, 50, 50+, and then the Dual Caliber series, maybe even more that I am unaware of. So which Caliber might be best?

I'm thinking I might want to stay away from EL84's only because any EL84 amp Ive owned seem to lack low end and be not the best for high gain. So maybe we should stick to 6L6 or EL34 mesas ?


......

The cal series and the DC series are very simular. The cals turned into the DC and they turned into the F series. i think

 

[japetus]

The .22+ is a good amp, and I used one for about a year into a 4x12. Without the 4x12, it cannot keep up in anything other than a low-medium volume jam.

Why not a Mark III combo? I see those go for around $600-$650 all of the time.

 

[the4thlast1]

Yeah a Mark III is possible.... Sometimes they sell for around $600. I dunno yet though.....How does the F- series distortion sound compared to a caliber ? So calibers sound more like rectos ?

 

[Tone Zone]

Mesa Boogie DC-5

You can usually find these for around $600....such as this one that went for under that: https://cgi.ebay.com/mesa-boogie-DC-5-du ... 2a0b87e793

I was going to suggest the DC-5 as well, but he mentioned being close to a Mark series on the lead channel, I would put the DC series closer to the Recto line than the Mark line,....

Yeah, I think you're right on that.

 

[droptrd]

Yeah a Mark III is possible.... Sometimes they sell for around $600. I dunno yet though.....How does the F- series distortion sound compared to a caliber ? So calibers sound more like rectos ?

The F series is not as tight as the DCs. Theyre a little more tame also. Great sounding amps though. I owned a DC5 years ago. I currently own a mark III and a tverb. Id put the DC5 close to a mark with less mid bark - its alot smoother. Probably has more gain too. My DC5 was a metal monster

 

[CaseyCor]

If your looking for the Mark series sound, the .50 caliber + is the amp for you. The later DC's and F series amps are great as well, but not as similar to the Mark Series as the older models. They took the DC in a different direction when they updated it.

 

[locoed]

DC-5 or DC-10 sounds little mark'ish and has plenty O gain.

 

[The Hoff]

I didn't read through the thread so if it has already been stated, I apologize for that. But anyway, you can find 2 channel dual rectifiers for pretty cheap these days. That and Mark IIIs seem to pop up on my local cl for a pretty fair price.

 

[Audioholic]

F-series suck as combos imo. They are much much better running through more then a single speaker. if you can find a 2x12 then thats cool. with the bass knob and a 1x12, I couldn't get a good deep tone out of the drive to save my life. it really came to life running through another cab though.

Nomad combo I tried was a 4x10 I think. Open back. sound bled everywhere. it had some cool things, but the drive wasn't one of them

possibly a very used express?

 

[droptrd]

F-series suck as combos imo. They are much much better running through more then a single speaker. if you can find a 2x12 then thats cool. with the bass knob and a 1x12, I couldn't get a good deep tone out of the drive to save my life. it really came to life running through another cab though.

+1

I had an F50 combo. It sucked with the open back combo cab. Terrible. loose didnt come close to describing it. But through my recto 412 it sounded tight and really good

 

[the4thlast1]

Yeah I would mostly be looking for a head, smaller the better....I have a 1x12 and 2x12 cab at home I can play it through.

Droptrd mentioned that the DC sounds like a mark with maybe a little more lows and less mids...... That sounds like a plan to me.

How does the calibers compare to the dual calibers ?