glpg80
Well-known member
Always loved the EL84 version of the .50 cal more than the other tube variants. It just sounded more pissed off with the EL84 grind.
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braintheory
Well-known member
Yeah they sounded more in the British direction. More growly, saturated mids vs the more glassy sounding 6L6 version. I remember liking both versions similarly well, but never had them side by side. They used to be $400-600 when I had them and were imo some of the best amps for the price. Not sure what they go for these days, but guessing a lot more. I remember both versions of them also having really beautiful spring reverb, while the reverb oddly sucked on all the Mark series amps I’ve had. They really should just use the 50 cal’s reverb for all their amps lol. Maybe reissue a stand alone 50 cal spring reverb unit
J
Junk Yard Dog
Well-known member
Man, these amps sound badass and I feel like they're hugely underrated. I played one years ago and loved it.
LPMojoGL
Well-known member
The reverb on my .50 cal isn't great. No blissful caverns here. More like a shallow, dry well.
You could still find them for around $600 up until just recently. Now the prices are climbing.
The gain is great, and so are the cleans really. What other amp sounds as good for the prices these go for?
Orange TH30 or Dual Terror comes to mind. EVH 50. DSL 50. I guess there are some decent choices around the $600+ price point.
It definitely has character, it's own thing going on. I dig it.
Comparing it to the Wizard MTL, the differences are obvious. Cheaper build quality, not as versatile, takes some dialing in to sound good. The Wizard sound fantastic however it's set, and is capable of any genre. Amazing amp. Probably the best amp I've ever played.
Marshall SC20 is a closer match for comparison. Similar build quality. The Marshall is one channel, either a decent clean or a good crunchy to classic rock. It can't touch the Mesa for harder rock or metal.
The two or three sounds the .50+ makes once dialed in are quality tones, I think a step above the SC20, not embarrassed by the exceptional Wiz.
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braintheory
Well-known member
Hm sounds like your tank on it maybe needs to be changed or something. Both calibers I used to have had very deep, lush great reverb. My last blue stripe ++ coliseum also had dry, shallow reverb until Mike B last serviced it and then became much better
For the price of the 50 caliber, other amps that I think are the best in that range are the old Sovtek MIG’s, some Laney’s like the GH/VH’s, the ‘80’s Randall RG100ES’s and the ‘60’s Ampeg Gemini’s (but just for cleans). I personally think all those amps are much better than the oranges, dsl or EVH
Not fair to compare to a Wizard lol. That’s one of the elite
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anomaly
Well-known member
Yes, the Randall rg100es. With a boost and a good cab they are excellent metal amps. SS but who cares when they sound that good. I used to hook 2 Mesa 4x12 cabs up to mine and ran it at 4 ohms to get the full wattage and holy shit they are loud. There's a sweet spot on the master volume on those amps, it's right around 3 or 4 (which is band volume) where the gain just smooths right out and it gets really warm sounding, almost like a tube amp.
Don't forget about the Peavey VTM 60 and 120. Those are great amps for the price too. They have more of a Marshall type of tone but with tons of low end. That's another amp that kinda requires a boost/OD.
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braintheory
Well-known member
Yeah the old RG100ES’s are great for what they are. My favorite solid state for high gain. I liked the green channel boosted. Very loud and huge sounding like you said, worked great with boosts. I’d take it over many very expensive current made high end tube amps. It actually sounds more organic than them probably because it’s an old/vintage amp, but was just still missing that 3D tube quality, which is ultimately why I didn’t keep it, but for the money is a ton of amp
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