I bit the bullet - Mesa Express

[JayRobIBZ]

Well, after much convincing of the wife to let me order a Tourmaster, I come to find out that MF (Mother F*ckers?) wont ship amps to my neck of the woods. So we went to the music store today and I came away with an Express 5:50. I know some people say they aren’t as good as the F-50, but having never tried an F-50 I have to say I am EXTREMELY satisfied with this amp. It really sounds GREAT. Ill elaborate a little more when I get to spend some more time with it tomorrow.

[JayRobIBZ]

Well, I got to run the Mesa through its paces last night and this morning at chuch (we have a very edgy worship service) and all I can say is WOW. With my Line 6 I found myself only using a couple of patches which were getting close but not close enough to my ideal tone. I feel comefortable saying that I've nailed it with the Express.

Now, Ive heard alot of negative comments about the Express on here and I will admit that standing alone it isn't PERFECT. But I have found my tonal bliss with this setup :

Guitar
VHT Valvulator
Dunlop 95Q
Boss DS-1 (because I havent gotten my hands on an Xotic BB yet)
Amp (5w)
BBE Sonic Maximizer
Boss DD-5
Dunlop Volume
Amp

Most of the morning I was on channel 1/crunch with the gain rolled back to about noon, contour on - around 2:30. I was getting the most crystal clear nashvill overdrive. I'd kick the DS-1 on for a boost in gain and it just riped. I can't say how pleased I am with the tone and feel. It made me play the best I have in years.

Thank God for tube amps.

[Darin]

Yiu can't model, emulate, imitate, or match tube. Once you get a taste, there is no going back.

Congrats on the Mesa.

[Whey]

tubes do make a difference.
congrats.

[jb4674]

So where are the pics man?????

Congrats!

Jimmy

[Lefty Robb]

Originally Posted by jb4674

So where are the pics man?????

Congrats!

Jimmy

Screw the pics, lets hear it!

[JayRobIBZ]

Well first of all I'm no tube... uh...noob! The first amp I ever used was a vintage Bassman, and after that I owned a Legacy for about 4 years. It was only the result of my circumstances that I was using the Line6 XT Live for the last couple of years. It took me a while to realize how much I was missing. It is a great practice and recording tool but it just cant give that vibe and life that a good tube amp will. And when youre playing is all improvised and progressively stacked upon the back of your tone, it makes a BIG difference.

Secondly, I took a couple of pics the other night was too lazy to either resize them for Jemsite or find a place to post them for linkification. I guess I can get everything set up and take some glamour shots.

As far as the sound clips go, Ill see what I can do. I don’t have any good ways to capture audio at the house but my band might start back up on our recording project soon. I will make sure to make a demo for you guys.

[Drew]

I'm not a huge fan of the Express series, but I'm also the first to admit that even a lackluster Mesa is a pretty damned nice amp. Besides, I'm beginning to wonder if maybe there was something wrong with the one I plated... Either way, congrats on a great purchase!

[JayRobIBZ]

Pics done. I wish I had a better camera. This one has never taken very flattering pictures.

Now I have to work on a way to record sound. I might get out the digital camcorder and see if I can get anything good with that. It will probably end up sounding like everyone else on youtube though.

Jay

[JayRobIBZ]

I decided I would bring the handi-cam to practice on Saturday because we usually get pretty loud and have allot of fun. Ill try to have clips up sometime Sunday.

While I am thrilled with the sound I get from this amp, whenever I feel it is time to get an extension cab I will defiantly buy a closed back with v30's. My ONLY struggle with this amp so far has been warming/brightening up the c90's. But man do they ever crunch like hell. I will probably swap a v30 for a c90 and have one in both the combo and ext. cab.

Jay

[PIPCO]

I also bought a Mesa Express 5:50 some months ago, so I know what you´re talking about JayRobIBZ.

It´s truly one of the best amps I´ve ever had. For practice in home, it´s absolutely perfect. It´s so versatile so there´s almost no need for pedals. I usually just plug the cable right in the amp and I love the sound.

FOR SALE: A BUNCH OF DUSTY PEDALS :-)

[David McCarroll]

Totally, totally agree - I went into Billy Hydes in Sydney with a friend who had his heart set on a Recto Combo - tried all the rectos, all the Lonestars, and only then turned to the Express 5:25 - maybe it was just my personal taste but to me it actually had a fatter, warmer sound than any of the others - any amp that makes me sound even close-ish to Robben Ford gets my vote!

And MAN! - is the 5 watt setting LOUD!!!

[JayRobIBZ]

Yes, 5 watt can get pretty loud. I was able to keep up with the band in 5 watt mode with the volume at around 2:30.

I have found the drive to be a little buzzy/thin in 5 watt at lower volumes (which is curable with a little push, and also, what amp isn’t a little buzzy at low volumes?) but it really smoothes up and fattens up when you get it up to stage volumes.

[microdmitry]

>> what amp isn’t a little buzzy at low volumes

Egnaters aren't. That's why I love them. I can dial my TOL100 down to whisper volumes and it still sounds OK. Same thing with TOL50 combo I had.

[JayRobIBZ]

Ok, I am doing a little experimenting with the video camera to try and get an accurate recording of the tones I am getting. So far they come out pretty accurate but sound a little thin. Does anyone have any tricks that might help capture the fuller sound that is actually coming from the amp? I have it pointed at the amp at a 45 degree angle about 8 feet away. This camera records in 5.1. Maybe I will try changing it to stereo and see if that helps.

By the way, anyone ever notice once the recorder/camera turns on you take several very large steps backwards as far as skill goes? I’ve got to get over that. Its no different than playing in front of a large crowd.

Anyway, not being able to leave well enough alone I ordered some preamp and power tubes from Eurotubes. I have gotten pretty good at dialing the Mesa buzz out of this amp but I'm looking for a little quicker "filament rise time" so I can get a more defined attack. I think if I put a compressor in front it I could achieve the same thing but I thought I'd try the JJ's. It was under $90 for a complete re-tube and if I don’t like the results then I just have a spare set of tubes for an emergency. We will see how it goes. I also cant wait for my BB Preamp to get here. Looks like I will have to wait until Monday for both of those items. On a side note I have lost the BBE from the setup. Today I was just running straight into the amp with a slight delay in the FX loop and it sounded great. I had the BBE in line for a while and get sick of it. I was digging the sound just as well without it. I think I am going to pickup one of the foot pedals so I can bring it in and out at will.

Last thing, I have come to realize that this amp sounds WAY WAY WAY better IN the mix than standing alone. We all know that a guitar tone that sounds great on its own will more than likely get lost in the mix. Every contribution to a piece of music needs to find its own place in the overall sound and work together to fill it out and produce something beautiful. This amp does that better than anything else I have had experience with this far in my “career” as a want to be musician. That is not to say that this amp doesn’t sound good by its self but it doesn’t sound as good as it does along side other instruments. If everyone who has dogged this amp because they didn’t like how it sounded during their test drive had taken a couple of buddies and jammed out with the amp I bet their opinion would have been a little different.

Jay