Mesa/Boogie F Series

[Xavier 7]

So I was at Guitar Center yesterday and they actually had quite a few Mesa rigs in stock which was surprising considering how badly stocked the place usually is. What also surprised me is that they actually had two older Ibanez JPM's and an EB/MM JPM which I'd never seen at that store before.

Anyway, I wanted to demo the EB/MM JPM because I'd never had the opportunity to play one before but being considerate and not wanting to make too much noise - like all the little teenagers there - I plugged the guitar into a Mesa/Boogie F-50.

HOLY CRAP

I was absolutely amazed by this little amp. It had so much gain and it was so full sounding. Much more powerful sounding than my Universe going into a Nomad 45. The clean channel was also much better than I thought it would be. It handled the piezos just fine along with the normal PU's.

The thought actually did cross my mind to trade in my Nomad for an F series but I'm not so sure I'd go through with it. I'd miss the flexibility not too mention the Nomad's wonderful refined tone.

Have any of you guys had a chance to play this amp and how did you like it?

[ChopTart]

Thanks for the first-hand account on this amp, I have been looking at one (abandoned my plans for a lonestar). I have yet to try one yet, but I hear good things. Are the reviews true in that you can get a huge range of dynamic sound from the simple-control layout?

[Xavier 7]

I only had the opportunity for a short while but from the little I tweaked the thing it seemed that a minimal amount of adjustment would have considerable influence upon the sound.

[keithb]

I had a F-30 before my Nomad 45.

The clean channel was one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard, but I found that I couldn't get a good lead sound out of the gain channel.

The Nomad's clean falls a bit short (or I haven't dialed it in right), but the gain channels are so much more flexible.

[Xavier 7]

That's a bit disappointing but I'd still like to give it another go around.

[adamcbest]

i actually recoommended that amp to a guitarists in one of my bands. To be honest.. i didn't like it. the cleans were cool, but the leads were lacking.. It was a good chunky rhythm amp though, which is why i recommended it to him.

[jemke]

I own a F50 combo for 1 year now. It is a quite versatile amp.
The clean channel has a lot of headroom and sounds warm.
The gain-channel has a beautifull gain for lead tone. If you turn the gain down it you get a great fluid blues tone.
I don't like the contour mode. You get more easely unwanted feedback.

I like to use the amp with lower gain ( 4 on a scale of 10) with a tubescreamer in front. It has almost the same effect as the contour mode but warmer tone with great harmonics.

The only disadvantage of this amp is that it immediately sound way too loud for practicing at home. So at home I use my GT3 as a "attenuator" like tool in the effect chain.