what to choose Marshall or Mesa 50-50 poweramp

[larsmars]

Anyone who compared these 2 amps?

[bammbamm]

Marshall what? vs the boogie
The 50/50 is a tube power amp.
"Marshall" is kinda vague

[Gresh]

bam is right, we need more detail. But the Mesa will have 6L6's in it which some people find a little "boomy" on the bass, nothin a little eq can't handle. Most Marshalls will have EL34s. The 50/50 is a great amp, looks really plain jane but it sounds great. I think it's going to come down to which tube you prefer, an EL34 or a 6L6.

[gkelm]

You might also consider the Peavey Classic 50/50 EL84 tube power amp...great piece for the money.
Greg

[Gresh]

BTW, there's a Peavy Classic 50/50 for sale in the Gear add section. I bought some gear from Ervin and he is great to work with, very responsive. I agree with Greg in that it is a great amp, gotta buddy with one, nice rig.

[BrianH]

I actually know very little about equipment... tho I've always had a questione that bugged me...

ok, I think we are talking about power amps, or pre-amps? What is the purpose of a pre-amp or power amp? Why do you need them, whats their purpose?

I'm so uneducated on gear... sigh...

[BucketBot]

Personally I would take the Marshall (EL34 50/50 I assume). They have the cool mid boost that is footswitchable, atleast my EL34 100/100 did. Heavey as hell but the wall of sound it created was amazing imho.
Man, I miss that amp now.

[gkelm]

Originally Posted by BrianH

I actually know very little about equipment... tho I've always had a questione that bugged me...

ok, I think we are talking about power amps, or pre-amps? What is the purpose of a pre-amp or power amp? Why do you need them, whats their purpose?

I'm so uneducated on gear... sigh...

Brian-
I'm no techie, but here's a very simple explanation. Amy guitar amp consists of a preamp and power amp (as does a hi-fi/stereo receiver, which also includes a tuner). The preamp takes the input from your pickups and manipulates it with volume/gain, tone, and perhaps overdrive. The power amp then takes that signal and pumps the power out that drives the speaker(s). Rack gear simply separates the components that are combined in combos & heads.
Greg

[larsmars]

The Marshall poweramp I was talking about is the EL34 50/50.

The problem here in Belgium is that you don't find a lot of Mesa Boogie here. So testing it out is not possible.

What is the difference in tone between 6L6 and EL34?
And is most of the tone made in the preamp?

Lars

[Gresh]

You are correct that the bulk of the tone shaping will occur in the preamp, that is what it is designed to do, per Greg's explanation above. The issue comes when taking a good tone-ful signal and sending it through a crap power amp section. All the tone that you just created will get squished right out, your frequency spectrum will be wacked.

When a good power amp really matters a whole bunch is when you are playing at volume. Your power amp tubes will lend a natural compression to your signal and really start to sing when you push them hard, i.e., you have the volume cranked pretty good sending lots of voltage through those tubes.

Regarding 6L6 vs EL34...fender tube amps generally have 6L6s in the power amp section, marshalls will have the ELs. Again, a lot of the tone is based on the preamp sections of those amps, but the power amp section is using the tube that thier engineers feel bests supports the overall tone of the amplifier.

I think you'd be happy with either, but try the Marshall if it is accessible and if you like that, then your done.

[shredmaster]

i have the mesa 50/50 power amp and i love it! it sounds great man! it makes your guitar sound the way it should! it has a totally pro sound. it really brings your tone to life. i am sure the marshall can do the same but i'm in love with the mesa power amp.

[Drew]

I just have a personal strong dislike to EL34's. I think the bass response is pretty weak, and they have a certian midrange cut to them that just grates on me- i'm not big on the traditional "marshall" tone for this, i feel it's too thin.

Course, you might just think the mesa is too muddy. It goes both ways. Best i can compare is ordering steaks- the Mesa might be on the rarer side of things, while the marshall is maybe more well done. Neither is "better," it just comes down to how you like your steak. In this case, i go bloody as hell.

-Drew

[Darin W]

Shane Regal from the band REGAL, has a brand knew Marshall power amp for sale. Well, he used it one night anyway. But he'd like to sell it.
You can reach him at: tip7@epix.net

Darin

[phil27]

http://www.jemsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39287

[Ant1981]

Nothing vauge about it, both Marshall and Mesa do a 50-50 power amp