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MGR/i « Mesa Boogie DC-5 (dual caliber) »
Published on 09/14/04 at 15:00Purchased new in late 1994; around US$1200.
Two channels and a footswitch (so I'm not a boutique-purist-know-it-all-snob, big deal). The reason I bought it originally was the wide variety of tones, not least of which was the high gain second channel. Back then I was a teenage rocker. I've broadened my horizons since then, but I still like to rock now and then. Anyway, channel two was blistering, and I had dreams of being the next Billy Corgan, washing the masses in sweet feedback, and then slicing their heads open with Pantera/Metallica-ish riffs. Like I said, I was young. So when I bought the amp, I didn't realize it didn't get very good clean sounds. More on that later. The footswitch is good. What else... oh yeah, the 5 band EQ is great, and the ability to pair it with either channel or both is also great. The push/pull gain knob on channel one increases the versatility. You can get some pretty raunchy sounds from channel one, and not just teenage-fantasy gain either. That's what the second channel is for. Whatever you want to play blues, rootsy, straight-up rock n' roll AC/DC style, alt.country fuzz can be played just on that one channel. Between the EQ, the treble, mid, and bass knobs, and the push/pull gain control, you can dial in about anything you need. Also the master volume. Each channel has it's own volume control, and then there's one master volume. That's pretty cool too.
The clean sounds, or lack thereof. If you can clean channel one up, it sounds weak and brittle. The reverb is weak as well. Good thing I don't use reverb that much. That's about it.
I guess it's pretty good. I haven't had any trouble in 10 years, but I don't gig or anything. My brother used it for a few I think, and a friend of mine used it for one. It's fairly solid.
Here's the thing I usually play strats (a USA Start Plus from 1991 and Mexi-strat with wild, noisy pickups, also 91). The amp sounded great for me, and then one day I got a hold of a Les Paul (Studio Lite, mini humbuckers, solid mahogany carved top body, no maple, and the worst bridge ever made, a Steinberger floating dealy) that really brought the amp to life. The amp was rockin' before, but now it's even more so. Way more so. I can only imagine the destructive powers of a really good LP, SG, or a PRS or something.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
Two channels and a footswitch (so I'm not a boutique-purist-know-it-all-snob, big deal). The reason I bought it originally was the wide variety of tones, not least of which was the high gain second channel. Back then I was a teenage rocker. I've broadened my horizons since then, but I still like to rock now and then. Anyway, channel two was blistering, and I had dreams of being the next Billy Corgan, washing the masses in sweet feedback, and then slicing their heads open with Pantera/Metallica-ish riffs. Like I said, I was young. So when I bought the amp, I didn't realize it didn't get very good clean sounds. More on that later. The footswitch is good. What else... oh yeah, the 5 band EQ is great, and the ability to pair it with either channel or both is also great. The push/pull gain knob on channel one increases the versatility. You can get some pretty raunchy sounds from channel one, and not just teenage-fantasy gain either. That's what the second channel is for. Whatever you want to play blues, rootsy, straight-up rock n' roll AC/DC style, alt.country fuzz can be played just on that one channel. Between the EQ, the treble, mid, and bass knobs, and the push/pull gain control, you can dial in about anything you need. Also the master volume. Each channel has it's own volume control, and then there's one master volume. That's pretty cool too.
The clean sounds, or lack thereof. If you can clean channel one up, it sounds weak and brittle. The reverb is weak as well. Good thing I don't use reverb that much. That's about it.
I guess it's pretty good. I haven't had any trouble in 10 years, but I don't gig or anything. My brother used it for a few I think, and a friend of mine used it for one. It's fairly solid.
Here's the thing I usually play strats (a USA Start Plus from 1991 and Mexi-strat with wild, noisy pickups, also 91). The amp sounded great for me, and then one day I got a hold of a Les Paul (Studio Lite, mini humbuckers, solid mahogany carved top body, no maple, and the worst bridge ever made, a Steinberger floating dealy) that really brought the amp to life. The amp was rockin' before, but now it's even more so. Way more so. I can only imagine the destructive powers of a really good LP, SG, or a PRS or something.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com