November 2007

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November 2007 \ Features \ Product Review \ Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 Combo

Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 Combo

by Brett Petrusek



Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 Combo Mesa Boogie recently added the Express series of amplifiers to its vast line of tone generators. The Express is offered up in two formats to meet the musical tastes of players of any genre. The 5:25 features two EL84 power tubes and a smaller bottle design that lends itself to the early breakup and warmth heard in many vintage British amplifiers. Our review model, the 5:50, features a duet of 6L6 power tubes. If you’re not familiar with 6L6s, they lend themselves to nice, sparkling clean tones with a distinct, rich bottom end (think early Fender). The 6L6 also comes across as smooth in high gain situations and is definitely one of my personal favorites.

The Express features Mesa’s Duo-Class power switching circuit. The switching circuit allows the player to choose between Class A/B at 50 watts or Class A at five watts. Peter Stroud, musical director and guitarist for Sheryl Crow, PG columnist and tone chaser extraordinaire, shed some light on this subject and put it into terms that are easy to understand: “When the amplifier is in Class A mode, it is being pushed much harder – think of it as the power section on ten, full throttle – providing more break-up, midrange and sag, which is great for that vintage, bluesy rock vibe. In A/B mode the power section provides much more headroom, producing tighter low-end sounds and a more prominent top-end.” It’s a great design, and Mesa is well-known for inventing this dual class power section.

Out of the gate, the price of admission on the Express 5:50 is justified by its incredible flexibility and ease of navigation.

The 5:50 offers the player two separate channels, each with two modes and independent EQ. Channel 1 provides Clean and Crunch while Channel 2 provides Blues and Burn. Other features include a tube-driven reverb and separate, footswitchable Contour knobs for each channel.



“Although Channel 2 Blues was intended for moderate gain, I found it to be my favorite tone center for full-on, smooth distortion rhythm and lead work. This channel picks up where Channel 1 leaves off; great blues tones are to be found with the Contour disengaged in Class A mode.”




For my test drive, I used a Gibson Les Paul BFG loaded with a Seymour Duncan Custom Shop ‘78 model humbucker in the bridge position and the stock P-90 up front.


Channeling It
I started with Channel 1’s clean setting to get comfortable. Each channel provides six knobs: Gain, Treble, Mid, Bass, Reverb and Master Volume. In A/B mode I was able to get some very pleasing clean tones with decent headroom. When I switched down to five watts, the amp was absolutely beautiful and really opened up, becoming very expressive and making even order harmonics more prevalent – these are the natural harmonics that make an amp sound great, giving chords and single notes rich, secondary overtones. What’s killer about this channel is when it’s pushed, by cranking up the gain and rolling up your guitar’s volume knob, you’ll hear some awesome, fuzzified, distorted clipping sounds. Roll down your guitar’s volume knob and you’re instantly back to clean.

Mesa Boogie Express 5:50 Combo The crunch setting on Channel 1 was most impressive to me in full power A/B mode. I was able to get some thick, bold distortion sounds. I first thought of this amp as a low-powered vintage affair, but I suddenly found myself in a dropped tuning, ripping out aggressive higher-gain rhythms. The low-end wasn’t extremely tight – instead it was a little more organic and somewhat spongy. This seems to be a signature quality in most Boogie amps – some folks will like it, some won’t.

I was really knocked out by the amp’s versatility when I started messing with the Contour. The Contour knob allows the player to V-scoop the EQ to their heart’s content in any channel, and by scooping just past the point of the amp’s standard midrange voice, I found fluid lead tones with plenty of sustain.

Before moving on to Channel 2, I experimented with the tube-driven reverb. I’m generally not big on using reverb, but this had a natural, organic feel. You could certainly tell that there was a tube behind it and it was sweet and transparent when properly adjusted. You can adjust its level with the knob on the faceplate and bypass or engage it with the included Express 5:50 footswitch.

Although Channel 2 Blues was intended for moderate gain, I found it to be my favorite tone center for full-on, smooth distortion rhythm and lead work. This channel picks up where Channel 1 leaves off; great blues tones are to be found with the Contour disengaged in Class A mode. Burn is over the top, just as advertised. By placing the Contour knob in an extreme setting with the amp in full-power Class A/B mode, this channel was capable of venturing into Metallica, Dimebag or similar territory with no problems.


The Final Mojo
The Express 5:50 speaks in a variety of voices and sounds great doing it. The low-powered, old school tones were extremely convincing and the A/B full-powered gain sounds were huge. You could spend hours dialing in variations, yet the amp still feels simple and thoughtfully designed. Its variable power makes it perfect for home recording situations, but the amp will shine in studio and live applications as well. If you want to cover a lot of ground with speed, ease and quality tone, this is a winner.



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Mesa Boogie
1x12 $1199
2x12 $1299
mesaboogie.com


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Comments, Rants and Raves

Donovan on 10/17/2007 4:45:00 PM
I own this amp in a 2x12 combo (with matching 2x12 extension cab), and I've got to say this review is right on. This amp can give you several wonderful tones, and is the most exciting amp to play and listen to I've ever seen. Especially for the price.

Keith on 10/18/2007 10:04:00 AM
I can't get into Mesa Products. Especially since they are are trying to obtain patents for circuits they did not invent. They sell the same amp over and over again with a slick add campaign. BOOO

Jon on 10/22/2007 5:19:00 PM
A friend of mine picked up the Mesa 5:25 and is sounds great. We played both humbucking and single coils through it and we both found it to be a versital, good sounding amp. Considering it was just a hair over a grand, I consider it a steal.

roger on 10/24/2007 8:45:00 AM
keith-what a cry baby-and you state your opinion as if it's fact. your comment implys also that you have not tried this amp. how can you hope to have a valid opinion. boogie makes great products and advertising is important too! grow up!

roger on 10/24/2007 8:47:00 AM
keith-and another thing-I do not work for boogie and I have tried this amp out at a guitar show recently. it sounds incredible

Werner on 10/28/2007 11:30:00 AM
Hi Guys, Im 0wner of a 5:50 since about one month, it sounds really great. for this Amp, I put away my two german amps, because I´ve never heard such a sound before!

Stead on 11/14/2007 7:48:00 PM
Just bought a 5:50, I've been playing shows for about 20 years - and I'm sold!! This is my first MESA product - WOW - It actually makes me play better -- The tone is unbelievable and the controls are really simple but they have sooo much range. BUY ONE TODAY!! --Keith, play the amp before you condemn it - rember it's about the music not the advertising.

Dave on 11/15/2007 10:43:00 PM
I use to own a Mesa .50 caliber back in the late 80's. Unreal sounds from Mesa! I can't wait to order the 5:50. Can someone give me insight as to why one might prefer the 2x12 vs the 1x12. I'm not really sure the advantages/disadvantages of having 1 vs 2 speakers. Thanks.

J.C. on 1/11/2008 3:22:00 AM
I own and LOVE a couple of Mesa products. This one didn't do it for me, tho'. Its distortion reminded me of a Mesa version of a Hot Rod Deluxe. Which I don't like. I tried one at a store, and borrowed a 1x12 from a friend for a gig and just couldn't dig it. While the clean is honkin' Mesa all the way, the low end gets flubby when distorted to my ears. Not resonant or tight at all.

Hey Dave! on 1/11/2008 3:29:00 AM
Hey Dave! Get a 2x12! More speaker area means more tone! The 2 speakers also give you better sonic imaging when listening in front of it. 1x12's are punchy and a little more focused with a narrow sonic throw, but 2x12's give you a little more "spread".

philthy on 1/19/2008 8:07:00 AM
Dave, the 2-12 offers more clarity at higher volumes while the 1-12 gives you more of a broken up tone. What ever suits your fancy. Keith, stick to solid state.

Don on 2/13/2008 11:53:00 AM
I've had a 5:50 1 x 12 for about a month now after owning vintage Fender amps for the past 25 plus years. I'm very impressed with the clean and dirty sounds from this amp. It's great for all styles of music and, believe it or not, it is the best surf amp I've ever played. The reverb is incredible! Better than I've ever experienced in a vintage Fender amp.

steve jewell on 2/18/2008 9:44:00 PM
I've been playing for about 35 years now.I own both Fender & Marshall amps.Recently I purchased a mesa 5:50 express single combo and I can't believe the range of tones I coax out of this little guy.This is truly the only amp I will ever need!

T-Bone on 3/6/2008 10:41:00 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the 5:25 have better "dirty" due to the EL84s as opposed to 6L6s in the 5:50?

geoff on 3/12/2008 2:21:00 AM
better is subjective. the preamp distortion will be the same from either, if you are pushing the amp volume wise, you would noticed the difference in the way the power tubes distort. if you are a fan of power tube distortion, you would probably prefer the el-84s, if you need more headroom you should opt for the 6L6s. i have a 5:25 head and the blues channel in class a sounds AMAZING. i think it is a bargain and have recomended the amp repeatedly. for me, it is def. a keeper.

rory connolly on 4/3/2008 6:51:00 PM
HEY!!!leave the brother alone he only saying his piece,right or wrong,and I have had a bunch o amps in my time and am using a Legend 30(tube- pre)am getting a 50/2-12 and also have a 83 Yamaha 4-10-50watt solid state that KILLS!!!.Had a Mesa Heartbreaker that I miss dearly,and would love to find the old ones that were 50(?}watt with a 15 in it,but this sounds like a 1-12combo with a 15"Emenece ex.cab would be cool for us slide guys,I'll have to check it out.Spread some love ya'll!! BLUESTHUG IN H TOWN

Jim Ponder on 4/3/2008 7:50:00 PM
I guess I was expecting too much from the Express 5:50, but it never came close to delivering the high gain roar that Mesa is known for. Nor the best Mesa clean tones. Their model 2 Stiletto may cost more, but it's twice the amp.

Texas Jake on 4/4/2008 8:43:00 AM
Yeah!Boogie amps are killer!This one is so sweet....my gear consist of 3 boogies...this is one of them.Total tone!

K-Man on 4/5/2008 2:44:00 PM
The Express 5:50 is my second Mesa amp, with the first one being a TriAxis / Simul-Calss 2:90 combo with 2 - 1x12 C90 cabinets. I find the 5:50 to be everything I was hoping for. I had a 5:25 at first but returned it in favor of the 5:50 because I didn't think that the 5:25 had enough clean headroom for my taste and playing style.

Boswell on 4/6/2008 11:24:00 AM
This Mesa 5:50 is my first valve amp and I just love the multitude of different tones available from clean to Hi gain. A definate 9 1/2 out of 10



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