Mesa express- 5/25 5/50

[LARRY GERSHON]

Anyone play these?- what do you think- one versus the other- amps in general? Thanks

[Laxrappa11]

you should do a search there is a lot of great, detailed information in this forum regarding these two amps. i know because i consulted said threads heavily before purchasing a 5:50 112 last week. so far i really like it. lead channel is pretty darn good so far, i really like blues mode. its not so heavily compressed or saturated, but has this really warm singing quality especially in 5 watt mode. the clean channel sounds AMAZING breaking up, but overall the clean channel could be a bit more "fendery" if you know what i mean. still very happy with my purchase though.

[chemical69]

I played both 5:25 and 5:50 combos in the shop. Both were 1X12s. Overall they are pretty close in tonality. The 5:25 seemed a little creamier on the lead channel and a little more compressed. The 5:50 had a nice clean sound (not much sparkle) and sounded bigger.

I've also read that the 5:25 was noisier than the 50.

What kind of sound are you going for? If you need more clean headroom, 50W is safest way to go. But the 25 sure gets loud enough!

In the end I bought a 5:50 head off ebay. I'm going to run this through a 2X12 cab so I'll let you all know how it sounds.

[bobbypols]

These are one of the few mesas I like. Reason is because they dont as synthetic as their other high gain models.

[Edmundo]

I tried both, and then I tried the 5:25 1x10. I went with the 1x10. Call me wierd, but the 1x10 was smoother to my ears when I got it up to gig volume. In fact it was so smooth, that I had to get another and run in stereo. But why stop there? Might as well get the matching 1x10 extension cabs and move some air...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a93/BridgesGuns/Garage%20Sale/DSCN1090.jpg

[Empty Clank]

I have the 5:50 2X12 and I agree with the above posters that it does get a nice clean. Being able to knock it down to 5 watts is pretty boss. I tend to like the tone I get out of it with my LP better than my current strat (MIJ still with stock pups), although I am working on changing those pups out, and the standard strats I tested with at the store sounded great. Hope that helps.

[Adel2]

I love my 5:50 1x12. I bought it primarily for the clean channel, but I've been falling in love with the crunch mode, especially with a booster in front of it - very nice indeed!

These amps are responsive to preamp tube changes, so don't be afraid to experiment for even more tonal options.

[richt]

I love my 5:50 1x12. I got it 2 years ago today, and I can't get over how great the tones are. The clean is just beautiful, and the main reason that I got it. On the red channel, I use the Blues mode exclusively and wow, it is so expressive! I thought the amp was fantastic when I was only playing my LP or my ES333, but then I got a G&L ASAT and I literally haven't played anything else since. Much love here!

Cheers,

Richt

[Gigbag]

I have the 5:25 1x10 combo. I wanted a very small verstile combo, it I still enjoy it after close to a couple years. Great tones are available in each of the channels / modes. The option to switch to 5 watts is great.

The Express is the quietest Mesa I ever owned. It does a very small amount of hiss at low levels, but it isn't a big deal to me -- and any noise bothers me with amps. In comparison, my Masters TVA30 has less noise than the Mesa though.

I got mine before they offered the 1x12. I did try the 5:50, and although I liked it, the 5:25 better fit my needs. Note they use different power tubes, and you can use more than one type in the 5:50. The 5:25 is EL84 only.

The 1x10 sounds great, but at higher volumes, the speaker can get a bit flubby. So, you might want to consider the 1x12.

[Waxhead]

Until the Mk V is released the Express amps are the most versatile amp ever made IMHO with superlative tone. The 5:50 is basically a higher gain version of the Lonestar. The cleans & reverb are virtually identical but it has a lot more gain than the Lonestar so it does up to heavy rock, but is not a metal amp.

The 5:25 has EL-84 tubes and the 5:50 has 6L6's.

5:50 also has a fuller tone with more bottom end than the 5:25 and is VERY LOUD - 50w will easily do any venue mic'ed and there's plenty of clean headroom. Like most Mesa amps you need to keep the bass pot always under 10 oclcock for best results.

5w is perfect for home use and recording and 50w is massive Mesa. Because the clean channel is so great its fantastic with all pedals. Equally great with any PUP type. Has a Series loop and the 1x12" combo weighs only 50 lbs.

I'm using it mic'ed on 5w on all the recordings on my soundclick site below ;)