Mesa/Boogies That I Have Owned

24 March 2015

DC-5

Hell, I had wanted a Boogie all my life but they were always out of reach financially. Then this one came up on ebay in mid 2009 and I got it for a pretty low price ($1025), partly because the reverb didn't work. I later ended up getting a Nomad 100 head so I sold this combo in mid 2010.

This one had two channels, EQ (that you could use as a solo boost), and reverb (that I fixed before I sold it), all of which were footswitchable.

Nomad 100 Head

This was bought in early 2010 because it seemed a bargain at $1495 and I liked the idea of having 3 independent channels. But there's more...

The footswitch allows you to switch between channels, plus there are individual on/off switches for reverb, EQ and solo. The solo control allows you to preset a level of volume boost, so you can get increased volume for a solo while still maintaining the same sound. Plus each channel can have its level of reverb set individually.

Each channel also has a mode switch, as well as independent controls for gain, master volume, presence, treble, mid and bass. The mode switches are as follows - channel 1 is clean / pushed; channels 2 and 3 are vintage / modern. Vintage is like an old style Boogie and Modern is more like a metal knd of sound, but they really depend on how you set the other controls, and each channel is different anyway.

The amp also allows you to switch it to 50 watt mode, which is plenty loud enough for just about anything. I actually never used it in 100w mode.

The downside is that it was huge - 26 inches or 66 centimetres wide - and it weighed a ton.

The reviews on Harmony Central are pretty uniform in saying this is the best amp in the world, but with the release of the Mark 5, maybe there's one that has even more versatilty and features. But for 5 or 6 grand I can't see myself getting a Mark 5 too soon.

I ended up selling it in early 2011 because I needed some cash, and this was really way too loud and way too big and heavy. I bought a Boogie V-Twin pre-amp pedal to compensate.

DC-3

Bought in late December 2012, this was such a bargain I just had to get it. The guy who sold it also threw in a 1 x 12 speaker cabinet with a Celestion vintage 30 in it. Cost $1100 with the extension cab.

It's pretty much the same as my old DC-5 but it's 35 watts instead of 50, which is still plenty loud enough. Like the DC-5, it has two independent channels, footswitchable EQ, and separate reverb controls for each channel.

I ended up selling the cab and the amp separately in late 2013 and made a bit of money out of it. I decided that this amp didn't have much clarity - it always seemed a bit muddy or something. I replaced it with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III.

DC-3 control panel