Allan Revich
From:
Victoria, BC
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Posted 30 Oct 2021 11:56 pm |
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Earlier this week I picked up a new amp, specifically for lap steel and harmonica. I wanted something small and light, with two channels, reverb, and a DI. At the top of my list was the Quilter Micropro with the 8†speaker. Then I happened upon a Mesa Boogie Mark 5, 25 watt tube amp with a 10†speaker. Tried it in the store… and wow!
Mesa Boogie amps seem to be famous for high gain tones, and infamous for being as heavy as a sack of lead bricks. Well this little mini Mesa 5:25 weighs in at only 24 pounds. With the clean channel set for 25 watts at either Clean or Fat, the Gain dialled down, and the volume dialled up, my lap steel is clear, clean, and lush. The high gain channel is perfect for thick and juicy harp tones.
I suspect that this may not be an ideal lightweight solution for pedal steel, but for lap steel it absolutely rocks. And for blues harmonica it rocks double.
The cab under the Mesa is a 1x10 with a Ragin’ Cajun speaker in it, and can be used together with 10†Celestion Creamback in the Mesa Boogie.
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Current Tunings:
6 String | G – G B D G B D
7 String | G6 – e G B D G B D (re-entrant)
https://papadafoe.com/lap-steel-tuning-database |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 31 Oct 2021 9:37 am
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I have had the Mesa Express 5:25 12" combo (original version, not the Plus) for about 7-8 years - the Mark V Twenty Five appears to be continuing along that path. The control panel is very similar, but there are differences in the EQ beyond the basic treble/mid/bass - mine has the non-graphic EQ option.
I can definitely say that my Express is the best Mesa I've played, so if this is truly a linear evolution of that, I guess I'll have to try it. I've had a number of Boogies going back, and until the Express, my complaint was always that I couldn't really dial in a great, sparkly clean tone like a Fender - they always barked a bit no matter what I did with them. Which is good for some things but not others. The classic Mark-series type of control set was too complex, to my tastes. That all changed with the Express. I've had a 22 Caliber, Mark II (never did get along with), Blue Angel (which was very good, but not quite what I wanted), Subway Rocket, F50, Nomad, and now the Express. And perhaps one or two others in the middle there that I can't remember. But the last 10 years, they seem to have really dialed in the sparkly clean sound I felt was missing earlier.
I sort of wonder what they're doing to get the weight down to 24 pounds. The 10" Express 5:25 is 38 pounds, my 12" is in the low-mid 40's, sort of like a Deluxe Reverb. Definitely not a problem.
Only issue I've had with my Express was that a relay went bad. It was under warranty and I'm friends with the tech - I looked over his shoulder and I couldn't believe how many relays were in the amp. He's an experienced tech who used to consult for Mesa, and he just shrugged his shoulders and said that's not unusual. I guess that's the price for the kind of versatility this general line of amps has.
It looks like they have a comparable 35-watt combo with 12" speaker. I tried out both 10" and 12" Express amps, and the 10" was good for guitar, but I found it boxy for pedal steel, and so went for the 12". If I don't have to have a real high stage level out of the amp, I can use the 12" Express 5:25 combo for anything - guitar, slide, non-pedal or pedal steel. So I'm gonna have to search out the 12" version. |
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