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Mesa Boogie Caliber 50+ Combo
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Mesa Boogie Caliber 50+ Combo
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Fred The Shred Fred The Shred

«  born to rock! »

Published on 08/13/13 at 05:04
As already said in other reviews, this is an all-tube combo, 50 watts hitting hard!
It has an effects loop with adjustable level and direct output that works well in the clear but quickly becomes unusable with distortion (no speaker simulator built!)
HP is a Celestion black shadow, clumsy (hence the weight), which has an excellent performance.
The finish is very good quality and look, though classic, has this side "pro gear" which immediately puts confidence.

UTILIZATION

The setup is great if you follow the logic Mesaboogie!
Actually in Eq knob is used to adjust one channel, the clean. To equalize the different saturated channel, you must use the 5-band graphic EQ that you can assign a choice on both channels (EQ IN) on any (EQ OUT) or only on the Vivid (AUTO EQ) .
Personally, I plug my guitar, I start by adjusting the sound of the clean channel with knobs, basically I fit the tone of the guitar to the amp to have a balanced sound, then I go in saturated and I sculpt the sound with the graphic EQ (thus AUTO mode).

SOUNDS

THE SOUND IS EXCELLENT!! It is in the high end, the cleans are dynamic and precise, less crystalline a fender twin reverb, but own a JCM800 marshall. Some reproach him for his lack of character, but suddenly it's happening everywhere, you can play everything with this amp and get great sound pallette, provided they spend a little time looking for the right setting ...
In Vivid's foot, the grain is warm all the notes out and it has enough gain to go from blues to heavy metal (likely 80/90). From the rhythmic solo playing on the knob volume of the guitar, no problem. For solos I push a little with a Ibanez tube screamer and there it sings!
By cutting the medium with the graphic EQ on seem to get a lot of different sounds and imitate a lot of famous guitarists!
With A SG is AC / DC live, but more time "razor's edge", "AC / DC LIVE" as "High Voltage", fans will understand!
Right after it is typed U.S., obviously it is far from the color of a VOX AC30, and it's true that if we do not use the graphic EQ on the drive channel, the sound is still pretty medium.

OVERALL OPINION

I have this amp since 1995, is very strong and I am never bored me. Yet I have tried tons of other amps in shops and I have never found such quality combined with such versatility, and all without any pedals. I personally do not like the sound of grinding that followed and I play mostly the good old heavy rock to the old (AC / DC, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, etc.).

The size of this combo is also reduced significantly if you have to lug around in rehearsal and the weight is not as dramatic as I have read in the reviews below (hey guys! You've carted the old marshall or the musicman??)

So if you hesitate between Fender and Marshall, take the Mesa and you will be met, the Caliber 50 + is all land and perfect for the Big Rock, we can play the VanHalen with classic Strat 50's without problems and most importantly, without pedals more! ;)