Mesa DC-5 combo amp

[Cybersavior]

I have been watching the bay and craigslist for months to get one. Are these things THAT hard to find (in good condition)?

I see quite a few DC-3's, but never any DC-5's. I hear such good things about them. And the Mark IV's.

[Mesaboog]

If you are talking about combos, then IMHO the DC-3's sound better than the 5's. And they are plenty loud. The Blackshadow speakers in the DC-5 sounds harsh to my ear. It's funny, I've always seen more DC-5's for sale than 3's, but I haven't been on the lookout lately.

[Shawn Lutz]

I have a DC-5 combo with the C90. I use it with a 3/4 back 1x12 widebody extension cab that also has the C90...I love the thing and prefer it over the DC-3 EL84's.

I got it several years ago on ebay and it took some time to find one for a good price in good shape

[Monster Joe]

I had a DC5 combo and couldn't make it work for anything...
It was too loud for home use, and not loud enough for band practice, even through a 4x12.
I have to admit I can't dial in a Boogie to save my life, so maybe the amp wasn't to blame.
But it wasn't the amp for me.
On top of that, I had to get it fixed twice over the year or so I owned it...

[Cybersavior]

This is intended for home use. Should I be looking at the DC-3 then? I want the satured tube tone.

[jgcable]

This is intended for home use. Should I be looking at the DC-3 then? I want the satured tube tone.

You will never be able to turn up a DC-3 loud enough to get saturated tube tone. If you want total tube saturation you need to crank the amp.
Unless you have very understanding neighbors you will never be able to crank a 30w tube amp up at home.

[Number Of The Priest]

Unless you have very understanding neighbors you will never be able to crank a 30w tube amp up at home.

Okay, what I can't understand is hobbyist musicians who own 100W or higher-rated amps for home practice use. What's the point of owning a friggin' halfstack/fullstack?

Holy hell, my Mesa DC-2 is 20 watts and is ridiculously loud.

[Venomboy]

I had a DC5 head. The cleans were nice, the dirty...eh. Good classic rock sounds but I was looking for a more saturated tone and sold it. Loud as hell though.

In contrast, my Framus Cobra sounds great at bedroom and gigging levels.