Mesa Boogie Studio 22+ or Express 5:25?

[kokostrollet]

Keen on getting a small, bedroom Mesa combo amp and within buying distance for me there is a used Studio 22+ (new tubes, completely gone through by Mesa service expert) and a used Express 5:25 (10 inch speaker). They both cost appr. the same (500 usd).

I play mainy 80s heavy metal, but not in the rectifier distortion territory which is something I have understood neither of the amps are capable of either.

Based on what I have read so far, the 5:25 sounds very attractive, but I have got scared from the quality issues some have experienced with these amps.

Is a 20 year old Studio 22+ possibly a better choice after all in spite of the more bells and whistles in the 5:25?

Any experience anyone has with any of the above amps would be highly appreciated!

[nhspike]

Love my 5:25.
Previously I've owned Rectoverbs, and MK series amps (over the past 20+ years).
Buy an Xotic BB preamp, and there is nothing this amp won't do for you.
I'm looking to add an extension cab (12") and my rig will be all done.
Best tube reverb ever.

All just my subjective opinion, of course.

[kokostrollet]

Love my 5:25.
Previously I've owned Rectoverbs, and MK series amps (over the past 20+ years).
Buy an Xotic BB preamp, and there is nothing this amp won't do for you.
I'm looking to add an extension cab (12") and my rig will be all done.
Best tube reverb ever.

All just my subjective opinion, of course.

Funny you mention that pedal as it´s on my list of things to try out as well. Does it do as much for the sustain as this review says?

http://www.ultimateguitargear.com/tone_party_reviews_bbpreamp.htm

[nhspike]

Best pre-amp/boost pedal ever ever ever.

Other than that, I have no strong feelings about it.

[jgcable]

The studio 22+ is a great blues and rock amp. It can do old school metal like Tesla but its not gonna get anywhere near the tone, saturation or tightness of a rectifier.
It is not a good choice for the metal player looking for a rectifier or high gain metal tone.

[DonP]

Been a long time since I had a 22+ but I bought it because I wanted a Metallica tone. Do the old V pattern with the graphic EQ and it should get into that territory.

[rstites]

I've got a .22+. It'll do metal just fine. You just need to kick it out through a separate closed back cab and fine tune the sound with the graphic EQ. It takes pedals fairly well too, so can adjust the tone with a little push in front too. A little will go a long way with this amp.

[kokostrollet]

Btw, noticed one thing about the Mesa Express 5:25: There is no headphone output anywhere. Maybe a stupid question, but how do I do to play through headphones late evenings? Can I use one of the free external speaker output 4 ohm jacks?