Mesa DC-5

[atilla]

My bandmate just traded an old Fender Twin for a Mesa DC-5. He's hauled it to the tech for a few repairs, so we haven't had much time to really have any fun with it yet.

What's its niche in the Mesa line? Got any recommended settings for it?

[Shawn Lutz]

They are excellent amps. I have the widebody combo version and use it with a wide body 3/4 back 1x12 extended cab and sometimes a 4x12. Great cleans and plenty of power 50w of 6L6.

Spend some time tweaking it to your liking, touchy controls and they all seem to have an affect on each other. Especially the Mid in conjunction with the gains. I love mine and I piad about 500 for it years ago. I have some expensive amps and this little sucker hangs well.


Here's a PDF of the manual. http://mesaboogie.com/manuals/Dual%20Cal%20DC-5.pdf

There are some sample settings so start there and tweak to your ears. One thing I like is the clean channel with the gain pulled gets kinda Marshally and takes a pedal well..ch 2 is all Boogie. DC-5 is pretty versatile and WAY underated in the Mesa line imho.

[jgcable]

A buddy of mine has one and swears by it. Its a workhorse and very powerful. The controls are active.

[atilla]

Thanks, guys! It should be fun ... moreso than that Twin any day.

[fuel0707]

Have your friend check out the Boogie Forum if he hasn't done so already. They've actually formed a little "D/C Cartel" over there for people who love the Dual Caliber series amps. You could probably get a lot of tone suggestions over there, too.

I think the DC amps came out in the early '90's and lasted for about a decade. I'm not certain of the timeline though.

[zeegler]

According to Mesa, the DCs were the precursors to the F-series, but IMO it's a shame that they dropped some of the features of the DCs, such as the graphic EQ, and overall master volume. The only real improvements they made was the contour channel, and the 3 button footswitch. Either way, both the DCs and F-series are great amps. I've had my F-30 for a whole week , and I love it.

[Foulacy]

I have a DC-5. I keep the graphic EQ lightly scooped. I put the presence on each channel at about 7.5. The treble around 6-6.5, mids at 5 no lower, and i adjust the bass with the volume really. I think the presence control is really important on this amp. For the longest time i kept it pretty low, and kept the treble higher, but I switched that around it opened the sound right up.

also, the final volume control (output level knob to the right of the graphic EQ) serves as a master volume, but it is also the effects return level. if you keep it turned up, you will hear a hum. at band levels you will never hear this, but at bedroom levels, I have to keep this below 2 or the hum is annoying.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/Dual%20Cal%20DC-5.pdf