got a demo of the new Mesa Tc-50 today

[Racerxrated]

Meh, tone is in the fingers. A great player will sound as great through the TC-50 as they would through a Friedman BE100.

So an A chord is going to sound the SAME when EVH is playing through his favorite Marshall, and a Boogie Recto?

Gear makes a HUGE difference dudes.

George Lynch playing through his old Marshalls sounds like George Lynch. George Lynch playing through Mesa Dual Rectifiers also sounded like George Lynch. Just sayin.

Yes, gear is important, but you can't spread a pound of makeup on an ugly ass chick and expect her to be the prom queen.

Ha ha I agree. Lipstick on a pig......anyway yeah George will sound like George because of his style and phrasing, etc. But the TONE will clearly be different through a Marshall vs the Recto. Even if you set them up similarly.

 

[SavageRiffer]

Can't argue that...great players for the most part will sound great but even a great player has preferences and opinions on gear so that's the point of this isn't it ? Personally I think at gig volume is where you will notice more the amps that really shine.

When several people give very similar reviews there is usually something to it.

I'm not doubting what people are saying about the TC-50 for the most part, but my point is that Mesa Boogie makes badass amps any way you put it. I seriously doubt the TC-50 sucks or actually sounds generic. I have heard the samesaid on several occasions about Custom Audio Amps, but I think they're incredible despite not having necessarily a signature or real characteristic sound. I'm sure it's a great sounding amp, but from what I can gather, doesn't really try to sound like anything particular.

Meh, tone is in the fingers. A great player will sound as great through the TC-50 as they would through a Friedman BE100.

So an A chord is going to sound the SAME when EVH is playing through his favorite Marshall, and a Boogie Recto?

Gear makes a HUGE difference dudes.

Yeah, I think it will pretty much sound like EVH either way. There is a significant difference between low-quality gear and high-quality gear, but when you're comparing high-quality gear, the actually difference it makes is much less than how important to us the differences are. A good amp is a good amp. I'm sure the TC-50 is a high-quality amp as much as any other (with all the PCB bickering and gut pics aside). It's not like we're talking about a Chinese knockouff here. I think you're reading a bit much into what I posted. Soon enough better videos will come out and people will say it sounds great, but the boutique crowd will still be naysayers. I don't really care about these things anymore. If it sounds fucking good then it's good.

 

[Racerxrated]

Yes, If it sounds good it sounds good. The "tone is in the fingers" debate has been ongoing for ages. I'm in the camp that all of it matters, and that EVH will have different tone if he plays Running with the Devil rhythym parts through a Mark 3 vs the same parts through a Jubilee. You'll know its him when he plays a lead break, because of his phrasing/vibrato.

 

[FourT6and2]

All the clips I've heard sound kinda meh. Doesn't sound bad. But I agree... kinda flavorless, like In-N-Out...

 

[FourT6and2]

All the clips I've heard sound kinda meh. Doesn't sound bad. But I agree... kinda flavorless, like In-N-Out...

That made no sense. In N Out is one of the best tasting burgers in the country.

False. In n Out is complete garbage

The burger itself is ok. But the patty is thin and lifeless. The fries are like styrofoam.

For a crappy fast-food burger, I much prefer 5 Guys. Everyone here in CA who loves In N Out, I've discovered, has actually never been to any other good burger places outside of California. Because you all live in a little bubble When I first got here all my CA friends were like, "OMG, hella, you gotta go to like in n out? Dude hella like? Surfs up brah? Do you like burgers? Hella cool!?" I went and tried it and it's disgusting. Notice there's no question mark at the end of my sentence because it's a declarative statement and I don't up talk.

Some of the steamed burgers in CT are amazing. That's where the cheeseburger was invented, btw. New Haven, CT. Along with the best pizza in the country.

(Also, I'm just busting your balls. Please don't flip out. Brah?)

 

[jsp]

False. In n Out is complete garbage

Them fightin words, bruh

 

[FourT6and2]

False. In n Out is complete garbage

Them fightin words, bruh

I know lol. I kinda regret saying it. But I'll stand by my statement.

There's a lot of good burger places out there. But In n Out aint' on my list. It's definitely a CA thing. None of my friends who live here, who are from other states, like that place. Only people from CA do. I go crazy for 5 Guys and Chic-fil-A (not a burger place, but still).

 

[stephen sawall]

Pizza you get in New Jersey or Chicago.

I'm going in right now to spend more time with the amp. I just spent a few hours playing on Bogner and Diezel.

 

[jsp]

False. In n Out is complete garbage

Them fightin words, bruh

I know lol. I kinda regret saying it. But I'll stand by my statement.

There's a lot of good burger places out there. But In n Out aint' on my list. It's definitely a CA thing. None of my friends who live here, who are from other states, like that place. Only people from CA do. I go crazy for 5 Guys and Chic-fil-A (not a burger place, but still).

In N Out isn't the best food by any means. But, for something quick for $6, especially if it's late, it always hits the spot. I will concede, though, that the quality of the patty seems to have gone down a bit in recent years.

 

[thiswaythatway]

Pizza you get in New Jersey or Chicago.

I'm going in right now to spend more time with the amp. I just spent a few hours playing on Bogner and Diezel.

Pizza you get from NJ or NYC. I don't know what those birthday cakes with sauce and cheese are in Chicago but they shouldn't be called Pizza.


I met a guy from Florida who claimed he was a Pizza nut. Said he ate Pizza at least 4-5 times a week. I asked what kind of places he liked and he rattled off Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa Johns........... All I could think of was

 

[LP Freak]

I returned my TC after 1 day Just wasn't for me.

 

[angelspade]

I returned my TC after 1 day Just wasn't for me.

Can you be more specific in regards to why?

 

[LP Freak]

I returned my TC after 1 day Just wasn't for me.

Can you be more specific in regards to why?

I don't like where the mids are voiced for starters

 

[NewWorldMan]

I returned mine as well. Just shipped it back out today. Don't take that as a knock on the amp - it's certainly not. There are a lot of great amps that just aren't for me, and the TC-50 is one of them.

The clean channel is great - stupid good, in fact. It's one of the better cleans I've heard in a high gain amp, let alone one that's EL34 driven. The reverb is perfect. It's tube driven, lush, but not overbearing and the attack doesn't get lost. It's everything you could want in a reverb circuit. Simple and sounds great.

The options are second to none, especially for the money. Well built, fantastic tube layout that lets you isolate clean and overdrive preamp tubes separately from one another (take note, other manufacturers).

Why didn't it work for me? First, I didn't like the voicing. Mesa isn't kidding when they say it's a completely new circuit for them. It's unlike anything else in their catalogue. What I didn't like is the dry saturation and "feel" of the attack on the notes. It's that compressed, flat feel to it. Not to be confused with the amount of gain on tap. It has more gain that anyone could ever need. You could do metal on Channel 2, let alone Channel 3. It's the feel of that gain that irked me. I would compare it to how a Diezel VH4 "feels" to play, or a Splawn Quickrod. That gained up, but dry, stiff, compressed feel.

The other thing is I realize that I just like higher powered amps with more thump. I have around 17-18 head units, and this was my only 50W head. The rest are 100W or more. Naturally it's going to be a little smaller by comparison.

So, for those reasons, I sent it back. However, keep in mind those same reasons why it didn't personally work for me are likely the same reasons why another player would love it.

 

[steve_k]

I think it is a killer amp. Still running 34's in mine. Haven't tried it with 6L6's yet. I have paid twice as much for amps half this suitable for me. Then again, I am partial to Mesa products. I don't think they tried to copy or replicate anything with this circuit.

 

[NewWorldMan]

I think it is a killer amp. Still running 34's in mine. Haven't tried it with 6L6's yet. I have paid twice as much for amps half this suitable for me. Then again, I am partial to Mesa products. I don't think they tried to copy or replicate anything with this circuit.

I liked it a little better with 6L6s. I'm usually a Winged C (STR 442) fan, but I found myself liking it more with the stock STR 447s than the 442s. This would be the perfect amp for a buddy of mine. I think I'm just partial to my Recto/Mark/Triaxis rigs in terms of Mesa.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

I returned mine as well. Just shipped it back out today. Don't take that as a knock on the amp - it's certainly not. There are a lot of great amps that just aren't for me, and the TC-50 is one of them.

The clean channel is great - stupid good, in fact. It's one of the better cleans I've heard in a high gain amp, let alone one that's EL34 driven. The reverb is perfect. It's tube driven, lush, but not overbearing and the attack doesn't get lost. It's everything you could want in a reverb circuit. Simple and sounds great.

The options are second to none, especially for the money. Well built, fantastic tube layout that lets you isolate clean and overdrive preamp tubes separately from one another (take note, other manufacturers).

Why didn't it work for me? First, I didn't like the voicing. Mesa isn't kidding when they say it's a completely new circuit for them. It's unlike anything else in their catalogue. What I didn't like is the dry saturation and "feel" of the attack on the notes. It's that compressed, flat feel to it. Not to be confused with the amount of gain on tap. It has more gain that anyone could ever need. You could do metal on Channel 2, let alone Channel 3. It's the feel of that gain that irked me. I would compare it to how a Diezel VH4 "feels" to play, or a Splawn Quickrod. That gained up, but dry, stiff, compressed feel.

The other thing is I realize that I just like higher powered amps with more thump. I have around 17-18 head units, and this was my only 50W head. The rest are 100W or more. Naturally it's going to be a little smaller by comparison.

So, for those reasons, I sent it back. However, keep in mind those same reasons why it didn't personally work for me are likely the same reasons why another player would love it.

Thanks for the feedback

 

[steve_k]

I think I'm just partial to my Recto/Mark/Triaxis rigs in terms of Mesa.

Well, me too, in that sense. I didn't buy it to replace anything. IIC+, IV, Recto, TA rigs all still here and coveted. However, with some outboard EQ it gets close enough in the groove where it works. Will be a nice gigging amp with the CabClone and MIDI switching. Good loop too (with the FX8).

 

[angelspade]

This is great feedback...I have not owned a Mesa in a while (but may be ready to again). I think I'm going to try both the JP-2C and the Triple Crown and make a call. Aside from tone and "feel", a big factor for will be the ability to get good tone at living room volumes.

 

[NewWorldMan]

This is great feedback...I have not owned a Mesa in a while (but may be ready to again). I think I'm going to try both the JP-2C and the Triple Crown and make a call. Aside from tone and "feel", a big factor for will be the ability to get good tone at living room volumes.

You'll certainly have no problems with the TC-50 at bedroom volume. I think it has one of the better volume tapers you'll run across on a high gain amp. Instead of going from whisper to ear bleeding, you have a good bit of low volume range on the output knob up until 10-11:00 before it really starts kicking in. Makes it easy to fine tune low volume tones.

Like I said, it's a fantastic amp and I'll doubt you'll find anything close in terms of options for the money. It's just not for me personally.