I love this amp! I want the DC10 - their biggest mistake is discontinuing the dc series. In the 90's when they released the Rectifier the DC's manual read - "this is the pre-amp circuit that inspired the mighty Rectifier". No joke - I bought one brand new then. It's a Rectifier with an EQ and no Rectifier tube. It's better than a rectifier - IOW
@@michaelrains64295 I agree it is neither, people tend to also forget about the role of the power amp in the overall tone : and having a DC10 head and a Rectoverb 50, I can tell you that they do NOT sound alike at all. For instance I prefer the cleans of the DC10 over the recto ones, even if they are good : but I absolutely prefer the lead channel of the recto, because the DC10 in lead doesn't have the same roar, thickness and rawness as the recto. And also doesn't have the tightness, the push and the focus of the Marks. The DC0 lead tone is a not so good in between that always makes me want to sell the amp......at least until I switch to the clean channel. I highly, HIGHLY prefer the 50 Caliber plus's lead channel, which -surprise surprise- doesn't have the same power amp as the dual caliber series.
After some rack-iterations DC5 was my first all tube-head and main gigging amp from 2000-2013. Very loud and powerful 50 watts, never needed more volume or headroom. Best cleans I ever head in loud band practice volumes, bold, meaty, stable and still fendery. Roaring, dark, barking high sounds. The issue I had, never was able to resolve and ultimately the reason why I ended up selling it is that it lacked clarity/transparency in the high gain. There was some stiffness/harshness in the sound. I think I can hear it in your demo, too. Took the plunge and bought a dual recto after having having lusted for one ever since it came out in 91. Man, so much more open, wide and huge. Less fighting, more sound. Had to sell as part of divorce, moving out etc. Later found a nice condition Mesa Caliber .50+, the DC5’s older sibling. The gain structure has what I always missed in the DC5. It feels more reactive, clearer, more dynamic. But unfortunately the power amp is significantly weaker than the DC5, less bold, and the one channel design has it's limitations. Band get's reactivitated, have more space to rehearse and turn up the amps, so I thought let's try something else. Got a good deal for a Diezel Einstein. The high gain is beyond good, so thick, clear, dynamic, responsive, just perfect. But the cleans are no Mesa. Really, they certainly are good and very usable. I am just surprised that after all this searching for high gain sounds the clean channel is what ruins the amp for me. We just don't fall in love with each other as I have with every Mesa I have had before, even the recto. Sometimes I just wish I had never sold the DC5 and had an amp tech work tune the lead channel. It was a very good working horse.
I had the DC5 top for 15yrs, next to Studio .22 top. Mesa hit a sweet spot between versatility and usability, sound & build quality and price point with the DC series. The clean was just perfect, bolder than the Studio .22, but also a little less sweet. Great for live use. The Drive was great for high gain, and with the 5 band EQ could get mighty huge. I did feel it lacked some openness though. It often felt like I had to fight with the drive sound vs. on the studio .22 as well as on the dual rectifier I had after the DC it felt more like joyful and sensual playing with the drive sound. There was just some string clarity in the attack missing in the DC that also made it less than ideal for low drive sounds. I do regret selling it quite frequently though, because on my band's old live recordings it sounds fabulous. Absolutely high class cleans and a massive grind full of character. I still have the old ad brochure from that time where it mentions the similarity to the single recto drive. That's ad bull though, the Recto´s unique fierce power and feel to a large extent also comes from the the power amp design and the way the negative feedback is set up. The Rectifier feels significantly different than the DC...
I bought my first DC-5 new in '95, sold it a few years later then realized my mistake and bought another. I used that on for 19 years before the transformer went out and I hunted down and bought a third one to replace it a couple weeks ago. The DC-5 has been my tone for over 25 years now - one of the most amazing crunch-to-blackface-clean amps ever made.
i bought my first DC-5 twenty-one years ago and loved it so much i bought another just a few years ago in case something happens to the first since they're discontinued.
I have a DC10 2x12. Never getting rid of it. Super versatile amp. The only problem is that the lead channel only comes alive when you drive the power tubes hard, which is WAY too loud for any venue. Still a good sound at lower volumes, but some say dark and muddy.....just needs an attenuator. When turned up, the responsiveness and focus really come into play. An incredible piece of gear I'll never sell.
This was THE ONLY Mesa amp I've ever tried that sounded good, and I kick myself sooooo damn hard to not buying the one I had the chance to years ago... But this demo reminds me of why I wanted - and still kinda do want this amp... I too agree that discontinuing these amps was a HUGE mistake...
I used to have two DC-10 2x12 combos that I ran in stereo. Eventually I sold one and ran a Roland JC-120 with a Boss gt 100 for a few years. Then I started playing in a band where tube amp just made more sense, so I started using the DC-10 again. I loved the sparkle in the low gain sounds of that amp, but everything medium to high gain just sounded too harsh. I swapped the first gain tube for a short black plate vintage sylvania and it really sounded magic! But the gain still wasn’t right. So I bought a couple vintage 30’s, the cleans/edge of break up/low gain stuff started to lean towards the generic, but not to bad... just a bit less magic. But the higher gain sounded200% better. I tried a Mesa 12ax7 in the first position again and it sounded better with the v30s. Eventually my wife surprised me with a JP-2C and life has never been the same :). But I will tell you, the dc10 sounds way better through the traditional 4x12 than it does throug the combo cabinet.
I got the gt10 and am looking for an amp for gig and practice with a loud drummer. I was thinking of the boss katana but i discover the dc2, dc 3 and now this one. What would you buy if you were in my situation ? ( i like to play metal like symphony x and dream theater )
He didn't boost the mid, but you actually get a gain boost if you dime the mids. It's a different kind of mid control. It's very useable at ten. It turns it into a marshall esque sound. I'm not making the gain boost up either its in the manual.
THIS VIDEO MADE ME MAKE A FINAL DECISION... I JUST BOUGHT THIS LITTLE BEAST ON EBAY!!! I CAN´T WAIT TO GET IT IN MY HANDS, ITS SOUND IT´S ELECTRICITY MADE MUSIC !!! I´M NOT IN LOVE WITH A WOMEN... I´M IN LOVE WITH THIS MONSTER SON OF A .... !!!!!
I had 2 DC 5’s. Loved one and hated one. The problem with the old mesas were they were so inconsistent. BUT if you found a great one, it was amazing. I had this same issue with mark iv’s..the only mesas I had consistency with overall were rectifiers
Hey man! After watching your video I noticed that your dc5 has much more gain with the same settings dialed in. Another thing, you have much more gain when you set your gain knob at 4-5 than I do when I have it at 8. Do you know why? Thanks in advance!
I don’t see a boost in your signal chain. I can’t get mine to sound that bright and punchy without boosting the front end. Are you using active pickups?
His signal chain is in the comment section. No boost. It's mic'd with a 57 though it's not room sound so you can kind of choose your tone on the speaker. But I always found the amp to be bright and punchy. Maybe you are using eq and doing the lame mid scoop thing and it's killing your tone. His eq is scooped but he might not have it engaged.
Hi, I just have a small question. I recently bought this amp. It sounds amazing, but I have something going on that is not on any of my other amps. When treble, mid AND bass is set to zero, there is no sound. Otherwise those controls work perfectly. Is that a normal function of the amp? With all eq set to zero, no sound?
Version A has the rocker switches like the Calibre series that preceded the DC series. B has the metal toggle switches as seen in this video. A has the older style tolex too, like the current Mark VII.