Mesa Boogie Express  

Again why don't you test the tubes and eliminate all the guess work?

A Guitologist video and Uncle Doug video back to back in my feed. Today is a good day.

I’ve had the 5/50 express plus for five years, and it’s been a great versatile amp. Nice clean. Great easy switching settings once you figure what you like. Will play very loud! Enjoy your videos.

Hey Brad, So this may be a weird-ish compliment, but watching your videos has seriously helped me teach my EMT and Paramedic students how to perform better patient assessments. Between you and the old NPR show “Car Talk”, I’ve taken a more direct and systematic approach to pinpointing tricky issues with patients and I just wanted to say thanks for doing what you do. Also, I have a 5:50 Express and watching you dig around in there was really neat. Thanks for all you do, brother! Matt

Great amp!!! I was so glad that they came out with the 5:50 Plus, not that I wanted anything that they added like the graphic EQ, but because it made the price of this one come down. To me, this amp is like the Marshall 800, it is simple and great sounding. Great playing at the end of your video too.

Thanks for another mesa boogie fix. Sounded very nice after it had been sorted out. More mesas please.

Brad, I have 3 Boogies and have experienced that problem before. I took the ailing amp into Mike Bendinelli at Mesa and it was a cap issue. We weren't able to directly find the issue because it was intermittent also and chopsticking the board along with cleaning all the tube pins and sockets didn't fix it. So he shotgunned the majority of the caps, including the power supply. Fixed.

Kids art is so cool. Completely honest and unadulterated. The best. Awesome!

Actually if brad and/or doug the tech guy wrote books I would definitely buy them! You guys clearly know a hell of a lot!!!

Sweet, that amp sounds GREAT now! I enjoyed this video.

Right off the bat that amp seems very handy live. Can't wait to see how it sounds

Killer amp, its one of the best combos ive owned

Some nice pickin there at the end Brad

I had bought a peavey blues classic 50 online from a store in nw Arkansas they said it worked great snd when I got it .lots of noise as well as popping I tightened the sockets as well as cleaned them and the noise went down and the popping stoped but I wanted it to be noise free I pulled the preamp tubes again and noticed how bent the pins were I straightened the pins and the amp then worked like a charm

Mesa don’t mess with tubes quality choices, they have great tubes. Plus as you said no bias messing if you stick to mesa tubes

I havent got all the way through the video yet, but i have a mesa nomad with all these issues. Watching with interest!

I have the head version, it has 5w/25w/50w power settings. It's a really great sounding amp.

The fixed Bias is Mesa Boogie's Control measure. Randall Smith wants you to buy his tubes and have your Amp Serviced only by Mesa techs . A Bias pot allows you to dial in the Ultimate Mesa Boogie Sound ! Thats why I installed Bias pots on all my Mesa Boogie amps !

Love your videos brow! Keep it on!

I have had tube related problems as well and replaced all of them and the problem started back again. So I reflowed the solder joints on the sockets one by one and it ended up being v1. looked closer and the solder had a crack so moral of the story the tubes were just fine just needed some love.

Another awesome video!

Had a similar problem with a customer's JCM800 a little while ago. Pulled the preamp tubes and replaced with brand new, which were iffy too---went through 6 new ECC83's before I found a quiet combination, talk about maddening . Luckily, A.E.S. did right by me and exchanged them out.

Lol @ "man these are f*kin heavy". Thanks for your help Brad.👍

Not much for me to say here other than I enjoyed the video and learned something. BRAVO! Now whip out some Estaban!

I recently replaced the all the tubes in my multi watt dual rectifier with Mesa tubes from Mesa boogie and the 6L6 power tubes that were sent were STR-440s.

This is the first time I've ever heard the word "squanky", I like it and I'm going to add it to my vocabulary.

I played thru one of those once & it's the only Mesa I played that I liked.

Love the tuner condoms on your tele!

love your channel

Man that amp sounds awesome

Great amp. I have had one for a few years that I don't use very much because you nailed it when you said, "this thing sure is heavy." It truly is. Great sound though. And, for the most part it seems like they use great parts (sturdy toggles, jacks), rugged foot switch with a really long cord. Rather than putting all of those jacks for traditional switching on the back, I wish they had separated the tube sockets from the board. Great video.

thanks for informative VDO, i watched it before ordered a new set of tubes from sweetwater, cleaned all sockets with contacts cleaner then replaced all the tubes, came to find out V4 was the one making poping noises, tried swap back and forth with all new tubes...sadly didn't fix the problem

Last year when researching my 30 year old Mesa Studio 22 and preparing to service it myself (with inspiration and helpful tips from Brad’s videos) I learned Mesa sources their tubes from anybody and everybody, they test them and brand the ones that pass their “standards” with their Mesa logo. They don’t manufacture their own tubes.

I enjoy that you can actually play.

Buckaroo Banzai. Good choice in Movie.

Nice straight forward vid .. Enjoyed ..BTW.. You know you've made it when you get you very own trolling wombat .

Same problem....after trying new tubes mesa and JJ or swaping from another amp...problem of noisy clean channel still present ...I concluded amp design problem because a lot of owners complain about this problem. My SOLUTION FOR PERMANENT FIX = Replace 12 AX7 with JJ Electronics 12AT7 litttle less gain but super sound on all channels and this amp has gain to spare anyway ! After one year , still noise free !

My mesa boogie express 5:50 does have the aluminum protection bar for the tubes from factory.

Most helpful just dusted off my express 25 after 5 years and had similar issues, replaced the whole lot with JJ valves so thanks for making this.

wait a min I just sat through 20 min of troubleshooting over a bad tube, nice

what book, or lesson, or sheet music, or tab or youtube vid or whatever do I gotta aquire to learn and dissect that blues stuff you did for 4 minutes starting at 16;50, especially 17:20 and 18:10???? please halp

I own the same amp, but I have the model that came with two speakers. I believe the ones with two speakers were the earlier original models and later on switched to just one speaker. Anyway thanks for the video, I also have some crackling noise from the amp, probably the same problem since I bought it with the original tubes. I also have a problem with the footswitch. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I think if you get the cord in just the right position it'll work. Any free advice?

No soldering that has to be a plus. Liked this video bro.

I have a mark 3 and I have an issue when I plug a axle into the fox loop just in the send and I lose the high end sound and only have a muddy sound it’s af if the pre amp is only working

How can I switch tones like for example if I am playing clean and then I want to solo what do I have to do switch tones

Would you say they are good sounding amps in comparison to vintage handwired Fenders?

Hey gitalijust, did you notice that every time you wrote 5:50 it appears as a link for that timeslot in the video and OCD people like me keep clicking in them links and every time I click there it goes to 5:50 in the video and there is nothing interesting to see in that particular moment?

Is there a difference in construction between the expres serious and the regular 5:25,35 and 50? because the express is much cheaper.

wow! My Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier is doing the same thing!

fillmore 50 is my dream amp, but I can't afford it. Sometimes I see the express 50 for a decent price, I should give it a try. I'm looking for big 6L6 clean/crunch, maybe this old mesa will still be better than the hot rod 4 ( which is decent for the price I must admit)

I had a similar problem with my JCM900 4101, but the noise was only from the pre. The solution was to clean all tube sockets...

As Mesa's go, this amp is one of my favorites! I like the chanel(s) layout!.... Mods????

So, the power tube cage, aluminum rails, and backboards are not only there to guard the tubes they keep you from toasting your epidermis when reaching into the cab for that J you snuck into the show. 😎

Its got a good sound to that amp.

You did not need to bias after putting in the new output tubes? I was always told no matter what to re bias when changing the output tubes unless its a Bugera or something to that effect that has a self bias. I do not know enough about Meas amps so what do I know!

Have you ever encountered a 550 Express that won't switch channels? Mine is stuck on Channel 2

43rd ! Eeeyyyyeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaa ! Lots of good comments here ! 00:05 Made With Love ! Well, I believe that she really did cover all of the bases with that one ! 04:54 With that particular sound, I would spray some contact cleaner in all of the pots and work them around a good bit to clean them up, and then I would spray some more in all of the Tube Sockets, and run them in, around, and out, a few times as well to clean them off too . But, if that were the case, then we would not have a show ! 19:37 Well, I feel better ! I am so glad that I do not own a mess of boogie ! Aside from all of the proprietary bullsh*t about their tubes and crappy printed circuit board designs that put tubes into the board itself, et cetera and so forth, I still would not own one. At the beginning of the video, you showed the one and only Input Jack, with the switches : Clean/Crunch and Blues/Burn, none of which I like. I prefer the 1971 Traynor YSR-1 Custom Reverb that I have. I can plug into either Channel 1 or Channel 2, and then put a cable in from Channel 1 into Channel 2, and I have access to BOTH Channels, Including Separate Volumes. In this manner, I have the Freedom to create the Full Range of the Clean to Crunch Spectrum, at ALL times ! That mesa will let you switch from 1 to 2, but, that is just an extra footswitch that nobody really needs, but, has to have for amps like this, no matter who makes it. Well, that is just one point. I would have walked Right past this amp without even asking about it, and here you are EXPOSING all of these other built in manufacture faults, that just would have really pissed me off if I had bought one ! Woo - Hoo ! Saved from a terrifically horrible mistake by just my gut instinct and Personal Preference ! Thanks, Brad for the Great Show, and All That You Do !

HEY GUITOLOGIST! hope you are doing well did you like this amp?

Great video, I’m sitting on the 5:25 version of this amp and it makes a “wind noise”.. no switches or volume pots effect the noise. I replaced all tubes but didn’t make a difference.., tried disconnecting the reverb and wiggling the cables.. again nothing effects the noise.., ? Any ideas anyone?.. I’ve had the chassis out and can’t see any cause.??

A simple fix this time!!!

Hey Brad. No SPF?

My 5:25 was in the shop for a couple months due to noise. In the end it was a bad power transformer but it was hard to track down because the voltage was like .1 or .2 volts off spec and seemed "close enough".

You're cool Brad, I hope you do well just playing around with amps like this. I'd pay you $1500 per episode if I was able to. High Five .

Watched all the video only to hear that amp, but great job😂😂😀

I think it might be the osculation overthruster.

Hey Brad, the comments from Doug the tech guy, cracked me up, I bet you've forgot more than he will ever know!....

At 4:50 you had your belly stuck out with the mic in your hand..... I kinda thought we were gonna hear the baby's heartbeat!!

lindo amplificador

Could see you were struggling to turn that behemoth around Brad ... I guess if anyone has a written off one of these they could always use it as a boat anchor 😊

I'm sending all Mesa repairs to you,Brad. Ones,Twos and IIBs.After those three models they lost me.Ten Pounds of "STUFF" in a One Pound Bag. Boogies ain't it.

I once inserted a preamp tube in an amp while it was on and one of the dropper resistors exploded violently.

Can you pull these out with the amp on? I thought that would break the amp?

I have to admit that amp sounded great. But the Mesa MO is they are a PITA to work on. Not sure why

Hi Brad Thanks for awesome video. I have the same amp and it making the same noise, i replace all new tubes and clean the sockets and all the pots still doing the same thing. Do know what else I can check on the.amp Thanks for your help

It's one of those transistor amps like paw, has just spit in the back of it,and give it a womp,on the side. It will work.lol

Love my Mesa"s….. My 5.25 is doing the same thing. thanks!

good work dude. i have a Thor 70,s 100 W tube amp. peavy 4-12 cab. i will send pics if interested.

Hey, I have this same model Mesa and I'm experiencing a burning electrical smell particularly (and ironically) when I'm on the "burn" channel? It's not the smell of warm tubes either. I haven't replaced any (power and pre) tubes , and even more concerning I haven't blown its fuse. What should I do?

i had this amp got rid of it. problem with it is the clean and crunch modes are the best channels but they are shared and you can't switch between them in a live situation

I find it funny how many people in the comments are bitching about board mounted tube sockets. Listen, if Soldano does it, it's probably fine. Plus, board mounted sockets are theoretically lower noise - no unshielded leads flying every which way.

been using 1 for 6 years now

i have same defect, that crackling and poping sound on some transistor amp. weird?

3rd sup brad hope u have a great day! ;-) lectars from the 8th dimension. lol

Crickets, that's what my girlfriend says!It's making noise and I drive the car and hear nothing but car!If I may ask are triode/pentodeamps,problematic in general?Thanks for sharing brother!

Had this amp. Returned it immediately and got the mark 5

Yeah and stuff

What about building a PWM based guitar amp using vacuum tubes for a suitable circuit just google Vacuum tube PWM.

I suspect that shield is more about protecting you from burning your arm than it is protecting the tubes

Mesa told me that they were using Ruby tubes as of 2017.

Hello everyone. I have a Mesa Boogie express 5:50, it is installed a loud crack on the speaker when I put it on stand by before turning it off Would you know if this is normal or if it is a defect? Thank you.

Mine makes a very loud hum ONLY on the class A setting. Cannot figure it out so far. Tubes are newish. Speaker is great. No pedals or anything. Just unusable at 5 watts.

Why don't you just install a medieval torture device??, perhaps a 'rack', 'stockade', or 'iron maiden' (the "other" iron maiden) in the shop, as they will deliver a far-less tortuous result/experience, than pulling the chassis and repairing a Mesa Boogie amp!

No digging on Doug, but if you own a tube amp and get that "crackle", the first thing you do it check tubes. Mesa Boogie even has that in their user manuals. Love the videos, but the guy that sent this amp in could have fixed this himself with a couple of spare tubes.

Mesa amps are fixed bias aren't they?

I thought the sound came from the front......

I had a 5:25. I sold it because I was flipping switches and twisting knobs more than I was just sitting down and playing it. Also, kinda wasn't into how it sounded. It's a great amp, just didn't like it.

Dont you hate board mounted sockets!?

Old = light weight!!! I am having a fit with the champ I just built and I'm beginning to believe it is a tube or tubes also. I have changed this and that and may be something simple. I love to make things harder than they have to be.!!! You just can't please a lot of people on you tube!!!

Say what you want about Mesa but these seem to be built like a tank much like older Peavey amps..... The Heavy cabinet, the metal switches etc....

11:21 "Squanky" ?? Google doesn't tell me what that word means.