The Boogie Board

Do you run your amp through a power conditioner? If your friends house has dirty power, you really shouldn't be plugging high end electronics into it. The switching FETS particularly are delicate, and some amp techs will replace them all at the same time. Here's an idea of what is inside that beast:...

Did you unplug it, let it cool down, and try it again? I think that the switching on those is controlled by FETs, so if one of those is malfunctioning or dead, it can screw up a lot of things. If it is malfunctioning without the footswitch, then most likely there is something wonky with the switchin...

For me, singles are good up until moderate amount of gain. It also depends on what type of single coils. Bridge single coils do sound kind of thin, when compared to bridge humbuckers, and high gain seems to accentuate this. The Dimarzio hum-less single coils are pretty close to the real thing, so wh...

Is the Express 5:50 footswitch latching or momentary?

You would basically need to make an adapter from the DIN to 1/4 for each of the functions. That's your only real option compared to running two stereo cables with mono adapters.

Is there a slot inside the switch? Maybe you're supposed to put a screwdriver in there to "unlock" it while sliding it.

maybe try a 5751 instead of a 12AT7? They have specs more similar to the 12AX7, with reduced gain.

Easiest way? Use your ears, instead of settings someone else wrote down using a different amp, different guitar, etc.

I guess I should come back to add that a strat is the only thing I would consider boosting into a recto, or maybe a pre-EQ to get more oomph in the signal for lead passages. But with the noise, that can also be an issue. I just don't like how strat single coils sound with high gain. P-90s? SIGN ME UP.

I know that one of the popular mods for the DC-5 I have is the effects loop to serial. My amp has had that done. For many purposes having a parallel loop just doesn't work well, while it works better for others.

Most of my amps by other makers are serial loops, though many are switchable.

Are you running the loop 100% wet? Could be that the blend pot for the effects loop is oxidized and needs cleaning. Also, did you make sure that the effects loop jacks are clean? That can also cause some strange problems.

Compressed air is your friend. Take it outside to avoid getting debris all over the place.

I would think that replacing your power tubes with the same type would be best, unless you can find a compelling reason to change it up. They also really are the tubes the amp was designed around.

EL34s will give you more of a crunchy mid, high mid sound, and a tighter, less rounded bass response.

The preamp might come close, but the power section will not, due to the wattage and also how it was designed. That said, you can get some awesome sounds out of the DC-5 lead channel, especially with some good tubes. With the gain up high it becomes very liquid sounding, and with the EQ even lower ga...

Just looking further, and V1B is definitely a cathode follower position.

Just found two more while searching about, and one of them is in fact very pertinent to me: a Maverick. V1 in the Mesa Maverick and Blue Angel. The Bright/Fat switch in the Maverick and Blue Angel apparently involves switching from plate fed EQ to a Cathode Follower fed EQ. There are other changes, ...