TC100 Worth It?

[Belljm11]

Good afternoon all,
While my subject line is a little on the vague side, I am basically wondering if the TC100 is worth it over the TC50 in regard to the multi soak. I have owned a TC50 before and absolutely loved it, but I wasn't sure if it would be worth it to go ahead and spend a little extra to go ahead and grab the TC100 for the multi-soak feature. I don't particularly need the 100w, but I wasn't sure if the TC50 with an aftermarket attenuator may be the better route as far as tone goes. I haven't played a TC100; only listened to demos.

Any help appreciated, but I am excited to get back into the Mesa family.

 

[domct203]

Welcome to the forum.

What are your plans for the amp? Bedroom, occasional jam with a drummer, regular gigs?

I’ve never played the TC-50, but I’m not usually a fan of the 50W version of any amp. I get to play at band volumes a lot, and I feel that the 100W amps give more headroom with clean tones and a fuller overdrive when played at those levels.

The only time I’ve used the power soak is the few times I actually have my rig at home.

Dom

 

[sloanthebone]

I bought the TC50 when it first came out which was a year or 2 before the TC100 came out. Loved the TC50. A couple years later I sold all my amps and went digital. Then a year ago got back into amps and the TC50 was the first amp I bought, Again, loved it. But then I remembered that the TC100 was out there now. So a used teal one came up for sale and I jumped on it. Excellent sounding, but not by a mile. But the one weird thing is that I never cared for the EL34s in the TC50, I switched them out to 6L6s and that was the sound I like. But with the TC100, I absolutely love the EL34s in it. Haven’t even tried the 6L6s.

Another thing with the TC100 is that I rarely use the attenuation in it. It’s usually always on 100w. The master volume and channel volumes on these amps are so good you really don’t even need it. You most certainly don’t need a 3rd party attenuator with it the TC50. I have a Fryette PS2 and don’t use it with this amp. I just play at home and it sounds amazing. I would have just been happy with the TC50 but the teal color got me and the wife bought it for me as our 15th wedding anniversary so who was I to pass it up haha. My TC50 is up for sale locally for $1400 with original box and I can’t get any bites. I find that crazy for such an excellent amp.

My TC100 and Mark VII would be last ones out the door if I ever have to downsize.

 

[bandit2013]

If the Triple Crown is your thing, The TC100 is worth it. I have both actually. It really depends on what your end goal is and what power tubes you decide to run in the amps.

TC50 has a dryer feel to it so the bass response is not as abundant as the 100W version. They still sound the same though in most respects. Just like the TC50, you can run the TC100 at a bedroom level and still have great sound keeping the amp at 100W.

If you are one that likes the 6L6GC tube, the TC100 is the way to go. However, I have yet to explore the TC series with the other Mesa branded 6L6 tubes now available. At the time, all I had was the STR440 tubes.

6V6 tubes sound really good in the TC50, that cuts the power down to 22W. I tried a full quad of the 6V6 tubes I borrowed from the Califonia tweed 4:40 and the end result was a bit too muddy with the TC100.

Gold Lion KT77 tubes bring out more low end in the TC50. I would not doubt that the JJ EL34L will add some bottom end too.

TC100 set to the 50W setting is much lower in volume than the TC50. I personally do not care much for the multi-soak feature probably because I got spoiled with the original design of the RA100 which is where the TC series sort of came from. Multi-soak on the RA100 is way better and designed to get more tube saturation effect than choking off the sound levels. I only use it once in a while as it does tax the tubes and will use them up in a shorter time frame.

Either way, if the attenuator is on board or external, you will reduce the power tube life span considerably.

Not sure I am helping you or not. Not many amps work well with external power attenuators as they do alter the tone some. If you opt for that, look for one that has a wide range of settings for attenuation as they will better serve your needs than one that just cuts volume without any degree of some adjustments.