Thinking of switching from F-50 to F-30

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payooli

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I bought the F-50 with dreams of filling large venues, but of course that never happened and likely never will. I play in my bedroom/studio 99% of the time and in a church band, in small area the other 1%. I'm coming to the conclusion that the F-50 is too much for me, since the volume knob never goes past 9 o'clock and it is a heavy beast to lug to the church and back.

I love the tone though, and I'm wondering whether the F-30 fits the bill. Is it significantly lighter than the F-50? And will I be able to crank it up more to get those overdriven tones without damaging people's hearing? The church has a PA so I can be mic'ed and put into the mix. (It was never even necessary to mic the F-50 at all). Some reviews I have read say even the F-30 is pretty danged loud.

If it's not significantly lighter or quieter I may have to look at something else, but I'd like to stick with Mesa if possible.
 
Hey dude, here's the thing with tube power (not just Mesa), they are all really loud!! Even a 5 watt tube head is going to be loud. That being said, I liked the F-30 better than the F-50. I owned both although almost two years apart. The F-30 just has more character IMO. The F-50 is just loud and has a kind of 'rude' tone. The F-30 is similarly loud, but seems to sound a little better at low volume. You might want to think about an attenuator if you want to stick with Mesa. You can get a little better tone at low volume, but don't expect to get cranked tone at bedroom levels because part of that cranked tone you love is from the speaker's movement and interaction with the amp. The attenuator will smooth out the taper of the output knob and thicken the tone so it is much more friendly for home playing. Hope that helps!
 
the F30 is a little lighter than the F50, and side by side they are about the same volume wise with the x-ception of the clean channel. I used my F30 at church this morning and my volume rarely goes above 9:00 as well.
I would keep the F50 for big clean sounds and pedals, and look into getting a little 5 to 15 watter. Emery Sound makes a cool little amp as well as Swart Space tone. Also a Blues Jr with some a couple pedals sounds cool and is a great little grab and go rig. Good luck!
 
I've owned both (currently own and F-50).
The F-30 is definitely lighter & easier to move.

They do sound different, very different. The F-30 has a smoother distortion, almost compressed sounding compared to the F-50. The F-50 is more raw, in your face.

The F-50 has a warmer clean channel while the F-30 is more "chimey".

The F-50 will definitely give you more headroom on the clean channel.

Both great amps with great master volumes. Can easily be played at bedroom volumes.
 
Hobo said:
I've owned both (currently own and F-50).
The F-30 is definitely lighter & easier to move.

They do sound different, very different. The F-30 has a smoother distortion, almost compressed sounding compared to the F-50. The F-50 is more raw, in your face.

The F-50 has a warmer clean channel while the F-30 is more "chimey".

The F-50 will definitely give you more headroom on the clean channel.

Both great amps with great master volumes. Can easily be played at bedroom volumes.


I would think a great deal of this chimey effect comes from the EL-84's in the F-30 as opposed to the 6L6's that are in the f-50.

having both the 100 and the 50, the 30 is an itch I am eventually going to scratch.. can any vox-ish tones be achieved with the f-30 ?
 
No vox tones at all or any british style for me. I chose the f-30. Distortion wise it was there all along and gets better when turning up. I loved the preamp section alone. El84 can be described as a "british" flavor to an american theme but they don't dominate this amp in my oppinion of course. A fender blues junior also is a similar case.

The master volume in the other hand I can't understand how they say it is great for bedroom, it goes from .1 to scream!!!

Idiotic fender tactics to make the amp seem louder. Problem solved with th fx loop volume control courtsey of the f-series lounge in harmony-central. Gotta love those guys!!!
 
Hobo said:
I've owned both (currently own and F-50).
The F-30 is definitely lighter & easier to move.

They do sound different, very different. The F-30 has a smoother distortion, almost compressed sounding compared to the F-50. The F-50 is more raw, in your face.

The F-50 has a warmer clean channel while the F-30 is more "chimey".

The F-50 will definitely give you more headroom on the clean channel.

Both great amps with great master volumes. Can easily be played at bedroom volumes.

Right on...
 
That is also what I am finding. If you want a more open sound from the f-30 try overdriving the clean channel. The pull bright function is also great for xtra treble and a little distortion from the clean channel.

The lead channel is wonderfully compressed in small gigs I guess low wattage helps to max it out easily.

I really like what the parallel loop volume attenuation does to the tone at low volumes. Tightens it up. I don't understand how it works, it works! That said I would buy an f-50 either way but not to replace the f-30. Probably and f-100!!!
 

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