Just Bought F50

Hi Guys,

Newbie to the board here!

I've just picked up a used F50 from eBay (hopefully a bargain at £500) and I'm really chuffed with it...... so much so that my Dr Z Maz 38 NR and matching 1x12 cab (Buddy Whittington Red) will shortly be up for sale! But before I take the plunge and do so, I need to be sure that the F50 is reliable and won't let me down regularly on gigs!

I had a Nomad 55 1x12 combo a couple of years back and have been severely scarred with regards to Boogies. The Nomad visited more guitar techs than Silvio Berlusconi visited pretty girls! :mrgreen: It always ran "red hot" and I had major problems with the valve seating directly onto the pcb, which always seemed to result in dry joints somewhere along the line (according to the last tech)! Eventually, I gave up and moved it on!

The sound from my latest purchase is perfect for what I play (soul, funk, blues etc) and has the stock Mesa Boogie STR 440 power tubes fitted. I also inherited a matched pair of STR 430s and a full set of brand new JJ 6L6 GC's with ECC83 S's (x4).

My query is..... are the STR 430's compatible with the F50 and what are the differences (if any) to the 440's? Also, not having previously tried JJ tubes, how do they compare (sound wise) to the Mesa tubes?

Hope you can help out? :?

I've been running the exact set of J&J's you have for several years now with no problems. I think they have a smoother gain to them than the Mesa tubes. I play the same type of music you do and absolutely love this amp. It's way loud when you need it also.
Dave

Thanks Dave.... really appreciate that!

Maybe they'll take the "sharp edges" of the lead channel for a bluesy tone..... it's not quite there for me just yet, but I'll keep experimenting!

Anyone else out there have any more ideas on taming the lead channel?

Cheers

Brian

Hi Brian,

F50s are pretty reliable and solid builds.

I move mine already 2 1/2 years almost weekly between home and practice location so it gets offently gently banged around, it ran a couple of time on mismatched ohmage, never had a problem.

Now the lead channel is not exactly a blues channel. When I think blues I think spongey, elastic tones. The F50 has mostly Boogie in the blood with a touch of rectifier, that's a very direct in your face tone and it will always have some sharp edge.

Another point is that it needs to be run with the lead master above 9:00, then you get a fuller and fatter tone. Under that the tone gets fizzy and harsher. But by then it's way too loud for bedroom. The 'volume controle in the loop' trick helps a bit though but still.

Lowering the treble will also lower the gain a bit but the F50 has enough of it anyway. My TMB lead channel setting is 10:00-12:00 / 11:00-13:00 / 9:00 10:00. Anymore bass and it gets muddy.
Experiment with preamp tubes especially V1 & 2. I have a mix of Tung Sol and EH. Sovtek LPS can be fine as well.

I've got SED winged Cs in power section and tried TAD which are quite close. I prefer these to JJs.

At the extreme you might try other speakers. Eminence RWB is quite smooth but your clean will suffer. Tonker sounds good but is not less agressive than the C90. V30 is a no, no! Speaker swap is also a costly activity unless you already own a selection.

I get some good bluesy tones with my strat by backing the guitar volume pot to about 5 (gain on the lead channel is at 10:00) but it's still quite direct and agressive and not spongey.

My best advice for blues: use a great OD pedal on the clean channel and keep the lead channel for heavier leads. And my best advice for a great OD pedal is the G2D CreamTone. It's not cheap and they are located on the other side of the planet but this pedal is very very transparent and gives me a very spongey fat and greasy tone on my CS strat or my Suhr, I love it! Their Custom Overdrive is great too because of the switchable 2 gain levels but is less transparent and the low gain tone is a bit thinner though still spongey. Higher gain position is quite addictive and VERY smooth.

And no! I'm not affiliated with them, just a fan 8)

Cheers
Fabien

Hi Fabien, many thanks for that........ it's given me a much better idea of options available, especially from someone who actually uses one!

Like many musicians, I'm pretty lazy when it comes down to experimenting with options and tones..... it's much easier to ask other musos and hope for a cheap and quick fix to answer all my prayers! :lol:

I'm currently using a single channel amp anyway, so I'm relying on pedals for anything other than clean tones. My Barber Small Fry is pretty versatile and I'm also using an MI Audio Crunchtone for raunchier licks.

It will no doubt take a little time to find the "ultimate tone", so I'm now committed to trying these ideas out in order to get the best out of the amp and my collection of guitars!

I really appreciate your response...... it's good to be able to compare notes with a fellow F50 owner.

By the way, I checked out your tracks on My Space....... wow, I'm really impressed and would urge anyone else reading this to check it out! Really love and appreciate the vibe! Well done mate!

Best wishes

Brian

Glad I could help.

Thanks for the kind word on our demo!
It's the F50 you hear on these. Crunch rhythm is a Fulldrive but solos are on the lead channel and quite creamy (but not so bluesy!)

Experimenting is still the way to go to find your tone because it's your ears listening. And isn't it where the fun is too?

Cheers
Fabien

I'd like to add that the F50 is not my main amp anymore. I now use a Ceriatone OTS 50 (Dumble style amp) for gigs. I still use the F50 though at practice for portablity (the 1x12 combo F50 is easier to grab and setup than the head and 2x12 with Rocktron Xpressioncarry, especially when the F50 sits in its cover ready to go and the OTS is fully setup at home).

Last week we had a sort of informal gig at the practice location on a stage. Quick setup, no PA. I was once again floored by the tone of the F50 in this larger room: fat, singing, cleans were very percussive and leads creamy, gone was the harshness and fuzziness you can hear at home or in the practice room (very good sound proof music cabines) that makes you think 'Mmmmh, is this really the right amp for me?'. I didn't play much louder than in the practice room, just a bit, and still with the cable trick in the loop to control the volume.

The F50 is a stellar amp and needs some volume around it to bloom.

Now the OTS is even more stellar, same breed of amp but more refined and subtle.

Cheers
Fabien