Advice on a DC-5 Combo for $650 Used

I've been looking into buying a Boogie for a little while now. I play mostly hardrock and metal, but I also have appreciation for the lighter side of playing... I've heard the rectifiers are pretty much meant for metal, but all of the boogies I have heard seem to be pretty high gain amps, and it hasn't been hard to get a metal tone out of them.. Something is telling me I should buy this amp, but I only want to make my decision after I play thru it.. Any comments anyone that hsa experience w/ DC series that they want to add would be great! BTW it's a 50-watt 6L6

If it's in mint or near mint condition, it's not a bad price. A friend of mine bought one used at GC for under $400.
It is not mint, however, not even close, but it works and sounds great!

If you don't mind it showing age and wear, they can be had for less...

Good luck!

I would think that is a pretty good price for a DC-5 in really good condition.

Here are some things to look for:

Does it have LED's on the front? The early ones (Version 'A') had LED's.
If it is a Version A, then most likely, it will have a 1 button footswitch for Channel Selection only.
This is not a deterent, it is incredibly easy to change the front footswitch jack to allow a 2 button footswitch for Channel and EQ selection.


Does the chassis have any rust or discoloration on it?
Does the amp smell like mold, mildew or smoke?
Is the cabinet solid? move it back and forth to make sure all glue joints are still tight. I had a Mark IV that had a broken cab, but you could not tell from looking at it.
Is the speaker original? Should be a Celestion MC-90 Black Shadow.
Does it come with a footswitch? If not, these go for around $40-$50 on ebay.
Are the speaker mounting bolts loose? If so, the speaker may have been recently put back in.
How old are the tubes?
Has it had any maintenance or mods?


I always feel like the kid on Uncle Buck when I'm buying an amp! :lol:

Old BF Shred said:

A friend of mine bought one used at GC for under $400.

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Holy smokes! I'd snag a DC-5 combo in a heartbeat for that price!!

MusicManJP6 said:

Old BF Shred said:

A friend of mine bought one used at GC for under $400.

Click to expand...

Holy smokes! I'd snag a DC-5 combo in a heartbeat for that price!!

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Yea, I would have, too.
It's not real pretty, but it works and all he had to do was replace tubes.
I guess they let it go cheap 'cuz it had some tears in the covering.... :roll:

****!!!!!!!!!

I'm never around when those deals are to be had!!!!

I don't typically find great deals on used gear at Guitar Center but one day I walked in and saw a Mesa Formula Pre in great condition with foot controller and cables for only $200. Though I never owned I Mesa before I knew that I could make money off this unit so I bought it and wound up using it for a couple of years before selling for $400. The planets have to be properly aligned for these kind of deals. I've been a Mesa fan since.

Ripped Tolex and bad tubes wouldn't bother me at all. I'd replace the tubes anyway on a used amp I didn't know the history of and redoing Tolex isn't that difficult, if rips even bother you. Consider it "Road Worn". Somehow Fender gets away with charging twice as much for worn looking guitars and people seem happy to pay it. :lol: Maybe someone, probably Fender, will release a "Road Worn" series of guitar amps.