Express Series vs Maverick Series

Hi all,

Really been loving my Express 5:25+ for the past year, but ever so often I get Maverick gas.

I can get a D-style tone from the Express @ 9:00 on the burn channel, but I never really turn the gain up on that channel much farther. Also, I never really had the chance to sit down with a Maverick but I'm really intrigued from the reviews and sounds I hear. What type of differences exist between these series?

Thanks

I have a Maverick 2x12 and a 5:50 Express Plus 1x12. They are both great amps and each is pretty unique. The Express clean channel is a bit more of the "blackface" tone with mesa punch, where the Maverick has a fatter midrange with a bit of honk to it's clean channel (a bit more on the vox side of things.) The Express has lots of options with the gain channels and really does cover a pretty wide spectrum from vintage to modern tones. The Maverick doesn't really do modern gain tones, its more of an old school creamy-thick-punchy lead tone.

Don't have a Maverick and never played one but agree with the Clean channel on my Express 5:25+ I can get that "blackface" tone compared to my DRRI, but with a little more bloom and takes pedals like a Fender does. THEN I have the Blues channel for tweed type tones, the Crunch for some Marshal type tones and the Burn which I also run at low gain for that Dumble Overdrive tone.

My other amps are getting lonely in the storage room because the express is just so versatile.

I sold a 1x12 maverick to get the original 5:25 1x10 express, but only because the maverick was heavy and I wanted something lighter. The maverick was a great sounding amp (both channels) and I wish I had kept it. The express was really nice too, I sold it to get a TA-30 (there's a trend here). I've tried the new express and really like them. Trying to decide between that and a mark V:25.

jammintree said:

I have a Maverick 2x12 and a 5:50 Express Plus 1x12. They are both great amps and each is pretty unique. The Express clean channel is a bit more of the "blackface" tone with mesa punch, where the Maverick has a fatter midrange with a bit of honk to it's clean channel (a bit more on the vox side of things.) The Express has lots of options with the gain channels and really does cover a pretty wide spectrum from vintage to modern tones. The Maverick doesn't really do modern gain tones, its more of an old school creamy-thick-punchy lead tone.

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Thanks! If you could only have one, which would you pick? Are they different enough to warrant both? Which do you like more?

Thanks to everyone who contributed

I had an Express 5:50 Plus. It was broken, and I had just bought it so I wasn't fixing it, so I sent it back to GC.
I can't really comment on that amp.

I had a 5:25 (non-plus) 1x10 combo. The cleans and reverb were wonderful! I never got along with the lead channel though. I think a lot of it had to do with the size of the cabinet and the 10" speaker.
I installed a Weber speaker and that helped a lot, but it still sounded small if you did not run it through an extension cab.
The lead channel sounded like it was trying too hard. I just didn't breathe like most Boogies do.

I have had 2 Mavericks. The cleans are every bit as wonderful to me as the Lonestars, Express's, etc..
The reverb is not quite as lush as the Lonestar. About equal to the reverb on the Express 1x10 that I had.
The lead channel is more "Vintage" sounding to me. Not nearly as aggressive, more smooth in it's breakup.
With the Vintage 30 that was in my last Maverick, it was pretty bright and spiky sounding at times. I foolishly sold it to Soundchaser59 here on the Board.
We were buying a house earlier this year and I had to raise up some cash.
I should have tried a Tone Tubby or Cannabis Rex in the Mav and sold something else instead..........


For me, I like the Mav better. But only because I've had more time with one.
I don't know if that really helps you or not.