2:90 vs 395

Hi! I´m thinking about to buy one of this power amps, and I´ll combine with a Quad pre... I know the 395 has more options, and I think it has two indepent power amps, like the marshall el34 100/100.

But what´s about the sound? Do you prefer the 2:90 or the 395? I think is a matter of taste, but it will be very usefull info, thanks!

The 395 seems more unbreakable than the 2:90. The 2 tracks per channel could be an advantage for soloing or other volume changes.
It has two poweramp like the other but Mesa only offer 1 power switch and 2 standby (Marshall has 2 power and 2 standby) so you have to plug at least 1 cab per channel !
The rest is... tonal preferences ! I have a 295 and I love it, especially in class A mode.

Thanks for the reply! But I´m still thinking about to get one of those poweramps, I haven´t an enough big rack for the 295.

Anyone who have been played with the 395 and 2:90, face to face?

Bump!

Any idea about that?

I've had all three. In fact, I had a 295 and a 395 at the same time in the same rack with a Mark III. By far my favorite would be the 295 with EL34s in the outer sockets. Wow! Personally, I feel the 295 is not just the best Mesa power amp ever, but one of the top tube amps of all time. Everything sounded great through it. However, it is insanely heavy and big. At the time, however, I was in a house band and my rack did not have to move for almost four years. Once I was back on the road, my rig had to go on a serious diet and the 295 and 395 were both shed and the Mark III became a combo again.

True story: Our band once showed up for rehearsal and the Crown we used for monitors fried so I reluctantly patched the monitor board into the 295 and drove a couple of JBL monitors just so we could get through rehearsal. It sounded incredible! It was not a subtle improvement. Even our lead vocalist commented on how much better she sounded. She thought I had changed the mix or added some effects.

The 395 would be a distant second to the 295. The 395 had some very cool features on paper. However, in practice, I never found those features that useful, and somehow it lacked the deep, 3D sound of the 295.

The 2:90 I just never bonded with at all. I replaced the 2:90 pretty quickly with a 20/20 and a Mark IV (power amp inputs) and have been very happy.

Honestly, if I found a great deal on a 295, I'd probably have to get it and use it for a stereo amp or just for personal enjoyment playing at home. (Seriously, it's that good.)

Wayne

2:90 for life.

This thread can now be closed.

Weight needs to be a consideration here, so I say 2:90 wins!

Thanks for the answer, markwayne!

And why didn´t you like the 2:90? It´s about the sound, or maybe the modes that the 2:90 have don´t seems to you very useful? I like the deep mode, modern mode is not so good, but still, sound nice. And I don´t like the half power mode, I think sounds better without it, and set it a lower volume (In my opinion).

I didn´t have the chance to try the 295 and 395, so I can´t compare them. Maybe I can try a 50/50, but I think it have less versatility than the others.

Well, the 2:90 just seemed to have this distinct character in its voicing that I couldn't get with. All the modes seemed to just have more or less of the same, overall tonality. It could be that it just didn't like my speakers (EVM 12L and Celestion G12H). I also didn't like not being able to run EL34s.

With the 295, whatever I put into the amp came out sounding the same only bigger and more 3D. With my 2:90 there was always this certain low, midrange hump that I seemed to fight on a nightly basis. Now, I also tried and returned a Triaxis about this same time, so you may want to take my opinion with a grain of salt. I'm not a metal-kind of player and if you are using a Triaxis they may be a good match. I tend to go for more of a Robben Ford type of tone with just a touch more gain. At any rate, I replaced the 2:90 fairly quickly with a Mark IV eventually bolstered by a 20/20. I've never played through a 50/50. However, I'm a big fan of EL34/84 crang!

I still miss that 295 however.

Darth Bacelar said:

Thanks for the answer, markwayne!

And why didn´t you like the 2:90? It´s about the sound, or maybe the modes that the 2:90 have don´t seems to you very useful? I like the deep mode, modern mode is not so good, but still, sound nice. And I don´t like the half power mode, I think sounds better without it, and set it a lower volume (In my opinion).

I didn´t have the chance to try the 295 and 395, so I can´t compare them. Maybe I can try a 50/50, but I think it have less versatility than the others.

Click to expand...

I'll back Mark Twayne up by saying the Simulclass 295 is the most insanely good power amp I have ever heard.

The other Boogie power amps are great but when you play through a good 295 everyone goes WTF??!!!

try switchable creamy power amp OD in class A mode

Someone said the 2: 90 was made for the triaxis... that is only partially true.
The Triaxis was made for the 295.
Later because the cost to build 295's was so high and they were also large and heavy they made a cheaper light weight version that sounds nothing like it in the 2:90

I see them selling for $600 in USA now because people don't realise how awesome they are... that's a bargain ... sure it's like lugging a Marshall head but rack it separately and no big deal!

Well, the thing is I´ll combine it with a Quad preamp, not with a triaxis, but i think a quad + 2:90 or triaxis + 2:90 sounds similar; more versatiliy with triaxis.

So... about the all the post:

1) 295
2) 395
3) 2:90
4) 50/50? I´m not sure about the 50/50´s differences with the others, I mean about the sound, the power is obvious, and reading others posts, a lot of people said that is very similar to the mark series power amp, and the 2:90 too (I read with the quad and the 2:90 it would very similar to have a IIc+)

If someone can compare the 50/50 sound with one or more of the others, and the similarity with the mark series power amp sound (if the 50/50 with the Quad sounds similiar to a mark IIc+ or a mark III), it would be very nice! : D

I've got a 395 and love it. Never played a 2:90 so I can't compare but I can say that the Simul-Class has a character to it that is downright magical. 50/50s get consistantly positive reviews, and they are similar to the Mark Series power sections, but they don't have the Simul-Class and that gives the tone and feel of the guitar a dose of amazement.