Mesa Boogie F30 or Studio Caliber

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bigfoot

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hi guys, this is my first post so please be kind!

i have the opportunity to buy either of the above and i'm a bit stuck. they're available 2nd hand for collection and i don't drive. they're the same price too! the F30 is within about 4 miles away so I could test that out, but the studio caliber isn't really within travelling distance unless i was going to go and buy the thing. it's the one with two channels and it doesn't have the graphic EQ (which isn't a problem for me at all).

i'm sure they are both great, i love mesa tones, clean and dirty. but i'd like a little bit more info on how the channels sound, specifically what they would be like at studio/bedroom volumes. i'd use it mostly for studio/bedroom use (occasional sets in pubs etc). i've tried searching this forum using search, and found a few bits on the internet too (was directed here by strat talk!), but nothing that relates directly to how the channels sound at lower volume levels.

the clean channel i'm sure is great on both and any level, but ideally i want to be able to use the lead channel for gain. however, i've got a small collection of pedals which i wouldn't mind using in front of the amp or in an FX loop at home, if it needs to be cranked up to get the best out of it. this could be more of an occassional thing when i'm playing out or practicing in a studio haha!

has anyone A/B'd these beauties? any additional info you can give me would be amazing! which one would you go for?

thanks
greg
 
I have a dc-2 and an f-50. The clean on the f-50 blows the dc-2 away, but the dirty channel on the f-50 sounds terrible to me. It's really brittle, way too bright. I just bought the f-50 yesterday. I replaced all of the preamp tubes, but channel 2 sounds really bad. The lead channel on the dc-2 is much better.
 
I have a F30 1x12 combo. Its light and compact, sounds awesome. With El84 power tubes, I get a nice Vox like clean on ch. 1. I get a nice crunch and dirt on ch. 2. I play Blues and Classic Rock and use the F30 for band practice and Blues jams. It is loud enough for gigs in pubs and mid size venues. Big volume difference between ch. 1 and 2 on my amp. But nothing that can't be adjusted with gain and master volume knobs for each channel. You can down load manual off the net. Great imfo on amp and examples on different setting for different tones. Good luck.
 
I have a F-30 and love it. it is lightweight, sounds huge when cranked, two sets of controls, mine came with a footswitch. When I got it I was a little worried if it would do metal and it gets a good Metallica tone for metal. I love the Classic rock tone out of it because mostly I play AC/DC style music and some blues.. I have two Mesa amps a Rectoverb 50 combo and this little F-30 and both are my favorite. The nice thing about the F-30 is it is lightweight and has a great tone to it.. And don't let the 30 watts fool you this little thing gets loud fast. I love my F-30 glad I traded for it...
 

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