New Mesa EL-34 amp - Triple Crown TC-50 Now Official!

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Demo is up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLEZzQKsvPQ&feature=youtu.be

Webpage is up and running too: http://mesaboogie.com/amplifiers/electric/triple-crown-series/index.html
 
Per Mesa on youtube:


MESA/Boogie22:
The Triple Crown TC-50 is shipping! For pricing, please contact your local dealer or distributor.


From Steve_K on Rig-talk:
Hits stores tomorrow. Heads in stock $1799. Combo's in a week at $1999.
 
Looks like an awesome amp! I guess I'll be the first to complain about something...where's the Bold/Spongy switch??? I think this amp would benefit from it much more than a Rectifier.

And not a complaint, but I'm curious about why they went with a V30 in the combo instead of the Fillmore.

Still think it's awesome, though.
 
The gain stages sounded pretty Marshall to me. Certainly no more gain than my KK. Definitely less than a JVM. Nearly as tight as the KK too.
Why V30's? Cos Mesa know it appeals to a greater number of people using the sounds the amp is intended for. And it's high mid focus probably helps 6V6's at high gain, stay clear(ish)
 
I got notice and link to a demo video for this new amp yesterday. Watched the full MESA video demo last night. It looks and sounds really good!
 
Is it an evolution of the Electra-Dyne with separate controls for each channel?
 
dlpasco said:
...pricing and ship date? I have some kidneys to sell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since I kind of like having your around, I figured I'd better share my medical expertise. I think you had probably only better plan on selling ONE of those kidneys. Better sell it while they're still worth something. :mrgreen:
 
Dreamtheaterrules said:
dlpasco said:
...pricing and ship date? I have some kidneys to sell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but since I kind of like having your around, I figured I'd better share my medical expertise. I think you had probably only better plan on selling ONE of those kidneys. Better sell it while they're still worth something. :mrgreen:


To be fair, he didn't say they were his kidneys. :mrgreen:
 
I went and played the TC yesterday. As far as I know it's the only one in my country until early next year. It was the head version and was paired with a 2x12 horizontal recto cab. I'm really excited about this amp, feature and tone wise it's what I have been wanting.

The TC is no ED2 in how it's sounds. It may have started with the ED , but the RA is much closer. The addition of a presence control for each channel in conjunction with the treble allows great shaping versatility.

Clean channel is great and much like the RA, loads of bass , but the presence allows sparkle to be added without making the treble harsh. The drive mode opens a new bag of low gain edgy tones.

Channel two is a real winner for rock and covers a surprising wide range of gain. Definitely more gain the the RA Lo mode and wider range of the control.

While I'm not a metal player Channel 3 has a totally crushing amount of gain and is great with for solos.

While this all sounded great with the master and output at about 12:00 I was curious to see how much the power section really had. Wth the output which is really the overall master volume cranked it scared me how much headroom the clean channel has. I don't think volume will be a problem for many people , but some may just prefer the way a 100 watt amp sounds and reacts. Perhaps there will be a TC100 at some point.

I have enough 100 watts amps, but am wanting a lighter combo amp. It does looks like the Tc50 1x12" could be perfect for me. I'm no longer looking at the Mark Vs. I loved the way the Mark V 25 sounded, but it didn't quite have enough power and has clean and crunch on channel 1. The V35 solved the power issue, not the channel issue.

Looking forward to trying the combo when they arrive.
 
I should have mentioned that I used an SG and a Suhr classic pro to test. A guitar with high output pick ups would be brutal.

Can't really make any comment about the JP2C as I haven't tried one yet. One would think that the two graphic eqs on the JP2C would Make a big difference. The TC certainly won't be able to dial a classic "V" eq curve with the endless tweek-ability. Will be interesting to hear what others think...

The TC has the small reverb tank which looks similar in size to the V25. I was surprised to see the small tank, but overall the reverb is a good improvement on the RA which most people didn't seem to like. Like the V25 the reverb is very nice sounding even if it isn't quite a full as say the Lonestar or ED. Having a reverb control for each channel is a good thing too.

Elvis, like we have previously been talking about a big bottle lunch box amp vs EL84, the TC is pretty much it. Not quite lunch box size or weight, but the short head would still sit well on the Horizontal 2x12.
 
sloanthebone said:
Did you happen to lower the master volume to see if it retained the tone you liked at low volume?

Yes I did try to lower the volume to see how the tone is effected. I tried first with the channel masters and they did seem to thin the tone out in a way I didn't like so much. There does seem to be a sweet spot around 12:00. The output control is more neutral, but the tone does still change. With a bit of adjustment of the tone controls I did find tone that I would be happy to use. Undoubtably some of that is down to hearing perception and probably speakers that were no being driven as well as Dow the amp responds.

I'd probably sum it up by saying the TC excels from normal to very loud, but is still good at quiet. Given I spent about 45 minutes on the TC my opinion may well change over time, but i think my RA100 does a little better quiet. The ED is definitely further up the scale with volume and sounds great at loud to ear bleeding levels.
 
I just spend four hours with the amp using my Les Paul with JB.... Into a recto 2x12 cab. I checked out the entire range of what it can do.
Much easier to dial in and to get to know than most Mesa amps. I thought it sounded great and would have zero problems doing a gig with it. It has that upper midrange punch you expect from a 50 watt EL34 amp with some juice on the plates. Punchy and aggressive.

This is a completely new voice for Mesa. I had no problem dialing in any range of gain. The lead channel is fairly compressed. Rhythm channel being a bit more dynamic and not as midrange heavy.

The cleans sounded great to me.... Better than I expected. In the Mesa Mark / Fender family of sounds. I had no problem getting plenty of headroom.
The rhythm channel got pretty highgain.... But much less than the lead channel.
The dynamics were pretty good in this channel. I am accustom to using Fryette often. Most amps just do not have the dynamic range. I could not get it down to clean with highgain with the guitar volume.... But got some good blues tones.
It is a crunch channel. But is not voiced like a Plexi or 800. With the tight switch on I could get it closer to that sound. But it is more saturated and compressed like many Mesa amps. Ît is darker ..... I see the plexi as a fairly bright amp. You could get similar.... But the feel and tone was always different. You could get a modified English crunch sound no problem.
I could see why they say the lead channel is a mix of Rectifer and Mark. It certainly has that easy to play lead feel the Marks have. With the tight switch on it almost reminded me of a boosted Rectifer. The overall sound is smoother.... But still hairy. Below about 1 o'clock on the gain the sound stayed pretty focused. Above that it got more of a Rectifer highs.

Easy to get scooped or midrange heavy sounds from any channel.

Keep in mind everyone I only spent a few hours with the amp. I feel most amps take several days or more to really get to know. This amp was easy to learn.... But take what I say within the context of my experince. I don't think I know it enough for a full review.
 

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