TC-100.......I knew I should have waited!!

Mine arrived Monday - didn't have time to test it out until last night.

WOW!!!! Big difference in tone compared to the TC-50, at least to my ears.

I now know my issue with the TC-50 was with the tone section of the 50W power amp - now I know I'm a 100 watt guy - I use a JVM 410 at rehearsal and am probably just accustomed to that 100 watt power amp response/tone.

But I really like the 20/7/3 watt capabilities on this for quieter jamming - although that rarely happens at my place! :lol:

Can't wait to go home tonight and dig into it a little deeper - setgin up the midi programs last night with my Helix as well.

I still have the EL34's in there, so I'm really looking forward to try out the 6L6's.

Here's a question:
Is Mesa gonna release a TC-50 with the same attenuator feature as the TC-100? Kinda like they did with the Express 5:25 Plus and the 5:50 Plus?

cwgatti24 said:

Here's a question:
Is Mesa gonna release a TC-50 with the same attenuator feature as the TC-100? Kinda like they did with the Express 5:25 Plus and the 5:50 Plus?

Click to expand...

I hope not. I love the TC-50 as is. I think having the attenuator on that amp would not be a good thing. If they did, you would probably get a two tube version of the TC-100 vrs the TC-50. I like the way the TC-50 sounds with its smaller iron transformers. Just my opinion. I like the TC-100 at full power more than with the attenuator, I feel the same with the RA100. Once you drop it to the -3dB or 50W you may as well use a blanket. I thing the power soak feature would have been better if the first step was less than 50% reduction. The TC-50 is louder than the TC-100 set to 50W. What would have been a nice feature would be to have a 3 position power switch 50W/OFF/100W like the RA100 amp has, and label the power soak function the same way as the RA100. I know the RA is slightly different than the TC sereis but when set to 50W power it is about the same as the TC-50 in percieved loudness. The power soak is not bad on the TC-100, I just feel the amp sounds better at full power.

bandit2013 said:

cwgatti24 said:

Here's a question:
Is Mesa gonna release a TC-50 with the same attenuator feature as the TC-100? Kinda like they did with the Express 5:25 Plus and the 5:50 Plus?

Click to expand...

I hope not. I love the TC-50 as is. I think having the attenuator on that amp would not be a good thing. If they did, you would probably get a two tube version of the TC-100 vrs the TC-50. I like the way the TC-50 sounds with its smaller iron transformers. Just my opinion. I like the TC-100 at full power more than with the attenuator, I feel the same with the RA100. Once you drop it to the -3dB or 50W you may as well use a blanket. I thing the power soak feature would have been better if the first step was less than 50% reduction. The TC-50 is louder than the TC-100 set to 50W. What would have been a nice feature would be to have a 3 position power switch 50W/OFF/100W like the RA100 amp has, and label the power soak function the same way as the RA100. I know the RA is slightly different than the TC sereis but when set to 50W power it is about the same as the TC-50 in percieved loudness. The power soak is not bad on the TC-100, I just feel the amp sounds better at full power.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bandit. I had an old Ampeg VL 503, and my fave amp of all time a Marshall 30th Anny. that had the attenuators. I couldn't dial in the Ampeg, but the Marshall I had nailed! Set at 25 watts. My current amp is a Express 5:50+ I have set at 5 watts for dirty and 25 watts for clean. I really need 3 channel for my style, and the new TC-100 has what I need. My only concern is that 100 watts is way way too much for me. In theory, the 50 would be better....could I add my own attenuator to the 50 or is that too messy/hassle?

cwgatti24 said:

bandit2013 said:

cwgatti24 said:

Here's a question:
Is Mesa gonna release a TC-50 with the same attenuator feature as the TC-100? Kinda like they did with the Express 5:25 Plus and the 5:50 Plus?

Click to expand...

I hope not. I love the TC-50 as is. I think having the attenuator on that amp would not be a good thing. If they did, you would probably get a two tube version of the TC-100 vrs the TC-50. I like the way the TC-50 sounds with its smaller iron transformers. Just my opinion. I like the TC-100 at full power more than with the attenuator, I feel the same with the RA100. Once you drop it to the -3dB or 50W you may as well use a blanket. I thing the power soak feature would have been better if the first step was less than 50% reduction. The TC-50 is louder than the TC-100 set to 50W. What would have been a nice feature would be to have a 3 position power switch 50W/OFF/100W like the RA100 amp has, and label the power soak function the same way as the RA100. I know the RA is slightly different than the TC sereis but when set to 50W power it is about the same as the TC-50 in percieved loudness. The power soak is not bad on the TC-100, I just feel the amp sounds better at full power.

Click to expand...

Thanks Bandit. I had an old Ampeg VL 503, and my fave amp of all time a Marshall 30th Anny. that had the attenuators. I couldn't dial in the Ampeg, but the Marshall I had nailed! Set at 25 watts. My current amp is a Express 5:50+ I have set at 5 watts for dirty and 25 watts for clean. I really need 3 channel for my style, and the new TC-100 has what I need. My only concern is that 100 watts is way way too much for me. In theory, the 50 would be better....could I add my own attenuator to the 50 or is that too messy/hassle?

Click to expand...

Sure, you can run an external attenuator with any tube amp. I would recommend one that is scalable with many different attenuation settings along with a bass and treble enhancement mode. Some amps may behave differently with loading. I have not tried the attenuator that I have on the TC-50. The TC-100 may seem like it has more power than one would need but does quite well with lower volume settings. It is very similar to the TC-50 such that you do not need to run it hard to get the grind. Tone of the amp remains almost constant at any volume setting unlike some other amps that may become more bass dominant (JP-2C) or fizzy. TC-50 has more of a dry tone as it seems to be ideal with palm muted chords or notes (similar to the JP-2C in that regard) where as the TC-100 seems to have a more forward pick attach to its character such that the initial hit on the string when palm muting is not as dry and responds with more midrange and top end and a subtly looser bass but yet remains bold. Perhaps dry is not a good word choice, woody may be a bit better. The TC-50 can be run at 25W but not on the fly, just get a pair of 6V6 tubes. Awesome amp with the 6V6. I would not say one version is better than the other, I feel they are equal in tone quality and performance but they do have a slight difference in tone because of power supply and OT.

TC-100 or TC-50? Both are great amps to have. They do sound a bit different from each other but essentially the same. Now that I have both, I still love the TC-50. No regrets and I am glad I did not wait for the TC-100 when I got the TC-50, otherwise I would not bought the TC-50.