Wish Mesa Dual Caliber DC-5

York Audio

Fractal Fanatic
Vendor
Recently, I met a producer in town and saw that he had a Mesa Dual Caliber DC-5 in the corner, which is an amp I’ve always been curious about, but have never been able to get my hands on one. The Axe has kept my amp GAS at bay for years, but he was kind enough to let me fire it up... it blew my mind.

They were made in the 90’s and were a transitional amp between the Mark IV and the Dual Rec. I figured since it had the 5-band graphic EQ that it was set up like a Mark Series amp, so I used my Mark IV go-to settings and realized that it was an entirely different animal. The tonestack wasn’t pre-power amp. I bypassed the GEQ and dialed in a killer tone, then uses the GEQ to fine tune it. The lead channel sounded absolutely massive! It had low end chunk and midrange grit for days, with a top end that wasn’t as fizzy as I thought it would be. The tone was flat out MEAN! Now the problem is that the amp sounded so good that the guy won’t sell it to me.

We have a great assortment of Mesa tones in the Axe, so it makes sense that any new amps would be flavors currently unavailable in the unit. After playing this amp, I really think it’s something special that hits the sweet spot between a Mesa and a Marshall...and something I haven’t been able to replicate yet.

So here’s to wishing and hoping. They don’t pop up on Reverb too often (at least the heads don’t) but Guitar Center has several used ones in their system. I’d buy one in a heartbeat, but my wife is making me promise not to buy any more gear for a while.
 
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Recently, I met a producer in town and saw that he had a Mesa Dual Caliber DC-5 in the corner, which is an amp I’ve always been curious about, but have never been able to get my hands on one. The Axe has kept my amp GAS at bay for years, but he was kind enough to let me fire it up... it blew my mind.

They were made in the 90’s and were a transitional amp between the Mark IV and the Dual Rec. I figured since it had the 5-band graphic EQ that it was set up like a Mark Series amp, so I used my Mark IV go-to settings and realized that it was an entirely different animal. The tonestack wasn’t pre-power amp. I bypassed the GEQ and dialed in a killer tone, then uses the GEQ to fine tune it. The lead channel sounded absolutely massive! It had low end chunk and midrange grit for days, with a top end that wasn’t as fizzy as I thought it would be. The tone was flat out MEAN! Now the problem is that the amp sounded so good that the guy won’t sell it to me.

We have a great assortment of Mesa tones in the Axe, so it makes sense that any new amps would be flavors currently unavailable in the unit. After playing this amp, I really think it’s something special that hits the sweet spot between a Mesa and a Marshall...and something I haven’t been able to replicate yet.

So here’s to wishing and hoping. They don’t pop up on Reverb too often (at least the heads don’t) but Guitar Center has several used ones in their system. I’d buy one in a heartbeat, but my wife is making me promise not to buy any more gear for a while.
I second that. I still remember quite a long time ago hearing a guy use one with a PRS at a street party and it really sounded killer. I have poked at them off and on in the used market for may years but just never quite got around to pulling the trigger. I would love to be able to explore an Axe model. Good call!
 
If these schematics meet @FractalAudio standards, I would happily send my amp to Cliff. I’ve got a ‘96 Rev G Dual Rec and an original 5150, and the DC-5 keeps up with them along with having its own mojo. It’s a great amp with a more open sounding overdrive at high gain settings compared to the other amps and I’m surprised that no one has modeled one yet. The clean channel is also absurdly good for a Mesa.
 
If these schematics meet @FractalAudio standards, I would happily send my amp to Cliff. I’ve got a ‘96 Rev G Dual Rec and an original 5150, and the DC-5 keeps up with them along with having its own mojo. It’s a great amp with a more open sounding overdrive at high gain settings compared to the other amps and I’m surprised that no one has modeled one yet. The clean channel is also absurdly good for a Mesa.

@FractalAudio that's will be totally awesome!! If Justin actually agrees to give his amp for giving the power to all of the AX3 People, he's the man for sure.

I wanted also that the Revv Generator will be modeled, and if Cliff agrees and needs to borrow that amp, he will get it!
 
If these schematics meet @FractalAudio standards, I would happily send my amp to Cliff. I’ve got a ‘96 Rev G Dual Rec and an original 5150, and the DC-5 keeps up with them along with having its own mojo. It’s a great amp with a more open sounding overdrive at high gain settings compared to the other amps and I’m surprised that no one has modeled one yet. The clean channel is also absurdly good for a Mesa.
I am sorry about the late reply. I cannot verify if these schematics would be acceptable, seeing as I have no knowledge to be an authority on the subject. However, it would be fantastic if this or another schematic was accurate and you were able to send your amp in.
On a side note, I do really enjoy how sharing this community is, offering to send in your personal amp for the benefit of all Fractal users is quite admirable. Thank you for that and your fantastic IR work.
 
I second to this! I just hear the DC10 pack of STL Tones and cant help but wishing if this will be available on axe fx. Specially the clean one on the this video. Or if anyone knows how to get close to this tone clean tone on the intro of the video, i would appreciate it a lot..

 
+1, subway blues is legit the second best sounding model next to JP2C. DC-5 would run circles around Recto 1 and Recto 2 if it turned out half as good as subway blues
 
+1, subway blues is legit the second best sounding model next to JP2C. DC-5 would run circles around Recto 1 and Recto 2 if it turned out half as good as subway blues
The DC-5 is such a cool amp. The clean channel is gorgeous, the clean/gain boost is delightfully raunchy, and the lead channel is just massive. The gain texture feels like it’s in between a Mark series and an Orange. That’s the amp I reach for if I want that Weezer Blue Album wall of sound.
 
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