NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Discuss the stuff that makes your ears bleed.

Moderators: Slowy, Capt. Black

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
meble-kuchenne.warszawa.pl
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by sizzlingbadger »

3.5K
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

User avatar
Conway
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 9837
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 1:33 pm
Location: Auckland
Has liked: 242 times
Been liked: 966 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by Conway »

I'm still intrigued by this amp. How gainy is the middle channel Nik? And is there any chime to be had anywhere? It wouldn't appear so, on the face of it.

I can feel the GAS building. And since the only way I can get my Divided By 13 off Grant is by killing him, I may have to look elsewhere for my next fix...
GUITARS ROCK - www.guitarsrock.co.nz
TONE LOUNGE - www.tonelounge.co.nz

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by sizzlingbadger »

Blue channel has plenty of gain, but remains more open than the red channel. I'm guessing the Red channel has another gain stage as its much more saturated and thicker as per the RA100 (which I know has another stage in the red channel).

Its not chimey like a Vox but its a million miles away from the stiff / crunchy Mesa Express for example.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

User avatar
Molly
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 24937
Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2013 12:17 pm
Has liked: 2482 times
Been liked: 2794 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by Molly »

sizzlingbadger wrote:Blue channel has plenty of gain, but remains more open than the red channel. I'm guessing the Red channel has another gain stage as its much more saturated and thicker as per the RA100 (which I know has another stage in the red channel).

Its not chimey like a Vox but its a million miles away from the stiff / crunchy Mesa Express for example.
Jesus, the Express sounds shite though, eh? You'd want to be a million miles from that. Demos for the TC sound great.

User avatar
jeremyb
Chorus of Organs
Posts: 40878
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:03 am
Has liked: 7685 times
Been liked: 4157 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by jeremyb »

Is it for sale yet? :mrgreen:
Slowy wrote: That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by sizzlingbadger »

It grew up !

Image
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

User avatar
olegmcnoleg
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 5542
Joined: Sat Dec 21, 2013 11:26 am
Location: Awkland
Has liked: 860 times
Been liked: 741 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by olegmcnoleg »

Wow, what happened to the combo?

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50

Post by sizzlingbadger »

I decided after a couple of days I wanted the head and RS were kind enough to swap it for me. I picked up the 2x12 from a forum member. Its bigger than I thought it would be lol!
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

slash-ed
Resident Gear Whore
Posts: 10032
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2005 12:26 pm
Has liked: 97 times
Been liked: 424 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by slash-ed »

Dammit but I wanted dibs on the combo!
Just a small town girl living in a lonely world

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by sizzlingbadger »

It sounds better through a cab. I'm considering getting a 1x12 though, the 2x12 is pretty big. The Laney IRT cab I had a while back was one of the nicest sounding cabs I have ever owned, once the speaker was replaced.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

User avatar
jeremyb
Chorus of Organs
Posts: 40878
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:03 am
Has liked: 7685 times
Been liked: 4157 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by jeremyb »

sizzlingbadger wrote:It sounds better through a cab. I'm considering getting a 1x12 though, the 2x12 is pretty big. The Laney IRT cab I had a while back was one of the nicest sounding cabs I have ever owned, once the speaker was replaced.
It's taking up the same horizontal space tho', which realistically matters way more!
Slowy wrote: That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.

User avatar
codedog
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 6705
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:44 pm
Location: Christchurch
Has liked: 3476 times
Been liked: 1083 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by codedog »

jeremyb wrote:
sizzlingbadger wrote:It sounds better through a cab. I'm considering getting a 1x12 though, the 2x12 is pretty big. The Laney IRT cab I had a while back was one of the nicest sounding cabs I have ever owned, once the speaker was replaced.
It's taking up the same horizontal space tho', which realistically matters way more!
When I built my 2x12 I added feet on one short side so I could run it vertically. Worked really well.

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by sizzlingbadger »

jeremyb wrote:
sizzlingbadger wrote:It sounds better through a cab. I'm considering getting a 1x12 though, the 2x12 is pretty big. The Laney IRT cab I had a while back was one of the nicest sounding cabs I have ever owned, once the speaker was replaced.
It's taking up the same horizontal space tho', which realistically matters way more!
Yeah, I did some measuring and it won't make any difference space-wise going to a 1x12. I think I'll just replace the top V30 with something more mellow. I took the wheels off and that has lowered it a bit, looks a bit less imposing in the office.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

User avatar
werdna
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 2711
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:16 am
Has liked: 590 times
Been liked: 458 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by werdna »

The ED's tone was very bassy and dark, and not bright like a Marshall. Also it sounded high fi, not shaggy and coarse like a Marshall. It didn't do Marshall, even though it's circuits were modeled on JCM800.

Does this amp have the same tones as the blue and red modes on the ED, or is it more Marshall voiced?
In life, don't sweat the petty stuff, and don't pet the sweaty stuff.

User avatar
sizzlingbadger
Vintage Post Junkie
Vintage Post Junkie
Posts: 8241
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2011 7:12 am
Location: Wire Wrapper
Has liked: 1200 times
Been liked: 1398 times

Re: NAD: MESA TC-50 Head

Post by sizzlingbadger »

Its way brighter and more Marshall on the Blue Channel to my ears.
Tube amp and guitar tones straight from 1958… amazing how believable the sounds were back then, even without the modellers...

Post Reply