Opinions on Mesa/Boogie F-30 & F-50 amps w/ Rics

swaro770 · Post by **swaro770** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 5:06 am

I went amp sniffing last night and really liked the F-50 combo. The store does not sell Rics, but a cheapo National hollow body sounded unbelievable thru the F-50. Can these amps be recommended for 330/360 6 strings? The company reminds me of RIC in that they make a world class product right here in the USA. I love supporting/buying products from companies like these.

Also, I will be playing, seeing, touching and drooling over Rics tomorrow for the first time. Making the trip to PickoftheRicks. Can't wait!
If anyone wants me to look at anything while there, let me know in the next 5 hours.

spencer · Post by **spencer** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 7:12 am

Hi Gene - I play a 360V64 and a 325V63 exclusively through a Mesa/Boogie Maverick 2X12.
I don't hear alot of people on this board talk about them much but IMO I think they are one of the best sounding amps out there. I got it a while ago when I relly wanted an AC30, but couldn't afford it. Not that Mavericks are cheap.
You will be extremely happy with the sound of plugging a Ric into one of those.
I don't use the distortion in the amp though, it's a little fuzzy sounding to me. I only use the clean channel with a tube screamer for overdrive. Sounds great...

mrtidy · Post by **mrtidy** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 7:26 am

I've never heard a F-50 but my Ricks sound fantastic through a Mesa Mark IIC+. Very loud, very clean, or insane distortion if you so desire.

jps · Post by **jps** » Fri Jun 11, 2004 11:03 am

I have a Studio Caliper combo that sounds great with my 660/12. A friend of mine has an F-50 head and it too sounds good with a variety of speakers.

gazzabloom · Post by **gazzabloom** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 10:01 am

I had an F-30. Didn't get to play my newly aquired Ric 330 thru it but I found that it sounded better with my Strat than my Les Paul. The clean channel is superb and has a lovely creamy sound to it and a nice bite when you turn it up. The drive channel can be hard work and seems to have too much distortion even on low settings. This is a bit misleading because when you really turn the amp up the drive smooths out nicely - no good for at home though!

All in all a great amp.

I've traded down recently for a little Gibson Goldtone GA-15 and this is a single channel much simpler amp but has just as good clean sounds and reminds me of the F-30. Must be the EL-84 tube circuit!

Gazza