I purchased a Mesa Boogie Express 5:25 compact practice and small gig venue amp, for it's killer circuitry, sound, and compact design, to make a little nitch for Myself, where I can audition Guitar pedal set-up combinations, just do some fooling around with, and even to write some killer songs with:
It has a sampling of some of the best of Mesa Boogie circuitry, with gain toggle switch selection, which goes up to a "Hot" setting for their high gain amp channels, as well as their pattented push-pull tube Technology, In which it's preamp 12AX7 tubes, can be pulled in, for higher gain staging, or used as standard single stages 12AX7 tubes ---for killer sounds, and sound quality.
there is nothing I can say other than it is a Killer little amp, with the High Quality sound and craftsmanship one would expect from Mesa Boogie amps!!!!!
At $1300, including Tax, You are getting extreemly high quality circuitry, and quality, in a compact package ---so don't let it's small size fool you!!!! this is not some cheap little, knock off they make, to pretend some small offering may ride on the coat-tails of the Mesa name!!!!!!!!! This is a quite Serious compact amp, which gives quite a punch!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And in addition, their preamp push pull technology, applied to the 12AX7 tubes, actualy means the amp, is indeed louder than it's output wattage rating is stated at!!!!!!!! it is louder than it's named wattage implies!!!!!!!!!
Also, it's selector switch, which lets you select between the 5 watt, and 25 watt, settings ---is also cool in that, the one setting is more conducive to compliment even harmonics, while the other setting is conducive to compliment odd harmonics!!!!!!!!!
I use it to play, and write songs with My Ibanez RG228GK 8 String, to My Schecter HellRaiser C-7 FR, to My Esp LTD M100, guitars, with killer results with all.
It is an awsome amp, in which I purchased, for a high quality amp to use with custom pedal combinations I like to try out, for writing Metal, Nu Metal, Melodic metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Viking Metal, etc..,
I have discovered I like to layer My distortion pedals < as some two stage pedals are actualy produced with a gain or fuzz pedal stage first, and then a distortion pedal stage next >, in combinations, to emulate other pedals which are produced to do the same thing:
 So thru using a Boss LS-2 Line Splitter, which I have selected for a channel A and B toggle selection set-up: And for each channel, 1) I first have a Line 6 Uber Metal pedal set to extreeme setting, but with the gain set so low as to get a barely perceptable fuzz pedal tone from it, then I use their noise gates, EQ's, and EQ scoop settings ---apropriate for the main pedal to follow, and 2) On one channel then next have a Boss ML-2 Metal Core  distortion pedal, for My primary distortion sound on that channel, to process the already ever so slightly fuzzed, EQ'd, scooped, and noise gated, tone, and on the toher channel I run a Digitech XMM Metal Master distortion pedal, for My primary distortion sound on that channel, to process the already ever so slightly fuzzed, EQ'd, scooped, and noise gated, tone, and then 3) I run the Boss LS - 2 output, to a pair of MXR M100 10 Band EQ pedals, and then 4) Run into a Boss DD-20 Digital delay pedal, in which I can selecet up to 70ms to 80ms, of delay for My personal favorite selections ---and then run into the Mesa Express 5:25.
then I can not use that set-up, and simply run My Vox Tonelab SE, into the mesa, with the MXR M108's for added tone coloration if I so like,
Or I can run the ToneLab SE, and afterwards, the pedal set up I mentioned, and I may even get a true bypass 8 channel programable line selector, so I can set up, when I run the Vox, or the indidual pedal set-up, or Both, with the Vox as the lead in the pedal chain,
And I also use My recently purchased Dgitech RP350, which I now can add into the pedal mix, before the pedals I mentioned, or with the Vox Tonelab, by themselves, or before the other pedals ---which is why I will soon need a 8 channel programable line select switcher soon,
 But the Mesa Boogie Express 5:25 is great with any of these mixes, and great for writting killer Metal with anything from My 6 string to My 8.
Metal001