Thoughts on Mesa Boogie?

[Cibyl]

I own a Tremoverb 2x12 combo and head.

Stiletto's are cool,...so are Rockerverbs. The F series is pretty cool,.....DC's,......

Yes,....I like Boogies.

[guitarman967]

For the most part I don't like Boogies. I have a hard time liking my tone for more than a day or two with them and I've never plugged into one in a store and been blown away. There are tweaker's amps and I hate that.

[Dale B.]

Originally posted by Tosis Maguill Dale...Where do you get your information from? Just wondering!

 

 

The pricing information? I have a price list with me that I picked up from my local Mesa/Boogie dealer in Alexandria, LA.

 

You can look at it here though:

 

http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=1360

[Karma1]

Some of the smaller Mesa Boogie amps are pretty nice too. I've been using a Studio 22+ for years and it sounds great and is relatively light weight compared to most Boogies. One of my favorite pieces in my rig is Mesa's V-Twin tube pre-amp pedal. It's amazing how much it adds to my clean tone, no matter what amp I put it in front of - even a low end solid state amp like my 60 watt Marshall Valvestate or little Roland Micro Cube. Changing the tubes on it has made a big difference, and after experimenting with a variety of different ones, I'm using a JJ Tesla and a Groove Tubes (both 12ax7). I also like the overdrive on it, which I use like a Tube Screamer to push my amp or ToneBone Classic distortion pedal over the top.

I think that Mesa has one of the better customer service departments in the business. The tech guys have always been friendly and helpful and returned calls or e-mail quickly. I live about a half hour from their plant, and plan of going there soon to have some mods done to my gear.

[Tosis Maguill]

Originally posted by Dale B. The pricing information? I have a price list with me that I picked up from my local Mesa/Boogie dealer in Alexandria, LA. You can look at it here though: http://forum.grailtone.com/viewtopic.php?t=1360

 

 

Thanks, Dale!

[tlbonehead]

Originally posted by xMadiMx Why you say that? I'm not getting that much new gear, I just plan on getting a few more guitars actually I picked up a 482 Sonic Maximizer finally for $20 ..bought it out of the guys rig on stage after their show cause he was calling it quits

That seems kinda high for a door-stop.

[Charvel1975]

I've had my 1995 MESA TREM-OVERB 2X12 COMBO SINCE NEW and I still have it to this day, don't like the sound of it just running as a combo but hooked up to a good 4x12 cab like when I run it either thru my Randall cab with Celestion 70/80 Red Labels or my Marshall 1960A or both it's KILLER!!!

Lately, I've been listening to different sound clips of different amps like ENGL, Framus, Bogner, etc. and I've been really torn!! I've got a gang load of equipment and guitars but have been hesitant on posting it up here cause it's soo long!!

Plus, here in Ohio, there are no ENGL, Framus, Bogner dealers to go try either one of these out!!

[xMadiMx]

So drive to pittsburgh where they have VHT, Soldano, Bogner, HnK, Mesa, Framus ect.

[Bumble]

Originally posted by mtnb1kr Love mine but like others have said these are tweaking amps. I love the tone but still fiddle with the knobs thinking almost but not quite. Gave $785 shipped from a fellow formite.

$785 shipped for a Mark IV ?

[LaXu]

I don't like the Rectifier series (including Road King) at all, the Stiletto was rather disappointing as was the Nomad, the Mark series amps are not bad at all. My favorite is the Lone Star series. I haven't played the LS Special, but the LS Classic heads and combos and they sounded very good.

Mesa does have a tendency to make quite poorly designed user interfaces though. First off, most Mesas have the front panel recessed. This means that considering most of their amps have several dozen pots and switches, they're quite cramped, I constantly keep hitting my fingers on the edges of the chassis. Apart from the Mark series the panels are also straight so it's difficult to read the control labels. On the Lone Star and Stiletto the mini-switches are annoying (difficult to see the position, not easy to switch) and having the reverb controls in the back sucks big time. There's ample space to have the reverb controls in the front but instead Mesa seems to have decided that a big Lone Star logo was more important.

Mesa prices in Europe really suck though. They are like 2x what they cost in USA. Even import taxes etc. don't cause that big price differences. For example a Dual Recto costs about $3000, a Road King head costs more than a Diezel! The only amp that's more expensive than the Road King in Europe is the absurdly priced Finnish/Swedish made Mad Professor.

On the positive side, Mesa has the best user manuals by far. Very informative and go far beyond the usual "this knob does..." approach. I wish more amp manufacturers would spend the time to write manuals that are actually useful and a good read.

[blackba]

I am a mesa fan for the most part. I really love my mark IV, but I most likely won't get another mesa, maybe a studio pre. I think their cabs are really nice. The recto 112 and mesa halfback 412 are great cabs.

[jyd59]

Great amps. Period.

Dual Recs & Stilettos are rock/metal machines. If you are into that genre you can't go wrong.

Mark IV's & Lonestars are the most versatile amps there are. Won't quite make it to metal but an OD pedal will get you there.

MESA makes all their stuff very user friendly and the built in adjustable bias on many models makes tube swapping a breeze.

Are there better amps? Sure there are, but those boutique jobs are expensive, their dealerships are few & far in between, service/replacement can be very lengthy timewise.

I love my Dual Rec, my next MESA will be a 1X12 Lonestar combo.

[mtnb1kr]

Originally posted by Bumble $785 shipped for a Mark IV ?

Yeah, I couldn't beleive it myself. I placed a WTB add on the HC classifieds about a week and a half later. I get an e-mail offering it for $750 plus $35 to ship. I jumped all over it, Duh!! I beleive he had another amp ordered or already bought that he had to pay for. Engl, Framus, something real high dollar I don't remember.

[danbronson]

Originally posted by jyd59 Great amps. Period. Dual Recs & Stilettos are rock/metal machines. If you are into that genre you can't go wrong. Mark IV's & Lonestars are the most versatile amps there are. Won't quite make it to metal but an OD pedal will get you there. MESA makes all their stuff very user friendly and the built in adjustable bias on many models makes tube swapping a breeze. Are there better amps? Sure there are, but those boutique jobs are expensive, their dealerships are few & far in between, service/replacement can be very lengthy timewise. I love my Dual Rec, my next MESA will be a 1X12 Lonestar combo.

+1 on everything except the mkIV not being able to do metal on it's own.

[Monstar]

the Mark IV is one of the most metal amps there is, {censored}.

[rydia is hot]

Originally posted by danbronson +1 on everything except the mkIV not being able to do metal on it's own.

i think he meant that the lonestar won't make it to metal on it's own. it's a little unclear, but that's what i'm hoping he meant.

[LaXu]

Originally posted by rydia_is_hot i think he meant that the lonestar won't make it to metal on it's own. it's a little unclear, but that's what i'm hoping he meant.

 

 

I'd disagree even with that. With the Drive engaged I was certainly happily playing metal riffs on channel 2.

[SlaveofPain]

I have a Road King and it kicks ass. I could only have one amp so I wanted one to be very versatile. Nothing else on the market interests me except a Herbert but I don't have the money for that. I like the Uberschall a lot also but it doesn't have half the versatility of the RK.

[Ripping Rudy]

I have an F-100 series head and a Single Recto head.

Story: Played a gig last night and the sound guy has been in the business for 20 yrs and is a guitar player too. He tells me "Never get rid of that amp - It's one of the best sounds I've ever heard". I said to him that the Mesa amps are hard to get used to because you actually have to crank the mids up to get a great sound. He said - get this...... He said - "You have to crank the mids because the Mesa is a REAL AMP". He went on to say that most other brands sell total {censored} where you have to scope the mids and kill the treble and presence to get a decent sound.

Mesa's and the old Marshall JCM 800's are total MAN amps. The both require some skill to take advantage of their potential but once you do - they can't be beat.

[danbronson]

Originally posted by Ripping Rudy Mesa's and the old Marshall JCM 800's are total MAN amps. The both require some skill to take advantage of their potential but once you do - they can't be beat.

I couldn't agree more. I own a JCM800 and a Mesa F-50 and it's taken me a lot of time to get them to sound as good as they do. Not from tweaking the amp, but from me learning to play it well.

When ANYBODY else plays either amp with my guitar or whatever they have, it doesn't sound as good. I'm quite proud of that.

[-=MYK=-]

Originally posted by Ripping Rudy Mesa's and the old Marshall JCM 800's are total MAN amps. The both require some skill to take advantage of their potential but once you do - they can't be beat.

 

 

I'm much more manly because I can shred with a made in mexico tele plugged into a plexi!

[ccelaya]

Originally posted by Ripping Rudy I have an F-100 series head and a Single Recto head. Story: Played a gig last night and the sound guy has been in the business for 20 yrs and is a guitar player too. He tells me "Never get rid of that amp - It's one of the best sounds I've ever heard". I said to him that the Mesa amps are hard to get used to because you actually have to crank the mids up to get a great sound. He said - get this...... He said - "You have to crank the mids because the Mesa is a REAL AMP". He went on to say that most other brands sell total {censored} where you have to scope the mids and kill the treble and presence to get a decent sound. Mesa's and the old Marshall JCM 800's are total MAN amps. The both require some skill to take advantage of their potential but once you do - they can't be beat.

 

 

which of those 2 amps did you use that night?

[AtillaTheHungry]

Haha I love how any time an amp doesn't have enough gain to simulate a swarm of giant death bees from space, it automatically needs an OD to do metal.

[Sick Michael]

I love Mark series boogies. They have every bit as much gain as the rectos, but they are tighter and more singing and they dont have a tendancy to flub out all over the place.

The Rectos are alright, but I know what I prefer!

That F-50 amp sounds great too.

[godofmetalguita]

i dont see how you people think you need a lot of gain to do metal? You need more gain to do lead type stuff than u do for a typical metal sound. With amps like that you just need to crank the volume and pick hard, the clean channel on almost any amp i've played i can make sound heavy (tube amps that is) with some volume and aggressive playing.