Mesa Boogie amps

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Tim the Enchanter
Member Since: Feb 17, 2008

I am looking at getting a combo amp, as I would want to be able to transport it in my car whenever I needed too. I'm not in a band but I'd like to have an amp to jam with some friends on occasion. I plan on doing some recording with it as well.

Since I mostly play metal I want a good dirty channel. But I do still want a nice sounding clean channel as well. Right now I am leaning towards a Mesa Boogie Nomad. I played on one a long time ago and really liked it. Very versatile and affordable. It seems like it had a pretty good high gain on it if I remember correctly. I like the dual recs as well, but I don't think they make that in a combo as far as I know. I might consider a Mark IV if I could find one cheap enough, but for the most part I don't think I want to spend that much. I'm preferably looking for under $1000, but might could consider a little more.

I've seen some other Mesa Boogies (F-50, Rectoverb, Tremoverb) that I could probably afford, but don't know much about them. Does anyone have opinions on other Boogies? Would I be better off going with the Nomad?

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http://www.reverbnation.com/2ndg
Member
Since: Nov 27, 2007


Jun 09, 2009 08:25 pm

i guess its a matter of what you like sound wise.
Ive used a few, not the Nomad though, the Dual recto solo, are the only ones that really have that different wicked sound IMO.

Like you said though, then ya gotta buy a box and what not, not really something you can just throw in the car and off you go.
Im pretty sure the F-50 is pretty good too.

The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Jun 09, 2009 08:30 pm

Just a suggestion for small and portable. I'm leaving out light, because it's not all that light. Are the Mark III, or Mark IV.

Kickass little amps! And will take your head off at 20'.Great crunch, and clean channels.

The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Jun 09, 2009 08:36 pm

Oops! I didn't see that you were looking at the Mark IV at first.

But I did find a good Mark III on Ebay.

cgi.ebay.com/Mesa-Boogie-...1QQcmdZViewItem

Member
Since: Apr 26, 2006


Jun 09, 2009 09:08 pm

If you get a chance check out a Mesa DC-3. The EQ section on it offers lots of variation, and it can be found for $600 or less these days,

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 09, 2009 09:25 pm

www.savageamps.com/index.cfm?id=4&s=1

This is a local guy and the amps I can attest to that they are some of the best out there. Depending on the guitar the bigger brother of the amp above can get some killer grind. But the clean on these is absolutely smooth as a babies bottom.

For the Mesa my choice would be the Mark III as well. But to be honest, you can't really beat the 3 channels on the Nomad at all. They are set up very nicely and it is a great amp. I would opt for the 45 and save a few pounds on the weight.

But if you see the ebay that Rob just put up go check it out. The Blue Stripe is rare and very killer. I owned one and miss it nearly as much as my Soldano.

And that price may stay within your range. Take the day of tomorrow and start bidding!!!!!!!!

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 09, 2009 10:05 pm

The new Mark V is almost over-the-top with versatility. It looks simply amazing. I've not priced one, but I'd bet that it costs an arm, a leg, the deed to your house, your first-born son, and your soul.

But the bells and whistles on that thing are just amazing. It basically brings together all of the previous Mark line from Mesa. They make a combo and a head for it.

Typo Szar
Member
Since: Jul 04, 2002


Jun 09, 2009 11:10 pm

I have a caliber .50 and i know a guy who has the caliber .50+ in a combo, and it sounds great. great dirt channel and that classic mesa clean.

I think if u can hunt down one manufactured before the 90's they seem to sound better, i think their the "real" classic mesa sound and are great for a variety of styles

Tim the Enchanter
Member
Since: Feb 17, 2008


Jun 10, 2009 08:27 pm

Thanks for the replies, I have a lot to choose from now. I guess pretty much any Mesa is going to sound killer. I'll keep my eye on the Mark III, that looks sweet. I'll have to check out the local music stores and see what they have.

Has anyone tried the Road King? Those look uber expensive!




Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 10, 2009 10:04 pm

The Road King is expensive. And it doesn't have near the clean sound of the Mark series, or even the Nomad.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Jun 16, 2009 12:04 am

+1 for the Mark 3, (actually, i hear they have a 4 now maybe?) one of the few 1x12 amps i've had experience with that can keep up with a drum kit live (epically when off the ground at ear level) on top of that it's a great studio amp, ya gotta baby it, many many tones and knobs and switches on this little sucker....a tweakers dream.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 16, 2009 11:20 am

The Mark 3 is a pretty old amp. The Mark 4 was the longest produced model that Mesa ever made. They just discontinued the Mark 4 last year with the arrival of the Mark 5. Lots of metalheads love the Mark 4 and are starting to horde them since they're out of production. I think that ****** from Lamb of God has a huge stash of them.

There's a great article in this month's Guitar World about Mesa/Boogie. They're a great story of a true American grass-roots amp company. They never sold out because the owner saw what happened to the quality of Fender and Gibson when they sold out to giant corporations. So he's kept the company as true to his original model as possible, just bigger.

One day I'd love to own a Mesa. The new Mark 5 has an insane amount of stuff crammed into it. Check it out:

www.mesaboogie.com/Produc...ark5/mark5.html

Check out the "features" and "full story" tabs on that link. Who wouldn't want to take one of those home?

http://www.unitedmusicians.info
Contributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007


Jun 16, 2009 04:33 pm

Doesn't Petrucci use a gang of Mark IIC+'s? You guys have any opinions on that amp?

Tim the Enchanter
Member
Since: Feb 17, 2008


Jun 16, 2009 07:11 pm

That Mark V looks awesome! I get aroused just reading about it. You get 9 different channel modes out of the thing. That's incredible. I think I just drooled on myself.

I'm definitely leaning towards the Mark III now. I see a green stripe one on ebay now that I might bid on. I think I want one with simulclass on it.




edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Jun 16, 2009 08:16 pm

I could never get a double or triple rec to sound great in the studio, but the mesa combo's are freaking sweet! Definitely my next purchase amp wise.

I remember this F-50 we borrowed from the local music store to track a couple of songs. Dirgy as blues tones, hairs on the back of my neck stuff.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 17, 2009 09:34 pm

Tadpui, which ****** are you talking about, Mark Morton or Willie Adler? They are both hording, and have been hording the Mark IV's for awhile.

Quincy, the IIC+ is a killer as was the original IIC. And yes Pertruci used ans uses both. I believe he even used a IIC on the first Liquid Tension Experiment album.

If your asking if that amp is worth anything. Yep, even more valuable then the Mark IV if you ask me. It was and probably still is the most desirable of the Mark series of amps in my opinion.

Even Frank Zappa used a few different MESA amp while he was still with us.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 18, 2009 11:38 am

Hell, either one of them. It'd be a pity if something terrible happened to both of them and their Mark IVs were released back into the wild.

Yeah the Mark IIC+ I think was a modded version of the Mark II that improved a few things with the wiring and addressed a few issues like noisy footswitching, noisy reverb, noisy switching of the EQ circuit, stuff like that. According to Wiki, the IIC+ was heralded for its rhythm sound.

In that Guitar World article on Mesa, it's surprising to see who all embraced Mesa back in the Mark I and Mark II days. Probably the biggest boon to Mesa's name was Carlos Santana, who recorded Abraxas on a Mark I. The other big albums that GW says helped make the Mesa name were James Hetfield's rhythm guitars on Master Of Puppets, Keith Richards on Some Girls, and a couple of others that I can't remember off-hand.

It's funny that a single brand of amplifier can be versatile enough to contribute to the signature sounds of artists as different as John Pettrucci and Jerry Garcia, or Carlos Santana and James Hetfield. Now that's a bonus point for them to be able to accomplish that!

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 18, 2009 10:06 pm

Ya, the thing is that its kind of funny to think that Randall Smith discovered the circuit for what we now take for granted completely by accident. He is the godfather of the high gain circuit we now take completely for granted. Who in their right mind would have ever though of a 5 stage pre amp??????

I was lucky enough to have been able to play a couple of his early models which were simply moddified Fender heads. And then again after he stumbled on the high gain circuit playing early proto types he had done. He is as far as I'm concerned the man we have to thank for the sound that we now hear as the norm for heavy guitar.

And ya, Carlos, Keith Richards and Gerry Garcia all were huge user's even back to 69 and 70 when he was modding amps for the likes of Country Joe and the Fish, the Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company to name a few.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 19, 2009 01:26 pm

I can't believe that he patented channel switching! That's such a huge thing on every single amp put out today. Can you imagine being the guy that thought that up? It'd be like inventing the steering wheel for cars or knobs for doors!

The cascaded-gain preamp was another of his huge patents. Then there were a couple of others. I need to go grab that magazine and read that article again and I can share what his other big patents were.

I really do want to hear a Mark V. You know, I've never even seen a Mesa/Boogie amp first-hand, so of course I've never even plugged in to one, never played one, never cranked one up and felt it shake the ground beneath me. They're very high on my list of amps to crank up before I die.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 19, 2009 11:43 pm

To be honest the only other amp I truly miss besides my Soldano are the MESA amps I've owned. I dearly loved the Mark III blue strip for its great grind and the push it had for sustain. i owned 2 different mark II C's and 1 C+ and love them as well for different reason's.

I've also played trough dual and triple recto's and those are just plain huge. The way a MESA breaks up is so completely different from any other amp on the planet. With the right tubes it is so smooth in those early amps it just give me goose bumps thinking about it now.

I do agree, you need to go plug into one before you pass to the next life. Find a shop that has an older Mark series and try one if you can. You'll probably mess your self.

I've played through a lot of boutique amps and truthfully the ones from Savage Audio which I listed above are the next in line after the Soldano and MESA amps. Although now I am hearing rumor's that Soldano has gone a bit down and become a little generic.

Tim the Enchanter
Member
Since: Feb 17, 2008


Jun 26, 2009 09:00 pm

I got a Mark III green stripe!!! Wow, this thing sounds awesome! It took me a while to get a tone I was happy with though. I ended up having to download a manual and read the instructions. The controls are a little awkward. But then I went by their suggestions and tweaked from there and got a pretty killer high gain tone. It's very versatile, I could tweak with this thing for awhile.

I can't believe how loud this amp is either. It really gets loud if I turn it past 1.

Your right about how smooth it sounds. And it's not muddy sounding at all.

I bought the simulclass version and I think I like it better in the simulclass position. I think I prefer the sound of the 6L6s to the EL34s so I may replace the outer tubes with 6L6s at a later date.


Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 26, 2009 11:02 pm

Yep, the 6L6 tubes will give it a much smoother break up. The EL34 tunes break up just a bit too fast for my taste were the 6L6 will let it push a little more before going over the top.

What brand did you put in?

Tim the Enchanter
Member
Since: Feb 17, 2008


Jun 27, 2009 03:12 pm

It just has Mesa tubes right now. What brand do you recommend?

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 27, 2009 08:59 pm

Mesa is a rare company that I'd suggest sticking with their branded tubes. The amps are fixed bias, so you're better off just sticking with their coded tubes to make sure you have the ideal tube characteristics for their fixed bias setting.

If you have a good tech that you use, then you could put just about anything in there and see if the tech could find a way to adjust the bias, or to put a bias pot in the amp.

I bought my JJ tubes at Eurotubes.com. Bob has some interesting comments there about Mesa amps and their bias settings. He'll definitely talk to you about your style and suggest the right tubes for your amp based on what you're after.

I love my JJ tubes, but I'm not so sure they'd sound good in a high-gain setting. But my amp doesn't do high-gain so I really can't say first-hand how they sound.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 27, 2009 09:14 pm

Also, it looks like you'd need to have a bias adjustment made if you switched between 6L6 and EL34. I'm no pro on tube amp bias but I've seen that mentioned before.

The simulclass feature blends the output of both the EL34 and 6L6 power sections. To replace either type of tube would change the sound of the Simul-Class setting, and if you like it now, you might not like it atferwards.

The Simul-Class thing is a pretty cool Mesa feature. It uses all 4 power tubes at once. One pair is running in class A and the other pair is running in class AB. I think class AB provides the power and class A provides the smooth tone. Pretty nifty invention.

This instruction manual for a Simul-Class enabled stereo power amp from Mesa that mentions some details about Simul-Class:
www.mesaboogie.com/manual...Simul%20295.pdf

The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Jun 27, 2009 09:17 pm

I'm with Tapui on this one.

Mesa is very tight lipped about what the plate voltages for there tubes.

And having to change resistors every time you change tubes is not a feasible prospect.

Their tubes are great! I don't have any problems with them at all. And it does keep true to their sound.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 27, 2009 10:34 pm

Just to put it out there I had switched to Tung Sol for all the power tubes.

Now as Tadpui and Rob stated it was not without some work by the tech that worked on my amps at that time.

They are both correct that it will need to have the biasing changed to suite the tubes.

I did end up returning it to the MESA tubes in the end. The Tung Sol set up was great but needed a bit more push to get a good break up at a moderate point.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Jun 30, 2009 03:25 pm

All this talk about Mesa Boogie amps has really got me salivating over buying one. It's killing me! I want one!

Anybody got one they're willing to give away for free? Oh, and you'll have to drive it to my house yourself to hand-deliver it. Any takers? Cmaaaaaaaan! You know its just taking up space in your house and I'd be doing you a favor by getting it out of your closet so you can put all of your knitting supplies there instead.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Jun 30, 2009 05:36 pm

Anyone I know that owns one or more are not getting rid of them. Especially the older Mark series now.

I've been looking for both a IIc and III for nearly a year now for a friend. But he wants dead mint, no scratches or anything. And trust me, there just aren't any to be had that are fully mint. And even one that is a bit beat up will bring a grand easy.

You can find some for a bit cheaper but rarely.

www.mesa-amp-auctions.com/

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