Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

[NegativeEase]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

That’s a lot of rectifying. You must have messed up a lot in the past.

[NegativeEase]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

While we are on the subject, SS rectifying > tube rectifying for metal rawk tonez.

Yeah, no doubt there.

[allbutromeo]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

As far as how they sound, that's subjective, but most if not all sound good in different ways. Build quality though, some of the "budget" lines were not as good as the more expensive models.

[PS412]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I am more than satisfied with my T.C100.

[Aceman]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

Most Boogie amps are used with some sort of gain, and a lot of people just dime the preamp gain on them so no doubt it sounds compressed. My Boogie only has 1 channel, and no master volume so there is no preamp gain.

I use my Stiletto at 12-1p on preamp Gain.

With a SS Rectofier.

(But the Tube rectifier, on Spongy, 50 watt, fluid gain, cranked, will VH1 brown all over the damn town!)

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

While we are on the subject, SS rectifying > tube rectifying for metal rawk tonez.

Mesa selects rectifier tubes so that they yield stronger voltage and give minimal sag. If you need to tighten up a JTM45 or a Super Reverb but don't want to go full plug in solid state rectifier, buy a Mesa branded 5AR4.

Even if you don't play a Mesa amp, Mesa is good to buy CP tubes from because they do a decent job screening and selecting them.

Same for speakers. The Mesa Vintage 30 sounds warmer and more musical than a standard Celestion Vintage 30 right out of the box.

[Dave Locher]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

Not if you roll back the gain. When i see a player that uses a compressor pedal with an overdriven amp i know that person either doesn't know thier gear or have the proper amp for the job.
A great amp will compress on its own when cranked & overdriven.
Any amp can sound "over-compressed".
Case & point the Peavey 5150 series .... Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Oh, I have no doubt they CAN sound fantastic and I have probably loved some recordings featuring them without knowing it. But the hard rock models seem to be very preamp loaded and the touring bands I saw live using them as a result had an on/off sound with no dynamics. So perhaps they lend themselves to user error moreso than Marshalls in that respect?

Mincer I am quite certain you are an exception to this. I've only heard them used by hard/heavy bands.

I hope I haven't insulted anyone, I just meant to say that really well-built high-quality amps don't automatically sound good. (I'm pretty sure I could make one sound great and sure would like to own one so I could try!)

[allbutromeo]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

So perhaps they lend themselves to user error moreso than Marshalls in that respect?

This