Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

mrfunnyman

mrfunnyman

Member
So how about it? I was up in Sweetwater Music today buying a "85" Whiteface RAT and I saw this Mesa/ Boogie Rect-O-Verb 50 watt 1x12 combo, the tag on it read $1,599.99. I played around on the amp and it sounded pretty good, but not good enough to justify the price tag on it. I asked the sales guy if that was the sale price and he told me yeah and that Mesa is firm on there prices. What is the deal here?
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

Considering the build, the warranty, the sound (playing a Mesa for an hour at store friendly volume is not a good way to do that), and the support ... definately.

Mesa's the first time around are somewhat confusing for the first time user. Cranking the preamp gain at low volumes tends to produce fizzy sounds that everyone complains about. Crank the volume then add the gain and use your guitar's volume knob and you're in tone city.

Similar offerings from Engl, Fryette, Deizel, Bogner, Orange, Soldano cost around the same or more.

I'd also point that in my neck of the woods, Marshall's cost a lot more than Mesa and are also firm on their pricing.

Don't like the price? Buy used.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

I think some of their stuff is worth the money. especially the mark series. that's because what you get for the money is staggering. of course this is a subjective question because if you only need a single channel amp of course you'll think it's overpriced. 16k seems a but much for that amp, but people will pay for it so it must be worth it, therefor they will charge it.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

For me...Just too many switches and push/pull pots and knobs and I don't use their amps....I don't feel the products are overpriced though.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

Mesa gear is pricey, that's for sure. Then again they do make a really quality product (unlike a certain UK based amp maker, but they're much cheaper).
They also like to keep the perception of quality high as well, so the prices are set accordingly.
They are far from alone in producing amps in the slightly scary bracket mind. Soldano, Engl, Budda etc all produce amps in the multiple thousand mark.
You've got to hand it to Mesa, of the big, well known names they are one of the few who haven't embraced far eastern mass production watering down of their brand image.
Lets be honest a $500 all tube Amp with Mesa tags would sell, even if it was made in china.
Are they over priced... probably, then again most premium products are.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

I absolutely love my Blue Angel. 5 knobs and 38 watts of sweetness. However, they released it before the 'vintage small wattage booteek' craze came into play, so they discontinued it. It wasn't overpriced- it sounds very very good.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

I don't want to seem like a Koolaid drinker in this one but I'd just like to do a comparison based on prices from my neck of the woods

Two similar amps. 50-60w. 6L6. Two channels w/ Two modes each (actually the Rectoverb has 3 modes on the red channel), reverb.

Fender Supersonic 60 Head - $1,299
Mesa Rectoverb Head - $1,599 (last I checked - Long and McQuade this summer)

IMHO I feel that the Mesa is built better, has a better warranty, having dealt with both Mesa and Fender CS - Mesa's CS was better. Plus I feel that Mesa's cab is better. I also feel that the Mesa sounds better ... but that's completely subjective ...

But for my wallet it's worth the extra $300
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

Mesa gear is top shelf. Its also great value for what you get. No, its defintely not overpriced.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

nah, their stuff is so solid, like tanks. you can feel it in the knobs and switches and hear it when you play. then you see their brochures and read their history, and you see the research and passion that goes into it. and these days there's so many boutique amps with super high prices, it makes mesa look super affordable.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

Quality to dollar ratio? I don't think you can do better than Mesa. I don't think you can really get better quality then Mesa, but you can find some stuff built as well and it usually costs more.

The tones? I love them, Rectos, Marks, Stilettos, the F-30, their bass amps - all killer, but that is in the eye of the beholder.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

I agree with a previous reply in that the higher end models, I think, are worth the price for the features that you get. The Roadster and Mark series (and somewhat the Lonestar) have so much to tinker with. Even the Transatlantic series seems pretty feature packed (and sounds great) with a good price.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

I find some of them to be, yes; the Lonestar Special for example. The Mark series and Roadking seem underpriced by comparison; go figure.

I'll say this though. My RoadKing is nearly 10 years old and when I took it in for service a few months ago the tech performed several factory recommended upgrades at no charge. Mesa stand behind thier amps, that's for sure.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

TheProphet said:
Considering the build, the warranty, the sound (playing a Mesa for an hour at store friendly volume is not a good way to do that), and the support ... definately.

Mesa's the first time around are somewhat confusing for the first time user. Cranking the preamp gain at low volumes tends to produce fizzy sounds that everyone complains about. Crank the volume then add the gain and use your guitar's volume knob and you're in tone city.

Similar offerings from Engl, Fryette, Deizel, Bogner, Orange, Soldano cost around the same or more.

I'd also point that in my neck of the woods, Marshall's cost a lot more than Mesa and are also firm on their pricing.

Don't like the price? Buy used.
Click to expand...

+1 Well said.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

mrfunnyman said:
So how about it? I was up in Sweetwater Music today buying a "85" Whiteface RAT and I saw this Mesa/ Boogie Rect-O-Verb 50 watt 1x12 combo, the tag on it read $1,599.99. I played around on the amp and it sounded pretty good, but not good enough to justify the price tag on it. I asked the sales guy if that was the sale price and he told me yeah and that Mesa is firm on there prices. What is the deal here?
Click to expand...

I was at my Local GC the other day and played a used Mint Rect-O-Verb II Combo that was tagged at $900. As said buy used if you don't want to pay the new pricetag. I bought my 2009 Roadster last year for $1400+Shipping used from Ebay. I saved myself around 600 bucks and still have 3 1/2 years left on the warranty. :)
 
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Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

Mesa stuff is fairly priced in the US. A lot of it is too gimmicky for me and I really don't care for the Recto flavor of breakup but they are well-made, well-engineered amplifiers and they're worth the investment.

There's no reason a Mesa shouldn't last you a lifetime even gigging / touring regularly.
 
Re: Do you think Mesa/Boogie amps are overpricd?

plus they've made some budget lines that were VERY reasonably priced. was it the F-series? I still want one of those.
 
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