Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

flank

flank

New member
hey fellas, i plan on heading out to GC tonight to do some amp testing/shopping, and im wondering which Mesa Boogie amps i should look for...... ive never really looked into mesas, and ive played one or two (i think they were called single rectifier or something.....but it was way bassy and had crazy amounts of gain, all too fizzy)

but, i do remember reading that some mesas are good for clean tones, for blues/country etc......what are the names of those amps? my guitar center usually has a good amount of mesas, so it may have them......i just need to know which ones to try out

thanks
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

For mesa clean tones, my mind immediately goes to the Lonestar and the F-series. Both of those amps have extremely warm and lush clean tones. If you're really not into the high gain, I would seriously recommend checking out the Lonestar and Lonestar Special. Killer amps.

My other guitarist's Mark IV has a pretty awesome cleans too. And uh, my Road King has about a dozen uncompromisingly good clean tones.

Really the only Mesas I know of that have less-than-satisfactory cleans are the Single, Dual, and Triple recs. Everything else just varies according to taste.
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

try a mk iv, a road king, and a lonestar special

and let us know what you think

have fun

t4d
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

do me a favor bro...try a Recto-verb...? it's supposed to be pretty versatile...good cleans, some overdrive and crunch...i'd like to have something that'll do classic stuff and some modern stuff too...this "sounds" like the ticket but i haven't played one...?!
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

ill try one if they have it Hoss, and PM ya with the results
 
Last edited:
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

here's a copy of a description of the recto on the mesa site...?!
Conclusion:
I bought one."
"You won't find a better sounding amp for rock, funk, fusion, jazz and probably country. Metal-Heads will love it, too. This one will be replacing a Rivera S120 (sorry Paul) which has kept me ignoring Mesa/Boogie for years. Try it... "

also...if they carry Rivera's...try the Fandango and Quiana out...i think you'll like those too...!?
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

sosomething said:
For mesa clean tones, my mind immediately goes to the Lonestar and the F-series. Both of those amps have extremely warm and lush clean tones. If you're really not into the high gain, I would seriously recommend checking out the Lonestar and Lonestar Special. Killer amps.

My other guitarist's Mark IV has a pretty awesome cleans too. And uh, my Road King has about a dozen uncompromisingly good clean tones.

Really the only Mesas I know of that have less-than-satisfactory cleans are the Single, Dual, and Triple recs. Everything else just varies according to taste.
Click to expand...

+2 i was going to recommend both of those (1 for each)
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

Try out the Lonestar Special. I love mine and it does pretty much everything I need except high gain stuff. Try out a Stilletto as well if they got them. They have been getting greate reviews and are pretty much in the hot rodded Marshall teritory.
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

I had a rectoverb. And while yes it is a very versatile amp, I didn't need so much versatility. Just didn't do what I wanted it to and definitely geared itself more towards harder forms of rock. With a little knob twiddling, you can do anything with that amp, but I prefer my Vox.

A word of caution on Mesa/Boogie amps. Their EQ's don't work like regular EQ's!! The treble knob not only controls the treble frequencies, but the mix of the mid and bass frequencies. Also, when you're on about 11 o'clock with a mesa, it's like being on 9.5 on a Fender...keep that in mind...a LOT more room for bumping the frequencies...so don't isntantly put everything on 7 (the Jimmy Page approach) and expect to get good sounds....start low and work your way up (I mean WAY low)
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

i just read about the Lonestar on the site.....................either they are making some crap up or that sounds like the absolute perfect amp!!!

WOW!!!
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

The Lonestar Special is SUPER nice!!!

Played a 1x12 a few weeks ago & it was very very nice!


OR....you can buy my Blue Angel 4x10 ! :rolleyes:
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

PUCKBOY99 said:
The Lonestar Special is SUPER nice!!!

Played a 1x12 a few weeks ago & it was very very nice!


OR....you can buy my Blue Angel 4x10 ! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...


no, no one may buy your blue angel, I'm going to rob a bank to get that thing :) j/k....good luck on selling it man!
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

Thanks Brother!!!

I've got it listed out there in a few places, but no bites...which kind of surprised me!

It'll be on the "Flea" soon.........going for big bucks over there, but I'd rather not deal with them.

ANYWAY........Try that Lonestar Special. You'll be grinning like a big dog! :biglaugh:
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

I was pretty impressed by the Lonestar's cleans. I think F50s are good amps too. If you dig Incubus, check out a Tremoverb, although they are hard to come by.

I'm really not a big fan of Mesa, but I respect that they created a design radically different than Fender, Marshall and Vox.
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

im probably going to be looking at Lonestar, F series and rectoverb......im pretty sure i remember those being there before

also, those new voxes, a bassman 59 reissue, fender super reverb, and other fender amps of the 60s....usually they have bandmaster,showman, and bassman heads with 2x12 cabs and any other oddball amps they have.....usually some Riveras, Orange

i might look at some marshalls, but i dont think they are anything that i would want

is there any new marshalls that have good cleans?
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

flank said:
is there any new marshalls that have good cleans?
Click to expand...

Try out the Mesa Boogie Stilletto if they got it. It is a hot roded Marshall'esque amp, with good cleans.
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

my blue angel 1x12 has a better clean than the lone star...
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

If you´re not scared off by rack gear (and can find one), try out a rackmounted V-twin and a Poweramp like the 2:50 or 20/20, you may really like what you hear ;)
 
Re: Goin' Amp Shopping, which Mesas?

Mincer said:
my blue angel 1x12 has a better clean than the lone star...
Click to expand...

I'd agree. the BA (that's mine, top of avatar) is the best clean tone I've heard from a mesa. The closest you'd probably get from the current range would be the lonestar special (el84, class a).

I tried the lonestar classic (6l6, class a/b), and it was nice but not astounding. Better with humbuckers than singles, I thought.

I've heard guys get nice sounds out of the f series and rectoverb. The mk1 reissue is a great clean amp, too.

Personally, after using a dual rec on a TV show, I'd rather eat my own lips than have to use one for clean again.
 
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