moshpit817
Member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I have wanted one of those for a long time!
I have wanted one of those for a long time!
Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
- Thread starter mantis
- Start date
allbutromeo
Well-known member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
Usually on Mesas the treble has the most effect on sound, even in the F-series manual it says this. How high is your gain turned up? Once you go past about 1:00 on the gain the amp gets darker, and the eq controls will start making less of a difference when you turn them.
Usually on Mesas the treble has the most effect on sound, even in the F-series manual it says this. How high is your gain turned up? Once you go past about 1:00 on the gain the amp gets darker, and the eq controls will start making less of a difference when you turn them.
Ascension
Well-known member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
That is the next generation of my little Subway Rocket 1/10. I would love to have a head version of one of those!! I own a .50 cal + head now .
My little Subway really sounds good for a tiny 1/10 combo here is a live gig with her.
Not actually mine but I've been holding onto and playing a Mesa/Boogie Studio Caliber DC-2 for the last few weeks. If I didn't already have a 5150 2x12 Combo I'd be considering making this one mine. It's a versatile beast with plenty of power.
2 channels, 20 watts, 5 Pre-Amp and 2 EL84 Mesa Boogie Tubes. Sparkling Clean Channel and Lead which can be very Metal sounding or Super Smooth with use of the Contour Function. Tons of gain. Great tube amp sound. Built for the pros. Great for recording or personal use.
The Dual Caliber amps now offer independent gains, tones, and master volumes on each channel--plus, an overall MASTER OUTPUT LEVEL. The RHYTHM CHANNEL is said to be from the MARK IV; while the LEAD CHANNEL is based on the Dual Rectifier's LEAD CHANNEL design. The effects loop is now a parallel, rather than a series loop. A switch on the back panel offers the option of SILENT RECORDING, removing the speaker output for those late-nite sessions.
That is the next generation of my little Subway Rocket 1/10. I would love to have a head version of one of those!! I own a .50 cal + head now .
My little Subway really sounds good for a tiny 1/10 combo here is a live gig with her.
DMR
New member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I've got a Mesa Single Rec (series 1) and I love it. When I first purchased the amp i was also a "metal guy". But over the years my tastes have changed and i've found that it's got much more versatility than it's reputation as being a metal amp. These days i'm way more into Kotzen and Winery Dogs type stuff and my Mesa can be dialed in for those tones as well. Best thing about the Single Rec IMO is that you can get them for cheap (like $500-600) and get good low volume tones out of it without an attenuator, or at least in my case because I use a 2x12 closed back cab with an OD in front.
That said, i'm still selling it because I don't need 50 watts and i'm gravitating more to the modern low wattage lunchbox tube amps.
I've got a Mesa Single Rec (series 1) and I love it. When I first purchased the amp i was also a "metal guy". But over the years my tastes have changed and i've found that it's got much more versatility than it's reputation as being a metal amp. These days i'm way more into Kotzen and Winery Dogs type stuff and my Mesa can be dialed in for those tones as well. Best thing about the Single Rec IMO is that you can get them for cheap (like $500-600) and get good low volume tones out of it without an attenuator, or at least in my case because I use a 2x12 closed back cab with an OD in front.
That said, i'm still selling it because I don't need 50 watts and i'm gravitating more to the modern low wattage lunchbox tube amps.
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
had a 50 cal. simple but nice tones. it was portable but to get the best tones you had to adjust the single tone stack every time you switched channels-this annoyed me and I sold it
next Tremoverb combo-this had a cool clean tone-its midrange was kinda lacking and you had to crank it to get the cool clipping tone for distortion so loud I had to sell it.
next TriAxis gen 2. I still have this but I have to replace a few tubes-It has a cool recto kinda grind. I am not into rack stuff so it sits unused
next a rocket 440+ - this has 4 jenson 10 inch alnico speakers. The tremolo is good on this amp. The distortion is tight and focused because of the 4 10 inch speakers and the el84 tubes. It has a wonderful tight low end thunk. the secret to this amp is to turn down the treble to 4, up the midrange to 8 or above, turn the bass to 4 and crank up the presence to about 8 or above. you will get both a glorious distortion and a punchy clean tone. This amp to me sounds great with humbuckers. They really sound good with the el84 tubes and 10 inch jenson alnico speakers. This is my favorite boogie amp yet. It does cleans and distortion well and with good reverb and tremolo its a great amp.
had a 50 cal. simple but nice tones. it was portable but to get the best tones you had to adjust the single tone stack every time you switched channels-this annoyed me and I sold it
next Tremoverb combo-this had a cool clean tone-its midrange was kinda lacking and you had to crank it to get the cool clipping tone for distortion so loud I had to sell it.
next TriAxis gen 2. I still have this but I have to replace a few tubes-It has a cool recto kinda grind. I am not into rack stuff so it sits unused
next a rocket 440+ - this has 4 jenson 10 inch alnico speakers. The tremolo is good on this amp. The distortion is tight and focused because of the 4 10 inch speakers and the el84 tubes. It has a wonderful tight low end thunk. the secret to this amp is to turn down the treble to 4, up the midrange to 8 or above, turn the bass to 4 and crank up the presence to about 8 or above. you will get both a glorious distortion and a punchy clean tone. This amp to me sounds great with humbuckers. They really sound good with the el84 tubes and 10 inch jenson alnico speakers. This is my favorite boogie amp yet. It does cleans and distortion well and with good reverb and tremolo its a great amp.
Ascension
Well-known member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
here is a live clip from last Sunday at my Church running just the amp here no effects on at all through my Blackstar 1/12 running a WGS Retro 30 and using my Modern player Tele.
Can see that big time! I own a .50 cal + head with the assignable graphic but without the grapic it would be a PITA to run!! I keep mine in the auto mode and set the graphic just for the crunch side and love mine.
here is a live clip from last Sunday at my Church running just the amp here no effects on at all through my Blackstar 1/12 running a WGS Retro 30 and using my Modern player Tele.
eschoendorff
New member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
That's what I have. Mine is a wide body combo, but plug it in to a Marshall 4x12 and it is a BEAST. It LOVES emg loaded guitars.
That's what I have. Mine is a wide body combo, but plug it in to a Marshall 4x12 and it is a BEAST. It LOVES emg loaded guitars.
Agileguy_101
Master of his Domain
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I've had a few mesa amps. My first was a 5:50 2x12 combo that I picked up for $200. It sounded great and I liked it, but I traded it after a few days because I didn't need it at the time. I actually traded it for the guitar pictured below.
Last year, I picked up a Stiletto Ace 1x12 combo. I'd wanted one since I played one in Guitar Center when I was like 15. The gain channel was great, but I wasn't in love with the clean channel. So I put it up for sale on CL, but someone offered me this. I couldn't refuse.
It's a early 80's Mark IIB - the extremely rare Coliseum version. 300w of all tube American fury. It's actually at the Mesa factory right now. Since it's at least 30 years old, I figured it was time to get it serviced. I had them replace everything that needed replacing, as well as all new tubes and the installation a reverb tank (my headshell was cut out for one, but it didn't come with one). They also modded it for me to make the clean channel a bit cleaner, which means I can push the lead channel more. Having a shared gain control can be a bit of a pain, but it sounds amazing when you hit it with a boost. This clip was recorded all on the dirty channel - it starts off with the guitar (PRS McCarty w/ Whole Lotta set, D standard) volume down, and I kick on a Green Rhino around :43 as well as turn the guitar up. IIRC the amp was on full power mode around 1.2 on the master. Still obnoxiously loud. I **** you not, gig volume on this thing is 1.8, 2 if you can be loud.
This thing is my baby and I'd hate to be in a position where I needed to sell it. Not just because it'd be a pain to sell because nobody needs a 300w amp, but because it's the best sounding Mesa I've ever played, and I've played a good amount of them.
I've had a few mesa amps. My first was a 5:50 2x12 combo that I picked up for $200. It sounded great and I liked it, but I traded it after a few days because I didn't need it at the time. I actually traded it for the guitar pictured below.
Last year, I picked up a Stiletto Ace 1x12 combo. I'd wanted one since I played one in Guitar Center when I was like 15. The gain channel was great, but I wasn't in love with the clean channel. So I put it up for sale on CL, but someone offered me this. I couldn't refuse.
It's a early 80's Mark IIB - the extremely rare Coliseum version. 300w of all tube American fury. It's actually at the Mesa factory right now. Since it's at least 30 years old, I figured it was time to get it serviced. I had them replace everything that needed replacing, as well as all new tubes and the installation a reverb tank (my headshell was cut out for one, but it didn't come with one). They also modded it for me to make the clean channel a bit cleaner, which means I can push the lead channel more. Having a shared gain control can be a bit of a pain, but it sounds amazing when you hit it with a boost. This clip was recorded all on the dirty channel - it starts off with the guitar (PRS McCarty w/ Whole Lotta set, D standard) volume down, and I kick on a Green Rhino around :43 as well as turn the guitar up. IIRC the amp was on full power mode around 1.2 on the master. Still obnoxiously loud. I **** you not, gig volume on this thing is 1.8, 2 if you can be loud.
This thing is my baby and I'd hate to be in a position where I needed to sell it. Not just because it'd be a pain to sell because nobody needs a 300w amp, but because it's the best sounding Mesa I've ever played, and I've played a good amount of them.
dystrust
Well-known member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
Hate to burst your bubble man, but those coliseum heads are "only" 150-180W from six 6L6s. You're thinking of the Coliseum 300 power amp which runs those same six 6L6s on each side.
Hate to burst your bubble man, but those coliseum heads are "only" 150-180W from six 6L6s. You're thinking of the Coliseum 300 power amp which runs those same six 6L6s on each side.
Agileguy_101
Master of his Domain
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
180W is still pretty impressive
180W is still pretty impressive
BartOfDarkness
New member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I don't have any pictures to share at the moment, but I've been playing a Mesa Boogie 50 Cal+ for the past few months and it's ****ing amazing! I'm still running it into my old Peavey Ultra 2x12 combo, which is a mismatch at 16 Ohms (Emailed Mesa and they told me it was safe), but even running through the Ultra's stock speakers the distortion crushing and the cleans are beautiful. It could use a little more gain if you want super heavy tones straight into the amp, but with the EMG 81s in my ESP M-II and my trusty Pigtronix Class A boost, it's not really an issue. If you want Mesa tone and aren't after something specific like a Rectifier or a Mark series, I highly recommend it!
I don't have any pictures to share at the moment, but I've been playing a Mesa Boogie 50 Cal+ for the past few months and it's ****ing amazing! I'm still running it into my old Peavey Ultra 2x12 combo, which is a mismatch at 16 Ohms (Emailed Mesa and they told me it was safe), but even running through the Ultra's stock speakers the distortion crushing and the cleans are beautiful. It could use a little more gain if you want super heavy tones straight into the amp, but with the EMG 81s in my ESP M-II and my trusty Pigtronix Class A boost, it's not really an issue. If you want Mesa tone and aren't after something specific like a Rectifier or a Mark series, I highly recommend it!
Last edited:
SirJackdeFuzz
New member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
Nothing to add, except to mention that i am still looking for a used (in my country) Electra Dyne head.
Nothing to add, except to mention that i am still looking for a used (in my country) Electra Dyne head.
dystrust
Well-known member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
It absolutely is. I passed on a Mark IIC+ Coliseum head priced at $550 in either 2000 or 2001 because it was just insanely loud. That deal really was too good to pass up, at least from a rarity / collector perspective except that I didn't have that kind of extra money back then.
It absolutely is. I passed on a Mark IIC+ Coliseum head priced at $550 in either 2000 or 2001 because it was just insanely loud. That deal really was too good to pass up, at least from a rarity / collector perspective except that I didn't have that kind of extra money back then.
thunderkyss
New member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I've got a .50 call, the original with EL84s. I think it's the most versatile amp I own. Clean to rival any Fender, classic rock crunch, hot rod 80s metal, singing leads. Only issue is that it isn't very practical for gigging because you can't easily switch from one sound to another. You'd have to use it in a multi amp setup. But it's perfect for the studio.
I've got a .50 call, the original with EL84s. I think it's the most versatile amp I own. Clean to rival any Fender, classic rock crunch, hot rod 80s metal, singing leads. Only issue is that it isn't very practical for gigging because you can't easily switch from one sound to another. You'd have to use it in a multi amp setup. But it's perfect for the studio.
MkIII Renegade
New member
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I have a modded MkIII head with two Mark series metal grille 4x12s for the basement studio and a MkIV wide body combo with the Thiele 1x12 EVM12L for the living room. Have had the MkIII for about 15 years and the MkIV for 7 years.
Both are godly and have life-changing properties after about Master Volume of about 3. I also own and enjoy other amps, but they are only mistresses. I am a polygamist married to my two Mesas until death. :cool2:
I have a modded MkIII head with two Mark series metal grille 4x12s for the basement studio and a MkIV wide body combo with the Thiele 1x12 EVM12L for the living room. Have had the MkIII for about 15 years and the MkIV for 7 years.
Both are godly and have life-changing properties after about Master Volume of about 3. I also own and enjoy other amps, but they are only mistresses. I am a polygamist married to my two Mesas until death. :cool2:
Agileguy_101
Master of his Domain
Re: Lets talk about ALL Mesa Boogies. Come in and brag about you're please!!!
I thought you guys might enjoy this - I took off work early yesterday to head up to Petaluma and pick up my amp.
Since the amp is 30+ years old, I had them retube and recap as needed. They replaced some pots as well as a bunch of electrolytic caps. I also had them increase the headroom on the clean channel so I can push the shared gain control higher up. On top of that, I had them install a reverb tank. The shell was cut for one and the circuitry was already there, the amp was just missing a tank when I got it.
I can't wait to try this thing out. It's probably just as good as new now, if not better. I can't believe how lucky I am to have one of the rarest Mesa amps out there.
Oh and while I was in the area, I stopped in Santa Rosa and picked up some Russian River beer. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the beer or the mesa.
Oh and fwiw, a new sextet of mesa 5881s are NOT cheap.
I thought you guys might enjoy this - I took off work early yesterday to head up to Petaluma and pick up my amp.
Since the amp is 30+ years old, I had them retube and recap as needed. They replaced some pots as well as a bunch of electrolytic caps. I also had them increase the headroom on the clean channel so I can push the shared gain control higher up. On top of that, I had them install a reverb tank. The shell was cut for one and the circuitry was already there, the amp was just missing a tank when I got it.
I can't wait to try this thing out. It's probably just as good as new now, if not better. I can't believe how lucky I am to have one of the rarest Mesa amps out there.
Oh and while I was in the area, I stopped in Santa Rosa and picked up some Russian River beer. I'm not sure if I'm more excited about the beer or the mesa.
Oh and fwiw, a new sextet of mesa 5881s are NOT cheap.
Last edited:
Similar threads
