Marshall Vs. Mesa

[MrHeavyMetal]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I'm a plexi and jcm800 Marshall fan but I'd love to have a Mesa Triaxis.


on a side note, a Bogner Shiva and VHT would be nice tonal additions to my sonic palette.

 

[34029324079]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

45 to 42 Marshall.

Marshalls rock no doubt. with all the other comments in mind, add to the fact the dual rectifier tone monsters look super cool with the diamond metal plating, and add the effects loop (no more pedal dancing folks!) and we would have a winner, Mesa!

 

[Stratman]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I use Fenders, Marshall, and Mesa Boogies...


But I also use other amps - It all depends on the tone that I am playing with at the time / part of the song I am at... (e.g., A/B switches between multiple amps.)

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I haven't voted, because I've never played a Mesa. The price of them in the UK scares me away - I might try one and like it.

Marshalls are great as long as you can turn them up loud enough.

 

[nuntius]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

Honestly, I figured this'd be a landslide victory with Marshall winning 5:1.

I really am surprised it's this close.

In all honesty, I expected the same, except with Mesa winning :dance:

 

[big_black]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

:headbang: AMPEG :headbang:​

 

[knucklefux]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

i had a marshall, can't remember which one though. it sounded like crap...it was thin and whiny and totally lacked balls. i swapped it and some money for a 5150...that was better, but still needed someting else. when i plugged in to what was to become my SINGLE rectifier, i had reached nirvana. i've had that amp for years. what's really wierd is that a 50 watt mesa is waaaaay louder than that 120 watt peavey. as far as the "plasticky" sound others have mentioned, i don't hear it. all i hear is tight bottome end and every note in every cord, no matter how high the gain knob is twisted.

 

[ishmun]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

Says the man with a Marshall cab in his avatar!!! :lmao: :laugh2:

HAHA well spotted B2D


i use mesa amps with marshall boxes


Cheers :dance:

Ishan

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I've own multiple amps from both companies. I love both. I vote for Marshall only cause to me they are more predictable. I can plug into my marshalls with any guitar and any room and get that sound. Might need a small tweak here and there but its always rockin. My Mesas are more tempermental, always need tweaking. Not all mesas are very versatile either. My Mark III may be tri-modal but I use it as a single channel amp. Too many compromises when you try to use it as a multi channel amp. But you can get some killer sounds out of that amp.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

Don't like the Mesa fizz? Get the F series.

Got a pretty convincing Marshall tone out of my F-50 last week..contour on, pumped the mids to 3 oclock. Cut treble to 9 oclock. Bass was about 10 or 11 oclock IIRC. That was with my stock MIA strat. Humbuckers will prolly requre some tweaking. Not quite Marshall, but def a modded marshall sound. I don't care for modern sounds either, but my F-50 can pretty much cover everything I want...fender clean, mesa smooth, marshall kerrang

Not a fan of the MESA fizz either and it kept me from buying one for many years. But I'm finding with tweaking you can minimize it greatly and with a just a small amount it gives your leads some "cut' (which I like) without being obtrusive. The thing I've had to get through my thick skull was the tone controls are very sensitive and very interactive compared to everything else I've owned. It's not like a Marshall of Fender where you dime everything or a few things and it still sounds pretty good. They do require tweaking. But boy when ya get it tweaked right The manual is extremely informative in explaining the sweet spots for the tone controls and where you prolly don't want to go with setting them.

A fellow on HC sent me a link to his webpage of recto clips, and even they are not too fuzzy. They sound more "mark-ish". HERE is the link. Everything is a recto but the one entitled "free fall" (which is a MKIV)

That said out of all the ones I've played, the F-series and Lonestars sound the best to me.

I too am surprised the vote is this close.

 

[Robert S.]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I can make both my 2204 and my Mesa rack sound like garbage rather easily and it is as simple as spinning the knobs. The biggest mistake people make with mesa gear is that they set them too high. Yes it is true if you jack up the bottom, top, gain, drive and presence and drop the mids Mesas can get farty and buzzy but more is not always better. Reverse those settings and Mesas can get creamy and thick sounding fairly easily.

Marshall users also tend to be pedal players and often you find an OD or distortion pedal in front of them. With all the gain available in many Mesa amps most folks don't think to put a pedal in front of them. Receintly I backed off the gain and drive on my Mesa rack and stuck an original Rat pedal in front of it.

I got a completely different response and tone from the amp and it damn near ripped my head off. Sometimes you just have to stop doing the things that don't work and try something different. I don't use a pedal in front of my Mesa stuff as a rule but it is possible and it definately changes the character and response of the amp.

 

[B2D]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I can make both my 2204 and my Mesa rack sound like garbage rather easily and it is as simple as spinning the knobs. The biggest mistake people make with mesa gear is that they set them too high. Yes it is true if you jack up the bottom, top, gain, drive and presence and drop the mids Mesas can get farty and buzzy but more is not always better. Reverse those settings and Mesas can get creamy and thick sounding fairly easily.

Marshall users also tend to be pedal players and often you find an OD or distortion pedal in front of them. With all the gain available in many Mesa amps most folks don't think to put a pedal in front of them. Receintly I backed off the gain and drive on my Mesa rack and stuck an original Rat pedal in front of it.

I got a completely different response and tone from the amp and it damn near ripped my head off. Sometimes you just have to stop doing the things that don't work and try something different. I don't use a pedal in front of my Mesa stuff as a rule but it is possible and it definately changes the character and response of the amp.

Thats the thing with most tube amps... you gotta find the sweet spot and you gotta know how to "play" the amp as well.

I'll agree with you about sticking pedals into MESA... my Rectoverb has plenty of gain but not nearly as much as a Triple Rec, and I like to feed overdrive boxes into crunchy amps cuz i like that kind of tone staging... one day I put a new BD2 set to a light overdrive and a hot boost into my MESA which was about 60% gained out... WOOOOO!!!! Couldn't believe the sounds i got! The tones that came out were pretty much what I'd been hoping to acheive with the amp, too. I didn't expect it to sound that nice, especially with a stock BD2. Can't wait to get the pedal modded by Keeley haha.

HAHA well spotted B2D
i use mesa amps with marshall boxes
Cheers :dance:
Ishan

So do I! I'm running a Rectoverb 50W head with a Marshall 1960AX cab right now. Marshall cabs have this certain sound to them that I just can't get away from. Even though the MESA cabs are probably better by design I like the Marshall cab tone better. :smoker:

 

[some_dude]

Re: Marshall Vs. Mesa

I like to feed overdrive boxes into crunchy amps cuz i like that kind of tone staging... one day I put a new BD2 set to a light overdrive and a hot boost into my MESA which was about 60% gained out... WOOOOO!!!!

I like to dime the master volume on the clean channel (pushed mode), run the gain up between 40% and 80%, then pump a Wylde OD (Vol-7, Gain-7) into it. For cleans, I ride the volume like it's a one channel amp.