Mesa amps good clean

[madguitar26]

Im coming from a peavey classic 50 4x10 amp,looking to upgrade to a mesa boogie for its better distorted and heavier sounds.Problem is ive heard of bad clean channel sounding mesas.

which should i consider that keep a good clean sound?

 

[firebirdV]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

You might want to try playing one of the Mark series. I haven't played all of them, but the ones I have had great cleans.

 

[krankguitarist]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I've heard good things about the rect-o-verbs as well.

 

[some_dude]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

Im coming from a peavey classic 50 4x10 amp,looking to upgrade to a mesa boogie for its better distorted and heavier sounds.Problem is ive heard of bad clean channel sounding mesas.

which should i consider that keep a good clean sound?

Most Mesas do really well at sounding clean or sounding distorted.....it's the slightly overdriven middle ground where they suffer and that's why they have a reputation for stiff sounding cleans.

Marks have really good cleans. The Rectifier also has good cleans but they're a touch stiff and not as warm as the Marks.

 

[Tor]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I have an F-50 with a lovely clean channel!

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

ya i have heard more then one Boogie player say their amps are amazing distorted but lack a little in the Cleans.... But i guess it depends on the player and what they look for in an amp....

 

[doveman]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I guess it just takes working with the Mesa's ... I've had a Mark (original) for quite a while and with one cable in the #1 slot, I can get good cleans, good middle distortion and smooth overdrive ... just using the guitar's volume knob and no footswitces or 2nd channels.

I think amps might have gotten too complicated ... Mesa's too.

 

[firebirdV]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I guess it just takes working with the Mesa's ... I've had a Mark (original) for quite a while and with one cable in the #1 slot, I can get good cleans, good middle distortion and smooth overdrive ... just using the guitar's volume knob and no footswitces or 2nd channels.

I think amps might have gotten too complicated ... Mesa's too.

'78, so would that make it a mark 1?

 

[Young Angus]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I had a 50 caliber + 112 combo that had one of the most amazing clean sounds I've ever heard! I wish I hadn't sold it

 

[doveman]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

'78, so would that make it a mark 1?

Yeah ... See when they were making my amp they were just Boogies ... MarkIIs didn't exist yet ... so there really weren't MarkIs yet. The creator of this line was making them by hand with about a 6 month waiting list. They were basically beefed up Fender designs with a slightly more complex pre-amp stages. In fact, his first amps were modded Fender Princeton amps.

They had two inputs ... one skipped the first preamp stage ... but you really could not use it. So it has always been a single cord amp to me.

But eventually you could call them MarkI ... the reissue MarkIs are a bit different I think ... again just a bit more complex ... not much.

I could not be more happy with mine ... sold a Marshall and Fender when I bought this ... 28 years ago now.

Even when I visit the Mesa/Boogie forum ... they're just talking about a whole different animal ... seems to me.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

Best MESA Cleans are on the F50...which has been praised by many a guitar-rag for the clean channel...If I ever had a custom built amp that had a dedicated clean...I'd want it modelled on the F50 I had. Incredibly dynamic and also gave up some GREAT mild crunch when cranked. Best fender like clean channel I've played on anything but a vintage Fender amp.

If you like more "chimey" , then I'd say LoneStar Special. Incredible cleans there too...but different in flavor than the F50.

I her great things about the Blue Angel? and a Maverick I played had really nice cleans too.

I'd agree that MESA's mid gain tones are kinda where they have some difficulty...at least on the 6L6 amps. They just don't crunch like a plexi or jmp or old bassman does...they get kinda farty sounding. The Stiletto on the other hand RAWKS hard in the mid gain area (as well as everything else)

 

[paytojt]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I played on the Roadster and got everything I could want pretty easily! The tremoverbs also sound wonderful. Still kicking myself for selling mine.

 

[madguitar26]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

what about the el84 based amps like blue angel and dc-3 ?

im more based on those for i really like my classic 50´s clean channel.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

I have a Blue Angel, and the cleans are glorious with the best reverb I have ever heard in an amp. I generally use either the 6v6 or 6v6+el84 setting, and what a sound!! it does not have a master volume, so there is no distortion channel, and this amp *loves* overdrive pedals.

 

[muttonchopsrule]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

the series II single rectifiers have a surprisingly good clean tone for a high gain amp. it obviously does the heavy high gain sound that the rectifier series is known for, and the cleans on that amp totally blow away the cleans on my two-channel dual rec. if you're into the rectifier sound, that would be the first amp i'd reccomend looking into.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

A simple generalization:

Mesa Recto series cleans have the dark mid range flavor that gives the lead channels there thump, grind, and huge sound (except the Road King and Roadster) - not a bad clean sound, but it takes some tweaking and it isn't very sparkly

Mesa Mark series have a vintage flavor that is very clean and bright with a quick attack and a very fast low end, but not quite as 3-D as other models listed below.

Lonestar series are jangly clean, but can be switched to slighty thicker voicings for more of a bassman type vibe (to my ears), very flexible cleans that can be dialed up to just about any flavor you are looking for.

F-Series, my favorite cleans from Mesa! Very deep, 3-D character, bright top end, just the right amount of tube tag for a bubbly feel. The best combination of warmth and clarity with a bit of mid range snarl.

The F-Series and Lonestar series are considered Mesa's best clean sounds. The Road King and Roadster use the same circuit from the Lonestar for the clean channel.

These are all just my humble observations, but I own a F-30, DR, and a Mark IV. A Road King with a diamond plate faceplate will be arriving for me in a few months (after I played a series II exstensively).

The Road King/Roadster is the lovechild of the Recto and the Lonestar with a couple extras. Super cool amps if you want the best variety of Mesa flavors.

There a lot of out of production models that I can't speak for and I haven't taken enough time with the Stiletto series.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

what about the el84 based amps like blue angel and dc-3 ?

im more based on those for i really like my classic 50´s clean channel.

The DC-3 would be more of the type amp you seem to be looking for, the current production model would be an F-30. Sweet amp amd with great over drive to high gain (it loves strats and teles)

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

Better question is what kind of gain do you want?

That will be the big deciding factor, as many of their models have solid cleans. The Blue Angel, Rectoverb, Tremoverb, Heartbreaker, LoneStar, Mark IIB, IIc+ all have exceptional cleans - I mean JAZZ to Jeff Buckley literally.

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

The Blue Angel's clean tones are spectacular. But if I were going for a dual channel mesa with great cleans, I'd go for the F50 or Mk1 ri

 

[some_dude]

Re: Mesa amps good clean

The Blue Angel's clean tones are spectacular. But if I were going for a dual channel mesa with great cleans, I'd go for the F50 or Mk1 ri

The Mark I is a single channel amp with two inputs and not a two channel amp.