Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp?!?

[Mr 9finger]

Anybody have one/messed with one? Opinions? Feedback? ETC.....????

I just snagged one to mate up w/ my VTwin rack mount preamp. According to Mesa, these 2 were designed with each other in mind. I really wanted the newer version of the stereo 2:50 power amp, but the price was right on this one. One thing is for sure, I really need another cab or 2 now.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp?!?

I've not used the 20/20, but am curious to hear your impression of how the bass response holds up in comparison to Mesa's larger stereo power amps.

 

[Mr 9finger]

Re: Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp?!?

I've not used the 20/20, but am curious to hear your impression of how the bass response holds up in comparison to Mesa's larger stereo power amps.

Well, I've never used any of the Mesa rackmount power amps, so in that field, I've nothing to compare it to. I can run it head to head with my Triple Rect or Tremoverb which both have tons of low end that you can dial in. I'm really curious to see how this amp responds in high gain application overall. It gets really good reviews other than some complain of lack of headroom, but my Blue Angel has an excellent clean sound and has a decent amount of head room for my purposes.
It's going to be interesting since it's an EL84 based power amp. That's just not a power tube I think of when I think high gain, but we'll see I guess.

 

[Jeff5]

Re: Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp?!?

People on the Boogie Board seem to like them although you do see them for sale. Some even do a "deep" mod to theirs to improve low end. Whether that means low end is an issue or not I have no clue. They are actually pretty expensive and for a little more (I got a great deal) I just bought a 2:90 and sold my old 50:50. I got my 2:90 for $500 but I see them go for $600 to $700. I usually see 20/20s go from $450 to $550. Of course 90 watts is more than I'll ever need but with the simul class power it sounds fantastic at low volumes.

Let us know how it sounds for you. I'm curious as I like to play with a lot of gain/heavier styles of music as well.

 

[Grindspine]

Re: Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp?!?

Oh yeah, there is a "deep mod" for the 20/20. I will have to upload a picture detailing the two resistors to clip. They might be caps actually, I do not remember off the top of my head.

As far as for comparison purposes, I sometimes run my Triaxis (2.0 fat) on the Lead 1 Red Rectifier voicing through the 2:Ninety with Modern engaged, so it is ballpark to the Triple Rect sound. I have played through a few 2:Ninety setups, Dual Recto Solo heads, and had a Strategy 500 for a while, I have yet to try any of the EL84 based amps though.