Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

[Aceman]

You know, I am a huge "Marshall" sound fan, although I like all kinds of stuff. That said my main mega amp is a Mesa Stiletto (Yeah - it is Mesa's "Marshall" take...). Anyway - never saw that coming.

But - as I reflect on suggested amps, I have to ask; Is there a "bad" Mesa out there? Sure, the Triple Recto is not for everyone. However, I thin k wee would all agree that there are Marshalls that are meh, so-so, or leave a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, I don't think I ever see these things said about anything in the Mesa line.

What say you?

 

[Blille]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I can’t speak to bad Mesas. I don’t have enough experience.

Re the comparison with Marshall it feels unfair because Marshall has to cater to a much wider audience from beginner to rock gods to anything in between.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???





Randall Smith makes a great amp.
I have a Dual Rec & a MK III combo.
Everytime i play them im always amazed how great they sound for stock amps.
Ive been a Marshall guy for 40 years but these amps can definetly cover that territory.
The MK III is truly a Marshall killer.

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

This may be a dumb question, but does Mesa even make a budget or mid tier amp? I can't think of one -so I can't think of a bad Mesa -sure there are some I wouldn't use for certain things -but the same can be said for Marshall, all of Marshall's less than desirable amps are an attempt to service the beginner and mid-tier markets -you can't really say Marshall has made a bad premier level amp either.

So yeah, I'll buy that Mesa have only made good amps.

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I think it comes down to Mesa not cheaping out on budget amps so you know it's going to be well designed circuits and excellent QC. I've only played through friend's Mesas, a dual rectum fryer and a Mark 5 I think or whatever Mark it is, and they were awesome amps. I remember reading that you gotta tweak those Mark amps to dial in a good sound, yet every setting I played with sounded good to me.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

Well, there are amps that are geared towards a certain audience, and those outside that audience might not care for it. But they haven't come out with a universal dog yet. Compare that to Marshall or Fender.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

Ace, I’ve still got GAS for a Stiletto thanks to you.

I agree with a lot of the comments, MESA makes professional gear. It’s like Snap On, do they make budget tools?

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

Also, I don't think that amp companies trying to serve kids and beginners with cheaper serviceable amps that may not be "great" as a bad thing. Sure Mesa has avoided this business tactic, but there is a place in the market for cheaper amps that could be argued as equally important to the great pro amps -I mean how man totally simple Solid State Peavey amps in the 70s and even sh*ttier Crate amps in the 80s launched the musical interests of 10s of thousands of kids who went on to make important music?

 

[loziodavid]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I heard of faulty MESA Transatlantic TA15, due to a design flaw, meaning that all the units within certain serial numbers share the same problem.
A reverb/effects loops noise issue, but I haven't investigated further, sorry!

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

If & when Mr. Smith steps down & or passes the torch i have faith MESA will remain the great company it is as Randall has never been about the money.
MESA customer service is as good as its gets, ive used them many times and they're outstanding.
Cant say that for everyone.
Randall Smith is credited with the first cascaded preamp & first master volume amps about 10 years before anyone else.
He has always been an innovator.
He started out building HAM radios from scratch as a kid.

 

[Silver]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

The Triple Rec is a great amp suitable for all kinds of music, but stick a tread plate on it and give them to the nu-metal players of the time and you get the initial bump in sales and a reputation for being a one trick pony.

 

[beaubrummels]

Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I had a rare special opportunity to play a Dual Rectifier half stack against Carlos Santana’s old ‘68 Marshall Plexi half stack at The Plant studios in 1990 and the Dual Rec perfectly duplicated that “howling after-burner of a jet” sound that the old Plexi Marshall’s made. The difference was I could roll the volume on my guitar back a couple numbers and get clean on the Plexi but the Mesa Dual wouldn’t clean up that easy. Not necessarily a criticism, just an observation. It did what it did better than any other amp at the time.

I've only played through friend's Mesas, a dual rectum fryer and a Mark 5

I don’t think I could handle a “dual rectum fryer.” I’ll trust others opinions on that one. ;-)

 

[Nostalgic Distortion]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I don’t think I’ve ever heard or played through a bad sounding Mesa?

It has been my experience that some we’re designed & built better than others though...

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

My perception is that, unlike a lot of amp companies, Mesa doesn’t set out to punish you for not buying an upper-tier product. Everything they put out is designed to be some iteration of a great amp — not somebody’s idea of a “good value” or “decent for the money”. I think they take all their products seriously, and they design and built them as such.

yep ...

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I mean, if you're really looking that direction I'm sure they'll make something custom for you...

 

[MGW]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

There are some MESA/Boogie amps that are better than others.
There have been three amps that pretty much seem like the same thing but they are from different timelines and have different circuits.
The Dual Calibre (DC-5), the F-50 and the 5:50.
They are all 50 watt, two channel 1x12 combos.
The first two are really good amps but the last one is only so-so by comparison.
It's not exactly a bad amp, it's just that the two that came before were better.
The DC-5 has a better clean channel than the F-50.
The F-50 has a more rocking crunch channel than the DC-5.
Both have better cleans than the 5:50 and both have less fizz in the dirty side which some have commented can be a bit noisy.
Again, it's not a bad amp, just that the first two were better.

Another amp, the LoneStar Special, a 30 watt 1x12 combo has a great bluesy dirty channel and also has Boogie's Progressive Linkage for power scaling but the clean channel has almost no headroom.
For what it does best, it is a smoking little amp but it's kind of a one trick pony compared to other Boogies that have lots of different sounds on tap.

I can't seem to think of any other MESA amps that sometimes get complaints.
Mostly the 5:50 and the Lone Star Special and neither of them are actually bad.
They're just not as versatile as other Boogies.

 

[Despair]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

Mesa has had a few terrible mistakes from what I've heard. Failure rates on the Nomad series were abysmal, to the point they killed the line. When they worked, barring noise issues or outright failure, they still sounded great, though.

Their hit rate seems far better than any of their similar scale competitors.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

I will say MESA has models that never interested me but i wouldn't say they were "good" or "bad". Just different i suppose.
I will say they escaped me in da 80's because i was the working poor & couldn't afford them. Plus my Marshall JMP had all the bases covered.
I wanted Brad Gillis' MESA rig so bad in the 80's that if you were to tell me back then i could have those amps if i cut off my right arm you'd be looking at a one armed man today.

 

[Dave Locher]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

"Bad"?
I don't care for their overall sound - too compressed in the case of every band I have ever seen live that used them*. I am sure some of them sound wonderful but not the ones I have heard.

*Dozens, not hundreds. But totally consistent. And I have never had that reaction to bands running Marshall half stacks or stacks. So in my head Boogie = overcompressed.

 

[JMP/HBE]

Re: Mesa: Do they make a bad amp???

"Bad"?
I don't care for their overall sound - too compressed in the case of every band I have ever seen live that used them*. I am sure some of them sound wonderful but not the ones I have heard.

*Dozens, not hundreds. But totally consistent. And I have never had that reaction to bands running Marshall half stacks or stacks. So in my head Boogie = over-compressed.

Not if you roll back the gain. When i see a player that uses a compressor pedal with an overdriven amp i know that person either doesn't know thier gear or have the proper amp for the job.
A great amp will compress on its own when cranked & overdriven.
Any amp can sound "over-compressed".
Case & point the Peavey 5150 series .... Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz